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  • Never Say Goodbye

    Chlarky conclusion to Salvation

    Title: Never Say Goodbye
    Pairing: Chlark!!
    Rating: PG-13 (for thematic elements)
    Spoilers through Salvation (End of Season 9)
    Summary: A good Chlarky ending to Smallville. Story begins at Watchtower minutes before Clark falls from the tower. Clark Kent is dead. Chloe will stop at nothing to change that.

    Author’s note: To those of you reading Dreams and Madness, I will be back to work on that shortly. This is a fairly short piece. Two or three sections at most. In Salvation, two of Chloe’s lines grabbed me and wouldn’t let me ignore them. When she told Clark she couldn’t imagine living in a world without him and later all the suppressed emotions we heard in Chloe’s voice when she told him she was proud of him. These two moments told me that no matter how hard Chloe tries to move on, in the end, it’s Clark. It’s always Clark.



    Watchtower, this is Hawkman.”

    As Chloe tied Watchtower’s systems to the new Satellite, the communication system came back online. “I hear you Hawkman. Where are you?”

    I’m almost in Metropolis. I started back the moment I lost contact with Manhunter and the rest.”

    “The Kandorians knocked out access to most of my satellites. J’onn is on the other side of the earth. I can’t reach him, Impulse, Aquaman or Canary.”

    Watchtower, this is Stargirl, boy am I glad to hear you back on the air. Headed back to headquarters. Still no sign of the Kandorians. They all left.”

    Cyb..g to Wa.ch..wer, C bor to Watc…”

    “Cyborg? You’re breaking up.” She checked his transmission. He wasn’t using the regular communicator. When the connection fizzled he must have jerry rigged something to make his transmission. He was barely in range, but he had the speed to shrink the distances fast. Not Blur fast, but it would get the job done.

    “Skies ar cl r. No si.. of Ka orians.”

    “Return to base Cyborg.” She needed to give the team new instructions. Frantically Chloe accessed cameras in and surrounding the Queen Industries building containing the earth station. Who could have snatched Ollie? Not the Kandorians. He told her that much before the signal was lost. What did she know? Only that they were fast and unfriendly.

    Oliver was missing. Clark was leaving, maybe already gone. She needed to find Oliver. She didn’t think about his declaration of love or the one she repeated. At the speed the intruders moved, both of them had to have been sure death awaited his capture. Just a casualty of war. But he wasn’t going to die. They’d find him

    She couldn’t say goodbye to Oliver and Clark on the same day.

    Not that she’d said goodbye to Clark. She’d seen this choice coming. She even understood as he ran out of options he would make the sacrifice for the greater good and take the Kandorians away rather than let earth be subjugated and ruined. She would never see Clark again, but at least she’d always know he was out there somewhere, working to rebuild a new home. She just couldn’t process that right now. Right now, all she could remember was she never got to say goodbye. Maybe it was just as well. She couldn’t imagine what she’d say.

    The radio activated again. “Hawkman to Watchtower. Strange funnel of light shooting up into the sky over Metropolis.”

    Oh, god, this was it. Clark was leaving. She felt lightheaded. Never again. She’d never see him again. Even as distant as they’d been to each other in the last year, she didn’t know how she was going to get through this. The pain that she’d been holding back started to eat away at her insides.

    “Monitor at a safe distance and report back,” she instructed in a clipped voice. Her hands shook as she worked to broaden her search parameter on Oliver. She needed to sort through the odd incidents attributed to the Kandorians running amuck and weed out anything that might have come from another source.

    Behind her, the stained glass double doors that served as the entrance to Watchtower opened. Chloe glanced over her shoulder. Stargirl had returned in a flash. Handy device, that staff.

    “Courtney, I’m glad you are here. I need someone to check out the site where Oliver was taken.”

    “Green Arrow is missing? Did the Kandorians get him?”

    “No, that much he was able to tell me before he vanished.” She pulled up the air duct schematic on screen. “This is where they got him. Whoever took him is fast, powerful, and they travel in a pack. They came out of nowhere. They might be long gone, but it’s our only lead.”

    “And you want me to go check it out. I’m on it,” she promised with excitement.

    Chloe printed the maze of ductwork and handed it to Courtney. “If there is any sign of trouble, just get out of there. I don’t need anyone else missing.”

    “Don’t worry. With this,” she lifted her staff, “I can get out of a tight squeeze no problem.”

    “Good luck,” Chloe called out as she left. The communications line activated, echoing in the tower.

    Watchtower, this is Hawkman.” Chloe swallowed hard. Did she really want confirmation on what she knew was happening?

    Yes. She had to know for certain.

    “Go ahead Hawkman.”

    Confirmed that tower of light is taking the Kandorians away.” Chloe stuffed her fist in her mouth to keep from making a sobbing sound. “But something’s off. I can see two figures still on the rooftop. They’re fighting.

    “What? Who? Who is fighting?” Trembling, Chloe worked to retask the dedicated Watchtower satellite to cover the Metropolis skyline.

    I can’t get close enough. The vortex created is destabilizing the Nth metal in my wings.”

    Chloe pulled up a shot of Metropolis. A beacon of shimmering golden light shot up toward infinity. Suddenly, it winked out. “Hawkman, what’s happening?”

    Not sure. Someone got pulled into the vortex right before it…oh, by the gods!”

    “Hawkman! Hawkman!” She pressed her headset against her ear but heard nothing but terrifying silence. What had he seen? The portal to the Kandorian’s new home was closed. Was Clark gone with it? Her eyes glazed over with tears she refused to shed.

    Stargirl calling Watchtower.”

    Her throat felt tight, but she managed to answer the call. “Go ahead Stargirl.”

    I’m entering the substructure of Queen Industries. Is everything ok? You sound strange.”

    Chloe cleared her throat. “I’m fine. Proceed with caution.”

    “Stargirl out.”

    Chloe kept trying to reach Hawkman. After a few minutes, he came back on line.

    Hawkman to Watchtower, I’m coming in hot.” Chloe leapt from behind the keyboard and hit a button that activated the newly installed retractable window. It replaced the stained glass one Carter Hall tossed Oliver through when they first encountered the JSA. The colored glass replica slid open and seconds later Hawkman swooped in, struggling to hold on to his cargo. It took her only seconds to identify the limp body.

    “Oh my god, Clark!” She gasped. For a moment, wild, zinging joy beat out any other emotion even though a part of her knew something was terribly wrong. In that first moment nothing mattered. Clark hadn’t left! Then she saw the blood dripping from his middle and Chloe went cold. Carter laid Clark’s body down and explained what happened.

    “I saw him fall from atop the building. I caught him before he met pavement, but I’m still struggling with the residual affects of the Vortex on my ability to fly; I was barely able to get him back here.” He unstrapped his great black wings from his back while Chloe swiftly assessed Clark’s injuries.

    She started at the top. Rapidly forming bruises darkened Clark’s face. He had a split lip with blood trailing down his chin, multiple lacerations on his shoulders and probably his back too. An angry looking slash across his chest wept crimson, but what concerned her the most was a rising well of blood seeping beneath the hilt of the glowing blue dagger shoved into his gut.

    “I don’t understand,” Carter said as he removed his helmet. “I thought he couldn’t be hurt.” Chloe moved to pull the knife out of Clark’s stomach, but Hall covered her hand to stop her. “Removing it will only make the wound worse.”

    “No, you don’t understand, the knife is what is making him vulnerable. I have to get it away from him and then he should be able to heal.” She firmly grasped the hilt and pulled. Clark moaned and thrashed but Carter held him down. The blade reluctantly came out of its sheath. Blood bubbled up out of the gash. Chloe stripped off the purple overshirt she was wearing to try and staunch the flow. “Get that knife away from him and bring me towels, now!”

    Blue kryptonite.

    This was bad. Clark twitched and made choking sounds. “No, no,” Chloe whispered. “You have to hold on. It’s gone now. You can heal now.” Blood saturated her top and oozed between her fingers.

    “Here.” Carter handed her the towels. She pushed a thick white cloth over Clark’s wound.

    “Come on Clark, you can do this.” She glanced at his face. His skin was chalky and the red of his blood contrasted starkly against the blue tinge of his lips.

    Hawkman knelt next to them. “He’s bleeding out. The blade must have nicked an artery.”

    “No. He should be able to heal himself. Something’s wrong. Hold this.” She pushed Carter Hall’s hands firmly over the now saturated towel and clambered to her feet. She ran across the room and leapt up the stairs two at a time. She picked up the knife Carter had carried away.

    “The tip is broken off,” she called over her shoulder. “There must still be a piece inside of Clark.” She scooped up a medical kit she kept on hand and raced back to his side. Carter held a second towel against Clark’s middle. Already a tinge of red was seeping through.

    “Chloe,” Carter said her name gently, “he’s not going to make it.” His eyes swam with sympathy.

    For a second she faltered. Her breath hitched and her vision blurred. Then she dropped to her knees shaking her head.

    “You don’t know him. He’s going to be ok. I just need to get the broken piece out.”

    She selected a tool she could use to retrieve the tip of the blue dagger and moved Carter’s hands aside, pulling back the mound of cloth. Clark’s blood continued to surge out. She inserted the large tweezers and moved them about, trying to feel the bit of crystal that was proving so deadly to Clark. Her exploration should have been causing Clark a lot of pain but he didn’t move.

    “Chloe, he’s not breathing.”

    An icy fist squeezed her heart, but she kept searching his wound for the BlueK. Finally, her instrument scraped against something hard. Two more attempts and she slowly pulled the tip out. She dropped it in a small lead lined box she brought along for that purpose. She looked back at Clark. He was still. His chest wasn’t rising.

    She clutched his cold hand. “Clark, please. You can do this. Please come back to me. Heal!”

    Carter touched her shoulder. “He’s not there anymore. He’s gone.”

    She wrenched away from his touch. “No! He’s healing, look, the bleeding has stopped,” she said pointing to the ugly puncture in his abdomen.”

    “Chloe, his heart stopped. It’s no longer pumping his blood. That’s the only reason he’s not bleeding.”

    “No, no, no.” She clutched Clark’s hand to her chest and rocked back and forth, tears streaming down her cheeks. “He’s not dead. He can’t be. He didn’t leave. He’s here. He’s still here. He can’t be gone.”

    “I’m sorry.” Carter tried to help her to her feet.

    “No! Get away from me. I won’t leave him. He’s not going to die.”

    Stargirl to Watchtower, come in Watchtower. Come in somebody!” Chloe vaguely realized Courtney had been calling for several minutes. Carter left her alone for the moment and took the call.

    “Stargirl, this is Hawkman.” Carter answered using the headset Chloe discarded when he’d dropped in.

    Hawkman! What’s wrong! Where’s Chloe?”

    He glanced over to the middle of the room. Every line of her body bowed and ached with grief. Looking at her hurt, it made him remember the day he lost his true love. “She’s here, safe.”

    Ok, but tell her I think I have a lead on Green Arrow’s kidnapping.” Stargirl’s skepticism quickly melted into her usual enthusiasm.

    Hall replayed in his mind what Courtney just said and scowled. “The green bean was kidnapped?”

    Didn’t Chloe tell you?”

    He rubbed his hand through his beard. “We’ve been busy. You said you found a lead?”

    I think so, but I could use some help working it out. There’s a message inscribed. It sure looks Greek to me. Here I’m sending a photo.”

    Ancient languages were his specialty and he recognized the letters right away. “That is Greek, maybe some Latin as well.”

    That’s what I said. There are messages all over down here. I know enough to recognize the language but I can’t translate anything. I need your help.”

    He got the location from her. “On my way.”

    Carter returned to find Chloe leaning over Clark’s body, pressing her hands to his temples and his neck and back down to his fatal wound. To Carter, it looked like she was trying to use the force of her will to make Clark come alive, but he had seen death enough times to know there wasn’t anything they could do.

    “Chloe, I have to go.”

    “What? Where?” She whipped her head around to look at him, her movements jerky and out of control. She shook her head. “No, I need your help. I can’t heal him but if I can get Clark to the Fortress, then Jor-El can save him. He’s done it before.”

    “There’s no point. You were there when Clark reported that the crystal interface at his fortress was destroyed. There’s nothing more we can do for Clark.”

    “I have to try. Please,” she pleaded. “I know what I’m doing.”

    “So do I.” He knelt beside her. “It’s called denial.”

    “No, you don’t understand.”

    “Believe me, I do understand. I know what it’s like to watch someone you love die, to be unable to do anything to stop it from happening.” He stood and stepped away to strap his wings into place and pick up his helmet. “But there is something we can do to save Green Arrow. You need to put this aside for now and man your station. One thing I’ve found true is there will always be time for grief. It will still be there later. Don’t add to it with inaction now.”

    He pointed to the command center of Watchtower. “We need our eyes and ears. Are you going to leave your team blind?”

    Chloe looked down at the fallen form of her best friend, her first love, the man around whom she had built her life. Carter wanted her to walk away and leave Clark behind for good. She rose to her feet and slowly went to her workstation. “No, I won’t leave the team without Watchtower.” She told him without emotion.

    “Good.” Carter nodded succinctly, fitted his helmet, picked up his mace, and launched himself through the open window out into the night. The second he was out of view, Chloe darted from behind the keyboard and ran up the steps again.

    She pulled a large silky red throw out of storage. She needed something slippery she could drag. Back downstairs, she rolled Clark’s body on to the material. She called the elevator and locked it open while she got Clark inside. Then she ran back for the keys Clark left behind, glancing at the readout on her computer one last time. She wasn’t leaving the team blind. Victor Stone, aka Cyborg should arrive at Watchtower in ten minutes. She’d be on the road back to Smallville by then. She wasn’t going to give up Clark, no matter what it took.

    The journey back to Smallville had never felt so long. She jolted and bounced over ruts as she turned into the drive for the Kent farm. The suspension on Clark’s pick-up truck made for a rough ride, but there was no way she’d have been able to get Clark’s six foot six frame folded up in her backseat. As it was, lifting him onto the bed of the pickup was a minor miracle.

    One quick stop at the barn for the key and she’d be on her way to the caves. She left the truck running as she hustled to locate the hollowed out book and the key hidden inside. She found it on the floor next to his trunk. Metal disk in hand, she rushed down the stairs and toward the barn door when a familiar silhouette blocked her exit.

    “Clark!” Lois called. “Where are you? I came to tell you I know everything. You must have known I’d figure out your true identity when you kissed me as the Blur.” She kept coming and there was nowhere to hide.

    Chloe stepped out of the shadow. “Lois, Clark’s not here.”

    “But his truck is here and I really need to talk to him. Wait,” Lois grabbed Chloe’s arm when she would have brushed past her. “What did you hear me say?”

    Chloe pulled out of Lois’s hold. “I didn’t hear anything,” she denied and headed back to the truck. That meant crossing in front of the headlights.

    “Oh my god! You’re covered in blood.”

    Chloe paused and glanced down at her clothing. She had blood smeared all over her front. It caked her fingernails and covered her bare arms in rust colored smears. “It’s nothing Lois, I’m fine.” She tried to keep walking, but Lois caught her before she could escape, her hand closed like a manacle around her wrist.

    “You can’t be fine. That’s blood and way too much of it. What the hell is going on?” Fear made Lois’s voice more strident than usual

    “Look Lois, I don’t have time to explain. I need you to trust me.”

    “Why? What’s happened? Why do I need to trust you? What are you doing with Clark’s truck? Where is Clark?”

    “Lois, please, there is somewhere I need to be, just let me go.”

    But Lois wouldn’t let go. Instead, she dragged Chloe behind her as she circled the truck. She saw a bulky shadow in the bed of the pick up and pointed. “Tell me that isn’t what I think it is?” She didn’t wait for an answer before she yanked the canvas tarp aside. Even with light only coming from their vehicles crisscrossing headlights, Clark was easy to identify. So were his grave wounds. “Oh my god, Clark!” Lois dropped Chloe’s wrist and climbed in the back of the pick up.

    “Lois, get out of there. I don’t have time for this.”

    “Chloe, I don’t think he’s breathing. This can’t be right. He’s the Blur, I’m sure of it. Oh, god, Chloe, we have to get him to the hospital!”

    “We don’t have time for that.” Lois looked at her as if she was crazy.

    “Time? Chloe, he’s dying!” Big fat tears trickled down her cheeks.

    Chloe stepped up on the back tire and used it to climb her way in the back. She had to get Lois out of there now. It seemed Clark had taken away the need for her to protect his secret identity so she didn’t spare any punches. “Reality check, he’s already dead.” Lois pulled back as if she’d been slapped, but Chloe was done beating around the bush. She grasped Lois by the shoulders, “and if I don’t leave now, he’s probably going to stay that way!”

    Lois pushed her away, shaking her head. “I don’t understand. You’re running away? I thought he was your friend? Oh god, Chloe, the blood! No,no, you couldn’t have done this.” She swiped the back of her hand through her tears, leaving traces of blood behind on her cheeks. “It was Zod, wasn’t it?”

    “You know about Zod?” Chloe asked incredulously.

    “You know about the Blur!” Lois turned the question around. Chloe hesitated out of habit and Lois pounced on her verbally. “Don’t lie to me; I can see it in your eyes. God, you knew all this time and you never told me? Is that why you were so in love with him as a kid?”

    Chloe flinched. She’d given away a heart Clark never wanted long before she’d ever known his secret. “Lois, none of that matters right now. What matters is me getting Clark to the Kawatche caves.”

    “What? Chloe, are your nuts? He’s the Blur; he just needs some time. That’s what happened when Zod was shot. His powers healed him.” Chloe grabbed Lois by the shoulders again.

    “Listen to me. It doesn’t work like that with Clark. He should never have gotten hurt in the first place. Zod was lying to you. Normally Clark can’t get hurt, but Zod,” her voice broke just thinking about it. She dug down to find her strength. “Zod used something to hurt him.”

    “Hurt him? You said Clark was dead.”

    “Yes, dead,” Her own tears welled over, “God Lois,” she swore, “I have to go right now.”

    Chloe jumped out of the back of the pickup. “Get out now or come with. I don’t care.” She hopped in to the cab and put the truck in gear. The window between the cab and the box was open so Chloe called over her shoulder one last warning. “Now, Lois. Get out now!”

    Lois stood up, undecided, “I don’t know what to do!”

    Chloe hit the gas and made the choice for her.

  • #2
    well, i haven't watched smallville for the last 2 years, since i disagree with the path they chose. but i love how this one starts, eve if i have no knowledge of how it went. for me, this is my smallville reality.

    great work

    Comment


    • #3
      This is awesome... I can't wait for the next chapter...

      Comment


      • #4
        hahaha! Yessss! I like it wen Chloe makes all the decisions. Lois better hold on!

        Wow, i felt jumpy and miserable whe Chloe was scrambling to save Clark's life. Sometimes when im at work I get caught btwn panic and excitement and its hard push away those emotions that are innate, when the number one function is to save someone's life.. Im sure Chloe would just be teetering on heartbreak if Clark died. Again. Great analogies and writing.... Just wow.

        Comment


        • #5
          Ooh I'm totally loving this.
          Chloe is going to do everything possible to save her Clark.
          Originally posted by BkWurm1
          Is that why you were so in love with him as a kid?”
          Wow talk about slap in the face. How shallow does Lois think Chloe is that she would fall in love with Clark just because he had super powers?
          I really like it when Hawkman called Oliver green bean.
          Can't wait for more.

          Comment


          • #6
            I didn't watch the finale, but I love your story. Great job.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by pisco
              well, i haven't watched smallville for the last 2 years, since i disagree with the path they chose. but i love how this one starts, eve if i have no knowledge of how it went. for me, this is my smallville reality.

              great work
              Ah, if only I could have found the strength to walk away. I envy you.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Chlarkfan_phantom
                This is awesome... I can't wait for the next chapter...
                In order to post another part right away, I'm breaking it down a little more than I anticipated. So next part is coming up real soon.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by elliottxoxo
                  hahaha! Yessss! I like it wen Chloe makes all the decisions. Lois better hold on!

                  Wow, i felt jumpy and miserable whe Chloe was scrambling to save Clark's life. Sometimes when im at work I get caught btwn panic and excitement and its hard push away those emotions that are innate, when the number one function is to save someone's life.. Im sure Chloe would just be teetering on heartbreak if Clark died. Again. Great analogies and writing.... Just wow.
                  Sounds like you have a stressful and important job. I'm sorry I added to that stress, but glad too, since jumpy and miserable and teetering on heartbreak pretty much sums up the chapter.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by jacques
                    Ooh I'm totally loving this.
                    Chloe is going to do everything possible to save her Clark.

                    Wow talk about slap in the face. How shallow does Lois think Chloe is that she would fall in love with Clark just because he had super powers?
                    I really like it when Hawkman called Oliver green bean.
                    Can't wait for more.
                    I have a theory that people (somewhat) judge other people based on their own actions. Lois thinking the big lure had to be the superpowers is IMO more telling about Lois than any intention Lois had of insulting Chloe. Glad you mentioned that.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by RemDiamond
                      I didn't watch the finale, but I love your story. Great job.
                      Thank you! I don't think there is anything from the final you need to know that I didn't already mention.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Never Say Goodbye, Part 2

                        Had such lovely and encouraging comments that I wanted to post another part right away. Thanks so much to pisco, Chlarkfan_phantom, elliottxoxo, jacques,RemDiamond for their comments and support.


                        Title: Never Say Goodbye
                        Pairing: Chlark!!
                        Rating: PG-13 (for thematic elements)
                        Spoilers through Salvation (End of Season 9)
                        Summary: A Chlarky ending to Smallville. Story begins at Watchtower minutes before Clark falls from the tower. Clark Kent is dead. Chloe will stop at nothing to change that.

                        Part 2

                        The wheels spun for a second in the gravel driveway. When they found traction, the truck shot a head with a jolt, toppling Lois backward to land on top of Clark's body. With the back window open, Chloe clearly heard Lois’s screech of horror and her muttered cursings as she scooted away.

                        “Chloe, slow down! Where are you going?”

                        Chloe answered but didn’t slow down. “I told you, the Kawatche caves.” She turned onto a back street and drove the familiar gravel road. Too many times, she’d taken this route with panic welling up and fear ripping at her gut, but this was the worst. This time she wasn’t racing to expose a brain interactive construct posing as a mentor or hurrying to save Clark from a rash judgment that would have haunted and eaten away at his soul. This time she didn’t just suspect Clark was in trouble or know he was going to need saving soon, no, this time he was already lost and only Jor-El could find him.

                        The drive went by in a blur, with Lois screeching questions and crying hysterically. Chloe mostly tuned her out, concentrating on getting to her destination. She parked away from the official entrance. She used a side tunnel just for this purpose; one Clark had shown her long ago. She put the truck in park, turned it off leaving the keys in the ignition and reached for the glove box. Clark always kept a couple flashlights in there despite his lack of need, a habit his father had instilled in him and one that was handy for her now.

                        “Where are we? What are we doing out in the middle of nowhere?” Panic was making Lois louder and more shrill than usual.

                        “Lois, keep your voice down. Here.” She handed her a flashlight and then lowered the tailgate with a squeak and a clank. She pulled aside the canvas that still partially concealed Clark and grabbed the slick red material bunched next to him. She spread it out on the rocky ground like a picnic blanket. Lois dropped softly to the ground, her light bobbing in the night.

                        Chloe hesitated, there was no easy way to get Clark down. She grabbed his leg and tugged at his dead weight.

                        “What are you doing with him?” Lois sounded horrified.

                        “Lois, I told you,” she snapped, her fears for Clark putting her on edge, “if I can get him inside these caves there is a place I can take him that can help.”

                        “I don’t understand.” Lois shook her head and whimpered.

                        Chloe stopped what she was doing, closed her eyes and forced herself to take a deep breath. If she didn’t manage to keep calm then there wasn’t any hope for Lois. She pulled Lois into a brief hug and then spoke in a conciliatory tone. “I know, this is hard and I know you don’t understand and I don’t have time to explain everything, but I do know you want to help Clark.” Lois stiffened in her arms.

                        “The Blur is a hero, but…but Clark lied to me. He’s not who he pretended to be. I don’t know who he is.”

                        Chloe shined her light in Lois’s face. Her pupils were dilated and she sounded off, as if she had already forgotten that Clark was the Blur. The shock of the evening was getting to her, but Chloe needed her help. “Fine, don’t think about Clark,” she continued, using the same placating pitch and rhythm as before, “think about the Blur. You would do anything to help the Blur, right?”

                        Lois nodded. “Yes, that’s right. He makes me feel special. Like I’m helping to save the world.”

                        “Yes, that’s what you are doing now. You’re helping the Blur. The world needs him.” I need him, she said silently to herself. “Look at me Lois.” She shook her a little and the focus came back into her cousin’s eyes. “Can you do this?”

                        Lois blinked a few times and then nodded. “Yes. Yes, I can do this. You grab his legs and I’ll take his shoulders.” Her voice gained strength as she spoke. They tugged and pulled. He was heavier than Lois expected and he landed roughly on the ground. Chloe dropped to her knees to brush away the dirt clinging to his cheek, cupping the side of his face briefly before she tugged him to the right and adjusted his body so he was lying on the material she’d brought along for dragging. It was an incredibly tough new polymer Oliver’s company was testing, slick, flexible, and breathed like cotton.

                        Oliver.

                        She hadn’t had a chance to think about him since she left Watchtower. She hoped the team was successful, hoped he was all right but when push came to shove, she knew now, Clark still came first. Her wounds may have scarred over, but sometimes healing was deceptive. Her scars may have been thick, they were also her greatest point of weakness and in the face of this new horror, they ripped wide open.

                        Wounded or not, she needed to stick to the plan and that didn’t include time for self-pity. She pulled out a couple old work jackets she found stuffed behind the bench seat in the truck and dropped them on top of Clark. Then she directed Lois to grab two corners and they half dragged, half-carried Clark’s body into the caves.

                        “I can’t see anything.”

                        “Wedge your flashlight under your arm.”

                        “I don’t like this. I didn’t like the Marvel Caves in Branson, Missouri; I didn’t like the Jewel Caves in South Dakota and I don’t like it here. This is just creepy. What are we doing here?” Lois implored again.

                        “Keep walking. This place is more than what it seems.”

                        “I know Clark once was fascinated by these dusty caverns but it's ancient history. I can’t make sense of us being here, but you keep saying this place is important so why don’t you spell it out for me?”

                        “Lois, I don’t have time…”

                        “Don’t give me that. We’re moving as fast as we can. Multitask. I know you can do it. Now as politically correct as I’d like to be, I don’t give a damm about preserving the history of some centuries old native cave paintings, so tell me, why would the Blur?” Lois stopped moving. “Tell me or I won’t budge.”

                        “I’ll tell you, just keep moving." Lois continued to shuffle backwards. The caves are important for two reasons. The cave paintings tell the story of…”

                        Lois interrupted and recited “The Kawatche First Nation coming into contact with a mysterious man from the stars as well as an ancient prophecy about two who were as brothers turning into the bitterest of enemies.”

                        At Chloe’s surprised look, Lois shrugged. “What? Just because I don’t care about them doesn’t mean I don’t know the story. Olsen left behind some research at the Planet. I read his notes, but I can’t see any connection between old Indian legends and the Blur.”

                        Chloe bit her lip, uncertain how to answer. “The Kawatche people believe that it was Clark’s ancestor who came to them hundreds of years earlier.”

                        “What? So they think that Clark has an alien for an ancestor. Please.” She scoffed. “What’s the other reason the cave is important?”

                        Since they were going to be there in a matter of minutes, Chloe couldn’t see the harm in telling her. “There is a room that can be used as a portal to another place. That other place is where I need to take Clark.”

                        Lois stopped.

                        “Lois, come on, we need to keep going.”

                        She shook her head and dropped her corners of the red, make shift stretcher. “This is insane. There can’t be portals to other dimensions here in Smallville. It’s Smallville! We’re in Kansas for Pete’s sake!”

                        “I never said to another dimension.”

                        “Then to where?” She demanded with her hands stuck on her hips.

                        “The arctic.”

                        She choked back a laugh. “What are you planning to do? Cryogenically freeze Clark until someday they find a cure for stab wounds? Oh god, what am I doing?” Lois threw her hands up in the air.

                        “Please, we have to keep moving.” The summer after her senior year when Clark was shot and died in the hospital, his body went missing from the morgue within an hour. Chloe didn’t know how significant that timeline was, but that was the clock she was racing against. The drive from Metropolis ate away a half-hour and she used up too much time trying to convince Lois to get out of her way. Time was slipping past. She could feel it.

                        Lois took a step back and held up her hands. “I can’t do this anymore. This is crazy. Clark’s related to some alien and you want dump his body in the arctic.”

                        “You asked and I told you,” she ground out between her teeth.

                        “Chloe, this can’t be right. You have to stop. Look at him!”

                        Chloe’s eye followed where Lois pointed. In the dim lighting, Clark’s paleness seemed to glow and for as often as she had teased him about only having one expression, now she saw what blank really looked like.

                        “Admit it Chloe, there isn’t anything, anyone can do to help him. He’s dead. The Blur’s dead and Zod is still out there using the Book of Rao for he and his evil alien cohorts.”

                        Chloe shook her head. “No, we’re sure Clark took care of him and the Book transported the Kandorians to a safe new planet.”

                        “How can you know that?” Lois demanded belligerently.

                        Chloe clenched her fists and shouted, “Because Clark was sacrificing himself to take them away to another planet when Zod tried to kill him!”

                        “He didn’t just try, he’s succeeded, remember? Zod killed the Blur and he’s gone." A hysterical note tinged Lois's words. "Dead is as good as zapped to another planet.” Lois blinked and remembered her conversation with Clark in the barn. “He knew he was going away, that had to be why he wanted me to take the African job.” Her lower lip quivered. “He didn’t even say goodbye.”

                        “He didn’t say goodbye to me either but he’s still here and I’m not about to quit on him now. Now either help me or get out of my way,” she growled.

                        “Chloe you are not being rational.”

                        “I mean it Lo, get out of my way or so help me, I will take you down,” she vowed in a low tone. All the anger, fear, and frustration she felt vibrating through her body focused into a savage promise. Lois shrank back and swallowed hard. Still, instead of just moving to the side, Lois bent and picked up her corners and they continued silently down the corridor.

                        A minute later, they were at the chamber. Chloe rushed ahead to prop up a flashlight in the corner. Its light bounced off the stone ceiling and provided enough illumination for her to see the symbols inscribed on the stone altar.

                        “Help me get Clark in here.”

                        “Is it safe?”

                        “Nothing will happen until I use the key.” She fished the grey disk out of a pocket and held it up briefly.

                        “Those markings, they’re like the ones on the Book of Rao.”

                        “Same manufacture.” She tucked the key away while they dragged Clark the remaining few feet. Chloe picked up one of the work coats she’d found in the truck and put it on. It was only a little large, probably Martha’s.

                        She lifted the second jacket, also sized to fit Martha, and held it out to Lois. Neither work coat was winter ware but, Chloe figured, they should bring some protection from the frozen world they were about to enter. They were fortunate springtime had come to the arctic. The long days and short nights allowed the temperatures to rise to near the freezing point, balmy by arctic standards.

                        “Lois, come on.” Chloe shook the jacket at Lois, but Lois was busy backing out of the stone room.

                        “Get my molecules scrambled? I don’t think that’s for me.” Lois’s eyes were wide with lots of white showing, like a terrified horse on the verge of panic.

                        Chloe stepped to the edge of the chamber and tried to soothe her. “I’m sorry I snapped at you. I know everything is happening fast and I know it is a lot to ask of you, to just trust me, but I think that Jor-El, that’s a super advanced computer program on the other side of the portal, I think it responds to deep emotion.”

                        Chloe thought back to when she’d stumbled into the Fortress the first time, Clark had to beg Jor-El to let him leave. Clark told stories of both his parents imploring Jor-El for help when they were at the end of their rope and receiving it. When Chloe brought Kara to the Fortress, simple logic hadn’t swayed the impassive AI; the power of the fortress activated only after her final impassioned appeal. This, this was asking for so much more. “You love Clark. I could really use you there.”

                        “Love him?” Lois took another step back, shaking her head. “I don’t know; I don’t even know him. I thought I was planning a future with the most normal guy in the world: steady, just ambitious enough, looked good in a suit and someone happy to be there to support me and what I want. I already stated questioning just how supportive he was capable of being. Why do you think we broke up? Now I find out he lied to me the whole time about who he really is.”

                        “But you know now.” Chloe’s throat tightened just a bit. “You get to have the whole package. The regular guy you love and the superhero.”

                        Lois wrapped her arms around her middle and shook her head. “It won’t work. The regular guy is a lie. As for the Blur, he’s a fantasy. Like a celebrity crush. I figured that out a month into therapy. Talking to him was exciting. Helping him made me feel important.”

                        Lois looked up and closed her eyes. “What the Blur does IS important. He might someday save the world, but I can’t be the one wondering if he’s coming home afterwards.” She opened her eyes and looked at her cousin. “I can’t do it. I know what I need and he isn’t it. I spent my entire childhood knowing I would never be on top of the list, that I would never be the most important thing to the most important man in my life. I can’t spend the rest of my life that way.”

                        “But you love him. He…he loves you. Nothing else matters.”

                        “It matters to me. I can’t…he’s not…” She shook her head sorrowfully. “The worst thing about it is he knows how I feel. I told him years ago when I broke up with Oliver for the final time. He knew and didn’t care. How is that love?”

                        “Lois, you’re not thinking clearly.”

                        “No.” She raised a hand to ward off any further persuasion. “My mind has never been clearer. I’m wondering if you’re the one not thinking straight. Even if I believe this ancient relic will transport you to see Jor-El the Wizard, don’t try to tell me it’s safe. Do you really thing Clark would want you to take the risk?”

                        “I’m going Lois.” Chloe’s voice went hard. “There isn’t anything you can do to stop me, so don’t even try.”

                        Lois said nothing more, recognizing a tone Chloe rarely used, but one that always meant back off.

                        Chloe quickly changed the subject. “In case…in case this takes a while, do you remember how to get back to the truck?” She couldn’t quite bring herself to say aloud what had been running through her mind. Lois was right; the trip wasn’t without danger. Perhaps it was best that Lois refused to go. Chloe knew Jor-El was capable of bringing Clark back; but there was always a cost.

                        “Yes, follow the corridor back, two lefts and a right and I’m out.”

                        “Good. I’m going to give you an address to remember.” She rattled off the location of Watchtower. “Take the elevator all the way to the top. Let them know I sent you.” She gave Lois a quick hug.

                        Lois clung to her. “Chloe, you’re acting like this is goodbye. Don’t do this, whatever it is you’re planning to do. If you’re doing this for me, stop. I won’t trade you for anyone and the Blur would never want you to sacrifice your self for him either.”

                        “I have to do this Lois.”

                        Lois pulled back. “Why? To save the world? Leave that to the likes of the Green Arrow.”

                        “I’m not trying to be a hero Lois; I just have to do this.”

                        Lois studied the determination in Chloe’s stance. She sighed and nodded with unshed tears brimming in her eyes. “If you’re right about this Jor-El character responding to emotion, you don’t need me. I should have seen it. That mad crush, all that crazy love you had for Kent years ago; nothing’s changed, has it?”

                        Chloe didn’t know what to say. Lois was wrong; everything had changed. “I’ve had to learn a long time ago how to let Clark go, but not like this. I can’t do it like this.”

                        “What about Oliver? Do care how he feels?” The question came without any accusation.

                        “I do. I never wanted to hurt him, and I hope he’ll be ok, but,…it’s Clark,” Chloe finished simply, his name the answer to every question.

                        She stepped away from Lois who watched with a mixture of emotions on her face, the most important being understanding. Her brash, older cousin has been her only confidant to how deeply she cared for Clark as a teen and she stood witness now. Lois was right after all; nothing really had changed.

                        Chloe went to the stone alter in the center of the room, pulled the disk from her pocket, glanced at Clark’s unnaturally still form on the floor and inserted the key.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          For Chapter One. . .

                          Please tell me that Lois falls on her ass out of the truck when Chloe hits the gas?? Chloe has more patience than I would have. Even with Lois being family, this is Clark and I would have either decked her or told her to get the flip away before I decked her. This is great! I had my own ideas for a re-write on the finale, but it sounds like yours will have a much happier ending than the one in my head does. Oh, and really Lois? Asking her if that was why she was so into the guy?? Where does Lois get off sometimes???

                          Soooooooooo looking forward to seeing more of this!! So high paced and engaging!

                          And Chapter Two. . .

                          Okay, so I am glad Lois didn't fall off the back of the truck. How else was Chloe going to drag Clark down by herself?! Anyway, you hit the nail on the head for me! Lois told Clark she couldn't be with Oliver because of the dual identity and that he lied to her. Clark did the EXACT SAME THING and in the finale, she's like a puddle! This show has major continuity issues. So glad you addressed that and I thank you for it. Loved the no nonsense Chloe. Again, same two points of the triangle with a different guy. She may love Oliver, but her love and devotion to Clark will always come first. I was crying through the whole thing. This is why I love the two of them and why Clark will never find anyone who will love him the way Chloe does. Just beautiful and raw emotion displayed in this.
                          Last edited by hughie87; 05-27-2010, 11:45 PM.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Love this new story...

                            I love the new story and I love how you keeping with the continuity. How Lois can't be with a hero because of not being first in the mans life. Also I love how you keep Chloe in character and that she won't give up on Clark. Can't wait for more.

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                            • #15
                              chloe is relentless, she just won't stop at nothing to save clark. glad to see the real chloe, at least she's still alive through fanfic's.

                              keep 'em coming

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