Freak OOM: Daily Planet

[torched_reporter]

The drive to the Daily Planet didn't take long. With more traffic heading out of Metropolis for the weekend rather than in, there was no stop and sit traffic. There was little to keep Chloe from pulling up (rather hastily) in the garage, eager to get to work.

Five minutes later and she's at her computer, already typing away.

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[hero_farmboy]

Clark isn't far behind. He had a job to do and sets down a latte beside Chloe's computer, the fruits of his labour.

Yes, Clark's a master of the caffeine run.

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

She takes a sip of the latte before bothering to explain anything to Clark. Coffee comes first, and will probably be needed given a day like today. That out of the way, she nods at the screen.

"Daniel may not be the only one. Last week a mother called 911, complaining that her son disappeared in the middle of the night. But when he showed up in bedthe next morning, safe and sound, there was no case. Son's name -- Brian Osborne, also on the Wall of Weird -- suspected clairvoyant."

Chalk one up to Chloe's super powered search engine skills.

[hero_farmboy]

Clark raises an eyebrow and takes up position beside her chair, leaning one hand on her desk as he peers at the screen.

"So people with meteor powers are being abducted."

Fine. You win this one, Chloe. Like always.

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

Hah, see?

Sadly, the conversation is much more serious than that. Chloe frowns, leaning back in her chair as she looks at Clark. "And then released with a memory wipe that reaches back before the abduction."

[hero_farmboy]

He concedes!

"The question is what's happening to them on their big night out?" Clark asks rhetorically, straightening up himself. People aren't just kidnapped for no reason.

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

One thing's clear: "I'm guessing not a pajama party."

[hero_farmboy]

Chloe's going to get a look for that one.

He paces slowly in front of her desk and sighs. "Considering Lex's history with 33.1, I bet he's behind this." Lex and obsessing over meteor infected people practically go together like cookies and milk.

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

"That wouldn't be a shocker."

Lately, it's either been Zoners or Lex causing trouble. No surprise that, if meteor freaks are involved, it's Lex's fault. She frowns, pulling up some photos she took at the bowling alley. Maybe there's something in one of these...

Wait. That. Chloe zooms in on the image: a photo of Lana in the foreground. But in the background, a man is visible and pointing at Daniel Kim. She glances back at Clark. "But this is the only clue I have."

[hero_farmboy]

He heads back to the computer, leaning in once more.

"That's you and Lana having the time of your lives." See, he can be supportive. "That's great." She'll just have to forgive him for not really getting what this has to do with anything.

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

Chloe sighs. Once again, he's missing the bigger picture.

"Be patient. See?" She zooms in further and taps at the screen. "That's Tobias Rice. He was blinded in the last meteor shower, and he's pointing directly at Daniel. Why would a blind person point at someone?""

[hero_farmboy]

Clark is about to protest, but since Chloe's batting .1000, he thinks it might just be worth going with her on this one.

"You think maybe he can sense something? Or he's not as blind as he'd like people to think he is?"

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

"It has to be something," Chloe answers with a nod. "Considering the rate kryptonite seems to mutate human DNA, would it really come as a surprise if it somehow gave him some sort of peripheral sight?"

[hero_farmboy]

"It shouldn't, should it." Somehow, it still does surprise him. Deep down, he keeps hoping they'll just stop finding new people who've been infected by kryptonite and everything will go back to what's supposed to be normal.

"So what's our plan now?"

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

Chloe's eyebrows raise. "I kind of thought it was obvious. We go talk to Tobias."

[hero_farmboy]

Oh.

"Right."

Duh, Clark.

"You driving?"

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

Duh, Clark.

"There's kind of no other rational option, is there?"

[hero_farmboy]

Clark smiles. "Well, I could drive the Yaris for once. Push that seat way back and actually have some decent leg room."

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

Just what she thought.

"Yeah, definitely no other rational option. C'mon Clark," she says, already shutting down the computer and grabbing her bag. "Let's go find out what secrets Tobias Rice is hiding."

[hero_farmboy]

One day he'll get behind the wheel of that car. One day.

Today, however, he just steps back and gestures for her to take the lead. "After you. I am but your humble lock pick."

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

One day... in his dreams.


That aside, the ride to Tobias' is just as uneventful as the ride to Metropolis was. Mostly. There was that one annoyed honk from the car behind them: Chloe had been too busy berating Clark for asking her if she was just going to "ambush poor Tobias" to notice that it was her turn to move in traffic.

Ultimately, they do reach Tobias' home in Smallville in one entire piece.

[hero_farmboy]

It was an entirely valid questions. Once Chloe slips into 'uncover the truth' mode, it's hard to rein in that rampant enthusiasm.

By the time they reach the door of the house, Clark has been duly chastised. That doesn't stop him from being the one to knock on the door, though. Tobias, a kid about a year younger than they are wearing large, dark glasses, answers after a few moments and invites them inside.

"Tobais, I'm sorry about what happened to you," Clark offers as he and Chloe step in the house, closing the door behind them. After all, it was Clark's fault.

"Hey,I got off lucky. My parents, not so much," Tobias replies with surprising humour. "Can I get you guys something to drink? How about an iced tea?" Clark glances at Chloe, but neither can answer fast enough for their host. "Don't make me drink alone."

Clark relents. "Sure, I'll have a glass. Thanks."

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

Chloe, however, doesn't bother to answer the question. Maybe Clark was right - she does have a tendency to ambush people. But, seriously, you're not going to get answers if you beat around the bush.

She looks him over one more, taking in to account the fumbling and glasses and everything. It kind of puts a dent in her whole periphery vision theory. So she just switches to asking: "Tobias, you were at Smallville Lanes last night, weren't you?"

"You sound surprised," he replies, continuing with his search for glasses rather than turning around to address Chloe.

She's not phased. "You were pointing at someone, someone named-"

"I hate to break it to you," Tobias interrupts with the same wry humor, "but in my condition, I'm not doing too much pointing these days. Hopefully that'll change. I'm on this waiting list for a cornea transplant."

[hero_farmboy]

Clark flashes Chloe a look. Perhaps it wasn't an ambush, but it wasn't far off. Clearly, the pleasantries are Clark's duty today, and since Tobias seems to be having some difficulty with that drink, "Hey, let me help you with that."

"No, I can handle it." The words are barely out of Tobias' mouth when his hand knocks a glass out of the cupboard, sending it hurtling toward the kitchen floor.

With no point in not speeding over, Clark manages to get there in time to grab the glass just before it crashes, but can't quite stop himself from nudging Tobias just a little in the process. The boy's sunglasses hit the floor instead, and he grabs the sides of his head, groaning in pain.

"Tobias, I'm sorry," Clark grabs the sunglasses from the floor and hands then quickly back to Tobias, who fumbles to put them on. "The glass almost hit the ground."

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

He wasn't looking at her, was he? Chloe frowns in confusion as she walks over to the boys. She can be sensitive sometimes.

Or maybe it is just curiosity. Maybe, sunglasses and fumbling despite, she is right. Maybe he saw something when Clark knocked the glasses off.

Tentatively, Chloe offers a hand. "Are you all right, Tobias?"

He brushes it a way, pulling back from Clark as well. "I'm fine. It's just, when my glasses are off, I get these raging headaches from the light." He doesn't exactly look desperate, but that previous welcoming warmth is totally gone. "Please just go."

[hero_farmboy]

"Sorry," Clark mumbles to Tobias as he takes Chloe by the arm and ushers her outside.

Once they're back out on the street, he sighs. "Well. That went perfectly."

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

Chloe looks back at the house, not quite willing to get in to her car yet. There is definitely something going on with Tobias Rice. She frowns in thought before finally looking up at Clark.

"It did, didn't it? Cause, call me crazy, but it was almost like he saw something."

[hero_farmboy]

Sarcasm, Chloe. Although Clark isn't going to harp on that. He's too busy looking none too happy with the way things turned out.

"That's what worries me." It was stupid of him to use his abilities in front of someone he barely knows, blind or not. He quickly tunes out Chloe and focusses on anything that might be going on inside Tobias' house. It's not hard to tell he's on the phone.

"I told you not to call me. This had better be important, Tobias."

"It is. Dr. Bethany. I found another one."

"I'm at the hospital now. We'll deal with this later."

That's all Clark needs to hear and he zones back out, looking at Chloe in mild panic. "I think you were right about Tobias. He can see something. I think he can see people who are... different."

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

Chloe blinks. She doesn't like that look in Clark's eyes. Or anything he's just said. A worried Clark is never a good sign.

"Did you just eavesdrop on Tobias?"

[hero_farmboy]

"Well, it's not like we got enough information when we were in there," he replies, sheepishly.

"Besides, it's a good thing I did. Tobias called some doctor, Dr. Bethany, and said he 'found another one.'" Chloe may be able to hear the air quotes on that. "Chloe, he's going to expose me."

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

Her frown deepens. This is really not good. Worse? If he does try to expose Clark, it'll be all her fault.

Chloe doesn't know if she can ever live with that guilt.

"Do you really think he saw you super speed?"

[hero_farmboy]

"Maybe. I don't know. He must have seen something," he sighs, starting back toward Chloe's car.

"Maybe it's like an aura he can see and I bet mine probably looks a whole lot different than yours." It seems Clark picked up a few new age details when he and Lois were checking out the astral projection angle back when Oliver and Lex were getting attacked.

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

"Kryptonian versus non-Kryptonian," Chloe echoes. "Yeah, I get that."

And since Daniel clearly displays krptonite-induced powers, their auras must be similar.

"He can see meteor freaks."

[hero_farmboy]

"For the time being, let's hope that's all he thinks I am." At the car now, Clark opens the passenger door, and then almost immediately shuts it again without getting inside.

"Look, you've been driving around all day. It might be better if we split up. You go home," he holds up a hand to stave off the protest he knows is coming, "and see what you can find out about this Dr. Bethany. What research he's doing, anything that might indicate why he's interested in meteor infected people. I'll go back to Metropolis and see if I can find where he's working, maybe even try and talk to him myself."

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

Protests indeed.

"Clark." Chloe gives him a no-nonsense sort of look. "If this Bethany is really after you, don't you think it would be better if you had some sort of back up?"

[hero_farmboy]

"Chloe, you've been stuck in a car all day. You need to go home and eat and take a break." Watch as Clark tries to be the voice of reason. Again. "I promise I won't get in over my head and I'll come right back with whatever I've found out, okay?"

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

Chloe continues to look up at him, ready to protest again. But this isn't an argument she's going to win. He's right: she's better off doing research at home.

"Just be careful, Clark?"

[hero_farmboy]

Clark blinks. He hadn't really expected that to be so easy, but he's not going to complain.

"I will. I'll see you in a couple of hours, okay?"

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

Chloe grins crookedly. There's still worry in her eyes.

"You know where to find me."

[hero_farmboy]

Clark just grins to that and then takes off before Chloe has a chance to change her mind.