A/N: I want to thank whoever has been sending me reviews. It's very encouraging to read them. :) Thanks!

Also edits.

Chapter 17

This wasn't his first time questioning someone. It was however a novel experience to interrogate one he had considered a friend or at least a companionable acquaintance.

It was all in place. Lois had driven from Smallville and stayed up the entire night to plan. An impromptu visit to his mother was their excuse. His mom had already been informed of the situation and decided that she was not fit to be a part of the interrogation, citing she would probably threaten Melissa with violence long before she opened her mouth to explain. So she had picked up an early morning shift that Sunday.

Regardless of Clark's description of the conversation and how it suggested Melissa's unwilling contribution in the affair, she and Lois had both remained less than magnanimous toward the young woman. Lois, however, had been calm and confident about her ability to question Melissa as she was accustomed to handling possibly uncooperative sources especially those she found distasteful. For her, as long as they had airtight evidence she knew that she could crack anybody. In fact, she thrived on difficult sources and even took pleasure from weeding the truth out of them. His mild-mannered cover aside Clark usually shared her confidence, but at that moment he was less enthusiastic about confronting Melissa.

He knew he was right, but this was far too personal. Angry though he was, he strove to control it and did not wish to take it out on Melissa. His ire fell short of his mother's and Lois' fury, but it was probably because they hadn't heard what he had. They hadn't heard the desperation in her voice when she asked repeatedly for her work to be finished; how she passionately defended him and his honor; how she seemed to admire him. Her defense of him was what he expected from his mother or Lois. It was touching to hear it from almost a stranger. His anger, therefore, was tempered by empathy and gratitude. Besides, there was no way to know the full situation until they talked to Melissa. All of him understood and accepted this, but nothing was more difficult than greeting her cheerfully when they met at the door. The violation of his privacy was too fresh of a wound to be completely genuine in his friendliness, but he didn't want to scare her off either.

For that reason when he heard her walking down the stairs, he smiled at her. Even though he knew that it was a little strained, he meant it. She returned it, albeit a little tentatively. By the wary looks she was casting Lois he surmised that Melissa sensed something was off. As Lois had been civil, but cold, and his mom had simply ignored her presence, she hadn't spent much time with them the previous evening and instead had taken her laptop to the local library. Therefore that morning when she descended the stairs, Clark wasn't surprised it was with a slow gait. As she finally reached the landing, her eyes darted back and forth between him and Lois in utter confusion and trepidation. Before she could run or make an excuse to leave for the day, Clark stood to greet her.

He took a deep breath; he was ready to do this. Looking at Lois, he could tell she was as well, but with a far darker determination.

"Could we have a talk, Melissa?" he said in a friendly tone.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lois' irritated face at the niceties. But Melissa was standing as still as a statue and was eyeing the door.

"Actually, I think should go," she said a little warily.

"Without breakfast?" he asked as he moved to block her path.

She shrugged and smiled uncomfortably. "I'll pick something up."

"There's no point in that. My mom made pancakes," he insisted.

"I-"

"Please, Melissa, sit," he said more firmly this time.

After another moment's hesitation she finally relented and sat in the chair at the far end of the table. Clark sat down across from her and Lois remained standing. An awkwardness hung in the air and Clark smiled nervously.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine. You?" she asked with an attempt at an easy smile, but her eyes were painted with obvious confusion.

"Fine."

She looked at Lois for a moment, but said nothing. Clark took another deep breath. There was no point in dragging this out.

"Do you know why we're having this conversation, Melissa?"

"No," she answered.

"Are you sure?" Clark asked. Things would be so much easier if she just confessed.

She nodded, looking at him with increasing perplexity.

He cleared his throat.

"We know, Melissa."

She arched her eyebrow questioningly.

Clark had to hold back an exasperated sigh. "We know about you spying on me."

As she looked between Lois and Clark, her face went blank. Then she burst into a laughter that shook her shoulders. Lois and Clark shared an incredulous look; that was not the reaction they had expected.

"What are you talking about?" she asked gasping a little as she calmed down. "Why would I be spying on you of all people? Clark, you are the most normal man I know."

Clark sighed, but he said patiently, "I heard you on the phone. You were talking about me."

"You've listened to my phone conversations?" she said with a slight angry edge.

Clark couldn't help feeling annoyed. Considering the current conversation, she had some nerve to find offence at her privacy being violated. When Clark spoke, his voice expressed this displeasure.

"Yes. I heard you talking about how you wanted to stop. How you didn't want to lie to me or any of us anymore."

All the color drained from her face.

"Care to explain that?"

She crossed her arms defiantly, but her eyes displayed her nervousness. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't, Melissa," he said staring at her firm enough for her to know that he was serious, but soft enough for her to know she was safe to be honest. Still he could see her calculating the situation. Looking for a plausible lie or dodge, but he knew there was none and he could tell she knew it too.

"Okay," she admitted softly, "I was spying on you."

"Why?" Lois asked a little harshly.

"I didn't have a choice!" she said defensively.

"What do you mean 'was'?" Clark asked.

She sighed a little defeated. "At first it was just the spying, but after the attack on you, he changed my assignment to also watch out for your Mom."

"You're my bodyguard?" he asked disbelieving. Melissa was a very fit girl, but he found it highly unlikely that she could serve as a competent bodyguard.

"Your mom's," she corrected.

"Who's 'he'? The man you spoke to," Lois asked with an edge.

She deflated a little bit. "I can't tell you who he is."

"Why the hell not?" Lois demanded.

Clark looked at Melissa again and he could almost feel the fear seeping from her. She had said she didn't have a choice. There was more to this. He placed a hand on Lois' arm.

"What did you mean by you not having a choice?" he asked gently.

"He's blackmailing me."

He wasn't familiar enough with the government to know if they would stoop to that level, but honestly, he wouldn't be surprised considering they kidnapped Lois and detained her without her rights being addressed. Still, Melissa was a highly accomplished young woman, what could be so damning to her?

"With what? Did you cheat on a test or something?" Lois asked sharply.

"No," she said laughing a little bit, like she would rather have it be something as mundane as an academic policy violation. "It's something much worse."

Clark softened even more. He was right: she was in danger. He had to help her.

"What is it?" Lois dug into her some more.

She rolled her eyes. "Kind of the point of blackmail. I don't want anyone to know."

Lois sighed exasperated. "Then who is blackmailing you?"

"I can't tell you."

Lois looked at Clark irritably. "Is there anything you can tell us?"

She shook her head a little. "Let's just assume I can't tell you much."

Clark sighed. This was getting them no where, besides it was as he had originally thought: Melissa was not an actual threat to him. She seemed at war with herself and wanting desperately to tell him what was going on. He looked to Lois and saw that she wasn't too happy about the situation either. Although she appeared to keep her anger, he sensed it ebbing.

With a tortured look, Melissa turned to Clark, beseeching him. "You have to understand that I would never hurt you. I wanted to stop, but what he has on me...it could destroy my life."

"Listen-" He placed a hand on Lois' shoulder before she tore into the young woman at that comment. He understood; having someone untrustworthy know his secret could destroy their lives. He loved her for her protection of him and her loyalty, but sometimes she could be a little intense.

"It's okay, Melissa," he said gently. "Just...it's important that you tell us what you can."

A flash of gratitude passed over her eyes, as she started her story.

"The man I work for approached me in Gotham at a benefit for families affected by Zod's invasion. He said he knew my record in academia and wanted me for an internship in one of the divisions of his company. I accepted immediately. I didn't know that it had strings attached."

His company? That ruled out the government. Who ran a company and would want information on Superman? There was Lex Luthor and certainly he didn't like him, but the voice on the phone was unaltered. Clark would have recognized his voice immediately if it had been Lex.

"He confronted me in his office," she continued, "telling me he was starting something big and that he needed talented people like me, but he doesn't trust people unless he has caught them in something," she finished soberly.

Clark furrowed his brow. "I don't understand."

"He's not the most personable man. When it comes to certain things, he makes sure he has leverage."

That's how he garners trust? Clark thought incredulously. What kind of person would do such a thing? Thinking back to when Lois and he first met, he could never have imagined pulling such a trick to win her silence. Instead he appealed to her heart and her good nature, as he always would towards everyone.

Talented people. Clark's head snapped up at the sudden realization.

"What is he planning?" Lois asked gravely.

"He didn't say. I think he wants you to be a part of it, though," she said nodding to Clark.

Clark was slightly taken aback. From the start, he believed that he was being observed as a possible threat not an ally. Again his mind went to Lex, but that voice hadn't been his.

"How do you know that?"

"Why else would I be your Mom's bodyguard?"

Clark nodded. "That makes sense. But if he wants my help, why haven't I heard anything about this?"

Even Lex had asked him outright. What was this guy's problem?

"Again, not a personable man," she replied. "He's skeptical of humanity, but he understands it. You're a wild card and he doesn't like that. He thinks you're too powerful to be implicitly trusted."

Whoever this person was, he didn't want to make teasing this knot apart easy. "So he knows who I am. Why hasn't he done anything about it?"

She shook her head. "He doesn't want to destroy you; he wants to understand you. That's why he sent me. He just wanted me to watch you and tell him what happened. He wanted to know every detail about your life here and how you were raised."

"Is there anyone else?" Lois asked. Clark wondered the same and instantly thought of Kassandra. It would be sensible to place someone wherever he frequented and their suspicions of Kassandra certainly placed her in potential candidates of office subterfuge. If it was her, then this person was also the author of the message. Clark wondered that if she was involved was she being blackmailed.

"That I definitely don't know. But my guess would be yes. Why?"

Although Clark believed her story, he wasn't going to tell her about the message Lois had received. Or their suspicions about Kassandra. He couldn't run the risk of Melissa informing her employer Melissa had said her employer was planning something that could involve him. In what way? But for what purpose? He wanted to learn how he was raised. To determine his character? Or was it just so this man would have enough dirt on him to control him? Then also there was the question of why this man would want to protect his mother. Perhaps to gain his trust? Or put him in his debt? There were too many questions.

"Are you sure that's all you know?" Lois asked more patiently this time.

She nodded. "He doesn't tell me any more than my own assignments."

Lois and Clark shared a look. Although her anger had eased, her skepticism had not.

"Listen," Melissa said obviously ashamed, "I am sorry. I didn't want to spy on you. And I'm sorry that I can't tell you more."

Clark gave her a reassuring look. Her lying aside, she had proven her loyalty by being silent about his secret identity. She could have used that information to destroy him, yet she had stayed and had even been willing to protect his family. Her story had confirmed his suspicions that she was acting against her will.

"It's alright. Thank you Melissa. We'll figure out who he is."

"The guest list of that benefit in Gotham is a good place to start," Lois said with a gleam of journalistic intrigue shining in her eyes.

"Right. We can run a background check on all of them to see if they are connected to any...dubious activities."

Although he was determined to solve this mystery, he didn't share Lois' excitement. In fact he felt a heated anger. It was obvious that this man wasn't afraid of him. Clark had faced few foes that were so unabashedly confident in their resolve, but to actually rope his family into his game either meant he was very stupid or annoyingly conceited. He felt a heat behind his eyes at this elusive person. He thought that he could toy with him and his family. And Melissa was just a girl that got mixed up in all of this. He vowed to discover the fiend behind this no matter how long it took.

"Wait!" Clark and Lois turned around surprised. Melissa had an odd look on her face: fierce and determined.

"I may not be able to tell you who he actually is, but maybe I can tell you about his other identity."

"Who is he?" Clark asked in earnest.

"He is in Gotham. And you've probably heard of him. He's someone who beats crime lords in his spare time, has a fetish for capes, and likes bats."