Rating: K+
Disclaimer: I don't own anything Smallville, etc.
Summary: 'Luthor' and the Earth2 portion left me a bit unsettled. I can't wrap my mind around an unredeemable Clark especially when I saw signs that he could be redeemed. So, I came up with a quick, 4 part (maybe 5) series of observations from both worlds. This first part deals with Lois recognizing the real Clark.

I'm a little rusty, so I hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think.

The Two Worlds, Two Words Series: Tell Them

"I never knew so much could be destroyed in so little time," Standing in the center of silent chaos, Tess Mercer's assessing gaze flickered over the now inoperable Watchtower. Mentally calculating the cost of the damage, she handed Oliver Queen a detailed inventory of equipment that had been lost and sighed in relief that she wasn't footing the bill for this particular battle between good and evil.

Ollie scanned the list and winced at the bottom line. "Yeah, well, we've never had a twisted, maniacal Clark Luthor on our hands before."

"We are so lucky this is all he did." All the horrifying possibilities of a Clark Luthor unleashed came rushing back to Tess. Including the one she dare not name. "I can't imagine what would have happened to our world if..."

"Lois hadn't been here to save the day and stop us from killing the best thing this world's ever seen?" Ollie finished for her, matching her thoughts and bringing up more questions than he'd intended. "Yeah. Neither can I."

Tess turned to him, surprised by his tone. "So, you didn't know either."

Ollie didn't answer in words. The guilt in his eyes said it all.

More than just possibilities prompted Tess to question the events of the day before. "She was standing right next to us, Oliver. She saw what we saw. She knew exactly what we knew. One second Clark Luthor was there, and the next..." Awe shimmered through Tess' eyes and made its way to her voice. "How the hell did she did recognize him?"

"Two words."

The cryptic answer came from behind them. Ollie and Tess turned toward Watchtower's massive doors. "Lois. Clark." Ollie inclined his head. "Come on in and join the clean up party."

Hand in hand, Clark Kent and Lois Lane entered Watchtower, looking around them with a bit of shock and a lot of awe. After their sweet and intense reunion the night before, neither had paid much attention to their surroundings. Now, in the full light of day, reality set in. "Wow, Smallville. Looks like you have your work cut out for you." Lois teasingly quipped hoping to nudge Clark into a better frame of mind.

"That's only fair seeing as I caused all of this." Clark commented, a weighted frown pulling his lips downward as his fingers lightly, unconsciously brushed a fresh bruise he'd found that morning, among others, on Lois' hand.

That earned him a comforting arm around his waist and a non-verbal plea from Lois for reinforcements from the troops. The rest of his team closed ranks.

"Oh, come on, Clark." Ollie supplied. He knew his friend's over-developed sense of responsibility a little too well. Guessing by the look on Clark's face and the solicitous way Lois was mother-henning him, their Boy Scout was carrying a pretty hefty weight of guilt on his broad shoulders.

"Just because your evil twin goes on a rampage doesn't mean you're to blame. Trust me, my friend, if you were, I'd be handing this bill over to you right now." He paused, his brows furrowed momentarily. "Hey, you didn't happen to bring any of that Luthor inheritance with you when you universe jumped, did you?"

"As much as I hate to admit it, Clark," Ignoring Ollie's attempt at humor, Tess added with a wry smile. "Oliver's right." Her eyes cut to Ollie as she added a correction. "For once. Besides, any one of us could have activated that box and transported an evil doppelganger to our world."

"To be fair," A teasing light flashed in Ollie's dark eyes. "In Tess' case, it would have been impossible to tell the difference. In fact, I'm not so sure we would have gotten a kinder, gentler Tess that wasn't always..."

"Finishing your sentences?" Tess quipped. "Smarter than you? Prettier?"

"Yeah, see, this? This right here..." Ollie openly grinned at Tess who rolled her eyes and tried her best not to smile. "...this is what I'm talking about."

Observing his team - his friends' - lighthearted reaction to everything that had happened, Clark's gaze shifted to Lois, who wore a notoriously smug expression and ended a previous conversation with a much needed, "Told you so."

Clark's tension visibly lifted. For the first time, a smile passed through his eyes then dropped to his lips. "Yeah, you did."

Well, that was relatively quick. And painless. Ollie thought, grateful - and not for the first time - that Lois Lane was an integral part of Clark Kent's life.

"Right." Ollie was quick to get down to business. "So now that that's out of the way, this place could really could use your..." He made a whirling motion with his fingers. "...you know, cleaning skills. While you're doing that..." He held up the list in his hands. "...I'll get the ball rolling on replacing everything we lost. And you two..." Ollie pointed to Lois and Tess. "...have been through enough. Don't you dare lift a finger."

"We'll handle this." His gaze shifted to an unmoving Clark. "Right, Clark?"

Clark turned to Lois with concern shattering his crystal blue eyes. "Lois?"

A patient and understanding Lois reached up to touch his cheek reassuringly. "We're still in the same room, Smallville. I'll be fine."

"Ok." Clark nodded his agreement then leaned in an brushed a gentle kiss against her forehead before zipping off in a whirl of activity.

"Last night must have really made an impression on him." Crossing her arms, Tess followed Lois' amused gaze to where Clark was super speeding his way around the top floor of Watchtower. "He's even more..."

"Over protective than usual?" Lois finished for Tess. "Yeah. After he saw just how banged up I was..." Lois' voice trailed off before she turned to Tess with a shrug. "We're working on it."

The ladies shared a companionable smile then moved to the now-righted couch. "Speaking of..." Lois began as she settled in. "I wanted to thank you."

"For what?"

"For protecting me."

Tess smirked at the painful reminder. "Yes, well, we both saw how that worked out."

"You tried and that's what's important." Lois offered. "And I promise. No more ignoring your calls. Even on my day off." Eyes dancing with mischief, Lois cast a side-long glance in Tess' direction. "Which, by the way, I didn't really get to enjoy, what with the flying across the room...twice...and all. So any chance your star reporter can get a make up day?"

"I seem to recall today being your make up day, Lois." Tess responded, trying to sound authoritative but failing miserably. Try as she might, she couldn't help but admire the woman who just didn't know when to stop.

"Yeah, but..." Lois made a show of being in much more pain than she really was. "...it really hurts."

A rare, full-fledged smile finally appeared. "Alright. Take two."

"You know, the doctors say I'll heal more quickly if I have moral support." Lois suggested hopefully.

"Is that so?" Tess rolled her eyes. "Well, who am I to go against doctor's orders?" Shaking her head at the satisfied look on Lois' face, Tess couldn't help but point out the obvious. "You know it's a good thing your boss is so accommodating."

"It's even better that she's on our team." Lois answered unexpectedly, her adoring gaze now locked on a black whirl that was zipping down one of Watchtower's spiral staircases.

The questions and Lois' cryptic answer from earlier nibbled away at Tess' curiosity as she watched Lois watch Clark. She should probably let it go. After all, she and Lois never had that BFF kind of relationship. But something in Lois' expression signaled an openness that Tess couldn't resist. "So, what were they? The two words."

"Lois, please." Ollie's voice sounded behind them.

Lois' face scrunched up in confusion. "Please what? You just got done telling us to do nothing. Seriously, Ollie, you should come with a whiplash warning."

Ollie chuckled. "No, Lois, I'm...I'm guessing. Those were the two words."

"Oh. Yeah, no. They may have gotten my attention but, not even close." A secret smile formed on Lois' lips.

"I'm...me?" Tess offered.

A dark eyebrow rose. "Since Clark Luthor was a manipulative liar who would stop at nothing to stay in this world, including pretending to be my Clark..." Lois shook her head. "...not so much. "

"So, ok, I give up. What were the two words?" Ollie prompted.

"Tell them."

The unexpected answer came from a now present and attentive Clark Kent.

"That's right." Lois beamed up at Clark, who's smile matched her own.

"What's right?" Oliver and Tess asked simultaneously.

"Tell them." Lois repeated. "Those were the words."

Ollie and Tess exchanged glanced. "But...why those?"

Lois' smile deepened as she held out her hand to Clark. Clark took it without hesitation. "Because my Clark relies on me to know him completely, heart and soul. And he trusts me to know him..." She pulled in an awed breath. "...in ways no one ever has."

"Or ever will." Clark added, his eyes shining with unabashed admiration.

"Or ever will." Lois repeated softly, her smile pulling Clark into a world where only the two of them existed.

"But..."

Without taking his eyes off Lois, Clark answered Ollie's unspoken question. "She's protected me against the world before, Ollie. Last night, I needed her to protect me from you." His gaze shifted to Ollie and Tess. "That's not an accusation. It's the truth. And it's exactly what I would have done in your place."

Ollie responded with a acknowledging nod before brightening with a grin. "Hey...do you guys know what we have here?" When all inquiring eyes turned in his direction, Oliver made his discovery known when he patted Lois on the shoulder. "Our very own Clark detector."

Lois, Clark and Tess exchanged looks then broke into varying levels of laughter.

"I'm serious." Ollie looked insulted. Everyone knew he wasn't. "Lois Lane needs to be numero uno on our speed dials in case anything like this ever happens again." Ollie turned to Tess. "Too bad we can't bottle this. It'd be an invaluable commodity to the super crew."

Tess scoffed. Lois beamed. And Clark...began to think.

"You know, all joking aside..." Clark suddenly interjected, his own mind whirling with potential danger points. "...we should prepare for this kind of crisis. We never know when I could be infected with Red K or something worse."

He paused, thinking. "We should have a code. Some word or phrase that only the team knows. Truth is, Lois isn't always going to be there to save the day and we need to know, beyond a doubt, that we have each other's backs."

"Not a bad idea, Clark." Tess agreed before glancing around the group with her gaze naturally falling on Lois. "What should it be?"

Lois shrugged and inclined her head in Clark's direction. "This is Clark's safe word. I think he should choose."

It seemed Clark had already gone there in his mind. A wide smile broke out on his face as his gaze shifted once more to Lois. "Old Blue."

"Oh, Clark." Lois beamed. "Honey, that's perfect."

"Old blue?" Looking from Clark to Lois then back again, Ollie just knew there was a story in there somewhere. "But why..."

"Tell them." Clark prompted Lois cryptically.

"If you ever hear him say 'Old Blue, it'll mean that my Clark..." Lois captured Clark's face in her hands and sighed his unspoken thought. "...has come home."

End/tbc...