Notes: The characters from Smallville belong to DC and the WB. Miri's my character. Please send comments to dante0220@yahoo.com. This story follows Pursuit. Thanks!


Chapter 1 [Kent Farm]

Clark sat in the loft trying to think of another exercise for Lana. In the previous month, she had worked on all of her abilities: x-ray vision, heat vision, super speed, strength and stamina. Her rapid progress had amazed her to say the least. Here it took me three years to get to this point and she's got it down in a couple of weeks. Amazing. 

His mind flashed back to the scene a month earlier. He remembered how he had used the red kryptonite ring to forget the pain caused by the Ship's destruction. Then he saw Lana waiting for him in Dr. Swann's lab and their struggle. I'm glad that everything worked out.

As am I, my Son.

He sighed, grinding his teeth. Figures. "I wondered when you were going to show up again."

I've always been here, Kal-El. I have chosen simply to observe the events unfolding. You and Lana are doing quite well since returning here, Jor-El's voice noted.

Nice of you to notice. Clark paced, continuing to plan the next practice session.

I did help her. She's your equal, Kal-El.

Thanks for that at least. I'm so glad you approve of her now. Clark shook his head, hoping that this positive opinion would last.

I wouldn't have made her one of us if I didn't, my Son. With that, the Voice went silent.

He took a deep breath and sat down on the couch. "Glad he approves."

"Who approves, Clark?" Lana asked, walking up the stairs. "Hey."

He grinned and met her at the stairs' edge where they kissed. "Hey yourself. What's going on?"

"Not much. Chloe and her Dad are off in Metropolis until late tonight," she replied before hesitating a bit. "Say...ummm....can you come over tonight?"

"I'll need to ask Mom and Dad but it shouldn't be a problem," he assured her. "Have you been practicing like I asked?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Yes, Clark."

"And do you make sure that Chloe is out of the room first?"

"Yes, Clark," she sighed.

"Sorry, I just want to be careful is all," he apologized.

She shook her head. Since his return, she had to deal with the fact that they were both different. After bugging him for so long about his secret, now I have one of my own too. At first, her focus on bringing Clark back there distracted her from the main issue at hand. Of late, however, she had dwelled on her differences. In gym class, for example, she consciously held herself back, not allowing herself to run too fast or lift too much. How does he do it? I wish it were easier to deal with these things.

"It's going to be okay," he assured her.

"How do you know that?" she wondered, trembling nervously. "This is so overwhelming, you know? What else can happen to me? To us?"

"Hey, I haven't self-destructed yet," he pointed out.

Not in the physical sense anyhow. "I feel so alone some times, Clark. How do you deal with it?"

"It's tough some times, Lana, but at least I have you. That makes it all worthwhile," he told her, planting a warm kiss on her mouth. "And you have me."

"Thanks, Clark," she expressed, allowing her eyes to sparkle into his.

"My pleasure," he agreed, holding her tightly to him.



Chapter 2 [Sullivan Residence]

Lana inspected the items laid out on the counter. For some reason, she craved tacos. Fortunately, a trip to the local Dillons combined with some of Mrs. Kent's choice produce filled out the ingredients' list. I hope Clark likes these. Taking a knife out of the drawer, she began to dice veggies and the cheddar cheese faster than the eye could follow. I guess there are some things that this speed is good for. Then she saw the deep grooves in the cutting board and winced. That board's got to go though. Clark's right. I do need more practice.

Heating up the range on the stove, she poured a touch of olive oil in a skillet and began to brown the meat. As it cooked, she added spices to the hamburger. I hope this is good enough for him. Stirring the mixture, she wanted to will it to go faster. Okay, that's under control. Reaching into the cabinet, she took out two plates and placed them on the table. Then she added a full setting apiece. As a final flourish, she added a bouquet of wild flowers she had picked on the way back from the Kent farm. That does look nice if I do say so myself.

At that moment, the phone rang.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Hey, Lana; it's Miri. How are the tacos doing?" Miranda Arighatto asked.

"So far, so good, I guess," Lana reported. "Fixings are diced up. I have the salsa chilling in the fridge. Meat's browning on the stove. Thanks again for the recipe."

"Not a problem. Now don't you worry about the Talon. We have everything under control here. Just focus on pleasing Clark, all right?" Miri told her.

"Is everyone there?"

"Lana! Think date, not work."

"I can't help it, Miri! Two people called in sick, all right?" Lana protested.

"And I called in the extra troops. Relax, will you? If I need you, I'll call," Miri told her. "Oh and Lana?"

"Yeah?"

"I'll be expecting a full report of what happens after dinner."

"You are so full of it," Lana giggled. "Bye, Miri." She hung up; glad that her friend knew she needed some humor. She knows me well...almost too well. Seeing that the meat was done, she took it off of the heat and spooned it into a bowl.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door. "Lana, it's me."

She smiled warmly.  Here goes! Walking over to the door, she opened it to find Clark standing there grinning at her. "And how long did it take you to get here, Mr. Kent?" she teased.

"Forty-five seconds," he replied.

"You're slipping," she cracked.

"Sheriff Adams had a speed trap set up on the state road. Couldn't have her clocking me at 60 miles per hour, could I?" he explained, shrugging his shoulders as he kissed her cheek. "That does smell good."

"I take it that your parents didn't have a problem with this?" she asked as they walked inside.

"Nope. Mom played interference for us. Couldn't let her produce go to waste."

She chuckled. "Nope. Couldn't let that happen. Take advantage of every opportunity, right?"

He picked up the butchered cutting board and teased, "Right. You definitely need practice."

"Cooking wise or power wise?" she inquired, knowing the honest answer was 'all of the above'.

"Practice makes perfect, Lana," he assured her. "We'll get a cutting board later and dispose of the evidence."

She grinned, thinking of how often he must have done this over the years. "You sound like you know all about that kind of thing, Clark."

"Lots and lots of practice," he remarked. "Now can I sample this bounty of yours? It smells delicious?"

"I take it you mean the tacos?" she cracked, arching her brow and letting her eyes shine at him.

"No, I meant skinny dipping in Crater Lake. Of course, I meant the tacos but there's always later..." he replied, letting his voice trail off suggestively.

"If you behave yourself, Clark, I may take you for a double latte later," she told him with a saucy lilt to her voice as she filled a couple of corn shells with meat, lettuce, cheese and salsa.

"I thought Miri didn't want you near there tonight," he supposed. "And I'm under orders not to let you get near there either."

She rolled her eyes, thinking of how Smallville's own resident sensei could get to anyone even Clark. Of course it works into his agenda too, I'd imagine. "She meant for work purposes. She wanted me to focus on pleasing you. You like double lattes and I'm going to make you one. That pleases you, right?"

"Yes, m'," he snickered before taking a bite of his taco. "This is good. I like it."

"Good. They're homemade, you know. No box mix for you, Clark, where I'm concerned," she declared earnestly.

"Glad to see I merit the attention," he replied. "Why don't you share some of this food with me before it goes cold? Then we can get to the Talon-as long as it's not work related."

"All right," she agreed, conceding defeat, sitting down opposite to him, and biting into her own dinner. 

As they ate, the sun set, filling the sky with oranges, reds, and pinks. 

That is beautiful indeed. I can't think of a better view. She smiled, locking away those thoughts.


Chapter 3 [Talon-an hour later]

Miri and Trish waited on customers at the café, making sure that everyone got just what they wanted. With the rash of sicknesses, they were the only two left to get things done. Fortunately, it was a slow night.

Miri rung up a check and put the money in the till. I never thought I'd say good to only six customers over three hours but that is a good thing right now. Looking up at the clock, she saw that it was 9:15. Only about an hour to go. "How are we doing, Trish?"

"Great," her cohort replied. "I'm glad you called me in tonight. With Matt out of town, I needed something to do."

"I aim to please," Miri agreed. "Come on; let's get the tables wiped down. Then you can go."

****

Meantime, a blue van pulled into the alley beside the Talon. As few people were on the street at that hour, it was largely unnoticed.

Inside, five masked men put their plans together. For almost a week, they had cased the theater, determining that this would be the best time to hit it.

The leader, a man in a red ski mask and a brown coat, asked, "Are we ready?"

The other four nodded silently and brandished their handguns.

"Okay, Rafie, you're going to stay out here and keep watch for that stupid sheriff. The rest of you are with me," the leader continued.

"Gotcha, Jefe," Rafie, a well built man in an orange mask and a black coat agreed, slipping into the alley. After taking a look around, he saw the sheriff's car stop in front of the café. "Dammit!"

Jefe looked out and cursed several Spanish obscenities. "What is she doing here? No matter. We go in." For ten minutes, he waited. Then, holding his gun at the ready, he told them, "Let's go!"

With that, the five crooks headed out.


****

Completely clueless of what was going on in the alley; Sheriff Adams strolled into the café. After citing a couple of jaywalkers and litter bugs, she figured a cappuccino would hit the spot. "Evening, Miss Arighatto, where's your boss?"

"Hi, Sheriff, it's Lana's night off and she's making dinner for someone," Miri replied.

The sheriff smiled and nodded. I hope it's for Clark Kent. That will keep the boy out of police business for tonight at least. "Can you make my usual?"

"Sure, double mocha cappuccino, right?" Miri agreed.

"That's right," the sheriff concurred, looking around and surveying the empty café. "Dead night?"

"Yeah. I just sent Trish home early. Looks like we have it completely to ourselves," Miri surmised.

"Well, if Miss Lang doesn't mind, I'd be willing to sit here until you close and then see you home," the sheriff offered.

Miri agreed, "All right, Sheriff, thank you. That's awfully kind of you."

"My pleasure. I have a bad feeling about tonight."

As if on cue, the masked gang burst into the café, pointing their guns at them.

"Freeze!" Jefe demanded. "Hands up where I can see them!"

"What is the meaning of this?" Miri wondered.

"We needed some quick cash, Sweetie," Jefe continued as he relieved Sheriff Adams of her guns and clubbed her with one of them, knocking her out. "Put her ass in the cooler, Rafie."

The goon in question dragged Sheriff Adams out of sight.

"Now, Sweetie, you're going to empty that till," Jefe ordered, pointing his gun at Miri.

I wish I could kick his lights out. But I can't get all five of them before they get me. She sighed and opened the drawer, wondering if there was anything she could do.

The leader looked at the gang. "Brownie, keep an eye out front. Rojo, put that money in a bag." He took aim at the security camera and shot it. "That takes care of that. Meantime, we have ourselves a hostage and some dough!"

Just give me one shot. Just one shot and I'll kick his ass. Miri frowned while watching Rojo put the night's receipts into a paper bag. Lana, I'm sorry.



Chapter 4 [Sullivan Residence-Ten minutes earlier]

Unaware of what was going on at the Talon, Clark and Lana sat on the porch, enjoying the pleasant evening. The gentle breeze blew through their hair and cooled them. The stars twinkled down on them. The moon cast a pleasant sheen on them. Even a few crickets serenaded them.

"I couldn't ask for a better evening," he told her, hugging her shoulders.

She smiled warmly at him, playing with his fingers in hers. "You think so, huh?" She kicked at the boards under her feet, making the swing move ever so slightly.

"I could stay here forever," he declared.

She laughed. "I bet you could."

"And you mind that thought?" he wondered.

"No. I just promised you a drink is all and I keep my promises," she told him, kissing his forehead. "Come on. Race you there."

He sighed, "All right."

A second later, they took off for town at full super speed, burning tread under their feet and reaching the Talon's back door in just under twenty seconds.

"I won!" she exclaimed.

"I let you win."

"Did not."

"Did so."

She shook her head and gave him a kiss. "Winner's prerogative."

For that, I'll throw every race. He smiled. What did I do before she became like this? Oh yeah, I had to hold back. 

Then they heard a gunshot from inside of the café.

"Is that?" she wondered.

"Uh huh," he replied. "You might want to stay here and let me deal with this."

She looked at him incredulously. "Excuse me?"

"Lana, you aren't in complete control of your powers yet," he argued.

"And I'll bet you were in the same situation when you dealt with Bug Boy too, right?" she countered.

He shook his head, wanting to protect her at any cost. 

In their heads, Jor-El sounded off. She has to go with you, Kal-El. If she is to be your partner, she needs to be there at your side.

"So there," she added.

This isn't something to be taken lightly, Lana Lang. Consider this a test. You have to be able to deal with adversity in your own right.

"You heard him," Clark told her. "Are you sure?"

"Clark, this is the Talon. Those creeps are in my place," she asserted, counting the reasons off on her fingers as she said them. "Miri's in there with them. Finally, I'm not letting you go in there without me to watch your back."

"And who's going to watch yours?" he inquired.

"You. Hey, you heard him, Clark. We have to be there for each other," she stated, managing to keep her nerves off of her face.

He gazed into her eyes and saw the determination there. That's why you love her, Dummy. "All right, Lana. Just be careful, all right?"

She nodded. "And you too, Clark."

"You don't have to prove yourself to me, Lana," he told her.

"And you don't need to protect me, Clark," she countered.

He put his hands up. "All right. You made your point. Try to stay out of sight as much as possible. We don't want the others to see us."

She nodded grimly. "Let's go."

With that, they slipped into the café.



Chapter 5 

Rojo finished filling the paper bag. Closing it, he nodded at Jefe. 

"Come over here, Sweets," the boss commanded, motioning with his gun. 

Miri sulked as she did so. She still wanted her shot at these creeps. As she did, she could have sworn she saw Lana creep into the room along the back wall. What the? Is she nuts? Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Miri. She did her best to keep her eyes away from her boss.

Meantime, Lana delivered a couple of quick karate chops to Rafie and Rojo, knocking them out.

Brownie turned to deal with the super teenager. However, Clark yanked him out of view and tied him up in the back.

Jefe looked around from where he held Miri at gunpoint. "Brownie? Rojo? Rafie? What the hell?" Looking toward the side of the room, he saw the latter two lying unconscious on the floor. Brownie was nowhere to be seen.

"Seems that your pals can't take their coffee," Miri jabbed. Taking a deep breath, she took her shot. Pushing quickly with her back, she slammed Jefe into the wall and spun away from him with the same motion.

"What the hell?" Jefe demanded, slumping to the ground.

Then a shot rang out.

****

Lana saw the last goon taking aim at Miri. "No!" she screamed.

A millisecond later, the crook fired.

Another millisecond after that, Lana had knocked him out too.

Forgetting himself for a second, Clark yelled, "Lana! Get Miri!"

She nodded and sped across the room. As she did, she caught up to and stared at the projectile while passing it. Unreal. This is so unbelievable. Right in front of her friend, she reached up and snatched the bullet away from its intended target crushing it in her hand. Whew!

"Lana? How did you do that?" Miri inquired in disbelief. "Y...you just appeared out of nowhere from across the room. I saw you do it."

"Miri," Lana sighed. "You didn't."

"I did too! That was incredible. Lana, don't worry, I can keep your secret," Miri insisted.

Lana gulped. I screwed up. What now?

Then she heard Jor-El say. This one will keep her word. Everything is fine.

In his head, Clark heard Jor-El instruct, You can tell this one, my Son.

Clark scratched his head before doing so. "Miri, Lana's not the only one with a secret."

"Clark?" Lana asked stunned. "What are you doing?"

"Voice's orders if you get my drift," he replied, pointing to his own head.

"Ah okay," she said, getting his meaning.

"What? You're like her too?" Miri inquired, trying to keep her voice down. 

"Yeah I am," he admitted, taking one of the guns off of the floor and breaking it in his right hand.

Miri gaped at that sight. "Wow. What can I say?"

"That you'll keep our secret, Miri?" Lana requested.

Miri grinned and hugged her friends. "Of course I will! Now come on. We need to let Sheriff Adams out of the cooler."

"All right," he agreed, as they went off to do so. 

****

Minutes later, Sheriff Adams had loaded all five gang members into a van and sent it back to the lockup.

"Funny seeing you here, Mr. Kent. I figured you and Miss Lang would be far away from this crime scene," she supposed.

"We were, Sheriff," Lana told her. "We happened to stop by for a mocha and found the gang members all out cold. Miranda had taken care of all of them."

Yeah right. "I guess I just needed to get into a rhythm is all."

Sheriff Adams shook her head at the three teenagers. "I do want to thank you all, but you shouldn't risk your necks like that. Stay out of police business. Miss Arighatto, I'm glad you're okay." With that, she left.

Once they were alone, Miri told Clark and Lana, "I shouldn't be taking the credit, guys. You took care of them."

"You helped," he told her. "Besides if we're involved, it'll only open more problems for us both. My parents are going to want to talk to you though."

"Besides it's time you took some of the credit for what goes on around here," Lana insisted, rubbing her friend's shoulder.

"Okay, Clark and Lana, you win. I'll stop by tomorrow night to talk with your folks, Clark. Meantime, I'd best get ready for Chloe's interview. Not a word about you both though. As far as I know, you showed up for a cappuccino after I had kicked their butts. See ya." With that, she got into her jeep and took off for home.

"On that note, Clark, I'd best be getting back to Chloe's place. More than likely, she and her Dad are back." She kissed him. "Thank you for trusting me. See you tomorrow!" With that, she sped away.

He shook his head admiring his enhanced girlfriend's abilities. Yup, I'm the luckiest man in the universe. Filing that note away, he disappeared into the night himself.



Conclusion 

[Torch-following afternoon]

Chloe put away her notepad and studied Miri carefully. After reading the account in that morning's Ledger, she couldn't believe she missed all of the excitement. "That must have been some experience, huh?"

Miri nodded. "Yeah, it sure was. Somehow, I got the drop on them." 

"All five of them? Come on, Miranda, I know you're like the female Bruce Lee, but that's incredible."

The brunette shrugged. Better she thinks that than knows what really happened. "What can I say? I was lucky."

"I'm glad that Lana wasn't there last night. I guess she was with Clark," the reporter surmised.

"Yeah, even she needs a break from the grind once in a while, you know?"

"Absolutely! Well thanks, Miranda. This will be a great piece!" Chloe expressed.

"My pleasure," Miri replied pleasantly, getting up and making her way toward the door. The interview had hit too closely for comfort on several occasions and she was glad it was over. "Stop by for coffee later."

"I'll do that," Chloe agreed. After her friend had vanished, she pondered the interview answers very carefully. Now you're hiding something too. Everyone has a secret here. I will find out what yours is, Miranda.

****

Meantime, Miri hurried down the hall, trying to remain calm. This secret is something else. I'm glad though that they trusted me. Having Pete in the know is a good thing too. She took another look around to make sure that she wasn't being followed. As she approached her locker, she saw Pete waiting for her. "Hey, Pete."

"Hi, Miranda, are you doing okay?" he asked. Clark had told him about the previous night's events. While he didn't agree with letting Miranda in on the Secret at first, Pete came to realize that she would keep it under pain of anything.

"I'm hanging in there. The whole scene was a lot to take in at once, you know?" she replied.

"Yeah. I can imagine," he concurred. "How are you doing with the other end of it?"

She whispered, "Lana told me that you know about Clark. How do you deal with that?"

"It took me a while to get used to his real stuff, you know?" he noted, making sure that once again nobody was around. "I acted like a real jerk to him. I'm just glad that he accepted my apology. Meantime, I remind myself that he's still Clark. Just remember that and you'll be cool." Glancing at his watch, he told her, "We need to get out to his house for our talk with his folks."

She squirmed nervously. "I hope they'll trust me too. Pete, you know I'll never tell anyone."

"Yeah. Look, everything will be cool, all right? Mr. Kent's really paranoid about this. Just go with it," he urged as they got into her jeep.

'Just go with it,' he says. I'll do my best, Pete. Cranking the ignition and changing gears, she drove them away from the high school and toward the Kent Farm.

****

[Kent Farm]

Lana stood by the window staring across the Kents' field and wondering if anything would be the same again. How many times have I stood here waiting for Clark? Now that I have him, I wonder do I have to shut the rest of the world out? How many more times can we push our luck without endangering those around us? Now, I really understand why Clark never told us about the Secret.

"It's going to be okay, Lana," Clark reassured, hugging her from behind. 

"How do you do it, Clark?" she asked again. "How did you help us without revealing yourself?"

"By being extremely careful. But you didn't have a choice," he told her.

"Yeah, either keep the Secret or watch Miri die. Some choice," she muttered.

He nodded. "At least it was Miri. She promised to not say anything. I trust her."

"Just as you trust Pete, right?" she inquired, looking into his eyes.

He smiled. "Right. However, as with Miri, I didn't have a choice. He found the Ship."

"I suppose." She paced the length of the loft before coming back to the window. "I am glad of one thing though, Clark."

"And what's that?" he asked.

She looked into his eyes and stated, "I'm glad you trusted me last night. You have no idea how much I appreciate that."

He pondered her words for a minute before replying, "Why shouldn't I? You have your abilities and we are partners."

"You could have gone into your 'Protect-Me' mode again," she pointed out.

He shook his head. "Maybe. I have to admit that the thought did cross my mind at first. But you really handled yourself well in there." He kissed her forehead. "I am really proud of you, Lana, for being there. I wouldn't want to be sharing this experience with anyone else."

She smiled, allowing her eyes to sparkle. "And you are an excellent coach, Clark."

"As if you would let me keep the playbook from you," he chuckled.

"You're so right on that one." She gave his hand a tight squeeze. "I will be more careful, however."

"Great. Thanks," he expressed. 

At that moment, Martha called, "Clark, Lana, Pete and Miranda are here!"

"Time to deal with things?" she asked, wincing.

"It's only my Dad about to go into ultra-protect mode," he noted. "Come on."

****

Jonathan watched as the kids entered the room and took their places at the table. As was the case when Pete found out, he had a lot on his mind. When everyone was seated, he cleared his throat and started, "Thank you for coming, Pete and Miranda. I guess the first question is if you're okay, Miranda."

She nodded. "I'm fine, Mr. Kent, thanks to Clark and Lana."

"Our pleasure," Lana declared.

Martha looked at her husband and motioned with her eyes to get on with it.

The farmer nodded before continuing, "I guess the question now is, Miranda, do you know how big a secret this is?"

Miri trembled a bit. "I...I do. I've already told Clark and Lana that the Secret is safe with me. I won't tell anyone." She looked around the table before adding, "Their friendship is the most important part of my life. And both you and Mrs. Kent have been so kind to me since I moved here. I feel like I'm part of this family. I think that keeping this to myself isn't a big deal."

"And we consider you a part of the family," Martha agreed, relieved at hearing her say those words. "Thank you, Miranda."

"You know though, there will be people who will try to get at Clark and Lana," Jonathan mentioned.

She took a deep breath. "Yes, I know and I'll do anything to help them. I may need advice on this from time to time if that's okay. I just want to know how to handle situations when they come up. Chloe is still out there as is Lionel Luthor. I don't want to be the weak link here."

"That's cool, Miranda," Pete agreed. 

"Absolutely," Clark concurred.

"You got it," Lana chimed in.

"If you keep that attitude, Miranda, you'll do fine," Jonathan concluded. "Thank you for taking on this burden."

Miri grinned, "Anything for my friends, especially these two." She got up and hugged the two super teens. "Thank you for allowing me to share this secret with you both. You know I'm watching your backs."

"Wrong, Miranda," Pete declared. "We're watching their backs."

She rolled her eyes at him and giggled. "Okay. If you insist, Pete."

"Well now that we have that behind us, I have dinner ready," Martha told them, bringing a platter of pork chops to the table along with mashed potatoes, a tossed salad, peas and corn.

"See?" Clark asked Lana. "Things aren't so different, are they?"

Lana looked at Miri before remarking, "I guess not, Clark, but thanks for being here with me."

Clark just flashed her a reassuring smile before starting his meal.

Even if some things were changing, it was nice to see that others remained the same. Dinner at the Kents with family and friends always ranked among the latter group and would always be so.


THE END

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