12-07-13- Death Knell, R, Chapter 15- Final

[Avalanche]

Title: Death Knell

Rating: Let’s just say I can’t guarantee PG-13, so let’s go with a rating of R to be on the safe side.

Category: Angst

Summary: It doesn’t always end when you die. Chloe knows.

Spoilers: I judiciously take from all seasons, so, yeah, there will probably be some.

Disclaimer: Don’t own.



Prologue


As she lay on the gurney and emergency response personnel worked on her prone form, Chloe’s life passed before her eyes. Every good thing. Every bad thing. Failures. Triumphs. Weaknesses. Strengths. A lifetime in the span of a heart beat. It was a stream of consciousness that persisted in tormenting her. Chloe figured that she wouldn’t be lucid, but amazingly she was. Every yell of the paramedic, every jostle of the gurney, and rapid turn of the ambulance was registered by her laboring mind. Despite this awareness, this maddening lucidity, it all came from a distance through a haze of undefined pains that did not originate from a localized point. It was spread all over her and there was no relief.

Looking back over the life choices that got her to this particular spot, Chloe faced the fact that there were many factors in this equation. Her mind would flit on one, and as soon as it came, she would know that it wasn’t what her mind was searching for. It kept going further back. It wasn’t this particular investigation. It wasn’t Lex’s abrupt descent into the world of his father’s methodology. It wasn’t even when first knew Clark’s secret. She briefly considered that maybe it was when her mother left. Just as quickly, she discarded the thought. Her mind kept tracing it back to some arbitrary point; or maybe it wasn't arbitrary. Maybe it was just going back to the very beginning.

Then she found it. There was only one true conclusion. It was simply a part of her. There was no one determining event. The straw did break the camel’s back, but only after a million and one burdens had been placed upon it. It was a series of choices and events that cascaded to this one point. Chloe knew that even if one of those things had not occurred, she’d still be in this place… pursuing her passion and suffering the consequences.

Chloe realized that she was dying. The darkness found purchase and wouldn’t let go. She was afraid. No matter how many near death experiences she’d read about or how many close calls she’d had, she never truly believed that she would die so soon. She never thought it would happen to her because no one ever thought that. Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you may die was a precept that was present in all religions. Of course, some religions urged some form of moral fortitude in their basic motto, but the concept of live today because tomorrow wasn’t guaranteed was universal. But even though the concept permeated their lives, no one truly believed that they would not see the next day.

Her heart sped up, her breath hitched, and her body seized. She couldn’t tell if it was panic or because the end was unmistakably close. Something let loose in her and she felt her bowels release. This was dying, she knew, and dying was rarely ever a pretty thing full of nobility. The person could handle it well and be okay with their end, but the body was a whole other issue. It had its way of signaling the end and letting go. It was what Chloe was experiencing now.

Death was primal. It was the very end. The goal of life. Even as proud parents celebrate the moment of breath, in their heart they fear. They fear that their care won’t be enough that some random occurrence could come along and deny them the life of their child, either in taking their own or their child’s. It was the terror that trumped every other terror in an individual. Death had its own rhythms. Its own rituals. This was it.

Those people who write and write about their near death experience talk about the fabled white light. They talk about a vaguely welcoming feeling. They didn’t talk about this part. The part when your heart stops beating but you’re still aware. The part when you can see the veiled fear and frustration in the eyes of the people who are trying so hard to save your life. They don’t write about seeing your death reflected in the face above you working so diligently to preserve your life.

It was the haunted and mesmerized look in the eyes of the veteran paramedic that caused her panic now. This was truly the end. The machine next to her flat-lined and she couldn’t breathe. She could no longer feel the ambulance moving, nor could she hear the sirens. The lights blanked and Chloe Sullivan expended her last breath.

********

It was a disjointed threnody that coursed through her. A forbidding darkness in which there was awareness of that one thing. She still didn’t see the white light or the welcoming presence. The threnody continued but it was punctuated by hard jolts to her body. Chloe felt her body jerk.

With each jolt, a wave of pain passed through her and more awareness came. She had been in her car, speeding towards somewhere that would be safe. Somewhere with lots of people and lights. A place that would be too inconvenient to hurt her and where she could call for help. What she had seen and stolen was too important to not pass on to Oliver.

Her heart shuddered to a steady rhythm and Chloe was forced to wakefulness. She tried to move and found that she couldn’t. The rapid-fire jargon of doctors and paramedics rang out clear around her. From the corner of her eye, she saw the veteran paramedic that had treated her in the ambulance. An almost imperceptible sigh swept through his form.

The weird threnody that played as she was dead, because she knew she had been dead, played again. From the corner of her eye, Chloe saw a mist that seemed to coalesce. The doctors were still wheeling her and working on her body all the while shouting words that made no sense to her.

“Is this recovery? Is this what’s supposed to happen?”

Of course, those weren’t fully formed questions. They were simply vague feelings that conveyed meaning that she instinctively knew. After this, Chloe would write her own book. A book that didn’t sugar coat the experience in favor of some fluffy recitation that played into the archetypical experience.

Chloe wanted to sleep again; but the constant motion of the gurney, the brilliant lights, the poking and prodding of the doctors prevented her from finding solace in unconsciousness. She was only peripherally aware of the fact that not much time had elapsed. It felt like hours, but it wasn’t. It couldn’t be. She still saw the same doctor, but it didn’t particularly matter. Chloe felt herself drift off into true sleep.

There was a slight fear that maybe she wouldn’t wake up, but there was something different about her now. She felt something coil and writhe within and couldn’t understand what it could possibly be. Chloe just felt something inside of her. A living thing that seemed to be waiting for some kind of cue…some signal that meant it could be free. It scared her more than her death and more than the prospect of sleeping and never awakening again.

********

Scorch’s Challenge (post #106 in the Fanfiction Challenge #2):

Just been watching Ghost Whisperer and my mind began ticking over.

In this episode, Jamie Kennedy's character got the power to hear ghosts, but not see them.

When Chloe is working for Lionel, she has an accident. A simple and ordinary accident. No glowing green rocks and no planning by Lionel.

For two minutes, she is completely and utterly dead. She's brought back, but is in a coma for a little while and when she wakes up with the ability to see, but not hear, ghosts.

One of those ghosts is Lillian Luthor.

Must be set when Chloe is working for Lionel and must include Chloe being the one to say what really happened to Julian.

[lexie]

It´s nice not to be proved wrong. :DI thought from the first few lines this was a response to Scorch´s challenge- and if Adele lives up to her word, there might be another take on it soon.

This is a nice start, Avalanche. I´m looking forward to reading what you´ve got planned next.

[Kit Merlot]

An extremely interesting challenge and one hell of a beginning to a fic--more please:D

[GroundedSouls]

Great start! I love who you describe her dying. Can't wait to read more.

[purplemoon123]

Wow!! This sounds very interesting!!

Can't wait for more!!!

[somethingeasy]

I was beyond delighted to see a whole new fic from you, Ava! And this seems like a really good one too :D Filled with plenty of brutality and gory details. Excellent!

I really loved the uncompromising way that you depicted Chloe’s ‘near death’ experience as a truly traumatic event. Most authors would have written in some pretty lines about bright lights, celestial music and warm feelings waiting for Chloe on the ‘other side’, but YOU presented it in a much more plausible sense as cold, dark, brutal death experience. Of course it’s going to be ‘unpleasant’!!

I really liked the opening paragraphs, where the old cliché of ‘life passing before you eyes’ was repeated over here, but in a very interesting and original manner… giving the experience a very ‘Chloe-like’ twist to it. LOL! It figures that Chloe would examine the life that’s flashing before her eyes with a critical investigative gaze, looking for some particular point that summed up this event, or perhaps her whole life, in a single sentence or a single defining experience.

And I LOVED the idea that Chloe was able to accept that, all the mistakes she’s made, including the mistake that led to this death, was just an inevitable end because of her basic personality… and NOT because of one wrong step that she made. In realizing that it was her personality that shaped her life, she seemed to come to a sense of peace about herself and the life that’s passed by. It was a good death for Chloe.

A good near-death at least, LOL!


Death was primal. It was the very end. The goal of life. Even as proud parents celebrate the moment of breath, in their heart they feared. They fear that their care won’t be enough that some random occurrence could come along and deny them the life of their child; either in taking their own or their child’s. It was the terror that trumped every other terror an individual. Death had its own rhythms. Its own rituals. This was it.

wow! I never thought it was possible to make death sound so ugly and beautiful at the same time, Ava! I think you’ve done a magnificent job in capturing the essence of ‘an end to life’. I love how you describe death as a brutal experience as well as a quiet, inevitable end. Amazing writing!


With each jolt, a wave of pain passed through her and more awareness came. She had been in her car, speeding towards somewhere that would be safe. Somewhere with lots of people and lights. A place that would be too inconvenient to hurt her and where she could call for help. What she had seen and stolen was too important to not pass on to Oliver.

eh? So she essentially died doing some job for Oliver, huh? There are a lot of people who are going to be very angry and unhappy about that. Oliver is certainly going to be one of them… and I don’t want to imagine what Clark is going to say about Chloe endangering her life so recklessly for someone besides himself.


“Is this recovery? Is this what’s supposed to happen?” Of course, those weren’t fully formed questions. They were simply vague feelings that conveyed meaning that she instinctually knew. After this, Chloe would write her own book. A book that didn’t sugar coat the experience in favor of some fluffy recitation that played into the archetypical experience.

The book will be a great masterpiece… and it won’t sell at ALL! People are going to want sugar-coated, sweet depictions of near-death experiences. They don’t want anything that sounds too scary to contemplate. It’s just not comfortable.


There was a slight fear that maybe she wouldn’t wake up, but there was something different about her now. She felt something coil and writhe within and couldn’t understand what it could possibly be. Chloe just felt something inside of her. A living thing that seemed to be waiting for some kind of cue…some signal that meant it could be free. It scared her more than her death and more than the prospect of sleeping and never awakening again.

wow! Now this was a truly intriguing and maddening ending, Ava! I realize that the fanfic is designed to be posted one cliffhanger at a time, but must you continue to taunt us with cliffhangers so maddening and horrifying? It’s just cruel!!!

Please update soon!!!

[Scorch]

The way you've written the experience of near death and the death itself is excellent. It's very real and terrifying, yet you've done it in a way that has a sense of peace to it, just like Sabrina said in her above post.

Chloe has always known that she was dangerous to herself and to have her acknowledge, without blaming others, is true to her. She has owned up to her mistakes and that's why we love her. She's never shied away from wrong-doing, never placed the blame at someone else's feet, or let anyone else take it away from her.

She knew she was going into a dangerous situation and she knew she'll take a risk if need be. She took the risk and is now paying the price, yet she wholly accepts that.

What Sabrina said about others not being too happy with Chloe's dive into danger? I think she's now going to have the strength to tell them exactly where to go and what to do when they get there! She makes her choices, not them, and if anything happens, then it was her choice.

Don't know if you get that.

I'm looking forward to so much more and can't wait until CLL gets her version on the go. One word?

Fantastic!!

[Avalanche]

A/N: So, as I was writing this, I realized that I misspoke in my previous post. The season this is based in is later than 4/5. It’s more like seasons 6/7. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don’t own.



Chapter 1



Her room smelled like all other hospital rooms. Held within these walls was the despair of family members, some of their hope, sorrow, and joy. The beeping, that signified she was alive and well for someone in her condition, pushed its staccato beat into the otherwise silent room. It was stark and jarring, but it meant that she was alive. It was dark in her room, well passed the hour she could have visitors, but it was the only way to see her. He had patiently waited until everyone else had their fill of staring at her unmoving frame and projecting all their hope and longing onto her.

He glanced around the hall. The nurses knew not to disturb him. It was a perk of buying the children’s ward all new equipment, for annually raising funds. He was king and Metropolis was his city-state. He treated her well and he demanded she give him his due. Tonight, it came in the form of enforcing the rules for everyone else save him. Stopping his casual perusal of the hallway, he returned his attention to the figure that had been so close to death. “Even now you defy me.” The accident had left its mark in a myriad of ways on her. He had to admit that it was all that she deserved.

Lex Luthor sauntered into the room. Her room. He gently took her hand in his own. Caressing it, he felt both her frailty and her strength. The pulse that beat strongly under her skin. His touch was feather light. It was a gentle stroke that quickened the pulse of numerous other women and served as a clear indication of his intent. To screw. To fuck. To hear his name on their lips. He dragged a chair closer to her bed and sat down. It was a trick to make oneself comfortable in the silly chairs hospitals provided, but one that he had learned from necessity.

Once again, Lex took her hand into his, contemplating his current situation. Chloe had wreaked havoc at his facility. His IT and lab techs all said that everything was there and that they couldn’t be sure what she had done, which threw everything off-kilter. On one hand, it would’ve been so much easier to investigate what she had done if she’d died in the crash. On the other, he had no idea what kind of plans she made in the event of her death, so he couldn’t even end her in the hospital.

Lex laid her hand back onto the bed and drummed his fingers on the lowered railing. He added his voice to rhythmic sounds of the machines in her room, “What can I do with you, Chloe? Kill you or not, you are decidedly an issue.”

She was the only variable that he hadn’t, couldn’t work out to his satisfaction. Her new cohort, Oliver, would be an issue. Lex didn’t exactly know their relationship, but he knew that something more was happening between them. It would not surprise him in the least if she had done this on his behest. If Oliver had not given her a graceless push into his activities. It really didn’t matter in the end.

“Oh, Chloe. You are far too smart to let Oliver call the shots.”

Oliver had some delicate dealings on the horizon and it would not be difficult to make those deals fall through. In fact, he would enjoy it. It would be enough to divide his attention between his work and Chloe. Oliver wouldn’t be able to resist the competition. His ego wouldn’t allow it. Oliver’s acquisitions were as good as dead and his failure would push him into doing stupid things. Lex had seen it before.

Oliver fancied himself a player in the business world; and to some extent, he was correct. But Oliver could never consistently do the things necessary to truly elevate himself; and when he did attempt it, he fell into a dark place after. A place of vice. Of booze and self-loathing. All he needed was a violent heave from his old school chum, Lex Luthor. “Something I am all too willing to provide.” Even if Oliver, somehow, won this little, meaningless test, he would be in no position to help Chloe. It would be too late.

Of course, there was always the chance that Oliver would choose Chloe and her knowledge over whatever business dealings he had; but he would lose face in the business world as a consequence. Lex didn’t believe Oliver had the will to endure such a humiliation. And when it happened, there Lex would be. Crowing to the world. Revealing that he was behind Oliver’s tumble. It would taste better than a woman. This is what he was made for. The thrill of the hunt, of conquering his foe. Lex felt his blood quicken and smiled into the room. “You have always been worthy, Chloe.”

It left only Clark and his special, snowflake brand of idiocy. Lex shrugged his shoulders and flicked non-existent lint from his breast pocket. It would be no small problem to unleash some of his 33.1 subjects onto Smallville. The ones he had in mind were violent and so far gone that they no longer had the ability to find their way back from their madness. Clark would have his hands full.

He would set free psychotics with super-human strength, agility, impenetrable skin, the list was truly extensive, and all of them knowing two things: green meteor rock would stop the one responsible for their torment and that Clark Kent was the one responsible. It would weaken the one who would seek to destroy them. Lex would enjoy watching Clark fight them. He had no doubt that Clark would somehow see his way out of true harm; but once again, it would be too late for him to help Chloe. The rest of Chloe’s inner circle were inconsequential. Her cousin could be killed and so could Gabe. “Easy.”

Taking her hand into his once more, holding it gently, he stood and leaned over the bed. His lips next to her ear. His voice a soft, lover’s caress, “I will enjoy this contest, Chloe.”

Lex drew his lips across her forehead. A touch of intent. A tremor passed through her hand. He smiled down at her. Of course she would accept his challenge. He expected nothing less.

Lex Luthor left the room. His gait one of merriment and purpose. He would succeed where no other had. It was only a matter of time.

********

The next day saw Gabe sitting at his daughter’s bedside. It was a Saturday so he didn’t have to work. He thought that he had done right by her. He may not have been the most attentive father and he knew that there were times when he simply couldn’t understand her; but he thought that his loving her would be enough. That the hole her mother left would eventually be closed. Gabe knew that he hadn’t taken her seriously enough at times, and he regretted it.

He didn’t blame himself for the crash, nor for the person she had become because that person was a good one. He just wished the things that everyone in his situation had wished and would wish for. Gabe wanted her to know and understand that he had tried his best and that he was sorry for any failings. He wanted her to open her eyes and smile and tell him it was okay. He didn’t want his baby girl to die not hearing those words from him. Most of all he wanted his little girl back.

Gabe put his head in his hands and fisted his hands. The momentary pain of pulling his hair was worth it to not feel numb. The best of him was lying in a hospital bed. It was in a coma and unaware. It was alone and in darkness. That part of him wouldn’t come back until she did. Idle conversation from the nurses meant that he knew she had died three times. Once in the ambulance and twice on the operating table. Gabe had no idea how many she had left. She kept that part of herself hidden from everyone and he was no exception.

His voice was broken, “God, Chloe, what more can I do?”

Without a doubt, Gabe knew that he was stretched thin.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw that it was Lois. Gabe was happy to see her. He knew that Lois loved Chloe as a sister. Truth be told, he needed his family. This was something he couldn’t handle alone. Gabe needed someone else to share in his misery. He wasn’t strong enough or selfless enough to do it alone.

Clark Kent stood behind her. There were nuances in Chloe’s relationship with Clark that he would never understand; but he did know one thing: he was the root cause of so much of her turmoil. While he couldn’t let her off the hook for her own decisions, he could place the blame where it also rested. It was the domain of children to be callous. Their parents and society tempered it and, in most cases, made them worthwhile human beings.

They cast off the base and heathen desires of youth and entered the world. But Clark Kent wore righteous and privileged indignation like a second skin. In this, he was exactly like Lex Luthor. Two people that, for some reason, inspired loyalty in others. Inspired them to do what they wouldn’t normally. Sometimes for the better, many times not.

Gabe knew people. He read them well. Chloe didn’t develop and adopt mannerisms and thoughts in a vacuum. He taught her to be aware because, deep down inside, Gabe thought that if he had seen Moira for who she was, then the heartaches that followed could have been prevented. That woman took a part of him when she left, but she gave up the best of them both. He didn’t need to know her reasons because they didn’t matter. Moira didn’t talk to him. She didn’t let him try to fix them and so would never have his understanding.

He was understandably less warm when Clark entered the room. Gabe knew that he visited daily, but it didn’t matter. If Chloe had not held him in such regard, he would’ve asked Clark to leave long ago. Clark seemed to understand that the regard Gabe had once held for him had lessened considerably with time.

Lois’ practically whispered when she spoke to Gabe. He had to strain to hear her. This would be one of the few circumstances that this would happen. “How is she?”

Clark knew that Chloe’s healing should’ve kicked in by now. Something else was wrong and he didn’t understand why she was in a coma now. “She should be better now.” Although, that would’ve also caused problems. Her car was too smashed for her to walk away unscathed from it. It was a blessing and a curse that she was now in her current state.

Gabe sighed. “She’s in a coma and won’t wake up until her body feels ready, which could be today, tomorrow, or a year from now. She has brain function and she doesn’t need a ventilator. She’s just…in a coma.”

He took her hand into his own and felt her warmth. Gabe closed his eye and rested his forehead where their hands clasped. He wanted to feel her, but it he was distracted by Lois and Clark.

“She’s strong, Uncle Gabe. Chloe won’t let this take her,” Lois’ voice ended on a tremor. She hated it. Chloe wasn’t the only person in the room who loathed showing their weaknesses.

Lois gestured at a chair that sat against the wall under the television. Clark finally got the message and brought it over to her. She sat down and threw her arms around Gabe. He didn’t move or otherwise acknowledge her; but she knew by the slight easing of the tension in his shoulders that he appreciated her.

Gabe lifted his head and looked into Lois’ eyes. She saw the man who could stare down other managers and important people to get the necessary results for companies like Luthorcorp. She saw the businessman and not the affable uncle she had known growing up. He swung his gaze away from hers to Clark’s and Lois let out a soft sigh of relief. She didn’t know that man and didn’t want to.

There was strength in him that everyone underestimated, “Do you know what she was doing?”

Clark took a deep breath and prepared to lie to his best friend’s father. “No, Mr. Sullivan. She said she had an errand to run and that was it.”

Gabe’s jaw tightened. He lowered his little girl’s hand and shook off Lois. He walked to Clark and didn’t stop until he invaded the younger man’s personal space.

His voice was low, dangerous, and calm. It was tempered steel, “She’s my daughter, Clark. My only child. And if I find out that you’re lying, I promise that no matter what I have to do, you and Oliver will regret it. This reeks of something Luthor-related. Nothing short of that would’ve led to this and nothing short of one of you asking her to do this would’ve caused this. Leave. I don’t want you here today.”

Gabe held his stare a moment longer, deliberately turned his back on Clark, and resumed his bedside vigil. Clark knew that Gabe was serious. It was then that he realized that everything he saw in Chloe was in her father. Everything she was had been lovingly nurtured and allowed to grow at its own pace. Some things pruned, others encouraged. The things that drove her to success, that caused her to fail were probably found somewhere in Gabe; though he had a lifetime of dealing with those things or at least pushing them aside when he had to do so. Gabe could prove just as dangerous to his secret that he thought Chloe had or that Lex did.

Clark turned away to leave, but not before he saw the stunned look on Lois’ face. Her mouth was agape and she looked dazed. There was also confusion and warning in her eyes. He had no idea why this revelation should come as a surprise to either of them. To know Chloe was to know her father. And now they both understood that.

He left the room and heard Lois trail after him. Clark sighed. He had to evade her questions, keep her with Gabe and out of his way, and still somehow alleviate her curiosity. She called out to him. Clark didn’t want to face her, but he didn’t really have a choice. Not if he wanted to accomplish his objectives. He didn’t have time for this.

Lois spat her words out at him. They were like a physical lash, indicting him for whatever role he had in Chloe being hurt. “What did he mean?”

He deliberately misinterpreted her question. “I have no idea. He’s probably just stressed.”

“Don’t do that! Don’t play dumb with me! You know something,” Lois would’ve been yelling had they been anywhere else. Her hands gestured frantically.

“What is it that you want me to say? I don’t know what she was doing or why. I have no idea what she thought would come of it.”

Lois stared at him. “What does Oliver have to do with it?”

He imagined that he heard jealousy, but that was something to ponder on a different day. Clark walked away, “Ask him yourself. I have to go.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Go where?”

Clark whirled around and for the first time that day, he was truly angry, “Away from here, like her father, your uncle, wanted! And it’s none of your business, Lois.” He turned away and quickly walked down the hall. It would, in no way, deter her, but he had bought some time.

Lois clenched her jaw and watched his retreating back. Something was going on and she had to find out. Chloe and Gabe were family and she would be damned if Chloe’s intrigues and Clark’s and Oliver’s maneuverings would stop her from discovering the danger her cousin was in.

Clark had to speak with Oliver. The situation had spun out of control. Lex would be in a mood for war and they had to prepare. He had no idea what that meant or how to do it, but they couldn’t wait. Lex’s, and it could be no one else’s, goons had come close to killing Chloe. It was graceless and ugly and he never did anything like that. At least, not without incredibly good cause.

He had lied to Gabe and Lois in that he knew that Chloe was going somewhere at the behest of Oliver, and that it wasn’t a simple errand. Whatever they had been doing was deep and he had to know what it was.

[Kit Merlot]

So much to love in this chapter: I like Lex knowing that Chloe is a worthy adversary, I liked Gabe telling Clark off and I even liked Lois being as over-protective of Chloe and Gabe as she is.

Thanks for continuing this wonderful fic and I look forward to seeing how this all plays out:grin3:

[somethingeasy]

He glanced around the hall. The nurses knew not to disturb him. It was a perk of buying the children’s ward all new equipment, for annually raising funds. He was king and Metropolis was his city-state. He treated her well and he demanded she give him his due. Tonight, it came in the form of enforcing the rules for everyone else save him. Stopping his casual perusal of the hallway, he returned his attention to the figure that had been so close to death. “Even now you defy me.” The accident had left its mark in a myriad of ways on her. He had to admit that it was all that she deserved.

This was an excellent beginning. I loved the way that the opening paragraphs left it a mystery on whether it was Lex or Lionel visiting Chloe right now. That description could have fit either one of the two men’s attitude about their exalted position and role in life, as well as their attitude towards the ‘serfs’ that existed to serve them. I wonder whether Lex would have been indignant at the idea of having his attitude compared to Lionel’s, or has he reached the state where he would be pleased by the comparision?

Anyhow, I loved the observation Lex made about how his whole empire is so damned easy to bend to his every whim… except for this one blonde reporter who he simply cannot control, predict or even properly guard himself against. I’m so very proud of Chloe for being the thorn in the Emperor’s side… and also so very afraid for her.


Lex laid her hand back onto the bed and drummed his fingers on the lowered railing. He added his voice to rhythmic sounds of the machines in her room, “What can I do with you, Chloe? Kill you or not, you are decidedly an issue.”

I don’t know whether to be chilled or smugly satisfied with this statement. On one hand, it’s really creepy seeing how casually and callously Lex is thinking about the possibility of ‘ending’ this problem that Chloe represents. On the other hand, it is very satisfying knowing that Lex wants to make his life easier by ending hers, but Does. Not. Dare! heh heh HA! Not quite as all-powerful as you might like to be, eh, Lex? LOL!


Oliver fancied himself a player in the business world; and to some extent, he was correct. But Oliver could never consistently do the things necessary to truly elevate himself; and when he did attempt it, he fell into a dark place after. A place of vice. Of booze and self-loathing. All he needed was a violent heave from his old school chum, Lex Luthor. “Something I am all too willing to provide.” Even if Oliver, somehow, won this little, meaningless test, he would be in no position to help Chloe. It would be too late.

Of course, there was always the chance that Oliver would choose Chloe and her knowledge over whatever business dealings he had; but he would lose face in the business world as a consequence. Lex didn’t believe Oliver had the will to endure such a humiliation. And when it happened, there Lex would be. Crowing to the world. Revealing that he was behind Oliver’s tumble. It would taste better than a woman. This is what he was made for. The thrill of the hunt, of conquering his foe. Lex felt his blood quicken and smiled into the room. “You have always been worthy, Chloe.”

Yikes! My gloating over Lex’s inability to touch Chloe came to an abrupt end when I realized that Lex COULD actually hurt Chloe… provided he lays the groundwork for it beforehand. He needs to destroy and/or neutralize her allies first before getting to her… and now it seems he’s willing to put the time and attention into just that objective.

It’s really frightening seeing how quickly Lex came up with a plan to neutralize Oliver, as if it’s a plan that’s been on the backburner for a long time, but only now got pushed to the forefront of Lex’s ‘to-do’ list. It’s rather ironic considering how Lex is finally focusing on bringing down Oliver only as a collateral damage in the objective to get to Chloe.


He would set free psychotics with super-human strength, agility, impenetrable skin, the list was truly extensive, and all of them knowing two things: green meteor rock would stop the one responsible for their torment and that Clark Kent was the one responsible. It would weaken the one who would seek to destroy them. Lex would enjoy watching Clark fight them. He had no doubt that Clark would somehow see his way out of true harm; but once again, it would be too late for him to help Chloe. The rest of Chloe’s inner circle were inconsequential. Her cousin could be killed and so could Gabe. “Easy.”

I had to shudder at Lex’s monstrosity. It was one thing for Lex to aim to destroy Oliver, Chloe and even Clark… but now he’s thinking (very coldly and pragmatically) about releasing his mutant horrors onto the world, never even paying a thought to the casualties that will occur before Clark manages to stop these super-powered psychotics.

Even more horrific is seeing Lex’s casual acknowledgement about how these mutants had turned psychotic under HIS ministrations in his labs, AND how each of them were trained to fight Clark; being brainwashed into hating him as well as programmed with his weaknesses. Lex doesn’t see anyting atrocious about these actions whatsoever, does he?! He only thinks of all of these actions as part of a ‘contest’ or a game. In fact, it was a contest that he looked forward to with a sense of anticipation and ‘merriment’!! *shudder*

I think Lex has come to the borderline of not being able to distinguish right from wrong any longer. I really hope he’s pulled back from the brink… if that’s possible?


He didn’t blame himself for the crash, nor for the person she had become because that person was a good one. He just wished the things that everyone in his situation had wished and would wish for. Gabe wanted her to know and understand that he had tried his best and that he was sorry for any failings. He wanted her to open her eyes and smile and tell him it was okay. He didn’t want his baby girl to die not hearing those words from him. Most of all he wanted his little girl back.

This was a heart-rending look at an anguish-filled parent, Ava! Amazingly written! I seriously wanted to reach to the screen and offer Gabe some words of comfort and solace… perhaps assuring him that Chloe is the star of this story, and she’s definitely going to be waking up at some point.

Although, considering that it’s Ava writing this fic, I wouldn’t be able to provide him with assurance that she’s survive till the end of the fic :P


They cast off the base and heathen desires of youth and entered the world. But Clark Kent wore righteous and privileged indignation like a second skin. In this, he was exactly like Lex Luthor. Two people that, for some reason, inspired loyalty in others. Inspired them to do what they wouldn’t normally. Sometimes for the better, many times not.

wow! This was brilliant, Ava! In retrospect, I realized that it was pretty dumb of canon-Smallville’s Gabe Sullivan to not realize that a good portion of Chloe’s most dangerous adventures only happened because of her connection with Clark Kent. Not all of them of course, because Chloe is quite capable of creating her own dangerous adventures, but certainly enough of them for Gabe to logically and rationally have developed a dislike for the Chlark friendship.

Therefore I loved the way that it was made clear that Gabe views both Clark and Lex as two separate sides of the same coin… with Chloe stuck in whatever game is going on between the two men. I loved the sense of intense dislike (bordering on loathing) that was described with regards to Gabe’s feelings towards Clark. Brilliantly done, Ava!


Clark knew that Chloe’s healing should’ve kicked in by now. Something else was wrong and he didn’t understand why she was in a coma now. “She should be better now.” Although, that would’ve also caused problems. Her car was too smashed for her to walk away unscathed from it. It was a blessing and a curse that she was now in her current state.

Well, that’s interesting. So Chloe has healing powers in this fic… but something seems to be interfering with them working this time. Was the damage so very severe? Or is it something else? Perhaps there’s something special about brain damage (as compared to damages to other parts of the body) that render it longer for her healing to kick in?


Gabe lifted his head and looked into Lois’ eyes. She saw the man who could stare down other managers and important people to get the necessary results for companies like Luthorcorp. She saw the businessman and not the affable uncle she had known growing up. He swung his gaze away from hers to Clark’s and Lois let out a soft sigh of relief. She didn’t know that man and didn’t want to.

I was fascinated and intrigued by this side of Gabe Sullivan. I always saw him as a one-dimensional character who was simply ‘Chloe’s devoted, supportive dad’ (erm… provided he wasn’t the absentee father that he became later in Smallville). It was a very straightforward, but also limited interpretation of a character, so it’s wonderful to be able to see another side to his personality… something stronger, harsher, ruthless and even rather scary. And it’s definitely fun seeing this side of his character being aimed at Clark Kent :D


His voice was low, dangerous, and calm. It was tempered steel, “She’s my daughter, Clark. My only child. And if I find out that you’re lying, I promise that no matter what I have to do, you and Oliver will regret it. This reeks of something Luthor-related. Nothing short of that would’ve led to this and nothing short of one of you asking her to do this would’ve caused this. Leave. I don’t want you here today.”

Gabe held his stare a moment longer, deliberately turned his back on Clark, and resumed his bedside vigil. Clark knew that Gabe was serious. It was then that he realized that everything he saw in Chloe was in her father. Everything she was had been lovingly nurtured and allowed to grow at its own pace. Some things pruned, others encouraged. The things that drove her to success, that caused her to fail were probably found somewhere in Gabe; though he had a lifetime of dealing with those things or at least pushing them aside when he had to do so. Gabe could prove just as dangerous to his secret that he thought Chloe had or that Lex did.

squeee! I was absolutely thrilled by Gabe’s promising threat to destroy both Clark and Oliver if he discovered that it was their lying and negligence that led to Chloe’s current state. The enthralling thing is that I completely believe Gabe’s promise as well as in his ability to fulfill that promise. I believe he has it within himself to make life quite awful for the two men, regardless of their power and influence.

And I was delighted to see that Clark realized the validity and truth of Gabe’s promise as well. He was able to recognize Chloe’s deep will and stubborn determination in Gabe, and he knows (from Chloe) exactly how powerful a force that can be. Fantastic!

It makes me wonder just how much stronger the team would be if Gabe was at and by Chloe’s side, fully aware of her secrets, goals and lifestyle; supporting and helping her through it all… just like Martha does for Clark’s.


Lois clenched her jaw and watched his retreating back. Something was going on and she had to find out. Chloe and Gabe were family and she would be damned if Chloe’s intrigues and Clark’s and Oliver’s maneuverings would stop her from discovering the danger her cousin was in.

heee! It’s not just Gabe, but also Lois who has now been brought into the ‘team’. Well, if not into the team, then at least as part of the active picture. That’s fantastic! Chloe has been acting as back-up for others for so long without any support of her own that it was getting ridiculous and disgusting. She needs back-up and support of her own. Clark and Oliver are nice men, but they’re both far too self-involved to notice Chloe unless she’s in a life or death situation. It would be immensely satisfying to see Chloe getting some emotional support, of the same variety that she provides so easily for everyone else, just to help them function.


Clark had to speak with Oliver. The situation had spun out of control. Lex would be in a mood for war and they had to prepare. He had no idea what that meant or how to do it, but they couldn’t wait. Lex’s, and it could be no one else’s, goons had come close to killing Chloe. It was graceless and ugly and he never did anything like that. At least, not without incredibly good cause.

He had lied to Gabe and Lois in that he knew that Chloe was going somewhere at the behest of Oliver, and that it wasn’t a simple errand. Whatever they had been doing was deep and he had to know what it was.

It’s good to see that Clark is aware that there has been a new battle-cry for a bloody war between him and his team and Team-LuthorCorp. I was half-afraid that Lex was simply going to start off his new moves without Clark or Oliver bring prepared for anything. It was actually a valid concern because, up till now, Chloe has always been the lookout for dangers, keeping her virtual feelers on the horizons for any new traps and schemes that the Luthors were plotting. It’s good to see that Clark is going to be picking up the slack while Chloe is out of commission.

This was a fantastic chapter, Ava! I can’t wait to see what happens in the upcoming update. Please post soon!! This was only the set-up; the action hasn’t started, and I’m already salivating for future developments.

[Julie]

Ava, next time be careful about the year in the update date in the thread title ;) You had written 02-21-09 so if I didn't actually check when the last update was, I would have moved it to the graveyard ;)

[asharnanae]

SQWEEEEEEEE!!!! love it love it love it!

[Lynzie914]

This is such an amazing story! I love the concept and what you've done with the prompt so far. I loved how you described everyone's reactions to what happened and your Gabe is just amazing. I think it might be my favorite interpretation of him I've read. I can't wait to see where this goes, great job!

[Avalanche]

Disclaimer: don’t own

AN: Been awhile but here ya go! ENJOY!



Interlude



He left her room. His comings and goings would be noted, but they weren’t anything that would alert anyone. Why should they? He had sat by her bed for hours and no change. She was still there somewhere. Chloe Sullivan was strong and he knew she would pull through. It was the way she was. Through the years, she had changed so much. He saw her maturity. He saw how she tried to protect those around her, and he knew that it weighed on her mind when it wasn’t enough because it meant she wasn’t enough. She would learn, as everyone else did, that sometimes your best isn’t good enough. And just like they, it would make her stronger sometimes and weaker at others. But he knew her. Weakness would never be something she could adapt to, understand, or even accept. It was, perhaps, her greatest flaw. It was also his.

There was nothing more he could do in the hospital, staring at her prone form. There was no peace of mind or new plans that could be developed by sitting and doing nothing. He couldn’t keep his life on hold forever. He wasn’t built that way. So he made new plans. Plans to find out what she had done to cause him trouble. There could be no forward momentum unless he knew the singular reason why she was here.

He liked to think that he knew her best; but times like these and in the darkest pits of his mind, he knew that sometimes he barely scratched her surface. Sometimes that was a good thing. He couldn’t know all of her secrets. She was a separate entity from him, no matter their relationship, but hung his hat on the special insight that he knew set him apart from Clark Kent and her other friends. They liked to think that she was an open book, but they only saw the superficial. They only saw the opaque barrier that hid her true self. Oh, he knew she played their game. He knew that she cared for them and let them see glimpses, but he also knew that she was what they needed. The sidekick. The sounding board. The loving, understanding cousin. But never was she purely Chloe Sullivan. There were times that she could barely accept herself. What made her think that she could give anyone else that part of her if even she wouldn’t accept it?

As he walked to his car, he acknowledged to himself that it was the hope that one day she would be able to find that equal, where she didn’t have to be anything else, but herself. Few people rarely found it, but it would always be hard for people like her. He chuckled to himself. She and Clark were similar in that way. If Chloe held herself hidden, then Clark Kent never even bothered with the charade. Clark was special and he knew that, but he also knew that the absurd lies hid the true cause of why Chloe was in the hospital. She wasn’t fighting for her life in there. She breathed on her own. Her brain activity was still strong if a bit over-stimulated and her heart beat strong in her chest. There was nothing that should be preventing her from waking up. The doctors didn’t understand it and neither did he.

Chloe was gifted. She was smart. She possessed abilities that astounded him constantly, but it was nothing that he wasn’t capable of and it was time to put them all to the test. He gathered his computer and a few other tools and went to her apartment in Metropolis. It had been a long time since he had broken into a locked place. He found that while he was rusty, it was like getting back on the bike. So while it took him longer than he might’ve liked, he was in her apartment in relatively little time.

He fully acknowledged that the course of events should never have gotten as far as they had. If he had been diligent or attentive or a million other little things, then he was confident that she would never have so thoroughly been able to pull the wool over his eyes. He had failed and it was a bitter brew to choke on, but he would not stop drinking now. Walking around her apartment gave him a glimpse into the life she led. In many ways, she was as he had always known her and her apartment reflected that. She was loud and brash, with items lovingly positioned. There had always been a method to her madness. She was just very good at concealing her methods, but not from his discerning eyes. That would not be something he allowed anymore.

His gazed alighted on her computer, but it was too obvious. This was the public computer. It would be the one she didn’t particularly mind having out in the open because it wouldn’t hold anything of value. He needed to look for a hard drive, or a flash drive, or another computer altogether. Chloe would want the comfort of having it close, but not so obvious that anyone with a passing knowledge of her could find it. Even her closest friends. No, it was hidden, but still in her apartment. He bet that she had another, specialized laptop computer with no bells and whistles; just strict functionality. It would be powerful and she would have spared no expense despite her meager funds. While he was ninety-nine percent sure it was a laptop, he wouldn’t close off the other possibilities. With this in mind, he went about the business of scouring her apartment, every nook and cranny, every small, insignificant place he could possibly look. It took the full day, but finally found what he was looking for: another laptop.

Taking his prize, he left her apartment. If she ever woke up, it would be obvious that someone had broken into her apartment. There was no reason for him to conceal it. A confrontation between the two of them had been brewing. He would make sure they had it out and everything was in the open because as much as she hid herself, he let her. He would be far more comfortable in his own surroundings. Being in her apartment with evidence of her vibrancy, but lacking the person that made it vibrant was depressing and he didn’t want to deal with it. Right off the bat, there were problems because of course even the boot-up would have an algorithm to prevent anyone accessing her secrets. It served as an apt metaphor for her entire life.

Of course decrypting and otherwise getting further access to her laptop was even harder; but since she hadn’t awakened, he had time. And then he had access. Her thoughts and hutches through the years were laid bare before him and he seethed. From her wall to weird to now, the sheer volume of intrigue and plans and secrets astounded and infuriated him. Everything he ever wanted to know about Clark Kent was there for him. The full story behind Lionel Luthor’s trial was revealed to him as well. It gave him no solace because now he knew. The little bastard had lied to him and now he and Oliver Queen and Lex Luthor would pay. Lex Luthor had many houses with many closets and Gabe knew where he should begin looking for skeletons. Queen would not see it coming and Clark was the weakest of them.

Before he shut down the computer, scrolling texts of what he now knew to be Kryptonian script appeared on the screen. He couldn't read it, but there was a chill that passed over him. That was all it took. Now he would make plans. Chloe was his only child, his daughter, and the only thing he had left of his wife. She was the absolute best he had to offer to the world and he, Gabe Sullivan, would not stop until he took a pound of flesh from the ones who had hurt her and all that she was.

[lexie]

Glad to see this one updated.

Really sneaky lol, for a moment there I thought the one who had broken into Chloe's flat was Lex. It'll be really interesting to see what Gabe has got planned for the three men directly/indirectly involved in what's happened to Chloe.

[mama_kat]

This is good! An interesting take to canon. Yay Gabe!

[somethingeasy]

Hey Ava,
I’ve just arrived back from my vacation; you remember, the one in my bathroom? I’ve fallen waaay behind on reviews, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to give a proper review to this story, but make it more of a… quickie. Please understand that it’s only a severe lack of time that makes this review shorter than usual. The chapter itself was magnificent, and I feel this is the chapter that really set the tone for the fic that’s building up. Now I seriously cannot wait to see how it develops!

First of all, I loved the way that you completely and absolutely tricked me with regards to the character’s identity. I’m sure it must have been quite tricky balancing out a character’s POV, so it could appear equally valid as Gabe’s POV and Lex’s POV as well. LOL! I didn’t imagine such a thing would be possible, but you make it look so natural and easy, Ava!! wow!

I loved how the musings and inner-monologue could have been taken as a dispassionate overview of Chloe’s personality, strengths, weaknesses and basic nature. The suggestion of an objective, dispassionate assessment of her character made me certain that this was Lex’s viewpoint as he looked over his enemy, judging the strength of the personality, probing for weaknesses, and trying to gauge motivation.

But seeing it from Gabe’s point of view made me appreciate the musings as a fond, loving and very familiar and knowing form of empathy with Chloe. Gabe was not gauging Chloe’s personality and testing for strengths and weaknesses. Rather, he was just looking over his baby, appreciating how incredible and magnificent and special his child was… and raging at the idea of losing her. And ALSO raging at the idea that no other person seems to appreciate Chloe the same way he does. Not even the people that Chloe has pledged her love and loyalty to.

There are some Chlex fics which show Gabe as quite close to Chloe. He’s there as her unquestioning figure for advice and support, and I LOVE those fics. I always feel that Gabe has always been an under-appreciated character in both fanon and especially in canon. Chloe didn’t raise herself to be magnificent, cunning and strong-minded after all. She had to have had some help and support from her only parental figure. So this is why I always love fics which give Gabe some due credit as a wonderful, amazing father figure.

But I’ve NEVER seen a fic that explored this side of Gabe’s personality. Not only as Chloe’s father… but also as the mold that shaped Chloe into the person that she is. I loved the suggestion that everything that Chloe has in her, Gabe had in him too, before Chloe!

So it was amazing, fantastic and so gratifying to see the same ruthlessness, merciless strength of mind and will exhibited in Gabe that we’re used to seeing in Chloe.

I also loved how Gabe looked at Chloe, and was able to see far deeper into her soul and nature than most of her closest friends. All those people that Chloe has been sharing secrets with during the past couple of years… their assessment of Chloe’s personality appeared so shallow and superficial compared to Gabe’s knowledge of Chloe. So what if she hasn’t been completely honest with her father, in recent years, with the HUGE secrets that she’s been keeping. That’s only stuff at the surface. The deeper part of her psyche is an open book to Gabe. I LOVED that!

And I loved how Gabe exhibited both outrage and a perverse sense of satisfaction that he’s[I] the only one who got to see the deepest and most fundamental part of Chloe. It’s sad that Chloe never had a close or trusted enough confidante to share her whole self with… but at least there was one man who appreciated her for the person that she was and is.

LOL! You really fooled me with regards to character identity when you got into the more action oriented part of the fic, Ava. When the character broke into Chloe’s apartment and looked for a ‘secondary hard-drive’ around her space, [I]knowing that there would be a secret, hidden hard-drive… I was absolutely certain that it was Lex exhibiting a very fundamental understanding of the psyche of his enemy. Instead, it turns out that it’s GABE who has this basic knowledge, and the ‘discerning eye’ on how his baby’s mind works. Not even Chloe’s friends, or even brilliant, smart, ruthless Lex would have arrived at this carefully assessed conclusion.

Even more thrilling was the idea that Gabe has a considerable number of Chloe’s skills in breaking and entering and hacking. I LOVE it!!!


Being in her apartment with evidence of her vibrancy, but lacking the person that made it vibrant was depressing and he didn’t want to deal with it. Right off the bat, there were problems because of course even the boot-up would have an algorithm to prevent anyone accessing her secrets. It served as an apt metaphor for her entire life.

Initially, my Chlex mind insisted that it was Lex exhibiting this level of enthralled, admiring fascination for Chloe. But it makes more sense that this was Chloe’s father, who was just barely dealing with the loss of his baby’s vibrancy, while she was trapped in a life-consuming coma. I can sense his shock and grief, kept barely at bay while he’s keeping himself busy and occupied with this investigation into his daughter’s recent activities.

I was ecstatic and thrilled by Gabe’s reaction when he decrypted the files. First of all, a huge YAYYY to Gabe showing himself to be a hacker of such proficiency that he can break through Chloe’s encryptions… all by himself no less. I doubt that Lex himself could have done it without help. I wonder whether Gabe knowing Chloe’s nature and characteristics make it easier to hack into her files in particular…?

Second… I loved the reaction of protective outrage that Gabe displayed discovering how his baby girl has been used as a pawn or sidekick by several important, powerful and near-invulnerable men playing a dangerous game with each other. Gabe is viewing Chloe as the disposable pawn who was used and abused as other people’s plaything. I LOVE Gabe going into uber-protective mode. So few of Chloe’s closest friends have bothered to look after Chloe properly, always trusting that she knows how to look after herself just fine. Just because Chloe’s strong doesn’t mean she’s unvulnerable!

So I loved the way that Gabe has essentially sworn vengeance against all the people who have wronged his baby. This includes not only the Luthors who treated Chloe as both pawn and adversary… but also Clark and Oliver, who never protected her to the utter best of their abilities, and never appreciated her properly while she was working for them.

heeee. Oliver, Clark and Oliver are in for a world of hurt, and I can’t wait to see what Gabe does to them!

Once again, I’m sorry that this wasn’t one of my customary heavily quoted reviews. I promise to do better with future updates.

[Avalanche]

AN: Life’s been really hectic. What with dissertation writing and trying to graduate in December. :P Anywhoot, here is an update. ENJOY!

Disclaimer: I’m far too awesome to own the crap that was Smallville.


Chapter 2


Gabe sat motionless and silent by Chloe’s bedside, willing her to open her eyes, if only for a moment. He had already begun laying the foundation to make Lex Luthor, Oliver Queen, and Clark Kent’s life miserable. It wouldn’t really take much of a push at this point, but he didn’t want it to be fast. It had to be a slow burn. They had to feel every inch of their lives crack and blacken. It had to bleed and blister. He needed their lives to scream and beg for mercy before he could find peace. When it was done, he would watch them smolder. The world didn’t need them. He would render them to their base selves and everyone would see them as they were: selfish destroyers, subject to the unrelenting passions of their egos. That was the only possible outcome. The only one that could redress his injury. But even that didn’t matter as he stared at his daughter’s face, slack and gaunt from the passing weeks. Gabe clinched his fist until the tension left him shaking and an ache formed.

“I can be strong for you, Chloe. You just have to do one thing. Just the one thing.”

He caressed her cheek. When she was younger, he could remember watching her sleep and gently caressing her face as he did now. Sometimes she woke up, irritated that her slumber had been disturbed. Gabe smiled. His little girl so grumpy in those times. But other times, she would sigh and snuggle into his caress, safe in the knowledge that he was there because he always would be. His face crumpled. Chloe did neither now. She just…lay there. Unmoving. Insensate. He wondered if she dreamed. Some part of Gabe hoped that she didn’t. He hoped that there wasn’t a world that she was lost in without him.

With that realization, anger devoured his grief. He was angry at her. Angry that she wasn’t fighting harder. That she might have actually given in and that she couldn’t will her body back to awareness. Angry that in the moment that she had to be at her strongest, she wasn’t.

Something alien moved within him and it came out in his voice. He buried his face in her neck and whispered into her ear, “It’s time to wake up, Chloe.”

Gabe straightened in his chair, ashamed that he had been so overcome as to blame her. He was exhausted. For two months his life had been nothing but this. Endless days and hours of counting down the time until he got off work and could return to her, only to count down the hours until his body could no longer stay awake and he had to go home to rest. It was a loop that wouldn’t be broken until she woke up.

But even so, what came after? Endless days of therapy. Days where she would get so frustrated in her reduced capabilities that she would be paralyzed with grief and hopelessness and give up. Days where he would have to watch her struggle and watch her decide that it wasn’t worth it. Days where her progress came easy and she knew she wanted to move forward. Days that her sunny smile would greet him, but the rest of her face would be coated with sweat and effort. Days where he would have to smile back with the same amount of enthusiasm, but feeling the vaguest sense of uselessness. Would he even recognize his daughter in the person who woke up? Could she return to a semblance of normal? And if she couldn’t, could she make a new normal? Would she even want to?

“Will I even be able to help her?”

A sense of hopelessness so complete, so pervading and all encompassing washed over him. This wasn’t despair. It was…emptiness. It was the sense that he had failed even before he had begun. This was utterly new. Until this point, he hadn’t even contemplated anything other than a successful after. Chloe would wake up and he would be there for as long as she needed him, and even after she thought she didn’t need him anymore. Children always thought that. But it was never true. Until the day he died, she would need him. Just like her children would need her. The only thing that changed was the form of that need.

Gabe’s voice changed. It was firmer, full of authority, “I am here, Chloe. I always will be and it is time. It is time to wake-up.”

He kissed her forehead and picked up the book he was reading to her. It would be a long night and he would remain.

********

It was abrupt. One minute she was unaware and the next, she gasped for breath as a drowning man who had finally found purchase on shore. Her heart pounded furiously in her chest and she was bombarded with sights and sounds and smells. It was unrelenting and intense. Her body gave a violent shudder and she vomited over the side of the railing. She folded in on herself.

Chloe’s body trembled and she held her stomach. Distantly, she was aware of a soothing voice and a hand caressing her hair. It felt scratchy and heavy. It was a weird sensation, but she welcomed it. For some reason she felt a keen connection to that touch, but she felt nothing else. Chloe didn’t think she had ever felt this before and she didn’t want to let it go. She tried to form words, but they came out as an unintelligible moan. If possible, the voice became gentler, but there was a slight echo as if the words he was saying had more meaning. As if there was another wavelength entirely that was trying to convey a message of equal importance.

There were other hands, no less gentle, but unwelcome just the same that encouraged her to roll over onto her back. Chloe instinctively, frantically grabbed at the hands that made her feel the safest. She had to decipher the other meaning. It was her life line. Those hands were her life line. The sudden wave of exhaustion defeated whatever resistance she had maintained and she was on her back, staring into a pinpoint of light. It moved back and forth and for the life of her she couldn’t understand what was happening. It was all too much.

Chloe felt a pinprick in her arm and she fell asleep.

If Gabe had, at any point in the last two months felt useless and broken, it paled in comparison to watching his daughter grasp desperately for him in a way that she hadn’t done even when she was a little girl. He covered his face with his hands and wiped them down his face. He wished that his body would uncoil from the tension, but it wouldn’t. There was something unfinished here. At least he could take solace in the fact that she had awakened.

Gabe exited the room. He needed a break from what just happened and it he could wait for her doctor outside of the room as well as he could inside. He saw the doctor head his way and Gabe prepared himself for the worst, the best, for anything. Chloe was awake and that was all that mattered.

He was anxious and he knew it showed in his face, in his body, and his voice. Gabe didn’t even try to hide it. Chloe was his daughter and the best thing in his life, “How is she?”

Kevin Masters knew that some folks liked to be eased into information, uncaring of the fact that it could be good new or bad. And then some folks were like Gabe Sullivan. “Chloe’s preliminary responses are fine. Her eyes focus and adjust. Her reflexes are slower, but within normal parameters given her condition. We’ll do more tests in the morning to check the extent of any brain trauma.”

Gabe nodded. “Okay. She tried to talk and her words were jumbled and I don’t know if she even understood me. And she woke up violently. One minute she was motionless and the next awake. Is that normal?”

“It could dysarthia, which is the inability to articulate any words, and is very normal in a recovering coma patient. Or it might be aphasia, which is the inability to sometimes use or comprehend word. It could be temporary, or it might be permanent. If it’s temporary, then in a few hours or days, she’ll recover. If not, she’ll need therapy and she might not fully regain her normal capabilities, but it can be managed. We won’t know until we have a look,” Dr. Masters looked away for a moment, “No, it isn’t normal. Usually patients awaken from a coma gradually, with periods of wakefulness and confusion, then sleep.”

The doctor placed a comforting hand on Gabe’s shoulder, “Listen, we won’t know until we make a thorough examination, but she is awake, Mr. Sullivan. I won’t tell you that it will be easy, but your daughter is awake and that means something. It means you have a chance.”

Gabe swallowed thickly. It was the words he needed. The doctor left to continue his night’s work. He would stay with her. The tears fell freely. There was a chance and that was all that he wanted. The chance to make it right for her. Taking a deep breath, he wiped the tears from his face and straightened his shoulder s and resumed his vigil. He also had to prepare for the inevitable: Clark would be here soon, as would Oliver. Gabe also knew that Lex Luthor would stop by when he thought it safe. Gabe knew the billionaire frequently visited Chloe. Getting into the hospital’s surveillance network wasn’t particularly difficult. But none of that mattered now. Only one thing did. Chloe. Those other things would have his attention in due time.

“Chloe, my little girl, is awake.”

********

Chloe felt her father finally drift off to sleep. He’d been alternating between working on his laptop, reading, and simply staring at her while holding her hand. She’d been dozing throughout, but she was fully awake at the moment; but she needed a moment alone, both physically and mentally, to process. Chloe only hoped that she was strong and steady enough to walk from her bed to the restroom. All without disturbing her father. It seemed like an impossible task, but she had to try it. She needed a sense of perspective and to come to terms with whatever was happening to her.

After successfully sitting up, Chloe attempted to stand and begin her journey to the restroom, which was all of five feet. Those five feet didn’t seem insurmountable; but in between her desire to be as quiet as possible coupled with her general unsteadiness, it was hell. Sweaty, muscle-shaking, tearful hell, but a hell that she had successfully navigated. Chloe could only thank her enhanced healing because she didn’t think this was possible in normal coma patients, whose muscles hadn’t been properly stimulated for months. She figured she had to have been in her coma for a relatively significant amount of time. It was the only thing that could really explain her father’s aura of exhaustion and the impressive beard that covered his face. His hair was also shaggier than normal.

Chloe gently closed the door to the restroom and turned on the light. For a moment she was blinded, but her eyes adjusted and there was only disbelief. Intellectually, Chloe knew that the accident had probably been brutal. She knew it even as she careened wildly and finally came to an abrupt stop. She knew it as her consciousness gradually faded into the discordant tune of sirens, jargon from medical responders, and machinery. But to actually be confronted with what she knew was so much more. There was no expecting the person that looked back at her in the mirror. In part, it was because of what wasn’t there.

There were no horrific scars or bruising or anything disfiguring; but there was a gauntness that bespoke of her weakness. She touched her head and watched as the person in the mirror touched hers. It was at this point that Chloe knew that there had been significant brain damage, but the shape of her skull remained intact. Despite this, there were other clues. Her hair was buzzed. Not particularly close to her skull, but shorter than Clark’s head of hair. There was a long scar that even now looked better than it had any right to look. It was an odd dichotomy. Chloe knew that there was no way she should’ve looked this good, this healthy, after such an accident; but she also knew that she still didn’t look like herself. She was still foreign in her own eyes. But in the end, she was grateful. Grateful to the meteor rocks that had clearly conferred to her a benefit.

Chloe raised her hand to the mirror and traced the outline of her face. It really was her. So wrapped up in herself and her thoughts was she, that she failed to notice the door opening. She came back to herself when she felt strong arms wrap around her waist. Focusing her eyes on the other person, Chloe saw that it was her father. And his face was lined with grief and happiness. She met his gaze in the mirror and there was a connection there that hadn’t been before her coma. A phantom outlined his body so that it seemed that there were three people in the mirror and not two.

She turned and buried her face in her father’s chest. It was a wealth of strength and comfort. There was no knowing when she started crying or when she heard his sobs, but she knew that those sounds of happiness entwined with an unyielding relief was theirs.

“Still trying to sneak out, Chloe?”

She chuckled softly. Humor had always been one of their go-to plays to relieve the heaviness of any given situation. “You know me, dad. There’s always a story. It just happens to be me this time.”

Gabe’s face changed and the phantom outline darkened. He touched her face. “This shouldn’t be possible.”

“I know.”

“Tell me, Chloe. Just tell me the truth.”

He searched her face for some clue that she would tell him, but he knew that she wouldn’t. Gabe couldn’t really blame her. It was too fantastical; and a month before, he would’ve never believed it. He could accept reality now only because he had broken into her apartment and looked through her computer. Some other entity drove him forward as well. This new awareness would not let him hide. But no, he did not blame her. She was back and she was as she had always been. It was more than he had thought possible only a few moments before she had awakened, grasping for him.

“We’ll talk later. But now you should get some rest,” he paused for a moment, “You want to walk back or can I carry my little girl to bed?”

Chloe just wrapped her arms around him just like when she was younger. She didn’t really ask to be carried. Chloe would just fling herself into his arms or onto his legs. It was his cue to pick her up. He couldn’t deny that she had trained him well if even now he found himself responding to it. When he had her in bed, Gabe caressed her cheek, which she leaned into and went to sleep. He kissed her forehead.

His daughter was truly back and it would only get harder from here; but he was thankful for the opportunity.

He whispered into the darkness, “I love you, sweetheart, and it’s all for you.”

[lovelyfishbones]

I find myself completely in love with your Gabe. In a very strange and very creepy way.

[somethingeasy]

Woah! I can’t believe I missed this update. I would never have even known about this new posting unless Ava had personally taken the trouble to send me a PM, informing me that she had updated. Thanks, Ava *sheepish expression*


They had to feel every inch of their lives crack and blacken. It had to bleed and blister. He needed their lives to scream and beg for mercy before he could find peace. When it was done, he would watch them smolder. The world didn’t need them. He would render them to their base selves and everyone would see them as they were: selfish destroyers, subject to the unrelenting passions of their egos. That was the only possible outcome. The only one that could redress his injury. But even that didn’t matter as he stared at his daughter’s face, slack and gaunt from the passing weeks. Gabe clinched his fist until the tension left him shaking and an ache formed.

Anyhow, onto the review. I love, LOVE seeing Gabe becoming more dangerous, creepy and (perhaps?) slightly psychotic with every passing update. His determination to make all these random people in Chloe’s life pay indiscriminately for what happened to her is actually becoming a very scary obsession. Now granted, I still remember Lex’s smug, patronizing and superior attitude when he came to visit Chloe in the hospital to gloat over her state, as well as declare that the battle between them will continue… mostly because he’s having far too much fun having her as his ‘worthy adversary’. Which means that Lex at least DOES indeed deserve to be the target to Gabe’s obsessive wrath over here.

erm… I suppose this isn’t going to be a Chlex fic, is it, Ava? :(

As for Oliver and Clark? The worst the two of them have done is just not appreciate Chloe for everything that she does for them. In their case, Chloe’s damage and wounds are actually self-inflicted, since she herself just doesn’t know when to say ‘no’ to those two demanding, entitled, bratty, self-absorbed action heroes. I can’t help but wonder whether Gabe simply wants them to suffer purely because he resents the fact that Chloe’s attention, bond, trust and priorities have been taken away from being lavished on her father, and are freely given to THESE two oblivious dolts instead. Is Gabe after Clark and Oliver purely out of a sense of possessive jealousy. Because, if that’s the case, that’s just AWESOME!!!!


He caressed her cheek. When she was younger, he could remember watching her sleep and gently caressing her face as he did now. Sometimes she woke up, irritated that her slumber had been disturbed. Gabe smiled. His little girl so grumpy in those times. But other times, she would sigh and snuggle into his caress, safe in the knowledge that he was there because he always would be. His face crumpled. Chloe did neither now. She just…lay there. Unmoving. Insensate. He wondered if she dreamed. Some part of Gabe hoped that she didn’t. He hoped that there wasn’t a world that she was lost in without him.

Seeing this, I can actually understand, quite easily, exactly why Gabe might have fallen off the wagon of sense and sanity. Seeing his baby girl in THIS debilitated condition would probably be enough to drive ANY father into a homicidal rage… against pretty much anyone who appeared even remotely connected to his baby’s wounds, trauma and grief. The only surprising thing is that it took SO LONG for Gabe to be pushed over the edge. He’s been watching his baby getting attacked time after time, and all the while, she’s been systematically shutting her own father out of her life… sometimes rather abruptly and coldly too. It’s no wonder that Gabe wants revenge on everyone, not only for hurting Chloe, but simply for taking her away from him, long before she ever ended up in the hospital.

I also liked how it was made clear that Gabe was angry at Chloe herself. Although, it WAS a surprise to find out that he wasn’t angry at her for keeping her secrets and hiding away her double-life from him. He was simply angry for more obvious (and irrational) reasons, like seeing her NOT responding to his voice, or to his touch, while she lay in her coma.

It was also pretty brutal seeing Gabe pondering over how Chloe is going to be upon awakening. A man as smart as Gabe would have done his research, and would have discovered that a prolonged coma can (and usually does) end up producing muscle disintegration, brain-damage and all other sorts of problems in the patients. Even when they wake up, they’re STILL sick, weak and suffering, for quite a long time before they finally reach a fairly well condition again. So it was pretty awful seeing poor Gabe musing over ALL of these kinds of potentials and possibilities.

In fact, it was plain awful that Gabe was forced to go through all of this on his own, without anyone to offer him comfort, distraction, sympathy, support… or even stern admonitions to eat and sleep properly. Gabe was suffering even MORE than Chloe during her coma, and it was terrible to watch.


There were other hands, no less gentle, but unwelcome just the same that encouraged her to roll over onto her back. Chloe instinctively, frantically grabbed at the hands that made her feel the safest. She had to decipher the other meaning. It was her life line. Those hands were her life line. The sudden wave of exhaustion defeated whatever resistance she had maintained and she was on her back, staring into a pinpoint of light. It moved back and forth and for the life of her she couldn’t understand what was happening. It was all too much.

This was brilliantly written, Ava. I loved how Chloe’s intial return to consciousness was as violent and painful as the trauma that first landed her in the coma to begin with. oooh, angsty!!! Squeeee! And it was even more horrific seeing Gabe was right there, witnessing Chloe’s abrupt and painful return back to waking… only to collapse into sleep once again. The poor man doesn’t EVER get a break, does he?

Even the doctor was only able to offer a semi-reassuring kind of comfort to Gabe. The doctor was forced to admit that this kind of awakening was unusual and possibly indicative of complications. Fortunately, he was also quick to reassure Gabe that ANY kind of awakening is a step in the absolutely right direction. So… the doctor’s bedside manners suck! But at least he’s truthful :P The doctor, after all, doesn’t know that he’s dealing with a father right on the verge of insanity now, does he? *shudder*


Gabe swallowed thickly. It was the words he needed. The doctor left to continue his night’s work. He would stay with her. The tears fell freely. There was a chance and that was all that he wanted. The chance to make it right for her. Taking a deep breath, he wiped the tears from his face and straightened his shoulder s and resumed his vigil. He also had to prepare for the inevitable: Clark would be here soon, as would Oliver. Gabe also knew that Lex Luthor would stop by when he thought it safe. Gabe knew the billionaire frequently visited Chloe. Getting into the hospital’s surveillance network wasn’t particularly difficult. But none of that mattered now. Only one thing did. Chloe. Those other things would have his attention in due time.

ooooh, I LOVE this! I love the way that Gabe is silently celebrating the fact that his baby girl is awake once again.. while ALSO acknowledging that news of her awakening is going to being back ALL the people that Gabe blames for this condition in the first place. It’s actually rather scary seeing Gabe so coldly contemplating the return of all the people that he views as ‘vultures’ picking at his baby’s carcass. I’m actually rather frightened on how cold and dispassionate he’s being over here… It’s one thing to plan vengeance and destruction when you’re in a white-hot rage, but it’s a whole other level of frightening when you start planning vengeance so coldly… that kind of attitude reeks of psychosis *shudder* Dear heavens, I’m LOVING this fic so far!!!


There were no horrific scars or bruising or anything disfiguring; but there was a gauntness that bespoke of her weakness. She touched her head and watched as the person in the mirror touched hers. It was at this point that Chloe knew that there had been significant brain damage, but the shape of her skull remained intact. Despite this, there were other clues. Her hair was buzzed. Not particularly close to her skull, but shorter than Clark’s head of hair. There was a long scar that even now looked better than it had any right to look. It was an odd dichotomy. Chloe knew that there was no way she should’ve looked this good, this healthy, after such an accident; but she also knew that she still didn’t look like herself. She was still foreign in her own eyes. But in the end, she was grateful. Grateful to the meteor rocks that had clearly conferred to her a benefit.

Chloe raised her hand to the mirror and traced the outline of her face. It really was her. So wrapped up in herself and her thoughts was she, that she failed to notice the door opening. She came back to herself when she felt strong arms wrap around her waist. Focusing her eyes on the other person, Chloe saw that it was her father. And his face was lined with grief and happiness. She met his gaze in the mirror and there was a connection there that hadn’t been before her coma. A phantom outlined his body so that it seemed that there were three people in the mirror and not two.

I loved, LOVED he description of Chloe coming back to ‘herself’. It was stunning and very interesting and revealing seeing her examining herself in the mirror, and seeing all the changes that her illness has wrought on her. I especially admired the way that Chloe was able to look at the strangeness and changes on her features, and yet still be savvy that it could have been much worse. She’s just plain grateful to be alive and relatively healthy. There’s no bitterness whatsoever about what the coma did to her, or the time she’s lost while ill. Chloe is still… amazingly resilient, strong, sunny-natured and just… breathtaking!!!

I was also pleased to see that her father was essentially the first loved one that she saw upon awakening. It’s fitting. AND perhaps it might also remind Chloe that her father is the ONE person who has always stayed in her corner, with HER as his top-most beloved priority. The other men in her life that she dedicates herself to were NOT here when she first woke up…. it was the man that she’s essentially been neglecting and taking for granted for… well… years now!


“Tell me, Chloe. Just tell me the truth.”

He searched her face for some clue that she would tell him, but he knew that she wouldn’t. Gabe couldn’t really blame her. It was too fantastical; and a month before, he would’ve never believed it. He could accept reality now only because he had broken into her apartment and looked through her computer. Some other entity drove him forward as well. This new awareness would not let him hide. But no, he did not blame her. She was back and she was as she had always been. It was more than he had thought possible only a few moments before she had awakened, grasping for him.

I actually hurt for Gabe myself when he looked at Chloe, and just knew that she wasn’t going to be taking her into her confidence. I can’t imagine how agonizing and humiliating it must have been for Gabe to know that his only child trusted pretty much everyone else in her life more than she trusted and confided in him.

And yet, despite this painful realization, Gabe STILL couldn’t bring himself to be angry at Chloe. Nope… all of his anger is reserved purely for the men who have hurt Chloe… either directly with malevolent intentions… or indirectly with their well-meaning, but self-absorbed, entitled and unappreciative demands on her time and attentions.


His daughter was truly back and it would only get harder from here; but he was thankful for the opportunity.

He whispered into the darkness, “I love you, sweetheart, and it’s all for you.”

Oh cripes! I’m honestly scared right now. I’m actually frightened about what Gabe might be planning. … I seriously CANNOT WAIT until the next update. Please post soon, Ava!!!

[Avalanche]

Woah! I can’t believe I missed this update. I would never have even known about this new posting unless Ava had personally taken the trouble to send me a PM, informing me that she had updated. Thanks, Ava *sheepish expression*

Hey! No, it isn't a problem. I realized that it was a stealth update and you were going through some things. But thanks a million for your review! You're full of awesome things! :)

[Avalanche]

AN: I know, right?! An update that is relatively soon after the last one! :)

Disclaimer: All the SV writers’ moms are snowblowers. Since my mother is not a snowblower, clearly I do not own SV. It’s for the best. My mom is so awesome.



Chapter 3



When Chloe awakened it wasn’t to the haggard, if happy face, of her father. It was to an empty room. The blinds were opened slightly and provided a shaft of light that illuminated only a small portion of the room. In some ways, it reflected her life. Actually that image was a reflection of everyone’s lives. It was a representation of the things we keep hidden, either because there is a belief that no one will understand this perversion or this oddity or quirk of personality, never truly understanding that the people you love most will eventually see those things even if you don’t show them. But sometimes people could get it right. They toss open the blinds, the curtains, and illuminate the entire dark room of their lives. There was nothing scarier, nothing more daunting than to be laid bare in all your color.

Chloe knew all of those things. She could even see which parts of her room she kept needlessly dark, but she didn’t want to change that. Or maybe she couldn’t. She wasn’t a fool. Not for one minute did she believe her father had just stayed by her bed. On some level she didn’t know existed, Chloe recognized the fact that her father might have tried to find out what happened. Actually, there was no “might” about it. Her father would’ve dug deep and he would’ve found something. She knew it was true. Chloe didn’t even need to consult the new feeling of connection with her father to know. All she had to do was remember the look in his eyes when his thousand mile stare confronted her two nights ago.

Knowing this, however, didn’t change the fact that she wouldn’t confide in him. Chloe was selfish in the way that she knew Clark to be…and Oliver and Lex and Lana and basically everyone she surrounded herself with. She even figured they knew and recognized their own selfishness; even if it looked differently than her own. The overwhelming majority of her, the part of Chloe that felt so deeply couldn’t confide in her father. Not because she didn’t think he couldn’t handle it, but because she couldn’t. There were always lines of considerations that were drawn. Her father couldn’t be the man that knew that part of Chloe’s life.

She didn’t want him to be that for her. She didn’t need that from him. She only wanted him to be her father: the man that saw her as a budding, delinquent, trouble-making reporter. That she wasn’t those things depressed her more than anything because she so desperately wanted her father to see that in her so she could see it again. Chloe may have made a new normal for herself, but it didn’t mean she never wanted to go back to what she was. This was only a diversion and she knew she could find her way back, and a large part of that hope lay in the man who raised her to be that person.

Chloe covered her faces with her hands and sighed. ”I can’t be this. This can’t be who I am.” Even as she thought that, Chloe knew that she could change it now. Now would be the perfect time to let everything else go. She didn’t have to work at the Daily Planet. There were many other ways to be who and what she wanted to be. But it had to start now or she would never make the necessary changes in her life. Chloe recognized that as the truest fact of her life. As she lay dying, Chloe had come to peace with her life and accepted it; but it didn’t mean that she couldn’t or shouldn’t take time to reevaluate where she could go now that she had survived. She would be a fool not to do so.

Even as she felt this heightened connection to her father, there was the nagging suspicion that he was avoiding her. Sure, he left to talk to doctors and nurses, and generally run errands on her behalf; but he wasn’t really engaging her anymore. His affability when he was around her remained, but there was an edge to it. She probably wouldn’t have noticed it if she hadn’t been specifically looking for something different in him. In his own way, her father had been traumatized. Chloe wasn’t sure if his avoidance was due to the fact that she wasn’t sharing everything, him trying to develop and lay the foundation for her leaving the hospital or a general nervousness because of her condition. Whatever it was, it was painful that he was withdrawing from her. It wasn’t a bridge she knew how to cross and she couldn’t assume that he would waltz over it.

Clark walking through the door shoved aside what was sure to be more maudlin thoughts of the fissure between her father and herself. It was probably for the best. She quickly retracted that thought when she looked up to greet Clark. Whatever phantom that Chloe believed outlined the form of her father was nothing compared to the shapes that surrounded and clung to Clark Kent and formed a miasma of inky darkness and vapor that flowed around him.

Two forms were distinct from the others. They separated and seemed to be conversing with only each other. A chorus of unintelligible echoes emanated from them.

“You have always been a fool, Jor-El, and you always will be.”

“Krypton will be reborn and I will be its father.”

“The problems of Krypton are beyond your comprehension, Jor-El! We solved problems once. The thought of more than our lives, however secure, sustained us. You waste us with your static pride. It will destroy us.”

The Jor-El that was known to them was noble if a bit single-minded, but that was placed into context and understood: this form was a mere artificial intelligence and whatever adaptability living organisms had were lost to it. But this new vision of Jor-El was something smaller than his AI would suggest. The full context may not have been present for Chloe, but those impassioned words hinted at Jor-El being a weaker man, though she did not trust the motives of Zor-El. Even villains spoke the truth occasionally.

“How did I know that voice was Zor-El?”

There was more, but Chloe was abruptly awakened from her fugue when Clark’s warm hand and concerned voice penetrated the darkness.

“Chloe? Are you okay?”

Clark’s concerned face snapped into sharp focus in front of her. The dark apparitions faded until they were nothing more than tricks of light in a slightly darkened room. For a moment, even Clark seemed mesmerized by the single shaft of light in the room and an awkward silence stretched between them. It was awkward in the sense that they both needed to do something, but neither knew what that something was. It was a new feeling, but then the tension sagged and Chloe was in his arms before she even knew it. She also didn’t know when she started crying. When her sobbing subsided and she calmed down, Clark drew away from her.

His voice was soft and gentle; just like he could be when he let his instinctual compassion take over and he stopped thinking about how he could fail. “Do you want me to call a nurse or maybe get you some water? I might be persuaded to even coffee smuggling.”

They both laughed and, for a moment, everything was ok; but they both knew that things would get serious soon. Clark glanced at the door before he left the side of her bed and closed it. He was serious and worried as only he could be. It was like a bad taste in her mouth.

“Chloe, what happened? What were you doing? I asked Oliver, but I don’t think he was clear on the details either.”

Chloe blew out a breath and leaned back in the bed. She pushed hair out of her face. Despite it being very short a few days ago, it had been making a remarkable recovery in the two days she’d been out of her coma. She stared at the ceiling.

Her voice was a mere whisper when she answered Clark. “I don’t know. I can’t remember anything other than the crash.”

She knew that he wouldn’t believe her and that he didn’t when his eyes hardened. Chloe flinched away from his anger because, in many ways, it was justified; but there wasn’t anything she could do about it but reassure him because she honestly didn’t know what she had been doing that night or what was so important that she had to provoke Lex the way she so obviously had.

Clark raked his hands through his hair in frustration. “That’s not possible, Chloe. This was important for you to…do whatever it is you did that night.”

She sat up and would’ve made a biting comment if Jonathan Kent hadn’t chosen that minute to solidify and speak to her. It was a rasped whisper. “Ask him…ask him if he had to choose between his father and Lana who would it be? Ask him how he could be so arrogant that he would abuse and twist fate and change time itself. This can’t be my son.”

And just like that he disappeared. It only took a minute and she was sure that it held profound meaning. Clark’s voice once more lanced through any thought she might’ve had. She swallowed thickly; her throat suddenly dry. She might very well be losing her mind.

“Chloe!”

She knew that tone. It was his “adult” tone; the one that said he wanted answers and he wanted them now. The only problem was that she didn’t even understand the question. Chloe mentally set her hallucination, for that was all it could possibly be, aside so that she could focus on Clark. She had major brain trauma and was in a coma. These things had to be expected. If she voiced her problem, then she might be forced to stay in the hospital. On the other hand, something could be very wrong. But she considered all the angles and realized that her healing was still in effect and this would pass.

“Look, Clark, I suffered major brain trauma and was in a coma. I think it’s pretty safe to say that there might be some ramifications for that. Possibly, I dunno, fucking memory loss!”

Chloe thought that she had been calm and patient during the beginning of her statement, but by the end, she knew she had lost it and was near hysteria.

“That isn’t fair, Chloe. Something is happening. Oliver’s business dealings are suffering and all of a sudden Lexcorp is rebounding. He’s planning something and that only happens when he’s afraid of something or trying to stop something.”

Chloe sighed. “What do you want me to do? I’m not healing faster, I can’t remember anything about that night other than the crash, and my dad will be taking care of me until he’s satisfied that I’m ok. You’ll have to deal with this yourself because I can’t do it for you, Clark. I’m not able.”

Clark never thought she’d say that about anything. Chloe had always been fearless, maybe even reckless, but there was always a point to it. Now she was telling him that she couldn’t help either himself or Oliver. If he were being honest with himself, he’d even admit that she didn’t seem to want to help either. Something was wrong. He just needed to figure it out.

“Maybe Lois can help.”

The thought never crossed his mind that he might want to alert Gabe. He had the sinking suspicion that this new consideration, this new reticence, was due to her father. They hadn’t been close recently and he had foolishly thought that she was fine with that. He saw first-hand what Chloe’s coma had done to her father. It wasn’t pretty and as a basic human emotion, he felt sympathetic to Gabe’s suffering. Gabe was a good man and he didn’t deserve what had happened. Of course, no one deserved such an outcome. Clark could see that it might be a good thing for Chloe to take a step back and get to know her father better. It was an opportunity he would never have and it was a burden knowing why it was that way.

Two more apparitions pulled from Clark.

“Krypton will burn.”

“What have you done, Brainiac?”

Jor-El’s shocked voice reverberated through her entire body. It was genuine horror and fear, tinged with something else. Chloe thought it might’ve been resignation. Jor-EL couldn’t have been as naïve as the people around him thought. Not if he had the foresight to send Clark to Earth and equip him with the tools that could aid him. Chloe thought that perhaps now was the time for a freak-out. Three times she had hallucinated in the short time that Clark had visited her. There was a portentous quality to them.

They were trying to tell her something but she could not decipher the meaning of it. Were these real things? Was she truly hallucinating? If the latter, she could probably deal with it. She was in a coma as she said. There was medication or tests or something. And knowing the cause, could easily lead to a good outcome for her. But if she was seeing real things, then what next? How was it possible? What greater meaning could there? Because there had to be one if these were real.

“Could they be stopped if they’re real?”

Lois chose that moment to unceremoniously barge in and commandeer her attention away from Clark. Chloe knew that in the split second between opening the door and seeing Chloe that she had taken a reading on the tension in the room and sought to dissolve the situation. Lois was in turns a relief and a burden. Right now, she was the drink of water in the desert. Clark gave her a warning look. The conversation was not over. Despite this, Chloe could not quell the nagging feeling that she needed her father right that moment. For now Chloe would relax and let her cousin distract her. Lois did tell the best stories sometimes.

[somethingeasy]

Chapter 3


When Chloe awakened it wasn’t to the haggard, if happy face, of her father. It was to an empty room. The blinds were opened slightly and provided a shaft of light that illuminated only a small portion of the room. In some ways, it reflected her life. Actually that image was a reflection of everyone’s lives. It was a representation of the things we keep hidden, either because there is a belief that no one will understand this perversion or this oddity or quirk of personality, never truly understanding that the people you love most will eventually see those things even if you don’t show them. But sometimes people could get it right. They toss open the blinds, the curtains, and illuminate the entire dark room of their lives. There was nothing scarier, nothing more daunting than to be laid bare in all your color.

I really liked how this chapter began with this very strange, eerie description of the reasons why Chloe was still keeping her double life a secret from her father. The visuals are strange and vague, and they match her strange, vague, surreal and yet still powerful fears perfectly. There’s nothing more difficult to battle, than undefined fears.


She didn’t want him to be that for her. She didn’t need that from him. She only wanted him to be her father: the man that saw her as a budding, delinquent, trouble-making reporter. That she wasn’t those things depressed her more than anything because she so desperately wanted her father to see that in her so she could see it again. Chloe may have made a new normal for herself, but it didn’t mean she never wanted to go back to what she was. This was only a diversion and she knew she could find her way back, and a large part of that hope lay in the man who raised her to be that person.

I really, REALLY appreciated this, Ava. I was wondering why Chloe was being so cruelly unjust and unfair towards her own father. She gives her wholehearted trust and loyalty to other people who DON’T appreciate it, while withholding it from the one person who actually IS worthy of her trust? I actually found myself rather outraged and angry at Chloe for abandoning her father like this. It IS emotional abandonment, and she shouldn’t kid herself about it.

Which is why I really appreciated this explanation about how and why she needed to keep her double-life a secret from her dad… because he’s the ONE PERSON who still sees her as simple, normal and youthfully innocent. She likes having one person who she can fool herself into believing still sees her that way. I think this also explains a lot about her attraction to the hapless, oblivious Jimmy as well. Freaky!


Even as she felt this heightened connection to her father, there was the nagging suspicion that he was avoiding her. Sure, he left to talk to doctors and nurses, and generally run errands on her behalf; but he wasn’t really engaging her anymore. His affability when he was around her remained, but there was an edge to it. She probably wouldn’t have noticed it if she hadn’t been specifically looking for something different in him. In his own way, her father had been traumatized. Chloe wasn’t sure if his avoidance was due to the fact that she wasn’t sharing everything, him trying to develop and lay the foundation for her leaving the hospital or a general nervousness because of her condition. Whatever it was, it was painful that he was withdrawing from her. It wasn’t a bridge she knew how to cross and she couldn’t assume that he would waltz over it.

Excellent. While it’s obvious that Chloe’s going to keep her head willfully buried in the sand, and kep lying about her double life to her father… it’s good to know that she’s noting that she’s really straining the limits of both of their tolerance in this situation now. She can see that Gabe is becoming ‘edgy’ and impatient… even if he’s not doing anything crass like bullying his recovering daughter into spilling her guts right now, Now, NOW! Heh… perhaps after she recovers a little more…?


The Jor-El that was known to them was noble if a bit single-minded, but that was placed into context and understood: this form was a mere artificial intelligence and whatever adaptability living organisms had were lost to it. But this new vision of Jor-El was something smaller than his AI would suggest. The full context may not have been present for Chloe, but those impassioned words hinted at Jor-El being a weaker man, though she did not trust the motives of Zor-El. Even villains spoke the truth occasionally.

“How did I know that voice was Zor-El?”

Ooooo-kay… this was… quite disturbing. What the HECK was that voice in Chloe’s head?!?? More important, how does she make that voice go away?!??? Seriously, it’s freakishly scary, and I’m quite impressed that Chloe’s not shrieking in panic right now. Quite honestly, I really don’t know which possibility might be worse… the possibility of Chloe going insane and hearing imaginary voices in her head… OR the possibility of Chloe being possessed by alien AI-based ghosts! *shudder* Either way, the priority should be on finding a way to get that voice OUT of her head!!


She sat up and would’ve made a biting comment if Jonathan Kent hadn’t chosen that minute to solidify and speak to her. It was a rasped whisper. “Ask him…ask him if he had to choose between his father and Lana who would it be? Ask him how he could be so arrogant that he would abuse and twist fate and change time itself. This can’t be my son.”

Woah! Daaaamn. I guess this counts as categorical proof that the voice in Chloe’s head is indeed REAL! There’s NO WAY that Clark ever shared that information with anyone living… the fact that he literally traded his father’s life in order to save Lana Lang. Heck, I’m pretty sure that Martha herself doesn’t know about this. The only place where Chloe could have learned this from, was from the really creepy AI that masquerades as Clark’s biological father. Creepy on SO many levels. Yikes!

Heh… is it just me… or did everyone want Chloe to actually ASK that rasping question out loud. Can you imagine the look on Clark’s face? It would slap away every little bit of indignation, disapproval and self-righteous outrage that Clark has EVER held against Chloe clear out of him… and leave only ashes of humiliating, humbling shame! DO it, Chloe!!! Reduce that farmboy into a sniveling wreck!


She knew that he wouldn’t believe her and that he didn’t when his eyes hardened. Chloe flinched away from his anger because, in many ways, it was justified; but there wasn’t anything she could do about it but reassure him because she honestly didn’t know what she had been doing that night or what was so important that she had to provoke Lex the way she so obviously had.

Clark raked his hands through his hair in frustration. “That’s not possible, Chloe. This was important for you to…do whatever it is you did that night.”


She knew that tone. It was his “adult” tone; the one that said he wanted answers and he wanted them now. The only problem was that she didn’t even understand the question. Chloe mentally set her hallucination, for that was all it could possibly be, aside so that she could focus on Clark. She had major brain trauma and was in a coma. These things had to be expected. If she voiced her problem, then she might be forced to stay in the hospital. On the other hand, something could be very wrong. But she considered all the angles and realized that her healing was still in effect and this would pass.

“Look, Clark, I suffered major brain trauma and was in a coma. I think it’s pretty safe to say that there might be some ramifications for that. Possibly, I dunno, fucking memory loss!”


Clark never thought she’d say that about anything. Chloe had always been fearless, maybe even reckless, but there was always a point to it. Now she was telling him that she couldn’t help either himself or Oliver. If he were being honest with himself, he’d even admit that she didn’t seem to want to help either. Something was wrong. He just needed to figure it out.

I know I sounded a little harsh and angry on Clark earlier… and it was this sequence that really set me in a bad mood against him. It was that high-handed, arrogant, self-superior tone that he was taking with Chloe… interrogating her like he had every entitled right to question her and doubt her. The arrogant, paranoid jerk. What the HELL was he doing treating Chloe like a suspicious prisoner who needed to be questioned carefully, sifting for truth in her shifty answers. She TOLD you that she didn’t remember, and you outright said that you don’t believe her, you bastard!

More than that… it was the complete surprise by which Clark reacted to her outrage. She was justifiably and understandably angry about being treated so poorly, and he was taken by SHOCK that she would refuse him, and that she was not cooperating, and that she actually had the nerve to *gasp* stand up for herself?!? Just how long has it been since Chloe’s been anything but Clark’s doormat… where he’s visibly taken by shock when she says that she can’t help him… because she’s friggen recovering from car accident trauma in a hospital!!! Is THAT the extreme required in order for Clark to give Chloe some space?!

And, to make matters even more pear-shaped… Clark actually muses whether Gabe is to blame for this somehow. Gee… Chloe grows a spine, and we ‘blame’ her father for it. Oh, Clark. You disappoint me SO much!


Jor-El’s shocked voice reverberated through her entire body. It was genuine horror and fear, tinged with something else. Chloe thought it might’ve been resignation. Jor-EL couldn’t have been as naïve as the people around him thought. Not if he had the foresight to send Clark to Earth and equip him with the tools that could aid him. Chloe thought that perhaps now was the time for a freak-out. Three times she had hallucinated in the short time that Clark had visited her. There was a portentous quality to them.

They were trying to tell her something but she could not decipher the meaning of it. Were these real things? Was she truly hallucinating? If the latter, she could probably deal with it. She was in a coma as she said. There was medication or tests or something. And knowing the cause, could easily lead to a good outcome for her. But if she was seeing real things, then what next? How was it possible? What greater meaning could there? Because there had to be one if these were real.

“Could they be stopped if they’re real?”

This is probably NOT good. I’m definitely sensing that Chloe’s world is about to become a lot more complicated, stressful and traumatizing. I don’t know exactly what these voices are going to do to her, but I DO get the strong feeling that they’re only getting started in messing with her head… literally.

Very interesting and intriguing chapter, Ava. While I’m disappointed that there will be no Chlex romance in this fic… I still find it fascinating :D Good luck with the writing.

[Avalanche]

This is probably NOT good. I’m definitely sensing that Chloe’s world is about to become a lot more complicated, stressful and traumatizing. I don’t know exactly what these voices are going to do to her, but I DO get the strong feeling that they’re only getting started in messing with her head… literally.

Very interesting and intriguing chapter, Ava. While I’m disappointed that there will be no Chlex romance in this fic… I still find it fascinating Good luck with the writing.

Yes, totally just getting started! :)

When I first sat down and conceived the story I wanted to tell given the prompt, I fully expected this to be romantic!Chlex with a happy ending (ya know, relatively so given that I'm writing it and this is categroized as angst ;)). As I began to write, my brain had other ideas and decided that adversarial!Chlex fit better. I've already written the ending and getting from here to there didn't really serve romantic!Chlex nearly as well or as powerful as adversarial!Chlex. I hope to prove that (and will strive for that) to you throughout the fic. Though I don't want to spoil you or anyone else, I will say that the ending, imo, is totally not as depressing or even depressing as Dreaming the Wolf, which, now that I have had time and distance from it, acknowledge that it was a depressing ending and something of an oppressive fic.

Anywho, I hope you continue to enjoy it and thanks so much for the review! I appreciate it! :)

[gravelgerdie]

I really enjoyed this chapter.:)

[Julie]

I really enjoyed this chapter.:)

*bump* Got stuck in moderation queue.

[Avalanche]

I really enjoyed this chapter.:)

Glad you enjoyed the chapter and I hope you continue to enjoy the story overall! Thanks for your review. :)

[Jopline]

I hope you will update soon.

[Avalanche]

Disclaimer: not mine
AN: Real author’s note at the end.

Chapter 4

"Nothing there was a town, or a church, or a river, or a color, or a light, or a shadow.
I kept still for a while and felt a pleasant sensation
as the indescribable great harmony
the brightness of the sky and the melancholy of the moment spread throughout my body.
It was just a dream.
I don't know what happened inside my mind
nor do I have any way of putting it into words.
It was a moment that defied all words,
when I felt something inside me fall asleep
and something else wake up..."
- Joe Bousquet


The pale red of the sky kissed the window and provided a warm glow that played against the petals of his favorite flower. The petals, slightly unfurled, gently swayed towards the red rays. This was the perfect place to allow the flower to grow. The direct light of the noon sun would have this flower in full bloom in no time. It was difficult cultivating this particular breed, but Zor-El was nothing if not persistent. This flower needed love, but more important, it needed the initial burned petals before it would grow anew, stronger and more durable. Most of his kindred could not understand this flower. But Zor-El did. It thrived in a harsh environment, but it had to be a measured harshness: too much and the plant would wither and die, burned beyond recognition and carrying a foul odor. The odor was the true obstacle for nobody wanted to contend with the evidence of such failure.

Joy and happiness and contentment suffused him. His body and mind were languid and complacent. This feeling was as if he had been cast adrift in the clinging waters of Krypton. This was his pride. His sanctuary. It was bliss. He could not say that there only ever be these moments here, in this place, for he had a family that he adored; but he could say that it felt different than anything. There were nuances to each feeling that could never truly be replicated by different circumstances.

Zor-El reached out to stroke the resilient flower, but his hand was not his own. It was small and feminine. He furrowed his brow. What? From the corner of his eye, a soft red glow caught his attention. Glancing towards it, he saw his reflection in the glass. His eyes were green and his hair blond. Then something snapped into place and Chloe saw herself within the glass, but she still knew herself as Zor-El. The cognitive dissonance staggered her for a moment.

Before she could get her bearing, Chloe heard a familiar voice behind her and whirled to face the interloper of her sacred space. Clark?

“It has always baffled me, brother, how it is that you should have the patience for growth.”

Jor-El seemed to be waiting for some kind of response, but Chloe/Zor-El could only gape. She could clearly see Clark’s features, but beyond that achingly familiar face was that of Jor-El, Zor-El’s brother. Immersed within the general confusion of what was going on and why it was happening now, was the hot sensation of resentment that Jor-El/Clark would come here, that he would violate this place with his presence.

Jor-El never appreciated beautiful things. Only the mechanical. Only the technological. Zor-El knew it would be his undoing some day, but not today or even tomorrow. Jor-El was in a place of power and prestige. The current golden boy of Krypton’s technocratic elite, but even that would prove, in the end, to be an ephemeral honor.

He smirked and pushed past Chloe towards the flower she had been admiring and lovingly tending. “The nura flower. So exquisite. So complicated. So prickly. But in the end, discarded and poorly understood,” Jor-El/Clark turned towards her, “I can see why this, above all else, has enraptured you.”

Chloe/Zor-El was finally able to think and act. She grabbed Clark/Jor-El’s hand before he could touch the flower and was finally able to speak, “What is it that you want? And why would you come here instead of calling for me?”

Jor-El shook Zor-El’s hand off. “The biological parts of Brainiac are not interfacing with the technological. I need you to fix it.”

A moment of dazzling confusion rocked Chloe. The sensation of rage and hatred and resentment at his entitlement overwhelmed her. The Brainiac project was oneZor-El did not care for. It was Jor-El’s brainchild, but he could not or would not see the more radical elements of Krypton’s power brokers manipulating them all. Of course, that list began and ended with Zod and his desires, but that was neither here nor there. The point was that any number of scientists could deal with this issue, tha Jor-El came to him was galling.

“These are not my emotions. This is not my life. This isn’t real. It can’t be.”

The muscle along Chloe’s jaw ticked and her head throbbed. She couldn’t tell if it was because of the disorientation of living someone else’s life, the irritation of the being she inhabited, or the general ambivalence she held towards both Clark and Jor-El at this point. “Maybe it’s all of the above.”

Chloe briskly walked towards the door and past Clark. “I have no time for you, brother. I am going to spend time with my family.”

She heard Jor-El snarl in anger. She had, apparently, pushed passed his limits. “Such casual entitlement to my time.”

Her arm was grabbed from behind and Chloe was forced to face Clark, his beautiful face twisted in anger and impatience. Jor-El’s jaw was tightly clenched, but he managed to speak anyway. “There have been promises made! And our House will keep those promises!”

Zor-El would’ve pushed him away, but Jor-El had size and conviction on his side.

“Your promises are yours. I told you this project would take longer than your optimism would allow. I told you and the High Council and General Zod that the improvements you need are five, maybe ten, years away! I can no more speed time than I can leap over tall buildings; and nothing you say can or will change those facts,” Zor-El sneered, “Not even you, the high and mighty Jor-El, can make it so. One day you will finally have the wisdom these people attribute to you, but clearly today is not that day.”

With that, Chloe jerked her arm from Clark’s grasp and left the room. Her security measures would prevent any damage that Jor-El might feel the need to inflict. Chloe didn’t care, but she felt the resentment and jealousy seethe in Zor-El. She had no doubt that this was the moment of the House of El’s downfall and Krypton itself. “It’s all over save for the explosion and mass death. Oh and also the betrayal.”

Zor-El, she knew or rather felt, had every intention of going home to his family, but he was too irritated with everything in general and Jor-El and himself specifically. “I am too weak and Jor-El knows it. Everyone knows it. But I will show them. All of them.”

He abruptly turned on his heel and headed towards the Science Complex, where Brainiac was housed. He had been truthful with Jor-El. Brainiac’s production could not be improved until the biological components caught up with the technological and Zor-El would not work harder than he had to. He could admit that Jor-El was brilliant, but it was as much a flaw as it was a virtue because it blinded him. Of course, they were all blinded by something and no one knew what it was until the fateful moment your own hubris and ignorance folded in on itself. ”The center will always be too weak. Will my time be soon?”

The Science Complex of Krypton’s capitol city was vast. It was one of the crowning jewels of Krypton. Nothing was spared in its creation. The Science Complex combined a living spaces for families, high tech research labs, recreational areas, schools for children and the Science Academy for those embarking on a lifetime career. It was the marriage of Kryptonian leisure and work. The notion of “work where you play” was fulfilled here. There were other Complexes, but the Science Complex was the current hotbed of activity and productivity.

Chloe followed the route that Zor-El was taking. She knew every face and voice that called a greeting. And even though Zor-El was oblivious to the future of Krypton and even though she didn’t quite understand his role in it, there was a moment of profound and overwhelming sorrow for this civilization that, in about ten years, would be destroyed and for him. She took in the beauty of her surroundings that Zor-El was oblivious to in his angst, but that she marveled at.

But all too soon, Zor-El was nearing where he wanted to go. Chloe got the distinct feeling that Zor-El saw the irony in heading to the one place his brother demanded he go. And then she was in the presence of Brainiac and she was shook to her very foundations. Nothing could possibly have prepared her for this sight…for this moment in her life. How could she ever have thought that this was anything other than a nightmare? How foolish could she have been to have just accepted being a passenger in this experience?

What confronted her was the sleeping face of her father, but underneath that image, as had been true with Jor-El/Clark, was the face of the Brainiac she had known. She wanted to smash that face. To destroy it. It wasn’t her father. This couldn’t be Gabriel Sullivan. It was wrong and why this was happening escaped her. It was beyond meaning or comprehension for her. Of all the people to cast as this…destructive force. All the people in the world and it was her father’s face.

“Could this be because of his prominence in my life? Because no one can destroy me like he can? Does my father truly represent destruction? How is it possible? What am I missing?”

But in the end everything came to one point. “Have I really failed this hard with my father?”

Chloe was frustrated, confused, and above all else, frightened. There had to be a deeper meaning to this. To all of this. Whatever “this” actually was. And she couldn’t even begin to define it. In truth, she never thought there had been a need, despite her previous hallucinations. “But what can that deeper meaning possibly be?”

The beautiful, silken tones of Lex Luthor assaulted her ears, “You can never resist his goading. I knew that all I needed to do was plant a little bug in his ear and off to you he’d go running! Run to you, the brother he can’t understand, but that he needs. You two! Such complements to a problem of our own making. Oh, Jor-El! Such a fellow as had ever been, yes?”

His voice may have been Lex’s, but the face, the movement, the gestures, the intonation and inflection and affectation was all General Zod. The knowledge came to Chloe fast and furious. “All actors in a play.

Chloe recalled the first time she had ever hallucinated: the day Clark had visited her and she saw Zor-El and Brainiac and Jonathan Kent. “It comes in threes. Even now.”

Lex circled her. His face lost its haughty sneer and he grasped Zor-El’s shoulders in a bruising grip. “When will you learn? Today maybe? Years from now?”

Chloe knew the truth, in all its horrific glory and implication: none of them would ever learn.

Somewhere, deep down, Zor-El knew that General Zod respected him and may have even liked him to a certain extent; but it would never be enough to give up whatever goals he thought he needed to accomplish. General Zod was driven. He existed on a plane not of his creation, but of his embrace. Whatever friendship they could have had was dead on the vine before it could really take hold because Zod would never be willing to tend to it as it needed.

Lex abruptly let her go. “I have plans for this wonder of ours,” he turned towards Chloe, “You can be a part of those plans. There is always room and I never shut the door.”

Zor-El/Chloe’s eyes narrowed. “You play a dangerous game, General Zod. It will end poorly. Of this I am certain.”

Zod/Lex smirked and he clapped in faux exclaim. “So the future is known to you now? What is this? Shall we go to the Ministry? Shall we tell them of your mental prowess?”

The irony was not lost on Chloe, but of course, it was lost on Zor-El, a long dead Kryptonian specter. She wished that she could see humor, but there was only tragedy and impotence as far as the eye could see.

Zor-El chuckled softly. “It doesn’t take knowing the future to see how this ends. You think you will win. Jor-El thinks he will. The High Council thinks they will. And all of Krypton looks to you, to us, and we will only fail them.”

Zod’s mouth twisted into the semblance of a smile, but it was ugly and almost violent in its aggression. “We shall see, Zor-El. You can be assured that the time for bystanders is at an end. Five years or ten,” Zod’s hand made a violent downward motion, “It doesn’t matter. Brainiac will be online and Krypton will be changed forever. All of us will see to that.”

For the first time since this bizarre convergence happened, Chloe and Zor-El were in complete and utter agreement.

********

Chloe woke, gasping and with a scream stuck in her throat. All of the foreboding and sense of confusion and many other emotions tumbled down upon her in rapid succession. She couldn’t process it nor could she end it. Chloe rode the turbulence of her mind until it calmed and settled.

The pervading sense that someone was in her room with her forced her to acknowledge that presence. It was Oliver. Her heart felt as if it slammed against the breastbone of her chest because Oliver was not himself. He had a long Errol Flynn goatee. His outfit had a mature edge to it and his bow and arrow looked less modern and more “days of yore”, but just as deadly. He was the Green Arrow, but not as she knew him.

On the edge of her awareness was her father. “Is this the first of three?

********


Author’s Note: So I realized that I’m not really sticking to the parameters of the challenge and barely even the spirit of the challenge. I’ll keep as many elements as I can, but it doesn’t look like that would justify this as being a direct answer to the challenge. Sorry ‘bout that, beloved readers. This story took on a life of its own. :P
In other news, I know this chapter was probably confusing in parts (or all), what with my crazy use of names and such, but I think if you reread it and maybe view it as a kind of extended, crazy, surreal metaphor for what is going on up ‘til now in the story, it will add depth…at least, that’s the goal and I hope I’ve succeeded. You guys should totes tell me if I did...Or, ya know, if I didn’t; but be gentle! ;)

[Lindsay S]

I really am enjoying this story. Can't wait for the next chpater.

[lovelyfishbones]

It is indeed confusing, but somehow not less enjoyable for that. =) I'd love to read more about Zor-El.

[somethingeasy]

Author’s Note: So I realized that I’m not really sticking to the parameters of the challenge and barely even the spirit of the challenge. I’ll keep as many elements as I can, but it doesn’t look like that would justify this as being a direct answer to the challenge. Sorry ‘bout that, beloved readers. This story took on a life of its own.

In other news, I know this chapter was probably confusing in parts (or all), what with my crazy use of names and such, but I think if you reread it and maybe view it as a kind of extended, crazy, surreal metaphor for what is going on up ‘til now in the story, it will add depth…at least, that’s the goal and I hope I’ve succeeded. You guys should totes tell me if I did...Or, ya know, if I didn’t; but be gentle!

Quite honestly, I rather liked this chapter. Yes, when I first started reading it, it was confusing, bewildering, weird and slightly difficult to follow. But then, I really got into the surreal imagery of the chapter; getting a clearer concept of the metaphors and symbolism going on in this chapter… and I thought it was all just brilliant!!!! Seriously, I really think I would enjoy a follow-up to this chapter. Perhaps not immediately, because I really want to get back to the plot, but I think I would enjoy going through this surreal dreamscape again.

Anyhow, onto the review…

Chapter 4

I think I’m going to have to handle this review more by character and theme rather then my usual quote by quote practice. The whole chapter had a slightly surreal anti-narrative feel to it that defies following an actual plot line. The chapter seems to be more about character exploration and using extended metaphors to better understand the relationships between all of our principle players in the story.

So first we have Zor-El… I will confess that I do not know much about this character from any form of Superman mythos… except perhaps… was this character Supergirl’s father? Maybe? Possibly?!

Anyhow, whoever Zoe-El might be in the DC universe, I really liked the idea of equating Chloe with this man. I loved and appreciated the idea of drawing up the metaphor for a platonic, ‘brotherly’ relationship between Clark and Chloe by equating them with the brothers Jor-El and Zor-El. It really helped clear up the true meaning and significance of the Chlark relationship by taking all of the confusing and complicated sexual tension out, and leaving only that intriguing mixture of animosity, resentment, admiration, devotion and loyalty that can only come in the relationship between the closest of friends; or in sibling relationships!! Perfection!!!

And I also loved the way that Zor-El/Chloe was shown as grounded, down-to-earth, sensible, realistic and also a touch cynical. Whereas Jor-El/Clark once shown as arrogant, self superior, high-handed, self-righteous and yet also idealistic and earnest with a touch of inspired heroism. It was a brilliant way to show the basic common grounds between the two/four characters, while also making clear the philosophical lines of division between them as well.

And throughout the entire dream sequence, I really loved the way that Chloe persistently maintained her own identity and sense of observation, watching everything as if from a neutral, objective and informed distance. She didn’t ‘lose herself’ into Zor-El’s personality and identity. Instead she maintained her sense of self and continued pretty much a running commentary throughout the entire… dream? vision? memory? Whatever!!

I love the way that she identified strongly with Zor-El, even as she continued to maintain that these were not her memories that she was experiencing. Brilliantly done, Ava!! I especially enjoyed the indignant and exasperated way that Chloe/Zor-El noticed themselves casually being ordered around by Clark/Jor-El with every expectation that they would be immediate obedience… and even worse finding her/himself actually following Jor-El damned suggestions. LOL! Oh, That was both hilarious and outrageous.

AND… let’s not forget, the tone of grief, loss, tragedy and sadness that overlaid the entire dream sequence. Even as Chloe was experiencing this memory as if it was in the present time, she was well aware that she was seeing the past of the people and a planet that had long since been destroyed since she herself was just a child. She is seeing the lives of an entire race of people that tragically ended long before their time or expectations. I loved the way that she spent a considerable time of the memory actually grieving for this tragic loss. It was sad and awful and yet also beautiful in its own terrible way.


Somewhere, deep down, Zor-El knew that General Zod respected him and may have even liked him to a certain extent; but it would never be enough to give up whatever goals he thought he needed to accomplish. General Zod was driven. He existed on a plane not of his creation, but of his embrace. Whatever friendship they could have had was dead on the vine before it could really take hold because Zod would never be willing to tend to it as it needed.

I just HAD to quote this one little bit. Unsurprisingly, this was my absolute favourite section in the entire chapter. I suspect it was the favourite for a lot of readers and followers of this story, lol! How could they possibly resist falling in love with this intriguing, mesmerizing, insightful and mind blowingly original Chlex interaction. This might be, perhaps, the strangest Chlex scene I have ever read to date, and that is saying a LOT!!! Lol!!

I loved this paragraph for its simple and yet devastatingly insightful and accurate characterization of Lex Luther, and his relationship with Chloe Sullivan. This paragraph provided me with all genuine, valid reason as to why Chlex never happened on the show.

A part of me is saddened because now I know, beyond all doubt, that a Chlex romance is never going to develop in this storyline. And yet a part of me appreciates getting this very real, interesting and valid reason as to WHY it will never develop, DESPITE the potential being mindnumbingly clear and obvious to both Chloe and Lex.


The pervading sense that someone was in her room with her forced her to acknowledge that presence. It was Oliver. Her heart felt as if it slammed against the breastbone of her chest because Oliver was not himself. He had a long Errol Flynn goatee. His outfit had a mature edge to it and his bow and arrow looked less modern and more “days of yore”, but just as deadly. He was the Green Arrow, but not as she knew him.

On the edge of her awareness was her father. “Is this the first of three?

Well… we’ve returned back to the plot… and it’s more intriguing and interesting than ever before!!! Dear GODS, I’m amazed, but I actually feel elated at how so many things have become clearer (in terms of characterization at least)… while other things have become more murky and confusing. I’m cherishing the confused bewilderment as much as everything else. I want more! Please write more soon, Ava!!

[Avalanche]

So first we have Zor-El… I will confess that I do not know much about this character from any form of Superman mythos… except perhaps… was this character Supergirl’s father? Maybe? Possibly?!

Yes, he's Kara's father. The show portrayed him very differently. He was evil and such. So I'm not even bothering with what the show portrayed him as. And that's basically true of Zod and Brainiac and pretty much everyone here. ;)

At any rate, if you are curious, here is the wiki link to more info on him: http://smallville.wikia.com/wiki/Zor-El.

Thanks for the review Lindsay S, lovelfishbones, and somethingeasy, glad the craziness worked for you. :)

[Avalanche]

Disclaimer: not mine
AN: Enjoy!



Chapter 5

Chloe was surely having an out of body experience. It was a feeling of absolute and complete disconnection from her mind and body. It was as if a gaping rift was torn between her conscious mind and her physical self. Whatever vague memories she had of the car wreck and the flashes she had of the ambulance ride and faces peering at her had nothing on what she was experiencing now. She could comprehend this, even if she couldn’t reconcile what was happening. Chloe watched, as if she were standing in the doorway to her hospital room, her body attempt to come to grips with the Oliver she confronted her. This was an Oliver who was Green Arrow and goateed. This was something she could never have imagined on her own.

From outside her body, Chloe say herself calm a little and Oliver take her into his arms. She saw the momentary hesitation and fleeting pity. Chloe saw how quickly he killed his pity and remember that she didn’t need it, but that she did need his comfort. The Green Arrow silhouette smoothly flowed and settled around Chloe as well. It was then that awareness of herself, her complete self, snapped into focus. It felt like she was being enveloped by two presences, but it was not uncomfortable, physically, even if it was a bit unnerving. There was also a strong sense of déjà vu. It had only been a few days before when she and Clark had come together and then so disastrously ended. “Will this end the same?”

Chloe fervently hoped that she and Oliver could end in a better place than she and Clark. She genuinely loved and cared for Clark, but a break from him could be a good thing. But from Oliver? He was a steadying influence. Oliver had gone through a lot in his life and he tried hard to be a better person. To be a hero. His morality didn’t come easy. In literal terms, he did break the law on occasion to right some perceived wrong, and she knew that he believed in that. Chloe also knew that he was afraid that he would go too far one day. She also knew that he did not do well with defeat. It was a problem for him and it was the one thing she couldn’t really tell about him: could he rebound on his own when that day inevitably came?

The silence between them that had been edging towards uncomfortable was broken by the rough, but patient voice of the Green Arrow silhouette. He smiled and that was when Chloe knew that this was Oliver. There was no doubt. That grin was still sly and mischievous. It was all him.

“You will never know, Chloe, if I can if you never let me.”

Oliver hadn’t really looked alarm, but something must have shown on her face because now he was concerned. He framed her face in his hands.

“Chloe? Are you ok?”

“Yes, Chloe. Are you ok?”

The same cadence. The words said exactly the same, but she heard the sarcasm underlying Green Arrows words. Not kind, but not exactly cruel. Oliver searched her eyes. He knew there was something wrong. Chloe saw the moment that he knew she wouldn’t tell him. She also saw that he wouldn’t ask her about it. Yet. He wouldn’t ask her yet, but she knew that as soon as he went to his condo, he’d pore over every bit of information she had given him prior to the accident.

“You can’t let him do that, Chloe. He will use it to hide from something else. He can’t hide this time. You can’t let me do this, Chloe.”

Chloe drew back from Oliver’s hands and closed her eyes. It was his voice. Oliver’s voice.

Oliver leaned back in his chair, as the Green Arrow stalked around the bed to stand at the window. Oliver exhaled and then leaned forward in his chair, but Chloe’s eyes were drawn to the window. To the bulkier and more mature Green Arrow standing so close to her. Green Arrow held up his hand to the light. He was slightly transparent. The light didn’t bend around him.

Feeling Oliver’s hand on her thigh, Chloe turned to him. He was more than concerned for her. Oliver was no fool and he knew something was seriously wrong. Moving from the chair to the side of her bed, he sat and faced her. Oliver’s voice was gentle, as if he spoke to an animal that could startle at any moment, which Chloe realized she was.

Oliver's voice betrayed his desperation. “Something isn’t right here. I can feel it. Something’s happened and it’s changed you.”

Chloe looked down and away from him, but he caught her chin in his hand and forced her eyes to his again. He continued, “I understand if you can’t tell me. This takes time, but Chloe I am here for you. I’m not leaving you. I promise.”

“You know, Chloe, you deserve to be selfish and to have so much more. For instance, you deserve that promise I just made. It is, in fact, a promise I’ll keep, Chloe. But you can’t let me keep it.”

The Green Arrow’s fingers ghosted over her face. Chloe felt the displacement of the air. It raised goose bumps on her flesh and made her hair stand on end. “Push me away, Chloe. Let me fail this time. Or I will never know until it’s too late.”

Chloe put her hand over Oliver’s, which remained on her face. The desire to never let go overwhelmed her, but something inside of her was telling her that the apparition of Green Arrow was right. It felt like Truth. She gripped his hand like a lifeline, and then pushed him away.

She sighed and smiled slightly. “I know you’re here for me,” she paused and looked at the Green Arrow, “It’s been a weird few days and I kinda just want to be normal. What’s happening with you?”

Oliver could accept that. “I really haven’t been doing anything except dealing with Queen Industries. The markets haven’t been favorable to us recently,” he waivered slightly, “I’ve been trying to retrace your steps the night of your accident.”

The Green Arrow snorted on the other side of her. “A bit passive-aggressive of him to mention that. That’s something he could’ve not mentioned. It’s a way to get a response.”

It hadn’t escaped Chloe’s notice, but she had already made her decision. She had tossed in her lot with an apparition, something that could be an indication of her incipient mental illness, but it felt right.

“It’s a bad decision now, Chloe. Don’t think otherwise. But it will become good later.”

“Oliver, I—”

“Don’t remember anything,” he finished for her. “Clark told me. And he also said you haven’t spoken to him since. Chloe, you are able to heal. You came back from the dead once and this, this, is stalling you! A car accident. Doesn’t that seem off to you? Maybe we should look into this further.”

“You should keep ignoring Clark, Chloe. Of course, that’s personal opinion. Just kidding. He’ll grow out of it, eventually. You’d be surprised. I was and then I wasn’t.”

Chloe was becoming annoyed and she really wanted to be alone. “I actually don’t want to talk about Clark or being in the hospital or anything related to what is happening to me now. I’m a little tired. Can we talk later?”

Before Oliver could respond, her nurse walked through the door. She was preternaturally cheery, but it did serve to break the slowly developing tension in the room. “It’s time for your check-up.”

Oliver looked vaguely annoyed and the Green Arrow silhouette smirked.

“Saved by the bell, Chloe. You will always be a part of our lives, but you can’t be who you are for me this time and for that, I am truly sorry.”

Oliver kissed her softly before he left. "I will never leave you, Chloe."

"He is speaking the truth as he understands it, Chloe. As I understood it then. He will never leave you, not completely, but he will withdraw. You can bring me back to you if you want, but not before you let him fail."

It was a struggle for Chloe to force the words past her lips, but she did because she loved him. "I know, Ollie. I'll call you later."

*******

Gabe waited ten minutes after Oliver arrived before he took the opportunity to leave the hospital and take care of a few business dealings. It was a little difficult getting a bit of dirt on Queen Industries, but Oliver couldn’t be everywhere all of the time. Of course, Gabe’s endeavors were aided by breaking into the Watchtower. Chloe’s touches were all over it, and it nearly proved impossible for him to gain access. He was further aided by what he deduced were Lex Luthor’s meddling, which was fortunate since Luthorcorp was also a target.

Gabe couldn’t do everything he wanted because Chloe had installed countermeasures and neither Oliver Queen nor Lex Luthor were slouches in that department either. They were also fully capable of responding to new situations. Only time would tell if he was successful in his bid to guide them into conflict with each other because just being that spark between them wasn’t enough. One of them had to destroy the other and then he could become more involved.

“Now for you, Clark Kent.”

Kent’s weakness was his mother and Lana Lang. Martha and Jonathan were generally squeaky clean but between Chloe’s personal database and the Watchtower and Martha’s activities as the Red Queen, it was not going to be hard to bring down Senator Martha Kent. Martha Kent may have thought that her activities justified what she was doing, but Gabe didn’t need to even twist the facts to prove malfeasance. It was disappointing. Until this moment, he didn’t even realize how much it would hurt to realize that Martha Kent wasn’t just like everyone else, she was worse than many of them. It was no wonder Clark was the man he was: short-sighted and callous. Gabe supposed that Clark really wasn’t a bad person, but he wasn’t growing. Clark just didn’t learn.

It wasn’t that the Kents weren’t good parents or guardians, but Clark was a super-powered alien and being good enough wasn’t enough. It was hard to truly be what a child needed and it was hard to be what an alien needed, but they took the challenge and forged an entitled prick. Actually, Jonathan had done a good job, but he died and whatever lessons Clark may have learned was forgotten and his mother’s actions didn’t inspire confidence that it was all him being a fool.

“Let’s see how much mud I can track all over the Kent name. Ya know, Clark, I wonder if you’ll do the right thing. Will you report on your mother? Or will you simply offer more excuses? Let’s see how much you truly value your morality. Me? I bet you prove how unworthy you really are.”

Gabe glanced at the time and he realized that he probably should get back to the hospital. Oliver had spent enough time with his daughter. He stopped what he was doing and headed for the hospital.

He arrived just in time to hear his daughter ask Oliver to leave. “My timing is perfection.”

Oliver Queen approached Gabe quickly. There was an aura of resolve about him.

“Mr. Sullivan, do you think we could talk?”

He smiled widely, “Yes, of course, Oliver. Let’s go to the lounge.”

This would be a perfect way to take a measure of Oliver’s mindset.

“What’s on your mind, Oliver?”

Oliver didn’t really know how to start this conversation. “How is Chloe doing? She seemed a bit…off kilter.”

Gabe looked away and his mouth twisted. "Son of a bitch"

He stepped closer to Oliver. “What is it that you think should be happening? She was in a coma.”

“I know, but I just—”

“Just what, Oliver? Unbelievable. Chloe needs support. If you can’t be that, then don’t come around.”

Gabe pushed passed Oliver towards Chloe’s room.

********

As soon as Chloe was sure that Oliver was gone, she turned on her television. Chloe put her head in her hands. Throughout their entire conversation, Oliver hadn’t really given her an indication that what was going on was bad. It seemed mundane. But beneath the current of general misfortune that plagued Queen Industries and others, she could see a pattern. What she saw was Brainiac’s virus being used in a different, more destructive, way. It was a time bomb that counted down to something worse than Dark Thursday.

Chloe whispered softly, “How?”

Chloe had to stop the situation, but she couldn’t help Oliver or Clark directly. They had to feel the consequences of their actions, and she couldn’t even identify why she genuinely thought that or why she even trusted in apparitions to guide her. The thought was a bell that rang with clarity and purity. She had to follow it.

“There is something more here. I just need to find out what it is.”

[somethingeasy]

Chapter 5

This was a very interesting beginning to the new chapter. It’s still rather confusing to follow all what the heck is happening in the plotline and with Chloe, but it is still enthralling and mesmerizing. And I think that the mystery/confusion actually adds to the enthrallment factor. All the readers have their eyeballs stuck onto this storyline wondering not only what will happen next, but also what is happening right now! lol!

Anyhow, I liked the beginning and the way that it was made unclear whether Chloe’s sense of disconnection and disembodiment was being caused due to post-traumatic shock and trauma, OR whether it was another symptom of this weird case of… erm… supernatural, alien possession…?


It felt like she was being enveloped by two presences, but it was not uncomfortable, physically, even if it was a bit unnerving. There was also a strong sense of déjà vu. It had only been a few days before when she and Clark had come together and then so disastrously ended. “Will this end the same?”

Whatever the reason behind Chloe’s peculiar emotional and psychological state, I was quite impressed to see that she was handing herself with fantastic elegance and balance… not allowing anyone to see exactly how unstable she actually was. And besides which, it’s possible that the disconnection from herself allowed her to look and observe Oliver from a non-biased, dispassionate point of view… observing all of his faults, shortcomings, weaknesses and even the potential harm that he posed to her as well as his general strengths and supportive role as an ally and friend.


Chloe fervently hoped that she and Oliver could end in a better place than she and Clark. She genuinely loved and cared for Clark, but a break from him could be a good thing. But from Oliver? He was a steadying influence. Oliver had gone through a lot in his life and he tried hard to be a better person. To be a hero. His morality didn’t come easy. In literal terms, he did break the law on occasion to right some perceived wrong, and she knew that he believed in that. Chloe also knew that he was afraid that he would go too far one day. She also knew that he did not do well with defeat. It was a problem for him and it was the one thing she couldn’t really tell about him: could he rebound on his own when that day inevitably came?

I’m not sure how much of Chloe’s acute observations were due to that ‘other presence’ inside of her, and how much was purely her own sharp intelligence and well-trained observational skills… but whatever the case it was definitely interesting seeing Oliver from this keen, insightful viewpoint.


The same cadence. The words said exactly the same, but she heard the sarcasm underlying Green Arrows words. Not kind, but not exactly cruel. Oliver searched her eyes. He knew there was something wrong. Chloe saw the moment that he knew she wouldn’t tell him. She also saw that he wouldn’t ask her about it. Yet. He wouldn’t ask her yet, but she knew that as soon as he went to his condo, he’d pore over every bit of information she had given him prior to the accident.

“You can’t let him do that, Chloe. He will use it to hide from something else. He can’t hide this time. You can’t let me do this, Chloe.”

The interactions between Oliver and Chloe were quite fascinating. On one hand, there was this definite undertone of… not hostility… but still challenge, opposition… contestation…? As if the two of them were engaged in some kind of duel, they’re Oliver was attempting to pry information out of Chloe while Chloe was maintaining her silence. And yet, at the same time you could also tell that most of Oliver’s prying came from his concern for Chloe as well as a general desire to know the truth… and seek vengeance on whoever did this crime, lol… let’s not forget that.

And on top of all of these complicated dynamics between the two allies, there were also these strange random thoughts filtering into Chloe’s conscious mind from, presumably, her subconscious…? The result was that these thoughts were strangely disconnected from the moment and seemed out of context, serving only to confuse both Chloe and the reader. Once again, it was quite impressive how Chloe managed to maintain her calm composure and hiding all of her disorientation and discomfiture about, possibly, losing her mind.

And THEN, on top of all of THIS, we are then introduced to be transparent, ghostly doppelgänger of Oliver standing in Chloe’s view providing a whole new level and layer of surrealism to the conversation. Oh, Chloe! I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at her predicament.


The Green Arrow’s fingers ghosted over her face. Chloe felt the displacement of the air. It raised goose bumps on her flesh and made her hair stand on end. “Push me away, Chloe. Let me fail this time. Or I will never know until it’s too late.”

Chloe put her hand over Oliver’s, which remained on her face. The desire to never let go overwhelmed her, but something inside of her was telling her that the apparition of Green Arrow was right. It felt like Truth. She gripped his hand like a lifeline, and then pushed him away.

She sighed and smiled slightly. “I know you’re here for me,” she paused and looked at the Green Arrow, “It’s been a weird few days and I kinda just want to be normal. What’s happening with you?”


Oliver kissed her softly before he left. "I will never leave you, Chloe."

"He is speaking the truth as he understands it, Chloe. As I understood it then. He will never leave you, not completely, but he will withdraw. You can bring me back to you if you want, but not before you let him fail."

It was a struggle for Chloe to force the words past her lips, but she did because she loved him. "I know, Ollie. I'll call you later."

Holy CRAP!!!! Normally I have a great deal of trust and faith in Chloe’s instincts… even when she is indulging in what appears to be suicidal and self-destructive missions of justice, I still always believe that she knows what she is doing, and will probably eventually come out victorious… or if not victorious, then at least a little wiser and more experienced for her efforts.

But, THIS… oh dear god… THIS!!! Chloe is not only seeing what might be hallucinogenic and/or alien apparitions, but she is actually taking their advice as well. Now it would be all right if those apparitions appeared to be speaking common sense and obvious truth… but as it is, that apparition of The Green Arrow appears to be manipulating and playing with Chloe while she appears to be fragile and highly vulnerable to implanted suggestions.

That Green Arrow apparition is not only advising her to not cooperate with Oliver, but it is also manipulating her into somehow setting Oliver up for failure of some sort. And all the while ‘it’ is telling her that it is all somehow for Oliver’s greater good. Just what kind of advice is that anyway?!?!? How is setting Oliver up for failure supposed to benefit him[I] in some way?!?

Worse still, I was getting the distinct impression that Oliver and Chloe have some kind of romantic relationship between them. I don’t want to imagine what consequences and effects these ‘suggestions’ and manipulations from The Green Arrow will eventually have on Chloe’s relationship with Oliver. Oh, Chloe!!! I am so highly worried about her!! I can’t wait to see what happened next! ;)


Kent’s weakness was his mother and Lana Lang. Martha and Jonathan were generally squeaky clean but between Chloe’s personal database and the Watchtower and Martha’s activities as the Red Queen, it was not going to be hard to bring down Senator Martha Kent. Martha Kent may have thought that her activities justified what she was doing, but Gabe didn’t need to even twist the facts to prove malfeasance. It was disappointing. Until this moment, he didn’t even realize how much it would hurt to realize that Martha Kent wasn’t just like everyone else, she was worse than many of them. It was no wonder Clark was the man he was: short-sighted and callous. Gabe supposed that Clark really wasn’t a bad person, but he wasn’t growing. Clark just didn’t learn.


“Let’s see how much mud I can track all over the Kent name. Ya know, Clark, I wonder if you’ll do the right thing. Will you report on your mother? Or will you simply offer more excuses? Let’s see how much you truly value your morality. Me? I bet you prove how unworthy you really are.”

Woah! Holy CRAP!!!! While Chloe’s mind and sanity appears to be fragmenting, Gabe’s personality, mind and goals appear to be going through a little twisting up process of their own.

I adore Martha as a character! I always love seeing her as a simple soft, maternal figure… as well as a strict, firm guidance counselor for most of the youngsters around her. But seeing her in this light… it actually hurt to imagine her image as the perfect mother figure tarnished in any way. And yet, I can’t help but see Gabe’s point. That many of the faults that Clark had developed in the attributed to his upbringing… his self absorbed, shortsighted, overly simplistic and yes, even [I]callous personality can indeed be traced back to being raised as the extraordinary, doted miracle child that landed in Martha’s arms from the stars.

That being said, I was pleased to see Gabe admit that the Kents were basically good, decent folk. But Gabe does raise a point that it’s just not enough to be just ‘decent’ and ‘good’. Not when you’re raising what appears to be a demigod in your household. Pretty scary!

Even scarier was seeing Gabe’s determination to ‘bring down the Kents’, ruining their lives and reputations in an attempt to unnerve Clark. I don’t know what he has in mind, but I do know that both Clark and Martha will not see it coming… and even when they do get an inkling as to what is happening, will probably not believe it until it’s too late for them to save themselves. Without a doubt, Gabe truly is the most dangerous kind of enemy for Clark and Martha to have acquired.


Chloe had to stop the situation, but she couldn’t help Oliver or Clark directly. They had to feel the consequences of their actions, and she couldn’t even identify why she genuinely thought that or why she even trusted in apparitions to guide her. The thought was a bell that rang with clarity and purity. She had to follow it.

“There is something more here. I just need to find out what it is.”

The whole world is right on the brink of going into complete chaos and insanity… I can tell! Something big is coming up, and I honestly cannot wait to see what kind of catastrophic events develop in later chapters. Please update soon.

[Avalanche]

Thanks for the review, SE! Glad this isn't too kooky for ya and that you're still enjoying it. :)

[Avalanche]

AN: This chapter came sooner than I thought it would, but I need to get back into the groove of writing this story. So here ya go and hope you enjoy!


Chapter 6


“It is impossible to tell where revelations stop and hallucinations begin.”
-Author Unknown



In all honesty, Chloe expected to be here again. She expected to feel this way and to not truly understand what was happening. It was what her life was reduced to after her crash: incomprehensible events. It was only fitting that her life, dedicated to uncovering truths and revealing events, had descended into an obscuring veil. She could describe it no other way, especially since she knew herself to be Zor-El once more.

Zor-El was sitting in a darkened room and drinking some kind of fluid that burned on the way down her throat. She felt a steady pulsing heat flow through her veins, an ebb of heat that was followed by a cooling sensation. It was an amazing feeling and Chloe could only deduce that maybe this was some kind of alcoholic beverage. There was a whirring sound and intermittent beeping in the room. Zor-El touched the cool glass to his forehead and sighed. She felt sad and intense disappointment. He glanced up and Chloe could barely make out an even darker shape on a table.

“We’re all fools, machine. To a last Kryptonian, we’re all fools. I should’ve ended this long ago.”

Chloe could felt her throat clench. It was impossible to think, but Zor-El was on the verge of tears. He slammed his hand onto the arm of the chair. Zor-El snorted into his glass Chloe felt the sting on the palm of her hand, but a quick swig of her drink made the pain inconsequential. She closed her eyes. Chloe, herself, was frustrated beyond whatever Zor-El was feeling. She didn’t know what caused this and she didn’t dare guess. What would be the point? “Dammit, hallucination! Exposit or something!”

Zor-El heaved himself up and out of his chair and staggered towards the dark shape. He waved his hand in the air and the room was illuminated. Chloe saw that the figure on the table was Brainiac, her father. Her mind recoiled from this vision. She hadn’t coped well the first time she had seen this and it would be no different this time. There was a computer display next to Brainiac’s head. It seemed to be some kind of diagnostic. Quick words scrolled across the screen. From Zor-El’s knowledge, Chloe realized that Kryptonian script worked on two different planes and that Jor-El and Brainiac had simplified the script to be compatible with human technology and understanding. Left to right gave the grammatical form and up to down gave context. The readout was telling her Brainiac’s programming. This was the source of Zor-El’s steep disappointment: Brainiac had been modified and dangerously so.

Admitting his brother was a genius had never been a problem. Zor-El was proud of his younger brother, but he was not proud of the man Jor-El would eventually become. Jor-El knew how to build things. He knew how to program them and give them purpose, but such things didn’t matter if Zor-El didn’t integrate Brainiac into the organic shell. It required modification to the program. The true consideration was years before, he had designed Brainiac’s function. Zor-El knew what Brainiac could be and he narrowed that scope because it could only lead ruin to advance the programming to its natural conclusion, but Jor-El removed the limitations on Brainiac. His brother was a fool. And he was one as well for not monitoring the situation. The High Council were fools on general principle and the populace were fools for trusting them.

Chloe caressed Brainiac’s hair. It was real and not synthetic. For a moment, she saw Brainiac as Zor-El saw the machine: a dark-haired Kryptonian that could be a brother in the House of El. He was beautiful in the way that Clark was, in the way that Zor-El and Jor-El were. Zor-El couldn’t possibly understand that he was looking into the face of the thing that would destroy Krypton. She wanted to infer some kind of deep and troubling psychological meaning in this new knowledge, but the only thing she could come up with was the fact that Jor-El was working with an ego and pride on a level that could not really be placed into the context of anything she knew.

“I’m sorry, brother.” Chloe couldn’t tell if he was directing his softly spoken words to Brainiac or to Jor-El, but it didn’t really matter. Zor-El was in just as deep as Jor-El; and even though his motivations were coming from a different place, it ended where Jor-El led. Zor-El turned away from Brainiac and shutdown Brainiac and all other machinery in the room. They were cast in darkness. There were no blinking lights or any whirring machine sounds. Chloe only perceived the still air, her own ragged breathing, and the dryness of her throat.

********

It was only fitting that Zor-El would leave for his hydroponics lab where his beloved nura flower grew. And it was only inevitable that she only had a moment of peace before Jor-El burst into the room, breathing metaphorical fire. His aggression was almost a tangible force that pressed against her, but oddly enough, Zor-El remained calm. He was singularly unmoved and distinctly unconcerned with Jor-El. It was more of an irritation than any other emotion. For Chloe, it was rather bizarre given Zor-El’s earlier intense disappointment and their other encounter.

Jor-El/Clark once again stood a few feet away from Zor-El/Chloe and seemed to be waiting for acknowledgement. It struck Chloe anew how much of Clark’s behavior she saw in Jor-El’s. It was tempting to list this into the nature column, but these behaviors were easily the product of entitlement and nature. Clark was destined for greatness and Jonathan and Martha knew it. They knew it. And it didn’t hurt that he could legitimately think he was special due to his abilities. Clearly, Jor-El was some kind of golden boy and it was reinforced through past experience. Even now Chloe had a certain intuition: Clark would break his silence in the next moment.

His yell invaded the room. “What is this, Zor-El!”

Chloe chuckled softly and kept tending his nura flower, but did not answer. He would make Jor-El reach his breaking point. She knew her way around Clark’s emotions, his mind, and she would walk that path and kick every stone. There was a moment of dissonance as Chloe felt herself emerge again. It was becoming harder and harder to not insert her own mind and identity into this dream or hallucination or whatever was happening.

“You think this is funny? You think you can just…do as you please? This is my work! MINE!”

After the outburst, Clark seemed to calm. For the first time in his life, he would be humble and he would plead, “This is my legacy, brother. Surely you can understand how important this is? This can change the face of Krypton itself.”

Zor-El rolled his eyes; forever the play actor, even in sincerity. Chloe turned from her work and looked at her brother. If it had not been apparent that Jor-El was angry by his yelling, then his appearance certainly confirmed the notion. He looked to have thrown on his clothes with little care for appearance, which was a rarity for his tidy brother.

Zor-El would be calm. He would not let his brother move him to anger as easily as he had manipulated Jor-El. This conversation would be hard enough.

“I suppose you don’t care why I audited the project. I suppose you don’t want those answers. Only for me to change the color of the sky and rearrange valleys to your pleasure,” Zor-El gestured absently and circled Jor-El, “You’ve changed the programming in violation of the charter the Ministry gave you. That, brother, is illegal. You should’ve filed the appropriate paperwork.”

Clark clenched his fists. “You’ve always been jealous, Zor-El. Watching me. Inserting yourself into my life! I’ve worked on this project and on the eve of completion you let your ego get in the way of progress.”

He grunted and covered his face with his hands. Jor-El would never understand and he would waste no more words on the matter. “Regardless. The audit has commenced. The project will resume once all proper protocols are observed. If you’re lucky and you cooperate, the project will resume in a year, two at the most. Take the time to learn the lesson.”

Zor-El turned his back on his brother, which he knew would end poorly but he did it to prove a point: Jor-El was inconsequential. He felt himself whirled around and the blunt force of Jor-El’s fist in his face. To his everlasting credit, Jor-El seemed to be confused and regretful of his violent action, but it was too late. Some acts, once committed, cannot be brushed aside and too many of Clark’s actions had been brushed aside. After a moment where it seemed that Jor-El was going to apologize, Zor-El charged.

His brother forgot that he had been a member of Krypton’s Mining Force. He’d been to the edge of their space mining asteroid fields and facing pirates. Zor-El had trained with the Space Defense Ministry. Clark/Jor-El may have had a size advantage in that he was bulkier, but Chloe/Zor-El knew how to fight. Zor-El knew how to use his height advantage even though he was slim. And he/she would use that superior knowledge to remind Jor-El/Clark of his place.

It was a bloody fight and most of the blood was Jor-El’s. When Zor-El finally came to himself, Chloe saw that Jor-El was on the ground and Zor-El was standing over him repeatedly kicking him. She kneeled and gently caressed Clark’s face. “You forget yourself, brother, and so do I. I am the Greater Son of the House of El, the Second Minister of the Science Complex, and Commander in the Mining Force. You are the Lesser Son of the House of El and an Adjunct to the Mechanics Sub-division of the Science Complex. This ends, Jor-El. We begin again or we end.”

Jor-El nodded slightly. Something passed between the brothers and it seemed like it had been reconciliation.

Of course, Chloe knew for a fact that this moment changed nothing. Krypton was still destroyed and it was still Brainiac that did it and Zod was probably the catalyst.

The ghost figure of Brainiac/Gabriel shimmered into her view, “That’s a lie, Chloe, and you know it.”

Chloe could no longer hear Jor-El’s labored breathing nor feel the sensations of Zor-El. She could only stare in shocked horror that this…phantasm…came to her. “A hallucination within a hallucination?”

Once again the stillness of the hydroponics room was broken by the entrance of security. Chloe didn’t know why they had arrived, but Jor-El looked to be in desperate need of medical attention.

Zor-El stood with weary resignation and addressed the stunned security guards. He got his bearings and mustered his resolve, “Take him to the medic and see him to Observation. He is not to go home until I approve it. Understood?”

“But, sir-,”

Zor-El interrupted the guard before he could finish his sentence. “What is your name and house, guardsman?”

The guard cleared his throat before he answered, “Morrell of the House of Tarras.”

“Well, Morell of Tarras, you are relieved of duty and your grade removed,” Zor-El turned to the other men, “You have your orders.”

The guards passed Zor-El and carried Jor-El from his hydroponics laboratory. He left soon after.

********

Zor-El didn’t go home. He needed solitude and his wife and baby daughter would not allow the peace he needed. It was their right as his family to demand his time, but he could not be what they needed just yet. So it was a matter of inevitability that his time would be intruded upon by the last person he could possibly want to see. Chloe thought that Zor-El might just be cursed. She knew that she was.

Zod was gloating this time. There seemed to be genuine concern in his voice, in his demeanor. He walked to Zor-El’s side and grabbed his shoulder.

“Imagine my surprise, Zor-El, when I hear you strip the grade from a guard after he questioned an order given to him by the Greater Son of the House of El. Imagine my surprise, when I hear that guards where there in the first place because a fight between the brothers of the House of El. Imagine my surprise to know that the Lesser Son of the House of El is to be seen by medics and then sent to Observation. And finally, imagine my surprise when I discover that Brainiac is to be audited on your order,” Zod/Lex closed his eyes, “Are you imagining it? Because I think now is the time for answers. Surely we can agree on that.”

It astounded Chloe again that she was in the body of a man. She was eye level with Lex, and while Zor-El may have been slim, he was still slightly bulkier than Zod’s lithe frame. Zor-El stared at Zod in the eye. Something sparked between them. Chloe realized that it was desire, that these two shared something more than friendship. Zor-El and, by extension, she may have realized that Zod/Lex could never truly transcend his nature, but that didn’t mean that there wasn’t something there. Chloe saw the exact moment that Lex/Zod decided to act and she knew it was the same moment that Zor-El had decided. It was a simultaneous thing. Chloe/Zor-El shoved Lex/Zod against the wall and kissed him roughly, while Zod frantically pulled and untied his robes. It seemed as if the moment had barely begun when Zod pushed Zor-El away to separate their bodies.

He licked his lips, smirked, and nodded to himself. “You are never one to indulge yourself and it has been an irredeemably long time, Zor-El. Maybe a bit slower.”

A game. Slick words and arrogance. Zod wanted this on his terms, but Zor-El was not going to play. Zor-El/Chloe grabbed Zod/Lex’s hand, drew his body against their’s, and restrained Zod’s hands behind his back. Zod merely quirked an eyebrow. It was a taunt. Zod wanted to know how far, he’d go. Chloe quickly let him go, turned him around, and pushed Lex face first into the wall they had occupied moments before. Zod’s hands braced against the wall to prevent impact. Zor-El tightly wedged his body against Zod’s to prevent him from maneuvering into a different position. He wrapped his hands around Zod’s neck and forced his chin up and back.

Zor-El used his other hand to stroke Zod to arousal, while applying slight pressure to his neck. The sensation of having an erection was both mortifying and exciting. Zor-El’s rush was her own. His desire was her own. Zor-El bit Zod’s neck and pressed his lips to Zod’s ear, with every word he gave a gentle nip, “No. My speed. My terms. My way. Or not at all.”

Zor-EL held their position for a moment more, both of them coiled and primed. They would have a manic energy. He abruptly released Zod and walked towards his personal quarters without looking back. Zod would join him for it was in his nature to not deny himself; he had no control despite the fact that it was the one thing he desired most. In the end, as with Clark/Jor-El, Chloe/Zor-El knew her way around Lex/Zod’s emotions, his mind, and she/he would walk that path and kick every stone.

[kitten]

In all honesty, Chloe expected to be here again. She expected to feel this way and to not truly understand what was happening. It was what her life was reduced to after her crash: incomprehensible events. It was only fitting that her life, dedicated to uncovering truths and revealing events, had descended into an obscuring veil. She could describe it no other way, especially since she knew herself to be Zor-El once more.

I like that even though the circumstances of both Chloe's and Zor-El's experiences are unusual, there's a note of familiar frustration in both of them at being knee-deep in weird disasters. For Chloe, she couldn't even hope her accident recovery would be normal, and for Zor-El, he's in a literal doom and gloom situation with no way to escape. It's a subtle kind of comparison between the two, that they are both smart and capable but can't get out of some of the situations they are backed into.


Chloe could felt her throat clench. It was impossible to think, but Zor-El was on the verge of tears. He slammed his hand onto the arm of the chair. Zor-El snorted into his glass Chloe felt the sting on the palm of her hand, but a quick swig of her drink made the pain inconsequential. She closed her eyes. Chloe, herself, was frustrated beyond whatever Zor-El was feeling. She didn’t know what caused this and she didn’t dare guess. What would be the point? “Dammit, hallucination! Exposit or something!”

The blending of pronouns and actions as Chloe gets mixed up in her hallucination is both amusing and disturbing. If she's this deep into Zor-El's yet-unnamed tragedy in only a few moments, I think she might be dragged into the same fate. All the same, her very journalistic frustration is funny, as is her attempt to order a potential figment of her imagination to just explain his brooding in plain language. I also think she sounds somewhat drunk here, which is the most long distance contact buzz I've ever heard of happening.


Zor-El heaved himself up and out of his chair and staggered towards the dark shape.

Okay, they're drunk. The House of El is full of mopey lushes, apparently. Oh, Krypton, you used to be classy when we didn't know you so well.


He waved his hand in the air and the room was illuminated. Chloe saw that the figure on the table was Brainiac, her father. Her mind recoiled from this vision. She hadn’t coped well the first time she had seen this and it would be no different this time. There was a computer display next to Brainiac’s head. It seemed to be some kind of diagnostic. Quick words scrolled across the screen. From Zor-El’s knowledge, Chloe realized that Kryptonian script worked on two different planes and that Jor-El and Brainiac had simplified the script to be compatible with human technology and understanding. Left to right gave the grammatical form and up to down gave context. The readout was telling her Brainiac’s programming. This was the source of Zor-El’s steep disappointment: Brainiac had been modified and dangerously so.

And you dropped Chloe at the lowest level of the uncanny valley. It's one thing to see a robot knowing what it will go on to do, and another surreal experience to see that robot also as the living human father who raised her. Chloe has to be reeling, but she's still trying to gather information and put the puzzle together. It's hard to think of Brainiac as a benign influence, but I can understand how its creation was meant to benefit Krypton.


The true consideration was years before, he had designed Brainiac’s function. Zor-El knew what Brainiac could be and he narrowed that scope because it could only lead ruin to advance the programming to its natural conclusion, but Jor-El removed the limitations on Brainiac. His brother was a fool. And he was one as well for not monitoring the situation. The High Council were fools on general principle and the populace were fools for trusting them.

I think this is a pretty good explanation of why Brainiac would be an advancement for a society and also a risk. If given the directive to gather knowledge, it couldn't be stopped without some built-in boundaries where it would defer to the oversight of a humanoid. Brainiac without any strictures would quickly outgrow any sense of obligation to any society. It would resist any kind of control in order to keep fulfilling the only purpose it knew. The comparison between the brothers is enlightening as well. Jor-El is the builder and saw Brainiac as a leap in technology, but Zor-El saw Brainiac as a being they were creating. Limitations to its programming might well have allowed Brainiac to have a full life with the kinship of Kryptonians. Instead it simply became too smart to appreciate anything except more data.


It was only fitting that Zor-El would leave for his hydroponics lab where his beloved nura flower grew. And it was only inevitable that she only had a moment of peace before Jor-El burst into the room, breathing metaphorical fire. His aggression was almost a tangible force that pressed against her, but oddly enough, Zor-El remained calm. He was singularly unmoved and distinctly unconcerned with Jor-El. It was more of an irritation than any other emotion. For Chloe, it was rather bizarre given Zor-El’s earlier intense disappointment and their other encounter.

Jor-El/Clark once again stood a few feet away from Zor-El/Chloe and seemed to be waiting for acknowledgement. It struck Chloe anew how much of Clark’s behavior she saw in Jor-El’s. It was tempting to list this into the nature column, but these behaviors were easily the product of entitlement and nature. Clark was destined for greatness and Jonathan and Martha knew it. They knew it. And it didn’t hurt that he could legitimately think he was special due to his abilities. Clearly, Jor-El was some kind of golden boy and it was reinforced through past experience. Even now Chloe had a certain intuition: Clark would break his silence in the next moment.

All this Clark/Jor-El and Chloe/Zor-El interaction seems strangely appropriate and known. I never really thought much about Jor-El since his characterization on SV was so iffy, but it does speak to an otherworldly sense of entitlement to decide to save just one member of a whole world and make it your own son. As much as I'd like to say Martha and Jonathan tried to reel in Clark's ideas about his own importance, their actions to protect him gave him the opposite message; he's mistaken being unique for being special.


“I suppose you don’t care why I audited the project. I suppose you don’t want those answers. Only for me to change the color of the sky and rearrange valleys to your pleasure,” Zor-El gestured absently and circled Jor-El, “You’ve changed the programming in violation of the charter the Ministry gave you. That, brother, is illegal. You should’ve filed the appropriate paperwork.”

Clark clenched his fists. “You’ve always been jealous, Zor-El. Watching me. Inserting yourself into my life! I’ve worked on this project and on the eve of completion you let your ego get in the way of progress.”

He grunted and covered his face with his hands. Jor-El would never understand and he would waste no more words on the matter. “Regardless. The audit has commenced. The project will resume once all proper protocols are observed. If you’re lucky and you cooperate, the project will resume in a year, two at the most. Take the time to learn the lesson.”

I can almost feel Clark/Jor-El resolve to be a complete idiot at that last bit. It doesn't matter that he was the one in the wrong, or that he was caught and might be punished. He's registered an insult to his great work and will get back to Zor-El at the expense of every good intention that used to be tied into that work. Clark is noticeably very impatient, and particularly so when he felt an ability was a natural part of his heritage. I can see Jor-El feels just that way about his own scientific work.



It was a bloody fight and most of the blood was Jor-El’s. When Zor-El finally came to himself, Chloe saw that Jor-El was on the ground and Zor-El was standing over him repeatedly kicking him. She kneeled and gently caressed Clark’s face. “You forget yourself, brother, and so do I. I am the Greater Son of the House of El, the Second Minister of the Science Complex, and Commander in the Mining Force. You are the Lesser Son of the House of El and an Adjunct to the Mechanics Sub-division of the Science Complex. This ends, Jor-El. We begin again or we end.”

Thank you for kicking Clark's and Jor-El's collective hallucination ass. I feel better now. I hope Chloe had at least a moment of unsavoury satisfaction.


Jor-El nodded slightly. Something passed between the brothers and it seemed like it had been reconciliation.

Of course, Chloe knew for a fact that this moment changed nothing. Krypton was still destroyed and it was still Brainiac that did it and Zod was probably the catalyst.

The ghost figure of Brainiac/Gabriel shimmered into her view, “That’s a lie, Chloe, and you know it.”

Chloe could no longer hear Jor-El’s labored breathing nor feel the sensations of Zor-El. She could only stare in shocked horror that this…phantasm…came to her. “A hallucination within a hallucination?”

And here I thought I'd be getting through this flashback/hallucination/time-travel-fugue without being confused. I'm not sure who I thought was reading, but now I remember, Tex.


Zor-El didn’t go home. He needed solitude and his wife and baby daughter would not allow the peace he needed. It was their right as his family to demand his time, but he could not be what they needed just yet. So it was a matter of inevitability that his time would be intruded upon by the last person he could possibly want to see. Chloe thought that Zor-El might just be cursed. She knew that she was.

Zod was gloating this time. There seemed to be genuine concern in his voice, in his demeanor. He walked to Zor-El’s side and grabbed his shoulder.

“Imagine my surprise, Zor-El, when I hear you strip the grade from a guard after he questioned an order given to him by the Greater Son of the House of El. Imagine my surprise, when I hear that guards where there in the first place because a fight between the brothers of the House of El. Imagine my surprise to know that the Lesser Son of the House of El is to be seen by medics and then sent to Observation. And finally, imagine my surprise when I discover that Brainiac is to be audited on your order,” Zod/Lex closed his eyes, “Are you imagining it? Because I think now is the time for answers. Surely we can agree on that.”

Nice to know Lex and Zod are both well beyond polite greetings and get right to the snarky flirting. Also nice to hear Chloe thinking of Lex as a curse, because the man does introduce a level of complication to everyday events that is unsurpassed except on space operas. (BTW, I think you might be writing a space opera here. Also, I just recognized Tahmoh Penikket solely by the back of his head, so space operas are okay by me.)


It astounded Chloe again that she was in the body of a man. She was eye level with Lex, and while Zor-El may have been slim, he was still slightly bulkier than Zod’s lithe frame. Zor-El stared at Zod in the eye. Something sparked between them. Chloe realized that it was desire, that these two shared something more than friendship. Zor-El and, by extension, she may have realized that Zod/Lex could never truly transcend his nature, but that didn’t mean that there wasn’t something there. Chloe saw the exact moment that Lex/Zod decided to act and she knew it was the same moment that Zor-El had decided. It was a simultaneous thing. Chloe/Zor-El shoved Lex/Zod against the wall and kissed him roughly, while Zod frantically pulled and untied his robes. It seemed as if the moment had barely begun when Zod pushed Zor-El away to separate their bodies.

He licked his lips, smirked, and nodded to himself. “You are never one to indulge yourself and it has been an irredeemably long time, Zor-El. Maybe a bit slower.”

A game. Slick words and arrogance. Zod wanted this on his terms, but Zor-El was not going to play.

I can't believe you wouldn't let Chloe/Zor-El play! That was really hot!


Zod merely quirked an eyebrow.

EYEBROW! That is all.


Zor-El used his other hand to stroke Zod to arousal, while applying slight pressure to his neck. The sensation of having an erection was both mortifying and exciting. Zor-El’s rush was her own. His desire was her own. Zor-El bit Zod’s neck and pressed his lips to Zod’s ear, with every word he gave a gentle nip, “No. My speed. My terms. My way. Or not at all.”

Zor-EL held their position for a moment more, both of them coiled and primed. They would have a manic energy. He abruptly released Zod and walked towards his personal quarters without looking back. Zod would join him for it was in his nature to not deny himself; he had no control despite the fact that it was the one thing he desired most. In the end, as with Clark/Jor-El, Chloe/Zor-El knew her way around Lex/Zod’s emotions, his mind, and she/he would walk that path and kick every stone.

You're so mean. So. Mean. Seriously. I don't even think Krypton had fireplaces, so we can't even pan over to the flames burning. We panned to a blank, industrial grey wall. I want to headdesk until I die.

All the same, this story is getting some good momentum and intrigue. It's too bad you're only going to tease hot hate sex, but I'll take what I can get, because it's hard to find the heights of weird you include. All the same, I'm checking "mildly enraged" on my comment card. Thanks, Tex!

[somethingeasy]

Chapter 6


In all honesty, Chloe expected to be here again. She expected to feel this way and to not truly understand what was happening. It was what her life was reduced to after her crash: incomprehensible events. It was only fitting that her life, dedicated to uncovering truths and revealing events, had descended into an obscuring veil. She could describe it no other way, especially since she knew herself to be Zor-El once more.

LOL! How sad is it that this weird, surreal out-of-body dream-state is fast becoming Chloe’s default state of ‘normal’… at least ‘relatively’ normal, when placed in comparison against the chaos that is now her life. Brilliant!


Chloe could felt her throat clench. It was impossible to think, but Zor-El was on the verge of tears. He slammed his hand onto the arm of the chair. Zor-El snorted into his glass Chloe felt the sting on the palm of her hand, but a quick swig of her drink made the pain inconsequential. She closed her eyes. Chloe, herself, was frustrated beyond whatever Zor-El was feeling. She didn’t know what caused this and she didn’t dare guess. What would be the point? “Dammit, hallucination! Exposit or something!”

I was ROTFL at the idea of Chloe raging at her hallucination/dream/vision for lack of clarity and back-story. It IS pretty damned frustrating, and I can easily imagine Chloe being peeved off about how inefficient and unhelpful her visions were being.

It’s also fascinating seeing Chloe being so completely immersed into Zor-El, to the extent where she’s not only sympathizing with his point of view… but being completely drenched and immersed in his physiological AND emotional state. She both depressed AND drunk, because Zor-El is. Love it!


From Zor-El’s knowledge, Chloe realized that Kryptonian script worked on two different planes and that Jor-El and Brainiac had simplified the script to be compatible with human technology and understanding. Left to right gave the grammatical form and up to down gave context. The readout was telling her Brainiac’s programming. This was the source of Zor-El’s steep disappointment: Brainiac had been modified and dangerously so.

Ooooh, so the visions ARE efficient and helpful in SOME ways at least. It’s actually pretty cool knowing that Chloe can not only understand Kryptonian, but she can also understand very complicated coding in Kryptonain, that would probably be beyond the understanding of most of Krypton’s ‘normal’ civilians.

But it was pretty damned scary, creepy and unnerving discovering that Clark’s own father had actually removed some safety triggers and parameters from the programming while building Brainiac. And these safety codes were nto even removed out of any kind of malevolence, but more out of a fuzzy-headed kind of ‘I wonder what would happen if…’ state of mind. Aaaargh, Jor-El, you IDIOT! He might be a genius, but he’s an idiot!!!!


Jor-El/Clark once again stood a few feet away from Zor-El/Chloe and seemed to be waiting for acknowledgement. It struck Chloe anew how much of Clark’s behavior she saw in Jor-El’s. It was tempting to list this into the nature column, but these behaviors were easily the product of entitlement and nature. Clark was destined for greatness and Jonathan and Martha knew it. They knew it. And it didn’t hurt that he could legitimately think he was special due to his abilities. Clearly, Jor-El was some kind of golden boy and it was reinforced through past experience. Even now Chloe had a certain intuition: Clark would break his silence in the next moment.

His yell invaded the room. “What is this, Zor-El!”

Chloe chuckled softly and kept tending his nura flower, but did not answer. He would make Jor-El reach his breaking point. She knew her way around Clark’s emotions, his mind, and she would walk that path and kick every stone. There was a moment of dissonance as Chloe felt herself emerge again. It was becoming harder and harder to not insert her own mind and identity into this dream or hallucination or whatever was happening.

Squeeee! This was just awesome!! I loved seeing the parallels drawn between the Zor-El/Jor-El bond, and the Clark/Chloe relationship. It’s fascinating! I can see that both Zor-El and Jor-El are two men very different in skills and personalities from both Clark and Chloe, but there are still some VERY unmistakable similarities between them as well. This is a brilliant example of paralleling, mirroring as well as contrasting and comparing, Ava! Brilliant! The similarities and the differences between the two duos are really fascinating to watch and analyze!

I liked the idea, for example, of both Jor-El and Clark being both short-sighted and entitled and spoiled in their own ways… just as I liked the idea of the two of them still being completely different people, with Jor-El as a brilliant, creative, curious, fastidious, obsessive, truth-seeking scientist… while Clark is earnest, slightly self-absorbed but also kind, decent, and a dorky superhero in the making.

I also liked how Zor-El and Chloe are much more complex individuals as compared to Jor-El and Clark… which means that the differences and similarities between them are much more nuanced and complex as well. Brilliant! In many ways, General Zod and Lex Luthor are both actually a LOT less complex, ambiguous and mysterious than Chloe and Zor-El. I love it!


“I suppose you don’t care why I audited the project. I suppose you don’t want those answers. Only for me to change the color of the sky and rearrange valleys to your pleasure,” Zor-El gestured absently and circled Jor-El, “You’ve changed the programming in violation of the charter the Ministry gave you. That, brother, is illegal. You should’ve filed the appropriate paperwork.”

Clark clenched his fists. “You’ve always been jealous, Zor-El. Watching me. Inserting yourself into my life! I’ve worked on this project and on the eve of completion you let your ego get in the way of progress.”


Zor-El turned his back on his brother, which he knew would end poorly but he did it to prove a point: Jor-El was inconsequential. He felt himself whirled around and the blunt force of Jor-El’s fist in his face. To his everlasting credit, Jor-El seemed to be confused and regretful of his violent action, but it was too late. Some acts, once committed, cannot be brushed aside and too many of Clark’s actions had been brushed aside. After a moment where it seemed that Jor-El was going to apologize, Zor-El charged.

Woah! Once again, I’m fascinated by the similarities and differences between Jor-El and Clark. Jor-El has that same kind of short-sighted, self-absorbed, entitled, self-righteous kind of attitude… but he’s also a great deal less flexible and compromising than Clark… Perhaps it’s just the simple difference in age that accounts for this difference in personality traits?

In any case, I LOVED the intensity of this scene, and how this signaled a betrayal and ‘break up’ between BOTH Chloe and Clark, as well as Zor-El and Jor-El. Although… did Clark ever betray Chloe to this nearly unforgivable extent…? I don’t think that Clark and Chloe have, yet, had an argument of THIS magnitude and intensity, have they?

Heh… anyhow… it was satisfying to see Jor-El/Chloe winning the fight that Jor-El/Clark started, lol!


Of course, Chloe knew for a fact that this moment changed nothing. Krypton was still destroyed and it was still Brainiac that did it and Zod was probably the catalyst.

The ghost figure of Brainiac/Gabriel shimmered into her view, “That’s a lie, Chloe, and you know it.”

Chloe could no longer hear Jor-El’s labored breathing nor feel the sensations of Zor-El. She could only stare in shocked horror that this…phantasm…came to her. “A hallucination within a hallucination?”

LOL! We’re stuck in a dreamland hallucination, and we’re complaining that there are visions within visions? I think once you’re stuck in a hallucination, then it doesn’t really matter how many layers there might be to the visions in your head, lol! But still, I like that Chloe complained about that… that her visions were not behaving properly, lol!


Zor-El interrupted the guard before he could finish his sentence. “What is your name and house, guardsman?”
The guard cleared his throat before he answered, “Morrell of the House of Tarras.”

“Well, Morell of Tarras, you are relieved of duty and your grade removed,” Zor-El turned to the other men, “You have your orders.”

Squeeee! Cold, cool bastard! I LIKE Chloe playing the role of a magnificent bastard. It actually suits her well.


Zod was gloating this time. There seemed to be genuine concern in his voice, in his demeanor. He walked to Zor-El’s side and grabbed his shoulder.

“Imagine my surprise, Zor-El, when I hear you strip the grade from a guard after he questioned an order given to him by the Greater Son of the House of El. Imagine my surprise, when I hear that guards where there in the first place because a fight between the brothers of the House of El. Imagine my surprise to know that the Lesser Son of the House of El is to be seen by medics and then sent to Observation. And finally, imagine my surprise when I discover that Brainiac is to be audited on your order,” Zod/Lex closed his eyes, “Are you imagining it? Because I think now is the time for answers. Surely we can agree on that.”

LOL! Oh, Lex! No matter what body he’s in, he can STILL take unabashed, unashamed pleasure in gloating over ‘friction in Paradise’… and take time out of his own busy schedule to revel in the idea of Chloe/ZorEl and Clark/JorEl having a falling out with one another. Even in THIS world, in this hallucination, he’s STILL obsessed with the inseparable duo.


It astounded Chloe again that she was in the body of a man. She was eye level with Lex, and while Zor-El may have been slim, he was still slightly bulkier than Zod’s lithe frame. Zor-El stared at Zod in the eye. Something sparked between them. Chloe realized that it was desire, that these two shared something more than friendship. Zor-El and, by extension, she may have realized that Zod/Lex could never truly transcend his nature, but that didn’t mean that there wasn’t something there. Chloe saw the exact moment that Lex/Zod decided to act and she knew it was the same moment that Zor-El had decided. It was a simultaneous thing. Chloe/Zor-El shoved Lex/Zod against the wall and kissed him roughly, while Zod frantically pulled and untied his robes. It seemed as if the moment had barely begun when Zod pushed Zor-El away to separate their bodies.

Woah! WOAH!!!! Now this was completely unexpected and mesmerizing and fascinating as hell!!! OMFG!!!!! Zod and Jor-El were an item?!??? OMG!!! The most amazing thing is seeing how naturally and WELL the two of them mesh together.

Perhaps it helps imagining the two together only after we imagine Chloe as a proxy for Jor-El? Hmmmm… perhaps…? In any case, I have to admit that it actually was kind of hot seeing the intense loathe/lust/hate/love Chlex relationship mirrors in Zod’s and Jor-El’s interactions as well. It adds on yet another fascinating facet to the dynamics between Jor-El, Zor-El and General Zod, and makes them yet a little MORE closer to the Clark, Chloe and Lex triangle.

And I think I like the idea of Zod being uncontrollably attracted to Chloe, lol!


Zor-El used his other hand to stroke Zod to arousal, while applying slight pressure to his neck. The sensation of having an erection was both mortifying and exciting. Zor-El’s rush was her own. His desire was her own. Zor-El bit Zod’s neck and pressed his lips to Zod’s ear, with every word he gave a gentle nip, “No. My speed. My terms. My way. Or not at all.”

Zor-EL held their position for a moment more, both of them coiled and primed. They would have a manic energy. He abruptly released Zod and walked towards his personal quarters without looking back. Zod would join him for it was in his nature to not deny himself; he had no control despite the fact that it was the one thing he desired most. In the end, as with Clark/Jor-El, Chloe/Zor-El knew her way around Lex/Zod’s emotions, his mind, and she/he would walk that path and kick every stone.

Squeeee! OMFG, that was an AWESOME close, and a awful cliffhanger!!! Why do you torture us like this, Ava?!??? Please continue… please give me more… please post more soon!!!!!

[Avalanche]

Zod and Jor-El were an item?!???

A typo maybe? Zor-El instead of Jor-El?


Thanks for the reviews, SE and kitten! I wish we had the "thanks" button because I would totes push it for you guys! Wrote this with you in mind so I'm glad you guys enjoyed it! :)

[MASCH]

This story is amazingly well written! The level of detail when describing Chloe's death is frightening.
The reaction of Lex is as unapologetic as I've seen; there is no reason for his behavior but the quest for more power. His game won't end before he wins, no matter the consequences or the death toll. It truly feels like there is not an ounce of compassion left in him.
As for Gabe, good for him finally reacting to the danger his daughter is always thrust in and facing Clark, who doesn't seem necessarily worried; he's expecting Chloe's powers to heal her and not finding it strange that it's not. The only cause for concern Clark sees is to his and Oliver's secrets. As selfish as they come.

[Avalanche]

Thanks for the review, MASCH! Glad you are enjoying the story. :)

[kitten]

Hi Ava! Remember that thing that you said, about this story? Well, I remember that thing, because it was very good news. Nooooooooo pressure, just wanted to mention that thing I'm remembering.

[Avalanche]

AN: Sorry it’s been so long! On the bright side, you are totes receiving updates from Dr. Avalanche now! Here’s to an end to graduate school!

AN2: Amanda Waller will never be Pam Grier, though I love Pam Grier with a love that rivals the depths of Galactus’ hunger. Amanda Waller is, and will remain, the Amanda Waller of the comic books.

Disclaimer: Mine, it is not.


Chapter 7


If there was anything that Chloe, Lex, Clark, and Oliver had in common in that particular moment across multiple locations, it was their stunned silence. Gabe knew it to be true as surely as he knew the sky was blue. There was practically no other way any of them could feel at the unfolding events. Of course, the cause of their consternation was wildly different, but the reason for it could be traced to him and he knew it and reveled in it. It would shake them. In this moment in time, that was all Gabe wanted, for them to awaken to a new reality that would define them the way that he wanted them defined. Maybe then they would break from their patterns and make something new. Gabe snorted to himself. He doubted it. “Rise to this challenge, Chloe.”

“Uncle Gabe!”

Lois’ yelled call for him snapped Gabe from his musings. He smiled fondly to himself. Lois was dear to his heart; and one day all that burning energy that threatened to consume her would be channeled into a radiant ball of fire that burned away lies and revealed the truth. She was truly impressive. “But we all go through the growing pains and awkwardness of the business of growing up. Soon, your time will come to break away from all this.”

As much as Chloe yearned for what Lois was, she couldn’t be that way. She was destined for other, greater things. Gabe wondered idly if Chloe would still be able to use Lois after her transformation. He grinned to himself. It was such a stupid question. Of course Chloe would. The only question was if she would do it with mercy and kindness. “Oh, my light! You will be so great!”

“Lois! I’m in the den with Chloe’s nurse!”

Chloe would be leaving the hospital in two days to begin a more stringent physical therapy regiment so he and her personal physical therapist, Joey Scott, was preparing the den. It was an unwelcome reminder of when he and his wife prepared the nursery. They had so many hopes and dreams and never did they think that Chloe would be their only child. They thought they had time to do so many things. The beauty of life was that everyone got to be young and hopeful and then old and content. To take that away from someone was an act of cruelty, but everyone did it to varying degrees and sometimes it was a necessary act to transition one from callow youth to wizened old. At any rate, Gabe knew that Chloe worried over the cost, but his recent activities had left him with considerable money, not to mention the fact that Oliver Queen had set aside a trust for Chloe.

Lois came charging into the room a few moments later and immediately turned on the television. "Have you seen this?”

She was in shocked excitement. Gabe knew what she was excited about, but he glanced at the television anyway. Joey also stopped what he was doing to observe the action on the screen.

Onscreen, a heavy-set, stately black woman stood at a podium, “It was brought to the attention of the United States government that a secret organization was effectively undermining our ability to prosecute threats, both domestic and foreign. Yesterday, charges were brought against Senator Martha Kent in connection with a clandestine operation that was funneling money to oppose a legal, government initiative run by myself and involving multiple other agencies. Further investigation will be brought to bear to ensure that all parties have been rooted out and brought to justice. Let it be known: the United States stands against all terrorism, domestic or foreign. Thank you.”

The footage cut away from the press conference as she answered questions to the news anchor. “That was Special Agent Amanda Waller. Senator Martha Kent took over her husband’s seat after his untimely death.”

The news anchor’s voice receded to the background as Lois turned to him. “Can you believe this? Mrs. Kent is just about the nicest person I know. They have to be mistaken, right? I haven’t even seen Clark all day!”

Gabe turned his back and rolled his eyes. Lois and her concern for Clark Kent. It was to mock endlessly. He acknowledged to himself that Amanda Waller was an exceedingly impressive woman, someone to give your respect. She would go many places. High places. All he needed to do was give her the resources she needed and she would be perfect.

Joey whistled, “Damn. And I thought Senator Kent was one of the good ones. Just goes to prove that adage power and all. Anyway, Gabe, there are only a few items left and we can do that tomorrow. So I’ll leave now and come back tomorrow unless you want to finish everything today.”

“Nah, we can finish tomorrow. Go home,” Gabe replied as he walked Joey to his car.

When he returned to the den, Lois was in her thinking phase of a situation. She wasn’t excited anymore. She was considering the angles, letting her brain take her places. This was Lois at her best. She wasn’t good at figuring it all out in one go. Lois was actually good at uninterrupted thinking. She was good at considering the ramifications, but first she had to not be a hot head, which was an odd dichotomy to find in one person. She was strong where Chloe was weak; but given time, both of them would master the skills. Of course, Chloe was progressing quicker and Gabe could only infer that it was due to the fact that Chloe’s trials had come by fire.

“So what are we having for lunch?”

Lois must have been deep in thought because she startled at his words. “I was thinking maybe Captain Bill’s Burger Barn.”

Gabe chuckled. “I have never understood why you and Chloe love that place.”

“The burgers are fantastic and it is in a “barn”. What is not to love about it?”

Gabe shrugged. “But it can’t even commit to fully embracing the alliteration, but ya know what? Fair enough," he paused and changed the subject, “I’m surprised that you haven’t tracked down Clark in light of today’s events. He might need a friend right about now.”

Lois’ expression became angry. “Did you know that he and Chloe go into a fight the day he visited her? He hasn’t been around much since. And he didn’t show up at work today. Besides, it isn’t my job to track him down if he doesn’t want to be found. He’s probably with his mother anyway. I did some checking around and she’s in Smallville.”

Gabe raised his eyebrows. "Did you hear what they were saying?"

Lois shook her head. "No, their voices were too low, but it sounded intense. I don't think they've spoken since."

There was jealousy in her voice. Chloe and Clark would always be complicated and there was a part of Clark that she would never have. There was resentment there because she just couldn’t understand their relationship. The less he thought about Chloe and Oliver’s relationship in regards to Lois, the better he would feel about the situation. The two men kept trading off variations of a similar personality type that was really only superficially similar. They did a disservice to themselves and to their objects of affection. He felt a little bad for Lois; and while his primary concern would always be for Chloe, Lois had him too. One of the things he missed most about Chloe’s childhood was her relationship with Lois before adolescence changed it. “And now it will change even more.”

Gabe saw the exact moment that Lois switched gears, resolved to forget it, and be cheerful. “Let’s go eat!”

********

Waking up to the breaking news that his mother was being charged with obstructing an official U.S. government operation and funneling money to a clandestine operation in opposition to said official U.S. government operation was enough to make Clark Kent panic. There was no way his mother would’ve kept such information from him if she knew about it, so it had to have been some kind of sudden, trick maneuver.

His gut reaction was that Lex was behind his mother’s precipitous downfall. On further thought, however, Clark realized that Lex may have had a long arm and many allies, but his reach wasn’t that long, especially in light of current events: both Queen Industries and LuthorCorp were struggling in the markets. Both companies had suffered a dangerous plunge in the stock market. Current Dow projections hadn’t been at all kind to either company. Their crisis was spilling over and affecting Wayne Enterprises and other global conglomerates. The problem was that no one could figure out where the trouble was coming. Oliver had explained it to Clark so he could understand the gist of the troubles if not the nuance of the situation.

Between Chloe’s accident, Oliver’s problems, and by default, the Justice League’s uncertainty, Clark was stretched thin. This just added another layer that he had to focus on instead, which meant that everything else had to take a back seat. His mother was more important than any other thing. It was this mindset that Clark rushed to Smallville. Oliver had cautioned him on using his super-speed to reach his mother so he was relegated to using his truck. He thanked Oliver for his caution because his house looked to be surrounded by government agents. Clark’s home was under guard and both he and his mother had to be extremely careful.

As Clark carefully walked to his front door, he surveyed the cars and men and women in black suites. Clark felt that he could face anything and mostly that was due to his mother’s steadying presence and when times were good, Chloe’s unwavering faith in him; but this made him afraid. This was something he might not be able to fix even if he knew the problem. He doubted his mother would even be able to speak to him in their home. It had to be under heavy surveillance.

Martha opened the door and Clark immediately swooped her into a hug. For a moment in time, everything was good, but movement further into his house put lie to the moment.

Clark’s eyes searched her face for signs of distress. The concern was evident in his voice, “Are you ok?”

Martha closed her eyes and sighed deeply. She was tired and she had failed. “Yes, I’m fine. I haven’t been mistreated.”

Clark heard an implied “yet” at the end of her sentence, but he didn’t think she meant it. “Let’s go for a walk.”

A dark-haired, tall woman stepped from the living room. There was a slight sense of menace and distrust around her. “I’m afraid that Senator Kent is under house arrest and may not leave the premises.”

He stepped around his mother to place himself between his mother and the agent who spoke to them. Clark gestured outside, “This entire farm is her premises. Are you saying she can’t leave the house?”

The agent smiled slightly. From her expression, Clark had the unsettling thought that she knew what he was. “I’m Agent Susan Linden. Your mother can move 50 feet from the house. If she moves beyond 50 feet, she will be immediately transported to minimum security governmental facilities for the duration. If she manages to escape, she will be remitted to a maximum security facility and any who aided and abetted her will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Agent Linden ended with a knowing look on her face. It was a slight taunt. “Impossible! How could she know?”

It was under the watchful eye of Agent Linden that they left his childhood home. He had never been so thankful to leave his home. Clark asked his mother the one question that had been repeating itself over in his mind until he could think about nothing else.

“Mom, what happened?”

His mother sighed again. “We have to be careful, Clark. We don’t know what they are doing,” at his quizzical look, Martha continued, “They could be lip reading or using technology to hear us. I don’t know! They’re capable of anything!”

Clark ran his hand through his hair and turned from his mother. He didn’t know what to do. He turned to her again when he felt her hands on his shoulders. Her voice was low and her mouth hidden by his bulk.

“They know, Clark. I was trying to protect you and the others, but somehow they found out about it. Agent Waller has been investigating for a few weeks, but she couldn’t have the information she has in such a limited time. She has to have help. Could Lex have done this?”

There was no way that Lex was able to out them. If he was interpreting his mother correctly, she knew about the Justice League; but how much beyond that whoever “they” were knew, he didn’t know.

He was frustrated. “Lex doesn’t know enough to do this. I don’t think he could’ve found out about you. You still haven’t explained what you were doing.”

Martha’s look of annoyance and exasperation was one that he really hadn’t ever seen before, at least not directed at him. “I can’t go into details. It would be dangerous for me.”

Clark nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”

The only thing he could do was try to meet Oliver without anyone knowing about it, but Clark didn’t really trust that Oliver would be in a place to help. Beyond anything else, one irrefutable fact had repeatedly made itself known over the years: he needed Chloe’s help. Clark could only fervently hope that she would be willing and able.

********

He was the very picture of calm as he walked brusquely to his office. He gave instructions here and there. He greeted his secretary as he normally did. He walked into his office, carefully closed the blinds to hide his office from view, and turned off his computer. He left his office with poise and dignity. From the time he first came into his office to the last five minutes was spent in a board meeting. When he got home, however, his yell was primal and furious and he flung his brief case at the walls of his mansion. Lex Luthor was home early and there was no part of that that he liked. He would make every last one of those smug bastards pay for inflicting this indignity upon him.

Lex may have inherited LuthorCorp, but the board of directors still had more control than he wanted over the company, at least they would for another year. Lionel was petty until the very end. LexCorp also hung in the balance since he tied it to his father’s company. The board had found out about his renewed activities with meteor freaks and from there, the situation snowballed. The chairman of the board was contacted by Amanda Waller herself and that was how the government shut him down hard. They held a no confidence vote and that was how he, Lex Luthor, found himself on involuntary leave from his own company.

“A fucking no confidence vote! On me!”

Lex walked to his bar and poured himself a drink. He would solve this problem. In the meantime, he would continue to harass Oliver Queen. After all, Lex had idle time on his hands. He was about to catch up on the news for the day when his phone rang.

“We need to talk. I sent you an email with the details. Be there.”

Before he had a chance to utter a word, he heard the dial tone. Lex knocked back another drink and braced himself. No good could possibly come of this.

[kitten]

I know this is terrible of me, because there's a lot of really great plot happening here, but my first impression was that Martha Kent would own her cellblock. You would have to buy your freedom from kitchen duty with pies and scented sachets. She would have fourteen prison bitches, and they would all call her "Your Majesty" without any irony whatsoever. I'm not worried about Martha, because she's too awesome for that.

Great chapter, Dr. KWosY Texan! I hope you enjoyed this look into my psyche. (My psyche was looking back at yoooooooooou! It has red eyes! It answers to 'Miss Muffet' sometimes! That's messed uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup, wooooooooooooooo-oooooooooooooooooooh!)

[Avalanche]

I know this is terrible of me, because there's a lot of really great plot happening here, but my first impression was that Martha Kent would own her cellblock. You would have to buy your freedom from kitchen duty with pies and scented sachets. She would have fourteen prison bitches, and they would all call her "Your Majesty" without any irony whatsoever. I'm not worried about Martha, because she's too awesome for that.

Great chapter, Dr. KWosY Texan! I hope you enjoyed this look into my psyche. (My psyche was looking back at yoooooooooou! It has red eyes! It answers to 'Miss Muffet' sometimes! That's messed uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup, wooooooooooooooo-oooooooooooooooooooh!)

Martha Kent would be like a benevolent Martha Stewart probably. Also, I always love views into your psyche. It makes me feel good things on the inner parts.

[somethingeasy]

Chapter 7


“But we all go through the growing pains and awkwardness of the business of growing up. Soon, your time will come to break away from all this.”

As much as Chloe yearned for what Lois was, she couldn’t be that way. She was destined for other, greater things. Gabe wondered idly if Chloe would still be able to use Lois after her transformation. He grinned to himself. It was such a stupid question. Of course Chloe would. The only question was if she would do it with mercy and kindness. “Oh, my light! You will be so great!”

Wait… what?! When I first started reading this storyline, I knew that Gabe’s darker side was being slowly unfurled and explored, but now I’m seeing this… strangeness in him. It’s one thing to think of your baby as destined for a fantastic future, a great career that will deliver magnificent wealth and influence, as well as a future filled with loyal powerful friends and all that great stuff… BUT… Gabe seems to be thinking of Chloe’s future almost in terms of… divinity and Godhood. As if she’s destined to become this figure with supernaturally powers, able to smite those who displease her, etc.

For the first time, I’m beginning to fear that Gabe is ALSO one of the myriad of people who appear to be possessed, influenced and/or enlightened with alien entities. Yikes! Are there any people left who are just plain human anymore in Smallville?!?!??

Hmmm… and I also noted Gabe inwardly commenting on how some of ‘his recent activities had left him with considerable money’? Just what the heck kind of activities, and amount of wealth, are we talking about here?! Gahhhh!!! I’m getting more questions than answers with every passing chapter.

I’m not complaining, exactly, but I’m getting flashbacks of my obsession with the show, Lost with this fic. Fortunately, I have faith in Ava’s ability to actually deliver a satisfying ending to the mysteries in THIS storyline, lol!

Ooooh, and it appears that Gabe has joined forces with Amanda Waller. I LOVED her in the animated series. Not so familiar with her in comic canon, but she was easily one of my favourite characters in the DC animated verse. And yes, I’m aware that she’s ruthless to the point of being outright evil sometimes… but she was always magnificent, and she rivaled characters like Lex when it came to complexity of emotion and motivation and underlying agendas. Loved her!!!

Wow! And Gabe just pointed Amanda at Martha Kent like a guided missile. Ouch! When he makes enemies, he doesn’t fool around, does he? I especially loved the way that he’s going about destroying his enemies, without even slightly making any kind of declaration of war. Martha, Clark, Oliver and all the others have NO IDEA that he’s gunning for them, much less how effective he’s being in destroying them from background.

I’m actually a little afraid for Lois too. She’s one of the few characters who has always had Chloe’s back, but Gabe seems to be gunning for everyone who even slightly marginalized Chloe in some way or another… even if it was in the capacity of being a rival to her ambitions. Hopefully he won’t make her a target too, in his desire for generalized vengeance for Chloe.

Speaking of generalized vengeance… it seems that Queen, Luthor AND even Wayne corporations are suffering from major troubles. I supposed it could just be the economy… OR it could be Gabe pulling strings again…? Somehow…?!?

Nah… I’m probably just being paranoid. I mean, Gabe might be able to go after individuals like Martha, Clark, Oliver, Lex, etc… but to go after entire corporate empires… that’s a whole LOT of power and influence that’s (possibly, probably) beyond even Lex or Bruce Wayne… maybe…?

Anyhow… back to Martha… I have to admit, that I was shocked, but also awe-struck by the effective efficiency with which Gabe had damaged her reputation and power-base. And then I saw, through Clark’s POV, how Martha was actually being humiliated and harassed on her own property by agents and restraining orders… and it was horrifying. It actually IS horrifying imagining the ruthless extent to which Gabe is willing to go to exact vengeance for his baby. This is going beyond just punishing people… this is going into the realms of outright insanity. Chloe would be the very first person to be horrified by her father’s insane cruelty and BEG him to stop.

Heh… actually if (when) Chloe becomes active again, the first thing she’s going to do is start investigating into these series of attacks on the Kents… and eventually find her father is behind all of them all along…?!

Even scarier was sensing the possibility that the federal agents in charge of guarding Martha might even have some insight into Clark’s powers too…?!? Yikes! IF that’s the case, then just how many people would know about Clark’s secrets?!?

Heh… and it appears that Lex is having trouble aplenty of his own too. LOL! I loved the description of the temper tantrum that he threw upon returning home from that disastrous meeting with his board of directors. Even with all his power, sophistication, intelligence and education, Lex sometimes still acts like an entitled spoiled brat, from time to time. Of course, it’s these very breaks in that cool, polished façade that we LOVE about him.

LOL! And even when being faced with a crises at the office, that might or might not have been caused by Gabe somehow, Lex STILL takes time out of his schedule to harass Oliver Queen. ROTFLMAO! Oh, Lex! You’re still just a kid in so many ways. Nice prioritizing there, Lex!

Great chapter, Ava. Thanks for the magnificent update. I’m so sorry about the delay in reviewing. Please do write more soon.

[Avalanche]

AN: Happy holidays to all my NS friends! It’s been a great year and I look forward to next year of hanging out with the awesomest fandom pairing around!

Be safe, be loved, and be good to others!

Disclaimer: It is not mine.


Chapter 8


It was a weird thing, a difficult, thing own up to the reality that you are fundamentally changed and you don’t know what that means or what it looks like. Just that you are. The reality of it made everything else a kind of un-reality, something that was bizarre and cruel and unfair. These were the thoughts that crowded Chloe when she wiped the mirror clear of the steam that had condensed on it due to her bracingly hot shower. The image she confronted was different from the one revealed in the hospital the night, the day, that she had awakened from a coma.

Her hair was slightly longer and spiked on its own. Her face was more filled out and had a healthier hue to it. This mirror was larger and she could see the rest of her body. She had a long scar down her chest where the doctors had broken her breast bone to get to her lungs. A scar ran across her abdomen which was the entry point for them to correct her internal injuries. Chloe had lost a kidney and she had part of her father’s liver. Despite all of those things, she felt…

“Invigorated. I feel...alive.”

And this was true. For the past few days, her physical therapist had carefully and expertly rehabilitated muscles that had been in disuse. He had massaged the aches. But Chloe had the bone deep sense that even without him, she would’ve been fine. More than fine. She had to fake strain and effort. Everything was coming easier to her. Chloe couldn’t understand it and she feared it. She feared what it meant for her. Chloe hadn’t tested the limits of her new-found strength and she had no intention of doing it any time soon. But…

A ghostly hand caressed her from the base of her spine to her neck.

“But you have questions. You want to know. You need to know. It is your curse.” It was a soft whisper in her ear.

Chloe tilted her head towards the lips that formed those words. She recognized that voice, that gentle touch.

“Zod?”

There was a note of lust and gentle chiding in those uttered words. They were playful words. In the moments where they had loved each other the best, Zod used that voice with Zor-El. It was full of promise. Zod was cultured. He commanded rooms. And from the moment in service in Krypton’s mining force, there was something between them. Friendship, rivalry, anger, love were the things that had defined them. Even that was a limited view of them.

“Zor-El, this world has a yellow sun. Ours was yellow, remember? It was only red because of Krypton. Krypton was special, was it not? Our atmosphere, the nature of our planet, so very different than Earth even if our sun wasn't much different. Remember how special Krypton was?”

She could see Zod close his eyes from the view of him in the mirror. He was wistful. She saw what drew Faora. He had a boyish quality at times. The sway of his hair. The pursed lips.

Chloe touched the mirror. These feelings were of a time gone by. There were a million remembered touches. The way he moaned when he, Zor-El, kissed that spot behind his ear. Zod positioned himself more fully behind Chloe and encircled her waist with his arms. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Zod’s left hand moved until he held her neck in a loose grip and he took her ear between his lips. Chloe opened her eyes and there was Lex.

“Remember how special Krypton is, Zor-El. Remember the fun we have. We can have this, Zor-El. We can have this for a long time. Just…stay with me.”

But this was a dream. Zod wasn’t real. He was a long dead man. And so was Krypton and whatever promise it once held, it was dead. This had been a real moment between Zod and Zor-El. They had been in what would be the Kryptonian version of a summer villa. There was so much light that day. The light red sky was clear and both of them could see what seemed like miles ahead of them.

Chloe shook her head and the ghost sensations that Zod had produced were gone. She was bereft. She shook herself again.

“Krypton wasn’t Earth and Kryptonians weren’t human. Shards of Krypton caused mutation in humans. Think, Chloe. What’s to say that even on Krypton they weren’t slightly stronger than humans?”

Could she be closer to what a Kryptonian would be? If so, how was that possible?

Chloe clutched the sink and stared into her own eyes. “This isn’t normal. This isn’t normal. This isn’t normal.”

Maybe if she repeated it enough, she could change it. She could become normal. She could prevent it from becoming a new normal. As she muttered to herself, she could be honest at the same time. Only the slightest hint of hysteria betrayed her.

A knock at the restroom door startled her out of her reverie. “Chloe? Are you ok? I know it was hard today, but Joey says you're improving faster than he expected.”

Chloe snorted to herself and muttered. “That’s the problem.”

On the other side of the door, Gabe grabbed his head and dug his fingers into his scalp. He had to be patient. He wasn’t patient the last time and everything was ruined. He could be patient this time. “It has to work this time.”

“Do you need help?”

Chloe looked sharply at the door. There was something in her father’s voice, some quality that was both familiar and not. There was something wrong and it was enough to draw her from memories and feelings that weren’t her own. She opened the door quickly, which startled Gabe. She could see the strain in his face and many other things. Irritation, hope, expectation, anger, relief passed over his face and finally settled on the smile that she had always found comforting.

They stood in the hallway, staring at each other for longer than was comfortable. There was a resonance and awareness between them that had never existed before and it was in turns frightening and welcome.

Her father was the first to break the stand-off. “You almost died and there was nothing I could do about it. I had to watch you lying still in a cold, sterile hospital room. I would’ve had put you in a coffin, to pack you away, and content myself with visiting a grave for the rest of my life. To tell myself that you were still here and remember the good times,” his voice broke and he took her hand and placed it above his heart. “Memories are never enough, Chloe, no matter whatever platitudes well-meaning people spew from their perch of asinine wisdom.”

Chloe was shamed. Whatever else was going on that needed her attention now, her father was still the best of the things in her life and she had wronged him by not trying to understand his grief. In the face of such unabashed honesty and regret and relief, she could do no more than let him hug her.

“This isn’t about your mother, Chloe. This isn’t me clinging to you because I have faced the thought of being alone before. You are my daughter and the best part of me.”

The moment was broken when they both heard her cellphone ringing from her room. Gabe released her and walked towards the kitchen. He called over his shoulder, “It’s probably Oliver. I’ve been blowing him off on your behalf for the past few days.”

Chloe continued to watch him trek to the kitchen until he was out of sight and her phone stopped ringing. There it was again: the moment when her father was no longer her father. After Chloe reached her room, she saw that Oliver had called and she did the only thing that she could do, which was return his call. She needed to get to work and that meant re-engaging Oliver.

Twenty minutes later found Chloe cruising in Oliver’s car, headed towards Watchtower. They were both silent on the drive, save for a few halting sentences about how the other was doing. At a glance, Chloe could tell that Oliver was stressed. His hair was slightly mussed and there seemed to be a slight frown that never really left his face. He kept glancing at her out of the corner of his eye; there were a million and one questions that she couldn’t and didn’t want to answer.

She wasn’t actually surprised when a chill raised her hairs on her arms. It even made her scalp tingle. Chloe glanced into the rear view mirror and was not surprised to see Green Arrow. What did startle her was the differences in appearance, even from the last “Errol Flynn” Green Arrow. His hair was short and there was a five o’clock shadow present on his jaw line. He wore green and she could see the outline of a bow and arrow. His face was harder and the edge of WASP-y aristocracy was all but gone. There was an air of grief and darkness about him. This was an Oliver who had never even taken solace in his business, who had felt desperation in his bones and would never shake that feeling. There was the hint of murder in his eyes. This was a man who had never truly left his island prison, a man of vengeance.

“Eyes forward, Chloe. He might think something is wrong.”

Oliver’s brow furrowed. “Are you ok, Chloe?”

“Yes, Chloe. Are you ok?”

It was déjà vu. She’d had this conversation before with Errol Flynn Green Arrow.

“Not really. This short hair makes my scalp tingle at the oddest of times,” she forced the words out even as she knew that they would ring false to Oliver. They were acting now and going through the motions.

It was with profound relief when she finally exited the car and wasn’t in close quarters with versions of a man she thought she loved. Chloe sighed with relief when she crossed the threshold into the apartment. New Other Green Arrow glided toward a desk.

“Chloe, I am really worried about you.”

She sighed, “I know. It’s just so weird, ya know? Nothing is the same and I don’t know if it’s just me or if things have actually changed.”

Oliver grunted in agreement. “The only experience I have is when I came back from the island.”

“My time was rougher than his. I could only feel hatred, Chloe. An unrelenting hatred. I realized that nothing had actually changed, but me. And then I realized that wasn’t true. Everything had changed and I had changed, but we didn’t change together. That was the problem.”

Oliver smiled slightly and it transformed his face into something beautiful. “We don’t expect anything from you, but I know you’re bored. If you want, you can always digitize and organize my company’s holdings.”

Green Arrow’s voice sounded from somewhere in the apartment,“Ouch! Such a manipulative ass. A ploy, Chloe, to get you to do the dirty work. Or maybe it is to draw you out,” He walked into her view to a table that held various files flash drives, “You will want to check this.”

He slammed his hand down onto a pile of folders.

Chloe focused on Oliver and rolled her eyes. She had to act out her role now. “Nah, I just want to relax without the prying eyes of my dad. I haven’t had any privacy these last few weeks.”

Oliver raised his hands in knowing defeat. “I know, I know. You know where everything is. Try not to break anything,” he winked at her and left the apartment. They were themselves again and it was a much needed respite from the uncertainty.

Chloe ran to Green Arrow and he disbursed in a flash of dark green and the smell of an island forest. She read the files and could see the trouble Queen Industries, Wayne Enterprises, and Luthorcorp and other conglomerates faced. There was too much order here. She had seen this before, which she already knew since she had the same revelation in the hospital; but it was more prominent.

“Remember how special Krypton was?”

“Jesus Christ! This is Brainiac’s Protocal!”

Dark Thursday was caused by a virus that had been a pale imitation of Brainiac’s Protocal which was set in motion by the spirit that called itself Zod. But that Zod wasn’t real, just remnants of the man in the Phantom Zone. It was Zod stripped of all of his charisma and brilliant mind. That was also a ploy by Brainiac. Krypton was destroyed partly by its resistance to order, but mostly because Brainiac was an uncaring, unfeeling machine that wanted to start from scratch. What was happening now was a precursor to the kind of order Brainiac had sought to impose on Krypton.

If Krypton, with all its advancement, couldn’t stop Brainiac and the forces that unleashed him, then how could Earth? Clark was out of commission, Lex was so far down the rabbit hole that he couldn’t see, and Oliver just didn’t have the ability to help her.

Using the expense card Oliver had given her, she purchased new computer parts. Watchtower was not advanced enough to do what she needed to do. She had to start with a blank slate so that she could incorporate Krypton.

She had no time to waste. Chloe had to get to work and quickly. To be perfectly honest, Chloe only had one question. She probably should’ve had more, but there was really only one.

“How?”

[somethingeasy]

Chapter 8

I think I need the cliff-notes to this story. I’m getting more questions than answers with every chapter. I love the intriguing turns of this storyline, but I beginning to feel really lost about the difference between reality and hallucination and simple misunderstanding.

I was getting the inkling that Chloe was possessed by Brainiac, and that was where she was getting all these memories of Krypton from. Plus it would also provide an explanation about why she feels so strong, invigorated and healthy, despite having been through major physical trauma and surgery.

Of course, her positive well-being and health seems to be balanced completely on the physical side. Mentally, Chloe seems to be a mess. She’s not only getting all these ‘visions’ of Zod, Zor-El and Krypton, but she’s also beginning to develop a serious infatuation for an alien being that’s she’s never actually met. The state of Chloe’s mental health disturbs me greatly. The only reassurance I can get is that Chloe seems at least [/I]partially[/I] aware that this isn’t normal or healthy.

Anyhow, as I mentioned, I thought that all of these problems stemmed from Chloe being possessed by Brainiac…only now, in this chapter, I’m getting hints that Gabe is the one actually possessed by the super-AI creation from Krypton. What the heck is going on?!???

*sigh* despite my befuddlement and confusion, I still DO really like the narrative and character development and the relationships being illustrated in this fic. I can’t help but love all the Gabe/Chloe interactions, mostly because, although they’re based on a simple, beautiful, pure father/daughter love, they’re also made twisted and complex because of all the secrets and evasiveness and wariness between the two. Gabe adores Chloe, and she knows it. He would be devastated if something had happened to her, and she knows it. He’s also aware that there are several secrets that she’s hiding from him, and she knows that too!! What she doesn’t know, is that he’s hiding some serious secrets of his own from her too. Erm… poetic justice…?

The conversation between Chloe and Oliver was even more strange and confusing. On one hand, I couldn’t really see him saying or doing anything that makes him a bad friend. He was being kind, supportive and trying to offer himself as a sympathetic ear to her. And yet, Chloe’s ‘Green Arrow’ inner monologue was treating him like some kind of an enemy. It was very peculiar, and I honestly can’t tell whether it’s because I’m missing something, OR whether it’s because Chloe’s inner Green Arrow voice is a delusional, paranoid sociopath.

And then there was the cliffhanger. We’ve already established, in previous chapters, that it’s Gabe Sullivan’s attacks on LuthorCorp and Queen Enterprises and the Kents that have led to all of them in such a desperate state. And yet now, Chloe has just identified all of these attacks as part of some kind ‘Protocol’ based on a Brainiac plan. Does this mean that Gabe has (also?) been possessed by Brainiac? OR… and this really twists my brain… perhaps Gabe doesn’t exist in this fanfic at all, and it’s all been Chloe all along who has been exacting this plan of vengeance, using her father’s personality as some kind of alternate personality to her own plans and actions?!???? I’m really confused.

Heh… but, despite the confusion, or perhaps even because of it, I’m thoroughly intrigued by this storyline, and really want to see more. Please update soon, Ava.
And Happy Christmas :)

[Avalanche]

AN: ENJOY!

Disclaimer: not mine


Chapter 9


Lex walked into the restaurant and to his absolute non-surprise saw that his party was already present. He quickly scanned the restaurant and saw other agents. He grunted to himself.

“So this is to be an ambush. They actually do think to intimidate me.”

He sat down across from Amanda Waller and motioned for the waiter. Lex resented the fact that he was summoned and that he had no control over the situation.

“Tell me, Waller, is this on the government tab? Or are you forcing me to pay for this meal? Shouldn’t you be out prosecuting an actual criminal? Perhaps Martha Kent?”

Lex could admit to himself that he felt a blazing charisma from Agent Waller. She had this aura about her that discouraged anyone from being stupid in her presence. Amanda Waller was a formidable woman.

“I’ll be picking up the tab, Mr. Luthor. This is a business meeting after all.”

He leaned back into his chair. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this business meeting?”

“We know your activities. We know about the meteor rocks. We also know that you have been temporarily ousted as the CEO. You’ll get your position back, but it will take time and there are those who require that you get your position back sooner rather than later.”

The waiter returned with salads and water for them both.

“Oh, I’ve ordered for us. I don’t particularly want this to take more time than necessary either.”

The anger over her daring to order for him was pushed aside in favor of her words.

“You’re one of those people I suppose. What does it matter—“

Waller interrupted him, “If you want to avoid being subject to the Patriot Act, you will release all your research on the meteor rocks and transfer the affected to government care. It is clear that you are unable to control this part of your business. It is disruptive to the rule of law.”

Lex tried to speak over her, but she merely bulldozed over him in a way that had never been successful, “You will resume your position as Luthorcorp’s CEO next week to facilitate the process. After that, our business will be complete.”

Waller abruptly stood and leaned over him, “I will always have my eye on you, Mr. Luthor. Mind your business, keep it in order, and do not make me come for you.”

With that she left the restaurant; and a few minutes later, so did six agents. Lex leaned forward and steepled his hands. He would need to tread very carefully. There were things that she did not know. He simply needed to be that much more careful.

Lex finished his salad and waited for the entrée. He wouldn’t waste a perfectly good meal.

********

Chloe was preparing to go to bed. She was exhausted, but she had done that on purpose. Her day had been spent reading the news, following Wall Street, and hanging out a hacker conspiracy sites. If anyone had some insight to the craziness she was seeing it would be conspiracy theorists. There wasn’t always something to be found, but Chloe was positive that some crazy hacker specifically looking for anomalies would have posted something, somewhere. It was only a matter of writing a program to search the internet for her.

She was proven right and so followed the link spiral to weed out the improbable with her memories of Brainiac’s Protocol. It was hard, but since she had her own Wall of Weird and conspiracy theories she recognized them as her people. Some of them had no idea how correct they were. Most just couldn’t articulate or follow the implications because Brainiac was a super advanced artificial intelligence and even his creators had issues with him.

“Him? Since when did I begin to think of Brainiac as a person and not a machine?”

It was probably because Zor-El had never thought of Brainiac as merely a machine. Brainiac was beyond such designations. He was a thinking force of nature, a font of endless possibilities. At the end, every Kryptonian had to realize that singular fact.

Sleep was the thing she needed. She needed eight, maybe twelve, hours of darkness where she didn’t have to think and she wasn’t trapped in the memories of Zor-El. In addition to the fact that she felt emotionally exhausted after each encounter, it was changing her. It wasn’t becoming harder to separate where she began and Zor-El ended, but she felt like she was becoming less human and more Kryptonian. Chloe didn’t really understand what that meant, but she felt it was true deep in her bones and she didn’t think she had the reserves to deal with it.

Of course, her new normal did not include any kind of respite from the weirdness, which is why she was not surprised when she didn’t get her darkness or rest.

The dream seemed to have begun in the middle. Chloe was playing with a small child. The girl’s giggles pierced the air and Zor-El felt a lightness that had eluded him for the past few weeks. This was happiness: a trusting face looking at him with love and only the expectation that came with the carelessness and selfishness of childhood.

“How is my daughter today? Is Kara Zor-El having a good day?”

She laughed happily in response.

“Of course my daughter is having a good day! Father is fun like a hurko!”

Zor-El’s memory supplied the four-legged, goofy looking beast that he referred. It had large feet with six long toes that allowed it to disperse its weight so it could walk on the semi-liquid surfaces in Krypton’s marshes. They made exceptional pets.

Chloe gently tossed Kara in the air. It was her favorite. When Kara landed, Chloe/Zor-El blew on her belly.

“Father will take you flying later.”

An amused voice called from behind him. “Then Father will become a flying hurko will he not?"

Kara squirmed from his lap and ran, giggling, towards her mother.

“Sorry to end your time, but it’s time for this daughter of a hurko to bathe.”

Chloe watched as her wife handed their daughter over to her caretaker. Both of them waited until Kara and her caretaker left the room. His wife was going to give him a much deserved lecture on avoidance. He had been deeply unfair to them both. The worst part is that Zor-El knew his behavior was wrong but he was selfish and didn’t confront the problem.

The dream, as disconcerting as any of the other dreams of Krypton, had been pleasant. There were good feelings. She had been enjoying this dream. The attendant dread that permeated the other dreams were absent in this one. It represented something that was simple and the emotions she had been feeling through Zor-El were all so very human. They were things she could understand.

Fortified with Zor-El’s contentment and happiness, Chloe was singularly unprepared when Zor-El’s wife turned towards her and revealed the face of Oliver. Chloe had suffered through these dreams and she had fought through them; and when she awakened, she always felt weird and discombobulated. Despite all that, she could get through the dreams. But this time her mind rebelled. Her entire being rebelled. And that’s when everything went weird. Time and space meant nothing. Her consciousness awoke in different places and she felt fractured and flayed alive.

She remained in the dream looking at her wife, Alura In-Ze, who smiled at him in amusement and kinship. He awoke to her bed in the darkness with pain grasping at her. Chloe/Zor-El stood in a field of green under a graying sky, the wind tousling their his and a clamor of voices drifting to her ears.

Chloe lurched back into the dream and felt the warm embrace of her wife. Zor-El could not look at her.

“I know the troubles that have been brought upon you and our House,” her voice firm, but he felt her love for him keenly and she forced him to look at her, “I also know that there are things that you cannot speak of to me because that is not who you are. Zor-El. My husband. I know you.”

Alura/Oliver was shorter than he was and Chloe was keenly aware of that fact. He dropped to her knees.

His voice was muffled by her belly. “I am unworthy to have the favored daughter of the House of Ze offer me such love and wise counsel. You have strengthened my House beyond me.”

Oliver ran his fingers through her hair and kissed the crown of his head.
“You can confide in me. Am I not your other half? Are my hands not to be put to use? Should my voice be not a trumpet for our House?”

“I fear that I have failed Krypton. Brainiac is more than I thought possible. The Council and Jor-El encourage this. Jor-El has become a man that I do not know. The boy whose endless curiosity was to be nurtured has become unmoored to reason. He has chosen a path that I cannot follow. I no longer know him. Whatever fears of failure that I have for Krypton, it is orders of magnitude above that which I feel for my brother. To allow this to continue is to betray even myself.”

There was a beat of silence between them. Alura’s voice was hesitant.

“You have a plan.”

Chloe/Zor-El nodded.

Alura gripped Zor-El and pulled him to his feet. “Then see it to completion. You have said that Brainiac will not be fully operational for at least ten years. With the other concerns regarding our planet’s core and mining, it is yet possible that the High Council will be distracted. Jor-El will be tamed or not, but allowing him to be who he is at the expense of the greater good is not an option. You cannot make it one.”

“I will hurt many people, Alura.”

Oliver smiled softly at Chloe. “And even more would come to tragic end without you. Of this I have no doubt. You are a good man, Zor-El. Never forget that I, above all others, know you. You cannot hide from me, no matter how hard you try.”

Chloe smiled in return. “The strength and wisdom of the House of El resides within Alura In-Ze.”

Alura had the last words, as she often did, and he never really minded. Alura/Oliver commanded Zor-El/Chloe, “See your plan to completion and do not waver, my husband!”

********

Chloe awoke to the darkness of her room. Her face was wet as if she had been crying. She felt intense pain. Her head pounded as if she had been banging it against the wall for hours. A loud noise sounded within her head. It was like a cannonball had been fired mere inches from her ear. A blinding white light originated from behind her eyes. She scrambled from her bed and stumbled onto the floor.

The smell of blood was in the air. She rose to her knees and touched her face and ears. Her hands came away sticky and she knew that the course of the blood was her eyes, nose, and ears. Chloe tipped forward and used one hand to brace her body off the floor. Her other, bloody, hand reached for the door. Chloe tried to call out for her father, but no there was no sound.

The little strength she was expending to keep from falling over was too taxing. Chloe vomited onto the floor and she collapsed. The last thing she perceived before darkness claimed her was the door of her bedroom opening and her father falling to his knees to cradle her body. The ensuing darkness had a known quality. It felt like Zor-El, but the presence of her father overwhelmed anything else. He snapped into sharp relief against the darkness. It was only slightly menacing, which was more than she hoped for at this point.

[somethingeasy]

Chapter 9

Once again, I missed an update, and only caught it several days later!! Sorry about the delay with the feedback, Ava.

I loved, Loved, LOVED the beginning of this chapter with Amanda and Lex. Amanda is definitely one of the most kick-ass characters ever created!! Her complex personality is as amazing as her incredible character design. In a world where every female character has been, at some point or another, drawn to look sexy and pouty and scantily clad, it’s very, VERY refreshing to see a woman who does NOT conform to a glamour magazine’s standard of beauty, and therefore cannot be drawn in the sexy, pouty, scantily clad pose.

And, putting aside character design, Amanda is an amazingly complex personality in the DC verse… a powerful, intelligent, Machiavellian style of leader, with plenty of ethical and moral ambiguity, and yet ALSO fiercely loyal to her causes. All in all, a fascinating character to love and/or hate, depending on her role in the storyline.

So I loved seeing her having dinner with Lex, and basically managing him like a babysitter manages a toddler, lol! It was especially amusing seeing Lex was well aware that he was being managed, and yet also knew himself to be completely unable to stop Amanda from taking charge… of the dinner, of the conversation, of his very life, status and lifestyle!!! LOL!

It was hilarious seeing Lex getting some small amount of petty satisfaction at eating a meal on Amanda’s government expense card, despite knowing that she ordered his meal for him, ROTFLMAO!

Of course, I’m perfectly aware that Amanda has much bigger fish to fry than Lex Luthor. Lex Luthor was handled so casually by her, with an almost distracted air… as if she was already planning her next meeting mid-way through her ten minute discussion with Lex. I know that Amanda is going to be applying her intelligence, management skills and resources on other people too now… some people that we, the readers, may even feel a great deal of sympathy for. It would be scary, for example, seeing that fierce intellect turned against Chloe, or Lois, for example. Let’s just hope that Amanda’s ultimate agenda doesn’t clash against the interests of our favourite people, eh?

Hmmmm… and as for Chloe… her interactions with Brainiac and with her dreams is becoming freakier. She’s becoming pretty much casual about using whatever version of Brainiac exists in her mind. She’s taking her focus away from trying to get rid of the alien influence on her brain to just accepting it as a useful tool… and I’m not certain that’s the right attitude to take!!! Brainiac is just too dangerous to look upon as a handy-dandy, in-built, all-purpose hacking device!

Chloe’s dream, in this chapter, was actually… relaxing and pleasant. It was a nice dream, very unlike the intense, violent ‘flashbacks’ she had been having lately. Heh, I did like how the weirdness of having Oliver as a spouse almost jarred Chloe out of the general pleasantness of the dream. She really, REALLY finds it difficult thinking of Oliver in any kind of romantic sense, eh? Even when it’s only romance by proxy. Or was it having Oliver playing the role of a wife that Chloe found so jarring?

Whatever the case, the dream was generally sweet, pleasant and even romantic. It’s just such a pity that there was such an ominous and threatening overtone throughout the dream… overtones of betrayals and dangers yet to come. Oh dear!

Yikes! And it appears that Chloe’s condition, whatever the heck that might be, is getting worse!! Can’t someone please, PLEASE help her out!!!!! Aaaaargh!

Awesome chapter, Ava. Thanks for the update. Please post more soon.

[Avalanche]

Thanks for the review! Also, no such thing as "delay". :)

[malugargula]

I had to read more than once because I was a little confused. But now I think I'm beggining to understand a little :)
This fic very interesting. I like Gabe. He's a little creepy but I like him.
This Zor-El/Zod thing, I never saw it coming lol
Poor Chloe. She must be really lost about the whole thing.
Can't wait to read more
You're doing a great job

[Avalanche]

I had to read more than once because I was a little confused. But now I think I'm beggining to understand a little :)
This fic very interesting. I like Gabe. He's a little creepy but I like him.
This Zor-El/Zod thing, I never saw it coming lol
Poor Chloe. She must be really lost about the whole thing.
Can't wait to read more
You're doing a great job

Thank you for the review! I will try my utmost to keep doing a great job! :)

[Avalanche]

AN: Sorry it’s been so long! Hope you enjoy. :)

Disclaime:rNot mine.



Chapter 10



Chloe lay in bed after her father had taken her to the emergency room.

She sighed, “Hating hospitals has never been so easy.”

It was even easier since she felt better. The fire that had burned her from the inside out had long since vanished. Her doctors wanted to keep her over night, which she disagreed with, but her father was all for. The awareness that existed between them had muted a little bit. That connection made her suspicious. Her father hadn’t been himself since she had awakened for her coma. Chloe could give him the benefit of the doubt; she could trust him to a point. That point had been reached and she had to become more active.

The parts she needed to build a new and better computer would arrive shortly, but that was never a real worry. The real worry was that Lex Luthor had something she wanted, no, something she needed and he wouldn’t cooperate without a threat or a promise. She snorted to herself. That son of a bitch would need a boot to the neck before he voluntarily gave her what she needed. Chloe’s eyes narrowed. It wouldn’t be a problem.

Chloe glanced over to the nightstand. Her phone was there and she dialed familiar numbers.
Lex heard and felt his phone ringing. It was a shock, to say the least, when he saw the number that dialed him.

He would be smooth. “Chloe! To what do I owe this extreme and gratifying pleasure?”

“Don’t overdo it. I want to meet with you. I hear Luthorcorp is having some problems, specifically, a you problem. Being ousted as CEO of your own company? Tsk. Tsk. Wait. Wait. Not your own company. A gift. A reluctant gift from your dead father.”

Lex clutched his phone. Chloe had gotten personal far quicker than he had anticipated and she had drawn first blood.

“I won’t come to your hospital bed, Chloe. Still having trouble? Maybe I could send some of my own researchers. To really dig in there and see the problem.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Yes, Lex, I get it. You have the power of life and death. Your creeper researchers can come at any time and do tests and meteor rocks and obsession and blah blah. I want to meet with you. Name a public place at peak time and I will be there. That’s it. No need to be difficult.”

She didn’t fear him anymore. She didn’t desire him anymore. That last part was a small lie. She did desire him, whatever part of him that was Zod and the Lex she had known. But there was another who consumed her thoughts. The dreams were giving her something and she wanted to push it away, but she also wanted to embrace it. Some part of her wanted to embrace it.

The throbbing began in his head and it was relentless. It heralded a more painful migraine later, probably. He couldn’t deny, however, that he was more than curious. He might as well know what she wanted. There was the possibility that he could leverage it into something to his benefit. Lex could give her this so he did and was rewarded with a quick “good-bye” and a dial tone.
Chloe put the phone to her forehead and took a deep breath. Things just got real. She dropped her phone back onto the nightstand and reclined on her bed. She felt like crying and screaming; and she wanted nothing more than to be with her father in this moment. But she couldn’t trust him anymore.

“Dad, what are we going to do now?”

********

After dealing with Chloe, he had to leave. Leave his house and everything that had been familiar for the past few years. It didn’t take him long before he collapsed. He was exhausted, mentally and physically exhausted. After all this time, all this effort, things seemed to be working out the way he had envisioned. Had there ever been a time when this wasn’t his reality? When time and space conformed to expectation? When he had been…normal? The contradiction was this life that he lived a life that seemed to have been a short time in the making, but maybe it was a long time in the making. He didn’t really know any more and didn’t even think that it mattered. This was it. This was all there would ever be. And he had made that choice. That single choice that doomed a world it seemed.

A few of his neighbors ran to help him. It was only then that he noticed the blood trickling from his ears and eyes. His efforts were taking a toll. Hands helped him rise to his feet.

“Are you well?”

He looked into the concerned eyes of his friend and smiled gently. “Yes. I’m fine. I’m fine. I just need to take a break. Progress has been in turns slow, frustrating, and heartening. I just…I just need rest.”
He limped to his home. He just needed rest. Success was so close. One more push. Two more. A hundred more. The only thing that mattered was success. He couldn’t bear to fail again, but that wasn’t exactly true was it? He had succeeded. But he couldn’t fail this time. He couldn’t fail her. Not her, the bearer of all he was and all the world could be.

“I only need a day of rest. Just a day.”

*******

Special Agent Amanda Waller loved puzzles. They were her life. Lately, the puzzle that was Clark Kent, Lex Luthor, and Chloe Sullivan, code-named Tripod, had been on her mind non-stop. Waller had been circling them and gently pulling loose every thread that led to them: Martha Kent, Lionel Luthor, and Gabriel Sullivan. Of course, there had been even more peripheral characters in Kara Kent, Oliver Queen, and Lois Lane. Those were threads that bound the central figures of this piece.

Kara Kent was an enigma and she had been revealed in various Luthor records. The others in that peripheral orbit had been revealed in time. There hadn’t been much to Gabriel Sullivan, but she had learned much about and from Martha Kent and Lionel Luthor. From all of them she had learned how to take the measure of Clark Kent and Lex Luthor. They were now known entities and Waller understood that she’d have to maintain constant watch. They were a danger and from this day forward, she would not underestimate them again.

But…

Chloe Sullivan had proven odd. She was a central figure, at various times, behind Kent, Luthor, and Queen. But now? Her imprint was nowhere to be seen. Waller had seen her Wall of Weird, her theories, and some of her actions in the past; but Chloe Sullivan was laying low. It seemed out of character. So, Waller had put her prodigious talents and the resources of her organization to use. She needed to reveal Chloe Sullivan and figure out her place in the tripod.

“Where are you now, Chloe Sullivan?

She looked over at her own whiteboard that showed their connections to each other. She refused to believe that the current troubles in Big Industry were due to economic events. No, something else was happening. The chaos hadn’t become unmanageable yet, but something huge and destructive was simmering beneath the surface and only Chloe Sullivan was unaccounted for. Maybe she was barking up the wrong tree. Maybe Chloe Sullivan, this one time, had nothing to do with the drama surrounding Kent or Luthor.

Amanda Waller couldn’t believe that. She couldn’t believe that Chloe Sullivan’s sudden car accident and subsequent recovery had nothing to do with Lex Luthor or Clark Kent. She couldn’t believe that, after all this time, neither Oliver Queen nor Clark Kent were going to their resident computer and investigation expert. It was possible but exceedingly unlikely. All of them had been entwined for so long that to separate one of them from the others was a fool’s goal, but the persistent doubt plagued her. She simply couldn’t find anything to tie Chloe Sullivan to anything.
A knock on her door interrupted her.

“Come in,” she called tersely.

“Ma’am, as per your request, we have put surveillance teams on Miss Sullivan. One team saw what appeared to be another surveillance team, however, that entity soon ended their efforts. Activities resumed and we discovered this.”

The agent handed her a thick folder and a flash drive.

“The first ten pages summarize the report and the flash drive contains video footage.”

“Thank you, Agent. You are dismissed.”

Agent Waller barely took note of the agent’s departure. She would not have been disturbed if her surveillance team hadn’t found something interesting.

An hour later, Agent Waller found what she had been looking for. She picked up her phone.

“Secretary, step up surveillance of Miss Sullivan. Begin tracking her internet and phone activity.”

She laughed harshly. “There. There you are Miss Sullivan.”

********

Oliver Queen held his head in his hands. His conversation with Lucius Fox and then Bruce Wayne had not been promising. The current crisis was affecting industry but not enough to throw everyone into panic. Not yet. But everyone he had spoken to had projections that indicated things had the potential to degenerate into madness. Fleeting moment with Chloe gave him the impression that she knew more, but she had been avoiding them all.

He had noticed the significant dip into the monetary account he had set-up for Watchtower. She had disguised what exactly was being purchased, which made his red alert meter rocket off the scale. He was choosing to trust her, but that trust could only go so far before he had to question her. All of this started with Chloe’s accident. He was angry and confused and hurt that now was the time that Chloe chose to withdraw from them.

Oliver banged his hand onto the desk. “Dammit!”

Picking up the phone, Oliver dialed Clark. They needed to talk.

As expected, Clark literally arrived at his apartment in Star City in minutes.

Clark looked flustered and stressed. Oliver didn’t blame him. Martha’s ethical woes were becoming increasingly more serious; and if she made it out of this without seeing jail time, then it would be a miracle. Even the Kent farm was in jeopardy. All Kent assets had been frozen and they had lost the respect and esteem from Smallville. Their neighbors felt deep betrayal. Martha Kent was supposed to be different. She was supposed to be beyond reproach. A lifetime of experience had given them the confidence to finally believe that Smallville could thrive again while maintaining its character. Now, all of that was called into question. Whatever projected hope that had been foisted onto the Kent name now slid off into the mud at their feet.

Oliver held out his hand and Clark grasped it, almost desperately. Clark smiled wanly and let go.

“What’s the trouble, Oliver?”

Clark appreciated the tone of friendship and empathy.

“Before we get into that, is there anything I can do for you…or Mrs. Kent?”

Oliver saw Clark’s face drop just a little more. “Unless you can somehow prove that my mother’s being framed or anything else, no. I believe her when she says she did it to protect me, but…how far can I expect her to go? Or anyone? I can’t let my friends sacrifice their lives for me. It’s a burden I can’t carry. You can help by just being my friend. I have to do this alone. It’s enough that you asked and that you’re here for me.”

Oliver clasped Clark’s shoulder while the other man took a moment to gather himself.

Oliver turned away from him and picked up a file folder to hand to Clark. Clark quickly scanned the papers.

“Chloe did this?”

Oliver nodded.

“And now you think that maybe she is involved with whatever’s happening to Queen Industries,” it wasn’t really a question.

“Yeah. Too much has happened after her accident. Lex was quickly neutralized. You were also taken out of the equation with the situation with your mother—”

Clark interrupted him, “And your company is in enough distress to take away your focus but not enough to crash anything.”

The “yet” hung in the space between them.

Oliver blew out his breath, “We have to trust her. I know this, but…we also can’t ignore that she’s withdrawn from us. And now this? We can’t ignore it, right? You know her, Clark. You have this connection with her that I don’t. What do you think?”

“We trust Chloe until she proves that we can’t trust her. But…I can talk to her. Maybe follow her? I’m just not every comfortable with doing that to her. She wouldn’t do anything to hurt us. Ever since high school, Chloe has been so careful. So—”

It was Oliver’s turn to interrupt Clark, “We trust her.”

Oliver turned towards the other folder on his desk and then met Clark’s eyes.

“We trust her.”

[kitten]

Great chapter, Tex! I'm enjoying the slow unfurling of the new situation with Chloe and her father, as well as all the hints of other actions about to come into play. Exxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxcept, you do know it's very unusual for a fic to really lean on the idea of trust in a person without then whipping around to beat readers with ironic betrayal, right?

Because it feels like foreshadowing. Very dim in here, lots of foreshadowy stuff on the light bulbs. I can barely see all the death that could ensue. (if not for your respect for life and our little feeling shards you have left us. I use mine on patio stones!)

I'll just start self-medicating now, to be safe. *jams 17 marshmallow strawberries in mouth*

SUMMER of AVALANCHE!

[somethingeasy]

Chapter 10

Squeeee! Awesome and excellent! I am so pleased to see another update of this fic… and it appears that the story is beginning to draw to a close, as more and more revelations are coming to light. Heh… not enough revelations to help me completely figure out what’s going on, but enough to let me have a vague notion of events…? Maybe?

I’m starting to become more and more certain that all the previous scenes with ‘Gabe’ had only been some kind of schizophrenic alternate personality that Chloe has created to do misdeed without feeling guilty about it. I noted that in this chapter, Chloe went ahead on her ‘Gabe-like’ plan for vengeance as Chloe rather than Gabe because this time it was Lex who was on the receiving end of her vengeance, and she certainly wouldn’t feel guilty about screwing around with him.

Heh… the phone conversation between Lex and Chloe was damned fun! I loved the sharp barbs they traded, and I especially loved how the two of them were sparring as equals, rather than billionaire and unemployed hospital patient. Lex was holding his own, but he was clearly dancing to Chloe’s tune. I look forward to seeing whether this dynamic between them stays as is, or whether the power-balance will shift yet some more.


“Are you well?”

He looked into the concerned eyes of his friend and smiled gently. “Yes. I’m fine. I’m fine. I just need to take a break. Progress has been in turns slow, frustrating, and heartening. I just…I just need rest.”
He limped to his home. He just needed rest. Success was so close. One more push. Two more. A hundred more. The only thing that mattered was success. He couldn’t bear to fail again, but that wasn’t exactly true was it? He had succeeded. But he couldn’t fail this time. He couldn’t fail her. Not her, the bearer of all he was and all the world could be.

“I only need a day of rest. Just a day.”

We didn’t see Gabe’s name in this section, but I’m assuming that this is ‘his’ POV… or perhaps I should say Chloe’s POV while in her Gabe persona…? Aaaargh! I’m still not SURE about my interpretation of the situation… perhaps Gabe and Chloe ARE actually just Gabe and Chloe after all, and not just the same person.

I don’t know how Amada Waller figured it out, or even how much she’s figured out… but my hats off to her if she arrived at the correct conclusion… with FAR less information than I have been given no less, lol!

I did appreciate and highly enjoy seeing Amanda acknowledging Chloe, not only as a formidable force, but a formidable and dangerous force on par with a super powered alien being and a brilliant, ruthless, maniacal ex-billionaire.

The final scene with Oliver and Clark was especially fascinating… especially with their discussion about their bond with Chloe, and how it’s a bond based, not only on deep affection, respect and need, but also a strong, solid foundation of trust. It would actually be VERY interesting to see how Chloe’s (possible) betrayal would be received by these two men who have such high trust and regard for her.

This was an awesome chapter, Ava. Please do post more soon!

[Avalanche]

Chapter 10

Squeeee! Awesome and excellent! I am so pleased to see another update of this fic… and it appears that the story is beginning to draw to a close, as more and more revelations are coming to light.

Thanks for the review, SE! Sorry about how long it's been. Glad you're still enjoying it! :)

[Avalanche]

AN: I am on a roll!

Disclaimer: not mine


Chapter 11


“You’re being followed.”

The voice was loud in the unrelenting silence of her car. Chloe hadn’t bothered to turn the radio on and she had been lost in the various scenarios that repeated in her mind on her way to have a conversation with Lex. Her conversations with him were emotionally draining. It hadn’t always been that way. Time and distance had made them all bitter. The negative memories banished any nostalgic memories she might have harbored. She sighed and glanced at the passenger seat.

“I know, Zod. They’ve been following me for a couple of weeks now. Ever since Martha’s outing.”

Zod smiled brightly at her. It was the smile that Zor-El had seen when both of them had enlisted and they were both so new and eager. Time and distance had dulled their memories of each other too.

“Do you know how you know? Or is that not on your mind nowadays?”

“You’re always on my mind, Zod.”

Zod gently caressed her leg, “I know. But do you know why? When will you indulge the luxury of caring, Chloe? Maybe you should begin before it’s too late.”

Chloe gripped the steering wheel harder and yelled into the confines of the car, “I know!”

Calming herself, Chloe said, “Why do you think I’m meeting Lex?”

Zod tsked at her and spoke indulgently, with understanding, “He is not the problem. Agent Waller is not the problem. You know the problem, Chloe.”

Chloe relaxed her grip on the steering wheel since calming herself hadn’t included releasing her death grip. “Lex can give me something I need. I can use that to solve my problem. Agent Waller may not be the problem, but she is a problem. I must address it. Why do you think I’m in Lois’ car?”

“That didn’t seem to help, Chloe. It only shook off Kal-El.”

Zod turned in his seat, looking out the front window one moment and the side window the next. She looked as well and spotted her tails. All three of them.

“It wasn’t really supposed to work on Agent Waller. She’s tracking Lex and now she’s tracking me, but I can give her something to make her believe that I am not a problem. That Lex and Martha were always her problems.”

“What? You would betray Martha Kent?”

He was mocking her now. The faux concern in his voice gave it all away.

Chloe furrowed her brow and looked again at Zod, “It isn’t betrayal. Martha is guilty. I report and investigate.”

Zod chuckled, “You think Clark will view it as such?”

“Who says I won’t tell Clark? I said that I would make her believe that I’m not the problem and that Lex and Martha are. It doesn’t mean Martha has to suffer. Some misdirection that results in a lesser sentence. Martha should’ve been more careful or stayed out of it entirely. She was out of her league. She had one job to do, one damned job, and that was to be a good senator. Protecting Clark so foolishly, so obviously, only brought Waller closer to Kal-El. I can fix that.”

Zod was silent and stared out of the window as she drove towards Lex.

“Zor-El, I loved you more than anything and it destroyed our world.”

It was Chloe’s turn to mock him and laugh. “No, you didn’t. You loved power. You loved Brainiac. I loved you, but not more than anything. Not more than our world,” she continued in a whisper, “I love nothing more than our world.”

Zod placed his hand onto her face, but it was smaller and felt like Alura’s hand. Chloe closed her eyes briefly. “Then fix our world’s problem again, Zor-El, and find what has been missing.”

When Chloe opened her eyes and once again looked to the passenger seat, she saw Kara. “You aren’t missing. I know where you are.”

Kara looked at Chloe the same way she had looked at Zor-El when her father was being her father, “But I’m not the problem.”

“No, no you aren’t. But neither are you here. You should be here. Your sacrifice was for something. It meant something.”

Kara shrugged, “I don’t know that. How could I? But that doesn’t matter right now, does it? Solve the problem first, father.”

Chloe shook her head. “Solve the problem first.”

A million things littered her path.

She smiled at her reflection in the rearview mirror. “I got 99 problems but sanity ain’t one.”

Chloe looked down and saw indents of her fingers in the steering wheel. It was also slightly warped. Chloe could hear Zor-El laughing at her.

********
Lex was sipping his water when he saw Chloe park her car. He noticed her staring at the steering wheel and her touch it. He also noticed that she was driving Lois’ car, which was odd. Chloe slowly exited the car and headed towards the entrance. Lex furrowed his brow. “How is it possible that she looks this healthy?”

Chloe looked to be in exceptional form. She may have worn simple jeans and a t-shirt, but her movements seemed far smoother than he remembered. It reminded him of the way Clark walked through crowds. It should’ve been the thing everyone noticed about Clark Kent. He was self-assured, even if, at times, he seemed a bumbling teenager. There was this aura that came off him that told the world that he could handle it all. Chloe’s hair wasn’t the buzz cut it had been, but it was still too short for her normal cut. She seemed to take everything in about her surroundings.

If everything had gone the way he had wanted, Chloe would’ve been one of his study experiments. There was very little chance that she wasn’t a meteor freak. A series of bizarre coincidences had prevented that and it was nearly impossible after her car accident. “Maybe whatever makes her special let her survive and recover so well.”

His and Chloe’s eyes met and she actually offered a small smile. Lex stood when she approached and offered her a seat. He watched as she looked around the restaurant. He had chosen it because it offered good home-style cooking, had lots of people, and it was a place that really didn’t care about Lex or the outside world. He was just another patron.

Chloe was the first to break the silence. “Well. This is awkward.”

“As well as surprising. I figured you’d never meet with me again.”

It was simple honesty.

“You are not incorrect, Lex. We are terrible people to each other.”

Lex raised his glass to that. It was undeniable. This seemed to be the meeting where all their cards would be on the table by the time everything was said and done. He vowed to be civil.

“You ever wonder what it would be like if we weren’t terrible people to each other?”

Chloe summoned a waiter and they gave their order. It would be steaks, medium rare, with mashed potatoes for both of them.

She took a drink of her soda. “I wonder all the time, Lex. Could we have been better then? Can we be better now? Should we even try? The answers are: of course, of course, and obviously. But the reality is that we are who we are and we haven’t changed yet. So that tells you everything you have ever needed to know about the metaphysics of our particular being.”

Lex sat back in his seat and raised both eyebrows at her. He was stunned to be honest. “Do you wish it was different?”

Chloe looked outside at her car. “Do you see the light blue sedan? At the building across from the gas station,” Lex looked to where she indicated and she continued, “That car has been following me all day. Anyway, yes. Yes, I wish we were different. I wish that we could find a way back to each other.”

She met his eyes for the first time, “This? Right now? Isn’t about finding a way back to each other.”

He smiled ruefully, “I didn’t think it was. So how do you want to do this? We’ll be eating shortly. So we could talk about what you want to talk about now, make small talk, or, my personal favorite, we could stare at each other in uncomfortable silence.”

Chloe tapped her glass. “How about a happy medium? There’s no way we can simply make light conversation. How about some truths mixed in? I promise to not get upset. You promise not to get upset. No one makes threats until after the meal and we simply…be honest. Stark, unrelenting honesty. We ask questions until our food arrives and then we do the small talk thing during dinner itself, and end with bitter hatred because the actual reason.”

He raised his glass and she did the same in agreement.

“Why do you protect Clark so relentlessly?”

She rolled her eyes, ‘The same reason you purse him relentlessly; he’s special and better than both of us. There’s something in him that can make him great, which is the same thing that can make him the worst thing we’ve ever seen. I understand why you want it, why you fear it,” she continued and leaned closer to him, “My turn. Was it your profound fear of rejection that led to you rejecting me first? Did you forget about me after the Lionel situation because I couldn’t be Lana to your Clark?”

Lex clinched his fist tightly around his glass. He looked down into his water glass and met her eyes again. “Yes, it was. The age difference, the experience difference, the perception of the thing, the ability to feel things was something I didn’t want to overcome.”

He watched Chloe process the information. Neither one of them had said something the other didn’t know already. These were feints before the fight could begin.

“Did you ever really love me?”

“No, Lex, I never loved you, but I think…I think I could have. I think we could have made it work. I think we could’ve changed together, but I would never have given up Clark. And now, I don’t think I ever could.”

That was news to him. He was still so wound tightly around the notion of his villainy and it was a self-fulfilling prophecy.

“Lex, many times when destiny is mentioned, it really isn’t a good thing. It’s something to be averted. Prophecies happen when our gods want to tell us bad things will happen for one reason or another. That’s when we get the call. ‘Sacrifice your son, Abraham.’, ‘You are destined to kill the king, marry your mother, and destroy things, Oedipus.’, ‘Troy will fall, King Priam.’, ‘A rain of blood will soak you, Lex.’ And here you are, Lex, soaking in a rain of blood. But of course the tragedy is in the attempt to avert it and you follow the pattern,” she continued, “What is your favorite thing, Lex?”

“Knowledge. Sometimes it’s about the power it brings, but mostly it’s about how much I love it. I think that in another reality, I was a great engineer, or maybe biologist, or chemist. Not just great, Chloe, but good”

He meant “good” as in not “evil”.

Chloe shook her head at him, “None of those things. You would clearly be a great, good philosopher.”

He was skeptical, “You think so?”

“I really do, Lex.”

He was going to ask his actual question when their food arrived. Lex and Chloe both realized that they had gained more than they had lost, but the loss hurt so much more.

Twenty minutes of light conversation later, they both became aware that it was time to be serious. They were going to be the people they were and not who could’ve been.

Lex set his glass back down and lobbed the first volley, “What is it that you want from me now?”

Chloe hardened herself. “You don’t remember this, but you found a structure in Antarctica. You thought it was of alien origin and you were right.”

This information floored him. He searched his memories, trying to grasp onto something, anything that would make her a liar. But he found nothing. He came back to herself when she placed her hand over his own. She didn’t continue until he looked at her.

“You found alien crystals and you stored them. You have a repository from that structure and other caves with alien writings. I want a few of those crystals and one in particular.”

It took Lex a few tries before he could form words, before he could make a sound and convey it into meaningful communication. “Why? Why would I agree to give you this? Do you think I’d just let this go without figuring it out myself?”

In his agitation, Lex’s voice rose enough to draw the attention of the patrons closest to their table.

“You have to calm down, Lex. I know you can’t let it go. I don’t expect it. But you will give me what I want.”

“And how will you make me?” His words were forceful enough that he nearly spit. “So this is what they mean by spitting mad”

“Yes, Chloe, how will you make him? Asking nicely didn’t help. What carrot? What stick?”

Lionel’s mocking words were nearly enough to make her lose her own composure. This was the Lionel that she had worked for and not the man of later years. His full head of hair, the beard, the voice, the not-so-disguised hostility in his eyes were all there, all enough to make her remember the teenager she used to be and not the woman she was.

Lionel snapped his fingers. “I got it! Tell him you know that he cloned and killed Julian Luthor! You know, not the real Julian, he had nothing to do with the death of his infant, younger brother. Just a clone in the form of Gabriel Grant. Or, my lovely dear, tell him that killing me was not a good idea. Those are sticks. Maybe you could offer him…hmmm…what could you offer him?”

He was more playful than she remembered. Deep down inside she had known both of those things, but she had always wanted to believe that Lex Luthor was not a murderer. That he was only “evil” in the sense that CEOs of large conglomerates were generally “evil”. He was not wrong about Clark. His execution was wrong, but that was a localized situation. This was confirmation that his moral compass was fatally wrong.

“Oh, Lex.”

“Lex, I can fix Luthorcorp’s problems. I can even give you a leg up on the competition if you want. Just give me access to your repository.”

“I did not expect that, Chloe. Such a good carrot you found!”

“How? How can I trust you?”

“This time, Lex, this one time, we can actually be those other people. Just once, Lex. That’s all I’m asking.”

Lex looked at the car that had been following her all day.

“You won’t tell me anything, will you?”

“That’s for you to find, Lex. I can’t help you.”

His fingers played along the rim of his water glass.

“Just this once, Chloe,” after checking the time on his watch, he pulled out a pen and wrote on a napkin. He continued, “Go here. Whenever you want and key in that code. A guard will follow you and catalog everything you take. One day, Chloe, there will be a reckoning.”

His movements were jerky when he rose from his seat. He left without looking back.

“I love nothing more than our world, Lex.”

[somethingeasy]

Chapter 11

heeee… and here we are now, and I’m almost entirely certain that the ‘Gabe Sullivan’ in this storyline has simply been some kind of manifestation or projection from Chloe’s own mind. She doesn’t seem aware of this ‘Gabe persona’ of hers though… although she does seem partially aware of some of the damage that ‘Gabe’ did to Martha, Lex, Clark and all.

Heh… I find it interesting that I feel the Zod persona to actually be less creepy than the Gabe persona. I can handle Chloe talking to Zod as if he’s a separate person, all the while knowing that he’s only a part of her own mind… but I would have found it intensely creepy to have seen Chloe addressing ‘Gabe’ in the same cavalier manner, lol!

BUT… then again, I have to wonder… just how much does Chloe believe Zod to be separated from her anyway? She knows that she’s only talking to a very real representation of her own memory of a dead person… and yet she also criticizes, censures and argues with him as if he’s a completely separated being. Indeed she even acts as if the two of them actually have secrets and mysteries from one another, despite the fact that they’re basically from the same mind!! Rather scary!

In any case… onto the meaty heart of this chapter… the meeting between Chloe and Lex. It went far beyond any staggeringly high expectations I already had. It. Was. Amazing! I just loved, LOVED the idea of these two secretive, elusive, dodgy, ambiguous enemies meeting up in a sincere spirit of honesty and forthrightness.

Heeeee! I especially loved how the two of them were honest to the extent of BOTH OF THEM admitting that there could have been something really amazing between them, in terms of trust, romance, relationship and love… but that both of them chose to go down a different path. I also liked the idea that, despite having chosen a different path, with no real regrets to the decisions that were made, they were still able to mourn the ‘what might have been’.

I was also very impressed, delighted and pleased by how, despite how the conversation was slightly morbid, melancholy and somber… there was still actually an element of FUN in their engagement. The fun was very deeply hidden underneath all the melancholic, unwholesome glumness… but there WAS an element of fun to the ‘engagement rules’ that they both negotiated first thing at the meeting, and how they both worked to keep to the rules while bantering with one another. It was truly fascinating to see how the two of them weren’t really using this meeting as another usual opportunity to score points off one another, but actually as a true meeting of the minds to engage and understand.

Chloe’s theories about the harshness of destiny, and Lex’s wistful confession about being more an engineer at heart… it was honestly beautiful stuff! And, more than that, it represented a kind of discussion that Chloe and Lex can only share with one another on this level of intense understanding. Indeed it seemed not only possible but even likely that Lex would grant Chloe almost any wish she asked for, in the aftermath of such a conversation. The poor man doesn’t get to speak to anyone on this level, much less someone that he respects as much as Chloe. I suspect that the cooperation he gave her was as much in gratitude for the amazing conversation, as much as for the ‘carrot’ that she dangled.

This was an amazing chapter, Ava. I’m sorry it took so long for me to review, but it was a long time between log-ins to the NS forum for me. Thanks so much for the PM you sent over, notifying me about the update :D

[Avalanche]

Thanks, SE, for the review! As always, I love hearing from you and anyone else about what they like...or maybe, not like...or are confused about. I really appreciate it! :)

[Avalanche]

Disclaimer: not mine

AN: I hope you enjoy! I love hearing from you ladies, so drop me a line. :)


Chapter 12


Chloe couldn’t really lie to herself and pretend that she hadn’t been supremely nervous when she went to one of Lex’s laboratory site in Lenexa, Kansas. She was nervous when she had approached a burly and menacing security guard and she was nervous when she went through the gauntlet that was the security system. It wasn’t that she hadn’t encountered these things before, but that her destination represented any number of things, from destruction to creation.

“It’s the potential that scares you, Chloe. Specifically, your potential to destroy and hurt a lot of people.”

Of all of the apparitions to appear before her, Lionel was the one that played on her insecurities the best. She nearly lost everything because of that choice in her life. His mocking voice, his smirk, his shaven head, his features that were harder made her remember all those destructive feelings that had gotten her through that time in her life; but she had put herself back together. Chloe had worked hard to see those feelings for what they were and continued to be. She was stronger now and she had to believe it.

The security guard walked in front of her and Lionel walked to her right. She heard him say words, but Chloe resolutely ignored him. She could tolerate random Errol Flynn Green Arrow and appearances by Zod and whatever else, but she wouldn’t give in to Lionel.

Lionel jumped in front of her and loosed primal scream of fury into her face. Chloe stumbled through his ghostly form and into the guard, who didn’t seem amused at all. In that moment, she wished that the guard could shorten their journey, but apparently, they would need more twists and turns.

“You are the best of us, Chloe, and I will not be ignored. Your fate is not your own.”

The guard finally led her to a room and directed her inside. He closed the door and she was alone. There was no doubt that she was being monitored, but it wasn’t like Lex could know the importance of what she was doing. Chloe saw a shard of kryptonite and touched it gently. Nothing prepared her for the searing pain and dizziness; but by some small divine favor, she was able to not react too strongly. It would look suspicious to Lex, but not overly so.

Chloe quickly let go of the kryptonite and looked around the room. She saw a mother crystal. In the light it was clear and you could perfectly see through it, but angle it just so and it refracted Earth’s sun such that it became black. It was the opposite on Krypton. This crystal would accept programming and the energy source she would need to craft. On another shelf she found a series of pale green crystals and on another yellow. All told she left the room full of Krypton’s relics and technology with fifteen crystals of varying size, shape, and color. They all had a purpose and she would put them to good use.

She left that Luthorcorp laboratory facility feeling gratitude. Breaking into it would’ve taken a toll on her and it was a step she hadn’t wanted to take. It was still possible to find a way back to Lex. It wasn’t probable, but sometimes, even the small, hope was enough to tilt the scales. Maybe it could be enough to offer the umbrella even if it would never fully shield him from the storm.

She was alone and Zod walked next to her. “If you could, Chloe, would you remake him?”

Chloe stopped in her tracks and looked down at the lone red crystal. “Could I remake him?”

“You know you can, Chloe, but are you willing?”

He stepped closer to her and she looked at that face she had once loved. She felt the back of his hand as he gently caressed her face. His hand trailed down her body to end on her hip. She stepped closer to him. Zod’s voice lowered and it sounded deeper to her ears. His lips hovered over her ear and she heard Lex’s voice. “Can you accept the consequences?”

Shaking her head, Chloe resumed walking. That was a question for another day and another time. She would answer it after everything else.

“You’re right, Lex. There will be a reckoning.” She smiled slightly.

Chloe drove to a small, isolated building on the outskirts of Metropolis. She had long since shaken her tails and felt it safe to go to her sanctuary. The place had been bought recently through a number of shady and back-door channels to avoid Oliver and Amanda Waller’s long reach. It had been easier said than done, but the effort had been well worth it.

During the night she dreamed of Krypton.

********

Zor-El/Chloe stood on the observation deck of an orbiting mining ship. They were taking geological surveys. The southern tip of an eastern continent on Krypton had been experiencing larger than normal tidal waves and quakes. They couldn’t do much more of their internal mining without irreparably harming their planet. Apparently, nobody believed the reports and everyone thought it was the normal part of their planet’s life.

The footsteps that sounded behind him, made Zor-El turn slightly. He was tired, so tired. Zor-El wouldn’t mind some rest. Just a day and he knew that he could be in balance again.

“Is the time now, Zod? Are you finally concerned?”

There was genuine uncertainty in Zod/Lex's voice. “This is the course of action that Brainiac has prescribed. He’s a machine that orders events. Progress has been swift and steady.”

Chloe turned and pressed Zod further. “Yes, but are you finally concerned, Zod?”

It was Zod’s turn to face the view screens. “Yes, I am concerned. But this is Brainiac. He was crafted by the sons of the House of El. And he is giving us more than we could have imagined.”

Zor-El realized that he could not have a conversation about Brainiac to Zod or to anyone else really. Well, the exception was Alura. He could tell her anything. The truth was that they had all benefited from Brainiac’s perspective. Krypton was enriched, but there were always costs. He had already plotted a course of action. He just had to have the courage to see it to the end.

Lex walked away and lightly skimmed his hand across Chloe’s shoulders.

“You know where to find me if you want my company.”

And he was alone again on an observation deck watching Krypton tear itself apart.

“I can do this.”

Zor-El had nothing if he didn’t believe and deep down, he didn’t.

********

A pattern of life had been established so that she could build the computer that would help her save the world. She had physical therapy, she ate with Lois, she talked with Clark, she made dates with Oliver, and she bonded with her father. This had been the normal pace of her life before the car wreck that changed everything for her. Her father continued to ping every red alert possible in her head, but there was no real course of action for her to take. Chloe got the feeling that he felt the same about her. Deep down inside, Chloe knew that she could repair things with her father. It would just take time. She would make time bend to her if she had to, but her father would never be a casualty of hers.

“I’ll fix this for both of us, dad. I just need time.”

It took her longer than she wanted, but she finally got Watchtower 2.0 finished. As soon as Chloe could, she wired herself into the interface. It was more primitive than a true Kryptonian interface, but it was the best she could do with the time constraints. With more time, a few more resources, and her custom fabricating a few parts, this had the potential to be better than what Kryptonians had built before the collapse of their innovation.

Chloe expected any number of things to happen. What she had not expected was an overload to a body that had not been properly prepared. Her body suddenly cramped and seized. Her body tensed again and she was forced back into her seat. The pain was intense. For a moment, the pain had receded to a dull ache, but then it flared anew with a vengeance that left her breathless. She opened her mouth to scream, but found that she was unable. She couldn’t breathe.

Chloe’s blood felt like it was on fire. Her heart beat frantically and the burning sensation migrated to all parts of her. She gave one final convulsion and vomited on the controls in front of her. The rigor that had gripped her body finally eased enough so that Chloe barely had time to hard remove the jack before she collapsed onto the floor in her own vomit. Distantly, Chloe realized that something monumental had happened to her. Then she lost consciousness.

She didn’t know how long she had been out, but Chloe regained consciousness to the soft voice of a person she hadn’t heard in a long time. A voice that she would never stop hoping for and loving. The form was blurred, but there was a familiar outline. There was still strength and love there. It was salvation.

“Jor-El.”

Her eyes were finally able to focus and she saw Jor-El gave him the wry smile that Zor-El had been missing. Jor-El crouched down and gently placed his large hand onto her back. This man, her younger brother, her friend’s father, a brilliant man, a crazy artificial intelligence, a pale shadow, a displaced spirit, an egomaniac, was so much like Clark that it ached. In the moments when they were just brothers and rivalry and jealousy-laced love had taken a back seat, they were the best kind of people to each other. They were brothers who would, who had, who could do anything for each other in moments of strength and vulnerability. Who would always hold and abiding love for each other that could even lessen the dark memories.

“What have you done to yourself, elder brother?”

Chloe thought about moving but her body was not quite ready to cooperate. She would need to reside in her vomit for a few moments longer.

Thankfully, her voice could cooperate. “It’s been so long, brother. I am so sorry.”

Jor-El caressed Chloe’s hair. “We are all sorry for many things, Zor-El.”

Chloe finally felt confident enough to move into a sitting position, supported by the chair behind her. “Why are you here now, Jor-El?”

Jor-El pulled a short file cabinet closer to his body and draped an arm over the top of it. He was the very model of casualness and Chloe snorted at the image. This was her brother after all and this is what he did.

“Because you need me, Chloe. We have always needed each other. To fight against. To rail against. To give each other balance. You need that now, brother.”

“This is the worst. Just the worst. Talking to a dead brother, a dead wife, a missing daughter, it is the worst because you aren’t real! You are figments of a brain injury I sustained weeks ago because of something else I did!”

Chloe was tired, so very tired of the fear, the uncertainty, and crushing weight of a burden that should never have been real but was impacting all aspects of her life. She saw pity in her brother’s eyes as he rested a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it lightly.

“You’re right, of course, Chloe. We are all dead men, but we have a purpose here. You know that purpose. You are fulfilling it and it is changing you as it changed you before, Zor-El. Understand it this time. This is the lesson, Zor-El. It has always been the lesson. You are the best of us, Chloe. The very best.”

She bowed her head in defeat. Destiny was the cold press of weights on your shoulder, it was endless sun that gave you no rest, and it was enduring hope that longed to come to fruition. It was a curse.

Her voice was only a whisper. “How? How can I do this? I hurt so many people last time,” Chloe’s voice faltered, “I failed Krypton. I wasn’t enough. I am not the best of us.”

Jor-El placed his other hand on her should and the action forced her to look at him. This was the man Zor-El had always wanted Jor-El to be. A wise man. A strong man. A man who had been aged by mistakes, but rejuvenated by the process of correcting them. He was intense and the grip on her shoulders tightened painfully. This was the second time he had ever seen this look on Jor-El’s face. It scared her.

“You will know the time when it shakes you, brother, and it will shake you. It will tremble the Earth as it trembled Krypton and you cannot let that happen. You must be patient this time. You must accept our better angels this time. You must trust yourself this time. You must not hesitate as you hesitated before, Zor-El. I swear it, brother, this time you can save the planet.”

Jor-El moved his hand from her shoulders and enveloped her in a hug, her head now resting on his broad shoulder. "If this is not real, how can I feel him so clearly?" She remembered doing this for him many times in their youth and occasionally as adults. He was the older son and it was his burden to carry; but when Jor-El had been at his best, he had lifted the load too.

Eventually, Chloe no longer felt Jor-El. Once more she bowed her head, but this time she allowed her emotions to overwhelm her and she cried. Chloe felt the chair behind her and she knew the modifications she would need to make to the technology before she resumed her activities. There was time enough for all of that, but she needed this emotional catharsis. She needed her father. Maybe tonight she could put her brain on hold and just feel this way.

She stood up and left that office in that little office building. Chloe was going home because she needed to find balance and resolve. Chloe truly believe that she could do it, but she just needed a moment to be overwhelmed.

“I can do this.”

[somethingeasy]

Chapter 12

Things are becoming stranger and stranger. I assumed that Chloe had been possessed, to some degree or another, to Brainiac, who was feeding her memories from Krypton. But now it seems it’s not that ‘simple’ either. From what I remember from canon, Brainiac didn’t really have any reaction to GreenK, considering that he wasn’t really a biological lifeform, and therefore didn’t have that specific weakness from his Kryptonian masters.

I’m also becoming deathly curious about what the HECK Chloe could be planning. On one hand, it appears that she was at least partially responsible for all the trouble that Lex, Martha, Oliver and all are in right now… but it also appears that she intends to fix all those problems…? Using some of the crystals that she gathered from Lex’s vault?! In fact, she’s not just aiming to fix all the problems of all these people, but she appears to be out to save an entire world?!? And the most maddening thing is that, I’m not sure whether she’s out to save Earth or Krypton!!!!!! Aaaaaargh!!!!

And, to add on yet more confusion… there’s also the fact that now I’ve become a lot less certain that Chloe and Gabe are the same person after all. Perhaps Gabe really IS some kind of genius mastermind who is out to avenge his daughter, and Chloe is trying to fix all the sabotage that her father committed against all the people in her circle of friends and enemies.

Heh… and speaking of Lex… I loved that little mention of ‘remaking Lex’. It appears that a part of Chloe still wants to ‘save Lex’, despite everything that’s gone wrong between them. Although… perhaps ‘remaking Lex’ is NOT the same as ‘saving Lex’ ;)

The scene where Chloe hooked herself up to the ‘Watchtower 2.0’ set-up was amazing. First of all, I loved the visuals of imagining the JL headquarters all souped up with Kryptonian and Brainiac technology. It just sounded so COOL. And, I rather liked the description of the reaction that Chloe had to interacting with the equipment, illustrating how her mind was willing and able to do something that her frail, mortal, human physical body simply couldn’t cope with. It was intense imagining Chloe pushing her limitations to a near lethal killing degree like that.

The conversation between Chloe/ZorEl and JorEl was… both heartwarming and creepy… and of course confusing! I still wish I knew what the HECK kind of agenda all there external personalities are pushing Chloe into. Is it truly an agenda for her benefit, or are all these personalities warping and exploiting the mind of a brilliant young woman for nefarious purposes. Just how much of a choice does Chloe have here?! How much truthful information is she working off from?!? How much of Chloe is still Chloe, and how much has been turned into a tool for Kryptonian ghosts?!???

I look forward to seeing where this fic goes. I get the feeling that the storyline is wrapping up, and yet I STILL cannot see what the situation is all about. I can’t wait to see what happens when everything is finally clarified. Thanks for the awesome update, Ava. Please do update more soon… whenever you’re ready.

[Avalanche]

Disclaimer: Not mine.
AN: I hope you enjoy! :)


Chapter 13


It was noon on a Friday and Chloe lay in bed. She had just finished her physical therapy and she was exhausted and sore. Her body may have been healing at an exceptional rate, but it still hurt when she was put through the paces. Chloe also listened to her father puttering around downstairs. It was his day off and she had no doubt that he scheduled it just to be with her. But that was the problem in her mind. Gabriel Sullivan still acted like her father, with very glaring exceptions. She still balked at some of her darker thoughts taking real hold in her mind, but that didn’t really mean much when everything else was stripped bare.

Chloe felt her father come up the stairs. He gently knocked on her door. She didn’t acknowledge the knock at her door. Her father turned the handle and came entered her room. Chloe pretended to sleep.

“Chloe?”

He moved closer to the bed and sat next to her. Chloe felt him move her hair to the side of her face. Gabe bent down and kissed her forehead. He stood for an uncomfortable long moment at her door, watching Chloe pretend to sleep. Her father left her room just before she broke and squirmed. Chloe didn’t move until she heard his car leave the drive-way.

“You know, Zor-El, you have to change yourself further if you want to properly engage Watchtower 2.0. You might consider a better name while you’re at it. It’s not the best.”

Chloe briefly closed her eyes and sighed before turning to her bed companion.

“The fundamental framework and purpose for the new computer is still Watchtower,” she shifted a little in the bed, “Everyone is a critic. Since when have you become so snippy, wife?”

“It started with you, Chloe, and you know this.”

Chloe looked away from the side profile of Zor-El’s wife and resumed staring at the ceiling.

“But I don’t know. Not yet. Not fully. You could help me with that, but none of you will.”

Alura shifted to her side and rested her hand on Chloe’s belly. “Of everyone who could deliver this message, you and I both know you prefer me. I love you as you are and the hypothetical man you could be. You are as you are.”

Zor-El and Zod had shared an unquenchable fire between them. A level of respect and need that stretched passed most barriers, often to the detriment of their goals. They were unequivocally not good for each other. On the other hand, Alura had been his best partner. She had been his fiercest judge and supporter. His big ideas and plans became action in her hands. Alura was a sounding board that didn’t echo his words or reflect them, but changed them and made them stronger. He loved her beyond all reason and he betrayed her with Zod because of the aforementioned detrimental attraction.

Chloe looked fully at Alura. “What message would that be?”

“You have three options. One, wait. Wait until you are fully healed and your body has fully accepted what is to come. Two, Kal-El. His blood can jump start the process in you after you make the extensive and necessary modifications to Watchtower. Three, go to your secret laboratory and use Davis’ sample.”

“Hmmm…those are good options. I can’t afford to wait. Clark is out of the question. There’s not way to explain anything about it and trying to get a sample without his noticing is impossible. I also can’t ask Lex for help. I’ve already pushed him to his limit. Besides, being further in his debt is not something I’m willing to submit to. Davis is the best way.”

Alura smiled at her. “Davis is the best way for more than that reason, Chloe, and you know it. Stop resisting what you know. Only then will you finally be at peace with yourself and what is to come.”

Chloe gripped Alura’s hand that rested on her belly and whispered, “I know. But I don’t think it’s time yet. Acceptance opens a door that I can’t go through until this is settled.”

Zor-El’s wife caressed her hair, “At least you know that much, Zor-El. I was afraid you had rejected all things even after your talk with Jor-El.”

Silence stretched out between them as they stared at one another. Alura was the first to break the mood. “Do not worry that you cannot see Clark as he is. He is a good man. Only occasionally a brickhead. He is better than the sum of his father. You did not fail him…or Davis. There is still time if you let there be time.”

“I have too much to do already.”

“Yes, but this, like the other things, are all rolled into one big thing, husband. Prioritize, Chloe. It’s what you do best.”

Alura entwined her legs with Chloe’s, “Remember the first time we vacationed on Vathlo Island?”

Chloe smiled at the memory. “How could I forget? There were no obligations since father and mother had yet to pass from the world. I had never felt more at peace and less conflicted than that time,” Chloe entwined their fingers and closed the distance between their faces, “Lazy days spent loving each other and speaking of future plans. We were so sure that we would have many sons and daughters; that we had forever to make our House strong and filled with happiness and laughter. I wanted to give you that so much.”

She whispered her words, “We were so sure of everything.”

“Plans take you only so far, beloved. There comes a time when you must act. The surety comes in the act of doing. You cannot lose yourself, Chloe.”

“So today, I’m going to have a chat with Amanda Waller. She will always be an impediment, but I think that’s a good thing.

Alura snorted in response.

“What? You disagree?”

“I don’t think anyone else will ever be moved to agree with you. On the “good” part at least.”

It was Chloe’s turn to caress Alura.

“How could I have ever betrayed you?”

“Because Zod was a shiny object that called to something in you and Zor-El had a healthy sense of his own entitlement. Being the rock, which is dull and jagged, is a thankless job. But in the end, is it not me that you come to? Me that you seek strength from?”

“You have a point.”

“Now, Chloe, you are the rock.”

With that final comment, Alura’s presence faded. Chloe missed her already. The woman had a steadiness and will that should’ve elevated her. But she was wrong. The same thing that had drawn Zor-El to Zod was the same thing that had drawn Zor-El to Alura: their unwavering will. Zor-El had been a man prone to giving into his insecurities, but those two never let him when they could help it.

She could see parts of that dynamic in her relationships with Clark and Lex. Chloe had done some of her best and most dangerous work with Lex. She had also been at her best and most good with Clark. They brought out things in herself that she was too afraid to bring out on her own. They had given her a confidence that she would carry forever. Of course, the transference had not been one way. Clark and Lex were irrevocably changed by her as well.

“Oh, how far I’ve come since a car accident left me in a coma and fried my brain. This isn’t the story I thought it would be. Not even a little bit.”

Chloe levered herself out of bed and sent an email to Amanda Waller. She had no doubt that there would be a quick response. In the meantime, she was in dire need of a hot shower.

********

Two hours later, Chloe found herself at another nondescript restaurant in Metropolis. Honesty demand that she note that she had never noticed how many nondescript restaurants there were. It was getting ridiculous. She spotted agents, but there was no doubt that for every one she spotted, there were more she missed. Special Agent Amanda Waller sat next to a window. She was reading a newspaper and, for all intents and purposes, seemed to not notice her surroundings. Chloe would be lying to herself if she thought that Waller wasn’t fully aware of her surroundings. Even standing many feet away from her, Special Agent Waller seemed like a formidable woman.

“Yes, she will be a good impediment in the future, valuable as a watchman of watchmen. And never appreciated for the services she provides.”

Special Agent Waller didn’t look up or acknowledge Chloe until Chloe sat down at the table.

“Chloe Sullivan. An enigma in recent proceedings. Miraculously alive and walking about after a terrible accident that happened under mysterious circumstances. Genius hacker and talented amateur journalist. Does that about cover it?”

“Not quite. You missed coffee addict and overall charismatic woman of snark.”

Waller leaned back into her chair. “Yes, I did miss those. Can’t get good help for nothing.”

Chloe looked around for a waiter.

“Don’t worry, Miss Sullivan. I’ve taken the liberty of ordering the steak with asparagus and horseradish mashed potatoes. Your file did indicate that you liked Coca Cola™. All covered by my expense card since you so graciously asked for this meeting.”

Waller didn’t know exactly she had been expecting from Chloe Sullivan, but Sullivan betrayed no surprise or annoyance. Clearly Sullivan had a level of poise not common amongst her age group. Their food arrived quickly since, Waller had already ordered when Chloe arrived. Agent Waller let them each have a few bites before she asked her question.

“Tell me, why are we having this meeting?”

“Your investigation into Martha Kent. You and I both know why she did what she did. You also know a lot about Smallville, if not everything. There’s some information that you’re missing. I can provide some of that. Enough to let Martha Kent off the hook...eventually.”

Waller raised an eyebrow. She had expected Chloe Sullivan to want her to back off the Kents, but her request was not to end the investigation immediately. Chloe wanted her to prolong the investigation. She was being used as a distraction. Waller was so very rarely on the receiving end of a deception of this magnitude.

“Twist! I did not see this coming. I was under the impression that you and the Kent boy were the best of friends. Why should I honor this request?”

“There should be boundaries that even the gods must honor. Eventually, Special Agent Waller, you will probably go too far; but for now? Now, you can be that boundary. I am willing to give you information you need and then you will move beyond that information.”

Waller pushed her plate aside and leaned onto the table. She steepled her hands. “You are offering me a distraction because you are planning something. From the looks of it, that something must be big. I will discover it, Chloe.”

“I know you will. In time. And that’s the rub isn’t it? Consider this: there are only so many agents you have at your disposal. Appropriating more, at the infancy of this particular threat, is unlikely. I’m will willing to bet that there are forces who doubt your work and only the Martha Kent hunt it validating what you are doing. So, while you’re looking into me, Clark Kent, Lex Luthor, Oliver Queen, that intrepidly dark Bruce Wayne and many more will be doing what they do. They have the drive and the means to wreak havoc. To start something big and powerful and you want to get ahead of that. So I suppose a little threat assessment is in order. I’m on your side until I’m not. They are not and probably never will be on your side. There’s time to deal with me, and I give you my word that nothing I do now will harm your interests now.”

“But that doesn’t mean it won’t harm my interests later,” Waller paused briefly, “What do you mean to do?”

“Things. But for you, specifically? I’m going to give you a shiny new database. What you do with that information is up to you, but I hope it will be the beginning of something very useful and very beautiful. Rest assured that I can possibly be hurt by the information as well. I trust you, Special Agent Waller, for now. I know that right now, at this point in your career, you won’t needlessly hurt people. That might change and the day will come when we’re at each other’s throats, but today is not that day. Probably not even tomorrow. They are the devil you know. I am the devil that may never be born. ”

Waller took a sip of her drink and considered the situation. Chloe Sullivan was trustworthy right now. She was helpful right now, but Chloe might be a major problem in the future. She could live with today’s devil’s bargain, but this would end and she would be prepared for Chloe Sullivan. Yes, she would be able to meet the inevitable challenge that Chloe Sullivan would pose. That database would help her, but she would expand beyond this charity given to her by the devil. Chloe Sullivan fooled herself if she didn’t think the devil would be born.

Chloe felt like she could see the gears turning in Special Agent Waller’s head.

Lionel materialized next to Waller. “Oh, Chloe. A magnificent creation indeed. Are you sure you want to mold the clay this way? She could be a great asset for you. This is a crossroads. For once in your life, take the other road and keep to it. Gods appoint kings to do their bidding, to mold their world. Will you truly waste this opportunity?”

Chloe raised her glass and Agent Waller did the same. They had an accord for the time being and it was good enough.

As Chloe walked to her car, Lionel came to her again. “Jesus Christ, Lionel! You know what you never learned?”

“That would be?”

“You can never get better without reliably good opponents. Your greatest work comes when you have something to rail against: your own frailties, your own insecurities, profound external pressures. These things, pardon the cliché, make or break you. It’s how you were reduced to nothing more than a pawn in Jor-El’s plan. And now you are a dead man, who has no legacy other than the one Lex will build. And lest you think otherwise, his will be a great legacy because he is opposed by something far greater than you could ever imagine. He will be a king, Lionel. Something you were never even in spitting distance of.”

Chloe wished she had the chance to say those words to a living Lionel, but this was basically the same thing.

“Watcher of the watchmen. Even me.”

********

After her lunch with Special Agent Amanda Waller, Chloe spent five hours shaking all the tails Amanda set on her trail. She was good, but Chloe was sure that she should never have been able to spot, let alone shake her tails. She wasn’t that good, but there had been a sixth sense and amazing eyesight guiding her. Chloe didn’t have room in her mind to be surprised. There was no point.

The countryside of Smallville, Kansas had acres of farmland that were not used for any number of reasons. An abandoned and dangerous barn was located on such land. There was a rather large cellar hidden within the barn. She used to be afraid of discovery, but she had worked out a deal with the owners of the property and now it was hers. This, relatively, small piece of farmland was hers and no one knew it. Sometimes the way she was overlooked was a boon. She had considered using it to house Watchtower 2.0, but she didn’t want to put all her eggs into one basket. Discovery of one or the other wouldn’t undo her completely.

Once Chloe was inside the cellar, Chloe looked around at her many oddities that she had collected over the years of studying and being menaced by meteor freaks. There were even a few things that she had taken from the Fortress of Solitude. There were so many things. It rivaled her Wall of Weird. In all her curios, Chloe found what she had been looking for. Davis had shed blood, sweat, gray scales, and some kind of slurry from the kryptonite process he had gone through. All of those things would be good to use now, but the slurry was more or less processed Davis fluids, so that was probably her best bet.

Chloe glanced to the side and something she had completely forgot about: a blood sample from Kara. It was on a piece of cloth, so presumably Kara had gotten injured at some point in time. Should could process this too and use it. Chloe decided to use Kara’s sample to calibrate Watchtower 2.0 and Davis’ sample to prime her system.

Modifying Watchtower 2.0 could wait. It was time to go home and rest. She was too tired to do anything else for the day. The house was dark when she returned. Clearly, her father hadn’t come home yet and it worried Chloe for two big reasons: she didn’t know what he was doing and she didn’t want to be alone. Dark spaces were ominous and scary now in a way that they hadn’t been before her accident.

As luck would have it, Chloe heard her father’s car pull into the driveway. In no time at all, he was at her door and once again Chloe pretended to be asleep when he knocked. He knocked and opened her door, but he only watched her pretend to sleep before closing the door and entering his own room. Chloe knew that he knew she wasn’t really asleep. She also knew that they both knew the other was up to something. But she couldn’t really say if they worked at cross purposes or not. Maybe he knew, but she most certainly did not. Chloe supposed that it didn’t really matter.

“I’m sorry, daddy.”

[meghanadxb]

OMG! You surely do know how to write your fics and how to write Brainiac. I love the comparison between Zod and Lex. Alura's characterization is beautiful. Your Amanda Waller is awesome. "Watchmen of the Watchmen. Even me." This is an awesome story.

Your Ollie is lovely between the Robin hood of yester year and the darker GA that returned from the island that he was stranded on many years ago.

If Chloe uses Davis's DNA, wouldn't that make her susceptible to Darkseid's manipulations since he created Doomsday? I'm sorry to hear Kara is dead. I love you for exposing Zor-el's sensitive side and making him into Chloe. Your Brainiac is lot easier to understand then comic Brainiac. I love your subtle play on Kryptonian's history.

Keep up the good work :D

[Avalanche]

OMG! You surely do know how to write your fics and how to write Brainiac. I love the comparison between Zod and Lex. Alura's characterization is beautiful. Your Amanda Waller is awesome. "Watchmen of the Watchmen. Even me." This is an awesome story.

Your Ollie is lovely between the Robin hood of yester year and the darker GA that returned from the island that he was stranded on many years ago.

If Chloe uses Davis's DNA, wouldn't that make her susceptible to Darkseid's manipulations since he created Doomsday? I'm sorry to hear Kara is dead. I love you for exposing Zor-el's sensitive side and making him into Chloe. Your Brainiac is lot easier to understand then comic Brainiac. I love your subtle play on Kryptonian's history.

Keep up the good work :D

Thanks so much for the review! I really appreciate it and will keep up that good work. :)

[somethingeasy]

Chapter 13

Sorry about the delay in reviewing. Can I blame this on superstition about the number 13? … Heh… not falling for it, eh?

This chapter got off to a bit of a melancholy start. I’m STILL not sure about what the heck is going on with Gabe, and how he’s suddenly capable of all these super-conspiracy styles of intrigue… but I still find it rather wretched seeing the deteriorat/ed/ing relationship between Chloe and her father. It’s clear that there’s love, affection and a yearning for closeness between the two… but it’s just not working! I don’t care whether this Gabe might merely be a figment of Chloe’s psyche, OR the real Gabe, OR some kind of Gabe/Brainiac/Kryptonian hybrid… it’s still sad seeing this distrust and distance between the two!!!! I really, REALLY hope to see some form of reconciliation, or perhaps even just a plain straightforward conversation, between the two before the story ends.

Hmmmm… I think this was the first chapter that properly featured Alura as a person, rather than just a side-bit background character. I find it VERY interesting that Alura seems to be the only person who has not been assigned some kind of connection to one of the people in Chloe’s real life. Is it because there’s literally no-one like Alura in Chloe’s life at all? Or is it because Chloe has finally reached a quota in making these back and forth connections between long-dead Kryptonians and current friends?

I really hope it’s the latter rather than the former… because the idea that Chloe doesn’t have anyone who would offer her the same kind of unconditional love, support and easy acceptance that Alura offered to Zor-El… that Chloe herself finds so easy to offer to others… is just damned depressing!

Still… it made me smile to see the satisfaction Chloe got in knowing herself to have much in common with the clever, stalwart Alura… satisfaction in knowing herself to be the grounding, stabilizing force that helped bring balance AND drive to pretty much ALL of the amazing people she’s ever met in her life.


Alura smiled at her. “Davis is the best way for more than that reason, Chloe, and you know it. Stop resisting what you know. Only then will you finally be at peace with yourself and what is to come.”

Gahhhhhh!!! I’ve re-read this bit about five times over. I know enough to tell that it’s something VERY revealing about the truth behind Chloe’s condition and everything that’s strange about this fic… but I. Can’t. Figure. It. Out!!!!!! Aaaaaaaaargh!

So… Chloe’s dead then?!??? *wails* What the heck is going on?!???

The conversation between Chloe and Amanda was ALL kinds of fun!!!! I still get a thrill remembering the intense, charged conversation between Lex and Chloe, but this was ALSO amazing. I loved the idea of these two formidable, scary, brilliant, ruthless women meeting up over lunch to discuss the fate of countless lives… and perhaps even the future of the world as a whole. Awesome! I can only imagine how much Amanda would have given to have had Chloe as a properly trusted ally on her side.

Even as it is right now… with Chloe only as a temporary ally… you could see Amanda itching to make deals and bargains with her. I loved seeing how much respect Amanda had for Chloe’s resourcefulness. I also loved how Amanda knew full well that she was being manipulated and played somehow, and Chloe knew that she knew… and the two of them were going onwards from that platform. It was one HECK of a power-lunch!! Lol!

The ending of this chapter left me… *sigh*… confused as usual. Now we have Chloe not only creating Kryptonian technology practically from scratch, but now also engaged in some kind of bio engineering too… with all sorts of alien DNA. I don’t know what the heck Chloe is building up to, but I can only tell that it’s something incomprehensibly BIG! I can’t wait to see how this story turns out. Please do update soon, Ava.

[Avalanche]

Chapter 13

Sorry about the delay in reviewing. Can I blame this on superstition about the number 13? … Heh… not falling for it, eh?


Haha! I totally fell for it! I was thinking about what happened in Ch13 of DtW and I thought to myself that it was possible you'd be afraid or ya know, superstitious! ;)

Thanks for the review! I'm glad that you and everyone else likes my Amanda Waller. She is such a rich and great character who is very much unlike the norm in comics. It's why I love her so much. I think you'll like the end and that it might surprise you. :)

[Avalanche]

Disclaimer: not mine
AN: Enjoy!!


Chapter 14

Gabe sat at his computer and realized the limitations of the tools he was using. It had become increasingly obvious that there were forces acting against him in a far more efficient manner than previously exhibited. It was mildly frustrating but he could be patient this time. “I have to be.”

There hadn’t really been a defeat, but his plans were nothing like they should’ve been. Earth had proven a challenge that it should never have been able to pose. “Impossible that the fool Kal-El could mount such resistance or anyone else here. How did you do it?”

It was, of course, a question for another day. He had much work to do and there were forces arrayed against him. Gabe was fully aware that Chloe was more than likely one of those forces. She and the others couldn’t stand idly by, but only she, and perhaps a few others, could possibly elevate the level of resistance. His job would be so much easier if he could find the Kandorians to offer useful distraction, but his efforts had gone unrewarded. He needed a boost, something that could take him over the top. Something that would gain him greater access. For all his computer acumen and the resources at his disposal, he was still limited in what he could acquire without suspicion.

Gabe’s thoughts drifted to his daughter. She was a marvel in the scientific sense. Chloe had been lightly jogging for the past few days with the blessing of her physical therapist, but Joey had been puzzled. She should not have been able to tackle something so strenuous so soon after such a major accident and subsequent coma. And now, she was behaving shiftier than her days as a high school reporter. Neither Oliver nor Clark was fully aware of her activities either and she hadn’t been in contact with Lois. Of course, Lois was busy helping Clark navigate the treacherous water of his mother’s foolishness. They were ruined. If they managed to keep that farm, it would be a miracle. Amanda Waller was intent on making Martha Kent an example. More than that, Waller’s takedown of Martha Kent would serve as the foundation for her inevitably long career.

Chloe’s breathless entrance into their home broke him from his musings. He knew what he was missing now. He was missing Chloe’s ingenuity. It wasn’t that he couldn’t do what he needed to do or didn’t have the skills. It was that she was simply more familiar with the things he needs to be familiar with. She knew the processes in a way that he just didn’t. It was clear now. If he couldn’t have Chloe’s clear assistance, then he’d need to go to the next best source: Watchtower. And he knew how to do it. Gabe would need to disappear for a time and let her become comfortable in his absence, enough so that she would go about her business. Oliver and Clark had other problems and Watchtower might be vulnerable to an incursion.

“Hey, sweetheart! How was your run?”

She walked to the refrigerator and grabbed some water.

“It wasn’t so much as a run as a jog, if by jog, you mean that I tried to walk brusquely and ran out of breath every few feet and felt like crying a few times. It was a magical moment in my life.”

It was a clear lie. Gabe knew for a fact that her conditioning had improved. He had watched her one day.

“How do you feel about some space?”

Chloe stopped drinking her water for a moment and raised her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“I’m headed out to New York for business. Apparently, there’s a company that has what we want and they’re willing to negotiate.”

“How long will you be gone?”

“A week and a half.”

There was a moment of silence between them. “It’s not a long time, but it’s not exactly short.”

“It’s not entirely business. I just felt we probably needed a break. You’ve been getting antsy with me being constantly around, so I figured we could use some distance.”

Chloe didn’t really know what to say, but she did know what to feel. Half of what he was saying made sense and was believable and was true. The other half of what he was saying was suspicious. He was up to something, but it’s not like she could do something about it. The truth was she needed to finish Watchtower 2.0; she needed to finish herself and that time would be invaluable. Of course, that valuable time cut both ways. He would be able to do things as well.

She moved to his side and spared his computer a glance but the screensaver had already activated. “When do you leave?”

“Tomorrow morning. I’ll be on an airplane at 6am so I’ll be gone before you even wake up. In the meantime, want to give me a day to hang out with my favorite daughter?”

“Sure! Just let me grab a shower. Want to call Lois for lunch and then it’ll be just us for dinner? She’s having a hard time of it lately. Maybe even invite Clark?”

He nodded in response and watched her head up to her room. Gabe went back to his computer and the code he was writing and considered his next steps.

********

Zor-El was inspecting a laboratory and taking inventory. The new laboratory would be for a young scientist who worked primarily in plant pathology. She was working on a new energy conversion method. In light of their ongoing energy problems, this new avenue of research was timely indeed. Of course, another bonus was that her focus was on the nura flower, which was his area as well. He hadn’t had the privilege of mentoring her until now. He would spare no expense. He had big plans for this scientist and her pod.

Standing in the sole window in the laboratory, Chloe enjoyed the warmth. These moments were few and far between. Her musings were broken when she registered the soft sound of the automated doors sliding open.

“You’ve missed our bi-weekly diagnostic. Jor-El was displeased. I think he was rather annoyed by the presence of General Zod.”

Chloe/Zor-El knew what she would see. This had been building for some time, but it remained unexpected. She turned to face Brainiac, but outlining those features was her father. Zor-El sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, slightly mussing it. “A brother in the House of El indeed.”

Zor-El waved off Brainiac’s words. “Jor-El is more than capable of attending your needs. These diagnostics are only perfunctory as you know. You’ve endeared yourself to the Council.”

Gabe/Brainiac was irritated. “Jor-El and General Zod bicker and prolong the process. Separately, they are adequate. Together, they are inefficient and a nuisance. You are more thorough and you provide my systems with unneeded, but welcome maintenance.”

Somewhere in the back of her mind lay awareness of the fact that this could be her father venting his anger at her friendships with Lex and Clark. Chloe remained silent. What was there to say? She could not stop the coming disaster that would be Brainiac’s influence and she could not ameliorate it. There was absolutely no need for Zor-El to add more stress to his life if he didn’t need to.

“What if I request your presence? Will you attend?”

“There are projects that I have been neglecting because of you. You no longer need me. You are fully commissioned to your duty. Jor-El and General Zod know what is required, they are obeying the parameters of your purpose, and you are doing what you were designed to do.”

Brainiac’s fists clenched at his side and he shook his head slightly. “You do not trust me.”

That was when Chloe saw it. Until this moment, she never would’ve believed Brainiac capable of it, but the evidence was clear now. The machine desired Zor-El’s presence. It wanted respect from them and it was being withheld because Zor-El didn’t trust it. Brainiac was neither a marvel nor a brother to him. He wanted nothing from Brainiac and Brainiac could not comprehend it.

Zor-El/Chloe stepped closer to Brainiac/Gabe. “It has nothing to do with trust. It has to do with the fact that you were rushed. There is no “ahead of schedule” in matters of this magnitude. It was a poor decision. Data is telling you that mining our core will provide the energy and resources we need, but what does that matter? Your actions, along with the short-sighted nature of the Council are destabilizing Krypton.”

“I already have a plan to mitigate and rehabilitate the damage to the affected regions. We need only—”

Chloe interrupted Gabe, “The damage you do now cannot be “mitigated”! The people you are displacing, the environments that you are destroying receive no comfort from platitudes! Your actions, our actions, are hurting others. Your plans mean nothing, are nothing. Your desires mean nothing. And this is the problem. You lack the basic empathy required to understand what you are doing and the Council refuses to put a check on you. How far will you go? How far will we let you go? These questions have no answers. You, machine, are not one of us, and you never will be. You haven’t the capability.”

And that was the moment that Braniac became a machine in truth. This was the moment when the chase for data, when the desire for control subsumed whatever stumbles towards being a fully realized Kryptonian it may have one day attempted. Zor-El could not believe it capable of being more than a machine, and, ultimately neither did anyone else. Jor-El, General Zod, and the Council used it as a tool and now Brainiac understood the depths of his isolation. Zor-El was a brother, a father, and the head of the House of El. These were his words to what he considered a lesser thing. It was his weakest moment, and Chloe had no doubt that it would haunt him until his dying day.

Chloe/Zor-El moved to pass Gabe/Chloe and placed their hand on its shoulder and spoke softly. “You were meant to be more. I am sorry.”

His words were far too late. The desire for the truth had given Brainiac/Gabe more than it could handle. Gabe grabbed the hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

“You do not know what I am capable of, Zor-El.” Brainiac left the room.

Chloe/Zor-El cast another look around the room. “Yes, I have big plans for you.”

********

Chloe awoke to her father’s gentle knock. Whatever trepidation she may have felt, Gabriel Sullivan was still her father and she still loved him. She just didn’t know what he was capable of. Chloe hurriedly threw some clothes on and joined her father for an incredibly early breakfast. Both of them felt an ease with one another that had been missing since her coma. They ate in silence and she walked him to his car in silence. Gabe hugged Chloe with a fierceness that she didn’t expect, but that she matched.

“I love you, Chloe.”

“Love you too, daddy.”

She watched him pull away from their home before leaving the drive-way. One the one hand, Chloe wanted to go back to sleep, on the other, her sleep was fraught. Chloe decided to risk sleeping and dreaming because it was far too early and she had a lot of things to accomplish.

“Maybe you should consider sleeping, Chloe.”

It was Davis. She hadn’t expected to see him. In fact, she figured it was impossible.

“Why do you think it’s impossible, Chloe?

Chloe rolled her eyes at him and walked back into her house.

“I don’t really know why. I just did.”

He laughed at her a little. “Finish what you need to do today and you’ll probably know on the other side. But in the meantime…”

“I know. I know. Sleep. Will do, Psycho Paramedic.”

Davis grabbed the back of Chloe’s shirt and forcibly turned her around. “You know why that happened too. And now is the time for you to not only know, but to realize it. You have work to do.”

He pushed her away and she stumbled into the door. When Chloe looked back, she saw that he had left. It was unsurprising. It didn’t really matter though since Davis was right. She did need more sleep.

Mercifully, Chloe slept until noon without dreaming. She awoke refreshed and ready to finish Watchtower 2.0, but first she had to put Clark, Oliver, and Lois off her trail. It meant lying while telling the truth, for Clark at least. The other two would be relatively easy.

She picked up the phone and dialed familiar numbers.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Clark! Thanks for eating lunch with my dad and me yesterday. You and I haven’t really been in touch lately.”

“It wasn’t a problem, Chloe. It was good to spend some time not worrying. What did you need?”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “What? I can’t just call you?”

“Sure you can, but you haven’t. So what’s up?”

“My dad’s out of town for a couple of weeks so I decided to get away from Metropolis for a while. Just wanted to let you know so you could tell Oliver and Lois.”

“It’s a vacation, Clark. I don’t want to be interrupted so I’m not tellin’. I’ll have my phone and if I need help, I’ll call.”

“Chloe—”

She interrupted him, “It’s not up for debate. I need space. I need to not be around everything. I need solitude. You know what that feels like.”

Clark sighed. “Fine. I’ll run interference with everyone else.”

“Thanks, Clark. I knew I could count on you. Talk to ya later. Bye!”

Chloe quickly packed some necessities to take with her. When she finally arrived at her little office building on the outskirts of Metropolis, it was such an odd and isolated place to put a building, but this was a road few people had reason to travel so she knew she’d remain undisturbed.

She stood before Watchtower 2.0 and connected herself to the bio-reagents. She lay down onto the cot. Chloe would sleep until the process was completed.

“To sleep. Perchance to dream.”

********

“Have you found her yet?” Clark was frantic. Chloe had been gone for five days and they were all in disarray. Watchtower had been severely compromised. The work had been subtle. The world’s markets hadn’t been thrown into a tailspin, yet, but Bruce Wayne and a few other tech savvy CEOs were all reporting strange occurrences. They all seemed to have originated from Metropolis, specifically Watchtower. And Chloe was nowhere to be found, nor for that matter, Gabe.

It should’ve been impossible for an external source to penetrate the formidable encryptions that both Chloe and he had designed, but no one had been in this apartment save himself and Chloe. He couldn’t rule out the possibility of outside interference, but odds were low that someone not intimately familiar with the system could’ve done this. That left only Chloe and she was missing. The situation looked too suspicious. He no longer had the luxury of trusting Chloe. She had to be tracked down.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that, Clark?”

“You know I haven’t had any luck.”

Oliver’s frustration hit its limit, “Then why are you badgering me! Do something productive and when there’s something to report, report it!”

Clark would’ve offered his own angry retort, but Oliver’s phone rang.

“Hey, Victor.”

“I’ve been working with Bruce and we were able to track down those accounts for Chloe you gave us. Everything was fine until we got to an office building way out in the middle of nowhere at the Metropolis boundary.”

Before Victor could verbally give Oliver the address, Oliver told him to text it. He couldn’t have Clark taking off to pursue Chloe. Oliver read Victor’s text as soon as it pinged.

“Where is she?”

“In Metropolis.”

“I’m going to go get Chloe and bring her back here.”

Oliver held out his hand. “Wait. We don’t know what’s going on and we shouldn’t just go.”

“With or without you, I’m going to find Chloe and bring her back.”

“No! Look, Clark, something big is happening. I didn’t tell you, but the physical security measures have been compromised. Watchtower is not secure. I need someone here to make sure everything is safe and secure. You are the only person who can do that.”

Clark turned away from Oliver and approached the windows. “I have to be there, Oliver. This could all be a big misunderstanding and she’s hurt. She could’ve been the target before Watchtower.”

Oliver was sympathetic to Clark’s concerns, but there were still things that he hadn’t told him. He had placed Chloe under surveillance when her behavior had become increasingly erratic. Not only had Chloe been seen with Lex Luthor, but she had been spotted at one of his laboratories. Chloe had also been seen having a cozy chat with Amanda Waller as well. Soon after those events, Martha Kent’s troubles became more pronounced, Watchtower had been compromised, and multiple people of Oliver’s acquaintance had been put on high-profile watch lists. It couldn’t be coincidence, which meant that Chloe was no longer to be trusted. Something happened to her during that accident and she was now to be considered an unknown quantity.

“Clark, just wait here. I’ll be back shortly.”

“You have two hours, Oliver.”

********

One moment Chloe was asleep and the next she was awake. There was no period of disorientation, but a cold awareness of everything around her. She unhooked herself from the wires and Watchtower and surveyed her domain. Chloe didn’t have all the pieces because she still needed time to process everything, but now she could see so much more.

“You are right, Alura.”

Chloe ran her fingers along Watchtower 2.0’s interface, but swiftly abandoned it to remove the purple crystal with the red heart.

“You are radiant and have grown beyond being Watchtower.”

Chloe went to the restroom and observed the changes in her. She looked as healthy as she had before the accident that put her in a coma. There was a palpable glow and strength about her. She touched her reflection and the outline formed Zor-El. Her eyes unfocused and she felt something inside of her brain, a connection. The reflection of Zor-El spoke to her.

“Whatever expectation that I have carried with me, whatever hope that has given me strength has been realized. I do not envy you, Chloe, but I am eternally grateful.”

Zor-El placed his hand on his side of the mirror and Chloe copied him. She felt heat and electricity pass through them. Chloe felt his empathy and concern for her. There were a million regrets and love there. Her eyes became red and her skin grayed ever so slightly before her hue returning to normal. Her eyes remained red, however.

Her musings were interrupted by the sound of screeching tires of Oliver’s car. He had four people with them and she smelled the oil from their guns. Chloe could not let them in here. She activated the many security protocols. It would require Clark levels of strength and Brainiac levels of sheer Kryptonian knowledge to break into the room that housed Watchtower 2.0. Watchtower itself would defend itself if compromised. Her work needed to be preserved. She met Oliver and his men outside.

A few things became immediately clear when Chloe approached Oliver: he was nervous as evidenced by his elevated heart rate when she exited the building and the men around him were prepared for the worst as they drew their guns when she came into sight. Oliver didn’t trust her. He either knew or suspected something about his recent troubles.

“Oliver? What’s wrong?”

Oliver contemplated her for a beat before speaking. “What are you doing here, Chloe?”

She looked back at the building and shrugged her shoulders. “Just a side project. Been working on building a new lab focused on Kryptonian crystals.”

“That you got from Lex, right?”

“Yeah. It—”

He stepped closer to her and the men behind him shifted positions to flank her. Chloe’s eyes followed their movements.

“What did you have to do for Lex? And Special Agent Waller?”

“It’s none of your concern.”

‘That’s where you’re wrong. Watchtower has been breached and you’ve been conveniently missing after making deals with known enemies.”

“Wait, what?”

While not impossible, it was highly unlikely that Watchtower could’ve been compromised. It utilized small portions of Kryptonian tech. Nothing like her new creation, but no Earth computer should’ve been able to form a connection with it. Of course, there was adaptability on their side and that could’ve been exploited by some genius hacker, but no one was familiar enough. Unless it was Brainiac or some other Kryptonian artificial intelligence, but none of them had known about Watchtower.

Oliver could see it. She had no idea what was happening, which was somehow more disconcerting than her being the architect of their misfortune. Now, he had nothing. There were no suspects and no obvious course of action. Despite all of that, it didn’t really matter. She was still in a secret laboratory after making deals with their enemies.

“We’ll settle this later, Chloe. For now, come with us.”

“Have you seen my father?”

“What does he have to do with anything?”

Chloe muttered under her breath, “How did you do this?”

Watchtower was defenseless. Watchtower was an archive and a weapon. It could rival the NSA when it came to collecting data and archiving it. Most of it was useless data because you can’t possibly understand it all, but that wasn’t the point of Watchtower. It would be used to connect to important world databases and spread Brainiac’s protocol, but someone had to physically be present to upload the code. That was the check to Watchtower’s power: a person had to wield it.

“Let’s go, Chloe. We’re taking you to S.T.A.R Labs.”

“No. We need to get to Metropolis.”

Oliver stepped back out of the way of his guards, his voice was uncompromising. “It wasn’t a request.”

Chloe snarled and moved faster than she had ever moved in her life. She quickly took their guns and subdued the guards. When she was finished, they lay in a heap at her feet and Oliver was looking up at her from where she had pinned him. There wasn’t fear, but resolve. A line had been crossed and she didn’t think they could go back, even if she did fix things.

“I didn’t do this, Oliver. I would never betray you…or Clark. I love you.”

She kissed his forehead, let him go and moved to the car he and his men arrived in. Chloe kicked the tire hubs and bent the wheel wells. She then flipped the car. When she turned back, Oliver had picked himself off the ground and stared at her, mouth agape.

“I swear, Oliver, I swear that I’ll explain everything. I can fix this for us.”

Chloe glanced upward and leapt into the sky where she took flight. It was time for a reckoning.

Oliver pulled out his phone and dialed Clark’s number.

“We have a problem.”

[meghanadxb]

Gabe sat at his computer and realized the limitations of the tools he was using. It had become increasingly obvious that there were forces acting against him in a far more efficient manner than previously exhibited. It was mildly frustrating but he could be patient this time. “I have to be.”

There hadn’t really been a defeat, but his plans were nothing like they should’ve been. Earth had proven a challenge that it should never have been able to pose. “Impossible that the fool Kal-El could mount such resistance or anyone else here. How did you do it?”


So here we see Gabe descending comfortably in his role as Brainiac. Good job!


Gabe was fully aware that Chloe was more than likely one of those forces. She and the others couldn’t stand idly by, but only she, and perhaps a few others, could possibly elevate the level of resistance.

Duh! she is his daughter through and through and planning her own coup


His job would be so much easier if he could find the Kandorians to offer useful distraction, but his efforts had gone unrewarded. He needed a boost, something that could take him over the top.

I think here you're referring to the phantoms yes right?


Amanda Waller was intent on making Martha Kent an example. More than that, Waller’s takedown of Martha Kent would serve as the foundation for her inevitably long career.

Glad to see both father and daughter acknowledge the awesomeness that is Amanda Waller.



“Hey, sweetheart! How was your run?”

Do I detect the irony in this statement? Yes I do



“You’ve missed our bi-weekly diagnostic. Jor-El was displeased. I think he was rather annoyed by the presence of General Zod.”

And the parent child relation is reversed on Krypton. I think this is very nicely done especially how you end it with how Brainiac is adamant and intent to show Zor-el exactly what he's capable of. ----- Direct hit on Watchtower.



Brainiac’s fists clenched at his side and he shook his head slightly. “You do not trust me.”

That was when Chloe saw it. Until this moment, she never would’ve believed Brainiac capable of it, but the evidence was clear now. The machine desired Zor-El’s presence. It wanted respect from them and it was being withheld because Zor-El didn’t trust it. Brainiac was neither a marvel nor a brother to him. He wanted nothing from Brainiac and Brainiac could not comprehend it.


This part and some of the other lines that follow are beautiful.



And that was the moment that Braniac became a machine in truth. This was the moment when the chase for data, when the desire for control subsumed whatever stumbles towards being a fully realized Kryptonian it may have one day attempted.

Is it so wrong of me to worship this line : The Quest for truth



“Maybe you should consider sleeping, Chloe.”

It was Davis. She hadn’t expected to see him. In fact, she figured it was impossible.

The elephant inside the room




“I’ve been working with Bruce and we were able to track down those accounts for Chloe you gave us. Everything was fine until we got to an office building way out in the middle of nowhere at the Metropolis boundary.”

So watchtower 2.0 didn't escape attention


Oliver was sympathetic to Clark’s concerns, but there were still things that he hadn’t told him. He had placed Chloe under surveillance when her behavior had become increasingly erratic. Not only had Chloe been seen with Lex Luthor, but she had been spotted at one of his laboratories. Chloe had also been seen having a cozy chat with Amanda Waller as well. Soon after those events, Martha Kent’s troubles became more pronounced, Watchtower had been compromised, and multiple people of Oliver’s acquaintance had been put on high-profile watch lists. It couldn’t be coincidence, which meant that Chloe was no longer to be trusted. Something happened to her during that accident and she was now to be considered an unknown quantity.


Oh-oh! Chloe watch out. Is this what you meant that Green Arrow would fail from earlier chapters Ava?



While not impossible, it was highly unlikely that Watchtower could’ve been compromised. It utilized small portions of Kryptonian tech. Nothing like her new creation, but no Earth computer should’ve been able to form a connection with it. Of course, there was adaptability on their side and that could’ve been exploited by some genius hacker, but no one was familiar enough. Unless it was Brainiac or some other Kryptonian artificial intelligence, but none of them had known about Watchtower.

But her father does after hacking into her personal computer right?


Chloe glanced upward and leapt into the sky where she took flight. It was time for a reckoning.

Chloe did you forget? Lex is also watching especially after you're flinch with that piece of kryptonite planted at the lab earlier.


Oliver pulled out his phone and dialed Clark’s number.

“We have a problem.”

That is an understatement


Lovely chapter Ava. Can't wait to read the next exciting chapter of Death Knell.

[Avalanche]

Megs! Thank you for that lovely review! Yeah, the Kandorians were those clones in the Orb who were led by a younger version of Zod. :)

[somethingeasy]

Chapter 14

Woah… Okay, this chapter needed some serious re-reading before I could write my thoughts on it. SO many questions have been answered. One thing that I STILL don’t understand, however, is how Brainiac is apparently being held in both Chloe’s AND Gabe’s mind, and yet they two of them seem to be working at cross-purposes against one another. But hopefully that issue will also be resolved later. Perhaps it’s not actually Brainiac in Chloe, but something else that’s making her smarter, stronger, faster as well as giving her memories of by-gone Krypton dramatics.

One thing I really loved about this chapter was not only the confirmation about Gabe being Brainiac, but ALSO the revelation that Gabe is probably being influenced by Braniac, but not aware of it!! This would explain why Gabe still has his priority set on keeping Chloe safe and avenging all slights against her… Brainiac is using Gabe’s love for his daughter to put Gabe on the path of an obsessive, paranoid vendetta against all of Brainiac’s enemies.

I also find it an interesting possibility that all of Chloe’s ‘memories’ of Krypton might be part of an intense full-sensory programming interface… where all of Chloe’s interactions with a set of long-dead characters is setting and re-setting Brainiac’s parameters, objectives and priorities…? Or perhaps some kind of tutorial program which is teaching Chloe how to best interface with Brainiac…? Anyhow, it would be an interesting possibility to explain the purpose behind all those memories… beyond just getting knowledge about Krypton’s past. It would explain why Chloe is not only being told about long-dead Kryptonians, but also why she’s being asked to interact with them and play out a role in the memories.

Hmmmm… I’m not sure just how much awareness Chloe has about Gabe being influenced by Brainiac. She seems aware that Gabe cannot be fully trusted, and that he’s not quite himself… but she still treats him like he’s just her dad, and doesn’t even try to warn him about being influenced, much less try to free him of it. Priorities, Chloe?

The story about Brainiac being needy for approval and perhaps even some form of affection was fascinating!!! I loved, LOVED the tragedy that Brainiac was the classic Frankenstein’s monster… something created to be an experiment and a slave, but was created with enough detailed ingenuity to have more human needs than the creator could have ever predicted. And once those human needs were not fulfilled by its creator, then the ‘Frankenstein monster’ turned against his masters to carve out its own destiny. Brilliant!

The showdown at the end of this chapter was amazing!! I was exciting and tragic, and I loved how Chloe is now set up on her lonesome against the world… no allies, no hope… just her. This is going to be awesome!

[Avalanche]

Disclaimer: not mine

AN: Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. Busy life, fun times! Anywho, here is the last chapter of Death Knell. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. You've been the best! ENJOY!!


Chapter 15- Final


Chloe’s only thought had been to get to her father and fix the situation to the best of her abilities, past and present, after she left Oliver stranded. She had to do it quickly because Oliver would easily be able to find his way to Watchtower soon enough. That could not happen. He could not be there when everything went to hell and she brought it back. He would not understand.

On her way, she chanced looking down and spotted a familiar car: Lex’s. He was on the lonely road that could really only lead to Oliver and Watchtower 2.0. This was something else that she couldn’t let happen.

“Dammit!”

She had to deal with this now. Oliver and Lex deciding to work together was low on the scale of probabilities, but it was not impossible and there was too much risk. Chloe made her decision. She halted in the sky and dropped towards his car. Luckily, his was the only one present. Amanda Waller’s tails were not close enough to Lex now. She just had to be quick.

“I’m destined to remain a problem to you, aren’t I, Zor-El?”

Chloe glanced behind her and snorted at Zod. “Don’t sound so smug. It means you can’t let me go. I can always use that.”

He wrapped his arms around her. “There is always time, Chloe. You and I will always have that. We’re soulmates.”

Chloe shook her head. “Only in your most hopeful of dreams, Zod. Clark is my soulmate, but there is always a place for Lex.”

“And now you know that. You should get about it, should you not?”

Zod vanished and Chloe landed in the path of Lex’s car. He swerved frantically and ended in a ditch. His car was effectively put out of commission. Chloe straightened from the crouch she landed in and approached the driver side. She stopped a few feet away as Lex stumbled from his car.

“Are you insane?” Lex was furious, “You could have killed me!”

Chloe cocked her head to the side. “At most, I would’ve had to take you to a hospital and you wouldn’t suffer to badly. Unlike me and my accident.”

Lex touched the blood on the side of his face and gingerly probed his face. He would have burns and cuts from the air bag. Chloe was at his side in an instant and attempted to assist him to a part of the embankment where he could sit. Her plan was thwarted when he pushed her away and held a rather impressively large shard of green K in his hand.

Chloe reflexively stepped away from him, but she felt none of the weakness and pain that Clark had often described. She stepped towards him and placed her hand over his. She felt nothing, but her hand grayed and black veins popped up along where she touched the green K. Chloe felt heat in her eyes and knew from Lex’s shocked eyes that hers were probably red. Chloe smirked and tightened her hand on Lex’s. Lex lost his grip and Chloe took the green K from him. She squeezed it until it became a fine mist that blew away in the wind.

She stepped away from him and waited for him to speak.

“What are you?”

“What I have always been.”

“What did you do?”

“A lot of things and I’m not done yet.”

There was an extended silence. Lex fairly buzzed with nervous energy. She could see and hear and feel his heart racing. The pupil dilation. The sweat. Chloe could see him begin his calculations. He would not stop and he would not rest.

“If I could repave the path in front you, Lex, would you let me? Would you follow it?”

Lex’s face twisted into a snarl, something ugly. “A path created for me is not mine and I won't walk it. Never again, Chloe.”

“Forget your pride, Lex! Forget everything before now! Forget it while I’m asking because I will not be denied. I won’t ask again.”

Chloe was forceful at the beginning, but she ended in a stillness that Lex had never seen. Lex’s fists clenched at his side and he took a small, aborted step forward. If he hadn’t seen what he had in his facility in Lenexa or what she had done only a moment ago, he would’ve attempted physical intimidation, but that was not an option.

“You could be that engineer or that philosopher, Lex. You and I can be those people. We can be remade!”

Lex calmed and stared into the distance in the direction of Smallville and his castle. “There is no destiny. There is no path. There is only a vast wilderness and I will make it mine, Chloe. I will tame it and rule it.”

Who was this man that no longer believed in destiny? Only a few weeks ago had he believed in his own darkness.

Lex seemed to have read her mind.

“I’ve learned a lot about you, Chloe. A lot about one Gabriel Sullivan. While Oliver and Bruce and the others ran around, I could see the pattern. Zod had shown it to me once. I let myself forget it, but I will not forget again.”

“It seems my influence has finally reached deep into him. Of course, this is a pale shadow.”

Zod circled Lex and ended behind Lex. She could see them both reflected in each other. Zod looked at Lex. “Can you see the tendrils that spread around you? Plans unleashed and still you are blind. Are you sure you have time for this? You already know your plan vis-à-vis Lex.”

“I have no time for this, Lex.”

Chloe sped forward and grabbed Lex’s cellphone and crushed it. She quickly scanned his car and saw no other communication devices.

When she finished her inspection, she turned to Lex, her eyes blazed red. “To be continued, Lex. We are not done. We will never be done.”

Once more, Chloe took to the sky. She had wasted too much time already.

“Remake him, Chloe. Build a better man. He will thank you in the end.”

As always, Zod’s words were seductive and she allowed herself to be seduced.

********

Breaking into the building was childishly easy. It gave him a pang to realize that he saw his daughter’s work. Her signature, her sensibilities were all over this place. It was impressive, but that link would not stop him from doing what he needed to do. He had been casing this place for days. He knew security movements inside and out. Gabe had initiated several false alarms to get a feel for reaction times. Oliver was a smart man and kept his security team on task, but Gabe found the pattern. It was this knowledge that let him knife through all security measures.

Clark was just hanging up the phone when Gabe entered the apartment with Watchtower. From his expression, Clark was surprised. Gabe figured it was surprise only in the sense that Gabe was the last person he expected to see and not that he didn’t hear another person.

“Mr. Sullivan. What are you doing here?”

“Hello, Clark. I’m here to upload a virus that will reboot the world’s markets and take us all back to the beginning. After that, I’ll upload another program that will put us on a good path. Then, I’ll find some friends to help me get humanity in order. But first things first of course.”

Clark was stunned. This man, his best friend’s father, sounded insane. He also sounded familiar. The intonation and pattern of words sounded like Brainiac. But that should not have been possible.

Gabe chuckled softly. It was almost like he could see the little hamster in Clark’s brain try to run when in truth it wasn’t even present to begin with. “Please, Clark. Don’t hurt yourself. You are no more capable of sorting through the myriad of implications in that statement than you are of stopping me.”

The effect was instantaneous. Clark had been defensive, but now he seemed to radiate anger. He seemed to vibrate with it.

“I had thought to say that you were a grand disappointment to Jor-El to taunt you, but now I realize that it is the truth. Jor-El’s intellect was a force to be reckoned with, no matter how foolish and recklessly he applied that intellect. But you? All brawn. A result of poor parentage and an over reliance on what you are as opposed to who you are. The last son? All of Krypton distilled into such a poor vessel. Such a waste.”

That was the last push Clark Kent son of Jonathan and Martha Kent, Kal-El, son of Jor-El and Lara Jor-El, needed.

“You won’t get away with this!”

Clark moved faster than any human, a gift of the yellow sun, but Gabe was ready for him. Gabe merely held out a syringe full of finely ground krypton and let Clark impale himself on it. The effect was immediately. Green veins raised and Clark clutched his side.

Clark fell to the floor. Gabe grabbed the front of Clark’s shirt and forced him to his knees. Spittle flying from his mouth, Gabe spoke directly into Clark’s face. It was fury.

“I warned you, Clark. All those weeks ago, I warned you. If I found out that you were lying to me, you’d regret it. Did you think it was an idle threat? That because of what you are you could not be touched? She is MY daughter! Mine to protect! I created her! And you…dare…,” Gabe then pulled a shard of blue kryptonite from his back and brandished it. He forced himself to be calmer, “Once again a fool of the House of El dares to rise above his station and touch that which he cannot possibly hope to grasp. You are lucky that I did not strike gold.”

With that, Gabe pushed the blue shard deep into Clark’s heart so that it was no longer visible. It cut through him like a hot knife slices through butter. Clark screamed and stopped the little resistance he had mustered to that point. He vomited and coughed up blood. Clark’s shuddered breathing and heaving gasps were like a grand symphony. Gabe adjusted his grip and dragged Clark to the balcony.

“Please.”

Kal-El’s blood, the blood of Krypton, coated his hands. Gabe gripped Clark’s shirt with both hands and brought their faces close together. Clark held desperately held onto the hands that restrained him. Clark was the enemy, the betrayer, the builder of the chasm that separated him from the things he desired.

“Can you fly now, Kal-El?”

Gabe tossed Clark from the balcony and turned away. He had work to do.

********

Chloe had the presence of mind to enjoy the immense pleasure that was flight. It was exhilarating. It was power and she loved every minute, every second, of it. It took some adjustment. Just because she knew how to get to the apartment that Watchtower didn’t mean she knew how to get there while flying so she had to be careful about her bearings. She closed in on the building and could see Clark. And her father. But what she was seeing was the person she loved most in the world throw the other person she loved most from a balcony. The darkness and the beginnings of a storm were a blessing. Few people would notice what had transpired. If they did, it could be rationalized away.

If Clark was in a position to save himself, he would never have been in need of saving in the first place. Her father had done something to make him week. She swooped down before Clark hit the ground. Chloe flew to the roof and laid him gently down upon it. She smelled green K and her x-ray vision let her see what she could only deduce was kryptonite in his chest, buried in his heart.

"You can be assured that the time for bystanders is at an end."

She was torn, but Zod's long-ago words were correct. If she removed the shard and helped him, he could come to his sense before she could deal with her father and that situation would end terribly for all involved. Chloe had to see this through herself. She couldn’t, wouldn’t, choose between her father and Clark. If she did, Clark would invariably lose and whatever part of her that held all her love for them would be broken so she arranged him as comfortably as she could and gently touched his cheek. Chloe realized that she refused this choice last time and lost everything for it. The lack of faith, of conviction, had doomed them all. Zor-El would've lost Jor-El or Brainiac for sure, but at least he would've had one of them by his side repairing what had been broken.

“Clark, I can fix this. I know I can.”

A question first posed to her a lifetime ago and she answered now as she did then.

“Yes,” she breathed softly, “I would do anything to save you.”

Just as with Oliver, she kissed his forehead. Chloe would atone for this sin.

Chloe stepped off the side of the building and lowered herself until she hovered outside the balcony. She looked around and saw and felt the ghosts of Krypton. All of them silent. All of them watching. The only people she did not see were Zor-El and Kara. There were many others that she recognized and that she had all loved and respected. They had been bound together in another life and those ties reached across time and space, life and death, to tether them all together now. Alura’s steady aura blazed to her right, Jor-El’s blazed brighter than anything else to her left, and Zod’s fire to her back. The others merely assembled around and before her. They were silent witnesses. Chloe turned to face her peers and there was a palpable sense of hope and yearning. A strong gust of wind blew through and took them with it.

Chloe looked to the sky and felt rain splash onto her face. There was no running away from the duties love foisted upon you. There could be no denial of humanity in the space between life and death, love and hate.

Alura’s voice rang in her ears. “You are the rock.”

Chloe had only understood those words in the context of Alura giving her strength, but it had been part of an ancient Kryptonian origin poem. Alura’s words suddenly became so much more.

She said the words softly to herself, “There will come a day when we will see the rock. And on that rock, we will be build a mighty tower and it will be a beacon of hope, a signal of warning, and a symbol of strength.”

Once more Chloe faced the balcony. Stepping onto the ground, she glanced around, but she knew he would not be in the room. He was with Watchtower. Now was the time to lay everything bare. She would become vulnerable and force both herself and her father into the light of truth. It was who she was and she had forgotten that for the last few weeks. She had been so mired in her confusion and fear and anxiety that she could see nothing beyond those things. The dark was a refuge, but now her love for her father and Clark forced her to be better than her darkest demons. She could not fail them.

Her father’s back was bent over Watchtower as she entered the office. He seemed oblivious to her presence for a moment, and then his back stiffened. He kept working even as he greeted her.

“Hello, Chloe.”

“Dad. What are you doing?”

He stopped typing and turned to her. “What you have always wanted to do, but never could. What needs to happen. The flaw in Dark Thursday was the chaos. The destruction. Even for birthing pangs. But of course, you cannot expect anything from a maddened personality. Zod was never so careless, was he?”

Chloe smiled softly, “He was, dad. Sometimes he was that careless.”

This was an odd conversation. Both of them danced around the questions they had no answers to. Neither had any idea how the other could know what they knew or what the other was talking about, but somehow, beyond all reason they were conversing with each other.

She cocked her head. “I can’t let you do this. This is not Krypton.”

“Krypton was a flawed planet. Her people were fools. Their destruction was their own, but it doesn’t have to be so here. On Earth.”

He turned back towards Watchtower and began work. Her father didn’t think she would stop him. Gabe would never have made such a calculation, but whatever realization she was coming to was pushed aside in favor of stopping him.

Chloe quickly closed the distance and forced her father to face her. She pushed him down and away from Watchtower, momentarily stunning him. Chloe initiated a diagnostic, which had the fortunate effect of stopping all programs currently active.

“NO!”

His scream was primal. “I will not fail this time!”

Gabe scrambled from the floor and there was a device in his hand. Chloe had never seen something like it, but she knew that it wasn’t something good if her father held it now. Chloe knocked the device from his hand and held her father by the throat.

“What are you? How did you do this? Help me fix this! Please, father! Help me save them!”

By the time she had finished, Chloe was screaming in panic. He couldn’t be lost to her. She echoed her father’s sentiment: she couldn’t fail this time. Gabe raised his hand and touched his finger to her forehead. He would infect her and change her. She would be remade and then she would help him.

Chloe felt something writhe in her brain, in her mind. Dropping her father, Chloe screamed and clutched her head. Gabe also clutched his head. Both of them collapsed onto the floor. Chloe felt herself being pulled and she dreamed.

********

Zor-El stood in the annex room that was behind his hydroponics laboratory. It was where it all began. He stood where he and Jor-El had first conceived the notion of Brainiac and where they further refined their plan. He and Jor-El would eventually assemble Brainiac in another laboratory, but this place was where he was designed. He stood in the place where the end of Krypton began. All of his hopes and dreams for Krypton lived and died in this place. He wanted to weep, but now was not the time. Zor-El had a plan to enact and he had precious little time. Krypton was destroying itself and their mother-world only had a few days, perhaps even only a few hours, to live.

The room had a rather large population of data, energy, and display crystals. In the middle of the room, there was an interface chair. Next to it laid a dark purple crystal, whose heart radiated red. They served as the backbone for the computer he had built after he revealed his intentions to his wife. She had helped him build this room to reflect its changed purpose. Were it not for her, Zor-El was sure that he would have failed. Her unwavering love for him and her dedication to Krypton had bolstered him, but Zor-El knew that he could not take the final step. He was too weak. Someone else would need to do what he could not, which led him here, to his final defeat: Krypton would die. He would not, could not, save his planet, nor could he save all of his people.

“But I can save a few.”

Gripping the back of the chair, he wanted to vomit and to scream because what he was about to do would be the most heinous act he had ever performed in his life, but it would only be the first of many more to come. There would be no recovering from what he was about to do. There would be no forgiveness or relief. Until the day he died, he would suffer from the memory; and in the afterlife, those he had wronged would spend an eternity tormenting him. It was all that he deserved.

Zor-El’s attention was drawn to the sound of an opening door. He turned around and there stood his younger brother. His chest constricted and he wanted nothing more than to turn away from the course of events that had been destined to happen the day Brainiac gained favor in Krypton.

Jor-El halted next to him and stroked the interface. He was clearly confused.

“Well. This is new. I’ve never seen such an elaborate interface outside of Brainiac’s construction of the new energy observatory, but I think this puts that to shame. What is this, Zor-El?”

There was genuine curiosity in his brother’s voice. There was also excitement. Jor-El loved to learn and he had always been an engaged student. Zor-El smiled slightly. His brother would always be a joy to him.

“You are right. Alura and I have been building this room for years now. I call it a transference laboratory. Maybe it will catch on somewhere.”

Jor-El had been smiling, but there was something in Zor-El’s voice that gave him concern. Zor-El surreptitiously retrieved the two thin syringes he had hidden in his pocket and sidled closer to his brother. His younger brother was not prepared for the quick jab to his neck that rendered him paralyzed and he never felt the other needle as Zor-El plunged it directly into his heart. Before Jor-El’s face slackened into momentary unconsciousness, Zor-El saw it darken into fury. Zor-El wished that he saw shocked betrayal or pain, but it was not to be found. Jor-El would be out long enough for Zor-El to connect him to the interface. Zor-El gazed once more into the red heart of the purple crystal and despaired.

Twenty minutes later, Jor-El was finally beginning to stir. He furiously tested his bonds for a moment before he settled. Zor-El watched his brother’s face become distant. He was trying to contact the other shards, but it was not possible. Not in this room. Not in the room specifically designed to stymie him.

“It seems I have underestimated you, brother.” Jor-El, no, the shard of Brainiac that resided within Jor-El, cocked his head and narrowed his eyes.

Zor-El laughed ruefully to himself. “Whether it was you or Jor-El, that has always been a constant in my life, brother.”

“I suppose you think you can win here.”

“No. I don’t think I can win. I think you and I will both lose. But I have set the playing field for our next encounter, Brainiac.”

Brainiac-as-Jor-El flexed his arms within his restraints. “I have many contingencies, Zor-El. I will not lose.”

Zor-El raised an eyebrow. His voice was mocking. “Oh? Really now? I know! You plan on going to Earth and hiding the Book of Rao. You plan on gently persuading the Ruling Council to craft an Orb for our people. No, you plan on having a child with your wife and sending him to Earth, and also sending your true self with that child,” Zor-El snapped his fingers, “No, wait! You have done all of the above.”

Brainiac snarled.

Zor-El levered himself from his seat and circled the chair that restrained his brother, his creation, his son. “I know, I know. You thought I didn’t know. You thought I could do nothing. That you would win. As long as you had Zod and Faora and Lara, you would win. Do you really think that I have not felt you here,” Zor-El tapped his head, “Oh, I felt you. And I programmed that part of you to become myself. You have no sway here. And I’ve shown others. Soon, there will be another who will stop you on distant Earth. I played your game because it left me free to play mine. Don’t worry, brother. Brainiac will ignite the planet core. Kal-El will reach Earth. He will grow with you beside him. But he will also grow with Re-El, my son. Of course, you call him Doomsday. I changed that too. And so many other things. Those plans of yours will go on because I do not know what you have done in full.”

He pushed his face into Brainiac’s and screamed his words, spittle flying from his lips, “I cannot save Krypton, but I can save Earth if one can be found of their number. I have saved many of our people who now have another planet to call home. Krypton will fall and your touch upon her destroyed as well. I have left my mark all over you, Brainiac. We both shall lose!”

“You are mad!”

Brainiac screamed in rage and attempted to lunge from the interface only to be met by failure. Zor-El touched pushed keys on the interface and Brainiac tossed back his head as Jor-El’s body seized. The shard of Brainiac within Jor-El was pushed aside and silenced.

Jor-El’s body relaxed and Zor-El saw his brother assert himself fully within his own skin. His face showed his gratitude and relief.

“He’s gone, Zor-El. We can warn the others and make plans to more fully evacuate Krypton. I must save my son!”

Zor-El gazed at his brother in sadness and shook his head. “It is too late for that. Too late for you. If you leave this room, the shard of Brainiac will assume control and alert the other shards of the plan. All will be ruined,” he gently touched Jor-El’s face and slowly turned his face so that Jor-El could see the purple crystal, “I will reprogram Brainiac so that he will be as he was meant to be: controlled and in brotherhood with us. Then I will separate you and store both of your consciousness within that crystal. I will do that to all the infected, including the Brainiac within myself. Each piece of him is unique, and while they share intentions and information, they are informed by their host. They will conglomerate within the crystal and become something good, with parts of us to guide him. That crystal will be sent to Earth and it will find a suitable host, who will also be slowly transformed into a Kryptonian to endure the trials to come. That host will stop whatever Brainiac plans. I hope that Kal-El will be a partner in this quest. I hope that Re-El and Kara will help that host too, but I do not fully know what Brainiac has done to them.”

Jor-El tossed within the chair, his eyes wide. “But…there has to be another way! We have to save our people! You have to save me, brother! Please!”

Zor-El cupped his brother’s face and gazed into his eyes. The look in his eyes was something Zor-El had never seen before this moment. He lowered his forehead to Jor-El’s. He felt the wetness on his face and he realized that he was crying. Jor-El was too.

“Brainiac has done too much and I am not strong enough. This time, Jor-El, I am unable to charge forward, with no fear, as you do. I am not fast enough. The Book of Rao is my enemy. I cannot trust you or Zod or Faora. I cannot trust the Orb or the Ruling Council. I cannot trust myself,” he opened his eyes and met Jor-El’s stricken face, “I will go to New Krypton and hope that one day my children and your child will come home. I will hope that the crystal chooses a worthy host, the best of us. I will hope that one day Earth can welcome us and we can join them in fellowship. But you cannot be there. I have failed you...and Krypton. I am so sorry, Jor-El, my beloved brother, so, very sorry.”

Zor-El let his brother go, physically and emotionally. He began the process that would separate and remake Jor-El and Brainiac. When he finished, he held Jor-El’s hand. Zor-El listened to his younger brother incoherently babble then scream in pain before succumbing to the interface and the crystal. Jor-El was only the first of many and his time was limited. Kal-El was already on his way to Earth with the real Brainiac and Re-El. Soon, the purple crystal with the heart of red would also make the journey to Earth. And it would take pieces of those who properly engaged the Kryptonian crystals it was linked to.

When Jor-El’s eyes were vacant and the hand held within his own grew slack, Zor-El gently closed his brother’s eyes, his dead brother, for he no longer held a mind. He retrieved another syringe and slowly depressed its contents into Jor-El. It would be the thing that finished killing his brother.

Zor-El dried his tear-stained face with his hands and prepared to lure the others into his trap. Zor-El kissed Jor-El’s forehead and spoke into the room that held his hopes, his dreams, and now, his greatest sins.

“We are all dead men, but we have a purpose here. I know that purpose, but I have never been so lost and in need of you, my brother.”

********

Chloe’s mind sprang from the vision and into the awaiting inferno of her father’s presence. They both face each other on the floor where they had fallen. His face seemed to be hidden by shadows, but she knew that was just her mind playing tricks on her. He stood and held out his hand to her, which she took, and she got to her feet.

Gabe nodded and let out the breath she didn’t even know he was holding. “Chloe, look at me. Really look at me and tell me what you see. See me as I have now seen you.”

A phantom flickered over his face and he looked Milton Fine, but the image shimmered and she saw the vague features of the Brainiac of her dreams.

She said softly, “A brother in the House of El.”

But even that was not entirely correct. Her father. Her brother. Her son. Her adversary. Her creation. These were all ways to describe the man that stood before her now. Gabe, her father, and Brainiac, who, for a brief time, had been her and Jor-El’s brother, but had always been her creation, making him a son. And, of course, he had been an adversary that had taken her over the edge once before and now threatened it again. Her face reflected her awe.

“So. Now you know.”

Chloe gasped. “But how did you infect my father?”

In a very human gesture, Brainiac-as-Gabe Sullivan bit his lip, “Through you. When you were in your coma, I…Gabriel felt so lost. Alone. Impotent. So he broke into your apartment and found your secondary hard drive. I was there. There are many pieces of me, meant to come together when the time was right. But I had not anticipated that versions of me would somehow be able to travel through time or that you could possibly have a piece of me, a more perfect version of me. We have also had many time incursions. Brainiacs from the future and those versions showed me, and I suspect you, things that have yet to happen. It is all so very bizarre and baffling.”

After a brief pause, Gabe continued, “All of us, you and I, and the other pieces of the mother code have a connection. We resonate with each other. Through space and apparently through time, we are one. We talk with each other. But you subsumed your version of Brainiac, there is no separate entity within you; and I am merely a vessel, which had its own problems.”

Chloe’s realization was lightning fast, “I took a trip to Clark’s fortress in the Antarctic. I must have encountered the purple crystal there and my memory of the event lost.”

It was how she knew so much about Oliver. Why she felt so strongly that he needed to fail. Something in the future needed to happen and she was forcing the event to occur when she, Chloe, had control. There were many events, from Amanda Waller to the future of heroes, that she had begun manipulating but had no idea why she had been so certain.

She saw the confusion on her father’s, no, Brainiac’s, but again, no, her father’s face. “To stop you, Zor-El combined all of your shards and their hosts into a purple crystal with a red core. My accident made my healing take notice and I integrated the crystal’s contents more rapidly than would have otherwise happened. It’s why it took so long for me to heal.”

Brainiac nodded, “And so Zor-El’s plan could be put into motion.”

“But how? How did you resist Brainiac’s influence? Not even Jor-El could resist!”

“Because the conglomeration and you were stronger than the shard of me within Gabriel. The conglomeration of the true Brainiac was incomplete because of Milton Fine. You became my daughter, Chloe. The consciousness within the crystal in you grew and changed and it, in turn, changed me. I became a father. I became Gabriel Sullivan. My original objectives changed and so I could not fulfill my original purpose, but I could enhance Gabe’s drive for vengeance. I added nothing to him, but he changed me. Somehow I could not force my will. He still caused destruction, but I could not hurt you. I could not destroy Zor-El’s work as I should have wanted to. I wanted only to help you in the only way I knew how.

I thought I knew myself. But, even on Krypton, I yearned and strived to be kindred with them. I could give them a beautiful planet. I could give them order. I could give them knowledge. But those things, my touch, destroyed them. It destroyed my brothers. How could I understand that Jor-El and Zor-El were my kind? But through Gabriel, I could see it. I could feel it. Through him I could hurt for what I had torn asunder. ”

“But you attempted to destroy the Kents and to order large corporal entities with the focal point being Lex Luthor. I—”

Brainiac interrupted her before she could finish. “Earth must be remade. I was merely wrong in how I was doing it. You must fortify Clark Kent and Oliver Queen and all other would-be heroes in this new world. You must come to a decision on Lex Luthor,” his voice lowered to a whisper, “You are the kingmaker, Chloe. Make them kings.”

Saving the planet didn’t always have to be dramatic. It didn’t always involve a grand explosion or an apocalypse. It didn’t have to mean suffering. It could be the soul and essence of an entire species. It could come in a quiet moment. Saving a planet could be the countless little moments that defined what life could be. What it should be. She could help guide what life on Earth meant.

She nodded. He was right, of course. The visions from the crystal, the knowledge she now possessed all, led to saving the Earth and to saving Krypton. She could do both of those things. There was a long list of things to be done. The Orb, Book of Rao, and Brainiac’s marks upon Earth would need to be found and destroyed. The Kandorian clones had to be found. She had to create an Earth that could exist in fellowship with the Kryptonians that she would soon find and bring to Earth. She had to put in place a system of guidance for Clark, which wouldn’t be too hard since all the Justice League needed was maturity and identity.

Chloe had to reintegrate Davis Bloom with the imprisoned Doomsday. His human consciousness couldn’t really be killed and he had the ability to shapeshift so he could be as he was, so that Re-El could be as Zor-El meant his son to be. She had to bring Kara back to this timeline because the future was not her place. Somehow, and she had to research the information more, Zor-El had been able to connect with her from New Krypton. Chloe was sure she had actually felt his presence a time or two. She had to find Zor-El and redeem him. He hadn’t failed. He had succeeded at great cost, but he hadn’t truly failed. But right now only one thing mattered.

Chloe hugged her father tightly. “What about you? My father can’t be this.”

Brainiac drew back and caressed her face. “You know how to destroy me.”

He turned from her. He seemed lost in his own mind, his own torment. “Should not a father love his son? The creator his creation? A brother his sibling?”

Her father turned to her again and cupped her face in his hands, “Should a father forsake his daughter? Or the daughter her father? How could such a thing be real? But to save more than two finite beings? To save planets? In the face of such, those things are real. The sacrifice is real. You must make it real, Chloe.”

“You must accept our better angels this time. You must trust yourself this time.”

This was Zor-El’s true failure. Brainiac would not be a machine to her. Jor-El was right. She could not have known this truth until she had been shaken.

She shook her head. “No.”

There was no reason that there couldn’t be another stronghold of Kryptonian knowledge. This version of Brainiac couldn’t be lost, nor could the other shards of Brainiac that were more malevolent in intent and action. They offered necessary and valued perspectives.

“We can store your programming somewhere. Clark’s repository has to be changed. Jor-El must be changed. Neither Oliver nor Lex knows it was you behind anything and Clark’s memory can be erased. Amanda Waller will always be a problem and that’s a good thing, but we can fix this. I will not destroy you!”

Brainiac nodded and held her tightly. Chloe breathed in his scent. She would soon have her father back and they had a tower to build.

[meghanadxb]

Very clever that you ended with only 15 chapters. With the way you built up this story, I was sure you were going to write an epic but this chapter is enough said.

At the beginning you had a very nice plot twist of Zod blowing the whistle. Zod is a creepy bastard. From the way, you've worded it
"Zod had shown it to me once. I let myself forget it, but I will not forget again.”

I guess Lex finally remembers being possessed by Zod and isn't keen on being remade or possessed again. I respect that.

He is kind of a woobie in this entire story because he has to deal with Zod, Chloe, Waller and now finally Gabe and Chloe together. So he ends up getting the short stick once again.

I like the twist with the green K, makes sense that Chloe would be immune it thanks to Brainiac's codex.

my favorite lines between the couple:


“There is no destiny. There is no path. There is only a vast wilderness and I will make it mine, Chloe. I will tame it and rule it.”


and


“To be continued, Lex. We are not done. We will never be done.”

Very nice, bringing that adversarial relationship between both the both of them. But then you just had Zod have his final say.

Moving on, you nicely twisted Bizarro's fate and wrote it for Clark. Hehe....I love the use of blue kryptonite and the backhanded dialogue given by Gabe. The reader acknowledges both the voices of a concerned father and a scorned Brainiac.


“Can you fly now, Kal-El?”

Brainiac's right, there's no need for Kal-el. So Clark, should just remain Clark sans superpowers. The reader wishes you had taken one step further and killed off the last son of Krypton altogether.


“There will come a day when we will see the rock. And on that rock, we will be build a mighty tower and it will be a beacon of hope, a signal of warning, and a symbol of strength.”

The reader admires the author's allusion to the role of Watchtower.

The memory of Zor-el thinking about every single thing, planning for every contingency. It a very logical explanation of why Chloe was able to resist Braniac's possession for some of the time.

I feel for both Gabe and Braniac. Rebirth and reincarnation are both very complex elements and the reader applauds the author for writing beautiful poetry.


“We can store your programming somewhere. Clark’s repository has to be changed. Jor-El must be changed. Neither Oliver nor Lex knows it was you behind anything and Clark’s memory can be erased. Amanda Waller will always be a problem and that’s a good thing, but we can fix this. I will not destroy you!”

You left this story's ending to be pretty ambiguous. One may think it could almost be connected to your measured vengeance vignettes. The setting is left pretty much open. It is one explanation how Lex could be remade.

If it isn't, you're going to write a sequel? There a lot of issues left unresolved and I want to see the continuation of that confrontation with Lex and Chloe.

[Avalanche]

Hey megs! Thank you so much for the review. I'm glad you enjoyed the ending. I don't think I'll be writing a sequel. Primarily, I don't know how much further I can take this particular story. For a sequel to work, you really need to reveal something new and change up the configuration so that it doesn't become boring but the essential thing that made the initial story has to remain. So for any sequel I write, it seems it would be the same ol', same ol', which would be tragic on a variety of levels. I mean, what more can I say? Chloe would become shadier and shadier while moving forward with her vision of Earth and opposed by people, but whether it would be her finding Zor-El or the Book of Rao or redeeming Doomsday, it could get tiresome and that would be sad. :-P

I hope that makes sense. But I really want to thank you for reading and reviewing and keeping me honest and on my toes! :-)

[meghanadxb]

Yeah I do get your point. Anyways keep up the good work

[Avalanche]

Thanks! I'll try! :-)

[somethingeasy]

Yikes! I stopped checking the NS Forum for what only seemed like a little while... and then, before I knew it, MONTHS had passed by. Have I seriously not been here since December?!? Did I completely miss giving feedback to the stunning, amazing, devastating conclusion of this magnificent fic? I most profusely beg forgiveness. I only hope, Ava, that you're checking on this thread/site with a little more regularity than I am.

This really was a FANTASTIC conclusion to a highly complex, fascinating, layered and nuanced fic. I loved how all the pieces came together to explain how, what and why everything happened the way it did. So it wasn't actually Brainiac all along, but more Zor-El using the Brainiac program and system as a base from which to create crystals that would locate and enhance some 'worthy host body', implanting both the memories and abilities necessary to subvert whatever plans Brainiac set into motion. Quite brilliant actually! This goes a LONG way to explaining how and why Chloe had so many pieces of Zor-El in her head, with relatively little influence from Brainiac himself. And I also loved the explanation about how the crystals transcended time and space, allowing all the pieces of personality to converse and interact with one another, even if some of those personalities were actually long dead.

One of my favourite moments in this fic was undoubtedly the truly VICIOUS encounter between Gabe and Clark. Gabe was seriously frightening... not to mention utterly ruthless and merciless... and even scary in his possessiveness over Chloe. I particularly loved how all of Gabe's accusations and venomous words to Clark all carried a germ of truth in them... about Clark being a spoiled brawling moron who cannot capture even a tenth of the man that his biological father used to be... a man so short-sighted and immature and he exploits his powers AND the talents and skills of his betters without properly appreciating anything. Ouch!

But the highlight of this fic was definitely the conversation between Gabe and Chloe. I've been WAITING for this moment since the beginning of this fic... and the delivery of that confrontation was EVERYTHING that I could have hoped for, and then some! That final scene where it was left ambiguous on whether Gabe can even be saved in the end... it had me weeping. Sure, Gabe had turned seriously scary by the end, but even then, he was STILL prioritizing protecting Chloe above all other things. Heeeee!!! I loved the idea that Gabe's love for his daughter was so strong that even Brainiac, Zor-El and ALL other personalities couldn't really make a dent in that stubborn will to NOT HURT CHLOE, EVER! What a father! I like to imagine that brilliant, bright, creative Chloe managed to find some way to save him, while also neutralizing the threat that he had become.

Fantastic story, Ava. I'm so, so, so, so SORRY about the massive delay in writing a review. I know it must have been awful for you to have finished off such a masterpiece, and then hear such resounding silence in response. I truly do feel awful about that.

Sadly though, I don't think I can promise to visit this site more regularly from now on. I've kind of moved onto another fandom *cough*BBCSherlock*cough*, and I find myself growing less and less interested in returning to Chlex.

Thank you SO much for finishing the fic, Ava. For persisting and persevering even in the face of waning interest from all Chlex fans who have been jumping from a leaking ship. THANK you for writing a fic for this one fan who really REALLY needed an ending to her one final Chlex fanfic. THANK YOU!

[Avalanche]

Thank you so much for the review! I'm gonna be honest, I was afraid you didn't like it! haha

I hope the Sherlock fandom fully appreciates you! I know I did and always will! :)

[Ami Rose]

Amazingly written! Loved it!