Author's note: The reference to Linda Lake's column and the love triangle is from the episode "Hydro". There's also an alternate take on Season Seven in terms of Grant Gabriel, Daily Planet editor, and his relationship with Lois Lane. The reference to Chloe's safe house blowing up was from the last episode of Season Three of "Smallville", "Covenant". The reference to Lex Luthor and torture, illegal cloning, crimes against humanity, etc., are from the numerous episodes featuring meteor freaks imprisoned in the 33.1 labs and Lex's experiments on them.
Step Seven: Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
Six Months Later
"Hey, Sullivan!" Perry said across the newsroom. "What've you got?"
"Hey, White!" Chloe said back, smiling. "You're not going to believe what you see here!" Then a dark expression crossed her eyes and she lost her smile. Perry saw her vivacity dim. Damn them, he thought. In that moment he made his decision.
Perry leaned close in and whispered. "Chloe, I have to talk to you. Can we go for coffee at lunchtime?"
He held her gaze. "OK," she said slowly.
They sat down in a small diner, a few blocks farther from the Daily Planet building than their usual haunts.
"What is it, Perry?" Chloe asked him. She knew him. This was unusual.
Perry sighed. "Chloe, it's dangerous to talk about this, but I figure you ought to know."
"What?"
"Chloe, you've been working on a Luthorcorp expose, haven't you?" Perry asked. "And you've been keeping it pretty confidential?"
"Well, I hoped so," Chloe replied. "You knew about it because of our lunch meetings, but I haven't been telling anyone else at the Planet about it."
"Well, you must be on to something hot," Perry said. He sighed. "And somehow, the fact that you're investigating has leaked out." This was going to hurt. "Chloe, I've got a lifetime of sources."
"Yeah, I know that, Perry," she said.
"More than you do, right now," he said. "Oh, I know you're working up your networks, and you're doing pretty good. But I did hear something that you probably haven't."
She leaned forward. "What?"
Time to tell her now. "Chloe, I've heard…rumors…that your recent car accident was anything but."
Chloe drew in her breath sharply.
"What I've heard – and there's no proof, no proof whatsoever – is that Luthorcorp put a hit on you and said to make it look like an accident."
She froze.
Perry nodded.
"If it hadn't been for Clark…" Chloe said in a whisper.
"Clark?" Perry asked curiously. "I didn't know he was there."
"Um, if it hadn't been for Clark's lessons in defensive driving, I mean," said Chloe awkwardly.
"Well, it's a good thing you had those lessons," Perry said. "It was only by the grace of God that your car didn't tumble off the embankment. I saw the accident report. Chloe, it's a miracle."
"I know," she said softly.
Perry caught her attention again. "Lex Luthor knows you're getting too close. This is a warning. And a punishment. I can't prove it, but you and I know it's true."
Her face twisted, and she put her head in her hands. After a minute, she straightened her shoulders and lifted her head.
"I'm not going to stop," Chloe whispered intently. "I'm going to bring Lex Luthor down."
"Yeah, and get killed doing it!" Perry said. He caught her wrist, keeping her from storming out. "Chloe, sit down." She sat.
"I want to see Lex Luthor go down as much as you do," Perry said. "I know what kind of guy he is." He smiled bitterly. "I've seen him up close and personal, too." He spoke sincerely. "But, Chloe, I don't want to see you get hurt. You're too good a reporter. And too good a person."
"So what are you saying?" Chloe challenged him.
"Chloe, I've got a plan. But it's going to depend on some other people besides us. We need to get Clark Kent and Lois Lane on board."
"I think we probably could," Chloe said.
"And we need to meet somewhere far away from here, somewhere where there aren't any video cameras or bugs," Perry continued.
Chloe wrinkled her brow. "I think we could meet at the Kent Farm – I'll ask Clark, but I'm sure he'll say yes. He checks every day for surveillance devices."
Perry raised an eyebrow questioningly."
"It all started after that Linda Lake gossip column where he was outed as the third figure in the Lex-Lana-Clark love triangle," Chloe explained. "Ever since then, he's been paranoid about being spied on."
"Good survival skills when dealing with the Luthors," Perry muttered. More loudly, he said, "And I want you to hack into your Planet personnel file. But don't do it at the Planet. Be somewhere safe when you do."
"I hacked into it a few years ago," Chloe said curiously. "Why do you want me to recheck it?"
"Just do," Perry said. "I'll explain. Can you get Clark and Lois to meet us at the Kent Farm two nights from now?"
"I'll run it by them, but if you think it's important, I'm sure they'll meet us there," Chloe said.
"It's important, Chloe," Perry said. He took a sip of coffee. "We've got to get back now." He put a few bills on the table for their waitress. "Don't touch the Luthorcorp story for the next few days, Chloe, and keep a low profile."
**************
Perry pulled up to the Kent Farm. The setting sun cast its rays through the dust of the farmyard, illuminating the yellow house with a welcoming glow. He saw three other vehicles in the drive; it figured that he himself was late. Lately he'd been taking on more and more responsibility at the Planet.
Clark opened the door and beckoned Perry in. Perry couldn't help but smile. Every time he came to the Kent Farm, he contrasted his welcome reception now with the original brush-off he'd gotten when he was working for X-Styles.
They gathered around the kitchen table. Clark and Chloe sat next to each other, concerned looks on their faces. Lois sat across from them, and Perry sat on the end, unconsciously dominating the discussion. Perry took a deep sip of coffee and drew in a breath.
"I supposed you're wondering why we're all here today," he started. Without waiting for an answer, he asked Clark, "You're sure there aren't any cameras or bugs around?"
Lois raised her eyebrows. She looked even more surprised at Clark's reply and his uncharacteristically serious expression.
"It all checks out clean, Perry."
OK. Time to go ahead.
"I've been working with you three for months now. You've all impressed me. Now I have to ask us all to pull together."
Curious glances.
"Chloe, here, is in a spot. I have to swear you to secrecy on what I'm about to say."
Even more curious looks, but Clark and Lois murmured their agreement.
Perry continued. "Chloe is working on an expose of Lex Luthor and Luthorcorp. She's told me a little bit about it and it's hot. This is the story that will put Lex Luthor in prison. Unlawful imprisonment, torture, illegal cloning, crimes against humanity – this is big."
Clark only nodded. Perry wasn't surprised to find that he already knew about it. Lois looked surprised. In what Perry had no doubt was one of the hardest things she'd ever done, she said only one word.
"And?"
"And somehow Chloe has tripped some alarms. I've been up against the Luthors before. They're ruthless. Chloe, you know that."
Chloe nodded.
"I'm not likely to forget that it was your testimony that convicted Lionel Luthor of murder," Perry said. "Not when that was what got me my Pulitzer. But, Lois, you may remember that Chloe's safe house was blown up."
"I thought you were dead, then," Lois murmured to Chloe. "That was one of the worst times in my life."
"It wasn't so fun for me either," Chloe retorted.
Perry interrupted. "And, yesterday, Chloe had a car accident."
Clark stirred. "I don't think it was entirely accidental."
"I don't either," Perry said. For a moment, he wondered about her statement – If it hadn't been for Clark. Clark had been Johnny on the spot in all the police reports in the past. What he if had been there again? How could he have gotten to a car traveling over seventy miles per hour? Not important right now, Perry thought. "I think her life is in danger – again. It's just that Lex Luthor is a little more subtle than his father."
Identical expressions of anger on the faces of Lois and Clark. Obviously they believed him. Why not? They'd each dealt with Lex before. Perry held their gazes for a moment before going on.
"Here's where I ask for your help," Perry said to Lois and Clark. He changed the subject and asked Chloe, "Did you hack into your Planet personnel file?"
"Yep," she said.
"And did you see the bit about promoting you?"
"I'm not sure," Chloe replied.
"The part where it says, when someone wants to promote you, to talk with Henry Manush in Human Resources?"
"I got that. I don't know what it meant," Chloe said. "But you're going to tell me?"
"Manush is the Luthorcorp mole at the DP," Perry said bluntly. "I've been checking around. Chloe, haven't you wondered why you're still in the basement, five years after you started at the Planet?"
"Well, I was getting a little discouraged…"
"What I've managed to find out, Chloe, is that you've been up for promotion every year. Heck, you were up after six months. But when word gets to Manush, he notifies someone, and the suits upstairs put the kibosh on your advancement."
Perry noticed that Chloe nodded bitterly, Clark looked enlightened – and angry. Lois breathed fire. Before any of them could say anything, Perry went on.
"They haven't been able to fire you. The editors in the basement, the people that really work there, know how good you are. Somehow, the thought of losing a quality person who actually gets things done, makes an editor testy." Perry took another sip of coffee. "So it's a balancing act. The suits upstairs, under Luthorcorp pressure, are trying to make you resign. The editors fight it. And you stay in the basement."
Chloe nodded again. Clark reached out and took her hand.
"OK, now it's time for me to go on a tangent," Perry said. "I don't know if you heard that I'm going to be assistant editor."
"Yeah, that's the scuttlebutt on the floor," Lois said. "No secret there, Perry. You're the obvious candidate."
"Ever since Grant Gabriel left…" Clark trailed off.
"Hey, thanks for kicking him where it counted, Lois," Perry said.
She blushed. "I didn't think anyone knew about that."
"I've got my sources," Perry said archly, softening the blow by giving her a big grin.
"He probably deserved it," Clark rumbled. Perry knew that Clark had met Grant and didn't care for him.
"Anyway," Perry said, cutting off Lois' reply, "it's time for the Planet to get back to the practices that made it famous. Thorough stories. Good reporting. Deep investigations. Hard news, backed up with facts. None of this stuff that gets us sued for libel."
"Another legacy of the esteemed Mr. Gabriel," Chloe said. She'd been sitting quietly in her chair till now, apparently stunned, hardly even sipping her coffee.
"Well, things are going to change," Perry said. "And I want some good people there." He got up and refilled his coffee cup, and cast a questioning look at the others to see if they wanted their mugs topped off too.
He sat down and asked, apparently out of nowhere, "Did you ever read any of the Hornblower series by C.S. Forester?"
Clark and Chloe nodded.
"And maybe you remember the one where Hornblower is on the Channel Fleet blockading the French and the admiral of the fleet is retiring?"
"It was 'Hornblower and the Hotspur', Clark said. "Admiral Cornwallis."
"Only you would remember that, Smallville," Lois said, in exasperated affection. "Geek!"
"Hey, they were good books!" Clark defended himself. "I read them more than once!"
"Ahem. If we are done casting aspersions…" Perry said. Clark and Lois stopped their half-hearted sniping.
"Clark, you probably remember, then, that the Admiral got three promotions when he was leaving the navy."
"Midshipman to lieutenant. Lieutenant to commander. Commander to captain," Clark recited.
Perry caught Lois' whispered "geek" again, but ignored it. "And though I'm hardly an admiral in the British Navy, I do manage to have some influence on personnel." A serious tone entered his voice. "Here's the plan. Listen to it all and then tell me if you can do it."
The three younger members looked at him curiously.
"Clark, I can get you into the Planet as a junior reporter right away. You've got the degree, you've got the experience, and the paper has bought some of your free-lance work already." Perry drank some coffee. "I've been working with you long enough –"
"You've been editing me already, Perry," Clark said affectionately.
"- that I know you can handle the work. It'll be a full-time job. The pay isn't great to start, but you'll move up soon. It'll probably mean that you won't be able to run the farm anymore, though. Do you want to come to the Planet?"
Clark gave him a steady look. "More than anything, Perry." He squeezed Chloe's hand. "I've been thinking about leasing out the farm anyway." A wealth of untold words in that phrase. Oh well, Perry would ask him about it after one of their Friendly Friday meetings soon.
"OK, then," Perry said. "Chloe, Lois, your situation is more complex." He sighed. "Lois, you've got talent. And you've got connections. You've been Mrs. Kent's campaign manager and senatorial aide – you know people in Topeka and Washington."
Lois nodded.
"And you're a former army brat - no secret there. So the military world is open to you too."
Lois nodded again.
"And you've hung out with Oliver Queen, billionaire," Perry said. "So you know a bunch of people in high society too."
"Don't forget working in the Talon as a coffee waitress," Clark needled. "She got to know a lot of Smallville society there."
Lois stuck her tongue out at him. Clark grinned back.
"And you're good at getting people to talk to you," Perry went on. Lois smiled. "But not so good at fact-checking," Perry said. The smile left Lois' face.
Perry turned to Chloe. "And you're a great investigative reporter. You fact-check. You document. You have proof for what you write. And you can write."
"Where are you going with this, Perry?" Chloe demanded.
"Chloe Sullivan has no future at the Daily Planet", Perry said, hating the way Chloe's face fell. "She's blacklisted, doesn't have a hope of promotion, and now there's a death threat out for her."
Chloe looked down into her coffee.
"But Perry White, assistant editor-to-be, can hire Cat Grant, a society columnist, formerly known as Lois Lane." Chloe lifted her head. "And Perry White can move Lois Lane, formerly known as Chloe Sullivan, up from the basement." He saw hope bloom in Chloe's eyes. "And Chloe Sullivan will resign from the Planet and move to Coast City, and won't be writing that Luthorcorp story anymore. She'll be out of town and off their radar."
"What are you saying, Perry?" Clark asked.
"It's simple, Clark," Perry replied. "Well, maybe not. There's an opening for a society columnist. Cat Grant is a pseudonym that the Planet uses for that column. Lois was made for that position. Chloe moves up from the basement, and you move in as a new hire."
"If you're thinking this will dissuade Luthorcorp and its minions, you're mistaken," Chloe said.
"Am I?" Perry retorted. "Let's think about it here. Firstly, Lex Luthor isn't spending much time in Smallville or Metropolis these days. He's off in Washington a lot, or gallivanting around to the worldwide Luthorcorp facilities. He'll get a report that Chloe Sullivan resigned from the Planet and gave up the story. He's a busy man. That's all he cares about. He'll let things drop."
"He probably would, Chloe," Clark said. "He's an efficient kind of guy. Why kill you when he can just scare you off?" A bitter tone in Clark's voice.
"And his minion at the Planet?" Chloe asked.
"Strangely enough, Mr. Manush will be transferred to Gotham City right before your promotions," Perry said. "Lex Luthor isn't the only one who can use his influence under the table."
"One hire, two promotions, and one transfer, Mr. Admiral?" Lois asked.
"Like I said, I'm not in the British Navy, but I can do something," Perry smiled.
"But come on! Everyone in the Planet knows who I am already!" Chloe said. "And that's not even counting Lois! What if she doesn't want to be Cat Grant?"
Everyone turned to Lois. "You know, coz," Lois said, "when Perry proposed this, I thought he was crazy. But now it's making sense. You know, and I know, that I'd be better at the gossip column – "
"The society column, please," Perry interjected, mock-sternly.
" - than doing the kind of reporting that you do. I can't live up to the standard you set there – nobody can." Lois had a momentary serious expression. "But I can do a good job in Section B." She sat straighter. "And I don't want to lose you, Chloe." Desolation tinged her voice. "I thought I lost you a few years ago in the safe-house explosion. I can't bear to have something happen to you again. If this helps keep you safe, I'm all for it."
Chloe's vision blurred with tears. She was lucky and she knew it, to have such a loyal cousin and friend.
"Besides," Lois continued, "if it gets Smallville here hired in at the Planet…well, he can start putting the stuff in that leads to libel suits."
She and Clark exchanged insincere smiles.
"And Smallville will be working with you! How much better could it be?" Lois finished sarcastically.
"Actually, if we do this, Chloe, you'd be on the top floors and Clark would be in the basement," Perry cautioned.
"For now," Chloe said defiantly. "You know and I know that Clark is a good writer and he'll be on the upper floors in no time at all."
"Thanks, Chlo," Clark muttered.
"But that still doesn't explain why you think I can get away with it!" Chloe said. "It's not like people at the Planet don't know who I am!"
"Well…" Perry said. "It's like this. Let me run it by you and you tell me what you think. Really, a lot of people at the Planet really don't know who you are."
Chloe raised her eyebrows.
"Yeah, everyone in the basement knows you well, Chloe. But come June 30, the usual turnover is going to happen. We'll get in the usual crowd of interns from Met U and other places, and a lot of the current basement inhabitants will be moving on to other jobs, or getting fired, or they'll realize that their six months or a year as a reporter for a major metropolitan newspaper isn't really what they want. So that's a large group right there taken care of."
"OK," Chloe said.
"And the upstairs people – Chloe, I don't know if you know how distant they are from the basement. Most of the group up there just lumps the basement folk in as this-year's crowd of newbies. Speaking from experience, after a few years, the cub reporters all just blend together," Perry said. "Unless, unless they're really good. Like you."
"Well, thanks for the compliment, I guess," Chloe said.
"And, Chloe," Perry continued, "people do know that there's some sort of black mark against you. They don't know it's not your fault, that you're on the Luthorcorp blacklist and that the Luthors use their influence with the board to make sure you're not promoted. All that most people have heard is that you've been pounded with some sort of sh!t stick. And most people don't want the sh!t to get on them. So if they hear that Chloe Sullivan resigned, they'll put you out of their minds."
Clark stirred restlessly in his seat. He took Chloe's hand again, squeezed it as she paled.
Perry went on. "So, Chloe, you'd be surprised at how little the people in the upper floors actually know about you. They know your work, sure. But very few of them have actually seen you."
"And?" Clark asked this time.
"So, Clark, if Chloe dyes her hair brunette, if she takes over Lois' name, and if the Luthorcorp spy gets transferred, we've got a pretty good chance of pulling this off."
Lois, Chloe, and Clark said nothing, stunned.
"Of course, this is the hard part. You girls – excuse me, you ladies – will have to give up your identities. If Chloe becomes Lois, then Lois, you can't keep that identity. You have to be Cat Grant," Perry said firmly.
"But isn't the Cat Grant name copyrighted to the Planet or something?" Chloe asked.
"No, surprisingly enough, it isn't," Perry said. "If Lois wants to, she can take over that name."
The two cousins stared at each other. "It's a hard thing," Chloe murmured.
Clark turned to look at Chloe. "I don't want to influence your decision, Chloe," he said.
Lois sneered.
"All right, I do." Clark clasped her hand again. "I think you should think about it. I know it's not me who has to give up his identity. In fact, I'm the one making out the best on this deal." He looked at Perry before returning his glance to Chloe. "But I've known Perry for quite some time now, and he'll tell it like it is. The stuff about you being blacklisted – that explains it." Clark leaned over to Chloe and gave her a quick, abashed hug. "And if there's a death threat out on you….I'm not surprised." Lowering his voice so Perry could barely hear him, Clark said to Chloe, "I couldn't bear to lose you."
"We'd have to get our names changed somewhere," Chloe said weakly, and Perry knew he'd won.
"Judge Ross," Clark instantly said. "We can go to Wichita and tell her about it. She'll keep things confidential." He cast Lois a significant glance and she nodded in agreement.
"So…" Chloe said. Then, stronger, she said, "So. That's how it's going to be." She sat back in her chair.
Perry looked at Lois, Clark and Chloe. "Are we in agreement?" Everyone nodded.
Perry stood up, raised his coffee mug. A glance around, and everyone else raised theirs as well. Perry made a toast, knowing, with these reporters in his future, he was at an historic beginning. "I give you… Clark Kent, cub reporter. Cat Grant, society columnist. And Lois Lane, investigative reporter for the Daily Planet!"
