Chapter 16 Revealed – Scene: Lois and Clark are atop the Daily Planet building.
"Chinese, okay?" Clark asked the starry eyed Lois. "Uh Huh." She warily glanced over the edge of the Daily Planet's rooftop. "Ready? Hold on!" Clark grinned as Lois stepped in close to him, actually resting her weight on Clark's feet. Lois took a deep breath as she clung to him.
"Up, up, and away!" He quipped as he gathered the power beneath his feet, bending his knees, and springing up from the rooftop, just below the familiar spinning gold Daily Planet globe. "Waaah!" Lois yelled as she dared to look down. Metropolis's cityscape spun beneath them.
"Are you… sure about this, Smallville?" Lois asked between gasps, as the cool, damp, night air rushed past her. "Actually, I've only done this once or twice before." Clark teased as they soared above the medium height Metropolis skyscrapers. "I bet you say that to all the girls!" Lois taunted as Clark landed with more confidence and grace than usual.
"See!" Clark smirked. "Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound." He set the stunned Lois down on the greasy rooftop of Ming Wah's Chinese Restaurant. She grabbed his forearm to steady her balance. The quick jump had made her a bit woozy. Clark held her closely until she stabilized her footing. Lois smiled brightly and glanced around the dingy roof.
"A dark, greasy roof just seems to scream romance, Smallville." She teased. "That was fun, but how do we get into the restaurant, through the ventilation ducts?" Lois joked. Clark had assumed that Ming Wah's had a rooftop entrance. Obviously, he'd miscalculated.
Clark watched her tenderly. "Well, there's always the fire escape!" He quipped. Lois glanced down at her shoes. "I love my Bloominghale's pumps, Clark. I doubt if they'd be much use in climbing down eight stories of fire escape."
Clark zipped across the roof, startling Lois. He took a quick peek over the roof edge at the fire escape, and two Chinese cooks were sitting on the third floor landing smoking. That's out. Clark mused. He sped to the rear of the building, and stared down into the darkened alley. That'll work. He decided as he zoomed back to Lois, scattering dust and debris behind her.
Clark scooped her up in his arms. "Whoa!" Lois was taken aback, but soon relaxed into cuddling him. He sped to the rear of the building, double-checking for any possible eyewitnesses. Clear. He grinned as Lois glanced warily up at him. "Going down!" He announced playfully, and vaulted over the side of the roof, landing lightly behind a huge metal garbage scowl.
"Nice!" Lois's eyes sparkled. "A dark, smelly alley! Smallville, you sure know how to treat a girl!" She teased. "Not that I'm dwelling." Clark chuckled as he held Lois's hand and they proceeded to Ming Wah's highly decorative, ornate entrance. Two shiny golden dragon statues lined the three-step stairway that led to the restaurant's lobby.
"Sorry, Lois, today did not go at all as planned." Clark gallantly apologized. She cupped his chin in her hands and looked into his eyes. "Hey, I wouldn't trade this day for anything in the world." Lois flirted as she inspected his rapidly healing cheek. "You're looking better, that creature didn't do too much damage." She leaned against him, and Clark reflexively placed his arm around her.
They entered the restaurant and were greeted by a well-dressed host. "Table for two, please." Clark ordered politely. They held hands, following the host to a dimly lit booth. "Do you bring all your dates here, Clark?" Lois asked warily. "To be honest, Lois, as the Blur, I don't have a lot of time to date." He replied, lowering his voice, and bending towards her ear.
"I see…but as Clark Kent, you would?" Lois pried, in her reporter's mode again. Clark waited for her to be seated. "Exactly. Hence the dual identity." He admitted after the host had left. "This is so cool!" Lois gushed happily. "I can have my fortune cookie and eat it to!" She beamed.
Clark cast her a puzzled glance as the waitress approached their table. The multicolored Chinese lanterns ringed the booth, flickering occasionally, and setting a romantic mood. "What do you mean, Lois?" He asked, as the waitress set down their glasses of ice water.
"I simply meant that I LLL…" She gulped, catching a breath before speaking further. "I can have the best of both worlds." She qualified mid sentence. "Mild mannered, highly conservative, Clark Kent, and the mysterious and wild…Blur." Lois dutifully lowered her voice. "It's a dream come true." Clark reddened. "Not to bring us down, but it's been more of a nightmare to me."
"Nightmare?" Lois echoed as she sipped the icy water. "Yes. I've been piling lies on top of lies for years." Clark admitted. "Finally, I'm tired of it. I just wanted to be me. I hated hiding myself from you, from the rest of the world." Clark wistfully sipped his water.
"What about 'coming out' so to speak?" Lois asked the obvious, trying not to sound like she was angling for an interview. "You mean just being the Blur?" He nervously glanced around and lowered his voice. Confident that no one had heard him, he continued.
"I thought about that." He felt as though a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders. "I wanted to fit in, just be plain ol' Clark Kent. That's never worked so far." Lois began to consider the vast implications of what Clark was saying.
"I love…um…" Clark reddened as the waitress slowed down to take their orders. He breathed a sigh of relief, happy to just order their food. After the waitress left, Clark took both of Lois's hands in his. "I love…just writing stories for the Daily Planet. I love…working with you as often as I can." Lois was momentarily lost in his eyes.
She took a deep breath and swallowed hard. "You can't." She said softly. "Can't what?" Clark prodded. "You can't give up being the Blur…" She barely lowered her voice in time as a young couple passed close to their table. "Not for me, not for anyone." Lois said as her eyes began to tear. "That's why I chose to try and live this dual life." Clark confessed. "It won't be easy."
"People do it all the time." Lois reasoned. "Ollie, for one. You should think of yourself as a fireman, policeman, doctor, FBI agent, or whatever. All of those people either face constant danger, or are on call 24 seven. The FBI guys aren't even allowed to tell their families what they do." She continued to ramble excitedly. "I could do it." Lois steeled her resolve.
"Do what?" Clark inquired. "Be Lois Lane, star reporter, and the Blur's girlfriend." She replied. Lois had forgotten to lower her voice this time, and an Asian girl at another table, poked her head out from behind the menu to look straight at them. "We'd better discuss all this at home." Clark said absently. "Home? When do I get to take you home?" Lois flirted heavily.
Meanwhile, in the Nevada desert outside of Las Vegas, things were not going that well. Kara had to knock out the Questing Beast, and drag its limp body back to America beneath the cover of darkness. AC had been only somewhat successful with the Quetzalcoatl.
Laura and Canary had managed to corral the Griffin, and made it fly back to Nevada. Every time the Griffin tried to veer off course, Canary had let loose with a low level burst of sound. Gold Wing chuckled as she dodged the beast's flailing wing. "Hell, that's better than that electronic fence device that people use to keep their dogs from straying away from their yard."
Laura had stuffed her ears with cotton to limit Canary's sound damage. They landed the Griffin near the other magical creatures, and Gold Wing held it down with a chain she'd 'borrowed' from a road construction tractor.
Oliver had flown Chloe, Zatanna, and Victor in from Metropolis by jet. Hawkman soared through the skies behind them, managing to stay in the cloudbanks away from possible onlookers. The team assembled in the darkness behind a large, craggy mountain range that ringed Las Vegas.
Bart had chased the remaining gladiators and knights into a small, nearby canyon where they continued to battle each other. "Hola, sweet legs!" He flirted with Zatanna, who merely raised an eyebrow at him. "Behave Impulse, or she'll turn you into a rock lizard!" AC taunted him.
"Where the hell is Clark?" Oliver grumbled as he avoided the Quetzalcoatl's swinging, feathered tail. "More appropriately, how could we explain the bizarre creatures to any passersby?" Chloe pointed out. Laura dragged the stubborn Griffin into the center of the group. "We'll just say it's a new Vegas attraction to go with their famous White Tiger show." Zatanna playfully remarked.
Before Clark's battle with Grog, Dick and Barbara had trailed Lois to Centro Park. They'd lost her in all of the confusion. They happened upon the bizarre scene of the riot between the gladiators and the knights. As far as they could tell, no one had yet been seriously injured.
Suddenly a handful of knights seemed to disappear. "Did you see that?" Barb pointed to the raging battle. "It looked like they disappeared." Dick scratched his head. "Some type of illusion, perhaps created with mirrors?" He speculated. "We'll have to try and catch Miss Lane at the Daily Planet tomorrow morning." Barb said in frustration.
Lois and Clark had enjoyed a time-shortened meal together. After they'd eaten and paid, Clark escorted her out the ornate front door. "I take it we're heading back to the alley?" Lois asked with a sly grin. "Yeah. Pretty much. I can't stay tonight, Lois." Clark reddened.
"I'm supposed to be helping Oliver save the world, remember?" He added as they held hands and turned into the alley. Some passersby glared at them with disapproval. After reassuring himself that no one could see them, Clark scooped Lois up in his arms.
He sped them back to the Daily Planet parking lot so Lois could retrieve her car. "I think that I enjoyed your super leap better." Lois playfully criticized as she brushed back her hair with one arm. "It's easier on my stomach." She held him close, unwilling to let go.
"I have to go." Clark said, tenderly brushing the hair from Lois's eyes. He kissed her on the cheek. Lois quickly grabbed his arm and insisted on a long, passionate kiss instead. "Good night!" Clark smiled brightly. "I hope to see you early tomorrow at work."
Lois finally unclenched, and Clark zipped into hyper speed in front of her. "Wow! What a super man." She said as she relished their kiss one more time. "Super man?" She considered aloud. Clark zoomed back to Smallville for a change of clothes, donning his Blur outfit.
Clark sped over to Nevada, swearing that he'd left his feet a few times along the way. The team was encircling the troublesome magical creatures. Chloe held the Helmet of Naboo under her arm like a motorcycle helmet. "Hello! Nice of you to grace us with your presence." Zatanna chided him. "I got tied up?" Clark sheepishly grinned at them.
"Yeah, with Lois, no doubt!" Laura ragged on him. "Actually yes, we had a nice dinner together." Clark defended with a knowing smile. Chloe looked at him with bewilderment. Something's different, her suspicious nature proved to be right on the money where Clark was concerned.
"Awesome!" AC praised. "I always said that Lois was hot, bro'." Bart zipped into the middle of the conversation. "Alright, CK!" He exclaimed. "Clark and the Lo La! Way to go, amour!" Zatanna sighed. "Boys! Can we focus, here? Broken veil, Naboo, Chloe…get it?"
"Can't you just bippity, boppity, boo this veil open, Zee?" Oliver asked, still worried about Chloe's possession of Dr. Fate's Helmet. "Sorry Ollie! This level of magic is above my talent limit." Zatanna confessed. "I only hope that Chloe can zap the damn veil open and close it."
Kara circled back down to join the group. "Hey cuz!" She waved at Clark. Hawkman watched the young super girl with admiration as she floated to the ground effortlessly. Just like Shayera used to do, he recalled wistfully the many adventures he and his wife shared.
"Let's do this!" Chloe announced bravely, as she positioned the helmet above her head. Clark had sidled over next to his good friend of many years. "Chloe, be careful! If we see that the helmet is doing some type of damage, we're pulling you out. We'll find another way."
"It had better work, Clark, because if you pull the helmet off of Chloe too soon, it might scramble her brain like Kent Nelson." Hawkman warned sternly. "Carter, it's too risky!" Oliver complained. "I've got it, Ollie. Let's just get it done." Chloe decided and shoved the helmet onto her head. Immediately, Chloe screamed as the helmet's blue light nearly blinded everyone.
Chloe fell to the ground convulsing, as the team watched in horror. "It's killing her!" Clark grabbed for the helmet with alarm. "I got it, Clark!" Chloe said in Naboo's deep voice, as she scrambled to her knees. Clark held onto her elbow to help her up.
Suddenly, Clark's future passed by Chloe's new magically enhanced sight. She witnessed him donning the blue and red suit soaring through the clouds, a possible upcoming wedding with Lois, in full white dress mode, Clark complimenting her with a sharp black tuxedo. She saw a type of headquarters in outer space, and finally, dozens of heroes in colorful costumes.
"This isn't so bad." Chloe said in Naboo's voice. Clark let her stand on her own. "Focus, Chloe, focus!" Carter urged. She recited the magic words that Hawkman had given to her. Chloe transformed into Dr. Fate's gold and blue outfit. She began to hover above the burning sands of the Nevada desert.
A thunderous crack was heard as the very air around them seemed to split and splinter into a miles long rip in the universe. "Quickly, gather the magical creatures!" Zatanna ordered. Kara grabbed the Questing Beast, and tossed it into the void by its tail.
Laura rode the Griffin straight for the tear in the veil, jumping to one side and yanking the chains off of the huge apparition as it sailed into the next dimension. Clark picked up the Quetzalcoatl, and tossed it effortlessly through the open veil as well.
Canary, Bart, AC, and Oliver chased the gladiators and knights through the canyon and into the dimensional shift, as Zatanna produced a fifty-foot illusionary gold dragon to speed them along. Chloe was starting to falter, as she fell back to earth and balanced on one knee.
The size of the rift began to recede until it was barely the size of a semi tractor and trailer. A single shadowy creature appeared near the rapidly closing veil's edge. It had golden wings and a golden facial helmet. Its figure was petite and obviously female.
"Close the veil, Chloe!" Clark ordered as she fell to both knees. "No! Wait just one more second!" Hawkman growled as he flew to meet the onrushing apparition. He grabbed the creature by both hands, and pulled her out, just as the void was about to close on her thin waist.
They tumbled to the ground at Oliver's feet. "Chloe! Remove the helmet!" He yelled just as she fell flat on her back on the gravely sand. With a huge effort, Chloe removed the helmet, placing it on the ground at her side. Her costume disappeared, and her ragged clothing reappeared.
Clark was the first to help her up, physically carrying her away from the helmet. Carter picked up Dr. Fate's helmet and placed it under one arm, simultaneously helping the woman to her feet. "Everyone, this is my wife, and the love of all my lives, Shayera Hol."
"Greetings, humans." Shayera said in a coarse voice. "Carter! You had no right to endanger Chloe's life like that!" Clark shouted. "Clark, relax! I'm fine!" Chloe reassured him. "You'd do the same thing if the love of your life could be brought back to you!" Carter snapped.
"Who'd have thought that the chicken man would have a soft spot for his love?" Laura teased. "How'd you know where to find Shayera?" Carter grunted, and dismissed her with a wave. "Because we have a bond so strong that it spans time and space itself." Shayera informed them.
"Chloe? That's your name?" Shayera addressed her benefactor. She nodded, and wobbly approached the winged alien. "Thank you for saving my life." Shayera bowed regally, and removed her golden mask. She had the beauty worthy of a queen, and long, flowing, reddish brown hair. "Where exactly were you?" AC prodded.
"I was lost in the Forgotten Realm." Shayera replied. "The space within the void where beings exist outside of your current reality." Zatanna nodded in agreement. "The Magic Realm." Bart patted his stomach. "All this excitement has made me hungry. Who's up for a quick trip to Mexico for a good burrito or three?" Gold Wing gave him a high five. "I'm there. Race ya!" Bart and Laura disappeared in a flash of speed.
"You said humans?" Oliver challenged Shayera. "Where are you originally from?" Shayera held Carter's hands as they embraced. "We were born over three thousand of your years ago. Our exploration ship crash-landed on Earth. We were from a far off planet called Thanagar." Clark and Kara exchanged glances.
"There are other civilizations out there!" Kara exclaimed. "Yeah, we knew about Jon Jonz, but he was from Earth's own solar system." Clark added excitedly. "You two are alien to this world?" Shayera gasped. "You are looking at arguably the last two survivors from the doomed planet, Krypton." Chloe boasted, as Oliver hugged her.
"Not to break up this happy reunion." Canary began. "But we should all get back to work. I'm sure that there are other major threats out there." She urged, eager to leave the Chloe and Oliver romance in the desert sand.
On the other side of the veil, at the edge of darkness, several shadowy beings watched with disgust as the torn rift between space, time, and a myriad of dimensions began to close. They spoke with each other in a language never heard by humans.
"So the humans and off worlders are beginning to work together. This is not good news." One multi-legged shadow creature said. "The master will be most displeased." A secondary shadow creature replied as the last flicker of light from the door to Earth's dimension went dark.
In Smallville, Lois was just getting back to her apartment above the Talon. She'd practically smiled all the way home. Still on a high from the excitement of the day, she was beginning to settle down and digest the magnitude of the day's events.
Lois kicked off her shoes, and leapt onto the bed. I need to be in the city near Clark, she thought. Unless he's planning to keep living at the farm, then the commute would be outrageous! She silently debated, before kicking her legs up in the air and whooping loudly.
It's all coming together! Lois's mind continued to race. Clark and the Blur are one! I can't believe it! How can I fit into his life? I wonder if he really would give me the exclusive story when he's ready. Lois had given up on getting to sleep early. The excitement had been too much for her.
"Oh hell!" She grumbled aloud. "What did I do with Clark's ring?" Lois muttered as she tossed some clothes around in her bedroom. "I'm just damn lucky that he didn't curse me out for not wearing it." Lois, why are you talking to yourself? She asked silently.
"Here it is!" She happily announced to the empty room. Lois quickly placed the shiny ring with the bright blue stone at its center on her finger. Now I can sleep well tonight. She mused, and mentally started to come down off the high. She finally crashed out around midnight.
The next morning Lois showed up at the office as per usual. She hadn't a clue how to act when Clark would come in. She kept herself busy with updating their Centro Park story, and doing some filing. Finally, Clark strolled in around 9 AM. Lois darted toward their shared desk.
"Morning!" Lois quickly kissed Clark on the cheek, and he returned the affectionate gesture. "How'd it go, yesterday? Did you and Ollie save the world?" She asked half seriously. "Yep. Pretty much." Clark tried to downplay the bizarre event.
Watchtower's next.