Tuesday, January 30, 2007

AAI: Episode 104: Reparation




A/N: So, you’ve gotta be asking yourself: is the series going to be all about the Chlimmy… or the Chlark? And how long’s the Lexana gonna last? And is Lois going to die a horrific but ironic death? And is there an apocalypse coming? And, for goodness’s sake, is Clark flying yet?

Unlike Dagula-Inagehi, the arid desert of Jorja was hot under the red sun Pontikos. The Champions of Kal-El trudged across the sand, spacious but light robes covering their bodies and protecting them from the sun. Wearing the familiar turquoise Shaman’s Eye bracelet was the tall, able-bodied Groosalugg, his once long black hair now showed evidence of being cut short but allowed to grow out as of late. He was fulfilling his sacred duty as Loral’s warrior proxy, as Chloe decided to remain with Krisreo and Maddinai in their ship, acting as the command center. He looked longingly as Lois, who kept looking forward despite feeling his eyes on her back.

Also acting as a warrior proxy was the beautiful and able-bodied Kennedy Huerta, who represented Rayen, replacing Lana.

Lex caught up to Clark, who eyed him warily, the memory of their last adventure still fresh. “C’mon, Clark,” Lex began, “don’t look so paranoid. I know we haven’t been on the best of terms lately, but I want to do the right thing just like you.”

Clark smiled and tried to breathe out a sigh of relief. “Sorry, Lex, just caught up in all this,” he commented lamely. He reminded himself that Lex’s mind had been purged of the memory of his betrayal at the Kenaki palace.

If the statement sounded awkward to Lex, he didn’t make any indication of it. He lithely asked, “Tell me one thing, Kal-El, were summers this warm on Krypton?”

Clark and Pete stopped dead in their tracks. The rest looked on in confusion.

Lex took several steps forward, circling Clark like a wolf. “What, do you not like to be called by your birth name?”

Clark smiled uncomfortably. “Lex, what makes you think I’m Kal-El? Just because I’m Naman—”

Lex, smiling viciously, replied calmly, “Well, this past summer, I took Lana to the Kawatche Caves for some anthropology assignment. I returned to my mansion to find a rather curious book sitting on my desk.” He met Clark’s eyes. “At first I figured it to be some kind of practical joke. Probably my father; you know how whimsical he can be.” He held his hands out as if holding a rather large book. “The binding and the pages were made of very strange plastics, and the writing was in two languages: one was nineteenth-century British English, and the other was in the same writing as the cave walls. Well, knowing me, I hired the best linguists in the country to see if they could use the book to translate the cave walls.” This time as he paused, the rest of the team was noticeably silent. “Well, it appears the book was not a fake. My linguists were able to translate portions of the cave writings, nothing intelligible yet, but still more progress than we’ve made in years. Do you want to know what the book was about, Clark? It was about a little planet called Krypton less than a light year away from the Milky Way. There was a race of highly advanced humans living there before the planet’s super-dense core became unstable and caused the planet to explode. It said that a scientist, named Jor-El of all things, sent his infant son to Earth. He believed that under a yellow sun and lower gravity this child would demonstrate amazing powers, much like the ones Jor-El… gave you.” He spoke this last part with some doubt in his voice. “Well, if we were to assume Naman was a Kryptonian—the story fits rather nicely—well, that would explain your powers. But then I thought, if you had always had these powers, it would explain a lot of the strange occurrences that have been happening over the years, and why they all seem to involve you. Which is why…” At this, Lex pulled out the kryptonite dagger.

Clark grunted. “Not again.” He fell to the ground.

Then Lex did too as Groo knocked him upside the head.

Kennedy spoke up, “You know, I think I’m going to sit this one out. It’s probably a stupid guy thing.”

Suddenly, Groo fell to his knees, clutching the bracelet.

* * *

“Lucy?” Lois breathed, staring intently at the brunette woman near the entryway.

“Hi, Lo,” she said, trying to sound uplifting.

After taking a moment to collect her words, Lois asked, stunned, “W-what are you doing here?”

Her voice cracking, she lamely replied, “Can’t a girl visit her big sister?”

Exasperation filling her voice, Lois spat out, “Do you happen to remember what took place the last time we met? And… how did you find me?”

Lucy passively held up a wrinkled Archangel Investigations flyer. “Don’t think I wouldn’t recognize my own sister? Does Dad know what you’re doing?”

“No, and I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t tell the General.” After a brief pause, she returned to, “Where the hell have you been for the last six years?”

Lucy chuckled as she started stepping down the stairs, “Getting out from under the thumb of a German loan shark; what do you think?”

Dazed, Lana asked, “How?”

Matter-of-factly, Lucy replied, “Five hundred grand and a new Ferrari will get you started.” She shifted her eyes down to avoid eye contact with Lex.

“Speaking of which,” Lex said calmly, his tone causing Lucy’s head to snap back up, “need I remind you that that was my Ferrari you hijacked?”

Lucy casually slipped a hand in her pocket then threw Lex a set of car keys. “Brand new. Silver, just like the old one.”

Lex studied the keys in his hand. Flatly, he commented, “Miss Lane, I could fill a parking garage with these things. It’s not the car I care about; it’s about being robbed.”

“I know,” Lucy replied immediately, “but I’ve repaid you, and you’ll have to trust that these last few years have been my jail time.”

Curiously, Lex inquired, “How so?”

Reluctantly, she admitted, stumbling over her words, “For the last few years, I’ve been doing things I would rather not even mention… but I’m free now.” The relief in her voice still sounded strained.

Clark’s brow furrowed. “I thought that loan shark was arrested.”

“There’s always a bigger fish… or shark.”

Lois marched toward her sister. “I’m still a bit confused on how you repaid you debt. I mean, we’re not talking prostitution, are we?”

Indignantly, Lucy answered, “No.”

“Drugs?”

“No,” came the sharp reply.

“Money laundering?”

Exasperated, Lucy pleaded, “Lois, drop it. I’ve worked it out, okay?”

Sighing, Lois lowered her voice to a normal level, “So, what brings you to Metropolis, sis?”

Plainly, Lucy stated, “Airplane. I’m a flight attendant now. We flew into Met International last night.”

Her calmness disappearing, Lois screeched, “You said it wasn’t prostitution.”

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Oh, for goodness’s sake.”

Chloe finally approached her cousin. “It’s nice to see you again, Luce.” They hugged. “So,” she began calmly, “what’s with the sudden visit?”

“I’m just trying to get a second chance,” Lucy explained.

“Indemnity,” stated Lex.

Lucy nodded, “Yeah.”

“What?” Lois prompted, her eyes jumping between her cousin and employer.

Lucy shrugged. “Indemnity, it means… redress, reparation… paying back for my sins, you could say…”

Lois scowled. “You just had to be the smart one. Big SAT words.”

Lucy shrugged, “I got Daddy’s brains. You got Mom’s—”

“I know,” Lois cut her sister off with a smirk. “What’s it like being a flight attendant?”

“Being a prostitute would be less demeaning, and I’d make more.”

Lois eyed Lucy’s lone piece of jewelry, a clear crystal necklace, and commented on it, “That looks pretty nice.”

Rolling the jewel in her fingers, she callously stated, “Fifteen euros from a sidewalk vendor in Orleáns during a rather long layover in France. The real ones are all the rage in Paris. Look, I’ve got a two-day stay. Any chance you got a spare room in this place?”

Lana turned around, eyeing the large staircase leading up to the first floor of hotel rooms. She turned back around, and replied matter-of-factly, “I think we might be able to find one.”

* * *

Jimmy was whistling a song to himself as he confidently entered the Euryphaessa Hotel. The lobby appeared empty, so he walked over to what used to be the lounge area, only to be blindsided by a beautiful woman sitting in one of the chairs, reading. She looked up from her book and smiled at him. It was a very enchanting smile and Jimmy thought it seemed familiar somehow.

“Hi, I’m, uh, Jimmy Olsen…” His voice came out a little bit higher than he would have liked.

The stranger sweetly replied, “Hi, Jimmy, I’m Lucy Lane.”

“Like Lois’s sister?” Lucy just nodded, giving him another stupefying smile. “And Chloe’s cousin,” Jimmy remarked, “I should have seen the resemblance.”

“I don’t look anything like Chloe.”

Immediately, Jimmy stated, “You have the same beautiful smile.”

Her face filled with genuine appreciation. “Oh, that’s sweet. Jimmy, is it?”

Jimmy at this point was praying that he had remembered his antiperspirant. “Or James. I go by both.”

“Well,” her tone was a mix of sultriness and girl-next-door innocence, “if I get to choose, I’d go with ‘James.’ It has a more masculine feel while still capturing your cute personality.” She titled her head and some of her silky hair slid across her face.

Jimmy made a high-pitched noise which he covered by clearing his throat and continuing, dropping his voice half an octave, “Well, I kinda like ‘James,’ too.”

“Okay.” With another curious tilt of her head, she asked, “So, do you work here?”

“Not exactly. I work for the Daily Planet as a photographer.” Lucy gave him an interested smile at this, so he continued, “But, uh, me and Chloe work together, documenting the whole Archangel Investigations… thing.”

“Awesome, very cool,” Lucy said with full sincerity. “So, what does Chloe call you?”

Chloe took this moment to walk up and cheerfully greet, “Hey, Jimmy!”

Jimmy jumped nearly a foot in the air before spinning face Chloe. “Hey, Chlo.”

“I see you’ve met my cousin Lucy.”

Jimmy was too stunned to reply, trying to suppress guilt that came to him for reasons unknown. Lucy modestly stated for him, “Sorry. Look at me. Entertaining guests like I own the place. I’ll leave you guys to your work.”

“No,” Chloe replied, “stay here, cuz. We’ll work in my office.” Lucy nodded and returned to her book.

Chloe led Jimmy toward her office. “You seem jumpy,” she observed.

“Sorry, it’s Lucy. I can tell you’re related. You’re both beautiful and charming.”

Chloe’s next expression could have been interpreted as hurt or condescending.

Jimmy tried to recover, “What I mean is… uh, actually, I don’t know if I can say it any better…”

“Jimmy,” Chloe said flatly, “get over it.” She walked ahead, making Jimmy have to take a few leaping steps to catch up.

* * *

“So, she took her shopping?” Pete inquired, doubt thick his voice.

Lois, dumbfounded, replied, “I’m telling ya, Lana said she was going to the mall, and asked if anyone wanted to come along. Chloe, excitedly, jumped at the chance, and Lucy just wanted to stay and chat. I’m thinking transference stone.”

Clark tilted his head in consideration. “Where’s Lucy now?” he wondered.

“She said she wanted to wander around the city. She called up a friend.”

Clark shifted uncomfortably. “Look, Lois, are you sure we can trust her? I mean, last time…”

“Look,” Lois said, cutting him off, “no one knows my little sister better than I do. I haven’t given her any details about the agency… or our powers, for that matter. I’m sure she just assumes this is some kind of Mulder and Scully Incorporated that Chloe threw together. Plus, I made her take an oath.”

“An oath,” Pete repeated skeptically.

“Yeah, when Lucy and I were kids, we would exchange our deepest secret so that we could use it as blackmail if the other snitched.”

“You two had a great childhood,” Clark commented.

“Look, I have information on her that she does not want the General to find out.” She nodded superiorly. “I know how old she was when she lost her virginity.”

“What’s she got on you?” Pete asked with a grin.

“Same thing.”

* * *

Lucy squealed with laughter, taking a sip of her coffee. “You’re hilarious.”

“I didn’t mean to be,” Jimmy replied, his cheeks pink.

“Well, you’re just adorable. You don’t have to a have a sharp wit if you’ve got great delivery.”

He nodded, shifting uncomfortably, “Lucy, I feel weird about this.”

Lucy studied him, “You like Chloe, don’t you?”

“I’m crazy about her.”

“Look, we’re just a couple of friends, having coffee. You’re not with Chloe, yet, and even if you were, you’re wouldn’t be cheating, okay?”

“You think I got a chance… with her, I mean?”

Lucy feigned disbelief. “Aw, sure; you’re irresistible. Chloe doesn’t have a chance.” She took a sultry sip of her coffee. “I sure wouldn’t.”

Jimmy gulped then smiled proudly. “Thanks. You know, I’m two years older than her, but sometimes I feel like I’m ten younger.”

“You’ve got different personalities. Peace, child.” She finished off her coffee. “So, tell me, where can I get a good scoop of ice cream? I don’t know the area very well.”

Jimmy studied her for a moment, “I thought you grew up here.”

“Daddy moved us around a lot. I was really young, and we were only here only for a couple of years before he shipped me off to boarding school. Ironically, I know Switzerland like the back of my hand.”

Jimmy shifted his eyes back and forth and scooted up in his chair. “This is a big secret.” Lucy leaned in with a devious grin. Jimmy continued, “This guy is 100% local and privately owned. Makes his own ice cream. It’s incredible. I think I’ll take Chloe there.” Lucy grin morphed into a blazing smile.

* * *

There were at least six extra-large shopping bags in Lana’s hands as she entered the hotel. Chloe followed her with a couple of bags of her own and a wardrobe bag thrown over her shoulder.

Pete, from one of the seats in the lounge area, quipped, “Spending our well-earned money?”

“It was money well spent,” Lana replied almost curtly.

Chloe giggled at her tone, lugging the bag off her shoulder.

“You get yourself something pretty?” Lois asked suggestively.

“Nope, got Clark something pretty.” She unzipped the wardrobe bag, revealing a conservative blue business suit. “You good in blue.”

Clark studied it with neither appreciation nor disgust. “Thanks,” he stated flatly, “did I need one?”

“Yeah, Clark, if you have any hope of maintaining a secret identity, you’ve got to separate Clark and the Archangel.” Pausing to reach into a bag, she continued, “Which is why I also got you these.” She pulled out a pair of simple, black eyeglasses.

“My eyesight’s fine.”

Chloe’s face dropped in disbelief. “That’s an understatement from someone who can see the entire electromagnetic spectrum, telescopically, microscopically, and through things.” She stared at him. “You wouldn’t believe how different people look with glasses.”

“I love it, Chloe,” he said sincerely, “I honestly could not do this without you, and I appreciate everything you do for me.”

Chloe froze and her face blanked. Trying to hold back the flood of graciousness, she replied, “Well, it’s what I do. And thanks for noticing.” Without expression, she extended her arms, allowing Clark to take his suit. He took them and tried on the glasses. He looked straight at Chloe, his expression asking for appraisal.

“I’m gonna defer to Lana.”

“You look hot and sophisiticated,” she replied distantly, “In fact, I want to jump your bones at this very moment.”

Clark turned back to Chloe. “I’m pretty sure she’s kidding. About the second part.” Lana smirked. Chloe smirked back.

A loud growl from outside caused everyone’s heads to turn to the door.

“What was that?” Pete exclaimed.

“Mutant alligator,” Chloe predicted.

“Sound like our job,” Clark replied, zipping into superspeed. Half a second later, he was dressed in his trademark red leather duster. Pete found himself in his own trench coat and with his weapons belt around his waist.

“Forgot me,” Lois quipped, walking toward the desk, peeling off her blouse, giving Clark time to turn and race toward the door. Pete reluctantly pulled his eyes away to follow Clark. With a white tank on and saber in her hand, Lois followed. She turned to Chloe, “This’ll be exciting.”

Chloe too made her way to the door, leading Lana to comment, “What are you going to do?”

“Watch. I get a kick out of it.”

What was happening outside was very out of the ordinary. Clark, Pete, and Lois fought off an eight-foot, reptilian monster. But the real surprise was that they were aided by a woman floating in midair. Though her hair was white, she appeared young, and her body seemed to glow faintly. Balls of fiery light were thrust from her hands toward the beast. Annoyed, the beast leapt high into the air, and landed mere inches from Chloe, who luckily jumped out of the way in time. The momentum carried it into the wall of the hotel, but that did not weaken it. The beast, with heightened reflexes, spun around and pounced onto Chloe, trapping her wrists under his claws. Clark stood momentarily stunned until Pete’s call drew him toward the monster.

Though her vision was obscured, Chloe recognized the telltale breeze of Clark’s superspeed. Then, the creature screeched loudly, and as the air around her got warmer, Chloe thanked the higher powers for Clark’s heat vision. The claws relaxed and the monster soon found itself airborne, where Lois grabbed it from behind the neck and slapped it down hard onto the ground, where Pete was waiting with a sword to stab it in the neck.

Not to be easily put down, it continued to struggle, even as blood flew profusely from its neck wound. The floating witch glided down toward it and held her hand out. Pete and Lois backed up. The woman did not acknowledge them, her face instead frozen in intent concentration as she muttered in a foreign language. A yellow glow engulfed her hand and, all at once, the creature started to jerk, its limbs, moved by an unseen force, being bent at odd angles abruptly, until it finally stopped moving all together.

The witch finally released a sigh of relief. Her glowing subsided, revealing her fair skin. Her hair started to darken to rust-red color, making her age more apparent: around thirty. She turned to the five people who surrounded her in cautious awe, and she smiled sweetly. In a kindly, upbeat tone, she said, “Well, that wasn’t exactly the way I imagined us meeting, but apparently this darn Bindisu demon followed me from Arkansas. You see, it has a special taste for witches. Can you imagine?” Being met with only blank stares, she asked, “Well, it looks like that Angel didn’t inform that I’d be stopping by.” She extended her hand, “Willow Rosenberg, at your service.”

* * *

With her eyes closed, Lana sat in a white chalk circle in front of a burning white candle, a clay bowl filled with sage leaves at her feet, and a half a dozen pens and pencils laid before her. One of the pencils rolled, as if pushed by an invisible force. Then another one leapt up into the air where it shook unsteadily in the air. Then, one of the pencils suddenly shot towards Pete, who caught it without blinking. It was within an inch of impaling his sternum. “Careful, Lana, not all of us got super-reflexes.” He gave an advising look at Clark, just in time, as the rest of Lana’s pencils shot in random directions.

One shattered against Clark’s hand, held in front of Chloe’s face. The blonde gave him an appreciative grin. “Thanks, Clark. Though, next time, how ‘bout just catching it rather than exposing me to high-velocity wood splinters?” Clark opened his hand revealing the entire composition of the shattered writing implement. The blonde smiled sheepishly, “I stand corrected.”

“Sorry,” Lana stated.

Willow just rubbed the woman’s back. “Hey, it happens to the best of us. By the way, you show an enormous talent for witchcraft. Any experience?”

“Well, in high school, I was possessed by a very powerful witch that happened to be my ancestor.”

“Never a dull moment with you people.”

Lois chirped, “I hear you stop an apocalypse like almost yearly.”

“If not more. It’s a living.” The redhead paused then held her hand up to Lois, who immediately leapt up into the air. “You’ve also tasted magic,” Willow commented.

Lois returned to the ground. “Well, Isobel had some gal pals. You can taste magic?”

“Yeah, it leaves a distinct flavor on one’s life force. You taste like blackberries.”

“Could be her breath,” Chloe quipped, “good chance she had some blackberry wine earlier today.”

Lois sneered and responded as she returned to terra firma, “You know; we exchanged oath secrets, too. Don’t make me blackmail you.”

“Lois, if this is about our first times, it’s not really secret with me. You, on the other hand…” Chloe smiled superiorly and threateningly.

“I also know about your last time. Specificially, when it was.”

This shut up Chloe. Though, Clark’s super-hearing did pick up, “Clark, don’t react to this, but Lois’s first time was when she was fifteen with a guy named Danny Scardino.”

Willow turned to Chloe, “And you taste like raspberries.”

“Isobel had two girlfriends,” Chloe remarked matter-of-factly.

“And they were a handful,” Clark commented.

“What do I taste like?” Pete asked.

“I don’t sense any magic. Though I am picking up some grilled tilapia.”

“Well, I actually had that for lunch.” When he thought no one was looking, he breathed into his hand.

* * *

Chloe strolled down the familiar steps into the Planet’s first story bullpen. Upon greeting Jimmy, she asked what the fuss was all about around the office. “Surely, everyone can’t be that excited about St. Patty’s day.” Jimmy smirked, handing Chloe an image, which she quickly hid. “This is Kahn. What is she wearing?”

“Someone photo-shopped her stock photo. They put her head on top of this model in a golden bikini from some fashion show. Kahn’s having a fit over it. We know it came from inside because it’s obviously our in-house photo-editing software. Must be someone real talented,” Jimmy said, in an almost bragging tone.

Disbelief shot across Chloe’s face. “No!” she whispered, “You’re crazy.” She stared at him before grabbing a napkin off his desk.

“I’m a rebel.”

“You go get ice cream? You missed a spot.” Jimmy turned to give her access to his face. He was momentarily disappointed when Chloe placed the napkin in his hand.

“Yeah, I went to a place called P. Mason’s,”

Chloe nodded, “I know the place. By yourself? That’s a big place to meet friends or have dates.”

“No, I went with, uh… a friend of mine,” Jimmy covered.

“Anyone I know?” Chloe asked curiously.

“Just someone new in town.” Jimmy paused, “Look, the photo guys are going out to O’Cassidy’s Pub tonight. A couple of them are bringing dates…”

Chloe’s face dropped. “Jimmy, I’m gonna have to give you a rain check on that.”

He then tacked on, “How ‘bout next week? Business lunch, strictly professional?”

Chloe gave the photographer a knowing look, before smiling, “You know what? That sounds really nice.” She uncomfortably looked at her watch. “Look, I got to get back to the hotel. Turns out our newest guest knows a thing or two about computers. She’s helping me set up the new pager system.”

She nearly ran out, before racing back to the desk, “How’s the Jordan Elliot shot look?” Jimmy quickly dug it out of folder, showing her an image of Clark in his Archangel outfit on a street corner, dramatically positioned, but with his face only half visible and partially shadowed. “It’s perfect. Go to press with it.”

* * *

Chloe giggled at Willow, who was working briskly and ceaselessly at the computer. “Wow, I’m almost jealous. You really know what you’re doing.”

“Eh, every superhero team needs a techie. Though, you guys have got the techie and the vision girl rolled up in one very smokin’ hot package.”

Chloe took the compliment as gracefully as she could, “Thanks.”

“You know. I really didn’t have to do much at all. You’ve got a great system set up so far.” She spun in her chair to face Chloe.

“Aw, you’re just being nice.” She brushed a soft punch of Willow’s shoulder. The witch studied the gesture. “But I really did enjoy your company. We’re a very diverse group, and that’s good in a lot of ways, but it’s nice to have someone drop in who understands me.” Willow continued to study Chloe, who continued, “Maybe we can keep in touch?”

Willow smiled sympathetically, “Listen, I’m flattered, I really am, it’s just… I’m seeing someone now, and we’re really serious.”

Chloe was instantly speechless, her mouth hanging open as the gears in her brain attempted to decipher Willow’s last comment. She finally came up with very erudite, “Huh?” A sudden memory floated to the forefront of her brain.

Groo looked sadly at Lois, but turned his attention to Kennedy, whose fighting ability impressed him greatly.

“Miss Kennedy, is it?” Kennedy smiled and turned her head, nodding. Groo continued, “How did you learn such skill?”

“I was trained by my Watcher. And I’ve been working with a rather large group of girls like me out of Europe.” She studied the man, recognizing the subtle cues.

“On my planet, a woman who is a warrior is highly sought. Sometimes there are great tournaments fought for her hand, often lasting many moons…”

“Look, Gron, is it? Before you start declaring you’d fight in the big whip-it-out-and-see-whose-is-bigger contest, I should let you know I’m flatter, I really am. It’s just… I’m seeing someone.”

Groo backpedaled. “Oh, I apologize for being forward.”

“No, no, it’s alright. But she’s very nice. You’d like her.”

“Her?” he replied bluntly.

Smiling, she added, “Yeah, didn’t see that coming? No one does.”

“I did,” Lex stated passively.

“Aw,” she taunted, “a little miffed that being your girlfriend’s proxy doesn’t afford you the same rights?”

“I’ll recover. And so will Clark.” Lex grinned mischievously.

Clark replied, “Why would I care if you and Lana don’t get to… I mean… she’s my ex, yeah… and plus, Chloe and I aren’t… even so, Groo’s her proxy…” As Clark and Groo exchanged looks of epiphany, they both looked sick.

Lex joked to Kennedy, “You’ll have to excuse him. He grew up on a little farm in Kansas. Literally.”

“Eh, doesn’t bother me. Of course, I’m from New York.” Chloe’s giggles could be heard in the background from their transponders.

Chloe, mouth still agape, asked, “Kennedy?”

“Yeah. Oh, was that you guys she got called away for? Small world. Look, I’m sorry if I caught you off-guard.”

“No, I’m usually more tactful than this. I just didn’t mean to… make it seem like… You know Clark?”

“I may have met him,” Willow replied ironically. “You’re married to him, right?”

“No! Well… it’s weird.”

“So, you and Clark aren’t…?”

“Nope, the ‘marriage’ is purely symbolic.”

“Just friends?” Willow baited.

Sighing, she relented, “Yep.”

“Oh, wait, you mean you do like each other?”

“Well, Clark I’m not so sure about, really, and me, well, I’ve kinda had this thing for him since… forever-ish.”

“I know the feeling,” Willow replied with understanding.

Chloe nodded, “What was she like?”

“It was a him.” Off Chloe’s look, she remarked, “It’s not enough to pin down my Kinsley number, you’ve got to graph it against time, too. Go on.”

“Well, I also have this friend name, Jimmy. Well, we’re friends. Kinda more, kinda not. We’re going to lunch soon… And he’s really a great guy. I can completely trust him.”

“That’s nice,” Willow commented.

* * *

Lucy, lounging on the corner of Jimmy’s desk, joked to the uptight Jimmy, “Relax, James. You said yourself that you and Chloe have finished all your business. Your work, I mean,” she teased. “Plus, I think you’d kinda like the reputation you’d get for having so many pretty girls hanging around you.”

Jimmy lightened his mood. “I don’t know. I almost feel guilty spending the whole day with you.”

“It wasn’t the whole day. It was just a few hours here and there. And, why?”

“Well, Chloe and I… well…”

“You like her. We’ve established that.”

“And I think she kinda likes me back… but C.K., he kind of complicates things.”

“Because of the whole Naman and Loral thing?”

“They told you?”

“Lois trusts me,” she replied quickly. She shifted restlessly. “James, c’mon, it’s way past quitting time. Your pictures ain’t goin’ anywhere. I’m bored. It’s St. Patrick’s Day. I wanna get wasted. Where can we go for that?”

Jimmy frowned, “Should I be doing that? Taking you to a bar?”

“Jimmy,” she nagged him, emphasizing the name, “you’re driving a friend to fun night in the city. You don’t have to dance me with unless you want to. You’re not gonna buy me drinks. I don’t even mind if you want to leave. I can grab a cab for the way back. Being a flight attendant pays better than you’d think.” Jimmy still didn’t look convinced. “James, you’ve got a great shot with Chloe, and I’m happy for you. I’ve only got one more night in Metropolis—spring breaks are a busy time for us—so yeah, I’m kind of rushing the development of our friendship.” She leaned forward, exposing a little bit of her cleavage to Jimmy. He diverted his eyes.

“Well, the guys are doing this thing. I wanted to take Chloe, but she’s busy…”

Lucy cut him off, “Then I’ll tell her I met you at the bar and she missed out. And that she’d better hurry or a very attractive photographer is gonna be scooped up by some random hussy. Please can we go?”

Jimmy grabbed his car keys and dangled them in front of Lucy, who clapped gleefully and hopped off the desk. She almost stumbled, but grabbed onto Jimmy’s shoulder just in time.

* * *

Lex boldly entered his father’s office. “You’ve been keeping me out of the loop with the cockroaches.”

Dismissively, Lionel answered, “Lex, you’re talking nonsense again. Have you been drinking? I thought you weren’t into celebrating the holidays.”

Ignoring the quip, Lex charged ahead, “Archangel Investigation fought an infestation of mutated cockroaches. I don’t recall that plan being on the table.”

“Lex, there’s a cockroach in the corner right now. There’s surely one or two in a lab so top-secret that we don’t let exterminators in. Need I remind you that there is seven hundred pounds of kryptonite down there?”

“Dad, careful,” Lex sharply reminded his father, “you don’t know the word ‘kryptonite.’”

Standing up, Lionel continued, “Humans that come in casual contact with kryptonite acquire powers. I think a few roaches that got locked into a lead safe might display certain attributes. Plus, Mr. Schwab worked here. It’s no surprise that a few of them might have hitched a ride back to his house.”

“Dad, Archangel Investigations estimated there were at least seventy-five mutated insects inside that house. The bag they gave us alone contributed to nineteen individual specimens. So unless you think that seventy-five roaches hitched a ride in his briefcase, that means these things could breed.”

The CEO was unmoved. “We’ve never seen any consistent tests where the ‘meteor rock’ ever caused sterility. Lex, what do you want me to say?”

He stopped toward his father’s desk. “I want you to say you’re not getting careless in your old age. People that piss you off, go ahead of give them their silent retribution. What else can I expect from you? But those you don’t give a damn about? Don’t put them in danger, ‘cause if you’re not following the trail and doing clean-up, that trail is going to lead right back to you.”

Lionel surveyed his son ominously. “I have trained you well. Just be careful when you criticize me, son.” He sat back down. “Was there anything else?” He didn’t look up from his computer.

Lex dropped a file on the desk. Lionel opened it with interest, “Ah, the Abednigo Project. The subjects had the very opposite effect than what we expected. But, in retrospect, it probably makes more sense from an evolutionary standpoint.”

“I’d like to release all of them. The city is quiet. That means Archangel Investigations is doing their job too well, and not getting paid for it. They’ll be released in a very public place.”

“Be my guest, Lex. They were costing us a fortune in natural gas.” Lex picked up the file, but Lionel stalled him, “Tell me, how is Miss Lang?”

Lex look momentarily perturbed by the question, but didn’t hesitate, “Lana…” he began, saying her name with emphasis, “…shows a lot of talent in keeping a business in the place, though I wouldn’t necessarily call her any entrepreneurial genius. She has a good education and an amazing aptitude for dealing with people; she learns quickly and never gives up. I’m not worried about her.” Seeing it as a poor place to finished, he added, “Or Archangel Investigations.”

“Just curious. Since we’re on the subject, any thoughts on the rest of them?”

“Clark Kent hasn’t changed a bit, just gotten some lofty ideals stuck in his head. Pete Ross is the same, though it appears all it took to soften his opinion of us was a few trinkets. Well, his opinion of me, at least.” Lionel didn’t express anything; Lex continued, “The only change I see in Lois is her lack of drive in finding a boyfriend. Odd, but it helps the bottom line. Chloe Sullivan, on the other hand, shows incredible intelligence and sacrifice. She gave up a fast-rising career at the Daily Planet for this. She’s got more than lofty goals in mind.”

“Are you referring to Mr. Kent?”

Lex gave a small, pensive tilt of his head. “Wouldn’t be surprised, given her history of aiding Clark in his hero duties. Though, I might add, she’s brought in a certain Jimmy Olsen to help with publicity. I like it. He’s a wholly unremarkable young man whose sole contribution to the relationship is that he notices Chloe…” Lionel’s attention seemed to be waning, but Lex continued unabated, “…which means that there will be no distracting relationships within the organization. Clark seems more than willing to watch Chloe be swept up. And he’s long since abandoned his obsession with Lana.” He said “obsession” with what he thought was too much inflection. “Bottom line, Dad, we keep the ‘heroes’ busy with meteor mutants, the cash will continue to roll in.”

Lionel smiled proudly. “Good. Now get out of my office before the feds accuse us of fixing prices.” As Lex obediently left, Lionel devoted his full attention to his computer screen, which showed several images of Lana Lang entering Lex’s apartment complex and pressing 52, Lex’s penthouse floor.

* * *

Her necklace flickering off the red light of the phone, Lucy laid a soft kiss on Jimmy’s head. He was asleep, bare-chested, in the hotel room bed. Lucy grabbed her small suitcase, and after checking the hallway, tiptoed out. She didn’t see Chloe walking slowly down the hall, watching her as she headed down the stairwell towards the lobby. Chloe turned her head to the closed door, frowning with mild disappointment. Lucy always was a runaway.

But her superpowered mind began to tingle and she turned to face the door, when realization hit her hard. Her breath fled, her knees buckled, and a tear ran down her cheek. Her stinging sadness quickly made way for putrid anger. As she tried to regain a normal breath rate, she heard the sound of squeaking springs from inside the room.

~

Director’s Commentary: Originally, we didn’t have so many Jimmy-Lucy scenes, but the chemistry between Aaron and Peyton List was amazing. The original script called for a very off-screen development, but this work ten times better. Also, it was great to have Alyson Hannigan reprise her role as “Willow Rosenberg.” We only got her for a day, but it was all we needed. Joss, if you had anything to do with this, thanks. You too, Aly.

Okay, the test audience reacted very positively to 105, so the network green-lighted us through Episode 107, and now they’re demanding the 108 script.

On the next episode of Archangel Investigations: Chloe deals with the aftermath of Jimmy and Lucy. The team is dispatched to a nearby club, but something off about Clark.

A/N: CONTESTS!!!

If you want to be made into a character on this series, it’s very easy! Most of the names, places, etc. in these stories have relevance to Superman mythos or DC or whatever. The first reader to correctly name three will be Mary Sued or Harry Stued. I’ll probably reopen the contest again.

^_^ - So, it comes to my attention that the Smallvillians haven’t yet been introduced to me, yet. I am Sonriso, the Herald of Sarcasm. I like to denote my species as “punctusmiley.” Through no fault of Creedog, I appear at the bottom of the majority of his stories, adding my two cents, and often coming up in debt.

©2006, 2007 Godeerc VanDrey Enterprises, Inc. Created Tuesday, November 21, 2006. Finished Sunday, January 28, 2007.

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