“Lois!” Clark hissed as Lois slammed the car door without much pause. Maybe doing this in broad daylight was a stupid as it sounded.

“What?” Lois looked at him with raised eyebrows.

“Maybe sneaking tends to need more -- sneakiness?” Oliver chuckled as he got out from the other side of the car.

“Oh zip it green ass. You look like you could light up an area code.” Lois snorted as she took in Oliver’s Green Arrow gear versus her all in black trousers and vest. She didn’t give Clark’s usual red and blues the thumbs up either.

“Okay Catwoman what is the fall line for this year’s search and rescue?” Oliver zinged back until Clark raised his hand with annoyance.

“You two, if you hadn’t noticed Brainiac has excellent hearing and you two are giving the game away.” Walking over to the nearest part of the fencing, Clark scanned the area. His eyes narrowed as he could still hear Lois and Oliver bickering behind him.

“Away?” Brainiac laughed, “You never had game to begin with.”

Clark’s head whipped around at warp speed, Brainiac’s fist was already coming towards him. Turning his head back as much as he could Clark absorbed the blow.

“You know the drill!” He yelled as Oliver yanked Lois in the direction of the facility. Lois gave one last look back, her face full of concern as the two men grappled with each other.

“Lois come on. Clark can handle himself. We need to get Chloe out.” Oliver sighed as he tried to get Lois to move forward.

-*-*-*-

Chloe felt the vibrations from her room before she even realised what they were. With no windows she couldn’t see where they were coming from. Banging on her cell door, Chloe began to shout, “Clark? Clark! CLARK!”

-*-*-*-

“Our intel tells us she’s being…” Oliver spoke but Lois’ head was somewhere else.

“Do you hear that?” She asked. Oliver looked bemused. “I think it’s Chloe. She’s shouting for Clark.”

“Well let’s go.” Oliver hooked up his ear piece to where Lana was feeding him the necessary information.

“Oliver, you and Lois are on the right track but you need to right at the next juncture.” Lois wrinkled her nose as she heard Lana’s voice come through. Guess it was bizarre for her to hear Lana instead of Chloe on the other end.

Oliver pointed out the next right and Lois followed him, awaiting their next move Lois couldn’t repress a shudder as she felt another ripple from the fight that was going on outside. She felt Ollie’s hand on her shoulder.

“Do…” Lois started but stopped, sighing she changed her mind, “Do we need to talk? About Clark I mean?”

“Lois I don’t think this is the best time for this.” Oliver’s voice held a hint of amusement.

“Well is there any good time for I’m dating someone new?” Lois asked as she looked from side to side. It seemed that they were at a crossroads juncture with three possible ways and not enough time to check them all.

“Of all the men in the world. I’m glad it was Clark. Sure I’m jealous as hell.” Lois could almost see Ollie smiling under his gear, “But powers aside, Clark is a really good guy.”

“But?” Lois felt like adding but couldn’t stop it before it came out of her mouth.

“He’s a dual identity keeping superhero just like me. How come I got the short end of the straw?” It was a perfectly good question. Why had she chosen to stand by Clark in a way she couldn’t with Ollie.

So she gave the most honest answer she could, “Being with Clark. It’s simple. With us, it felt like we were suffocating in baggage.”

“Baggage?” Lois could tell Oliver was smiling. She smiled too.

“You know the Green Arrow stuff. Yeah you both do the same job but with Clark it’s different. He’s never had to leave the country because of it.” Lois continued.

“But one day he might.” Oliver told her, in the essence of truth.

“He might. But he’ll come back.” Lois replied.

“You believe that?” Oliver asked, part of him wasn’t convinced.

“I know it.” Lois said the words but the sceptical part of her thought she was crazy. Lois wondered if there would always be that part of her waiting for the let down.

“You don’t sound convinced.”

“Look aside from the obvious my boyfriend is an alien issues. I have my own too. Clark and I have not been together not nearly long enough to be discussing my neuroses.” Lois huffed.

“You two done?” Lana interjected.

“How much of that did you hear?” Lois half demanded.

“Nothing that will ever be repeated.” Lana said with a smile in her voice. Lois just grimaced, airing her dirty laundry in front of Lana was not something she figured she’d want to do on a regular basis.

“Lana…” Lois began.

“I get it Lois. I know you don’t want me hearing this -- whatever this was. But regardless you need to take a left then a right after that it should be straight on.” Lana spoke rapidly and Lois was still listening when Oliver took off. Luckily she was a runner and could keep speed.

-*-*-*-

Chloe’s voice was hoarse by the time Oliver and Lois actually got to her and got her door open. Flinging herself into Lois’ arms she felt like she could cry.

“Lois! Oliver! -- Wait, where’s Clark?” Chloe asked, looking around for Clark.

“Fighting the Brain trust.” Lois said flippantly.

“Brainiac.” Chloe corrected.

“Jeez, what is it with you two and names?” Lois thought back to when Clark corrected her previously on her mispronunciation of the supercomputer’s name.

“The what is we spend a helluva lot of time fighting this guy and it would be nice if you could at least reflect a bit of that.” Chloe reprimanded and Lois gave her a hands up, backing away gesture. “Sorry -- I’m a little on edge.”

“Kidnapped by a lunatic? Not a problem.” Oliver said as he checked both ways for any signs.

“There isn’t anyone here. Brainiac wouldn’t lower himself to work with ‘us humans’.” Chloe told them.

Oliver continued to walk several steps in front of them, “What was he working on?”

“He wants to recreate Dark Thursday.” Chloe told them.

“What?!” Lois all but screeched.

“Look Lo, escape now - speak later? Kay?” Chloe nodded at her cousin who reluctantly remain silent.

-*-*-*-

Clark felt like his own shoulders weighed a ton, his legs were just cement blocks that refused to budge. Sitting in a dent of the metal fence his body made on impact, Clark was ready to throw in the towel.

“You’re weak Kal-El. You’ve always been weak. It’s why you’re never going to win.” Brainiac taunted. But Clark was mollified by the fact Brainiac’s face dripped with what looked like blood and looked bruised, painfully bruised.

Grunting, Clark pushed up and ran at Brainiac, his shoulder connecting with the computer’s gut. Heaving him off the ground, Clark slammed him straight back into it. Using his heat vision, Clark tried to keep him down but Brainiac shot his leg out, taking Clark’s legs out from under him. Winded, Clark tried to breathe, but his lungs were refusing oxygen.

Oliver sent out one of his EMP arrows, intending to disorientate Brainiac, but he caught it before it could do any damage. At super-sped Brainiac appeared in front of them, Oliver stood his ground pushing Lois and Chloe behind him.

“I like this one. He’s got guts. Maybe we should see them -- Hmm?” Brainiac’s hand turned metallic before reforming as a thick blade. Chloe turned into Oliver, her front along his side. Chloe let her feelings do their thing, Brainiac’s blade hit what to an outsider looked like a brick wall.

“You, human are beginning to get on my nerves!” Brainiac aimed a swing at Chloe but was behind him, his fist hitting him so hard he flew backward. Over a few towns at least.

Clark stumbled slightly against his injuries. Oliver wrapped Clark’s arm around his shoulders, helped by Lois and Chloe, took Clark back to the car.

Having remained silent for most of the exchanges, Lana’s voice came through on the comm, “Did you get her? Is Chloe safe?”

Lois touched the metal in her ear, “Yeah Lana, Chloe’s fine. We got her.”

-*-*-*-

Lois sat on the stair decking outside the Kent farm, warm coffee in hand, staring at the sky. Chloe brought her coffee and perched beside Lois, “So Clark tells me you’ve been given a decoder ring.”

“Yeah.” Lois mumbled.

“Not the bundles of joy you were expecting?” Chloe asked, her shoulder nudging Lois’.

“It’s just Clark was beat up pretty bad. I mean there were ripples in the air for Christ’s sake!” Lois took a sharp breath.

“And…?” Chloe pushed.

“Now -- now there isn’t a scratch on him.” Lois sighed.

“Is that a problem?” Chloe sipped her coffee and contemplated Lois.

“No. It’s just how many other times has Clark been hurt and no one’s known. How much of this has he had to carry by himself.” Lois shook her head.

“Okay not what I was expecting from you Lo.” Chloe placed her hand on Lois’ knee and give it a gentle squeeze, “I know we throw around words like invulnerable and indestructible. But Clark’s heart? Not so much. He bleeds there just like the rest of us.”

“No pressure then?”

“Lois there is no pressure. It’s just like any other relationship.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of. I suck at those.”

“Well not falling at the ‘I’m an alien’ hurdle is definitely key to success.”

“Yeah but what about the rest of it? The togetherness of it all? The sharing all there is to share.” Lois sighed, “I’m the General’s daughter. Sharing is the equivalent of throwing yourself into enemy territory.”

“Clark isn’t the enemy and maybe you should talk to him about this.” Chloe stood and pressed a kiss to the top of Lois’ head before walking back into the living room and then up to the makeshift room the three of them made on their return.

Lois picked herself up and walked back in, Clark was standing the kitchen making more coffee. Lois gave a little half wave, “Were you…?” She gestured to out there.

“Listening? No. Just because I can doesn’t mean I do.” Clark smiled.

“Good to know.” Lois returned his smile.

Clark poured his coffee and turned back to Lois, cricking his neck, “Sore?” Lois asked.

“Little bit.” Clark nodded. “I guess being thrown…”

Lois sat up on the counter in front of Clark, “Turn around.”

“What?” Clark looked sceptical.

“Just do it Smallville.” Lois told him, he reluctantly turned around. Lois poked him right between the shoulder blades.

“Hey -- what the…?” Clark mumbled, rubbing his back as much as he could be Lois swatted his hand away.

“So you can feel that?” Lois said, as she began rubbing Clark’s shoulders properly.

“Yes I can feel it when you poke me!” Clark chastised.

“What? I wondered with your skin being so…” Lois murmured as she worked a particular hard kink in Clark’s left shoulder.

“It doesn’t hurt. But I feel it.” Clark said softly.

“Are you ticklish?” Lois asked as she smoothed her hands down Clark’s shoulders.

“No. My skin is too dense for that.”

“So what I’m doing is effectively fruitless?”

“I don’t know -- I know I’m enjoying it.” Clark chuckled.

Lois punched Clark in the shoulder blade, “You’re really one big perv. Is it hard not being able to feel everything?”

“Not really. I’ve never really know any different.” Clark turned around, confusion in his eyes. “Is there something to this?”

“…well…” Lois toyed with her fingers, “I’m just not sure how to add the fact you’re different into the relationship mix. You can’t say it doesn’t affect things you do.”

“We’ll work it out.” Clark said confidently.

“What between my crippling fear of commitment due to my absentee father and obvious lack of mother issues?”

“Lois you’re worrying before anything has even come up.” Lois partly resent that the look on Clark’s face said he was humouring her.

“Come up? My cousin was kidnapped by the same psycho that laid yours up in a hospital bed.” Lois opened and then closed her mouth before speaking again, “Oh just let me insert my foot into my mouth here.”

“No it’s fine. I -- I was going to check on Kara anyway.”

“Clark --”

A whoosh later, Lois felt very alone.