Fragments Chapter (9/12)

Chapter 9

Chapter 8
Home Is Where The Heart Is
(Oliver POV)



I winced as Dinah gently dabbed antiseptic in the gash on my forehead. Jesus my head hurt…I hissed again when she added some more and she frowned at me.

“Stop being such a baby.”

My voice came out angrier than I intended it too.

“It hurts dammit!”

I watched her hesitate before reaching out and placing a bandage over it. She was putting everything back in the first aid kit and getting up when I grabbed her wrist. She stopped, turned her head in my direction and raised an eyebrow.

“I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to snap. It’s been a long day and with everything…and Chloe…I’m irritable, I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

I watched her nod before pulling her hand from me and busying herself with cleaning up. She spoke without looking at me.

“Did you get a good enough look at her attackers to ID them?”

I nodded.

“I think so.”

Before she could say anything else the door opened and Bart and Victor came walking in. I stood up quickly and made my way over to them.

“Well, anything?”

Bart shook his head and Victor frowned.

“It’s like they were never there. If the place wasn’t all tore up I’d think you were making all this up.”

He sighed and Bart held up a videotape before speaking.

“We managed to get the security tape though. We’re hoping it will give us some hints on where they came from.”

I glared at no one in particular as I spoke through gritted teeth.

“I know where they came from.”

The three of them looked at me as I paced around the room. I got angry and I swung my arm and knocked a vase full of flowers off the table. They winced and I shook my head.

“How could I let this happen? How could I let them take her?”

I glanced in their direction. Bart looked angry, Victor looked irritated and Dinah looked sympathetic. I rubbed my hands across my face and sat down. This is all my fault…people shouldn’t be coming after Chloe…Victor’s voice brought me out of my thoughts.

“Where do you think they came from?”

I looked up and met his eyes.

“Tess…it has to be her. She’s been spending time trying to rehabilitate meteor infected people…or so she claims. It makes sense.”

My voice trailed off and I sat there looking down at my hands. If Tess had Chloe…if she went through all this trouble to get her…that means she knows about her powers. A hand on my shoulder brought my attention to the people in the room.

Victor spoke in a low tone.

“We’ll find her man…I’m going to start bringing up all of Luthor’s known facilities that we either destroyed or that are abandoned. We’ll figure out where they are.”

Bart walked toward us and spoke.

“Victor’s right man. I’ll zip through the facilities check them out, see what’s up. A.C. is out trying to see if he can find stretch. We thought he might want to know what happened to Chloelicious.”

I grunted, but nodded my head. To be honest I forgot all about Clark. I guess that’s not the nicest thing to say. It wasn’t intentional. I’m just so used to him not being here that it’s habit to do things without him. I sighed again and glanced around the room.

Victor was working at the computers and Bart was collecting print-outs of different locations. My eyes made their way to Dinah and she came over and sat next to me. It took her a few moments to speak and when she did her voice was soft.

“You really care about her, don’t you?”

I tilted my head in her direction and then turned back to look in front of me.

“Yeah, I do. She’s my best friend…I don’t think I’ve ever had a real best friend before. Someone I could count on one hundred and ten percent. Chloe’s that person for me.”

She nodded.

“Do you love her?”

“Yes.”

She seemed startled by my quick reply and her mouth floundered for a minute before words came out again.

“You’re in love with her?”

I shook my head.

“No, I love her, yea, but I’m not in love with her.”

I saw confusion written on Dinah’s face. Her eyebrows scrunched together as she spoke.

“Then why? Why are the two of you together?”

I turned in her direction and made eye contact with her when I spoke.

“Because…the people we love either aren’t around or don’t seem to want to fight for us. I’m perfectly content with Chloe, but if the person she loved came to her tomorrow and said he wanted to be with her…I’d step aside because I want her to be happy, and she’d do the same.”

“Oh…”

It was quiet for a few more minutes before Dinah got up.

“I’m going to see if I can help the guys. Let me know if you need anything.”

I watched her walk away and I pinched the bridge of my nose. I stood up and went into the kitchen. I leaned against the counter, took a deep breath, and pulled out my cell phone. I dialed the familiar number and waited. After three rings, voicemail picked up.

I listened to her voice float over the other end of the phone and when the beep sounded I spoke in a hard voice.

“I know what you did. If you think you’ve gotten away with this Scott-free, you’re sadly mistaken. I’m going to find you Tess and when I do…you’re going to wish you hadn’t laid a hand on Chloe. You’re not invincible…remember that.”

I hung up the phone, sharply closed it with a snap and closed my eyes to gather my emotions. Don’t worry Chloe….hang tight…we’re coming…I was startled out of my thoughts by a small commotion in the central control room. My eyebrows scrunched together and I made my way out there.

When I got into the room my eyes widened and I dropped my cell phone. It crashed to the ground with a loud thud as my mouth opened then closed. Bart, Victor, Dinah and A.C. who had finally made his way back, were grinning. Oh my god…

(Clark POV)

I watched as Oliver’s phone crashed to the ground and I couldn’t help the grin that formed on my face. Is it bad that I’m feeling extremely happy with myself right now? He slowly made his way over to us and I watched as he stood in front of Lois and just stared.

She frowned, glanced at me then looked at Oliver and spoke.

“You okay there Oliver?”

He nodded before enveloping her in a hug. Her eyes widened and she seemed startled for a minute before relaxing into his arms. I watched her eyes close as she brought her arms around his neck. It’s no secret that Lois still cares about Oliver.

It might not seem like it, but she has her reasons for that. After Oliver got sick and almost died…things changed. He was hallucinating and when she heard Tess’ name on his lips…well she automatically assumed the worst. I could tell it cut her deep.

Ever since then she has kept a solid distance from Oliver. She threw herself into her work at the Daily Planet and somehow managed to convince herself that she was falling for me…probably the same way I did with her. I watched Oliver release her and then look back and forth between us before speaking.

“How? What happened?”

Lois glanced at me and I motioned for her to go ahead and tell the story. I watched her place a hand on her hip and send Oliver a slight glare.

“You…why didn’t you tell me Smallville was a part of your little super buddies’ group?”

He chuckled and briefly glanced at me before looking back at her.

“Because it’s recent. He just joined the team when he came back a few days ago.”

She frowned and turned to Clark.

“Where’d you go?”

I hesitated before speaking.

“A lot has happened since you disappeared Lois.”

Before I could say anything else Oliver cut me off and glared in my direction before addressing Lois.

“You mean he didn’t fill you in on his three-month disappearance? The night you disappeared we were able to find the monster that attacked Chloe’s wedding…Clark was able to destroy it, but he killed Jimmy...”

Oliver’s voice trailed off and I heard her gasp. I swallowed hard and Lois turned to me with pain in her eyes.

“Oh my god…poor Chloe…what happened? Where is she?”

I looked toward Oliver and I could see pain in his eyes as he looked between us and then spoke.

“After Jimmy died…Clark took off…he just left…”

I cut him off and there was anger in my voice as I spoke.

“Don’t…you don’t know anything about that Oliver…don’t make me out to be the bad guy.”

He turned and my direction and yelled.

“You broke her heart!”

“Well I guess it’s not really a big deal since you were right there picking up all the pieces.”

He scoffed and threw his hands up in the air as he yelled.

“Oh get off it! It’s not like I stole her from you Clark. Did you ever think that maybe my arrangement with Chloe came from the fact that the people we cared about most…weren’t here. Obviously Lois isn’t at fault for not being here…but what’s your excuse? Now that your back, and you’ve admitted to caring about Chloe…why aren’t you fighting for her?”

He shakes his head and his voice loses the anger. He makes eye contact with me as he speaks slowly.

“Maybe you don’t deserve her…if you can’t work out these issues and realize what an amazing thing you have…then maybe your right…you don’t deserve to have it.”

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. I glanced at Lois and she seemed confused and hurt all at once. That’s it. I’m so beyond tired of taking Oliver’s holier than thou attitude. After everything he’s done, who is he to preach to me?

My body moved forward of its own accord. I balled my fist and slammed it into Oliver’s face. He flew to the ground and everyone’s eyes went wide with shock. Lois gasped and moved to the floor to make sure Oliver was okay. After a couple of seconds of Oliver waving her off saying he was fine, she got up and looked at me.

“What is wrong with you?”

I opened my mouth and she just shook her head. Victor helped Oliver up and he glared in my direction as he wiped the blood off his face. He cleared his throat before speaking. He winced.

“It’s about time.”

I frowned and Lois shook her head before facing me and getting up back on topic. She addressed me first when she spoke.

“The two of you are being ridiculous. Now if we could get back to the subject at hand. Is that true Clark? Do you have feelings for Chloe?”

I hesitated before glancing around the room at everyone and then bringing my eyes back to Lois. I nodded.

“Yeah…it’s true.”

She swallowed and nodded before looking at Oliver.

“And you…what did Clark mean about you picking up the pieces. What’s going on Oliver?”

He opened his mouth, winced and stopped. I raised an eyebrow and he sighed again before speaking.

“Chloe and I…we’ve been seeing each other, but it’s not what you think.”

Lois took a step back and I could see water pool in her eyes. Oliver opened his mouth to explain, but she waved him off. She looked around the room and frowned.

“Where’s Chloe. I want to talk to her.”

I glanced around the room and took notice for the first time since we walked in that Chloe wasn’t there. My brows creased and when no one answered I spoke.

“Guys…what’s going on?”

They all looked at Oliver who dropped down on a chair heavily. It wasn’t until then that I took notice of his appearance. His clothes were dirty and torn. He had a large bandage going across the top of his head and I could see a few bruises forming on his arm and now cheek from where I hit him.

Oliver spoke so low I almost didn’t hear him.

“Chloe’s gone…”

My eyes widened and I moved in his direction.

“What?”

He looked up and now I understood why there was pain on his face before. He spoke in a hoarse voice.

“We were having lunch at the Ace of Clubs and the restaurant was attacked. Two kids with meteor powers came after me and Chloe. We fought for a short time, but…they knocked me out…by the time I came to I was here. Bart and Victor went to check out the scene, but nothing, no trace of her…”

His voice trailed off and I felt my heart leap into my throat. Oh god…they took Chloe…I spoke in a frantic voice.

“Who took her Oliver?”

He shrugged.

“I’m not sure, but if I had to guess….I’d say Tess. She’s been collecting meteor infected people for a while now.”

I frowned.

“Why would she take Chloe then? Chloe doesn’t have her powers anymore. She wouldn’t be of any use to Tess.”

When everyone looked away from me I felt my heart rate skyrocket before I spoke again.

“Right guys? Chloe doesn’t have powers anymore…”

I trailed off and Oliver spoke.

“That’s not exactly accurate.”

I shook my head. This is ridiculous. I spoke to the whole room in a loud voice.

“How could none of you tell me this? Did you not think it was important enough to share?”

“Listen Clark, it’s not our business to share. If Chloe wanted you to know she would have told you. I was respecting her wishes. Besides, this is fairly recent. It just started happening again the day we found you.”

I sighed and plopped down across from Oliver. I felt emotionally drained and my voice was low when I spoke.

“How did we get to this point?”

I saw him shrug again as he looked at me.

“I’m not really sure. Somewhere along the line we just veered in different directions.”

I nodded before speaking cautiously.

“Maybe it’s time we veer back on the same path…”

I saw Oliver give me half a grin.

“Maybe you’re right.”

I felt myself give him a half-hearted smile before I spoke again.

“Do we know why Tess wants Chloe?”

His body tensed and I could hear the anger in his voice as he spoke.

“From the information that’s been gathered in the past few days…I think she wants to use Chloe to help bring Lex back…we know he’s being kept alive by different powers taken from meteor infected people…”

He trailed off and I stood up and clenched my fists.

“Well, she’s not going to hurt Chloe…I won’t let her. I won’t let someone else I care about be taken away from me. You’re right Oliver…I made a mistake, but we’re going to find Chloe and then I’m going to fix it…I have too…”

We would find Chloe…and when we do I’ll tell her what she means to me…I’ll explain why I felt I had to leave and how hard it was for me…I’ll tell her that I don’t know what I’d without her and how she was right…I do have a home…with her.

My thoughts were interrupted my Oliver’s worried voice. I frowned and spoke.

“What?”

He was standing looking around the room.

“Where is Lois?”

I glanced around the room and then my eyes hit the front door. It was wide open. Dammit, Lois…if it’s one thing I know about her is she doesn’t rest on her laurels when the people she cares about are in trouble…now not only did we need to find Chloe, but we had to get to Lois before she got in over her head…again…

(Tess POV)

I watched as an unconscious Chloe was laid on a stainless steel table across from Lex. The doctors moved over, restrained her to the table, and started hooking her body up to different machines. They then moved over to Lex’s table and did the same to him minus the restraints.

I smiled. Soon Lex would have Chloe’s blood flowing through his veins…and he’d finally be whole again…to bad for Chloe…it’s a shame that her life needed to be sacrificed for Lex, but sometimes you just draw the short straw.

It wouldn’t be long now…and when Lex is finally here, he’ll take care of Clark once and for all…you didn’t want to follow the plan I had for you Clark…fine…here’s a new destiny set in motion then…I grinned as I watched them slowly flip the switch. Here goes nothing…

I turned around. It’s time to head back to the mansion. They’d call when the process was complete.