Finding out about the Crystal

Clark was getting some stuff out to wash and heard someone knock on the door, 'Come in!" He called from where he was standing. The door opened and Clark looked up to see Bruce and Chloe standing there, "Chloe!" He said in shock and then raced forward to pick her up into a bear hug. "I've missed you." He said and then twirled her around. Chloe giggled after he set her down, "I've missed you too Clark." She admitted with a big smile of her own.

Bruce stood there silently watching the two interact. It was an odd spectacle but he hadn't ever seen Clark do that before. He shoved that random piece of information into the back of his mind.

Chloe cleared her throat and then decided to get straight to business, "As much fun as it would be to reminisce Clark, we've got a big problem." She said and held up the Kryptonian crystal, Clark's eyes widened when he saw it, "Chloe how did you find it?" He demanded as he took it from her. Chloe met Bruce's eyes, "It was in Bruce's Lab, but I had to drain it Clark." She said quietly. Clark froze and then took a step closer to her, "What do you mean drain Chloe.....does this have to do with Brainiac again?" He asked. Chloe bit her lip, "Look Clark I know its dangerous but if it means protecting you I would do it again in a heartbeat." She said and looked at Bruce, silently begging him to back her up on this one.

Bruce nodded along with Chloe's story, "It was laying somewhere I hadn't been yet, but I think it was meant for me to find it and bring it to you. Which would have been overly devastating to you or Kara." He said shortly, Clark might have been his best friend but he wasn't going to stupidly let his friend do... well... stupid.

Clark sighed, "Well thank you Chloe, it seems you and Bruce have a way of always saving me." He commented dryly. Chloe restrained herself from rolling her eyes as Bruce was in the room and would have probably made a comment. "The thing is Clark, if more crystals like this one keep showing up there's only one way to fully disable them." She said and hoped he knew what she implying, Clark's face darkened and he clenched his fists. "Chloe, I can't have you doing that I mean one of these days Brainiac could take over completely." He snapped.

Bruce had pretty much a little less then a clue about what they were talking about, "We could always do what we did with Rogue." He said with a tone that suggested that Clark needed to calm down.

Clark bit his lip and then met Chloe's eyes, "Who's Rogue?" Chloe asked and folded her arms. She had a feeling she wouldn't like this plan....at all. "Look Chloe if it can help stop Brainiac then its worth a shot." He said hopefully. Chloe shook her head, "No, Clark if we stopped Brainiac then I wouldn't be able to shut down the crystals.' She argued.

Bruce was severely getting lost in this conversation. Something that should make a man be given an award. "Rogue is like you, but if she touches people they die. The same affects still apply to both of you though. It would be doing the exact thing to you that we did to her.
I built her a device on her wrist that told us how much control she had over her body. Though, the device malfunctioned when the telepath that possessed had control."

Chloe's eyes widened in understanding, "Wow, well I guess it wouldn't hurt to try that." She said eventually, Clark sagged in relief, "Thank you Chloe." He said and hugged her again.

Bruce nodded lightly, "Well, I should go do that now... oh and Clark. I finally have a lab. Or that's what they told me I had." He said in his infamous monotoned voice. He dug into his pocket throwing Clark the piece of paper, "Seems odd, doesn't it?"

Clark took the note and studied it, "Hmm it does seem strange....I mean why would they give you a lab now? I mean why not as soon as you arrived?" He asked, Chloe frowned, "Maybe more then Kryptonian artifacts have been affected, if that's the case then I would be extremely careful about what you touched." She said

"I'm thinking they're setting something up. I'm not exactly sure but I'm going to be in there until I've cataloged and made sure everything in there isn't lethal to anyone." Bruce thought about something for a moment, "It's set up like the Bat Cave. I'm not sure how they know what it looks like, but they've set it up almost exactly like the Bat Cave I had on Arkham Island."

Chloe bit her lip, "That's not good, how did they get all that information?" She wondered out loud. Clark rubbed his chin, "They also brought the Fortress here, but the Shadow King has infected it somehow." He said darkly. Chloe's eyes sparked as she thought about possibly heading to the Fortress....maybe she could fix it.

Bruce stood there for a moment, thinking lightly, "I think I should head back for now. My algorithm should be done processing. Plus I need to make sure no one walks in there without my express permission." Bruce moved to the door quickly, opening it, "I'll see you two later, hopefully." He shut the door behind him.

Chloe watched him go and then met Clark's eyes, "Everything will be fine Clark...I promise." She said quietly. Clark bit his lip, "I just hate seeing you in danger...and this time without the Fortress I won't be able to save you." He said quietly. Chloe hugged him, "Hey...if Bruce can whip up something that can detect Brainiac then we're good so far right?' She asked. Clark nodded but he didn't look happy about it, "Just be careful." He said. Chloe smiled and then left the room.