Ends and Beginnings
"It's an astonishing scene happening in Washington D.C's Grand Courthouse! The suspects are asked to stand before the judge, each one of them rises, Condoleezza Reiser the former vice-president being the first one to do so and soon followed by the twelve former members of the government incriminated in this case. Only one of them remains seated, the mastermind and former president of the United States: Lex Luthor.
The man who once threatened the entire world of destruction is now reduced to being trapped inside his own body. Luthor's vegetative state did not, however, impact the decision of the jury.
Every suspect is condemned to prison, ranging from twenty-years for ex-secretary of state Florence Putterman to seventy-years with no possibility of parole for Reiser and, of course, a thousand years of isolation in prison for Lex Luthor. His sentence was converted to life imprisonment in a mental institution given his current condition.
'The sentences given by the federal court are fair and appropriate to the crimes committed by the former government.' declared newly-elected president Martin Hill.
A row of applause was given by the public and the population of this country and the entire world was overjoyed at the declaration of the verdict.
'Now that the world is free of this megalomaniac tyrant,' said Superman. 'Humanity can look towards the future with calm and ease, knowing it will be free.'
Now these words, given by the hero who made Luthor fall from power, surely can give us hope for what's to come."
August 26th 2012. 02:35 PM UTC-6. Clocktower penthouse, Metropolis, Kansas, USA.
Chloe muted the TV set and glanced at Oliver. They both smiled. After years of fighting, of fearing for their lives and that of their friends, the nightmare was over and the sight of Lex's aghast face on the television sealed that feeling.
In the three months that followed Lex's capture, the climate in the country had greatly improved and, even if the people's thirst for answers was strong, Oliver and Chloe had managed to avoid being dragged into the spotlight.
Multiple conspiracy theories had sprang about their capture at the hands of the FBI, some even speculated Oliver was linked to vigilantes in some way. Thankfully, none of these theories had been taken seriously by the public and the lack of evidence didn't help their cause.
The FBI, under new leadership, had asked the couple to testify and even though both Chloe and Oliver refused to appear at the trial, their testimonies only worsened Lex's case. Officially, the Queen couple had been kidnapped upon direct order of Lex Luthor because of the personal feud between the two men and the willingness of Oliver to be one of the top public figures of the opposition to the Luthor administration.
The miraculous resurfacing of Maxwell Lord and, especially, Slade Wilson had helped the disappearance of any ties between Lex's actions and the Justice League. Twenty-four hours after the Queen's interview, Wilson resigned from his position and retired. Despite his on-the-paper involvement in the crimes of the Luthor administration, he was never incriminated.
These disturbances out of the way, Chloe, Oliver and their friends enjoyed weeks of welcome quietness. Even the journalists' insistent questions hadn't managed to break the peace that had settled around them.
Now enjoying a lazy morning in their Clocktower penthouse, the couple reveled in the knowledge of Lex's final demise. They hugged and Oliver ran his hands over the small bump of her belly. Chloe couldn't contain her grin. The news of her pregnancy had been a shock to them both and had she known that her bout of sickness on the boat around the Metinic Island had been the first signs, Chloe couldn't imagine what she would have done.
They were going to be a family and that was a thing she hadn't imagined she would have in her life. Furthermore, seeing the joy it brought to Oliver made it all worth it for that very reason.
Family. Despite its positive connotations, the word also carried a load of guilt for Chloe. One that grew with each passing day.
Around her, Oliver's arms tightened. "Now we're safe." he whispered. "We'll be able to have our kid grow up without the threat of Lex Luthor hanging above our heads, can you believe that?"
He was ecstatic and for some reason, it made her chest tighten even more. She bit her lip, a war raging within her. Should she tell him? Was it too late? Would he be mad? Would he... blame her?
"Ollie.." his name escaped her lips without her knowledge. She caught her breath when he looked at her. Too late to backpedal, she thought, might as well do it now. "I... haven't been totally honest with you..."
Intrigued, Oliver nodded and encouraged her to talk. "What is it?" he asked quietly.
Her throat became dry at his confusion. "It's about your parents." she said. "I know I should have told you earlier but I was worried it would distract you and we'd lost Bart not so long ago and I didn't want-"
She stopped when she realized she was babbling. He was staring at her with an indecipherable expression and she decided to blurt it all out. "Tess gave me documents that prove Lionel Luthor was behind the explosion of the plane that carried your parents."
Oliver sucked in a breath and let his arms fall by his side. "Where?"
She went to retrieve the papers with a lump in her throat and tears in her eyes. He took them without a word and spread them on the table in the living room. Chloe watched him run a hand over his face as he read over the documents. He then sighed and looked unseeing into the empty space for a moment.
"How long have you had these?" his voice was quiet but it held an edge that scared her.
She swallowed. "Since Tess called us at her side when she was in the hospital."
He shook his head. "It's been over a year, Chloe."
"I'm sorry." She went up to up to his side but he avoided her touch. "Ollie..."
He closed his eyes for a moment before taking the direction of the elevator. "I need to take a walk."
"I'm so sorry, Ollie." she cried. "I really am."
He nodded and looked down. "I gotta go." he simply said before disappearing the cage leading him down towards the first floor.
Chloe was hugging her knees on the couch when Mia crossed the threshold. Protecting the teenager from Lex by having Lois care for her while they were caught in the long fight against the government had been their first major victory, and one they were very proud of.
Reintegrating Mia into the school system had been no easy task, especially while they were still gone. With Oliver's assets frozen, he hadn't been able to use his influence to help her. Fortunately, Lois had found a way to get Mia back up to speed.
One of her colleagues at the planet, an elderly woman close to retirement, who'd once given up her career of high school teacher to pursue her dream of journalism had agreed to give the teenager private lessons in her free time.
That kind soul had done a marvelous job. Given Mia's natural abilities, the young woman had learned the basics of the three years she'd missed – she had been dragged off school at 14 years old – and while she still needed to receive private lessons for some time, she had caught up with most of her missed classes.
Once Lex was captured, Chloe and Oliver had managed to get Mia accepted into a specialized school that would finalize giving her back to the normal level of an educated seventeen-year-old.
Mia had just finished a long day of learning when she got back to the penthouse she now called 'home'. Dropping her bag by the elevator, she froze at the sight of Chloe sat on the couch and staring off into space.
"Hey," she approached the older woman with an uncertain gait. "What's going on?"
Chloe slowly turned to look at her and it was obvious she'd been crying. Mia rushed towards her, seating on the couch by her side. "Are you alright?" she asked, eying her up and down to check for any injuries or bruises.
"I made a big mistake, Mia."
The teenager furrowed her brows. "What's that?"
Telling Mia was a liberating exercise. Chloe was able to get the opinion of the younger woman and vent her frustration as well as her hormone-driven emotions to her. There was a lot of crying and shouting on her part and the teenager sat there and listened with the patience of a saint.
"I don't think he blames you." Mia said after a while.
"Really?" Chloe looked up from the crest of her arms. "Because I would blame me!"
Mia shook her head. "Because you're you, and because you're an emotional mess." she joked while stroking the other woman's back in comfort. "Honest, you did nothing wrong. Yeah okay, you didn't tell him even after Lex was caught but you had good reasons for this."
"Selfish reasons." Chloe retorted.
"You didn't want him to suffer!" Mia rolled her eyes. "How's that selfish?"
"He had a right to know and I ignored that. I purposefully ignored that."
"Chlo.." she sighed. "You knew it could affect him badly and you had no idea if it would stack up with his guilt over what happened to Bart. I mean, you remember how he was back then, right?"
Chloe bit her lip and Mia let out an exasperated noise. "Come on! Stop beating yourself up! What are you afraid of?"
"What if..."
"What if what?"
Chloe licked her lips before answering. "What if he doesn't forgive me?"
Mia was about to laugh until she remembered she was in the presence of a highly-emotional pregnant woman. Instead, she bump her shoulder with hers. "That's the most idiotic thing I've ever heard." Okay, she cringed, that might not be the best answer.
Despite the teenager's fears, Chloe chuckled, a faint smile playing on her lips. "He's not gonna dump your ass." Mia pressed on. "He was like a chicken running around without its head when you left him. You're crazy to think he'd want to walk away. Besides..." she put a gentle hand on Chloe's belly. "That's his kid in there. And he knows what's it like to grow up without parents. You think he'd want that for his kid?"
A sob escaped Chloe's throat and she hugged the younger woman tightly. "You're the best." she cried.
Mia smiled. "Heh I don't know, you guys aren't so bad yourselves."
Oliver came back a couple of hours later. He had erred for a while in Metropolis' park before settling on a bench, the weight of his thought rendering him unable to stand as he mulled things over. It had been the first droplets of rain that had pulled him out of his trance.
Walking tentatively into his home, Oliver fell face to face with Mia who'd come from the kitchen.
"I knew I heard the elevator," she said as greeting and hugged him. "You know the brooding look doesn't suit you, right?"
Despite his state of mind, Oliver laughed. "Thanks kiddo, I'll try to keep that in mind." He squeezed her for a moment before looking around.
"She's upstairs." Mia said, having sensed his inquiries. "You shouldn't make her so emotional, it takes a lot outta her."
"I know, I know.." Oliver said quietly, moving towards the stairs. "Hey, good day at school?" he stopped for a moment.
Mia shrugged. "It was alright. 'Bit boring, I guess." She motioned in the direction of the kitchen. "I'm fixing some dinner since no one else in this house is gonna do it. Should be ready pretty soon."
"Right," Oliver could feel a smirk pulling at his lips. "Try not to burn anything down, will ya?"
"I'm not blonde!" Her retort pulled an honest guffaw out of him as he climbed up the stairs.
He found his mood sobering as he pulled the door of his bedroom open and found Chloe lying on the bed, her back facing him. She stirred when he started to kiss her neck and shoulder.
"Ollie?"
"I'm here." he whispered.
She turned around to face him, her eyes wide. "Are you okay?"
He put a hand on her cheek. "You were right."
"Ollie, it's -"
"I don't know what I would have done to Lex had I know Lionel was involved in the crash." he continued. "You saved me from making a huge mistake."
She pursed her lips and looked down. "That doesn't excuse why I waited so long to tell you."
"You told me in the end anyway, right?" Oliver gave her a playful shake and smiled when she nodded reluctantly. "See? The rest doesn't matter."
"But-" she was shushed when he put a finger on her lips.
"I'm gonna tell you something." he said and sat on the bed, pulling her to his side. "You're beating yourself up over nothing and since we're talking about honesty, there's something I haven't told you yet."
Chloe looked up, her curiosity painted all over her face. "What is it?"
Oliver raised his eyebrows. "Well I never told you how Vordigan died."
"Oh," she looked down. "Ollie you don't have to, it's different."
"I don't have to but I want to." he replied. "I know you must have been going crazy imagining what happened back there, so I want to tell you the truth. Ready? Because it's quite the tale."
When I was still a member of the Brotherhood, I had trained countless times with Vordigan. Each session made me stronger, more agile and more precise but every time, he beat me. This time though, he was no match to me.
I was well-aware that he wanted to die by my hand. He didn't tell me that but it was clear and I became certain that he was no threat to me at that same moment. Once we got into the forest and away from the camp, the hunt was on.
He wanted to make it hard for me to find him, as one last act of pride. In fact, I was always aware of his position, I could hear him move through the forest when he thought he was silent. He'd lost his touch and I was on his trail from the get-go.
I followed him for about an hour, until we got closer to the clearing that was often used in the past to settle fights like the one we were having. I decided to end this there and I broke the tail, heading in the opposite direction so we would meet face to face in the clearing.
When he came out, I was already standing there, aiming an arrow straight at him. He didn't even try to keep up the appearances and raised both of his arms, smiling. He walked closer when I didn't shoot, so close we only had a few feet between us.
"Do it." he said. "It's what I've been grooming you to do since the beginning. Come on, Oliver! Shoot me now."
I lowered my bow. "Sometimes the master teaches the student so well he doesn't have an once of influence on him anymore."
Vordigan's face fell, his anger bursting into the light. "You are going against the code." he told me. "I trusted you to honor my teachings!"
"Your teachings and your code." I replied. "I'm not part of the Brotherhood anymore, no matter how much you want to believe it. I'm not gonna kill you."
He grabbed his bow and aimed it at me. "Then I should kill you!"
That was something I wasn't expecting and I reacted on instinct, I raised my own weapon and realized only too late that he'd been playing me. Once he saw my arrow aimed at his chest, he dropped his bow and launched himself in my direction.
I could react in time and I yelled in surprise when he impaled himself on the arrow I was holding. He died in my arms, thanking me.
"What? He committed suicide through you?" Chloe looked up at him, his eyes wide.
Oliver nodded. "It's what he always wanted. To die by his code and let me lead the Brotherhood after his death."
"What did you do then?"
"Well I brought back his body to the camp were we held a funeral for him. That's when Clark saw me and you called to tell me Lex was giving the Suicide Squad a hard time."
"And after that?" she asked. "You disbanded the Brotherhood?"
He shook his head. "I don't want them to lose their only purpose in life, they would become criminals again." he said. "I gave the command to Vordigan's go-to man and told them I would watch their actions and punish them if they committed any crime."
"So you keep some control on them and they remain crime-fighters in the Darién Gap." she concluded.
He smiled. "Exactly. Besides, if some day we need extra-help, we could still ask them."
She grinned. "You've thought about everything, haven't you?"
"Nah," he put a hand on her stomach. "I just think of the future."