3.07, Magnetic

Smallville, Episode 3.07: Chloe and LanaChloe and Lana go to the end of the fair to have a fun time; while there Chloe points out that Clark not wanting to get back together with Lana is his issue, not Lana's.   Seth Nelson works at the fair and sneaks her a prize; he as a crush on Lana.  Chloe tells Lana to "expand her horizons."

Later, Chloe's waiting for Clark to come help her with the Torch.  Instead, it's Lex who says he's discovered that Chloe's looking into his father's past including obscure medial records.   He also tells her that he know she's a "good reporter" and that his father pulled string to make her the youngest reporter in the history of the Daily Planet.*  Chloe tells him he can tell his father if he wants, since only by looking at them as well could he know that she visited the Metropolis County Records.

Clark and Chloe sneak into the hospital to pull Seth's medical files; Clark's theory is that MRI Seth had combined with meteorites caused Seth to gain a magnetic power that he's using to control people's mental states.   Chloe counters that Lana could just like Seth and that Seth's long time crush on Lana isn't that different from his own.  They find the file and a spike in Seth's levels when a doctor walks in on them.  To cover, Chloe pushes Clark against the cabinets and kisses him, playing it off like a couple of hormonal volunteers to the doctor.   Chloe tells Clark that "a good reporter always thinks on her feet."

She returns to fine the Torch in shambles once again and a mysterious older man steals her computer; she deduces that he's working for either Lionel or Lex and he suggests that she not contact the police about it.  The next day she confronts Lex about the incident and when he asks why she chose him, she claims he's the "lesser of two evils."   Lex says she's either gutsy or stupid, offering to take her to see her intruder; Lex takes her to the morgue where the man is now dead, he claims that he believes the man was purposefully killed.   He explains that he can protect her and that she doesn't know what she's gotten herself involved with.  Chloe retorts, "Like you protected him?"

A good reporter always thinks on her feet.

Chloe considers the offer and meets Lex later that week, telling him that Lionel started off being interested in the Wall and then turned his attentions to Clark.  She says that of course she didn't betray Clark but then Lionel threatened to fire Gabe.   She admits her plan was to find "something damaging enough so that [she] could blackmail Lionel Luthor."  Lex says he'll protect her, but he needs to know what she's found out.   Chloe brings up Morgan Edge, a crime boss in Metropolis (who "Kal" worked for that summer), who used to be Lionel's best friend and is currently presumed dead.

*This is typically Lois Lane's claim to fame in the Iron Age comics