Chloe was annoyed at the fact that she was returning to her apartment twenty minutes after leaving it with Clark earlier that morning. She tried to ignore his invitation to Lois burnt on her front door as she let herself inside but still laughed at the absurdity of it. The apartment was exactly the same as when she had left it before. The blonde immediately walked over to her coffee machine and turned it on before swiping a waffle off the table and taking a bite. Suddenly she remembered who had made those waffles and she jammed her hand into her pocket to check for the hundredth time that morning that the plastic bag containing the hair was still in place.

Chloe had struggled to stop thinking about her hooded hero since the night before. Half of it was the reporter's instinct in her, constantly wanting to know more information. But the other half was the simple fact that she was attracted to him. She noticed that he was about a foot taller than herself and judging by the blonde hair that she had been carrying around in her pocket, they shared the same colour hair. I've always been into guys with darker hair, but I can definitely change. Like most of the men in her life, he was a hero and she presumed that he held the same principles that she did. He was lightly tanned, a natural glow to his skin and his smile was captivating. While Chloe hadn't heard his real voice yet, the distorter turned her on. I've always found myself attracted to the unknown and the danger that comes with it. Not to mention his fantastic body...

Chloe shook her head and tried to snap out of it. She had been leaning on the breakfast bar for over five minutes and now she grabbed at the rapidly cooling coffee- hoping it would stop her from her fantasies. She took a long drink of the brown liquid and shut her eyes in pleasure. Despite the large amounts that the petite blonde drank, she didn't stop to truly taste it enough. Heaven in a cup.

"So what are you trying to forget?" Lois queried, striding out of her room and reaching up to fetch a mug from the cabinet.

"I'm sorry, what?" Chloe asked, shocked. She turned to face her cousin who had finished pouring herself a black coffee and looked up to meet Chloe's eyes.

"You only breathe in your coffee when you're in bliss or you're trying to forget something. Considering you're back in our tiny apartment less than half an hour after leaving it, I'm guessing you're not in paradise," Lois summed up, a smug look coming over her face.

"Firstly, why are you up? You were up all night and even I, the queen of all-nighters, would struggle to work after only twenty minutes sleep in twenty-four hours," Chloe pointed out, raising her eyebrows and tipping her head slightly.

"That's true, but I rolled around for those aforementioned twenty minutes and gave up on the whole resting idea. Maybe I'll get an IV drip feeding me coffee just to keep me awake. Maybe I'm trying to knock you off your throne," Lois joked, walking over to the sofa and flopping onto it- carefully not spilling any.

"No chance of that happening," Chloe laughed, joining her roommate. "Also, I'm not trying to forget anyone. I just have an opportunity to relax before my important lunch later," shrugged the blonde, dipping into her coffee to avoid Lois' gaze. She can always tell when I'm lying.

"Your big lunch? That's why you're back isn't it?" Lois exclaimed raising her hands in the air to emphasise her point. However, this soon turned into a yawn that forced Lois into a long stretch.

"Yeah. It's with that playboy Oliver Queen," Chloe rolled her eyes. While she certainly didn't read the tabloids, Chloe knew about his drunken bachelor ways. They were infamous.

"Hold up. You're telling me you have an exclusive interview with the Oliver Queen, voted world's sexiest man for the last three years, and you didn't blurt it to me as soon as you walked through the door?" Lois cried, excited for and annoyed at her cousin.

"Well, I thought you'd be asleep, Lo," Chloe countered. "And our apartment is cozy and sweet, not tiny."

"I bet his bedroom is twice the size of this place," stated Lois, getting up from the couch and walking across the apartment away from Chloe. "You'll probably be able to vouch for that tomorrow." Lois spun around and winked before going into her roommate's bedroom.

"Hey! You know that I'm not going to do that," shouted Chloe, also raising from the sofa and chasing after Lois. "What are you doing?"

"I am sorting out an outfit that not only will give you the ability to tell me whether he like pulp in his orange juice or not, but will result in you becoming a Queen," Lois trailed off, her head deep in Chloe's wardrobe.

"I'm not going to sleep with him Lois!" Chloe responded weakly, sitting down on her bed.

"Ah ha! You are going to blow his socks, and maybe pants, off with this," Lois shouted, twirling around and holding up the offending piece of clothing. It was a bold purple gown, which Chloe reserved for high-brow events and had only used it once so far.

"No way. I'm going for lunch with him, not ballroom dancing," Chloe said bluntly, taking off the clothes that she was currently wearing.

"How about this then?" Lois asked cheekily, showing Chloe a skimpy nurses outfit that she had been forced to wear for Halloween by Lois last year.

"No chance," Chloe smirked, grabbing the costume and stuffing it back into place. "I can't believe I even kept that."

Lois looked the blonde up and down. "You're going to wear better underwear than that right? Don't want to be embarrassed when he sees your granny panties."

"For the last time, I'm not gonna sleep with him." Chloe had had enough of Lois' insinuations and placed both of her hands on her cousin's upper arms and forcibly pushed her out of her from her room. Lois put up a weak protest but allowed herself to be removed.

"I get the last say on the final outfit!" She yelled through the door before stomping off.

Chloe sighed and undressed herself fully before pulling on a matching pair of underwear. Lois can be such a stroppy teenager sometimes. The petite blonde grinned. For all her faults, she couldn't help loving her cousin. She may be brash, rude and sometimes annoying but she was fiercely loyal to her friends and particularly her family and she was certainly someone you want around in a crisis.

Then it occurred to her. She knew what she was going to wear instantly. The blonde dived towards the back of her closet and came out with a green leather jacket that she had almost forgotten she owned. She grabbed a simple patterned tunic and a pair of black, tightly fitting kakis. Looking in the mirror after dressing once again, Chloe thought she looked professional, simple but gorgeous at the same time. It was perfect.

Chloe sorted out a couple of last minute details before leaving her room. She fixed her makeup and her hair before brushing her teeth, singing the Lily Allen part of Just be good to Green by Professor Green feat Lily Allen into her toothbrush. The young reporter still had a couple of hours to kill and decided to go for an almond mocha at the coffee shop on her block to get her instincts buzzing. The blonde leaned against the door, steadying herself for the onslaught that Lois was about to give her before pushing it open. She burst out laughing at the sight that met her eyes.

Lois was asleep, passed out like a toddler on the sofa. Chloe reached for the phone in her cousin's hands and set an alarm so that she wouldn't be too late for work. She grabbed a blanket and put it over her cousin, tucking her in. She wrote a short note and left it on the breakfast bar for Lois to find later and grabbed her bag before heading for the front door. Chloe took one look back and grinned at Lois sleep-arguing with herself about the importance of having a charismatic sponge to play golf with before leaving to continue her day.

xxXxx

John Corben woke up and took in his surroundings. He was in a fully furnished room, complete with a king-sized bed, fridge and T.V. He tried to remember how he got here but suddenly his thought process stopped. He had a mission. It was the only that mattered now. It seemed to come from nowhere but now it was his number one priority. He got up, his posture perfect, and strode over to his door. He opened it and emerged into the rain. His was aboard a cargo ship that had been taken over by terrorists. It was rocking violently as a storm tore itself apart above him. The rain fell incessantly and waves crashed against the hull, sending spray onto the deck. The terrorists had taken hostages and were trying to steal a weapon of mass destruction.

Corben supersped across the deck and slammed through two metal containers. They flew high into the sky and overboard, plunging into the ocean. He turned to the five insurgents holding ten workers at gunpoint and stared. They scrambled into position and opened fire. John didn't even hesitate to walk forward, bullets rebounding off his skin. He reached the first gunman and snatched his firearm from him. He snapped the barrel off and drove the newly sharped end into the retreating terrorist's stomach before throwing him over board. Corben pummelled his fist into the ground, sending a shock wave that knocked all the remaining insurgents to the floor. He zoomed around, stamping on their windpipes one by one and they all lay dead before the hostages had even recovered.

Sharp bursts of sound broke the night as the deck was lit up by gunfire and lightning. Metal capsules rained down upon the cyborg, killing six of the hostages. Corben ignored them and charged toward the upper deck. He leapt up high and grabbed onto the cool metal edge. His fingers didn't slip nor slide as he bent the metal to give him better grip. One gunman leant over and rinsed his back with bullets. John barely felt them, only the sound they made alerting him to the fact that he was subject to attack. This made him angrier and he swung his body to get momentum before bringing his arms down. The whole upper was torn in half as the terrorist fell to their death. Now the room containing the nuclear bomb lay exposed in front of him.

Corben lept up the two storeys separating him from his goal in a single bound. Once he arrived he saw two final gunmen at the back of the room, standing next to the bomb. The one of the right of him opened fire but Corben didn't even bother to stop him with his hand. His chest glowed green and a beam shot out, tearing the man in half. He screamed in agony as John sped over to the last criminal. He seized his throat and held it aloft, squeezing. The greasy man didn't choke however, but grinned as he brought up the detonator and pushed the button.

An explosion of magnificent proportions tore through the space. A brighter light imaginable shone true and when it disappeared there was nothing left. The ship had been blown into tissue paper; the sea had stopped and the storm had disappeared. Dust settled and all was silent. A crash broke through the quiet as John Corben emerged from the side of the wall he had been embedded in. Suddenly it all dawned on him.

Oh my god what the hell is this place? What happened to me? What is this coming out of my chest? Jesus Christ! My heart, where has it gone? What did I do to deserve this? Who decided that they could play God and do this to me? I can't stand it. I'm not even human anymore. I'm a freak. I deserve to die. I can't live this way.

John screamed out into the empty warehouse and placed his hands on his chest, gripping onto the chamber in order to pull it out but his suicidal actions were cut short. He stopped dead; dropped his head and made no more noise. Over on the other side of the space a door opened and an assortment of people walked out. They clambered over the debris and finally reached Corben, still stood straight. Two scientist surveyed the scene as John was packed up into a box and carted off.

"He still can't stand what he has become, Dr Ryan," one of the scientists reported.

"Yes, Alice, that's true. But look at what we have achieved. He is unstoppable."

"But he killed all twenty people on this ship. And if I recall correctly, we told them that if they set off the bomb that it would shut him down rather than explode. We didn't construct these scenarios to take lives," replied Alice, disgusted by what lay before her.

"None of that matters. They signed up to that when they got involved with Luthor," Dr Ryan finished, turning away and walking back towards the door. "We found out that he can withstand almost anything and our control over him grows every time we use him. Soon he'll forget who he was to begin with."

"And what then? We send him to destroy Metropolis? When do we draw the line? When do we stop?"

"Once Superman lies dead."

xxXxx

Author's note: Thanks to everyone for reading and the review I got, I'm very grateful. I do have to apologise because I said I would do either Oliver's interview or the press conference but I lied. I'm sorry! I didn't intend to write either of these scenes but I love the easy banter that flows between Lois and Chloe and what started out as a little piece of fluff turned into a whole chapter. Also, I really wanted to build up Metallo so that the upcoming showdown is epic between him and Superman. Next is definitely the press conference though! Anyway, thanks for reading and the follows/favourites. They really motivate me to write more. Cheers!