3.10 - Whisper

Chloe and Clark stop by the Talon to get coffee and talk about where he might go to college (we already know that Chloe is going back to her home town of Metropolis togo to Met U in thefall.). Clark talks about going to Miami (he checked it out in Run with Bart, and it's a set up for Aqua.) While they are there, her cousin on duty is robbed and doesn't remember it. Clark rushes outside to confront the robber who zaps Clark - erasing all his memories (and we see a still from every episode in the series thus far.) Chloe comes running out of the Talon to check on him, and Clark looks up at her confused. "Clark who?"

Chloe introduces us in the beginning, by a video she made -- judging on her clothes and hair, sometime around Whisper, possibly in Covenant.  "I don't even know where to start. I know you must have a million questions, but I don't know how many answers I can give you."  We pull out to see her cousin from Delete watching them in the Torch.  Chloe continues: "If you're watching this, it means I'm probably dead. You were always the one good thing in my life, and if I didn't tell you enough, I care about you more than you'll ever know. Please find out who did this, Clark. You're the only one who can."

Of course, Clark is missing which means we spend most of the episode following her cousin around, even to meeting Lionel Luthor where her cousin wrongly deduces that he wasn't behind Chloe's death (which confirms later in the next episode that he was).  We also see brainwashed Clark, Kal-El, staring briefly at a picture of Chloe and Lana.

Chloe notes that Pete spent the night in his clothes from yesterday after she walked in on the tail end of a conversation of a phone conversation of his in the Torch.  While she tries to be supportive, Pete brushes he off completely.*  Later that day, she convinces Lana to ask Lex for money for tuition to go to Paris, pointing out that Lex wouldn't let a minor bump in the road detour him.

The next day, Chloe runs into Pete in the hallway late at night.  She unlocks the Torch for him, making small talk about a promotion his mom is up for.  Pete accuses her of not stopping "until [she] gets her scoop."  Chloe denies it and points out that she's his friend. But Pete continues, "You're both. And it's pretty obvious which one comes first."  He understands now why Clark got so angry with her all the time; hurt, Chloe gives him the key to the Torch and leaves.

Chloe comes into the Torch early the next day; Pete's mom was looking for him but Chloe covered for him.  Pete bitterly admits that she solved the mystery.  Chloe admits that she's lived through divorce court - only at the time she hid out in the garage because she didn't have a drivers license.  She gives Pete a hug.

* The Chloe/Pete scenes were originally written by Jeph Loeb to be part of Legacy. Her actual scenes shot for Talisman are in the deleted scenes at Clark's birthday worrying about why Clark is so late.

Chloe goes with Lana to have one last look around the Talon before Lana hands over the keys to the new owner.  Neither are thrilled about it being turned into a burrito bar; they meet Emily who is posing as the new owners daughter.  Lana thinks she recognizes her but it doesn't go very far; she agrees to show "Emma" the ropes of the Talon.

Lionel visits the Torch later that night, giving Chloe a picture of Emily and demanding her help; Chloe is dead pan and sarcastic towards him but recognizes Emily and shows it to Clark the next day.  Clark helps her piece together that it is Emily, that Lionel must of grabbed her last year, and Clark mentions that they'd got to keep Emily away from Lex due to Lex working with the FBI.  Chloe is taken aback and points out about Lex's grandparents' murder; Clark refutes that citing that "[they] never had hard evidence before about what Lionel was doing."  But that if they found Emily, they would have evidence that Lionel was illegally cloning people.

Chloe goes to talk to Lex; she tells him what Lionel erased - about MorganEdge, the murder, memory wipe, the confession, her entanglement with his father - and about what she had, the voicemail confession.  She points out that he has enough clout to resurrect that confession and use it.  Lex thanks her for coming forward and Chloe admits that she knows Luthor politics can be deadly but she knows he'll take care of her.

Well, what about a psyedonym? She's my cousin. She won't mind at all. She's not interested in journalism.

Lois Lane?

Chloe Sullivan is leaving the Daily Planet when she's stopped by George "Max" Taylor; he tells her that she's pissed off someone because they can't even print her name in the classifieds.   She jokes about being blacklisted before she graduates, before having an idea.  She passes Max a yellow floppy with some stories she wants him to look at; Chloe suggests using a pseudonym if he can't get around the name issue -- Lois Lane.  It's the name of her cousin who "isn't interested in journalism at all."

After going blind in a freak accident involving kryptonite and heat vision, Clark attempts to go back to school; sounds suddenly become amplified, specifically Chloe talking on a cellphone(unknowingly) yards away.*   She's arguing with Lionel Luthor about researching Clark yet again; she reiterates that she's done with their deal.  Lionel warns her from going back to Lex at all and tells her she will give him a new report on Clark.

Chloe visits him later in the day, clueless that he knows the truth.  Clark brings up Lionel anyway, asking her how long she's been dealing with the billionaire.  Chloe admits that it's been since last spring but she didn't tell him anything he didn't already know and he wasn't sharing anything with her.   Clark is livid that she traded him for a column and some new Torch computers regardless; she replies that Lionel caught her at a moment of weakness.   Chloe adds that once Lionel had a hold of her, he didn't want to let go; she thought of all people, Clark would of understood making a stupid decision.