Dream Girl: Chapter 23 - Hypnotic
Lois watched as her cousin, crying again, left the coffee house. Stalking past Clark, she gave him her best go to hell look. He didn't even see her, so engrossed in some blonde tramp. She jogged out of the shop to find Chloe.
"Hi, I'm Simone," the tramp said. Clark continued to look at her, trying to place her if he did, indeed, know her.
"I'm sorry, but I've got to go," Clark told her, motioning over his shoulder. With any luck he could catch up with Chloe before Lois.
"What's the hurry?" Simone asked him, fingering the pretty blue stone hung around her neck. Clark looked at it, noting its size, and then he felt an odd compulsion slide through him. "You're not going anywhere unless I tell you to," Simone told him.
"Okay," Clark said, wondering why he needed to leave in the first place.
"You're going to believe everything I tell and you're going to do everything I say. Starting now," Simone ordered, taking a step up to him.
"What did you have in mind?" Clark asked. Simone grabbed his wrist and led him out back.
Once outside, she made it very clear what she wanted. Clark threw her up against the chain link fence and began to kiss her heatedly. They went at it, hot and heavy, for a few moments before a car screeched into the alley and someone opened and shut the car door.
"Clark?" Lois said incredulously.
Clark lifted his head and looked guiltlessly at Lois. She stormed over to them.
"What the hell are you doing?" Her lip curled in anger.
With a big smile, Clark introduced the strange woman. "Lois, I'd like you to meet Simone, my new girlfriend."
Lois balled her fists. She'd found Chloe a block away in the Smallville Diner, bawling her eyes out over the biggest piece of chocolate cake Lois ever saw. She slid into the other side of the booth.
"Death by chocolate?" Lois asked sympathetically
"Sort of," Chloe replied around a huge bite of cake.
"What happened back there?" Lois motioned the waitress over and requested another fork. "Can I?" Lois asked before sinking her fork into the moist dessert.
"Yeah," Chloe sniffed. "I don't even know why I'm crying. It's not like anything happened."
"Something obviously happened or you wouldn't be here stuffing your face with the most delicious dessert in the world!" Lois exclaimed when the cake hit her tongue.
"We just had a fight," Chloe moaned.
"You two have had a lot a fights. What was this one about?" Lois took a bigger bite of cake.
"Hey! You know what? Get your own piece!" Chloe exclaimed as she struck Lois' fork with her own. "It wasn't about anything. You know how I told you Clark keeps trying to talk about the kiss in the hospital?"
"You mean the way you've been avoiding him?" Lois clarified.
Chloe threw Lois a death stare. "Anyway, I don't know, but today I just had enough. He started talking about us and the whole discussion boiled down to Clark wanting to break up with Lana because things have gotten hard between them."
"Are you sure that's why he wants to break up with her? Maybe he just didn't word it right. We all Clark is not the wordsmith of your caliber." Lois couldn't believe she was playing devil's advocate.
"I don't care, Lois. Clark and I have danced this dance before and I'm always the one who ends up doing the solo. I'm hanging up my glass slippers for good now."
Lois and Chloe finished the cake and at Chloe's request, tabled Clark talk for the night. Lois suggested a movie to take her mind off the fight. She was going to meet Chloe back at the diner with the car, but Lois had to pull a U-y because she forgot her purse up in her apartment. That's when she found her cousin's lying, cheating, back-stabbing scum of the earth best friend tonguing the same blonde tramp he'd been eying when Lois left to find Chloe.
"You are such a slimebag," Lois snarled as she pushed past them into the Talon.
"Take me somewhere we won't get interrupted, Clark," Simone said sweetly. Clark led her to his truck and drove her back to his house, any thought of an upset Chloe far from his mind.
In the kitchen, Clark served up some of his mother's freshly made apple pie.
"Here you go," he said, sliding the plate across the table to Simone.
"Apple pie. Well, what else?" Simone said as she sat down.
"My mom just made it," Clark bragged.
"Of course she did." Simone stuck the fork into the scrumptious looking pastry and took a bite, Clark watching her carefully. "That's delicious. Now all I need is a glass of champagne. But I don't suppose you have that hidden behind the marmalade," she said jokingly. Suddenly, Clark was gone.
"Clark?" Simone called out. She got up from the stool and looked around the kitchen and the room off it, calling out his name again. There was a whoosh of wind and when she turned around, Clark stood before her with a bottle of champagne.
"What did you. . ." Simone trailed off as he twirled the bottle in his hands. "Where did you get that?"
"Al's Liquor Store in Metropolis," Clark told her, holding the bottle out to her.
"What? Metropolis?" Simone took the bottle from him. "How?"
"I can run really fast," Clark said simply.
"So if I were to say, Clark, I want some chocolate covered strawberries," she said with a laugh.
Same thing happened and when Clark returned with roses and the strawberries, she squealed with glee. "You are too good to be true!"
Clark had the grace to look modest.
"I think it's time you told your girlfriend about us," she ordered. "Call her and ask her to come over."
Clark took the phone out of his pocket and dialed Lana's number.
Inside of the movie theater, Lois sat with Chloe on a bench and told her what she just saw. After she thought about it, Lois conceded Chloe needed to know about Clark's back alley rendezvous. They needed to tell Lana about this tramp and Chloe, so Lana would know why her boyfriend was treating her like yesterday's news.
"Okay, I am the first person to concede anything is possible in this universe, but Clark Kent lip locked with another girl?" Chloe gave Lois a look, knowing full well what she had just said.
"Chloe, I'm telling you it was last tango at the Talon. Unfortunately, I had front row seats," Lois said as she dug into the big bucket of popcorn she'd purchased.
"Well," Chloe started. "Something must have happened to him. Because he wouldn't just do this." When he kissed her and then tried the second time, they had both been emotionally charged.
"Look, I know you have this whole hero-worship thing with the guy, but face it. Clark is no different from than any other red-blooded male. His brain, it's not his commanding officer," Lois challenged.
"Lois, you don't know him like I do," Chloe responded. "He is different. He wouldn't do this to Lana."
"He already has! Twice! And if Lana's our friend we need to shoot off a warning flare before-"
"No, hold your fire. Now before you utter one word to Lana about this let me talk to him."
Lois looked at Chloe and shook her head. "Fine. Talk to lover boy. Let's go before we miss our movie." Lois headed to one of the cinemas.
Chloe's phone rang. "Go on, Lois. Save me a seat." Chloe answered the phone.
"Lana. What's up?"
The next morning, Chloe commandeered Lois' car before she woke up; her bug still at the dorm parking lot. On the drive out to the Clark's, Chloe tried to reign in her anger. He goes from loving Lana, to wanting her, to slumming it with some coffee house groupie? She couldn't understand it. Chloe had told Clark to stop stringing Lana along, but Chloe had no idea he would go to such theatrical lengths to do so.
Chloe parked the car out front and looked in the barn first. Bingo. Clark was putting away heavy looking canister things.
"Oh, thank god, you're fully clothed," she griped at him as she walked in. "I was afraid I would be walking in on some sort of Dangerous Liaison." Chloe crossed her arms.
"I take it you've talked to Lana," Clark replied, not even looking up from his chore.
"Well, I could barely hear her through the sobs but, yeah, she called to tell me what happened."
Chloe watched Clark; his face impassive and still working. She took an enraged breath. "So, where's the hottie?"
"If you're talking about Simone," Clark emphasized. "She's in the house."
"I don't get it," Chloe thought out loud. "I mean, if it was Red K you wouldn't be doing chores and if it was Silver K you'd be afraid that pitchfork over there was going to turn you into a Shish Kabob. What happened to you, Clark?"
"I fell in love," Clark told her simply.
"I don't think you fell. I think you were pushed. Off a cliff." Chloe put a hand on her hip. Gone was the anger from yesterday and the hurt. As usual, something was up with her best friend and it was delegated to her to set him right again.
"Chloe, just because you know my secret doesn't mean you know how I feel," Clark told her with his back turned.
"Yeah, but I do know you would never intentionally hurt Lana like this," Chloe said.
"Chloe, you're the one who said my relationship with Lana would never go anywhere as long as I have to lie about who I am," Clark fed her words back to her as he turned to face her. "You know what? You were right."
"So how are things gonna be any different with Simone?" Chloe felt tears begin to sting at the back of her eyes. The same movie was playing in her head, only this time, there was a different girl at the end of it. Boy, she'd been stupid.
"I told Simone about my powers."
"Okay, wait a minute, Clark." Chloe walked over to him, anxiety churning in her stomach. "You may think you're madly in love with this girl, but you need to stay away from her."
"You haven't met her," Clark accused. "You don't even know Simone."
"Yeah, but I know you well enough to know when you're being manipulated," Chloe stated seriously. Clark stepped around her.
"You're crossing the line here, Chloe," Clark told her. "And I've always trusted you so why not this time, you trust me? Let me live my life," Clark spoke over her. "Back off."
"I can't back off, Clark. Do you remember that yesterday you were trying to talk me into being with you? It's not only Lana you're hurting," Chloe hinted softly.
"And I remember you storming out on me. Simone helped me get over my heartache," Clark said with a smirk.
"Wow, Clark. I'm glad someone was there to get you through that rough time. See ya around." Chloe walked out of the barn and over to Lois' car. Clark continued to work and Chloe changed directions and headed for the house.
She entered the front door and surveyed the scene, keeping her eyes open for this Simone. She made her way back to the kitchen and spied a black purse sitting on the bar. No one seemed to be around and Chloe decided it was the prime time for snooping. Until she heard a female voice calling out Clark's name from the stairs. Chloe turned quickly toward them.
"Hi!" She called out as the woman, dressed just in a blue towel, appeared. "You must be Simone. I'm Chloe, Clark's friend," she told the woman brightly. "It's really great to finally meet you," Chloe continued as Simone stared at her apprehensively.
"Hello," Simone responded as she began her descent down the stairs again.
"I'm so glad Clark hooked up with you. He was just so miserable with Lana and now I honestly have never seen him more happy," Chloe said, still trying to ease the woman's leeriness. "You two are really perfect for each other." This smile is beginning to hurt!
"That's nice to hear," Simone replied with a smile. "Do you know where he is?"
"Yeah, he's in the barn." Simone walked to the screen door and hung out, telling Clark she needed him. With quick hands, Chloe dug through her purse and pocketed a photo ID.
"Well, I'm just going to leave you two turtle doves alone," Chloe said to the back of Simone. Simone turned, remembering Chloe was there. "It was nice to meet you."
"You, too," Simone said.
Chloe backed out of the house and then made a run for the car. Once inside and kicking up dirt from the drive, Chloe called Lois.
"Meet me outside the Talon in ten minutes. We're going to the Daily Planet."
"And why are we going to Metropolis? Does it have anything to do with why you pulled a Gone in 60 Seconds with my car?" Lois questioned with annoyance when Chloe pulled to the curb to collect her.
Chloe recounted her conversation with Clark, ignoring Lois' sarcastic comments and unladylike snorts. Chloe drove through the parking lot mazes of Met U until she reached her own car.
"Here." Chloe tossed the keys back to Lois after she'd taken her own spare car key off the ring.
"I'm going to the Daily Planet to do some homework on our mystery seductress. Meet me there." Chloe got in her car and sped away. She took the first available parking space she could find, even if it was four blocks away. Sprinting most of the way, Chloe arrived inside the Daily Planet building out of breath and wondering where Lois was. Sitting down at her desk, Chloe pulled up the Internet and let her fingers do the work.
An hour and a half later, Chloe met Lois out in the atrium where she was waiting for a fax.
"Where have you been?" Chloe demanded.
"I went shopping. I knew you would call me when you found something. So? Is Clark a cheating boyfriend or a casualty of some left over cheer-leading experiment?"
"Neither," Chloe said as the two girls pushed opened the double doors to the basement offices. "I think Clark's bizarre behavior might be some form of super charged hypnosis."
"I've heard of hypnotism being used to stop smoking or lose weight but to reduce Clark to some goo-goo eyed love slave?" Lois voiced her doubt as she followed Chloe back to her desk.
"This isn't just over the counter hypnosis, this is prescription strength and it never wears off. Check this out," Chloe sat in front of her computer again and began pulling up some windows, telling Lois all she'd dug up. "Simone's dad was world renowned for curing his patients of all kinds of afflictions. Everything from cravings to cancer."
Lois leaned her hips against another desk, processing what Chloe just told her. "Maybe I can talk to him about my nail-biting issue," she quipped.
"I'm afraid it's a little late for that," Chloe pulled up a recent Internet obituary. "Last month he died during a botched burglary."
Lois leaned over Chloe's shoulder, something in the photograph of the man catching her eye.
"Wait a second. I've seen that jewel."
"So have I," Chloe said. "Around Simone's scrawny little neck."
Chloe handed Lois the ID she'd nicked from Simone's purse. "It's an ancient family heirloom. Its dates back to the great alchemists in medieval England." She got up and went to the file cabinet and pulled out a drawer, Lois right behind her. "It was also the only thing stolen."
"Are you saying Simone's responsible for her own father's death?" Lois asked doubtfully as Chloe pulled out some file.
"Well, if it meant getting daddy's hyper hypno-powers then maybe. I just think it's a tad bit cocky to be wearing it around your neck like an Olympic medal," Chloe spat as she went back to her desk.
"Not if you can make any cop believe that you're innocent," Lois said, the idea beginning to take hold. "What I don't understand is why of all people, go after Clark?"
"I don't know," Chloe replied, although she had a sneaky suspicion. "But we definitely need to snap him out of it soon before he does something he won't ever come back from."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's move," Lois said, ready to call in the cavalry.
"Yeah, you know, I, um, I just need to grab something. I'll meet you there," Chloe told Lois.
"Okay." And with the swing of her ponytail, Lois marched from the basement. When Chloe was sure she was gone, she opened a desk drawer and opened a lead box, grabbing the rock from inside it. Then she headed out.
The drive back to Smallville felt like an eternity behind the wheel. When she arrived back at the Kents' she saw Lois' car but not Clark's truck. Something must have gone wrong. She hurried to the house.
"Mrs. Kent. What are you doing?" Chloe heard Lois ask as she opened the kitchen door.
"Stay right where you are," the cold voice of Martha Kent was directed at Lois. Chloe couldn't believe it! Her cousin was on the ground with Mrs. Kent holding a rifle aimed at Lois' chest.
"Look, you're not yourself, so why don't you quit the Calamity Jane impression and drop the weapon?" Lois suggested as she slowly and carefully rose from the floor. Chloe saw a rolling pin on the cabinet. Mrs. Kent must have been baking. She grabbed it and made her way around through the hall to the other opening into the family room, coming silently behind Martha.
"I don't like it any more than you do, Lois, but it's the only way to keep you here," Martha said. Chloe counted to three and then swung the rolling pin with all her strength, striking Mrs. Kent on the back of the head and knocking her immediately unconscious. She watched the woman she thought of as mother tumble to the floor.
"Oh my gawd. I just knocked out Martha Kent," was all Chloe could say while staring Martha's still form.
"Hello?" Lois said from beside her. "The woman was about to wallpaper her living room with my brain matter."
"Right," Chloe said, looking at rolling pin in shock. "Where's Clark?"
"Well, while I was seeing stars I think his girlfriend said she wanted to go to the Luthor mansion or something," Lois spoke as she walked over to the fridge and pulled out a bag of apples.
Chloe slipped out the door, not waiting for Lois to finish. Chloe didn't like the idea of what she might find at the mansion one bit.
Lex, coming home from his business trip, opened the doors to his home office. His steps halted when he saw Clark, standing in the dark.
"Well, it's always nice to be welcomed home after a trip," Lex said as Clark turned. He threw his briefcase and sports jacket on the coffee table to his right. "But I didn't expect to find you here."
The two men walked toward each other. Unexpectedly, Clark reached out and grasped the front of Lex's fancy purple shirt and threw him across the room. Lex came crashing down, shattering his glass desk.
Clark watched as Lex laid stunned for a couple of seconds. He was surprised he didn't feel anything. He was giving away his secret to another Luthor and possibly the most dangerous one. But it didn't matter. As long as Lex never knew his weakness, there was nothing he could do to him. Nothing. That made him smile a tiny bit.
Lex rolled to his side, his face screwing up in pain. He would be lucky if no long shards of glass punctured any vital organs. But if Clark could throw him across the room like that, long shards of glass weren't his only problem. "Clark, you've been hypnotized. How else could you throw me across the room like that?"
"I'm done with you, Lex," Clark told him calmly as he advanced toward the man on the floor.
"You're under Simone's control now," Lex continued, hoping to reach Clark on some other level, the real Clark underneath the hypnosis. "Girl's a cold blooded murderer, Clark."
Nothing was stopping him.
Clark picked Lex up. "Your lies can't help you now." He pushed him roughly into the stone wall behind them and then turned him around, pulling back his fist for the final obliteration.
"Clark! Before she wore that jewel she was nothing but a petty shoplifter. Her dad never trusted her with the gem so she murdered him for it," Lex saw Clark lower his fist and breathed a little easier. He was getting through to him. "I have the whole thing on surveillance tape."
"You don't believe a word he said, Clark," ordered Simone as she pranced in, heels clicking on the hard floor.
"My security's on the way," Lex bluffed.
"Oh, I've met your security team," Simone simpered as she joined the two. "Hope you don't mind, I gave them all the day off."
For the first time in his life, Lex could see no way to bargain, beg or steal his way out of this. He knew, without a doubt, he would meet death tonight. At the hands of his best friend.
"Finish him off, Clark," Simone uttered the words that would mean his death. "And make him suffer."
Snarling, Clark grabbed Lex with one hand around his throat and thrust him into the air. He began to tighten his grip as Lex fought for oxygen. Simone watched happily as her blackmailer started to suffocate.
Tighter and tighter Clark squeezed. Lex's eyes were beginning to glaze over. Clark was debating whether to crush his air pipe when he began to feel weak and queasy. His grip began to loosen as the feeling became stronger. He couldn't bear it. Dropping Lex, Clark fell to the floor in the familiar agony of Kryptonite. Chloe came into his sight, holding a big rock of the green stuff.
"I'm sorry, Clark," she told him, slipping the rock into the pocket of his jacket. The kryptonite seemed to have to mind clearing affect and Clark came back to himself.
"No," Clark moaned. He knew in helping him Chloe would get herself killed. "Chloe, no."
Lex scrambled away and pulled a gun from the briefcase he'd discarded earlier. Standing to his feet he pointed the gun at Simone.
"Lex," Simone said, fingering the jewel. "Kill her." Simone nodded to Chloe. "And then kill yourself."
Chloe watched in horror as Lex now fell under her spell. Well, the bitch was going to pay for that. As Lex turned Chloe marched over to him and turned to the side, grasping Lex's arm. She leaned all her weight on the arm as they struggled together. Using all the force she could, she threw herself against him, throwing Lex off balance. In that mili-second, Chloe swung Lex around and pointed the gun at Simone.
With a blast the gun went off, the bullet traveling straight and true. The jewel broke into a million tiny pieces as the bullet hit it and Simone fell to the ground, dead.
Both Lex and Chloe looked down at the inert woman. Lex braced a hand on Chloe's back as he griped the gun and breathed in deeply.
Chloe stared a second longer and then ran to Clark, taking the Kryptonite from his pocket and tossing it out into hallway away from him. Clark stood shakily to his feet.
"You all right, Clark?" Chloe asked hurriedly, running her hands down his arms, assuring herself he was okay.
"I think so," Clark answered as he looked down at her, still in shock over what he had almost done.
"Let's get out of here," Chloe said as she took his hand to lead him out of the mansion.
"Wait," Clark murmured. He let go of Chloe's hand and walked over to Lex. "Lex?"
Lex felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to find Clark.
"Go. I'll take care of all this," he said quietly.
"Lex, I-"
"Clark, go. Just. . . go." Lex waved him off as he walked to the only piece of unbroken furniture in the room and sat down, his face in his hands.
"Come on," Chloe said, meeting Clark at the door. Clark took her hand again and the two left the room.
To read Ch. 24, click here.