To my surprise, my brains didn't suddenly find themselves splattered on the nearest wall, and instead, Victoria let go of me with a yelp of pain and stumbled to the ground, bleeding. I swallowed hard and took a second to compose myself before trying to figure out what had happened.

If living had been a shock, then the next revelation was even stranger. Clark and I both stood gaping as the complex began to fill out with men in garb that looked very similar to a SWAT teams'. Leading the group with an automatic drawn was a very familiar face. The face of the man who had just saved my life.

"Herb?" I mouthed, incredulously.

The man laughed but his voice sounded different- younger. "Not quite, Miss Sullivan." He pulled away his grimy cap and then gently began to tease at something in his hairline. As Clark and I watched, Herb Fresner, the old, cantankerous lodge owner, transformed before our eyes.

Herb or whoever he was, peeled away sections of synthetic skin and foam padding, and then finally removed the greying wig from his scalp. Beneath all the makeup, a man of no more than forty had been in hiding. "Who, what, how?" I stammered.

"My name is Special Agent James Fresner," he offered helpfully, "Are you two alright?"

Clark nodded and padded to my side. I think he had seen me begin to shake right after the initial shock of almost being shot set in. "How did you know where to find us?" he asked Fresner, cocking his head questioningly. "You were out cold when we left…"

James or whoever he was, smiled and watched as two of his uniformed counterparts cuffed Victoria and Sanitori. Then, he eventually answered. "I was never out cold. Sanitori couldn't deck me if he tried. The word wuss comes to mind…"

"So, you let him kidnap us and didn't do anything?" My voice rose as I realized we'd been used as bait.

Fresner shrugged apologetically. "We've known something big has been going on up here for months. We could have just stormed White Summit, but it wouldn't have gotten us the ring leaders. When you came to town looking for Mr. Kent here we had to let you get too close and watch what happened. I'm sorry it had to be that way."

Clark put his arm around me. "What about Lois? If you're an undercover Fed then…"

The agent waved a palm to calm us. "Don't worry; Miss Lane was in good hands. My 'brother' is actually my partner, and he has a medical degree. He's not a vet, trust me."

"A Fed and a doctor?" I felt like I was in some kind of crazed limbo in the Twilight Zone.

Still, Fresner nodded. "Yep, just like Scully on TV. Oh, except I, the partner, don't chase aliens, just criminals like Hardwicke and Sanitori."

"Is Lois okay?" It was Clark again, and you should have seen the look he gave Fresner at the mention of aliens!

We've had Lois taken to the nearest medical center to get checked out. One of our people is with her for safety reasons, obviously…"

"So, you're FBI or CIA?" I was getting bold now, wanting my story if they let me write one.

Fresner smirked. "Neither. Let's just say we have the public's best interests at heart. What Hardwicke has been up to was plain immoral for any reason, let alone to just to get revenge. This whole place and White Summit will be torn down and scoured for evidence of further inappropriate dealings."

Clark's eyes widened and I suddenly remembered the disc. Our friendly agent here had seen it. Heck, he'd decrypted it for us. Any second now he was probably going to ask for it back. I kept my mouth shut and hoped for the best. Fresner's next words told me I wasn't going to be so lucky.

"I don't suppose you still have that disc from the vet's office?" The expression on his face was a strange one- almost as if he knew I would say no, and why.

The thing was, I really didn't have it. "I left it back in the PC," I admitted woefully.

Clark shot me a look, but what was I supposed to do? They would find it anyway.

Fresner chortled again then, reminding me of his alter ego, Herb back in the truck. He tucked his weapon into a shoulder holster concealed under his shirt and then let a hand slip to a hidden pocket.

Clark almost gasped when the agent pulled out the missing disc. "You know, there's some really interesting stuff on here." He spun the CD around in his fingers. "I'd hate for it to get into the wrong hands and a good man go down…" Fresner flipped the disc over to Clark. "We're not all like you see on TV, Kid. Destroy that thing as soon as you can."

Clark was so surprised he almost missed catching the disc and it momentarily appeared like he was trying to juggle something that was hot to the touch. Once he'd regained control of his nerves and his hands he gave Fresner the most serious look I've ever seen on my farmboy's face. "Thank you…" Was all he could think to say.

The agent nodded and then turned to bark several orders to his approaching men. Hardwicke had been bundled into an ambulance and Sanitori was being loaded into a black Crown Victoria to face charges.

Clark and I watched as the whole scene folded in around us. After about thirty minutes, Fresner had a car ready to take us to see Lois. We thanked him, and after that day we never saw the cheeky agent again, or heard from his covert organization. It was surreal. It was like something straight out of a comic book.

In the back of the car we were in, Clark sat silently, gazing down at the disc that could have cost him his life. I wanted to console him, but I knew that Clark was the kind of guy that has to heal his inner wounds on his own.

As we met an intersection, he finally told me his thoughts. "I have one last debt to pay, Chloe. Will you help me?"

It took awhile to get the authorities to release rich Mitchell's remains, but by the time they did, Clark had earned enough money with a part time job to pay for a decent funeral. Lois and I chipped in what we could, too.

Without Mitchell, we would never have found Clark, and the epitaph on my farmboy's grave would have been a real one.

We owed Mitchell. The world owed Mitchell- it just didn't know it yet. If Clark had died at White Summit, the entire planet would have lost a great hero, and great man. And I would have lost a great friend.

We stood now at Mitchell's headstone as the wind gently whipped at us, indicating a storm was probably brewing. Lois had remained silent since we had arrived, and I had laid flowers and carefully arranged them despite the breeze.

Clark hadn't taken his eyes from the headstone for one moment, and I wondered just what thoughts were surging through his brain.

I wrapped my arm around his. "You paid your debt, Clark. There's nothing more you can do for Rich now."

He didn't seem to hear me, and at first I wondered if the Kryptonite exposure had messed with his auditory range. Then, just when I was about to speak again he turned.

"It's a debt I can never repay, Chloe, and one I will continue to try and settle up while ever I'm able…."

Clark walked away from me then in his dark suite, and I wondered just what he had meant. Any survivors from White Summit had been taken into various medical institutes. What else could Clark possibly do to placate his guilt?

Later, when Clark became Superman I was to understand. His lasting epitaph to Rich was simple. Rich had used his gifts to try and save Clark and the others, even though he knew he was dying. Now, and for always, Clark would use his abilities to do the same.

The stone monument smartly engraved on Rich Mitchell's tomb meant nothing. The real eulogy would stay etched in Clark's heart and mind forever, helping to drive him on to become a true legend.

I'm just glad that I can be part of that legend.

The End