Chapter Six
The next day, Clark did his rounds of apologies. First he went to see Pete, who he figured would be the easiest. Next he found Lana in the Talon.
She seemed so pleased to see him that Clark allowed her to kiss him before he came to his senses. It felt nice not to face accusations.
"Lana," he finally said, finding the strength to pull away.
"Clark, I was so worried about you. Where were you?"
"It's a long story."
"Don't worry, I've got time," she smiled.
"Lana..."
"What's wrong?" she said, sounding concerned. "What happened?"
He couldn't tell her the truth because he couldn't live with the betrayal he'd see in her eyes.
"Lana, I can't explain. I just want you to know that I'm sorry I left like I did."
Lana wondered what was so bad that he couldn't tell her about it.
"It's okay, Clark, as long as you're back now. We can sort everything else out later."
"Lana," he couldn't find it within himself to say that words that would end their relationship. "We'll talk later, I promise but right now I have to be somewhere."
"Oh. Okay," she stepped away from him, looking hurt.
"Lana, I'm sorry."
"No, it's okay. Now that you're back, you must have quite a few people to see."
Clark could tell that it wasn't all right but he'd put off seeing Chloe for long enough already. He couldn't keep avoiding her forever.
III
Chloe's hand hesitated on the door to the Talon; she felt like she'd been punched in the solar plexus.
Clark was back and in true Clark fashion, he had gone straight to Lana. The sight of them kissing was too much to bear and she turned away, running down the street, her vision blurred by tears.
III
"Mr Edge, we've located the boy, he's just entered the school building."
"And Miss Sullivan is there too?"
"Yes."
"Bring them to me. Use force if you have to but I want them alive."
III
The Torch office was locked but he could see Chloe was inside through the small window in the door. He knocked but she didn't answer.
"Go away, Kal" she said without looking up. He saw her wipe her eyes and knew she was crying.
"Chloe, please, I have to talk to you."
"Don't worry, I won't tell Lana."
"That's not why I'm here. Please, Chloe, just hear me out."
"I don't have to hear you out. I don't have to do anything and if you have even a shred of respect left for me, you'll go and leave me to deal with this on my own."
"Chloe, I'm sorry," he said, glad that term hadn't started yet so the building was empty. "The things I did and said to you were unforgivable."
"Why bother apologising if you don't deserve forgiveness?"
"Chloe, if you'll just let me explain-"
"Explain?" she turned towards him and he could see how upset she was. She stormed over to the door and threw it open. "Do you want to explain this to my dad?" she asked, removing her cardigan and scarf so he could see her bruises. The most recent one on her forearm was still black. "Do you want to explain how you can spend the summer fucking me, both literally and figuratively, then the moment you get back into town start making out with Lana again? Do you want to explain why red meteor rocks turn you into an asshole? Do you want to explain how you can move so fast that you appear out of thin air?"
No, he didn't want to explain any of that but he knew he had to without telling her too much.
"Chloe, Lana kissed me."
"It didn't exactly look like you were fighting her off," she scoffed and walked over to the coffee pot.
Clark risked stepping further into the office.
"And believe it to not, Kal, Lana is welcome to you as fas as I'm concerned. I just want to know how you can justify your behaviour."
"I can't," he admitted. He placed his hand on her shoulder and rubbed the bruises he found there. The fact that they fit his hand print exactly was disturbing.
She moved away from him as though he'd burned her and pulled her cardigan back on.
"Chloe, I don't want to hurt you."
Chloe closed her eyes and swallowed.
"Strangely enough, I believe you, Kal," she said as her tears leaked from beneath her eyelids.
"It's Clark," he said "Kal's gone."
She opened her eyes and met his gaze. The pain her saw there broke his heart.
"If only his actions could be erased so easily." She sighed. "But whether you want to or not, you do hurt me. I know I share the responsibility for my behaviour in Metropolis, but you can't deny that you were manipulating me. Not to mention that I'm pretty sure that you spiked my drink on more than one occasion."
He couldn't deny it.
"Chloe, I wasn't myself."
After the intimacy they had shared in Metropolis, Clark was finding it difficult to keep his hands off her. He didn't have erotic intentions, he just wanted to hold her and sooth away some of her pain. He risked touching her shoulder again and was relieved when she didn't pull away.
"Kal- Clark, drugs can alter your perception but they don't make you do things you don't want to do."
"I wasn't on drugs, it was the meteor rock."
"I know that, but those desires and urges came from somewhere and unless those rocks are suddenly sentient, I'm going to guess they came from you!"
"Maybe they did," he admitted. "Maybe there is a part of me that wants to be that guy, to do what he did. Everyone has a dark side, Chloe."
"I get that, Clark, but why did you chose me as the object of your games? Why not Lana or Lex or Pete?"
"Pete doesn't look as good in a dress as you," he said, trying to lighten the mood but he only succeeded in wringing fresh tears from her. He took a deep breath. "Because I knew that I could trust you."
"But you abused that trust, Clark."
"I know, and I'm so sorry."
Chloe shook her head sadly and sat on the edge of the desk.
"Clark, did..." she had been wondering about this for a few weeks. She didn't want to believe it was true but given what she'd seen before she came home, now she was almost certain. "Did you rob those banks?"
"You knew?"
"I suspected," she answered.
"Why haven't you turned me in?"
"I don't know," she said so softly he almost didn't hear her.
Neither spoke for a while as they each wondered where they went from here.
"Why did you put the ring on, Clark? After the bizarre way you acted when we got our class rings, you must have known how it would affect you?"
Clark rested next to her on the desk.
"Do you remember that explosion on the farm, the one that caused my Mom to lose the baby?"
"Yeah."
"That was my fault," he said, his gaze fixed on the floor. "My parents have always wanted more children and they were so pleased when they found out she was pregnant; they didn't think she could have kids. She lost that baby because of me and I couldn't handle that."
"So you used the meteor rock to turn you into an asshole and hurt your parents even further, not to mention Lana, Pete and me. Good plan." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.
"I wasn't thinking straight."
Chloe let out a long sigh and looked up at the ceiling.
"I hate you," she said softly.
"I know," he answered, his voice full of sorrow.
"But I still love you." Even as she spoke the words she wondered why she was telling him that, giving him power over her again. She knew why though, so that Clark would still have hope and wouldn't give up on their friendship.
"I love you too, Chloe."
Chloe didn't exactly disbelieve him but she knew he didn't love her the same way that she loved him.
"Can we get past this?" he asked.
Chloe finally looked at him.
"I don't know," she said truthfully.
Just then the door to the Torch opened and a man stood in the doorway.
"I'm sorry," Chloe said, standing up and wiping her eyes. "The school is closed."
"I'm here to see you," he answered smoothly. "My boss would like a word with you both."
Clark X-rayed him and saw the gun he was carrying, concealed in a shoulder holster. He looked towards the other door. It was still locked and the man who had been covering that exit was moving to join his companion. He also had a gun.
"Who's your boss?" Chloe asked.
"Morgan Edge. I believe you two know him?"
"I'm sorry," Chloe feigned ignorance. "Never heard of him."
"Don't play games, Chloe," he said, as his partner joined him in the doorway. "Mr Edge knows all about you. He's a little upset that you two took his money then tried to put him in jail."
Her mind was reeling. Her article had been published under a pseudonym and the only person at the Planet who knew she had written it was the Editor, Max Taylor. She knew he would never betray her.
"I don't know where you're getting your information from but whoever it is, they're spinning you a tall tale."
"Your friends at the paper might have been closed lipped but the DA's office was much more helpful. Public officials really aren't paid enough, are they?"
Chloe swallowed down her fear and continued to look him in the eye as he pulled his gun out of it's holster and held down it at his side. Clark positioned himself in front of Chloe and they both began to back away slowly.
"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," he said, checking the magazine on his gun as his partner also took out his firearm.
Clark looked back at Chloe.
"Do you trust me?" he asked, looking back at her.
Chloe looked into his eyes. The rational side of her wanted to say no but she couldn't deny it, she did trust him. She nodded.
Everything happened so quickly that Chloe didn't have time to register things as they happened, she could only survey the aftermath.
Both thugs were on the ground, unconscious with Clark standing over them. Their guns were gone but Chloe had heard two gunshots, which just happened to correspond to two holes in Clark's shirt. Only Clark wasn't bleeding, he didn't look hurt at all.
"Clark?" she asked.
"Stay here, I'm going to see if they had company."
Then he disappeared.
Chloe knew she should call the police but she wanted answers before she called them. Clark returned less than five seconds later.
"There were two more in the parking lot, but don't worry, I took care of them."
"What just happened?" she asked him. Now that the ordeal was over she could feel the adrenalin wearing off and she began to shake.
"We need to get you somewhere safe."
"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me the truth," she said. "Do you honestly believe that if you tell me you're a meteor freak that I could think any less of you than I already do?"
"I'm not a meteor freak, Chloe," he said, taking a deep breath. "I'm an alien."
"Fine, don't tell me." Chloe turned away, thinking he was making a joke.
"Chloe, I promise I will explain everything later but right now we have to get you somewhere safe."
Without waiting for her to reply, he picked her up and whisked her off to the Farm.
When Chloe managed to focus on something, she found herself in Clark's loft. He gently set her down on the sofa.
"Wow," was all she said but Clark couldn't read her expression.
"Chloe, I need to call the police. Stay here, okay?"
Chloe nodded and Clark disappeared again, literally. She tucked herself into the corner of the couch so that she was facing the steps and she pulled her knees up to her chin.
She felt like she had information overload. Morgan Edge knew who she was and was trying to kill her. Oh, and Clark was a meteor freak of some description. Unfortunately she couldn't focus on any one topic for long enough to form a plan of action. She needed a strong coffee to help sooth her frayed nerves.
Almost as soon as that thought occurred to her, Clark appeared in front of her brandishing a take out coffee from the Talon.
"Please tell me that's for me," she said.
He handed it over and smiled as she lifted the lid and inhaled deeply.
"You know me too well," she said, taking a sip, then blushing as she remembered exactly how well he knew her now. "Anyway, thanks."
"You're welcome. The police are on their way to the school."
Chloe nodded.
"And I promised I'd tell you about me."
Chloe looked up, surprised and interested.
"I wasn't joking, Chloe, I'm not from Earth. My ship landed during the meteor shower."
Chloe looked cynical.
"My people are dead, they died when my planet was destroyed but my biological father sent me to Earth to save me. He also created an artificial intelligence that he put into the ship. It told me I had to leave everyone that I love and begin my training."
"What training?" Chloe asked.
"The ship told me I was sent here to rule. I think the training is for that."
"Clark Kent, ruler of Earth?" she said sarcastically.
Clark tried not to be offended by her disbelief.
"I'm sorry, Clark," she said, seeing his pain. "But no matter how many awesome powers you have, I can't think of anyone who's less power hungry."
Clark smiled slightly, agreeing with her assessment.
"Anyway. that's why I destroyed the ship. I didn't know that it would cause the explosion."
Chloe reached out and took his hand. Clark smiled and gave her hand a squeeze.
"So what about the weird scar," she asked, "Is that related?"
"It's my family symbol. The ship branded me with it so I'd never forget who my real father was."
Unconsciously, Clark began rubbing Chloe's hand with his thumb.
"So what was with the name change?"
"Like I said, it's my birth name, Kal-El."
"And the caves you're so fascinated by?"
"The symbols on the walls are the language from my world."
"But those caves are hundreds of years old."
"I know. I don't understand it all but I guess that I'm not the first Kryptonian to come to Earth."
"Krip-tony-an?"
"That's my race. My planet was called Krypton."
"Wow. And I suppose your moon was named argon and the sun was called neon?" she joked.
"Chloe, I'm not lying."
"No, I believe you," she assured him. "It's just a lot to take in. So, you can move faster than I can see and are apparently bullet proof. Do you have any other powers under that simple farm boy exterior?"
"Well, I'm strong enough to lift a tractor with ease, I see through things and I have heat vision."
"Wow, that's quite some arsenal. So you really could see the ring in my hand."
"Chloe, I understand if you feel differently about me after this and if you need some time-"
"Clark, believe me, the fact you are an alien is... well yeah, it's a lot to process but it doesn't change who you are."
"Does that mean you're still mad at me?"
Chloe looked down at their joined hands and pulled hers out of his grip. Clark regretted reminding her of why she was upset with him.
"Honestly? I don't know how I feel right now." She said. "Let's solve the whole megalomaniac-out-to-kill-us problem, then we can talk."
Clark nodded.
"The police will probably be here any minute," she said. "And I left my scarf at the Torch."
"I'll see if my Mom has one you can borrow," Clark said, walking at human pace back to the house.
He and Chloe might not be friends again yet but her anger and the fear he'd had that she might not forgive him served to teach him just how important she was to him. She'd always just been Chloe, his best girl friend. Now she was... So much more.
She was right about where his desires had come from and he did want Chloe as more than just a friend. He now realised that he wanted her mind, body and soul.
Of course he'd had that in Metropolis and he had badly abused her loyalty to him. He realised that she might never trust him completely again but he had to try.
And now she knew everything, there were no more secrets between them and that felt good. He had worried for so long about how she'd take finding out about him and the relief he felt at her acceptance was amazing. If possible he felt even lighter than he had while wearing the red K.
But as he looked through the cupboard for a scarf he was reminded of exactly why he he needed it. Every time he looked at her he could see those ugly marks. Even when she covered them he knew where they were.
Once again he kicked himself for him monumental stupidity and vowed to make things right.
III
The four men at the school had been arrested and Sheriff Adams said they all had outstanding warrants so regardless of what happened in this case, they would be off the streets for a while.
She was less helpful when it came to Morgan Edge's involvement. The hitmen weren't talking and it was just two high school kids word against his.
While they were interviewed, Chloe covered for Clark as best she could, claiming she'd helped take them on. Sheriff Adams seemed suspicious at times but didn't directly contradict them.
Chloe assured her that her memory was hazy and she might be remembering things incorrectly.
The Kent's had been in town but word spreads quickly in a small town and they arrived home just moments after the sheriff.
Gabe Sullivan was called and he turned up with Lana. Chloe hugged her dad as Lana hugged Clark. Chloe watched them closely and was ashamed to say she was pleased that Clark looked uncomfortable.
Clark took Lana up to the loft and Mr and Mrs Kent led Gabe and Chloe inside and made a pot of coffee for them.
Gabe wanted Chloe to go home with him but it was the Kent's who argued that it was better if she and Clark stayed together. They obviously knew of Clark's gifts but they used the argument that it was harder to sneak up on a farmhouse.
Gabe looked to his daughter. He had known for a while now that she was allowing him to make parental decisions so he still felt like a part of her life, but the reality was that she'd had to grow up fast when her mother left and Chloe had been her own woman for years. In the end staying here or going home would be her decision.
"Sweetheart, what would you rather do?"
"They knew who I was, Dad, but they didn't know Clark's name. I think they'll have a hard time finding me here." She had no idea if they knew Clark's real name or not, but either way it was a good argument.
"Okay." He smiled and patted her hand.
"Dad, just... Be careful, okay? I know the Sheriff is going to leave a car outside tonight but-"
"We will, honey. You be careful too, and don't make a nuisance of yourself."
Chloe smiled, knowing he was teasing.
"Do you need clothes?" he asked.
"If they know where Chloe lives, it's probably best you don't come back until this is over," Mrs Kent said. "I'm sure I have something she can borrow."
Gabe didn't look happy but he accepted it.
"Let's just hope the DA arrests Edge sooner rather than later," Chloe said.
When he and Lana left, Chloe called Max at the Planet and told him what was happening. She couldn't go back to work there until things were safe again, but she assured him she would email an article about it by this evenings deadline.
When she hung up Martha and Jonathan were waiting to talk to her.
"Clark told us what happened in Metropolis," Martha began. "Thank you, for looking after him."
Chloe smiled weakly. "I'm not sure how much looking after I did, but you're welcome."
"And thank you for the money," Jonathan added, handing her the envelope of cash that she'd sent. "I'm afraid we couldn't use it but the gesture isn't something we'll forget any time soon."
Chloe nodded. "I just wish I could do more to help."
"You brought our son home to us, we can't ask for anything more." Martha smiled. "What will you do with the money?"
"I don't know," Chloe shrugged. "Give it to charity, maybe?"
"That sounds like a good idea," Martha smiled.
"So, any chance I can borrow a computer for a while to write my article on?"
"Are you sure it's a good idea to continue writing about this?" Martha asked.
"I don't know," Chloe shrugged. "But I do know that writing helps me make sense of the chaos."
"Okay. Well I'll go change the sheets on Clark's bed for you. Feel free to use the computer and make yourself at home."
"Thanks. I really appreciate you taking me in."
Jonathan went out to the farm, Martha headed upstairs and Chloe settled down on Clark's computer to write her story while trying not to think what about what Clark and Lana might be up to in the loft.