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The Opposite of Justice (Clois, Chloe/Bart, Dinah/Oliver)

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  • #16
    Awesome story Leanne.

    Definitely looking forward to reading more.

    Post soon.

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    • #17
      Tess strode casually down the corridor, relaxed as you please. Dr Finlay was just a drama queen, she thought. But she decided to placate him she’d better go see what his problem was.

      She wasn’t surprised to see him standing in the corner, as far away from Chloe Sullivan as he could get. Chloe was equally unsurprised to see her. She was sitting on the examination gurney, swinging her legs.

      “I knew you were behind this,” she said.

      “Congratulations,” the redhead said. “It’s nice to know you’re not a total idiot, despite the bleached blonde look.”
      I loved this line. That actually sounds like something she would say. And if you think about it - Lois too.

      The elevator made a clanging noise as it came to a stop. Clark wondered sometimes why he bothered using the elevator. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t jump to Oliver’s balcony. Then again, he was brought up to be polite.

      As he stepped into the main room, he was glad he had used the elevator. Lois was standing there, arms folded over her chest, glaring at him. Oh great, he thought, what have I done now?
      It's always fun to get inside Clarks head. I really enjoyed these two updates. How many more are there anyway?

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      • #18
        Originally posted by gem65

        I really enjoyed these two updates. How many more are there anyway?
        Glad you like. Not too many parts. I did have this in eighteen parts when I posted it elsewhere but I've condensed it as some of the chapters were quite short.

        Here's the next update.


        Part Five

        Oliver stood, leaning casually against the door of Tess’ office at the Daily Planet. Tess was working at the computer when she chanced to look up.

        “Oliver,” she frowned. “To what do I owe the dubious pleasure?”

        “Dubious,” he smirked. “Now I’m hurt. And here I was with a peace offering.”

        She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Peace offering? I don’t see you holding anything.”

        “I was going to offer you dinner, but if you’re busy.”

        “I am, actually,” she said coolly.

        Oliver smirked at her, turning on the Queen charm. “I’ll pick you up here at seven,” he said. He turned and walked away. Tess stared after him, then sat back. She looked at the computer again, clicking on an icon at the bottom of the screen, then on the file marked subject CS113.

        The file showed the results on tests performed on Chloe Sullivan. They were fairly comprehensive. Blood work up, DNA, MRI, x-ray. It all pointed to the fact that her power had somehow lain dormant in Chloe’s body until she reached full maturity.

        When Chloe had been at Black Creek, she hadn’t shown any sign of the healing power, but enhanced intelligence. Tess still didn’t know what was behind that, but she had a theory. They’d done a scan on Chloe when she’d first been taken to the facility and it had showed changes. It was almost as if something had downloaded into Chloe’s brain. Now, more than six months later, that download was gone. Unlike a computer that had crashed, this was as if the memory had been erased completely, with no hope of retrieval.

        Tess steepled her fingers, looking thoughtful. Only Chloe would have all the answers to those questions.

        ***

        Chloe was exhausted as she finished her exercises for the day. Not only had she been practicing her own newly acquired power, but she’d also been using her healing power to heal bruises and cuts in others. Before, especially when she’d healed Jimmy, she’d felt nothing, not even a mild headache. But she hadn’t given much thought to what toll constantly healing injuries would have on her.

        A knock on her door roused her from a light doze. It was only late afternoon, but she’d taken what opportunity she had to rest up. She hadn’t been expecting any visits, leaving the others to fend for themselves. Most had decided to use the entertainment room Tess had provided.

        Speak of the devil, Chloe thought, sitting up and seeing Tess walk in. It was really unlike Tess to be so polite. Then again, Chloe had a natural tendency to be suspicious of anyone from the Luthor camp.

        “I heard it went well today.”

        “You know, I never agreed to be your squad leader,” Chloe told her.

        Tess was unrepentant. “I told you, Chloe. I needed someone like them to lead them. They’ll only listen to Sergeant Mooney for so long.”

        Chloe rolled her eyes. She really didn’t like things being foisted on her.

        “I apologise,” Tess said smoothly. “I believed you were ready for the responsibility.”

        “I didn’t say I wasn’t ready,” Chloe said sharply. “I just don’t appreciate being told I’ve agreed to something when I haven’t.”

        “But you enjoyed it. From what Mooney said, you liked being squad leader, once you got used to ordering the others around.”

        Tess was right. She did enjoy it. A little too much. It was nice being looked on as the leader of the pack for once, rather than just being the sidekick, or the brain, or however it was that Clark saw her. Truth be told, she was sick and tired of always being the one he went to when he needed information. Or a pick-me-up, or whatever. He had a brain. He needed to use it.

        “Maybe,” she said, non-committally.

        “Face it, Chloe,” Tess said. “Clark and your other friends, they’ve taken you for granted all these years. Isn’t it nice to actually be appreciated for your talents rather than feeling like you’re being taken advantage of?”

        ***

        Tess smirked as she headed back to the city to meet Oliver. She was getting through to Chloe. If she’d known that using Chloe’s issues with Clark would have helped, she would have done it weeks ago.

        She hummed quietly to herself as she drove back to the Daily Planet. Now for the date with Oliver. She knew he was trying to manipulate her. Even when they had been dating, back when he had been in Star City all the time, he’d only slept with her when he wanted something. The fact that he’d also cheated on her had been the final nail in the coffin of their on-off relationship. She liked Oliver. Hell, he had been – still was, a good lover. She was looking forward to their date. And scratching that itch she always had around him.

        ***

        Dinah was sitting on the sofa in Oliver’s loft.

        “You want me to what?” she said, staring up at him.

        “I need you to break into Tess’ office.”

        “For what, exactly.”

        “Chloe.”

        “I doubt whether Tess has got her stashed under the desk,” she smirked.

        “Cute.”

        “Look, Ollie, I want to help out, but you’re talking about breaking and entering.”

        “Hardly, since you work there, on and off.”

        “It’s not the point,” she argued.

        “There isn’t anyone else to do this,” Oliver insisted. “I need to keep Tess distracted long enough for Victor to get in to the mansion. Look,” he said, running a hand over his spiky blonde hair. “I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important, but Lois is concerned about her cousin. Chloe’s been gone nearly three weeks and no-one’s heard a thing. We need a concerted effort.

        “What do you mean, you need to keep Tess distracted. Why you? And what exactly are you going to do?”

        Oliver got the impression the blonde was a little jealous. He didn’t know why. He’d never really given her any indication that there was anything between them.

        “Dinah, just do it, will you?”

        The blonde sighed heavily. “Fine. But I’ll do it for Chloe’s sake, not her cousin’s.”

        Oliver smirked at that. She’d never really liked Lois. He remembered the first time Dinah had broken in to his loft as the Black Canary. She’d asked him how he could have put up with the woman. Lois wasn’t that bad, he thought. A little rough around the edges, but totally understandable considering she barely spent enough time in one town to make friends. Being the daughter of a military man was hardly conducive to long-lasting relationships. They didn’t exactly teach social graces either.

        He left and headed toward the Daily Planet to meet Tess. She had changed clothes, now wearing a dress in a soft green that matched her eyes.

        “Where are we going?” she asked.

        “I thought we’d head back to my place,” he said. He’d already organised dinner there. He took her arm and escorted her out of the building, smiling as he opened the car door for her.

        Back at the loft, he poured her a glass of her favourite wine and became the charming host as he served dinner. She laughed at his jokes and they talked about old times. Neither one of them were under any illusions about this.

        But even Oliver wasn’t expecting it when she pulled him into a kiss, demanding a response from him that left little doubt of her intentions. Oliver let himself be led up the curved staircase to the huge bedroom. But even as he stripped her naked and lowered her down to the mattress, or as their bodies joined, he knew just how wrong this was. And the whole time he found himself thinking about a slender blonde in black leather.

        ***

        Clark and Lois had been spending more time together in the weeks since Chloe’s disappearance. Neither one of them were ready to acknowledge their feelings for each other, but it was there, bubbling just under the surface. They both knew it was more than friendship. The question was, did they want to risk that friendship to pursue something more? They both knew the odds. They worked together – the thought of actually starting something they might not be ready for, only to have it fail was something that was always at the back of their minds.

        Worry over Chloe had taken precedence over everything else. They spent every bit of spare time they had poring over documents which they hoped might give them some clue to Chloe’s whereabouts. Three other patients from Belle Reve, all with various meteor abilities, had also vanished from the hospital in the last two weeks. Clark suspected that Tess was having them taken to her mysterious compound, since he’d learned that someone from Luthorcorp had visited the hospital just two days before.

        Lois suspected Dr Reardon was being paid by Luthorcorp, or by Tess herself, to keep her apprised of any new patients admitted with suspected meteor abilities. The doctor should have been censured, she decided. But they had no proof.

        As they sat at their desks at the Daily Planet late one night, eating Chinese food, Lois was going over the problem in her mind.

        “We know he’s doing it, so how can we prove it?”

        “We have the documents,” Clark pointed out.

        “Yeah, but they can say those documents are a forgery.”

        “Well, what if he was being paid a sum of money. After all, he is behaving unethically. I know if it was me I’d be demanding a good amount of money.”

        Lois sighed. “Yeah, but we need Chloe to find out. She’s the only one who knows how to hack into things like that.”

        Clark sighed. “You’re right, I know you’re right.”

        Lois cocked an eyebrow at him. “Did I hear you just say I’m right about something?” she said.

        “Doesn’t happen to you very often, does it?” he said with a little smirk.

        “What? That you say I’m right about something?”

        “No,” he snorted. “That you actually would be right about something.”

        Lois picked up a fortune cookie from the box and threw it at him. Clark grinned at her and broke it apart.

        “What does it say?” Lois asked when he showed a puzzled expression.

        “It says ‘Take care for your head is among the clouds’.”

        Lois frowned. “That is not a fortune. I hate that.”

        Clark shook his head and sighed. “Open yours,” he said. Lois picked up her fortune cookie and broke it.

        “It’s blank. Mine’s blank.”

        Clark swallowed the feeling of foreboding. He quickly acted to reassure her.

        “It doesn’t mean anything,” he said.

        Lois just scowled at him. “Well, of course it doesn’t mean anything, Smallville,” she said scornfully. “It’s just a mistake, that’s all.”

        ***

        Chloe was nervous. Tomorrow was the day of the big test for the team and she wasn’t sure she was going to be able to handle it. This would be their first field test. One they’d been practicing for for weeks. While she had no worries about some of the team, for instance, those like Bette, there were others who were still a little unstable mentally, and she just wasn’t sure how they were going to behave.

        But then again, that was what the various tests over the past two weeks had been about. She needed to know that she could trust them, and so far, they had worked well together. But tomorrow, they were about to face their biggest trial. Tess wanted them to try their abilities out in the street. Chloe knew that if things went wrong, they would be outed in a big way.

        She faced the team once more before they headed into the barracks to shower and change.

        “Okay, guys, you can relax for the rest of the day, but before you go, let me remind you that we have a lot riding on this test tomorrow. Tess Mercer will be watching us closely and you can bet she’ll be looking for any mistakes. I’ll just go over the drill one more time. We’ll be separated into three teams. Shadow, Plastique and Frost are with me. The rest of you know who your rostered team mates are. We leave at 0800 hours tomorrow, so you need to be up and ready. That’s it. You’re dismissed.”

        Chloe was reflecting on how quickly they’d accepted her as a leader. Mostly because they knew she was smarter than all of them. They also knew she could electrocute them if she wanted to. Chloe had hated that at first. But Tess had told her it was a good way to keep them in line. When Crystal had tried to absorb her heat, Chloe had used her own ability by absorbing power from the overhead line and projecting it at the older woman.

        Chloe had spent a lot of her free time studying the dossiers that Tess had compiled on each one of her team members. While she didn’t completely trust Crystal Frost, each woman had a grudging respect for each other. Chloe had learned that Crystal had been studying at Hudson University in New York. She’d fallen for her teacher, Martin Stein but then Lex Luthor had hired the team for a scientific project in the Arctic about two months before he disappeared. There had been an accident and somehow Crystal had become locked in a thermafrost chamber, after learning that her teacher didn’t return her feelings. Inside the storage unit had been refined meteor rock – part of an experiment they were trying to see how the substance was affected by sub-zero temperatures.

        Crystal had eventually told Chloe that was how she survived. That somehow she’d absorbed the radiation from the refined rock and it had given her the ability to absorb heat. She’d murdered Martin and another man before being caught and sent to Belle Reve.

        Randy Klein, Shadow, was another person Chloe had concerns about. From what she’d learned, Randy had been committing brutal murders around Metropolis, emulating another serial killer, who Chloe now knew as the creature inside Davis.

        Part of her didn’t want to believe that Davis was capable of such a thing, until she told herself that it wasn’t really Davis. He was just the human shell the creature used to camouflage itself. But another part of her didn’t believe that either.

        She’d read the files and done the math. And she knew on some level that she was just making excuses for Davis. The same sort of excuse she’d given Ollie for what she’d done to Sebastian Kane. That it had been Brainiac. But there was part of her that knew exactly what she had been doing when she’d killed him. It had all been to protect Clark, she’d told Ollie. The trouble is, it was always about Clark. She knew it was high time he protected himself, rather than left it to others to defend his secret. She’d once promised him she’d die before she told anyone his secret. But where did that leave her? Did her life really revolve around Clark?

        Chloe had become grateful, in a way, to Tess, because now she had something that was purely hers. Something that Clark’s secret couldn’t take away from her.

        She looked at Bette as the young brunette fell into step behind her.

        “You know, we still don’t have a code name for you,” Bette smiled.

        “Well, I’ve been thinking about that. I looked up some Latin terms. What about Amber? It’s sort of Latin for electrify.”

        Bette considered that for a moment.

        “It’s okay, but ...”

        “Yeah, too generic. Okay, what about this? Ductor?”

        “What does that mean?” Bette asked.

        “Sort of like leader. You know, how you have a conductor for an orchestra, but you can also be a conductor for electricity.”

        Bette snickered. “Sounds weird.”

        “Yeah, guess we need to think on it some more huh?”

        They entered the barracks and went to shower and change into more comfortable clothes.

        “You know,” Bette said, “I think it’s pretty cool you’re our squad leader. I mean, I thought you were pretty cool when I first met you and everything. I mean, okay, you were kind of ...”

        “What?”

        “Well, I kept thinking like I needed to do something for you. Even though you didn’t act like it was a huge deal, but I was kind of, well, not intimidated or anything, but ...”

        “Well, I’m glad for that,” Chloe laughed as they headed off to get some snacks. Chloe had asked Tess to get some movies in since tonight the team needed to let off some steam.

        “Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks. You really help me a lot.”

        “You’re welcome Bette,” Chloe smiled at the younger girl.

        ***

        As darkness fell over Metropolis, a hulking figure stalked the streets. It was hungry enough to kill, yet not hungry enough that its other self did not still exert some kind of influence over the creature. As it came upon a man threatening a young woman with a knife, his hand over the woman’s lower regions, the creature’s eyes glowed red. It growled, soft enough so no-one in the next street could hear it, but the would-be rapist did. He looked around, peering into the darkness.

        “Who’s there?”

        Suddenly, the woman kicked the man in the shin and he let her go in surprise. Just as he began to reach out for her again, a large malformed hand reached for him, grabbing him around the throat. The woman stood there, not sure what to do as the creature stepped into sight of the one working streetlight. She screamed long and loud, the sound echoing in the night, bouncing off the brick walls surrounding the alley.

        Blood spattered everywhere, coating the girl’s face. She continued screaming, frozen in terror, but the creature paused, having dismembered its victim. The human part of the creature decided the woman didn’t interest him – that the creature’s hunger for the kill had been sated. It turned and stalked away.

        A short time later, Davis awoke, shivering in the cold, quickly noticing he was naked and wet with perspiration. He knew then that the creature had used him that night. Quickly looking around for something to cover himself with Davis ran into the night, getting his bearings, then headed for his only sanctuary.

        Once in the booth, he felt as if he could breathe again. The panel in the side slid forward. He bowed his head.

        “Bless me father for I have sinned.”

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        • #19
          Part Six

          The door to the van slid open and Chloe ushered out the rest of the team.

          “Okay, same drill we’ve been practicing. And don’t forget, Tess Mercer will be watching our every move. Fall out.”

          She watched as the second team separated. She could see Parasite in the second van giving the same instructions to his two teams. She’d asked him to be back-up squad leader while the teams were out doing this test run.

          She led her team out, knowing they only had a few hours to do this. It was growing dark. They’d purposely planned this for nightfall, as there was less risk of being seen. Their job was to find others like them and recruit them. If they were met with resistance, they were to use their abilities to capture them.

          Chloe breathed in deeply, psyching herself up for this. She knew that officially they were meant to be out searching for other meteor-affected people. But Tess had sent Chloe’s team out for a particular mission. Find Davis Bloome. There was only one way she could think of to get him out. And hopefully the creature too.

          “Static?” Plastique called to her as they ran through the night. At last night’s impromptu party, the others had decided she needed a cool name. They’d taken a vote, with Chloe putting in her own suggestions for names. They’d all been put in a hat and the name had been drawn out. It was as good as any, Chloe thought.

          “Right here,” she said.

          Plastique grinned at her, her elfin face lighting up with the smile. “Guess that’ll take a bit of getting used to huh?”

          Chloe nodded. Plastique looked at her. “You worried?”

          “A little,” Chloe admitted. Okay a lot, she said to herself. But they had to get this done. Tess wanted Davis, and what Tess wanted, Tess got. What she wanted him for, Chloe didn’t ask.

          ***

          Oliver suited up, donning the green leather. He checked his arrows, making sure everything was in perfect condition.

          “What about the rest of the team?” Clark asked. He was sitting on the sofa, watching as Ollie prepared.

          “Bart and Dinah are going to meet me.”

          “You sure this information is good?” Clark asked.

          “Far as I know,” the blonde told his friend.

          “I don’t know Ollie,” Clark sighed. “I mean, with Chloe still missing. It’s been over a month.”

          Oliver put a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I know buddy. But we can’t just sit around and wait. Not with that creature on the loose. What did your father call it?”

          “Ultimate Destroyer.”

          Oliver held back a shudder at the name. This thing sounded dangerous – too dangerous. And if it scared Clark, then it definitely scared him. He’d heard how Clark had been tossed several feet by the thing at Chloe’s disaster of a wedding.

          As much as he wanted to find Chloe, he had searched every database he could think of. Trying to get information out of Tess had been a waste of time. Her computer at the Daily Planet had nothing, and she had obviously learned from Lex’s mistakes. There was nothing at the Luthor mansion either.

          Dinah had given him the cold shoulder ever since. He realised now why. She had feelings for him. And if he admitted it to himself, he kind of felt the same way. It had snuck up on him, the same way Lois had suggested her feelings for Clark had snuck up on her. Not that either couple, or potential couple, was prepared to take it the next step. Not yet.

          Clark left, already in his red jacket, going to do his own patrol. Oliver had tuned in the communicators so he could get word of any attacks around the city which could be their boy. He’d handed one to Clark, who had looked at it reluctantly, but took it.

          Green Arrow met Black Canary and Impulse out near the Daily Planet.

          “Okay, stay in touch people,” he said tersely, his voice already modulated. “Anything unusual, call it in, but don’t try to take it on yourself. Got that?”

          They both nodded, turning to go their separate ways.

          Green Arrow stayed above ground, knowing he had a better vantage point from above. He continued to watch the streets below and it wasn’t long before he saw some activity. Two young people, teenagers probably, were fighting with a group of what appeared to be street thugs. As Green Arrow turned to head down to help, he saw one of the teens disappear into thin air, only to rematerialise an instant later a few feet behind the thugs, while the second seemed to have some form of psychokinesis, able to influence things around her without using anything physical.

          Arrow called in his team members, telling them to report to him at his location. But seconds later, Impulse called in saying he had seen others acting the same way. Arrow stared at the two, realising they were meteor freaks. They had to be, he thought.

          An hour later, he heard of an attack halfway across the city. He sent Impulse to look into it and made his way there. Sure enough, there was the creature they’d all heard about. It was dismembering a human being, tearing their limbs, not caring about the blood spattering everywhere. Feeling nauseous, Green Arrow couldn’t do anything but watch in horror.

          He heard running footsteps.

          “Static, he’s over here.”

          “Stay where you are Plastique. Don’t do anything stupid.”

          Arrow and Impulse both stared as the bodies belonging to the voices came into view.

          “Chloe?” Bart called, startled.

          The creature, distracted by the voice, turned in the direction of the petite blonde, eyes glowing redly as it looked at her, dropping its victim, then taking a hesitant step toward her.

          As the two Justice Leaguers watched, Chloe, the dark-haired girl, a boy with dark blonde hair and a young woman, about the same age as Chloe, with blonde hair all approached the creature. It continued to take steps toward Chloe, hesitant, slow steps. The girl Chloe called Plastique tried to get in front of her, but Chloe shooed her away.

          “Chloe?”

          Clark had heard them on the communicator and had obviously dashed through the streets. Chloe turned her head briefly.

          “Stay out of this,” she warned him.

          “Chloe, don’t,” he begged.

          Green Arrow echoed that. “Chloe, get away from it. It’ll kill you.”

          Chloe turned and stared at them, raising her hand. Next thing he knew, Oliver was down on the ground, having taken a massive burst of static electricity. It wasn’t enough to kill him, but it was enough to stun him and keep him down for a little while.

          Plastique, Shadow and Frost turned on the three men.

          “He’s ours,” Plastique said, setting off an explosion which sent a massive fireball in the air and created a huge concussion which would have knocked any normal human off their feet. When she saw that it had little effect on Clark, and that Impulse had just run to get away from the explosion, she stared at them, then turned back to Chloe.

          “Static, they’re like us.”

          Chloe glared at her. “They’re nothing like us,” she said. She still had her eyes on the creature, which was standing, reaching for her. As she watched, it slowly began to transform.

          Clark tried to get in-between them, but Frost moved quickly, touching him with her hands, drawing the body heat from him. But like Sean all those years before, the woman had little effect on him. He was much stronger now.

          “Whoa,” Frost said.

          As they continued to watch, the creature’s transformation was complete, turning back into Davis Bloome. Chloe instructed her team to grab Davis and put him in the van parked a short distance away.

          She finally turned on Clark.

          “Stay away from this. I mean it.”

          “Chloe ...”

          “No, Clark. I’m done, okay? I’m done being the sidekick. I have something of my own, now. Something that is mine, that you can’t take away from me. A place where people actually respect me and what I can do. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away!” With that she turned and followed the others to the van, leaving Clark to stare after her in stunned silence.

          Oliver was struggling to get to his feet, still feeling the after-effects of the electric shock. He stared at Clark who moved to help him up.

          “What the hell was that?” he said.

          “I don’t know,” Clark said. “I wish I did.”

          “You can’t tell me you believe Chloe’s with them?” Oliver said. “What is she thinking?”

          Clark sighed and shook his head. Both good questions. And he couldn’t answer either one. Chloe was in trouble, he knew that much. But how was he going to get her out of it? And did she want to be helped?

          They went back to Oliver’s apartment to debrief. Oliver paced up and down, asking over and over again what Chloe was doing.

          “Tess has had her for over a month. Is it possible she could have been brainwashed?”

          Clark shook his head. “Not Chloe. She’s too smart for that.”

          “Well, what else could it be?” Oliver asked.

          “If I know Chloelicious,” Bart piped up, “she’s got something up her sleeve.”

          “Well I know Chloe better than you,” Clark retorted, “and this has got even me stumped.”

          “Well, maybe you don’t know her as well as you think you do,” the young speedster returned.”

          “What’s that supposed to mean?” Clark snapped at the younger man.

          “It means that Chloe and I have been talking a lot, and she’s told me stuff she wouldn’t even tell you.”

          “Like? Come on Bart, give me an example.”

          “Like how she’s sick of always being the one you go to when you want something done. And you know something, she’s got a point about how you’ve never been willing to step up to the plate. So how about it boy scout?”

          “Hey, what do you think the last few months have been about?”

          “That doesn’t mean anything. Chloe, she’s always been the smart one. The one everyone looks to for the answers. Maybe she wanted something else. Maybe that’s all this is. Did you ever think about it? I mean, this way, she gets something that’s hers. You know, she used to hate it when you made goo goo eyes at Lana. Like the rest of the world never existed. And now you’re doing the same thing with Lois. And okay, I mean, she’s Chloe’s cousin, and Chloe’s really happy for her, and you, but still ...”

          “I never made goo goo eyes at Lana, and I don’t with Lois.”

          Bart’s smirk suggested he thought Clark protested too much.

          “Whatever Stretch. I’m just telling ya how she feels.” Both young men fell silent, standing with their arms folded over their chests, glaring at each other.

          “Well, this is all great,” Oliver said, “but it doesn’t change the fact that Chloe is now one of the Injustice League, for want of a better term. And we have to stop whatever it is they’re up to.”

          Dinah came in, looking at Ollie. “There’s reports all over the city. Some meteor freaks causing as much havoc as possible.”

          He looked at her. “What else is new?” he said sarcastically. She frowned, her expression hurt by his tone. He sighed. “Man, I’m sorry, Dinah. It’s just ...” He quickly explained about Chloe.

          “Why would Tess Mercer create such a team?”

          “Why wouldn’t she? It was Lex’s plan. To create the opposite of the Justice League. To stop us uncovering what he was up to.”

          “He’s created an army,” Clark said. “That was his intention all along.”

          “And Tess is just continuing it.”

          “I tell ya,” AC said, having caught the end of the conversation, “she may be one fine looking woman, but Red’s got serious delusions when it comes to a tool like Lex.”

          Clark was reminded of the first time he had met AC. He had called Lex a ‘tool’ then, and it wasn’t meant in a complimentary way.

          ***

          Tess had felt the tests were so successful, she rewarded the team with a day off the next day. All except Chloe.

          “What is it?” Chloe asked when Tess sent for her.

          “I need your help with Davis. For some reason he seems to have fixated on you.”

          Chloe had no answer for that. She knew what Clark had told her. That he believed Davis, controlled by the creature inside him, had taken her to the fortress. Was Davis obsessed with her? Or was it something that Brainiac had done while still locked inside her mind to draw the paramedic to her?

          She followed Tess to the lab where the scientists were running tests.

          “He seems to be impervious to needles,” one scientist said thoughtfully to Tess.

          Davis saw Chloe and instantly his face lit up.

          “Chloe. Thank goodness you’re here. They’re doing all these tests on me. You have to tell them to stop. You have to tell them ...”

          “Tell them what, Davis? I saw that thing inside you. That creature.”

          “It’s not true,” he protested.

          “So you’re telling me what I saw was just my imagination?” she said carefully. “I didn’t see that thing turn back into you. And I didn’t see that creature tearing a guy apart.”

          “It’s not what you think,” he stammered. “I’m only punishing the guilty. Cleansing them of their sins.”

          “You’re murdering them,” Chloe told him angrily. “It’s still murder, no matter how you look at it.”

          “You have to understand,” he said. “You have to know.”

          “Did Jimmy deserve to be punished too?” she spat at him.

          Startled, she saw his eyes beginning to glow red. “Jimmy was in the way. It was the only way for us to be together, Chloe. I love you. I’m in love with you.”

          Chloe stepped back with a gasp as he reached out for her. But his declaration seemed to calm him. His eyes were no longer red. But he was still dangerous.

          “Davis,” she said slowly, “I don’t feel that way about you. I’m sorry.”

          She started to turn away.

          “Please,” he called after her. “You’re the only one who can stop it. The only who can soothe the savage beast in me.”

          Chloe just rolled her eyes and kept on walking away. Tess, who had been watching silently through the whole exchange, followed her out. Once they were clear of the lab, Chloe turned on her.

          “Why did you bring me here?” she asked finally.

          “Because I needed you.”

          Chloe shook her head. “No, you needed Davis. And you needed me to get him, because of his feelings for me. You heard what he said in there.”

          The redhead nodded.

          “Chloe, we have an opportunity here. To study something incredible and unique to this world.”

          “That’s all it is for you, isn’t it Tess? A goddamn science experiment.”

          “There’s a war going on out there Chloe.”

          She nodded. “Yeah. And guess who stands to profit the most from the spoils of war. You know, I actually started to believe your garbage about actually doing some good. But the truth is, you’re even more power-mad than Lex was. And hey, why not make some money in the bargain.”

          “You really don’t want to mess with me, Chloe,” Tess warned.

          “No, Tess. It’s you who shouldn’t mess with me.” Chloe reached out, and suddenly the lights dipped, then came back.

          “I made you,” Tess said. “And I can break you.”

          “We’ll see,” Chloe hissed.

          ***

          Lois was growling impatiently at her computer when Clark came in carrying a cup of coffee. He put the cup down on her desk, going to speak to her.

          “What’s wrong?” he asked.

          “It’s my damn computer, that’s what’s wrong.”

          She grabbed the cup before he could stop her. “Thanks Smallville,” she said. He just rolled his eyes. She sipped from the cup, gasping at the contents. “Wow that’s hot.”

          Considering he’d just used his heat vision to warm it up, it should be, he thought. But he said nothing. Lois had turned back to her computer, which was still not working.

          “Argh!” she groaned.

          Clark looked at her. She hadn’t been sleeping much. She’d done her best to cover up the dark circles under her eyes but her face had that pinched, wan look about it. He knew if she didn’t get some good rest soon, she would crash and burn. He decided to take the matter into his own hands.

          “Come on,” he said, straightening up and holding out his hand.

          She looked at him warily. “Have you gone nuts, Smallville?”

          “No Lois. I think you need to chill out for a minute. Now come on.” He pulled her out of her seat and into the stationery room. “Lois,” he said, when the door was finally closed. “You’re a wreck.” He held up his hand as she started to say something.

          “Hear me out. Look, I know you’re worried about Chloe ...”

          “And why shouldn’t I? She’s my cousin.”

          Clark sighed. “Let me finish. Look, just listen to me for once, okay? Instead of opening that mouth of yours. You have barely slept in weeks. And a little make-up isn’t fooling anyone. You’re stressed, but you’ve just kept it bottled up. And trust me on this, I know. Sooner or later you’ll blow.”

          “You have no idea how I feel,” she said.

          “Don’t I? Remember when my Dad died? How his watch got stolen and my mom got mugged? I wanted to kill the guy that did it. Because I kept my feelings inside.”

          “This is different, Clark. And how come you never told me this story?”

          “Because Lois, I shouldn’t be doing stuff like that.”

          “Why not? You wouldn’t be the first person to want to kill someone over something like that. Hell, that’s pretty much ninety-nine percent of the population.”

          “Getting off the topic here Lois.”

          It was always her way. Avoid the subject by changing to something safer. Try to deflect by making the issue about someone else. But Clark wasn’t going to let her do it again.

          He had been wondering what to say about the other night. It had been almost three days since the confrontation with the Injustice League. And he had been laying awake nights thinking what he was going to say to Lois. Even now, he didn’t know what to say, so he just blurted it out.

          “I saw Chloe the other night,” he said.

          “What?”

          Lois’ expression was startled at first, then she studied him, trying to read his thoughts.

          “Why didn’t you tell me?” she said, adopting a hurt look.

          “I wasn’t sure what to do about it, that’s why. Lois, she turned on Oliver. It looked like she wanted to hurt him.”

          “She wouldn’t do that,” Lois disagreed. “Not Chloe.”

          “You don’t really know what Chloe would do. Especially if she’s been brainwashed.”

          “You really think that’s what’s happened. Who would do that?”

          Clark didn’t answer. He didn’t want to stir the pot by saying that Tess might be behind something like this. But Lois was smart enough to figure it out anyway.

          “It’s Tess, isn’t it? She’s taking up where Lex left off.” She made as if to go and give the woman a piece of her mind.

          “Lois, don’t,” he said, putting out a hand to stop her. “This is exactly why I told you that story about what happened after my Dad, well, you know. Because I know things can happen in the heat of the moment.”

          “But we know Tess is behind the disappearances of those patients. We know.”

          “But we don’t have any proof,” he reminded her. “And Lois, you know how you get. Don’t go getting into something you know you won’t be able to handle.”

          Lois tried to shake him off, but he stayed strong, becoming an immovable object.

          “Don’t tell me what to do, Clark,” she hissed.

          “Well someone has to stop you from doing something stupid,” he shot back.

          “Are you trying to say I’m stupid?” she asked.

          “No, I’m not,” he said. “I just think you get into situations where you should know better, and that’s stupid.”

          “It amounts to the same thing Smallville.”

          “No, it doesn’t,” he returned.

          “Yes it does,” she said.

          “No, it doesn’t,” he said, realising they were descending into the realms of childishness with this argument, but he went with it. She needed to get those feelings out in the open and he was the only one to do it.

          “Shut up, Smallville,” she returned. “I hate you.”

          “No you don’t.”

          “Yes I do. You’re stubborn, and pigheaded and obnoxious, and I hate you. You’re always walking on eggshells and you are such a geek and I ... I ...”

          She was running out of steam, her breath coming in gasps. He reached for her, pulling her into his arms without thinking. “It’s okay, Lois, just let it out. It’s okay to be worried, you don’t have to pretend to be so tough all the time. Not with me.”

          She was still struggling against him, but not as hard as before. She stood with her head against his shoulder, fighting the sobs that were choking her. He just held tighter until finally she calmed, lifting her head and looking at him. They looked at each other for a moment, and it was almost as if they were going to kiss.

          She looked so beautiful, even with the pinched look of her face, and the dark circles under her eyes. But her mouth was so full and rosy and Clark wanted to kiss her. He had been wanting to kiss her for months, ever since Chloe’s wedding and that moment they’d shared. But even as he lowered his head to make the attempt, she pulled away with a sly smile, then punched him hard in the shoulder. He moved back as a reflex action as her mouth quirked.

          “Thanks Smallville,” she said. Then she leaned forward. “And if you tell anyone about this, I’ll kick your butt from here to Granville. Got it?”

          Clark rolled his eyes and sighed, following her as she went back out to the bullpen. By this time, her computer had finally decided to work properly, but it was still slow. She finally had to ask someone with more technical know-how.

          “Well,” he said, looking at the configuration, “what you’ve got here is a coded file buried in among all the rest. That’s why your computer’s slow. If it hadn’t slowed right down, you wouldn’t have known it was there. You want me to decode it? It might take a while.”

          Clark was instantly suspicious. “Can the file be forwarded somewhere else?”

          The man nodded. “Yeah, where do you want it to go to?”

          “The Isis Foundation,” Lois said, immediately getting the message from Clark’s expression. The man pressed a few keys on the computer after getting the IP address from Lois. He wrote down notes on what to do to decode the message.

          Clark looked at Lois and they left the office, going to the Isis Foundation. Logging on to the computer, they followed the instructions and decoded the message. Lois was startled to see who it was from.

          “Oh my god,” she said.

          Comment


          • #20
            Part Seven
            “Oh my god.”

            “Lois, what is it? Who’s it from?”

            “I don’t really think this was meant for me,” she said slowly as she moved away from the computer. She hadn’t put the rest up on the main monitors. Clark moved to look at the monitor.

            ‘I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion’. Alexander The Great

            It was followed by a set of GPS co-ordinates. Clark’s geography was limited, but it looked like somewhere outside of Granville.

            Clark gasped. There was only one person who would send something like that. He looked at Lois and realised she knew the same thing.

            “He was always quoting someone from history,” she said.

            “The question is, why would he send you a coded message.”

            “Maybe to throw Tess off the track. Tess would probably think he’d send it to you, so instead he sent it to me and encoded it so Tess would think it was garbage.”

            “Yeah, guess so.” Clark could never understand Lex’s logic. But it meant one thing. Lex was alive. He hadn’t died in the Arctic. And why would he be warning them about Tess? He said as much to Lois.

            “Clark, I don’t think he’s talking about Tess. I think he means Chloe.”

            “What do you mean?”

            “Haven’t you always noticed Chloe’s had a darkness in her?”

            Clark thought about it for a second. There had been that time when he had been a sophomore when he and Chloe had been fighting a lot. She’d been trying to uncover information about him and he’d learned that she had been working with Lionel Luthor. Then that time she had been sprayed by the Veritas drug and had been able to force people to tell her the truth. She had taken almost a sadistic pleasure in uncovering people’s darkest secrets. At the time, he’d thought it was because of the meteor rock, but now he knew differently. She must have been exposed to the meteor rock at some other time in her life.

            But that didn’t explain why she got the healing power. Chloe had a huge heart. Maybe that was the thing that stopped her from going right over the edge, even with that dark side. He should know. His own dark side came back to haunt him from time to time.

            “So what is he trying to say?” Lois asked.

            “That we need to get Chloe out of there before the darkness swallows her completely,” he said.

            ***

            Chloe watched from the safety of the glass window as Davis was subjected to test after test. She was worried about Tess’ plans. Was she really hoping to turn Davis into a force for good? Especially when the creature inside him couldn’t really be contained. Except by her. It was odd that the human side of Davis, the part that said he loved her, could have that much control over such an enormous creature.

            She glanced around her. Ever since she’d had that argument with Tess, she had had the feeling she was being watched more and more. If it wasn’t the men that patrolled this area of the complex, it was cameras. But she had a plan.

            As she turned away from Davis, she walked slowly along the corridor as if she was going to head back to the barracks. Instead, she touched her hand along the wall, drawing power from the electrical wiring inside the wall, then turned and aimed it at the security camera. The resulting surge knocked out all the cameras in this part of the complex. She ran quickly to Tess’ office, going to the laptop on the desk and opening it up, looking through the files. As she clicked on one, she saw the password required box come up and went to another part of the hard drive to try and get the password. She glanced up now and then at the door but didn’t see anything and went back to the computer.

            After reading through the various commands, Chloe found the one she wanted and went back to the other screen, typing in the password. But when she got to the file she wanted, it was blank. She checked the other files and found the same thing.

            “You didn’t think it was going to be that easy did you?”

            Chloe stared at Tess.

            “It was worth a shot. What are you really going to do with Davis?”

            “What Lex wanted. To create a hero.”

            “You mean Davis? You have to know you’ll never be able to control that thing inside him.”

            The redhead shook her head, her hair loose and flowing over her shoulders, tossed lightly by the movement.

            “Not him.”

            Chloe frowned. “Clark? Is that what this is all about? You want him to work for you?”

            “No, Chloe. I want him to be what he was always meant to be.”

            “This can’t be what Lex planned.”

            “It’s a minor variation.”

            “Yeah, I’ll bet. Considering the fact that Lex resented Clark for keeping secrets. And because all Lex was ever interested in was power. He hates Clark because Clark has something he always wanted, and he’ll never get. And pitting that thing against Clark is no way to force him to do what you want.”

            “Even if it means that ‘thing’ will destroy the human race?”

            “You can’t manipulate people like this Tess.”

            “I can do what I want,” she said, totally unrepentant. She stepped further into the office, holding something in her hand. Chloe kept her eyes on the other woman, not daring to even think what it was she was holding. “You know, Lex showed me a lot of your articles from that high school paper. What was it called?”

            “The Torch,” Chloe said softly. What did that have to do with anything.

            “You had such talent, such promise,” Tess said. “Always chasing stories about meteor freaks. How else, do you think, did Lex get all his information?”

            She reached out a hand, touching Chloe’s hair as if curious about the texture, or the colour. Chloe backed away from her.

            “I wonder what ever happened to the girl who dreamed of being a top investigative reporter?”

            “She grew up,” Chloe said shortly.

            “Pity,” Tess said, tsking.

            Chloe kept backing away, reaching out to draw power from the electrical equipment. But before she could do so, Tess used whatever was in her hand. Chloe felt a sharp pain in her head and she screamed at the agony, collapsing on the floor. As she began to black out, Tess stepped over her fallen body.

            “It really is a pity,” Tess said.

            ***

            Clark opened the elevator door. Oliver, AC, Bart and Victor all turned to look at him.

            “What’s up Kent?” Victor said.

            “Lex is alive.”

            “What do you mean Lex is alive?” Oliver stared at him, brown eyes incredulous. “I’ve had people searching the globe using every means possible. If Lex was alive, I’d know about it.”

            Clark showed him the message. “It’s a warning. About Chloe.”

            “Why would he be sending you and Lois a warning about Chloe?”

            “He knows we know about 33.1. Don’t you get it? This is just another game he’s playing. When we were in the Arctic he told me that he could have helped me become the hero. This is just his way of telling me he’s still in control.”

            “So what? You’re his puppet now? Come on Clark, the danger isn’t Chloe. It’s that thing we saw, that turned into Davis.”

            “But it didn’t turn into Davis because of anything we did,” Clark argued. “Who do you think controlled it?”

            Oliver thought back to what they had witnessed. Chloe had somehow managed to subdue the creature. He ran a hand through his spiky blonde locks, thinking about what they’d learned about Chloe’s abilities.

            “Lois reminded me that Chloe’s always had a dark side. Maybe this could be the thing that takes her over the edge,” Clark said.

            “Give me those co-ordinates,” Oliver ordered, going to the computer and typing them into the GPS tracking system.

            The screen lit up with a huge map of Metropolis. The complex was about thirty miles out of the city. Oliver turned and looked at the assembled group.

            “Mount up,” he said. He didn’t have to say anymore. They all knew the drill.

            ***

            Chloe’s head was pounding as she slowly came to her senses. She opened her eyes, letting them come into focus, then sat up, groaning as her head swam and the image swayed dizzily.

            “I’m quite surprised,” she heard Tess’ voice say. “The jolt I gave you should have been enough to kill you.”

            “Kill me?” Chloe said tiredly.

            Tess smirked as the blonde looked at her. Chloe hadn’t known about the devices implanted in the brains of each one of the people in the team. It gave her control over them. If they got out of hand, she could send a signal which would cause a massive electrical surge in the implant. That would in turn cause a cerebral haemorrhage. There was no way she was going to let these freaks get the upper hand on her.

            Now Chloe was another matter. When she had caught Chloe going through her computer, she had known there was going to be trouble. She hadn’t wanted to kill her. Chloe was the only one who would be able to control the creature. But here was a new problem. Chloe’s body had somehow absorbed the surge without injury to herself.

            Tess now stood and watched as Chloe slowly rose to her feet.

            “What are we going to do about this problem, Chloe?” Tess said.

            “You tell me. Since you tried to kill me.”

            “You were the one snooping in my files,” Tess said defensively.

            Chloe rose to her full height, trying to look as intimidating as possible. She’d already noticed that all power sources had been removed from the room, so she couldn’t use it against Tess. But it didn’t mean she couldn’t fight back.

            “You know why I was snooping,” she said. “I wasn’t about to let you use Davis for your own ends.”

            “It’s a pity, Chloe, that I couldn’t convince you to see things my way. We could have made such a great team.”

            “You tried to use me against my best friend. You don’t want a hero. You just want to control him. The same way Lex did.”

            “Well, that’s all a matter of perspective, isn’t it Chloe?”

            “You’ve got an answer for everything, don’t you Tess?”

            “As do you, Chloe.”

            “I’m not going to let you do this.”

            “You don’t have a choice.”

            “Wanna bet?” Chloe pulled back her fist and hit the woman as hard as she could in the jaw. Tess’ head snapped back and she was forced to turn away from the punch. Recovering quickly, she turned again and glared at Chloe.

            “That all you got?” she said.

            “I’m just getting warmed up, b***h,” Chloe returned, arm moving back to go for another punch. Tess’ hand shot out in a defensive manoeuvre, and she punched back, hitting Chloe in the lip. Chloe felt her lip split and tasted the harsh metallic taste of her own blood. They began circling each other, like two lionesses after the same piece of meat, each hungry, each prepared to kill the other for it.

            A quick jab here, a sharp punch there, it was clear that despite the differences in height, they were evenly matched. Chloe grabbed Tess’ arms, pulling her off balance and tossing her against the wall. The redhead groaned in pain as her hip struck the plaster. Cracks appeared in the wall, and dust came down.

            “Geez, who did the dry wall,” Chloe quipped. “Cowboys R Us?”

            “Shut up b***h,” Tess yelled.

            “Oh great comeback. You know, it’s no wonder Oliver dumped you. He likes strong, intelligent women.”

            “And you’d know, would you?”

            “Better than you,” Chloe returned.

            “F**k you.” Tess aimed a roundhouse kick but Chloe quickly ducked and rolled, sweeping her leg out to knock the other woman off her feet.

            The guards had come running at the commotion, as had two of Chloe’s teammates. They immediately ran for the gamesroom.

            “You guys! Chloe and Tess are in a smackdown.”

            ***

            Oliver stood near the perimeter. He turned to each one of his men. “We go in, fast and aggressive. And remember what you’re dealing with. These aren’t normal people. They have abilities and some of them might be way stronger than us. Be careful.”

            Each man had been equipped with tranquilisers. It was the only way, Oliver had told them, to take down the meteor freaks without harming themselves. As long as they didn’t get too close.

            Oliver readied his arrows and headed for the entry. Cyborg, Aqua, Impulse and Canary followed. Boyscout took his own route. Their separate entries were timed to the last second.

            Clark looked at his watch, waiting for the time to tick down. As the countdown reached zero, he used all his strength on the door, making it collapse inward. Two guards immediately headed for him with guns. But before they could lift their weapons, he bowled them over like two pins in a bowling alley, stunning them.

            ***

            Tess was already so sick of this fight. She was determined to take Chloe down a peg or two. Arrogant little so and so, she thought. She had always hated the blonde. Too smart for her own good. Always poking her nose in where it wasn’t wanted.

            She wiped at the blood on her lip where Chloe had got a lucky shot. She stepped back, going into defensive stance as Chloe moved in for another attack. As she began to block it, she was distracted by the running guards.

            “Miss Mercer, the complex has been breached,” one of the guards said breathlessly. “It’s Green Arrow.”

            As soon as the alarm was raised, chaos let loose in the complex. Tess turned aqnd glared at her guards. “Go,” she snapped.

            She smirked at Chloe, who was barely on her feet, trying to get her breath back.

            “Well, look who decided to join us,” she said. “I always wanted to take down Green Arrow.”

            “Guess now’s your chance,” Chloe said tiredly.

            Tess turned away, but Chloe grabbed her arm.

            “This isn’t over,” she said.

            “Oh yes it is,” Tess said with a sneer, looking her up and down. Chloe was dishevelled, her t-shirt torn, her lip bloody and a cut above her eye. Tess could only imagine she looked similarly dishevelled.

            “I won’t let you exploit Clark. Or Davis, for that matter,” Chloe said, but Tess kept walking away.

            Several members of the Injustice League were already fighting the interlopers. But the Justice League had come prepared, knowing exactly what they were up against. Those of Tess’ people who had manaqed to dodge the arrows and the tranquiliser darts were throwing everything they had at the five members. Dinah countered using her scream, while Bart just continued to run rings around them, confusing even the teleporter.

            Clark, meanwhile, was battling two on the other end of the complex. Crystal Frost had tried freezing him, but he countered with one of his own. She screamed at him as he aimed his heat vision at her, then knocked her out with one blow which sent her flying, crashing into the wall.

            Shadow was next, but Clark had studied the files on some of the meteor mutants and he knew this one. He caught him by moving faster than Shadow could keep up. But as fast as he moved, he was still unable to knock the boy out. He was stunned when the boy suddenly collapsed to the ground, an arrow in his shoulder.

            “You’re welcome,” Green Arrow grinned.

            Plastique could only stand and stare as things very quickly came to a head. Lost and confused by the turn of events, she struggled with her emotions. On the one hand, the past few months had made her feel like she finally belonged somewhere. On the other was Clark, who had never treated her like a freak and had tried to help her. She was torn between wanting to help those she called her friends and to help someone who had tried to help her.

            Paralysed by indecision, she could only watch as Parasite approached Clark. She knew what would happen. If Parasite stole Clark’s powers, there was no telling what he would do with them. She knew Clark wasn’t like other meteor freaks. For one thing, he was strong and fast and could shoot fire from his eyes. She knew from her own experience that having that much power wasn’t easy to control.

            “Clark, look out,” she yelled, having made her decision. Both Clark and Parasite looked up at her, then Clark looked behind him and dodged. Green Arrow sent another arrow flying and it landed square in the middle of Parasite’s chest. He looked down at it, stunned.

            Tess watched with a satisfied smirk at the chaos she felt she had created. This couldn’t have been a better test if she’d planned it, she thought. It didn’t matter if they failed. It was worth the sacrifice, she thought. She would have to review the footage later and see where the mistakes were made. Clearly, the Justice League were better trained. And they had passion on their side. Whereas her people didn’t really know what they were fighting for.

            ***

            Chloe ran to the lab where she knew Davis was being kept. They had him drugged and locked in a cage.

            “Davis,” she called. “Davis, it’s me, Chloe. I have to get you out of here.”

            Frantically she looked around for a key to the cage, but couldn’t find anything. Closing her eyes, she lifted her hand and drew electricity from the wires in the walls, aiming them at the cage door. She ignored the sudden growl from the creature, opening her eyes to find the cage open. Davis was back to his human form, his eyes still red. But he still looked drugged.

            “Come on,” she said, reaching out for him. He staggered out, using her arm for balance. “You’ve gotta work with me a little,” she said, grunting under his weight.

            “Chloe,” he moaned softly.

            “I’m not going to let Tess hurt you just to get to Clark.”

            “Clark?” Davis questioned.

            Chloe said nothing. She thought it was best if she didn’t tell Davis the story of his origins. Especially when he’d been bred to destroy humanity. All she could focus on right now was getting him out.

            But as they made their way toward the exit of the complex, she found herself once more facing Tess.

            “Going somewhere?” the woman said smugly.

            “Get out of my way Tess,” Chloe warned.

            “Or you’ll do what? Chloe, you don’t have the guts.”

            “Wanna bet?” she said. She let go of Davis. Sparks flew from the wiring and it was like she was caught in a massive gale as her hair flew and her body swayed as she drew as much power as she was able. Tess still continued to look on smugly, so confident that Chloe would not do it.

            She wasn’t expecting the first hit of the surge that Chloe aimed in her direction. She screamed, collapsing to the floor, her clothes smoking from the heat generated. Chloe grinned, glad that her tormentor was suffering.

            “Chloe?”

            She looked up, pausing in her torture.

            “Bart, what are you doing here?”

            “Obviously stopping you from making a big mistake,” he said. “You’re not a murderer Chloe,” he continued, stepping closer to her, trying to get himself in between her and Tess. “You don’t have to do this.”

            “You know what she’s done. What she’s capable of.”

            “But you’re not her,” Bart argued. “Believe me, I know you better than you think you do. And the Chloe I know wouldn’t do this.”

            “I’m not that Chloe any more.”

            “So, you’re not the Chloe who enjoys a sunset. Who loves tulips. Who cares so much about people that all she ever wanted was to use her gift to help others. What happened to her?”

            “She happened,” Chloe said, gesturing to the redhead behind Bart.

            “You still got a choice, Chloelicious.”

            Chloe was wavering. Bart moved closer to her. “It’ll be okay,” he said softly. “I promise.”

            “On the contrary,” a man’s voice said. Both Chloe and Bart turned and stared at the man who had just come in.

            “Lex?” Chloe said, stunned.

            The bald man ignored her and glared down at Tess. “I expected better from you,” he said.

            Tess struggled to her feet, looking at Lex.

            “Lex, I ...”

            “No,” he said sharply. “Your brief was very clear. And you have failed me time and time again. Then you betray me, thinking you could follow your own agenda.” He finally turned on Chloe.

            “Pity,” he said with a scowl. “You had such potential.”

            “What is this?” she said.

            “What do you think it is?” he said. “You said it yourself. Except it wasn’t Tess behind it at all. I did once tell Clark that I could have helped him become the hero he was always meant to be.”

            “By doing what? Pitting him against Davis?”

            “Kryptonian against Kryptonian?”

            Davis, having almost shaken off the drug, stared at Lex, his eyes widening.

            “What do you mean?”

            “You don’t know, do you? You were created – you’re nothing more than a mongrel dog, bred from the genetic material of every creature existing on your home planet. Sent to do the bidding of your master.”

            “And who would that be?” Davis asked.

            “Zod,” Lex spat in distaste.

            Chloe glared at him and scoffed. “You weren’t trying to make a hero,” she said. “You were hoping they’d each destroy the other.”

            “But from what I hear, it appears that Davis, or Doomsday as he’s called, can’t be killed. It’s all rather disappointing. I was so looking forward to an epic battle,” he smirked. “Which is why I sent the message.”

            “I knew it had to be some kind of game,” Clark said. The four others turned to look at him, none of them having noticed that Clark had come in. “You always did like playing games, didn’t you Lex?”

            Lex just shrugged and smirked. “No more than you, Clark.”

            Clark grabbed him by the collar of his expensive coat. “This isn’t a game, Lex. These are people’s lives you’re messing with.”

            “I knew if I gave you enough incentive you’d have to step up and be the hero.”

            “All just so you could have the satisfaction of saying you won,” Clark growled.

            “But I have won, Clark. No matter the outcome today, I made you what you are.”

            "You really are sick Lex,” Clark said.

            “And what are you? You stand there and pretend to be human, thinking you’re better than us, preaching with your sanctimonious ********. You had the nerve to lecture me about lying and manipulation, yet you’re just as guilty. As Jesus once said, let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”

            “I never said I was perfect,” Clark returned.

            So absorbed in their quarrel, the two men didn’t notice Davis becoming more and more agitated. Here at last was the answer. Here was the reason for his existence. And something inside him told him he had to destroy the usurper. Eyes blazing red, with a roar, Davis headed straight for Clark.

            Comment


            • #21
              Here's the final part:


              Part Eight

              Lex watched in satisfaction as Davis and Clark crashed through the East wall of the complex, both struggling. Davis might not be as strong as Clark in human form, but it appeared he was well able to hold his own. Maybe it was the influence of the genetic mutation that caused the creature. Lex didn’t much care.

              Chloe was glaring at him.

              “You son of a *****!” she said.

              Clearly she resented being manipulated. But Lex recalled many a lesson from his dear departed father, who’d once told him that corruption didn’t exist without the willingness to be corrupted. And Chloe demonstrated that in spades. After all, she had killed to protect Clark. As much as she tried to deny that, or claim it had been the influence of the computer inside her brain, she had made the choice to use that part of her to kill.

              “Come now, Chloe, we both know there is a war going on.”

              “The only war is in your head Lex. Clark is not yours to manipulate.”

              “Neither is he yours. He’s not even human.”

              Chloe looked him over with a sneer. “He’s more human than you are. You’re just sick.”

              “And what does that make you, Chloe, for someone who was on the brink of committing cold-blooded murder a few minutes ago. Sebastian Kane I can understand. You were after all trying to protect Clark.”

              Chloe ignored him and tried to brush past him, but Lex grabbed her arm. “Going somewhere?”

              “I’m going to try to help my friend.”

              “Clark isn’t your friend,” he said. “Anymore than he was ever mine.”

              “All Clark ever tried to do was be a friend to you,” Chloe shouted at him. “And all you ever cared about was uncovering his secrets.”

              Lex just sneered at her. “And weren’t you?” he said. “Or was it someone else who just looked like you who agreed to spy on Clark for my father.”

              Chloe swung her arm, pulling it out of his grasp. Bart looked at her. “Come on,” he said softly. “Ignore him. He’s not worth it.” Chloe looked at her friend, hesitating. Then she looked coldly at Lex.

              “You know he’s right. You’re not worth it.” She let Bart lead her away.

              Lex watched them go then turned to the security guards. “What are you standing around for? Clean up this mess.”

              ***

              Clark struggled with Davis, who had somehow remained in human form. He did wonder why. Perhaps it was because of Chloe. Somehow Chloe’s presence kept the creature at bay. How and why, Clark didn’t know.

              The fight was violent enough to send plaster crumbling from the walls as they crashed through the complex. Dust rained down on both of them, turning their hair and clothes to grey. Clark struggled to get control, thinking all the while what he was going to do to stop Davis. It was clear he was obsessed with Chloe, and anyone who stood in the way of him getting in the way of what he wanted was seen as a threat. And without Chloe to keep the Doomsday creature at bay, Clark dreaded what would happen.

              The ensuing commotion brought the rest of the Justice League running, stopping as they saw the two men struggling with each other. Green Arrow saw the red eyes of Davis and stood paralysed.

              Clark’s face was contorted with pain as Davis managed to push him through the next wall.

              “Clark?” Green Arrow called.

              “Stay back,” Clark warned. But his warning came too late. Davis turned, seeing they now had an audience and swung his fist, snarling, managing to hit both Victor and AC, knocking them several feet.

              “Davis, stop!”

              He turned and looked at Chloe.

              “You don’t understand,” he said. “Clark is my enemy.”

              “That’s what Tess told you,” Chloe said desperately. “You’re being used. Like Clark is.”

              “No, I was made for this. I understand now.”

              Clark managed to get a blow which sent Davis reeling back. He’d heard everything Lex had told Davis. He knew he was created through the combination of DNA from a motley collection of genetic material – Kryptonian. None of this was Davis’ fault. He hadn’t asked to be created this way. What Lex had said was true in one way. Davis was a mongrel. But he had no idea what to do now.

              But it appeared Chloe did. As Davis prepared for another assault on Clark, she ran forward, getting in between them.

              “Davis, please, don’t do this. He’s my friend and I care about him.”

              “Chloe ...”

              Davis hesitated, the redness leaving his eyes as he stared down at her.

              “Chloe, don’t,” Clark said, panting. He had a feeling he knew what was going to happen and he had to stop it.

              “Clark, it’s the only way.”

              But it wasn’t, Clark thought. There was another way.

              “Chloe ...” he said, reaching for her. With a roar, Davis turned on him, backhanding Clark and knocking him down. He then grabbed Chloe and held her fast. Stunned, Clark tried to struggle to his feet, glaring up at the other man. “Get away from her.”

              “Come near her and I’ll kill you,” Davis said.

              Clark continued to stumble forward until Chloe turned on him. “Clark, don’t. Or I swear, I’ll have to do something drastic. It’s for the best.” She turned in Davis’ arms and let him lead her away.

              “No, Chloe,” Bart called. She looked at him, her eyes saddening. There were hints there of something more than friendship, but neither one of them had been prepared to acknowledge that.

              “I’m sorry,” she said.

              Davis looked smugly at the assembled members of the Justice League. Then he turned and left, taking Chloe with him.

              “How predictable,” Lex sneered.

              Clark turned on him, unaware that Lex had come in. He grabbed him by the collar and pushed him against the wall, sending a shower of plaster dust.

              “This is all your doing,” he said. “Have you any idea what you’ve unleashed on the world?”

              “What I’ve unleashed? You should have stopped him, Clark.”

              “None of this would have happened if you hadn’t been the same manipulative son of a b***h you always have been. You manipulated Chloe, you manipulated me, even Tess.”

              Lex pulled himself out of Clark’s grip, which wasn’t easy to do, with Clark’s strength. He straightened his collar and glared at Clark.

              “Come now, admit it Clark, if last summer hadn’t happened, you’d still be wasting your life on that farm, going nowhere.”

              “You don’t know that.”

              “But I do,” Lex insisted.

              “You’re telling me you forced this situation. Why?”

              “I told you last year, if you had just trusted me, I would have helped you become the hero you were always meant to be.”

              “You sick son of a b***h. This wasn’t about creating a hero. It was about power. That’s why you created the other team. So you could gain power.”

              “Considering what’s happened here tonight, I was right. I knew if you weren’t going to step up, someone else had to.”

              “They’re just kids, Lex.”

              “Kids with phenomenal power. Given the right training, the right incentive, there’s no telling what they’re capable of.”

              “You’re sending them out to their deaths. And what about Chloe?”

              “As much as I’d like to take some of the credit, I really had nothing to do with Chloe’s change of heart.”

              “You brainwashed her,” Clark accused.

              “And how could I have done that, Clark, when I only just returned tonight? Chloe made that decision all on her own.”

              “She wouldn’t have done it at all if you hadn’t been kidnapping people.”

              “Semantics,” Lex said loftily.

              Clark shook his head angrily. Lex sighed heavily. “There is just no grey area with you, is there Clark? I’m trying to save the world, not destroy it.

              “You keep telling yourself that, Lex. Maybe some day it’ll actually be the truth.”

              Clark kept glaring at Lex. This was useless. Lex was going to get people killed if Davis turned into the creature again. Clark glanced at Oliver, who was aiming an arrow at Lex.

              “Do whatever you have to do,” he said. “Don’t kill him. Just keep him here.”

              “What are you going to do?” Oliver asked.

              “I have to find Chloe. I have to stop him.”

              “I repeat, what are you going to do?”

              “Just keep an eye on things. Don’t let Lex leave.” They watched Clark take off at speed, no longer even pretending to hide his abilities.

              Lex just continued to smile smugly at Oliver.

              “You can get rid of the mask, Oliver. Think I’m stupid?”

              “Hmm, now let me think. You hold people against their will, experiment on them, then use them to manipulate Clark. No, you’re not stupid. You’re insane.”

              “I’m not the one parading around in green leather acting like some kind of terrorist. At least I knew enough to put those people where they couldn’t hurt anyone.”

              “Right. Psychos and freaks. How long did you think you could control them once they realised what you were really doing?”

              “And what was that?”

              “I’ve seen your little experiments, Luthor. You were using their blood, their abilities to try to genetically create your own super-human. Hmm, maybe they should have called you Doctor Frankenstein.”

              “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lex said.

              “Don’t I? Maybe I should get the files and show your little lab rats here exactly what they were doing here. You weren’t training them. You were using them.”

              Bette, who had followed them, looked at Oliver.

              “I don’t understand,” she said.

              Oliver looked at the girl with sympathy. “You were nothing more than a science experiment to him. That’s all any of your friends ever were. That thing that was Davis? That’s exactly what Lex was trying to create. Only the people that made him did it better. They took pieces of genetic material from every ****ed up piece of **** that inhabited their planet and put it all together to make that.”

              “And he ...?” she said, looking at Lex.

              Oliver nodded. “I’m sorry,” he said.

              She shook her head. “I understand now. I should have listened to Clark, and Chloe. And now she ... they ...”

              Oliver turned and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Listen, if there’s one thing I know about those two, it’s that they can take care of themselves. Chloe’s smarter than any of us and Clark’s about the strongest guy I know. He’ll be okay.”

              Bette nodded, her eyes still on Lex, who was snorting. Oliver turned and glared at him, then grasped his arm. Lex glared back, trying to release himself from his former rival’s grip.

              “Try it Lex, and I’ll kill you, Clark or no.”

              “You wouldn’t ...” Lex said, his expression concerned.

              “Oh yes, I would.”

              ***

              Bart hurried to catch up with Clark, who was looking for Chloe.

              “Clark, you don’t really think ...”

              “I can’t think anything right now,” Clark said. “What’s more important is saving Chloe.”

              “You know, Lex is wrong. She wouldn’t ... she couldn’t ...”

              Clark shook his head. “I don’t want to think that about Chloe, either, but the truth is, he was right about one thing. This was Chloe’s choice. She’s always had a dark side, Bart. I just didn’t see it before now. I’ve been so blind to it.”

              Clark was listening with one ear to the sounds in the night. He turned on the spot, keeping himself focused. Bart opened his mouth to say something more, but Clark put a hand up to stop him. Then his eyebrows shot up as he heard the sound filtering through his ears. The sound of Chloe’s voice.

              “Davis, you know they’ll come after us.”

              “I didn’t have a choice, Chloe. I love you.”

              “No, you don’t,” she said.

              “I do,” he insisted. “You just don’t believe me.”

              Clark lifted his head and looked at his friend. “I know where they are. Come on.”

              Something told him that the only way to get through to Chloe was with Bart. He gestured for the shorter man to follow him through the streets until they found the car Davis had stolen in his haste to get away. Clark sped up to jump in front of the car, forcing Davis to slam on the brakes. Clark stared at him through the windshield.

              “Clark, no,” Chloe called, getting out of the car to face him. Davis just growled and glared at Clark once more.

              “You don’t give up, do you.”

              “On my friends? Not a chance.”

              Bart stood beside Clark, ready to plead his case for Chloe.

              “Chloe, you gotta listen to us now. You know what Davis is, what he’s capable of. I know things have been really rough, but I don’t think even you could stand by and watch as he hurts people. It’s not you. I know you, Chloelicious.”

              “Don’t call me that,” she said with gritted teeth.

              “How about I call you hot chick,” he said. “You like that, don’t you?”

              “Bart, you have to stay away,” Chloe said, her tone fearful as Davis began to growl and she saw his eyes begin to turn red.

              “Not going to happen,” he said. “You’re my friend, and I care about you.”

              Chloe moved to the other side of the car, pulling at Davis’ arm. “Come on,” she said. “They can’t chase us forever.”

              Davis just kept growling, the creature inside him winning over the human part.

              “Davis, no. Now come on. Don’t make me choose again. I can’t do it. I can’t choose between you and the people I care about.”

              “Meaning what?” he said, his voice sounding more feral than human. “That you don’t feel that way about me?”

              “No, that’s not what I meant,” she said, tears streaming down her face. “Please.”

              Bart looked at her, then at Davis. He knew there was only one thing to do. He moved quickly, ignoring the yell from Clark to get out of the way. He knew Davis was capable of tearing him limb from limb if he didn’t move fast enough, but he knew there was no other option. If Chloe wasn’t going to choose then he would have to make that choice for her.

              “Bart .... nooooo!” she screamed.

              ***

              Oliver pushed Lex out of the main room and into the common room where some of the other meteor affected were standing. They looked at Lex, then at Oliver, and despite the presence of the rest of the League members they looked like they wanted to start a fight.

              Tess was sitting, looking like she was nursing a headache or a black eye, flanked by two guards.

              “Well, hey, the gang’s all here,” Lex quipped.”

              “Shut up,” Oliver hissed, back in Green Arrow mode.

              Lex turned to him with a look as if daring him to shut him up. Oliver just growled and pushed Lex toward the tables. He turned back to the other meteor mutants as if to try to talk to them, but Bette, who had followed quietly, stepped forward.

              “Listen to me,” she said, “we’ve all been used. Tess, she’s not our friend. We were just pawns in a sick game played by her and Lex Luthor.”

              The others stared at her. Then Crystal stepped forward, her stare challenging.

              “You’re lying,” she said.

              Bette shook her head. “No, I’m not. Clark tried to help us. And Chloe. They tried to help me and I didn’t listen. I thought Tess was offering me a better deal.”

              “She did give us a better deal,” Shadow said.

              “No, she didn’t,” Bette insisted. “Don’t you get it? We were just bait for that Doomsday thing.” She gestured toward Tess. “She just wanted us to lead it to Clark, because she knew once we got out, that Clark would have to stop us.”

              “Why? Why would she do something like that?”

              “Because Lex Luthor wanted Doomsday for himself. He thought if Clark could capture it somehow, he could study it, use it as his own personal mutant army.” Tess could see all eyes on her as she spoke up quietly. She felt the hostility, especially from Lex, and knew she was about to commit the ultimate betrayal, but she ploughed on.

              “Bette’s not lying,” she told them. “What she says is true. You were just pawns in a bigger game. Lex wasn’t satisfied with studying your genes, not when he knew there was something like Doomsday out there that could appear human but become a monster when necessary. You were just the practice run for him. He figured if he could control you, with all your powers, then he could find a way to control Doomsday.”

              Oliver nodded, taking up the rest of the tale. “Imagine what Lex Luthor could do with that much power at his fingertips. He could rule the world.”

              “But why us?” Bette asked.

              “Lex played on your insecurities over your powers. You know you’d never be accepted by the rest of the world, always seen as some kind of freak. The world doesn’t like something it doesn’t understand. It fears it. And the average person wouldn’t understand your abilities.”

              “But why him?” Shadow asked. “What’s so special about him?”

              “Take a good look,” Oliver pointed out. “Ever wonder why he’s bald? It isn’t a fashion statement. He’s been bald since he was nine years old. Because he was caught in the meteor shower. He got a massive dose of radiation that took his hair and cured him of any illness. He never gets sick. He heals quickly.”

              “I’m one of you,” Lex stated simply.

              “Which makes what you did to us even worse,” Crystal told him coldly. “I remember now. I remember how you had me locked up in Black Creek. How you did all those tests on me. And on some of the others. We were just lab rats, guinea pigs for your sick experiments. How many have died needlessly because of what you did. How many have you taken from their families?”

              “And how many of them were kicked out of their homes for being different?” Lex shouted. “Abused by their parents, treated like **** for the same reason?”

              “Just because your old man treated you like crap, it doesn’t give you the right to play God with other people’s lives,” Oliver told him.

              Lex just glared at him. “It doesn’t matter anyway, does it? Because Clark will never kill Doomsday.”

              “No,” Oliver said grimly. “So we’ll just have to make that decision for him.”

              Lex just laughed.

              “You don’t get it, do you? The preliminary test results show Doomsday can’t be killed. Because every time you mortally wound it, it comes back even stronger. You can’t kill it, and sooner or later, it’ll destroy the world. You should have let me continue with my work,” he told Oliver smugly. “At least if I could have controlled it, the world would have stood a chance.”

              “And how exactly did you plan on controlling it?”

              “Simple. Through Chloe. Because she’s the only one who can get to the human side of the creature. The one thing that can stop Davis Bloome from becoming the monster.”

              “So you were using her too? You lured her here.”

              “I had her in Black Creek. I was going to try then, but after my little escapade in the Arctic, it delayed things.”

              “So you had me put the team together, knowing Chloe would eventually find out about it and she’d have to investigate,” Tess accused. She was beginning to realise she had been used too and it pissed her off.

              “You were willing enough,” Lex said casually.

              “You son of a *****!” Tess got up and went for him, her hands going to his throat. Oliver stepped in between them, pushing Tess off.

              “Enough!”

              He turned and found himself surrounded by Shadow, Plastique and some of the other kids who had suddenly found themselves cast out. They all realised that Luthor had taken advantage of their sudden alienation and used it against them.

              “We’ll keep an eye on them, Green Arrow,” they said.

              Plastique smiled up at him, her eyes showing, for the first time, hope and acceptance. He nodded with a little smile.

              ***

              Chloe could only watch helplessly as Bart ran toward Davis. She found herself pushed by the whirlwind as Bart ran in circles around Davis, who began slowly morphing into the creature, horns coming out of his from, his eyes blazing red. Finally, it roared in frustration, trying to catch Bart.

              Chloe felt a hand on her arm and she looked up at Clark. “Bart’s going to get himself killed,” she sniffed tearfully.

              “He’ll be okay,” Clark smiled gently. “It’s you I’m worried about. Chloe, you can’t hide away with Davis. You know that. Sooner or later he’ll slip and he could kill you.”

              “He wouldn’t do that, I know he wouldn’t.”

              “And you can’t watch him twenty-four seven, Chlo, you know that. You’d have to be with him all the time to make him stay in control and it would be exhausting. You don’t love him, you know you don’t.”

              Chloe sighed, bowing her head.

              “I know. Clark, it’s just so hard. The thing with Jimmy, my powers, Brainiac – I don’t even know who I am anymore.”

              “You’re still my best friend, Chloe,” he said, glancing up at the action in front of him. Bart was still zipping in and out, confusing the creature even more. “You’ll always be my best friend. Look, maybe it seems like I do use you from time to time, or that I take you for granted. I really don’t mean to you know.”

              He sighed and looked off into the distance. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot. I think maybe it’s time I went to do my training. Do what Jor-El always wanted.”

              “You mean become Kal-El?”

              He shook his head. “Not quite. I mean, I know Lex is evil and everything, but maybe he had a point about pushing me to become the hero. You’ve said it too, and I haven’t been listening.” He smiled down at her. “Chloe, maybe it’s too late for this, but I hope not, because, even though there’s that darkness inside you, I know that deep down you’re a good person. And it’ll give me something to hold on to when I do go for my training. You’re my anchor, Chloe, you always have been.”

              “What about Lois?”

              “What about her?”

              “I know you have feelings for her Clark, I can see it.”

              “Yes, but she doesn’t know the truth about me. You do. You’re the one who keeps me from losing my humanity, Chloe. Don’t let go of yours.”

              “What are you saying?”

              “Chloe, I know I’ve always made you feel like you’re just my sidekick, but I don’t mean to. We’re a team, we always have been. You’re the smart one and I’m ...”

              “The super-powered alien one?” she said with a chuckle.

              “Yeah, something like that,” he chuckled back.

              Chloe looked back at Bart and Doomsday and it looked almost as if the two were just engaged in a child’s game of tag. Doomsday kept reaching for the red blur that was Bart and roaring in frustration when he couldn’t get to him. “What do we do about Davis then?” she asked.

              “I have an idea,” he said. “If I can get him to the fortress, then I can open up the portal to the Phantom Zone.”

              “Wait a minute, Clark, are you crazy? That’ll be like condemning him to spend the rest of his life in prison.”

              “Chloe, I know, but you have to remember that Davis is still a cold-blooded killer. God knows how many people he’s murdered. And it doesn’t matter that they’ve been criminals. We can’t commit murder just because they’re bad people. You know we can’t.”

              Chloe nodded. “I still don’t like it,” she said.

              “Chloe, I don’t know what else to do. The Phantom Zone is the best place for Doomsday. At least there he can’t hurt human beings. He won’t have any powers there. He’ll be just as powerless as any normal human. And maybe, just maybe, the creature won’t emerge.”

              “Isn’t there any other way?” she asked.

              “I wish there was, Chlo, I really do. But other than trying to trap him underground, where there’s still a chance he might get out, I don’t think there’s any other option. You need to trust me, Chloe, as much as I need to trust you. I mean, if we’re going to be a team.”

              “Boy scout and Watchtower, I like the sound of that.”

              Clark and Chloe turned and looked at Oliver, who was smirking at them from where he’d snuck up on them.

              “Let’s just stick to Clark Kent and Chloe Sullivan,” Chloe smiled.

              “Or else give me a better codename than Boy Scout,” Clark said. “How’d you find us anyway?”

              “Bart has a communicator,” Oliver said, tapping his ear and looking at the blur that was Bart.

              Just as he did so, Bart came out of super speed mode and dodged around the creature. “Hey, you gonna keep chatting or are we actually gonna do something about this?”

              Chloe looked at Clark and nodded. “Go,” she said. Clark grinned at her and went into full super speed, zipping toward Doomsday and pushing the creature. Chloe watched them disappear into the darkness.

              Bart came up behind her, not even winded. “So, Chloelicious, how ya been?”

              Chloe laughed at him. “You looked like you were having fun,” she said. He just shrugged and grinned.

              “I ran rings around him,” he quipped. That broke all three of them up. The two men both flanked Chloe as they began walking back toward the complex.

              “So, anybody for Burritos?” Bart said. “I’m starved.”

              “Always thinking with your stomach Impulse,” Green Arrow retorted.

              “I’m a growing boy,” Bart shot back.

              “Don’t worry guys, the pizzas are on me,” Chloe told them.

              “Well, not literally,” Bart said. “Although, if you were a pizza, you’d certainly be the best tasting pizza in the world Chloelicious.”

              “Cute Bart,” Oliver returned. “A little nauseating, but cute.”

              “Whatever boss. Hey, so what are we going to do for fun next week?”

              ***

              Lois practically screeched as the door opened to the Talon apartment and she saw her cousin.

              “Chloe, where the hell have you been? What’s been going on, are you okay? Oh my god, I’ve been so worried, why didn’t you tell me she was okay?” she said, directing that last one at Bart, but her words had been so jumbled together that she hadn’t made any sense at all.

              “Whoa, Lois, calm down,” Chloe said, a second later being enveloped in a bone-crushing hug. “Ah, need to breathe here cuz.”

              “Sorry,” the taller girl said sheepishly. She looked beyond Chloe and Bart to the doorway and it was clear she was expecting to see someone else.

              “Where’s Clark?” she asked.

              Chloe looked at her, then at Bart. How did she explain this? She couldn’t exactly tell Lois that Clark had gone to his icy fortress to send a half man, half beast to the Phantom Zone. That would raise even more sticky questions.

              But the question that was foremost in her mind was, when did Lois start developing feelings for Clark? Feelings which had her worried about him.

              “Lo, is there something you want to tell me?”

              “Um, no, not really,” she said, averting her eyes.

              “Lois ...”

              “Look, it’s nothing, okay! I mean, maybe it’s something. I don’t know. I mean, it’s too early to tell yet, but ...”

              “Hey, whoa, Lois, it’s okay,” she said, her green eyes sparkling like emeralds.

              Lois stared at her. “Really?”

              Chloe nodded. “Really.”

              “Good. So tell me everything. Start from the beginning and don’t leave anything out.”

              Chloe’s eyes twinkled as she grinned at Bart. “Okay,” she said, letting her taller cousin pull her onto the sofa. “Well, it all started the day I found out that people affected by the meteor rock were being kept in Belle Reve, and then they started disappearing.”

              ***

              Lex glared at Oliver. “You know nothing’s going to happen, don’t you? Even if you do turn me over to the authorities, they won’t be able to charge me with anything.”

              “There’ll be plenty of people willing to testify against you, Lex,” Oliver told him. He glanced at Bette Sans Souci, who nodded. As did Tess Mercer.

              “Gladly,” she said. Oliver had contacted John Jones, who would arrange immunity for Tess if she told the authorities everything she knew about Lex’s experiments with human lab rats.

              Lex just grinned smugly. “You don’t get it, do you? I have friends in very high places. How do you think I got the resources for all of those experiments? Just think of the military applications.”

              Oliver glared at him, suddenly suspicious. Somehow, this all smacked of some kind of government conspiracy. And as smart as Lex was, Oliver wondered if Lex might actually have got help from outside. There were all kinds of secret projects being done by the US military, all designed to create better soldiers. And what better way to do it, than by using meteor freaks?

              But for now, the authorities at least had enough on Lex to charge him with kidnapping and conspiracy. He watched as John Jones led Lex away to face at least a dozen indictments. Tess followed them, escorted by a uniformed officer.

              “What’s going to happen to us?” Bette asked.

              “What do you need?” Oliver asked kindly. After all, she was still just a kid. And she needed to learn to be a productive member of society, rather than destructive.

              “I don’t know, some place where I can feel, well, normal.”

              AC put an arm around the girl and it was clear the big blonde man was keen to take her under his wing.

              “Trust me kiddo, even someone without powers doesn’t feel normal at your age. It’s kind of a teenager imperative.”

              “It is?”

              Victor came on her other side and grinned at her. “Trust us. We know about this stuff.”

              Bette smiled at them, then looked back at Oliver. He scratched at the dimple in his chin thoughtfully.

              “You know, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to set up some kind of facility, like a school or something, so you kids could have a place you could go.”

              Bette balked at him – not for his idea, but because he’d called her a ‘kid’.

              “I’m not a kid,” she sulked. “I’m almost sixteen.”

              “My mistake,” he said cheerily. “But seriously, what do you think? Think you and your friends would like something like that?”

              She nodded eagerly. “I think it’s a great idea.”

              “Great. Let me get in touch with my people and we’ll get the ball rolling. Meantime, I think you guys could use a place to stay until we get things settled.”

              “We could stay here,” another one piped up. He was a small boy aged about thirteen or fourteen, with a power to read thoughts. “I mean, it’s not so bad. When they’re not doing tests and stuff.”

              “And some of the older ones can take care of the others,” Bette told Oliver. “We’d be okay here.”

              Oliver considered this. “Okay. Yeah, I think you’re right. But, it’s only temporary, okay? Just until we can sort something out.”

              Those assembled nodded. There were others, they knew, who would resist it. Those like Crystal, who had killed people, and Shadow – they would have to face the consequences of their actions. But there were plenty of others who were willing to work and make things better for themselves. Bette saw this as an opportunity to start over. And now that she had some new friends who could really help her, like Chloe and Clark, she knew it would be okay.

              ***

              The fortress was still as dark as it had been when Brainiac had infected Chloe. But Clark liked the isolation in a way. He liked the peace. Here, he didn’t have to hear the voices crying out for aid. But here, facing off with his enemy, there was no such peace.

              Davis had returned to his human self, knowing what was about to happen. He fought Clark, but in human form, he was not as strong as his opponent. So he tried with words.

              “Please, don’t do this,” he begged. “Don’t you see? Evil has to be purged. That’s why I was created. That’s why they did this. I’m not your enemy. We can work together.”

              But Clark knew that Davis would try to kill him anyway. Just as he would every human being on the planet until all the humans were gone. That had been Zod’s plan, after all.

              “And what happens when a human being does something you don’t like,” he pointed out. “Will you kill them too?”

              “If they commit an evil act, then they deserve to be punished,” Davis told him, unrepentant. “I am God’s instrument and I will punish the guilty.”

              “The guilty will be punished, but not by you,” Clark told him, circling him. “They deserve punishment, yes, but not to be disembowelled. Not to be slaughtered.”

              “You don’t understand. God sent me ...”

              It was ironic how Zod’s name sounded so similar to that of the deity worshipped by so many on Earth. “He is not a god,” Clark shouted. “He is a Kryptonian – a megalomaniac who thought he could rule the world! Who wants to destroy all humanity so he could have Earth to himself. And I won’t let that happen.”

              “You care about the humans,” Davis spat.

              “Yes.”

              “They are flawed, imperfect beings. And I will wash away their sins with their blood.”

              “Listen to yourself, Davis. You’re insane.”

              Clark kept on circling, drawing Davis away from the crystal console where lay the one thing he knew would end this. Davis shook his head, denying the accusation. Clark managed to get the other man’s attention away from the crystals.

              “I am not,” he cried. “And I will purge this planet of this disease.”

              “No. You won’t,” Clark said, his hand snatching up the crystal. He activated it, throwing it on the ground near Davis and watched, clinging onto the console as the portal opened and Davis screamed. He suddenly morphed into the beast, which roared in anger, but it was already too late. The portal had grown, enveloping him, pulling him toward the apex. Arms clutching at air, the beast roared once again and was gone, the portal closing and disappearing behind him.

              Clark stood silently, staring at the space where Davis had vanished. He sighed and began to prepare himself for the return journey home. But as he turned to go, he was forced to turn once more to the centre of the huge crystal complex.

              “You have done well, my son,” Jor-El said. “You have won your battle with the Ultimate Destroyer, but there are more challenges to face.”

              “Yes, father, I know.”

              “It is time for you to begin your training, Kal-El. For only when you embrace your true Kryptonian heritage will you be up to battling those who seek to usurp your place in this world.”

              “Father, I know I must train, but I ...”

              “I sent you to Earth for a purpose, Kal-El.”

              “You sent me here to conquer,” Clark accused his birth father.

              “Be that as it may, the people of Earth need a strong guide, a leader who will show them the way. Or this planet will surely destroy itself as did Krypton.”

              “I will complete the training, I will, but ...”

              “Your attachment to these humans is strong, Kal-El, but you must begin your training now. Or else you will continue to make the same mistakes.”

              “I need time,” Clark begged. Time to say goodbye to his friends, to tell them, tell her ... he knew he couldn’t leave without saying goodbye to the one person who was beginning to mean everything to him. To the beautiful brunette who was in his thoughts every waking moment of every day. “Lois,” he whispered.

              “The time is now, my son. You must begin now or the consequences will be dire.”

              Clark knew what would happen. He knew Jor-El was well capable of trapping him here against his will. There was no choice.

              ***

              Lois lay in bed, her head full of intense dreams. A dream she’d had once before, of a man wearing a red cape. She couldn’t see his face, but she felt the strength in his arms, the familiarity in the way he held her. Like she knew him.

              And from far off, she thought she heard the voice of the man she had come to love. As clearly as if he was in the room with her.

              “Lois,” he said.

              She sat up suddenly. “Clark?”



              TO BE CONTINUED – IN THE SEQUEL

              Comment


              • #22
                “Lex played on your insecurities over your powers. You know you’d never be accepted by the rest of the world, always seen as some kind of freak. The world doesn’t like something it doesn’t understand. It fears it. And the average person wouldn’t understand your abilities.”
                I finally caught up with all the updates. I really enjoyed this story. I'm looking forward to the sequel.

                Comment


                • #23
                  Great, really great

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Thanks guys, the sequel is coming soon

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Well done, honey! Excellent action/adventure story. Thanks for sharing!

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Loved is. Hoping for a sequel

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Originally posted by Chloe Allen
                          Loved is. Hoping for a sequel
                          Hey, I will be trying to finish some other WIPs first, then I'll get on to writing the sequel for this one.

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                          • #28
                            This was an amazing story. It is what really should have happened during the second half season 8 of Smallville. I love the way you were able to portray the characters in a way that gave them depth and made them more then one note characters. I looked forward to the sequel
                            Last edited by Degobunny; 04-02-2012, 02:05 PM.

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                            • #29
                              Originally posted by Degobunny
                              This was an amazing story. It is what really should have happened during the second half season 8 of Smallville. I love the way you were able to portray the character in a way that gave them depth and made them more then one note characters. I looked forward to the sequel
                              Wow, do I feel rotten for not having spotted your comment earlier. Thank you so much. I really do try to give characters, even the minor ones, a little depth. I am still planning on writing the sequel, I just need to finish some others first. So many stories and no super speed.

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                              • #30
                                lovely!

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