Author's Notes: Well, that's it. The final chapter. I hope you like it. Thank you again MadDogLane for all the help you've provided me. And thank you all for the feedback. I wouldn't have finished without you.
CHAPTER 10
"It's too late, Smallville!" Lois said, a few steps behind Clark. "We lost him!"
Clark stopped on the sidewalk, and looked at around with his x-ray vision. She was right. There wasn't anything else to be done.
With Lois around, of course, he couldn't use his powers to find the mysterious man. Maybe it was better this way. After all, he didn't want to put Lois in danger any more, and they really had been through more than enough adventures for one night!
But something still bothered him. There was something not right about that man. As if he had a special ability. No one could jump off of one building onto another like he did. Then, he had simply disappeared after that crazy escape from the club's bathroom window.
"Who was he?" Lois asked, approaching him.
Clark turned his face to look at her over his shoulder.
"I don't know" he answered.
"Really?" she asked back, with a suspicious smile. "'Cause you talked to him--"
Clark looked Lois in the eye and she continued:
"...in the bathroom. So, what did he say?"
"He didn't say anything important, Lois. But it's got to be something related to the envelope he gave us" he pointed to her jacket, where the envelope was hidden.
"OK, so, let's check it out" she said, picking it up and opening it.
"I don't think that's such a good idea, Lois--" he warned her. Clark didn't want Lois involved in any more trouble because of Lex or someone else.
But it was too late. She had already opened the envelope. Clark watched her face and he saw an expression of great surprise.
"What?" he asked, approaching her.
There were documents with Luthorcorp logo inside. Projects and research. Things that Clark had already found out about through Milton Fine and Arthur Curry.
"That's it" she said, with a little smile. "It looks like someone did their homework"
Lois gave some of the documents she had looked over to Clark, and he read information there about experiments on both human beings and animals. It was all recent. There was also something about Level 33.1.
Clark took a deep breath. Lex wasn't any different from his father. He kept pursuing the dangerous experiments Lionel had opened up in the past, but on a much higher level.
"This is probably just the tip of the iceberg!" Lois said, gathering all the documents and placing them back in the envelope.
Clark was thoughtful, while he handed Lois back the documents he had been examining.
"I'm sorry" she said, looking him in the eyes.
More than anything, Lois knew how difficult this situation must be to Clark. After all, he was Lex's friend and to face the truth about him was probably a hard blow. However, Clark didn't seem to be shaken. He was a little disconcerted, but not shaken. Over the last two years, his relationship with Lex had changed. The man who called himself Clark's friend had revealed who he really was years before. He promised to change, but Clark had never again been able to trust him fully. Now, he had the proof that Lex truly hadn't changed, and that there really was no more hope for his former friend. Everybody had been right about Lex.
Clark took a deep breath and faced Lois with a little smile.
"Let's go home" he said.
She smiled back.
A few blocks later, while they walked silently, a red volkswagen stopped next to them.
"I thought I'd never see you two again!"
"Chlo!" Lois said, happy to see her cousin.
Chloe smiled back. It was such a relief to see they were safe and well. And while Lois and Clark were getting into the car, she saw not only the brown envelope that Lois carried, but something different about both her cousin and her best friend. More than just exhaustion, she was sure they had been through a lot of things together that night.
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"Who could this guy be?" Chloe asked, looking at the documents spread out on the kitchen table in Lois' apartment in Metrópolis.
"I have no idea. But there was something about him that I can't explain--" Clark said, crossing his arms. "When I asked who he was, he said he was a shadow"
"He had to be running away from something" Lois added. "Or somebody"
"You said that he jumped off the top of one building and onto another" Chloe said. "How did he do that?"
"He just jumped" Lois answered. It was impossible to explain.
"And then he simply disappeared" Clark concluded.
Chloe faced him. For Clark to be saying that, it had to be because the guy really had some special ability.
"Perhaps he was the result of some Luthorcorp experiment" she deduced.
"Or another meteor freak?" Lois asked. "It makes sense. But if he is so super, why would he use a weapon?"
"You're right" Chloe agreed.
"Maybe he is only a little faster" Clark suggested.
Chloe tilted her head, considering the possibility.
"But he didn't know what he was doing when he gave you guys these documents" she said.
"What do you mean?" Lois asked, confused.
"In the first place, we can't simply present these documents to the media " Chloe explained.
"Why not?" Lois asked.
"Some of these documents have Lex's signature!" Clark added.
"No periodical, much less the Daily Planet, would accept this type of article as news without an official source, especially an anonymous one" Chloe explained. "Sorry guys. There's no solid base for a big news story. And these documents, well, they've been stolen from Luthorcorp! Can you imagine what kind of problems that could present?"
Lois faced Clark.
"She's right. We have to investigate this deeper"
"What?" Clark asked, confused.
"We don't have the actual names of the people involved in these experiments" Chloe continued, examining the documents. "We know that it's all about tests on human beings and animals, but they are only identified by numbers. The only legible name is Lex Luthor's. He should be more careful. Hopefully, he wasn't. We have a lot of work to do... And I was thinking maybe we should start with this Level 33.1--"
Chloe raised her eyes to look at Lois and Clark, and asked:
"What do you think?"
"I'm totally in" Lois answered.
Then, the two girls looked at Clark, who didn't seem too happy with the decision.
"I don't know. I think we should leave this to the police. It's too dangerous" he said.
"You know the police won't do anything, Smallville" Lois said.
"Lois is right, Clark" Chloe agreed. "It's Lex we're talking about. Remember?"
Clark took a deep breath. They were right.
"Ok. You can count on me" he firmly said.
"Good" Chloe said. "I'm going to start to investigating the information in these documents first thing tomorrow morning"
"And what about that other problem?" Lois asked.
"What problem?" Chloe asked back, confused.
"Bruce Wayne" Lois answered.
"I think that's a problem the police can solve" Clark said. "We know the Lucchesis are involved. We just need to give the police the information we have"
Chloe looked at Lois who explained:
"Vito and Vincent Lucchesi are small fish, Smallville. There's someone bigger behind them who wants to kill Bruce Wayne. And they will never give the police his name, because they probably don't even know his name. Anyway, they're too stupid. You saw that for yourself"
"So, what do you suggest?" Clark asked.
"Go to Gotham City to investigate" she answered.
"And how do you plan to do that?" Chloe asked, curious.
"Visiting Bruce Wayne" Lois explained.
"What makes you think Bruce Wayne is going to receive you?" Chloe asked with a smile.
"It seems Lois is an old friend of his" Clark said.
"You never told me that, Lo" Chloe said.
"Lois is full of surprises" Clark explained, cynical.
"It's a long story, Chlo. But I can do it. I can go to Gotham next week to solve this. What do you think?"
"I think you shouldn't go alone" Chloe said. "If somebody ordered the death of one of the richest men of the world, this person is certainly going to be monitoring everything in connection with him very closely."
"What are you gonna say to your boss to get her to let you go with me?" Lois asked.
"What do you mean?" Chloe asked. "I was talking about Clark"
"What?" they both asked.
"I won't be able to go with you, Lois" Chloe explained, surprise with their reaction. "Kahn would never authorize my absence at the Planet. She's my boss, remember? Anyway, I have to go investigate these documents!"
Lois and Clark looked at each other. They didn't seem to be happy with this alternative. But it seemed they didn't have a choice.
"Besides" Chloe continued, facing them "you two made a good team together tonight. I have a strangely good feeling about this!"
THE END
Author's Notes: Don't hate me, people. As I told to MadDogLane, who did an excellent work as a beta-reader, there's a sequel. I can't say more about it. So, stay tune.