Whisper Part 3

At the Daily Planet…

Chloe chugged down the last of her third cup of coffee as she shuffled through the rotating doors of the Daily Planet. The commute was the hardest part of her internship. Finishing her work on time was easy enough, but then it was two hours there and back to hand everything in. The young reporter was trying to make the most of her time there and needed to use the established paper's resources to check-in on Lana's alleyway attacker. Chloe couldn't believe how long it took Lana to tell her what happened. But she really couldn't blame Lana. It wasn't like she had been around a lot. Writing for the Daily Planet, school, running the Torch, and scrounging up dirt on one Lionel Luthor took up a lot of time.

The elevator chimed when Chloe reached her floor. The journalists not glued to their phones or to their desks were standing around a fold out table that had a now half-eaten cake on it. That could either mean someone's birthday, or someone had completed a rather difficult story. Chloe figured she would swing by for a few seconds to be social, but only after she first stopped at her desk.

Which had already been neatly packed into a box. Her yellow "Go Crows" high school mug and nameplate rested at the very top.

"Tough break, Sullivan." Max Taylor, her work neighbor said. He walked over with a plate of cake. "Gotta say, I'm impressed. Not even eighteen and already you've made some powerful enemies. Cake?"

"I'm good." Chloe tried to hold back tears. She knew it was Lionel's doing and not her writing skills that were in question. But it still hurt. Working at the Daily Planet had always been her dream. And now it was over.

"Hey, chin up, sport. You're a decent writer, and with your attitude, you'll end up on top."

"Thanks, Max. Hey, before I head out for good, did that…"

Max grabbed a manila envelope from his top drawer. "Yeah, it came. Props on the prank, but I'm not falling for it."

"You read it?" Chloe huffed. Journalists could be so cutthroat. "It wasn't addressed to you."

"It's not addressed to you either, Lois Lane."

"Lois Lane is my cousin. I'll use her name if I want to." The envelope was squished into the box between her binders and stapler. Chloe picked up the box, blinked back tears, and walked back towards the elevator with her head held high. "Nice working with you, Max."

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

The car ride was enough time for Chloe to cry all her tears. The first place she went to was the Torch office. Her schedule had cleared and that gave her some much needed extra time to get the next Torch edition ready. The headline was the robbery that had happened at the jewelry store, along with the reappearance of the Smallville Shooter. With Clark getting used to his new condition, Chloe wasn't going to push him for his assignments. Clark managed to forward her one finished article and his notes on the other two. Chloe was finding Clark's newly established commitment to the Torch pleasingly heartwarming.

Chloe flicked on the switch and saw Lionel Luthor was waiting for her.

"Mr. Luthor," Chloe shook off her surprise. "I take it I have you to thank for my pink slip."

"You didn't expect to continue to reap the rewards of an agreement where you didn't hold up your side of the bargain, did you? That's why I've thought of a new agreement we can have."

"No. No more deals. I'm done spying for you."

"No spying. I just need you to get me something. In fact, if you get me this, I'll consider this matter closed."

"And this miraculous MacGuffin would be?"

"I want a blood sample from Clark Kent."

"What?"

"You heard me." Lionel Luthor stared at her with a look of resolve. "Just a few drops on a napkin will do."

"I don't understand."

"All you need to understand, Ms. Sullivan, is that if you don't, your father will be fired. And he will find it very difficult to even get the position of dishwasher. Do you understand me?" Lionel Luthor spoke calmly and stared the young girl down. There was no mistaking the force and resolve behind his threats.

"Yes." Chloe hated how her voice trembled. But between just losing her dream position hours earlier, and having her father threatened, her uneasiness was understandable.

Satisfied his threats had met the intended mark, Lionel Luthor left.

Alone in the empty school, Chloe allowed herself to cry again in front of her computer. But only for three minutes. Lionel might think he had Chloe over a barrel, and in a way, he did. Except Lionel had unexpectedly aided Chloe in her attempt at freedom.

Chloe had gained back four more hours. And each minute of those four hours would be spent finding a way to bring down Lionel Luthor. Her eyes drifted to the manilla envelope stuffed inside the box. She opened it and within minutes understood why Max thought she was pulling a prank.

"It's only weird if you're not from Smallville," Chloe said aloud.

At Smallville High…

I need to stop by the Kent farm after my shift, Lana resolved to herself as she entered the high school.

Lana was surprised she hadn't received any injury during the robbery. Unlike Clark, who had somehow been blinded. Clark had looked so frightened when he realized his world had gone dark; and that frightened her. More than she cared to admit.

And Lana hadn't seen him since.

A similar experience had happened last year, when Clark and Mrs. Kent had come down with an unexpected disease. Lana had been there when Clark fell down the porch steps, but just couldn't bring herself to visit him after.

Seeing Clark sick, seeing him vulnerable was scary. There was a fear Lana had of everyone important in her life leaving her. It was easier to ignore Clark's illness and pretend that everything was fine. That she wouldn't lose Clark; the one good constant person in her life.

But blindness was different.

Blindness was a condition that couldn't be expected to vanish overnight. Clark's life had changed, and he needed to know his friends were there for him.

Lana needed to put her fears aside and be there for Clark.

Lana opened her locker and a flier fell out and landed at her feet. It appeared to have been stuffed through the vent. In the top left corner was Megan's photo over an enlarged image of a neck with three black lines from the ear to the jaw. The caption read "Gill Girl" in green ink at the bottom.

"Crawl back to your swamp, you freak!" someone shouted.

A commotion was coming down the next hallway where Megan's locker was. Lana looked around and saw that it was not only her locker that had received the propaganda. Fliers seemed to have been shoved into every locker and plastered on every wall.

Megan's locker was now graffitied with the word "Cheater". The girl, hands clasped around her neck, was trembling as she faced the mob in front of her. They were chanting "freak" and "cheater", and one student threw a banana peel at her face.

"Leave her alone!" A skinny teenage boy with curly brown hair put himself between Megan and the growing horde. Lana recognized him as Jordan, one of the newest students at Smallville High. He looked scared; his arms were stretched out as if to make himself look bigger.

Through the commotion, Megan looked out and her eyes met Lana's.

Lana couldn't move. She had known Megan for years. They had always been classmates. They had gone to sleepovers with each other. They had attended the same cheerleading camps. And all that time, Lana had never known the truth.

Megan was a freak.

Lana's temporary paralysis seemed to push Megan over the edge. The disgraced swim captain burst into tears and broke through the wall of students. With Megan gone and the bell ringing, the crowd began to disperse.

"Thought she was your friend."

Lana turned and saw Alicia; her locker was at the end of the hallway. Alicia avoided eye contact and continued to calmly fill her bookbag.

Lana didn't know how to respond; she couldn't find the words. She felt shocked; betrayed. Even a little scared at the revelation of the truth. But Alicia didn't give Lana time to gather her wits.

"Thought Clark was, too."

That gave Lana her voice back. "He is."

"That's funny. You haven't visited him."

Lana grit her teeth. She in no way owed this girl an explanation.

Alicia continued to talk. "Don't misunderstand me. He hasn't asked about you at all. I'm taking good care of him, and I think Clark's starting to realize who he should be with."

Lana reminded herself to count to ten. "Well, that is between me and Clark."

"I just want to prepare you for the inevitable." Now Alicia turned and gave Lana a sickly, sweet innocent smile.

Walk away. Walk away. Walk away. Lana refused to participate in the catty banter. She held her head high and walked past Alicia to the stairs. She trusted Clark. If there was anything between him and Alicia, he would tell her. Even though that was the last thing Lana wanted to hear.

Lana was about to enter her first class when a loud yelp came from the stairwell. She spun around to see Jake laying sprawled out at the bottom.

"Someone pushed me!" Jake said, rubbing the back of his head.

Lana stood up, ready to go up the stairs to see who it could have been, but her attention was caught by Alicia, smirking by her locker.

At the Luthor Mansion….

Recap:

Lex is talking with Officer Mason about his grandparent's death. Mason declares that their death wasn't an accident and encourages Lex to look at the original report.

At the Kent Farm…

Recap:

Clark is alone in his loft. He is able to pick up his parents talking inside the house. Martha is worried about Johnathan and comments on how she's noticing his health has been slipping. He shrugs it off and asks what she's working on. She explains she's applying for a tutor to help Clark. When Johnathan questions the cost that will be, she points out that both of them need to start accepting help before storming out of the kitchen.