The Right Wish
Chapter 1: First Wish
As the vehicle moved forward, Chloe Sullivan tried to reconsider the sanity of her plan.
Three weeks before, Chloe had been investigating a series of mysterious disappearances of meteor infected people. The first of these cases was a teenaged girl that she was helping through the Isis Foundation. The girl, Evelyn, had the ability to instantaneously combust anything. She had been passed around from home to home and no one housed her very long before unexplained fires would cause them to return her to the foster care system.
Evelyn was the first person to wholeheartedly accept Chloe's assistance after she decided to temporarily replace Lana as the head and only member of the Isis Foundation. It was for this reason that she was painfully aware that something was wrong when Evelyn did not come in for their weekly status check. As she submerged herself in an intense investigation, Chloe began to uncover more than 80 similar cases in which young people with extraordinary bad luck for "accidents" had disappeared. Many of these cases involved meteor infected people that were being tracked and/or helped by the Isis Foundation. However, after days of intense research Chloe was unable to find any traces of the missing people or any links to whomever was responsible for the whole matter. Of course, she had a very short list on the who category, but even though she suspected that the source of the disappearances stemmed from the legacy that Lex Luthor left behind, there was no proof. It was apparent that the perpetrators were taking extra precautions in assuring that their captives would not be found.
As Chloe sat ruminating over the possible connections and strategies, Clark observed her with a wide eyed and concerned expression on his face.
"Thought of anything new, Chloe?
"Not really," she said as she took a sip of her coffee.
"There must be somewhere we can look. Some clue we have missed."
"You are right, Clark, but the hard part is figuring out where to look. We have searched the last known addresses of all of the victims and there was never any hint of disarray. In fact, many times it just seemed as if they just left for a second and were planning on returning shortly after. TV's were left on. Food was still waiting in the microwaves."
"I just don't get it."
"I wish we could figure this out."
A melodious sound emerged from Chloe's purse, interrupting Clark as he was about to reply. She reached in and grabbed her phone.
"Hello?"
"Chloe?" answered a rushed, nervous voice.
"Yes? May I help you?"
"Chloe, it's Max. I was at the supermarket when these guys in black suits pointed a weird device at me and said 'Hold still.' I freaked out. I used my abilities and the whole area exploded. Barely got away. I need you to help me."
"Sure thing. Where are you now, Max?"
When Clark and Chloe made it to the warehouse where they were going to meet Max, all they were able to see was a black truck racing off into the distance and no sign of any one. Clark was able to catch a glimpse of the license plate and was writing down the digits as Chloe tried fruitlessly to reach Max over his cell phone.
"Chloe, I'll look-up this tag number using the access I have in the Daily Planet and I'll meet you at the Isis Foundation when I get some information.
Chloe was barely able to catch her breath to protest that decision, when Clark had already disappeared.
"I could have looked that up," she thought as she sighed and turned on her car again. His attempts to protect her from exposing herself to danger, were sweet albeit somewhat frustrating in Chloe's eyes. She was sure that if he would find out any definitive information about the kidnapers, Clark would immediately attempt a rescue without having her risk her own life. As much as she understood how much Clark worried about keeping his loved ones safe, she was not one to wait patiently for answers to drop from her celestial friend. That is why instead of heading to the Isis Foundation, Chloe started searching the area for a nearby supermarket.
"I might be able to find some clues if I am quicker than the clean up crews." She said to herself.
As she drove several blocks north, Chloe found a tumultuous scene. Police cars were surrounding the perimeter of a semi-collapsed shopping center. Ambulances were driving to and from the location with wild urgency. Reporters were beginning to fill the area, trying to grab hold of any emergency personnel they were able to reach. The deceptive calm of the warehouse district sharply contrasted with this madness. Chloe's adrenaline began to surge as she calculated a plan to get past the eyes of the many spectators and enter the supermarket.
"Perhaps there is a less obvious way of getting inside," thought Chloe as she circled around the block.
She parked her car and sneaked into a back alley. The scene that awaited Chloe was one of sudden and abrupt abandonment. The loading dock door was still open. Crates were waiting to be transferred from the truck to the storage area. Pages of unsigned delivery invoices were tumbling across the street.
"Eerie… very eerie."
While weaving through the rubble, avoiding the small fires, and covering her breathing passages with her jacket, Chloe kept dwelling on the fact that shy and quiet Max was the one who caused so much havoc. Her thoughts were disjointed as she reached what looked like the epicenter of the destruction.
"He was so scared and now I wonder if he is doing worse."
"How could anyone be able to capture someone with this amount of power?"
Chloe leaned down as something caught her eye. Upon closer inspection, she saw a hand buried under the rubble. She quickly began removing the debris from the man, but all in vain. The injuries were so severe that there was no way he could have survived. It was then that she saw another body. This time it was a female and she too had not survived the explosion. After scanning around for any other victims, Chloe resumed the task of unburying the two victims. For some reason, she felt immense guilt. She felt as if she was responsible for their deaths. Sighing deeply, she looked at them one last time before she continued to search for clues. It was then that she noticed that the two victims were wearing matching black suits.
"These were the people that were chasing after Max!"
Kneeling down for a better view, she noticed that they both had some sort of ID card. Chloe quickly grabbed one of the IDs as she heard the noises of the rescuers moving closer to her location.
"It seems I am going to be RMI Corp.'s newest employee," thought Chloe as she read the ID card while racing to her car.
After remembering the events that led up to her present predicament, she asked again herself about the sanity of her plan.
"Yes, definitely a bad plan," she mused as she observed her surroundings for the first time in several hours. Armed with only her wits and a fake ID, she had managed to infiltrate RMI Corp., a ghost exporting company founded by Luther Corp. Now Chloe found herself working as one of the multiple staff members escorting a large group of meteor infected people to Gotham City. Chloe and the driver next to her were travelling inside of the last of the ten transport vehicles in a heavily secured caravan. The road trip had lasted a lot more than she had imagined and she was growing strangely accustomed to having a numb rear.
"At least I can't say that my life is ever predictable," thought Chloe.
She looked outside and saw one of the security agents hired to escort them in the car next to them.
"Can't security people ever look inconspicuous in supposedly covert missions?" she thought with a grin as she observed the man's dark glasses, black suit, and matching black car.
The driver next to her briefly looked at her as she grinned and then he quickly scanned their surroundings for the millionth time during their long drive.
"I can't wait to get to Gotham" he uttered in a husky brisk voice.
"Yeah, me too"
"I don't know why, but I am uneasy with this job."
"I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that we are in an armored vehicle and are being escorted by a small army."
In the hours Chloe had spent with the burly, tough looking man sitting next to her, she realized that he had no idea what type of cargo they were carrying or how dangerous it might be if for some reason their cargo managed to escape. The thought that more innocent people were dragged into such dirty dealings incensed her.
"IT'S NOT FAIR!"
The driver visibly jumped as she realized that she had said that out loud.
"I am just very hungry." She explained apologetically.
"I get what you mean. I can't wait to get me a juicy burger and supersize fries!"
She was relieved that she was able to cover up her sudden outburst. As she looked to the side, the driver looked less worried than he had been through the trip as images of burgers and fries danced in his head. It was then that he seemed to remember something and reached into the glove compartment. He pulled out two candy bars with a huge grin.
"Something to tidy you over," he said as he handed one to Chloe.
She smiled and reached for it when suddenly…
BANG
The caravan of trucks had come to an unexpected halt and their truck slammed into the one in front of them.
"This is weird! Why the sudden stop?" Chloe said as she tried to regain her wits after the impact. She was mostly unharmed, only suffering from a severe case of whiplash. Her companion was not fairing as well. He had a deep gash over his right eyebrow and seemed to be in pain.
The vehicle started releasing smoke and nothing was very clear. They had already reached the Gotham city limits and were in a seemingly isolated part of town.
"I think we should get out of here and ask for help," she said as she unfastened both of their seatbelts and unlocked the doors. Chloe grabbed the man's rough hand, "Are you well enough to move?"
He blinked through the flowing blood a few times before slowly nodding his head. She reassuringly squeezed his hand.
"I'll get us both out of this mess, Joe."
It was then that she began to hear it. A strange cry. No, not a cry. It was laughter; a crackling, grating sort of laughter that almost seemed to be a cry from afar. Both Chloe and Joe paused. Some instinctual feeling kept them silent, motionless.
Suddenly, a man in a cheap plastic clown mask appeared in the frame of the driver's side window. Chloe was not sure whether it was a joke until she saw the guns the man carried in each of his hands. As she stared down at the weapons that were being pointed at them, she began to regret she had not told Clark about her not-so-brilliant plan.
"Open the cargo doors, sweetheart," a snarling voice cried out.
Chloe obeyed as she quickly eyed her companion. He was wildly gesturing with his eyes, pleading for her to get out and escape. While the masked man was distracted with getting the cargo doors completely opened, she quickly tried to think of the best escape route for both of them. The passenger's side of the vehicle was completely clear and the last rays of sun were casting convenient shadows for them to hide. Chloe pulled Joe towards her with more strength than had she imagined adrenaline could lend her. Slowly opening her door and stepping down, she dragged him out with his limited help. They found themselves creeping towards a dark and narrow walkway between two shabby buildings, when they were caught. Another masked man stared down at them with a huge frown painted on his plastic mask.
"Tsk. Tsk!" he said walking towards them.
KABOOM
The sudden roar even took the masked man by surprise. The huge explosion confirmed to Chloe that Max had been one of the people being transported in the armored trucks. Another explosion sounded nearby. This time the masked man truly looked scared and ran in the opposite direction.
"Did he not know what or whom they were releasing?" Chloe thought while helping Joe reach the cover of the dark walkway.
Seconds after they reached the dark walkway and were safely hidden in the shadows, Chloe began hearing the same crackling laugh she heard before. Shivers ran up and down her spine, as she could sense the pure enjoyment the approaching man was deriving from the chaos.
"Lookie, Lookie! Seems like my new friends were anxious to come out and play," he said as a burst of fire and a surge of electricity lit the atmosphere.
Chloe held her breath and saw that Joe was doing the same. Neither of them even dared to move deeper into the safety of the shadows. All became still except for the faceless man that was still laughing with unnatural glee.
Abruptly, something else began to move. From the corner of her eye, Chloe saw a dark figure dropping from above and swiftly moving towards the sounds of laughter. She could not tell what it was, but she knew an opportunity when she saw it. Grabbing the man next to her firmly across his torso, a very desperate Chloe ran further into the alley and did not stop until she was in front of a crowded café with a soft and comforting glow.
The people at the café were nice enough to help her once she explained that they had been involved in a simple car accident. Shortly after, Joe was being taken away by an ambulance and Chloe Sullivan was wandering the streets trying to decide whether she should call Clark and expose herself to a harsh rebuff. Just as she had decided that she truly wanted to hear the comforting voice of her friend even if it sounded frustrated and worried, she heard a deep and callous voice instead.
"What were you doing transporting those people to Gotham?" said the same dark figure that she recognized as the distraction that enabled them to escape from the laughing man earlier that night.
Perhaps it was pent up anger. Perhaps it was frustration over the fact that this interruption was keeping her from talking to her best friend. Or maybe it was that she felt she could let lose after Joe was safe. What ever the case may have been, Chloe suddenly turned to directly face the questioning nuisance and answered him angrily.
"Don't you have something better to do than sneaking up on people?"
The dark figure seemed to pause for a bit and then stepped closer. As the light of the overhead streetlight hit his head and torso, it peeled away the shadows that had kept him camouflaged. For the first time, Chloe saw that the man was in what looked like an abstract bat costume.
Just as he was about to speak again, Chloe tilted her head and asked, "Are you a plotting to kill me as well?"
Silence.
"Because you really look like a villain."
Stare.
"At first, I had some stupid hope that you could be a good guy, but what kind of good guy would dress up like a Picasso bat and stalk females at night?"
"I don't have time for this!" said the batman in a hard cold tone. "Just answer my question."
Chloe had had enough. "Clark!" she thought, "If I would have not wanted to prove that your overprotective ways were just an exaggeration, you would be here with me at this moment and none of this would be happening. So tired. Must find a hotel."
A slight prickling feeling brought her thoughts back to her present predication as an icy stare was being intensely directed at her.
"Well, if you are not going to kill me right at this moment, you might as well tell me where the nearest hotel is located."
For some strange reason, despite his lack of movement and of words, she suddenly felt as if he was trying to say that she was missing something that was quite obvious. Chloe looked around and surely enough saw what she had missed. A neon sign at the top of a building glowed in the distance. It was the logo of a very famous and thankfully affordable hotel brand.
"Aww! Thanks for letting me know. Have a wonderful night!"
She walked towards the promising glowing sign. For some reason, her instincts did not produce in her the same amount of fear with the dark figure watching her retreat as when she was near the laughing man. Maybe this meant that he was not such a bad person after all. Then again, she did not have the greatest luck with her bad-dar (bad guy detector radar). "Tomorrow, I will figure out this entire mystery. I will fulfill that wish I had in the last moment of tranquility I shared with Clark before I was thrown into this madness," thought Chloe.
As she made her way into the hotel, a dark figure watched, still trying to decipher the mysterious stranger that had dared to treat him so casually.
Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Next on The Right Wish, another Batty encounter and a new mystery revealed.
This fanfic is set in the beginning of the 8th season of Smallville. Batman is a based on a compilation of the newest movies, the comics, and the cartoons.