Beyond Smallville: Fan Fiction

Chapter 3: Free Chloe

Clark and Jimmy Olsen had a nice long talk, well, as long as a given lunch hour would permit. He’d mentioned to Clark that Perry White had taken over from Julian Luthor as the DailyPlanet’s chief editor. Lois had bargained forcefully with the youngest Luthor.

The brash young reporter and Army brat had threatened to expose any number of dark Luthor family secrets, regardless of proof. Just the gossip Lois would create should have been enough to drive the Luthorcorp stock down in this nervous and edgy economic market.

Sadly, the newsprint industry seemed to be on it’s last legs. Lois had made it a point to increase her computer skills, honing them to become above average, and make the jump to newspapers on line. Lois could become an interactive journalist if need be.

The sexy twenty-four year old hoped that her longtime friend and current honey, Clark, would follow in her footsteps. As always, Superman was wishy-washy on the idea, only recently had he been seriously considering it. Today, Lois would finally get some good news.

Clark had made a decision, actually a number of them. Kal met Lois for lunch so they could finalize their plans for the evening. She’d talked Clark into taking her to the Daily Planet gala. Fratillo’s, a nicely priced soup and sandwich place near the Planet was their meeting place.

Clark pulled out the chair for his alleged girlfriend. She smiled appreciatively. After ordering, Lois filled Clark in on the departmental meeting with Perry White. As the sandwiches arrived, Superman felt a strong wave of happiness roll over him.

He hadn’t felt this good since he and Lana...were together. Though this time shard was still based on an alternate reality, Kal felt comfortable with Lois, like it was meant to be. "What are you so chipper about, Smallville?" she asked in between gulps of chilly iced tea.

"Lois," Clark took her hand in his. She glared at him worriedly. He’s got that look, she observed. The one that Oliver had before he broke up with me. I don’t need another heartbreak.

"I’ve decided to accept the job at the Daily Planet, if it’s still available, and Perry will have me." Superman explained. "Are you sure that you won’t mind...me being in your face all the time?"

Lois breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh Clark, that’s wonderful!" She beamed. "Don’t worry sweetie, with Perry running the show, and the Daily Planet racing to catch up with the twenty-first century, we’ll see each other every day, yet Perry will probably split us up to chase leads."

"Is that okay with you?" Clark inquired as Lois nodded. "I’ll be fine as long as you’re there to help me." Superman said. Lois was getting teary-eyed. "Aww!" She quickly got up and kissed Clark purposefully. After reseating herself, Lois continued.

"It will probably be like the blind leading the blind, anyway. We’re both newbie reporters, but we’ll manage. Somehow, I always muddle through." Concluding, she added: "Chloe also said that she’d give us some pointers whenever she resurfaces."

Kal changed the subject. "Oliver called me. He said that he’d located Chloe through the clues she’d left on the discs." Lois was intrigued, and hearing her old boyfriend’s name didn’t faze her. Mentally, she was nearly committed to Clark. Physically, he seemed to be a bit on the shy side, she mused. Lois considered Clark a challenge. "How bad is it?" She asked.

"Bad." Superman replied. "The Feds have her locked up in no man’s land near western Nevada." Lois gasped. "Is she out...I mean out on bail or something?" Kal glanced around to make sure no one was paying them any mind. It seemed clear. "No. We’re going to get her."

Clark’s announcement sounded menacing. Lois’s eyes went wide. "Get her? From the Feds?" Kal nodded. "We can’t do anything legally?" She held out a slight hope. "No. Oliver will pull some strings to cover our tracks, but we’re on our own." Superman informed her. "I’m in!" Lois stated.

"There goes our promising careers at the Planet." She added, shaking her head. Clark took her hands again. "They’re watching you and me." He began. "I don’t officially work for the paper yet. You do, Lois. You’ll have to stay behind in case this all blows up in our faces."

"Why?" Lois wondered with determination. "It’s just a job. I’ll find another one." Clark looked directly into her eyes. "That’s not the point." he added. "You’ll be our contact person on the outside, so to speak. If the Feds catch us, we’ll all need good lawyers." Clark said cynically.

"I have no intention of disappearing...being erased by the U.S. Government." He knew that no normal prison could ever hold him, but the bigger picture would be Clark’s focus from now on. He’d have to tell Lois the entire truth one day soon, yet for now, Kal played it simply.

Clark Kent was a common mild-mannered guy. Superman would be the hero, and Kal would be the outsider, above the fray. This time shard was the closest to reality that Clark found so far. The alien super-hero would still need to shore the whole process up a bit. Things may be starting to swing my way.

"I’m meeting Oliver and a few others right after lunch." Clark explained, as Lois hurriedly finished her sandwich. "You don’t mind seeing my ex?" She asked playfully. "I’m interested in the bigger picture." Superman dead panned. "Besides, Oliver is hooked up with Dinah Lance. We’ll see them at the charity benefit tonight."

"I’m sorry, Clark. I should never have mentioned the stupid gala. I should’ve been more concerned about my cousin, Jimmy, and you. Outside of the General and Lucy, you’re all I’ve got." Clark brushed the apology off. "No problem, Lois. The dance will be the perfect cover for us all."

"Oliver and I have everything all worked out." Clark flashed her a lopsided grin. "You know, Lois, he’s all right for a green leather clad, nosy billionaire, with a smart ass attitude." Kal joked. "We may be putting a team together, if you don’t mind socializing with him."

"Really? Like what, a bowling team, or a baseball team?" Lois quipped. "I mean what could we possibly have in common with an annoying, adventure seeking billionaire who dresses funny?" Clark chuckled. "You’d be surprised, Lois."She held his hands tightly.

"What does the guy believe in?" She wondered. "I don’t know...truth, justice, and the American way?" Clark teased. She playfully hit him in the shoulder. "Oh what-ever! Gotta go, honey." Lois said as she got up and kissed him on the neck. Lois pulled out her small wallet. "I’ve got it, Lois."

Clark pulled out a nice, crisp, twenty dollar bill. "What? Did you win the lottery?" She joked. "Nope. I sold some fresh, ripe, tomatoes to Jimmy’s uncle on the way here. Lois smirked. "Clark Kent, from agricultural entrepreneur to mild mannered reporter. Who’d have thought it?"

Clark paid the bill, and they walked away arm in arm. The young journalists headed for the Daily Planet. All the while, they’d been under surveillance from a number of sources. "The Kent kid is with Lois Lane." The gruff voiced henchman spoke into a cell phone, as he reported to his boss.

"I’m starting to see a pattern here." Julian Luthor said. "Nice work, Phil." As he snapped off the phone, the thug took a break, watching Lois and Clark enter the vast Daily Planet lobby. That would be the first of many such entrances in this time line and some others. History was beginning anew.

Nearby, Agent Wellesley recorded Kent’s time of arrival and their departure together. He felt certain that the alleged Smallville farm boy was up to his red neck in something illicit. As of yet, there had been no proof of any wrongdoing. Wellesley was confident that he would be able to build a case.

The FBI wanted to keep as low a profile as possible, so picking up Lane and Kent wasn’t in the cards for now. It looked to the senior agent that Lane and Kent were embroiled in some type of close relationship. By extension, both knew Chloe Sullivan and James Olsen.

Add to that Luthorcorp’s involvement with them and any number of questionably funded projects, and Wellesley had stumbled into the center of the case of a lifetime. Bringing down all of them would go a long way toward furthering his career, the ambitious agent considered.

Clark arranged to meet Oliver, Dinah, AC, Bart, and Victor Stone at his farm around 2 PM. Through his unusual internet connections, Victor, or Cyborg as he was covertly known, had found out where Chloe was being held, and she was listed to be transferred tomorrow to a new facility.

This was when the team would make their move. "Just like ol’ times, eh Stretch?" Bart Allen, known as Impulse, joked. "Yes and no, Bart." Superman responded vaguely. Kal had decided not to tell his friends about his time traveling adventures. It was bad enough, in his opinion, that he knew so much about Earth’s future, let alone spreading the morbid news to the others.

The more Clark meddled in the time shards, the more screwed up things seemed to get. However, now was the time to create and join the Justice League of America, some years earlier than he’d done in the original time line. It would give them all more time to plan for Darkseid’s attack.

The JLA would be essential to planning Earth’s defenses. For now, Chloe’s release was the first item on the agenda. "It sounds simple enough," Arthur Curry, known as Aquaman, said. "We create the distractions at opposite ends of the base, and Boy Scout and Impulse run in, kick ass, and grab Chlo’"

"Boy Scout, Eh?" Clark chuckled. I hadn’t heard that nickname in years. "Take it or leave it, Clark." Oliver smirked as he and Dinah walked into the Kent’s barn. They knew that Luthor and the Feds were both on stakeout nearby. Impulse and Clark had zipped around the area earlier.

They’d located an approaching black SUV with U S Government plates on the two lane road leading to the farm. Dinah pretended that her car had broken down conveniently stretching across both lanes of the highway, blocking any traffic, which forced the SUV to stop.

Cyborg snuck up alongside the Feds, and zapped the electrical parts of the truck, subsequently jamming their frequency to call for help, and eliminating their ability to track movement. Dinah used her voice as a sonic weapon, screaming the agents into unconsciousness. It would delay them long enough.

They’d be fine, waking up with severe pounding headaches. The super heroes were set to complete their meeting. Dinah Lance, a master of disguises, had dressed like a common hick farm girl, in a denim jumper, cutoff blue jean shorts, and a ratty off white low cut tee shirt.

For fun, she’d worn cow patty kicker boots, and twin reddish pigtails in her hair. "Love the new look, Black Canary." Victor joked. She winced as Oliver laughed, helping Dinah strip off the orange red wig, and allowing her long blonde hair to tumble freely down her bare back.

After all of the plans had been revealed, Oliver coined his trademark phrase, ‘okay everyone, wheels up in ten minutes’. Green Arrow and Black Canary were to stay in Metropolis. The Feds already knew that Chloe had a connection of some type to Queen Industries. Oliver denied that, of course.

"Okay it’s three hours or so to western Nevada, via the Queen corporate jet." Oliver informed everyone. "True, but it’s only an hour to Branson, Missouri." Victor pointed out. "I can access the Feds database from there. A little casino I know is actually a Fed front for a gambling sting operation.

I’ll show up on their grid as a private investigator looking for clues to Chloe’s disappearance. Once I’m in, I’ll create all kinds of havoc with the Las Vegas power grid. I can instruct the system to create rolling brown outs all through the left coast. The National Security Agency will be jumping.

To NSA, I’ll resemble a terrorist checking grid systems for some sabotage. The facility that’s holding Chloe will be confused, chasing their collective tails trying to locate the source." Victor explained. "I won’t damage any essential legit security files."

"That leaves Bart and I to spin out west and grab Chloe." Superman concluded. "Won’t they just pick her up again?" Dinah asked the obvious question. "Nope." Oliver answered. "You know how the black helicopter crowd operates. As soon as we have Chloe, I’ll erase her file with the Feds."

"I’ll re-file her case under an assumed name, like Nelly Blye. The Feds will have egg on their face, knowing that they allowed a prisoner to escape, and brush the whole thing under the carpet." AC smiled brightly. "Dude! That’s brilliant!" Aquaman complimented. "Naturally." Oliver was playfully arrogant. "AC, you’ll be playing tag with the Lake Mead / Hoover Dam security."

"That will keep the NSA busy trying to locate a trespasser." He added. "Sounds like a blast. I’ve never seen the dam up close and personally." AC remarked. "Like shooting fish in a barrel." Bart commented, purposely to irritate Aquaman. "Hey bro’, one day those fish will be shooting back!" AC warned half seriously.

No one truly knew all of Aquaman’s secrets yet. He kept much of his personal information quiet, as Clark did. Oliver didn’t mind as long as every team member did his or her part on the mission. "2:45."

Oliver announced. "Let’s roll! See you tonight, Clark?" Superman nodded. "Sure." He confirmed.

"Dude, you’re seeing Lois now?" AC fished. "Yes, I guess so. We haven’t really outlined our relationship yet." Kal replied. "Bro’ I am so jealous! She’s a hottie. I hope you keep her and don’t throw her back!" Bart gave Clark a high five. "Sweet! I still think the Chloe-ster is hot, though."

Clark chuckled. "Don’t let Jimmy hear you say that." Impulse zipped around in a circle. Bart always seemed so hyper, he mused. The team split off in their directions. Superman and Impulse checked on the Feds, who were still sleeping it off in the SUV. They’d wake up with nasty attitudes.

Victor set off for Branson. He could run fairly fast, but only at a fraction of Clark and Bart’s speed. Cyborg was limited to odd roads and deserted highways, but he’d arrive at his destination in plenty of time to start the security system invasion.

Oliver and Dinah headed for the Silver Star Resort. There was one more piece of the puzzle to acquire. Though they’d located Chloe, the two discs that Oliver didn’t have in his possession, had tons of data on Luthorcorp’s activities. Lana had wrangled some more info out of Luthor’s mansion.

The super hero couple had registered at the five star hotel specifically to meet with some possible new additions to their little club. Meanwhile, AC swam like a lightning bolt underwater towards Hoover Dam. Near the border of Nevada and Arizona, the dam was a marvel of modern architecture.

AC climbed casually out of Lake Mead, surprising a number of tourists that hadn’t seen him coming. He strong-armed a couple of guards, and set about causing chaos without really damaging the dam’s intricate systems. He rerouted the subroutines, tripping alarms all along the west coast.

The NSA would surely think it was a terrorist attack or perhaps a disgruntled employee’s revenge. The incessant rerouting would keep the NSA busy for hours. Eventually, the technicians would reverse all of the changes that AC made, returning the dam back to normal operations.

At precisely 4 pm, Victor had hijacked the database involving the west coast’s electrical grid. Chloe was being held at Ellsworth, Nevada, a hole in the wall glorified truck stop northwest of Las Vegas. He sent power surges and brown outs from Las Vegas to Reno. Just for fun, he screwed with the California power grid as well. Some people would blame the California government for the mess.

Victor made it look like there was a cascading failure in the west coast power grid. That would give the NSA and other agencies headaches for hours if not days. It served as a distraction from their true target, the compound where Chloe was imprisoned.

Clark and Bart stormed the small government facility. Impulse tore through the Ellsworth base, overturning carts, upsetting furniture, knocking out cameras, tripping alarms, and bowling over any guards. He even had time to stop for a cheeseburger and a pop in the facility cafeteria.

Clark encountered little resistance as he zoomed through the cell block of the minimum security prison, laughingly referred to as a ‘holding facility’. Two guards stepped in front of Clark, with weapons drawn. He was in no mood to be charitable, knocking both their heads together. They were out cold.

Chloe’s cell resembled a see through single room occupancy apartment. The SRO cell, roughly the size of a motel room, was guarded by one automatic weapon toting NSA thug. Superman sped up alongside him, tapped him on the shoulder, and promptly but carefully decked him.

"Good night and sleep well." Kal joked, being unusually cocky. He paused for a moment, before opening Chloe’s cell. You know, I’m really enjoying this, he admitted silently. He wondered if there was any Red K around, but wrote it off to simply being in a strange mood. Is that so wrong...?

Clark ripped open Chloe’s cell door. "Hey Chlo’ it’s time to go! I’m sorry I took so long." He apologized. Chloe’s eyes were a little unfocused, as she sat up on her bed. "Are you okay?" Superman asked worriedly. After a moment, Chloe’s attention returned. "Clark! Thanks for coming after me."

She sounded happy, but Clark could tell that she wasn’t quite herself. He picked her up, and zipped past the still unconscious guard. "AC, Bart, Victor, Oliver, and I are working together again." He informed her as they dashed down corridor after corridor. "Oliver has engineered your release."

"It wasn’t exactly legal, but there was no other way." Kal added as Chloe nodded absently. "Maybe I’d better use the Clark Kent express." He thought that he felt a surge of energy from Chloe, and made it a point to question her about it when she felt better.

Clark zigzagged past everyone on the base and off of the government property, where Bart was about to meet up with them. Impulse had finished harassing the guards and slowed to a stop beside Chloe and Clark creating a cloud of swirling sand. The hot desert sun seemed to energize Chloe a bit.

"Hey Chloe-meister!" Bart kissed her hand cheerfully. "Long time no see." Chloe forced a weak smile. "Hi Bart!" She acknowledged him, but Clark could still tell that something was wrong. He quickly used his x-ray vision to check her over. She appeared to be okay, except for a minor yellowish glow.

Superman wasn’t sure if it was his eyes, of if Chloe had ingested something out of the ordinary. "Aquaman? This is Impulse." Bart spoke into a new wristwatch style communicator that Oliver had bought them. Chloe glanced down at it, drawn to it’s electrical output frequency. "Neat, huh?"

"Maybe Ollie should put one under every good little girl and boy’s tree this Christmas." Bart quipped. Chloe stared at him vacantly. "I think she’s just tired." Clark defended her weakly. He still held her in his arms. "Let’s jet!" AC’s voice returned clearly on the device. "Impulse?"

"Okay fish breath, we have Oracle, Boy Scout and I are going supersonic!" Bart playfully replied. "Impulse out!" Clark carried Chloe to Las Vegas. Bart followed with a puzzled expression on his thin face. "You have a gambling problem or something, CK?" He taunted.

A streaking dot appeared on the horizon far from the city limits. It came in low, cautiously skirting McLaughlin International Airport. The dot grew larger and suddenly dropped out of sight. In seconds, Kara Kent appeared, startling Bart. "Whoa! Who’s the blonde babe?"

Kara stared at him. "Bart, this is my cousin, Kara." He introduced her. Clark put Chloe down and she stood, wavering a bit. Chloe grabbed Clark and kissed him deeply, making Kara frown and Bart whistle. "Hey, where’s my kiss?" He complained. Chloe gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Don’t forget about Jimmy." Superman chided her. "Well Clark, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." She joked, sounding more like her old self. Kara picked Chloe up and flew straight up, disappearing in a rare cloud bank. "Holy crap!" Bart exclaimed. "She flew! That is not normal!"

"Bart, nothing about any of this is normal." Kal said with disdain. "Is she available?" Impulse asked as Clark groaned. "I have no idea, she’s very temperamental." Kara rocketed towards Metropolis, and Chloe could only manage a gasp, given the high speed at which Kara flew.

"How come you can’t fly?" Bart asked the obvious. "I don’t know, maybe my heart’s just not in it." He responded, sorry that he still had to maintain appearances. "Can we get her to join our little group?" Bart pressed. "I’m not sure, don’t forget, she’s still a teenager." Kal replied halfheartedly.

"So was I when you and Oliver found me. Now I’m street legal." Impulse laughed. "Race you to Metropolis?" Clark smirked. "You’re on!" He let Bart dissolve into his traditional lightning bolt before zipping in behind him. What the hell? I might as well try it! Superman reasoned.

About halfway through Oklahoma, Superman jumped up and took flight, remembering to fly below the radar. He hit the ground running in western Kansas, and pulled in a second or two after Bart. "Still too slow, Bro’." Bart taunted. "But you’re getting better...Boy Scout!"

Kara had dropped Chloe off at their apartment above the Talon. Lois was still at work. Chloe had barely remembered to thank Kara before she’d left. Clark was right, I am tired, she thought. Chloe went over to her desktop computer and touched the power cord with one finger.

Immediately, it whirred to life. Her old Daily Planet screen saver came up. Next time, I’ll use the on and off switch, she reminded herself. Chloe pulled up her files on meteor freak anomalies...

link to chapter 4