The night things changed

by isdonisgood

After the devastating events of Doomsday Chloe doesn't feel like she can continue on with the life she has been living. She restores Oliver to his status as the Green Arrow and then leaves, hoping to come to terms with what had happened. Little did she know that she would discover a path that would make her into the hero she always dreamed to be. AU after Roulette.

Fic title: The Night Things Changed

Genre: Gen

Pairing and/or characters: Chloe Sullivan, J'onn Johnz, Martha Kent, Oliver Queen, Victor Stone, Bart Allen, Tess Mercer, Waller/The White Queen, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Carter Hall, Kent Nelson, Courtney Whitmore

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: I in no way own Smallville. Please don't sue, I'm a poor uni student.

Word count: 11,510

Warnings: Spoilers for Roulette, Checkmate, Absolute Justice

Summary: After the devastating events of Doomsday Chloe doesn't feel like she can continue on with the life she has been living. She restores Oliver to his status as the Green Arrow and then leaves, hoping to come to terms with what had happened. Little did she know that she would discover a path that would make her into the hero she always dreamed to be.

Link to art: I'm not sure what happened to my artist but she never responded to my PM's and when I realised that I hadn't heard from her it was a week from my posting date and I couldn't bring myself to try and get another artist just so someone else had to scramble to make art for this fic. It just didn't seem far :D

A/N: Firstly can I say time zones confuse me so I'm hoping it's still the 2nd in America but since I'm in Australia I hope you forgive me :D. Now I've been dying to write this for a while now and when I needed a smallvillebbang fic idea I figured why not try this. Of course it was a struggle to find the words at times and I felt like I should rip out my hair but I got there eventually (while doing another big ban gat the same time). I want to say thank you so much twinsarein you've gone above and beyond in your modding skills.

I also want to say that this fic wasn't beta'd. I wanted it to be beta'd but life got in the way and there wasn't time. It seems to be the story of my life so if there are problems please feel free to point them out to me :D. Also I've used a quote in here from the last Animorph's book. Unless you know the books you probably won't know what it but it comes from one the main character's death scene where she asks whether she made a difference and the being she is talking to responds with "Yes. You were brave. You were strong. You were good. You mattered." And I always wanted to use that line in relation to Chloe.

Anyway I'll stop prattling on now. I hope you enjoy. Feel free to leave a comment. I love constructive criticism :D.

September 27th 2012

Shifting her glasses she watched the confrontation in front of her. Tess Mercer was a silly girl and she couldn't help but shake her head at the antics that she used. Still it was a very Tess way to deal with the situation. Watching as the butt of Tess's gun smacked the Green Arrow across the head she sighed before tapping her com, opening a channel between herself and the home base.

"Arrow is out. The White Queen is making her move. I'm preparing to engage in pursuit." Nodding as the voice in her ear answered she said, "Yes. It's about time we showed Waller whose boss. Phoenix out."

Dropping down off the roof she ran for her bike, lifting the kick stand and moving it swiftly into gear before following Tess's car. She had grown to love this game of cat and mouse, only this time she wasn't the mouse.

August 31st 2009

Smiling as she watched Oliver laughing at something Clark was saying in his ear, Chloe was glad that Oliver was finally smiling again. It was a weird, to think that she had done that for one of her heroes. She had saved him from the depth of depression so that they were able to smile again. It had been hard. She had to convince far too many people to come back when they didn't want to and the only way she could really get them to agree would be to allow for them return to wherever they were hiding in the first place. She didn't like it one bit but she had bit the bullet and allowed them all to drop off the grid again. It was obvious that they weren't ready to reform yet and she could let them be for a while. Eventually she knew they would have to come back.

Hopefully her decision would help them to come back.

Smiling as Oliver walked over she was glad that his first patrol had been successful. Hopefully it would be enough to convince him to stay. After all Metropolis needed heroes and Oliver was one of the best in her opinion. It might take him a bit of time to get back to where he was before the Doomsday incident but she knew he would make it. He finally had the ability to pick himself up and out of the gutter. It was a good know that he was returning to himself. Once his company was back to its proper status she knew that Oliver would finally feel like himself.

"You ready to get out of here sidekick?," Oliver asked, running a hand along her desk, "Not that this isn't a good place to be. You've done a lot with my money."

"I didn't do it," Chloe replied with a shake of her head, "Emil did and he did an amazing job." Sighing she closed her eyes before turning to face him completely, "But I'm defiantly ready to head home."

"Good, I'll walk you to your car." Oliver said, standing and offering his arm.

Picking up a folder that was laying on her desk she replied, "I'll meet you at the elevator, I need to shut this place down for the night."

"Is there anything I can do to help with that?"

"Not without ruining everything," Chloe replied, "I'll only be a minute."

Hearing Oliver sigh she watched as he headed to the door before she switched off the computers, moving slowly around the room. She ran her hand over the tops of the closest computers before circling back to her desk, and her handbag. Pulling out an envelope, addressed to the league, she placed to on the desk. Smoothing it out so it looked like it naturally belonged there and would blend in with the other papers around it she was hoping she could make it out of the state before anyone read the letter.

Sometimes she still couldn't believe that she had gotten the chance to work for such amazing people, doing such amazing things. Leaving them was one of the hardest things she had to do but she had to leave. She had crossed a line when she came to Davis, she knew that, even if Clark didn't believe that she did, and she needed to deal with that. Find a way to go back to being a hero. So she got herself a new job, in Washington, as a reporter, hoping that the life she once wanted would help her find peace within herself again.

Shaking her head she picked up her bag and keys. Placing the bag over her shoulder she pulled her key to the Watchtower off her key ring and left it on top of the envelope. Walking backwards towards the door she took a final look at the place. The wedding gift from her dead husband, the place that had ultimately been where he was murdered, she couldn't help but feel sad. It was time for her to find peace with that. While the heroes around her had been falling apart she had found a way to stay together long enough to place them back together. Now that Oliver was well on the way she felt more than safe enough to leave, knowing that somehow Ollie would find a way to pull together the rest of the heroes in their scrappy band.

Smiling as she turned and headed towards him. She entered the elevator, taking Oliver's arm when he offered it and waited for the elevator to start it decent. Today would be the last time Chloe would be here.

After today she would no longer be Chloe Sullivan.

September 27th 2012

Starting her bike for a second time that night she followed the van, praying that she would be able to pull off the move she was about to make. After all this was her first job out on her own, at least in the field. Normally she worked behind her desk, she hadn't been needed in the field until now and it allowed for greater flexibility when it came to her day job, but it meant she didn't get much of a chance to be a part of the action. She had been trained for this, worked hard to ensure that she could be in the field, after all that was what she had been hired for originally. The opportunity to use those skills had just never come up before.

Shaking her head she tried to refocus, knowing this move would have to be performed with precision. Taking her left leg off the bike she placed it on the seat in front of her. Making sure that the bike was parallel to the van she waited, taking her foot off the accelerator slowly. Feeling the bike slow under her body she took a deep breath, closing her eyes to keep her centre until she felt the bike slow further. Taking a deep breath she gathered her courage before jumping across, grabbing onto the side of the van with her hands. Swinging one leg up onto the back she smiled before ensuring the other leg was up on the platform. Moving towards the door she pulled out her lock picking seat. Fiddling with the locks for a couple of minutes she smiled as the door swung opened a couple of millimetres.

The White Queen's voice came floating out of the door the minute it opened, "Well, I'm sorry you think these tactics are crude. But I fear for our country's security. That's why I'm recruiting capable people like you."

Rolling her eyes she peeked in, spotting the Green Arrow tied to a chair in the middle of the van. His hands were working on his binds even as he was throwing snarky comments at the White Queen. Smiling she pulled the door open a few further inches before slipping into the back of the van. Pulling her gun from her belt she shook her head as she heard the White Queen babble on about working for their country. Moving into the light she raised the gun at the television screen that Waller was using to communicate.

"I think that's enough Waller. The Red Queen says hello," she commented, just as she had been instructed, before pulling the trigger. The shot went through the television, cutting off Waller's transmission.

Shaking her head she turned to the Green Arrow. This would prove whether or voice distorter did its job or not, "How much longer til you get yourself out?" she asked.

"I'm done now," he replied, showing her his hands, the cuffs swinging off the right one.

Smiling she nodded, "Ok then we should get out of here before the driver realises what's happened."

Heading to the door she looked over her shoulder to ensure he followed before leaping off the van, falling into a commando roll to protect herself from the fall. Rolling up to her feet she smiled when she saw that the Green Arrow had done the same thing. Turning to glance back down the road she saw her bike lying in one piece.

Turning back to the Archer she said, "Metropolis is a four hour walk that way. You should be able to get there before sunrise," pointing to the east. She watched as he looked in the direction she was pointing, seeing the skyline, before he turned back to her.

"Where are you going then? Back to this Red Queen? And who the hell was that? What's going on?"

"The Red Queen is the good guy in the chess game," she said with a smile, "Trust in that. I would never lie to you Archer."

"I don't even know you."

"That doesn't matter, I know you."

Watching him nod he didn't say anything else, just continued to size her up. When he finally turned and left, starting on his trek, she sighed. She knew he wouldn't trust her, not without knowing who she actually was, but she was glad that he walked away without any further questions. It was a good quality for a hero to have but she prayed that Oliver didn't actually use the gene to keep people in his other life away. It shouldn't bother her anymore but for some reason it did. Thinking he was far enough away she pushed down her hood, letting her red hair fly free in the breeze. It had grown over time and she had become very use to the fact that it wasn't blond anymore. Not that it really mattered.

Sighing she headed for her bike. She knew that tonight they had only won a battle but the war was far from over. Chloe prayed it would be over soon, that there time would come and that she would be able to return to a semi-normal life, before she had worked with the Red Queen.

October 4th 2009

Chloe had only been in Washington DC for a month but she had already had three articles published in the Washington Post as their new freelance journalist. It felt good to get back to her roots, to be writing again without the drama of hiding secrets. No one really cared about Clark here. No one wanted the superheroes of the world to unmask. Here the only really care was politics. What was happening in their capitol city was big and it was what had led Chloe to her stories and Perry White. She had called in a favour with him and in turn he had hooked her up with the editor at the Post. They had offered her a full time job but she didn't feel like it was a good idea, burying herself in work. If she wanted that she could have just stayed in Metropolis but here she was going to be different, or at least she was going to try to be.

Smiling she moved between the shelves in the supermarket picking up the things she needed. She was dressed casually, wearing jeans and a shirt. Her newly red hair was tied up in a pony tail at the top of her head. It was odd. She still couldn't get use to looking in the mirror and seeing red hair but she wanted to be as disguised as possible. The hair was just to make sure she stayed that way, just like the way she was growing it out. It was falling longer than it had in a while now but it was still pretty short. In a couple of months it would be a lot longer.

Sighing she pulled the box of cereal she had been looking for off the shelf and into her trolley just as someone called her name. Knowing that she didn't know many people in Washington she turned to see who could possibly be calling her. Smiling she was shocked to see Martha Kent coming towards her. Waving she waited for the older woman to join her.

Returning the woman's embrace she smiled and said, "Hey Martha, what are you doing here? This is a little bit regular for a Senator."

"I know but it has that charm that I miss from Smallville," she replied, pulling Chloe in close to her side, "Now when did you move to Washington and why didn't Clark tell me?"

"Clark didn't tell you cause I didn't tell him this was where I was going. The whole moving thing is a long story not really designed for a supermarket," Chloe replied with a chuckle, hopping that Martha would leave it at that.

"Well then I guess I'll have come over, see your place, get the whole story and make you dinner."

Sighing Chloe smiled at the older woman, she should have realised that she couldn't get out of it, "As long as you make your apple pie."

"I think that can be arranged," Martha replied.

Several hours later Chloe was sitting on her couch next to Martha having finally finished telling her all that happened over the last two years. Watching the woman gape made her nervous. After all she couldn't tell what the older woman was thinking. The whole story was a lot to take in and she had to go into a lot of the details that Clark had apparently left out when he spoke to his mother about it. She understood why Clark would keep something like that from his mother but she also knew that Martha wasn't like other parents. She understood what happened better with her first hand experiences of the weird and wonderful things that could happen in Smallville.

"Oh Chloe," the older woman whispered, "I can't believe all of this happened to you. I wish I could have known sooner."

"There's nothing to be done now Mrs Kent. I just have to deal with my guilt," Chloe replied with a simple shrug.

"Chloe, listen to me carefully cause I'm only going to say this once. You were brave, you were strong, you were good, and you mattered. I'm astounded by the courage that you have displayed during these events. Don't you ever doubt that," Martha whispered.

Smiling at the older woman she couldn't help but feel better, "Thank you Mrs Kent but I just did what needed to be done. Anyone else would have done the same thing."

Shaking her head Martha replied, "Maybe it's good you got away from Smallville and Metropolis. While some of the choices you made weren't great you were trying to do the right thing."

"Thank you Mrs Kent," she whispered, rubbing the older woman's arm, "I'm glad you think so. You're opinion means so much to me."

September 27th 2012

Pulling into the underground car park of the hotel she was staying in Chloe used the service entrance to make her way to her floor. Kicking off her boots at the doorway she sighed, getting ready to take off the rest of her costume. When she had first been recruited by the Red Queen she didn't like that idea of wearing a costume but it had grown on her since then. Of course her costume was more modest than the other members of the Red Queen's organisation. The vest cut off at her shoulders, had a hood attached to the back and stopped when it got to her hips. In some ways the vest reminded her of the vest that Oliver wore. She also wore motorcycle boots, just like Oliver's but that's where the similarities stopped. Her outfit had a shirt, that fell to about her mid thigh and utility belt that held her weapons and devices. It was a bold crimson, like every other members was except for one, who happened to be standing in the middle of her room.

Smiling at him she said, "What did you find out?"

"Not a lot," J'onn replied, "I'll go look around in a bit."

Chloe nodded, walking over to her bedside table and dropping her belt onto it, "Ok. Does the League know yet?"

"Not that I know of," J'onn said, "They haven't raised the signal yet. I think I'd be one of the first to be called but that can't always be guaranteed when it comes to Dinah."

Chloe sighed and fell onto the bed. It was still hard at times to hear that the league had replaced her with Dinah. Other times she just found it funny. A hero being demoted to her sidekick role still had her laughing at times but she could never understand why the league had decided to put her in that role. Chloe was sure that Victor would take over when she left but that wasn't the case and while she couldn't understand why the league had decided to pick Dinah what puzzled her more was why Dinah would agree to play Watchtower. She was sure the other woman would quickly get bored with the role but since she had found out two years ago the woman had kept the job.

Turning to smile at J'onn she said, "Well Oliver should be back within the next couple of hours. At morning by the latest depending on how hard the blow to the head was."

"Well I'll go survey the scene, see if I can't find out how to get to someone else in the organisation. We just need one member to slip up and we'll have the location of Checkmate's headquarters. How goes the recruiting?"

Chloe rolled her eyes, "The Justice Society have well and truly hidden themselves. I do have a lead though."

"But?"

"But it requires me to go to the Daily Planet and risk running into Clark, or worse, Lois." Chloe replied, lying back on the bed, "But it's all for the greater good so I'll find a way."

J'onn nodded, "Good to know. We'll meet back here tomorrow night and trade notes."

Chloe nodded her agreement and watched as J'onn left. Pulling her laptop onto the bed she switched it on before standing to get rid of her uniform. Half the time she still couldn't believe that this had happened to her. That she was working for the Red Queen. But it had happened, purely by accident, and it had changed her life forever.

October 14th 2010

Putting the finishing touches on her meal she placed the roast on the table just as the bell rang. Smiling she headed to answer it, already knowing who it was. After their initial reunion a year ago they had met up frequently and that had increased over time so much that as long as Martha was in town they had dinner ever Sunday. It was just the two of them, catching up and sometimes reminiscing about life in Smallville and Clark. She felt so grateful to be able to share her feelings with someone who understood where she was coming from. When she had told Martha what had happened between her and Clark after Jimmy's funeral the older woman had gotten mad at her son, not being able to understand how her son could just leave and try to remove himself completely from the humanity that Martha had worked so hard to instil in her son. While Chloe was happy that someone finally understood where she was coming from she couldn't help but convince Martha that it had been ok, that she had somehow managed.

Chloe smiled, heading for the door. Glancing at the clock Chloe rolled her eyes, Martha was always late when senate was in session. Opening the door she was shocked to see that Martha wasn't alone.

Smiling at the pair she said, "I wasn't expecting you to bring someone with you Mrs Kent."

Hugging the younger woman Martha sighed, "I'm sorry for the short notice but J'onn just dropped in unexpectedly. I didn't want to cancel our dinner so I invited him along. I hope you don't mind too much."

"Not too much," Chloe said with a smile, hugging J'onn as he entered the house, "Just a surprise."

"Well I'm afraid that's all my doing. I didn't warn Martha that I was coming to visit, not that I knew you were here," J'onn replied.

Shrugging Chloe led the pair into the lounge room, "Well that's good. At least I know the League hasn't been looking for me."

"Oliver has," J'onn replied with a sad smiled, "The rest of the team is still disrupted around the world. They haven't done well with taking your advice."

Noticing Martha's raised eyebrow Chloe gave another shrug, "I left a note when I left Metropolis. It said that Oliver should put the League back together, continuing being a hero."

"That's very sweet of you Chloe, I'm sure the team will get themselves together soon enough," Martha said, rubbing a hand down Chloe's arm.

"I hope so," Chloe whispered.

September 28th 2012

Walking into the museum Chloe smiled. She had expected the owner, Carter Hall, to have been onto her in a second since the museum was supposed to be closed. Pausing in the entryway Chloe glanced from right to left. There were two doorways she could go through. Deciding to go with the one on the right she wondered through, taking in the sheets that covered over the artefacts. It was weird and a little sad, to think that a place that was so filled with history could become so forgotten and it was all because of an incident with Checkmate. She hoped that one day this place could be restored in all its glory.

"Who are you?"

Turning Chloe was surprised to see a blonde standing behind her, arms crossed, dressed in red, white and blue. Taking a step forward Chloe smiled and said, "I'm looking for Carter Hall and Kent Nelson. I was told I could find them here."

"Who told you that?"

"The information I was able to find online. It's fairly simple to look up someone's address with the use of the internet." When the younger girl's expression didn't change Chloe took a step forward, putting out her hand, "Look we got off on the wrong foot. Hi, I'm Chloe Sullivan and you are?"

"I'm Courtney," the girl said with the shrug, "What do you want with Carter and Nelson?

"I want to talk to them about what they know about an organisation named Checkmate." Chloe replied, "I can assume you're a protégé of one of them."

"No," Courtney whispered, "Not that it's any of your business. You should leave before Carter get's back, he won't ask as nicely as I did."

"So basically, you're kicking me out," Chloe said, "But I need answers. I need your help."

"Why? And what are you doing here?" A man growled behind her.

Turning so that she was side on Chloe smiled at the man who had come in, "Hi. We should probably go somewhere more private."

"I think here is fine," the man replied.

"Fine." Chloe said with a shrug, "I was wondering what happened that caused Checkmate to decided to take down the Justice Society of America when they were doing so much good."

The man shook his head, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You keep telling yourself that," Chloe said with a smile, "But if I go up those stairs over there I'll come into your technical support room Hawkman, even if it's outdated. Plus something will have to be done about the security in this place."

Watching the man's eye's narrow she smiled. It was fun to get under the skin of a hero again. It was defiantly one of things that she missed the most about being around heroes twenty four seven.

"And how would you know about that?" Carter asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Cause the organisation I work for is trying to bring down Checkmate but to do that we need your help." Chloe smiled, before digging in her bag and pulling out a business card, "Call if you decide it's time to fight against them."

Turning and walking out the front door she wasn't surprised when Courtney moved next to Carter and the pair whispered together quietly. Opening the door she didn't see the man walking towards her until she ran into him.

"I'm so sorry," Chloe said, looking up. Seeing Oliver she put her head back down straight away, hoping she wouldn't notice him.

"That's fine," Oliver whispered, bending his head, trying to look the woman in the eye.

"Well I better get going," Chloe replied before walking away quickly.

Turning the corner she broke out into a run and didn't stop til she was back at the hotel. She couldn't believe that she had run into Oliver like that. Last night was fine. She had been expecting it, prepared for it and she had made sure not to make too much physical contact with the man. This time it was unexpected. She couldn't deny the way his smell still felt comforting or how strong his chest was. The last time she had heard anything about the man was when J'onn had told her the League had finally reunited.

November 25th 2010

After the initial shock about J'onn discovering where she was Chloe had calmed down, especially when the older man agreed to keep her location between them. The older man dropped by constantly joining in on the Sunday dinners, as often as time allowed, and had become a very welcomed member of their group. However when this Sunday came about Chloe couldn't believe the agonising look on his face. Moving aside to let him in she followed him silently into the lounge room.

Sitting down across from him she took his hand, "J'onn what's wrong?"

"The League... They reunited," J'onn whispered, "But the only way that Oliver could get them to do it was by allowing them to search for you in their spare time."

Sighing Chloe shook her head, "I knew this would happen one day. They're back together though, that's all that matters."

"But for how long?" Martha asked, "If they find you Chloe what will you do?"

Chloe shrugged, "It doesn't matter for the moment. If they find me they find me. I'm finally starting to come to peace with what happened during the whole Doomsday and Jimmy mess."

"It gets worse than that," J'onn replied, "The reason Oliver brought them back together was because there are two big threats to the world. Zod has been resurrected without powers. They think that Tess has something to do with it."

"And the other thing?," Chloe whispered, almost afraid of what he was going to say next. How could anything be as bad as Zod?

"Well they Justice League don't know it yet but I had to stop a man, named Icicle from destroying another team of superheroes. The Justice Society of America. He was there on the orders of another organisation, their name is Checkmate. I've been hearing about them for some time now but this is the first instance where they've actually tried something."

"I've heard of Checkmate," Martha whispered, looking between the two of them. "I think they may be making a move for Clark sometime soon."

"How soon?" Chloe asked, trying to absorb all the information at once.

"I don't know but I think the second that they learn about Zod and his followers I'm sure Checkmate will make their move. This is not an organisation we want to let get to Clark." J'onn whispered, "From what I've heard whilst they may be trying their hardest to be good, their principals can be a little crocked at time."

"Like using a meta to hurt other people," Chloe whispered, "Cause that's what I'm going to assume Icicle was."

J'onn nodded, "He was indeed."

"Then we'll have to do something to stop them," Chloe replied, "It's the only thing to do."

Martha nodded, "I've been hearing about them for a while. I've just never been able to put a name to the face. I've been thinking of a way to stop them but the only way it would work is if both of you help me."

"How?"

"I've been thinking we need to form an organisation of our own, a new chess piece to shake things up," Martha replied.

"And what would we do to help?" Chloe asked, "I'd really rather keep the league at bay for as long as possible."

"Well this would require you to stay here Chloe and J'onn to ensure the League doesn't find you." Martha replied, "I would need you to be our eyes and ears."

"So you'd like me to play Watchtower again," Chloe whispered. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. While she knew it was probably the only option to save Clark there was a part of her that wished it wasn't an option. She didn't feel like she could play a sidekick again and as much as she had enjoyed that part of her life she was ready to put it behind her now.

"I was thinking more that we would need your hacking skills but you'd also need to get some martial arts training and a costume of your own. I'd need you to be able to go into the field whenever J'onn can't." Martha replied, reaching out a hand to pat the younger girl's forearm.

"So I'd be having an active role in this whole thing," Chloe whispered, "But J'onn's powers allow him to travel great distances in short amounts of time." Pausing Chloe shook her head, "How is it you got your powers back?"

J'onn smiled, "While I was dealing with the Icicle situation I met a man from the Justice Society of America who had the ability to restore my Martian powers."

"He sounds like a very power man," Chloe whispered, "Maybe we should enlist the help of the heroes we know."

Martha sighed, "I don't know. We'd have to be doing a lot of deception to make this work. I don't think the League is in a place where they can be ready for that."

Chloe nodded, "So instead J'onn and I will be your heroes. What's your role in all this?"

"Well I think I need to be the figure head, a Queen if you like, but mainly I'm going to use my government contacts to find out as much as I can about Checkmate. I'll relay the information to you Chloe and J'onn will do the same with anything that he finds. You'll coordinate and it'll give you the chance to search for any gaps in our research."

"This is going to take a long time isn't it?" Chloe asked, the whole idea finally dawning on her.

"Yes, but I think we can make it, if we work together," Martha replied, "When the time comes to take them down we'll ask the Justice League and the Justice Society to join forces with us and ensure that we have our victory."

"I'm in," Chloe whispered, "Lets do this."

"I'm in too," J'onn whispered, "It's time to take out this organisation. They can't get the traveller."

"No they can't," Both women whispered together.

September 28th 2012

Smiling at J'onn when he entered the hotel room Chloe couldn't help but sigh. She was still trying to deal with all the emotions from the day. Seeing Oliver was really messing up her mind, considering the sad tint that his eyes had. It also confused her. According to J'onn the League didn't know about the Justice Society of America, so what could he have been doing there.

"I don't know," J'onn replied, "But it is defiantly something we should look into."

"How many times do I have to tell you that reading minds is only fun for you?"

"Well if you said what was on your mind I'd stop reading it."

Chloe turned to face the man, "Well J'onn, explain to me how Oliver could be at the museum when I was leaving? It doesn't make sense. Why would he be there?"

"I do not know but I intend to find out as soon as possible," J'onn replied, "I'll go to the League tonight while you plan for tomorrow's mission. We still have to get the Book of Rao back."

Chloe nodded, "Maybe this will all make sense soon."

"I hope so but no matter what, we complete our mission."

Chloe nodded, "We'll always complete our mission."

December 4th 2010

Typing away Chloe couldn't believe how fast everything was moving. It had been just over a week since the trio had discussed their plans to protect Clark from Checkmate. It was a solid plan but it felt weird, knowing that she would have to step into the role of the hero. She had never thought of doing anything like that before. She was always the sidekick. The one who sat behind the computer and helped the only way she knew how, by using her brain. It was insane to think that she could be the hero but here she was, proving it every day.

The team was still small, only really her and J'onn, Martha barely counted. While the older woman worked with them, financed them, she wasn't as hands on as she could have been. Compared to the way that Oliver had been with the Justice League Martha was barely there. She was a name on their pieces of paper. Nothing more, nothing less. She wanted to help but there wasn't much she could do whilst staying out of the lime light. Not that they had really entered it yet.

There was time for the lime light later. Right now they needed to establish themselves. She needed to train and they all needed to stay as far off Checkmate's radar as possible. It would be hard later on when the rest of the world would catch up with them but for now it didn't matter. There three man team wouldn't cause too much trouble. If she was able to recruit the girl she thought was a great match for the group they would probably have all the members they needed, especially if they stuck with the idea of using the Justice League and Society when they actually brought down Checkmate.

The woman was young, blond and possessed the ability to turn herself, and anyone touching her, invisible. It would be a useful power when they were trying to get into Checkmate's headquarters, if she found them.

Chloe wasn't too worried about recruiting the woman at the moment, she wasn't sure if the three of them were ready for another member and she hadn't brought the woman up too her two team mates, but she needed to keep an eye on her. If Oliver or anyone from the Justice League discovered the woman she wanted to know about it. She wasn't going to let the team snag her from under her nose.

Finding the information that she needed she printed it so that it could be packed away for safe keeping before turning to her next search. There were a million things that she needed to know before things could take shape. The plan was still in its tentative stage but they were slowly making head way, especially with the way the information that J'onn brought in every day. The more information they had the easier it was to make the plan more realistic, more accessible, and more likely to hold the ability to convince the right people to join in the good fight with them.

It would take time, more than a year, before the plan would be able to take effect but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that Checkmate went down. Everyone understood that.

September 29th 2012

Searching through the safe Chloe hoped that she would be able to find what she was looking for before Tess came into her bedroom. The team had known that it was a risky move, coming in while Tess was at home, but they had little choice. If they're plan was going to succeed they would need to take the Book of Rao back before infiltrating Checkmate. They had to ensure that the book didn't fall into the wrong hands, after all that could be fatal for their cause and they knew it. It was sad to think that a government organisation would take such drastic measure, as if they didn't actually trust that the superheroes of the world would be able to make the choice to help fight off the alien invasion by themselves. Of course if they were still the heroes that she one knew than they would have been trying to find ways to take out Major Zod and his team since they had found out about them. It would make sense, the only one who wouldn't want to stop the aliens would be Clark, but then again he was always trying to find ways to connect with his Kryptonian heritage and Chloe couldn't fault him for that.

Smiling when she finally saw the book she picked it up, heading for the door as J'onn's voice came through her com, "Phoenix, we've got a problem. Tess and Arrow are on an intercept course for your room."

Gasping Chloe turned to face the door before whispering to J'onn, "Put me through to Iris and come and get me. I'll have to jump from the bedroom window to leave undetected."

"I'm on my way," J'onn replied.

Nodding Chloe circled the bed, heading for the window that she knew she would be able to open just as the bedroom door was swung open. The pair entered the room arguing, too caught up in their rage to notice Chloe until she jumped onto the cabinet to access the window. Hearing their stunned gasps she kicked the window open before turning to face them.

"You," they both gasped at the same time.

"What are you doing here?" Tess demanded, taking a step towards Chloe.

Shaking her head Chloe smiled, "I'm taking back something that doesn't belong to you." Watching as Tess glanced down at the disk in her hand, Chloe raised it so that the other woman could see the book. Hearing her gasp Chloe shook her head, "You didn't really think that you could keep something that doesn't belong to you?"

"And what are you going to do with it?" Tess growled taking another step forward and pulling a knife off the table.

Smiling Chloe shrugged, "I intend to return it to its rightful owner so that it can be used how it was intended to be used. What were you planning to do with it?"

"I was planning to make it into a self sufficient energy source," Tess whispered, "I was going to save the world."

"It doesn't work that way Tess. You can't just manipulate it because you want to and you can't use alien technology to enhance Earth. We must find our own way to evolve, to learn to take care of the Earth." Chloe replied with another shrug, "And do you really think that Zod would let you use the book that way. Cause I seriously doubt it?"

"How do you know about Zod?" Oliver demanded, making the first noise of the evening.

"I know a lot of things."

"Well than you better get to know this," Tess screamed, throwing the knife across the room. Seeing it being hurtled across the room at her she jumped out the window, feeling J'onn's arms catch her. Smiling at his twinkling red eyes she allowed for him to transport them back to the hotel.

Waiting until they were safely on the ground she turned to J'onn and said, "You were cutting it kind of close there."

"Well Iris said that you weren't in position yet, I figured that you were obviously engaged in small talk with Tess and that I should wait until you were out the window before I swooped in and saved you."

"Well thanks but I wish you had been there sooner," Chloe said with a sigh, throwing back her hood and holding up her hair, "But that knife got my pretty hair and my hood."

Smiling at her J'onn shrugged, "I'm very sorry for that but this should make you think about tying your hair up more often than. It would stop situations like this."

"Funny," Chloe replied with a roll of her eyes, "Now are you going to tell the Red Queen we have the book or should I?"

"You do it. After all it did cost you some hair."

September 30th 2012

Walking up the pathway Chloe felt more confident this time. She was sure that with J'onn around she would be able to convince the Justice Society that this was the right course of action. It was time for them to stop hiding from who they were and forgive society for what they had done to them. She knew that it could only help for J'onn to be there, they had worked with him, restored his powers. She just had to hope that Nelson was around to greet them.

Following J'onn through the doorway that he had unlocked with his abilities she waited at the bottom of the stairs as J'onn called out for someone to come to them. Smiling when she saw a man in the corner, clutching a bag, she walked towards him, hoping not to scare him off. Moving cautiously she crouched a little way away, letting her smile grow further to seem friendlier.

"Hi," she whispered, "I'm Chloe. Are you Nelson?"

"Why does it matter? Nothing matters? It's all jumbled."

Shaking her head Chloe couldn't believe what she was seeing. With every word the man seemed to curl more and more around the bag, clutching it tighter into his chest. Clearly he was attached to the bag, not wanting to let it go. Before she could ask any further questions Carter was bellowing at her from the staircase to leave Nelson alone.

Standing she walked over to the man, and the girl from yesterday who followed him down the stairs. "It's good to see you again Carter." She whispered, "Though I think it's time that you stop yelling."

"I agree," J'onn said with a nod, "Anger will not get us anywhere."

"Why are you here J'onn? We haven't seen you since the Icicle debacle," Courtney whispered.

"Cause we need your help and you wouldn't listen to me," Chloe replied.

J'onn nodded, "We could really use you help. Maybe we should go upstairs before we discuss this further."

Nodding Carter turned, placing a hand on Courtney's arm before leading them upstairs. It was obviously that the relationship between them held a lot of affection. It was almost as if they had a father and daughter relationship. When they were in the room Chloe couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was more of a museum up here than it was downstairs. Artefacts where strategically placed in cabinets. Leaning down she read the label for every one of them, recognising most of them from her research. The artefacts obviously meant something to each hero, the lantern and ring for Green Lantern, the mask from Wildcat's uniform. It gave a touch of personality.

Though if she was being truthful with herself she knew that she was only bidding her time, allowing for J'onn to have his say but when Carter said, "It's ridiculous. There's nothing that can be done. They are too powerful, they're ties run too deep and there is nothing that the under dogs can do about it. It's time for you to understand that." Chloe stood and walked over to the table. Slamming her fists into it Chloe looked up at Carter, "It's time for them to fall Carter. If you don't like Checkmate then help us bring him down."

Carter shook his head, unsure of how to react. Sighing he walked over to the case that held the helmet of his true love. Running a hand over the glass he looked in, wondering what she would say to his reaction now. She always knew him and she would tell him that he was being a coward, it was time to take vengeance for the society that they had created and it was time that they did it for all. Closing his eyes he allowed his thoughts to linger on her for a second longer before turning back to Chloe.

"Carter, it time we stand and fight for what we've worked for, what you and JSA used to work for. The battle has been long but we'll stand up tonight, champions. What do you say?" Chloe asked, arms crossed in front of her.

Carter nodded, "Go get the rest of your operatives, I'll gather what I can of the JSA and I'll meet you across the street from the new punk superheroes."

"One of these days Carter you'll have to realise that they are going to make a difference. Tonight it's time to let everything go. Who knows, maybe the new team will listen when you give advice."

Laughing Carter shook his head, "Go. I'll meet you there."

Smiling Chloe left leaving Carter alone to his thoughts as he return to staring at his wife's helmet for a while.

Pulling on her belt Chloe looked up in the mirror. At times it felt like she was a different person. It was odd, the red hair, at first it she hadn't liked it much. When she had first dyed it she had decided to only keep it like that for as long as necessary but by the time she knew for sure that the others had stopped looking for her she had grown to love it, and the long hair she had grown to go with it, so she kept it. Pulling it back into a ponytail she smiled at the way she looked. She couldn't wait to show the league what she had become, although she knew there would be a lot of hard memories that would come with the day. She hadn't been in Watchtower since she had left, she hadn't wanted to be, and although J'onn assured her that her access codes still worked she hoped that the flashbacks wouldn't come. She hadn't told anyone that she had constant nightmares while she was staying there, she didn't think that there was a need.

Sighing she shook her head, trying to shake all those thoughts away. They wouldn't help now, she knew that. Straightening her skirt she picked up the belt and put it place. She emptied it after each use, putting it back in its place in the case. It seemed as though she had picked up Oliver's weird habitat of obsessively putting her gear back into the right place. It didn't bother her that much, it could be worse in her mind. She could have picked up his fascination for green or getting up ridiculously early or, heaven forbid, substituted coffee for tea. It was insane pick up a habit from a person who was barely her friend but she liked that she did.

"Stop thinking so hard," J'onn said from behind her.

Smiling she shook her head and turned to face him. It felt weird standing there in only her skirt, belt and bra but she knew J'onn had no interest in her. It was an odd relationship they had. Before he had just been Clark's mentor, sent by his father to save him from himself but now he was her friend. He was one of her best friends.

"I can't help it. What if this doesn't work? We've put so much into it. This has to work," Chloe whispered.

"It will, because it's your plan. Trust in yourself Chloe. You have the Justice Societies support and you have my support. You have the Red Queen's support and everyone in the organisation is rooting for you. Now you just need to have faith in yourself."

Smiling she walked over and hugged J'onn, "Thank you. I'm glad you're here, in the foxhole, with me. I don't think I'd want anyone else to be here with me."

"That's great to know Chloe. I wouldn't want to be with anyone else either," J'onn whispered, squeezing her tight before letting go. "Now how about we finish suiting up then you can go talk to the League and I'll bring the Society to us. We'll convince the League and then we'll do what we've been working to do for years. We'll take down Checkmate."

Smiling she nodded, "Well let's get to work then."

Watching as the group moved around below her Chloe sat in the closest chair, placing her feet silently on the desk. She would have to take a different approach with the League than what she did with the JSA. She only had one chance with them. So instead of charging in she waited and watched as Victor helped Dinah try to hack into Checkmate's headquarters, Tess was handcuffed to a chair and Clark rushed around like a mad man. Oliver threw around orders before sitting quietly on the couch, as if he knew he was only getting in the way. She studied him for a bit, shocked to see that sadness that crept into the corner of he's eyes. She hadn't noticed the enormity of that sadness until now and J'onn hadn't mentioned it.

Smiling when she saw Lois walk in she was surprised with the way that the boys reacted to her presence. Everyone but Dinah, Tess and Oliver seemed to calm down a couple of notches. It was weird the way she walked around. But then maybe it was the fact that Lois was the first one to look at her in an hour and a half. It was kind of ironic the way that had worked out.

"Um... guys?" Lois said, motioning to where Chloe was sitting, "Did you know that someone else was sitting up there?"

Chloe's smile changed to a smirk as every eye in the room looked. It was interesting. A group of superheroes didn't notice she was there but trust her cousin to be there for two seconds and know that something was off. Standing she moved slowly over to the railing so that the team could see her properly. Hearing Tess and Oliver gasp her smirk grew.

"You should really change the security around here. I didn't even need J'onn's help to get in."

Oliver stood and took a few steps forward, "You're the girl who rescued me."

"And stole the book from me," Tess whispered.

"I have many talents," Chloe said with a shrug.

"What I want to know is how you got in here?" Dinah demanded, "This is a secure location."

"No it was a secure location," Chloe replied with a shrug, "But when you created the system and it hasn't been changed in three years it's very easy to get in."

Pulling the hood off her head, flipping off her voice distorter and placing her glasses on the desk she waited for the shock gasps to come. As they did she smiled down at them and continued, "Now's not the time for explanations. I need your help. Checkmate needs to be taken down and it needs to happen tonight."

"Why us? Why now Chloe? You should have come to us before you left." Bart asked, confusing filling his eyes.

Chloe laughed hollowly, her eyes hardening over, "So what? You all get to fall apart but when my husband dies I'm just expected to get up and push on. No! That's not expectable! I deserve that right as much any of you, even more. And contrary to what Emil thought making this place into a Watchtower didn't make me feel any better about the fact my husband died in my hands because of my bad decisions."

"He didn't mean it like that Chlo," Lois whispered.

"It doesn't matter now," J'onn said, startling them all.

Chloe looked back at him, tears at the edge of her eyes. Smiling as he rubbed a hand over her eyes she looked at Iris, Carter, Courtney and Doctor Fate, smiling at them too.

i"You're alright Chloe. Your safe,"/i J'onn communicated to her through telepathy.

Nodding she turned back to the others, "It doesn't matter. The reasons can't matter at the moment. We need your help. We're invading Checkmate's headquarters, taking them down once and for all tonight but we need your help."

"We don't have the man power to do it alone," J'onn said.

"So what the Red Queen can take over," Tess snarled, "Waller won't let that happen."

"There nothing to fear from Red Queen or what she stands for," J'onn replied.

"He's right," Chloe whispered, turning to the league, "Trust what you know about J'onn and me. Do you really think we would work for someone who just wanted to control the world?"

"Not in a million years," Lois said with a nod of certainty.

Smiling at her cousin's conviction Chloe continued, "Anyway, the Red Queen is someone you all trust?"

"Who?," Clark demanded.

"We share a common goal," Chloe continued, ignoring Clark's question.

"And what would that be?" Olive whispered, making eye contact with Chloe for the first time.

Holding Oliver's eye contact she smiled, "To allow and trust the traveller to make the right decisions and extend that curtsey to anyone who may follow his in his footsteps, because we know they are righteous."

Clark's eyes widened as he realised who she was talking about, "But why were you recruited?"

"Cause you and Chloe have been friends for a very long time and I knew I would be able to trust her with our mission. I knew she would be able to uphold everything we stand for and she did a marvellous job," Martha answered from the doorway.

Watching as the League tried not to choke on their tongue's Chloe tried to stifle a laughing. Glancing back at J'onn and Iris she wasn't surprised to see that he wasn't reacting at all. The three remaining members of the Justice Society where wearing the same expressions as the League however. Obviously they were as shocked as the League but that was the beauty of their operation. Who would expect a senator to be running operation like this?

Smiling Chloe continued, "We all share the same drive. The Justice Society of America was dismantled by the Checkmate and that's what they are going to do to League if we don't stop them."

Tess rolled her eyes, "You can't believe."

"No they can't believe you Tess or do they not know that you're a checkmate agent?" Chloe replied, raising an eyebrow at her.

Startled Tess opened her mouth to respond only to close it again, as if knowing she wasn't going to win against Chloe.

"It doesn't matter now Tess. At the end of the day Checkmate will be done with and you'll be free," Chloe replied, "Or did you think that we didn't know that Checkmate has a price on your head." Watching Tess's shock she couldn't help but feel amused, "Don't worry," she continued, speaking solely to the red head, "We have a plan."

Crouching on the ground, Oliver and Clark on either side of her, Chloe took several deep breaths, the voice of her taekwondo instructor running through her head. Finding her centre was easy, keeping it whilst Clark was glaring at her and Oliver was looking confused was difficult. She needed to remain grounded, centred; otherwise she wouldn't be able to complete her job.

"Can you just answer me one question," Clark whispered.

"Not right now I can't," Chloe scoffed.

"I just need to understand why," Clark pleaded, trying to give her his puppy dog eyes.

Rolling her own eyes she was glad when J'onn came through her ear, telling her that it was time to get into place.

Moving swiftly she didn't even check that the boys were getting into place beside her before placing her tablet into the security system box. Watching the system load she quickly entered the program into the system hoping that the boys behind her would stop staring. She knew this was hard for them, her coming back in the hero role as well as everything else but now was not the time to be discussing it. It would only distract from the mission and there was no need for anyone to get hurt just because Clark's curiosity couldn't wait the few hours it would take to bring down Checkmate.

Keying into the system she saw that Iris was already in from her vantage point. Clicking her com she said, "Manhunter why aren't you in the system yet? You're the only one we're waiting for?"

i "I'm working on it Phoenix, give me two minutes."/i

"I can give you one but that's it. We can't let them know that we're in the system."

i"I'm on it tower,"/i Victor responded in her ear as he obviously pushed J'onn aside.

"One its Phoenix and two I should have just let you do it from the start. It would have saved this hassle."

"It certainly would have," Victor replied, "I'm in."

Chloe nodded, "Do you know what to do now?"

"Manhunter is filling me as we speak."

"Great, we'll go on three then, by my count, ok?" Hearing the affirmatives she started counting down. On three they all hit the switches on their tablets, the screen coming to life as it upload the information from the system and brought up the codes to let them in.

During her research Chloe had learnt that Checkmate kept three main entrances, each entrance had its own code which changed daily, hourly when there was an emergency. Once the main wall had been breached they would need the next set of numbers, all prime digits, to get through the next set of doors. The hidden trick was that all three main doors had to be accessed at the same time, correct codes inputted, before moving onto the next set that also needed to be inputted simultaneously. If even one digit was out of place the building's alarms would activate and a swarm of guards would descend on all three locations. As far as she could tell no one had ever made it out alive after entering a wrong number.

Setting it up so she could count down again she turned to check that Oliver and Clark were following. Satisfied when she saw that they were, and that Oliver was somehow keeping a hand over Clark's mouth, she focused on the task in hand. It would only take one mistake and this whole operation would be done for. Years of planning would go down the drain for nothing. It was more than that though. This was her getting to be the hero, not some sidekick who sat on the sidelines, and sure when this was over she never planned to play either role again but that didn't mean that she couldn't enjoy this, that she couldn't, for once, love being the hero, the one who would save them all.

As the next door opened she couldn't help but squish what she was feeling, pushing her emotions aside for the greater good. She didn't know what it was to be a hero when Jimmy was around, maybe she would have known how to save him had she known better but she didn't and all that mattered was ensuring that everyone got out alive.

"Ok," she said through her com as the three of them walked though the opened door, "We all know our parts in this. Let's bring down Checkmate." Tapping off her com as radio silence was initiated she smiled at the boys behind her before turning to Clark, "Off you go. Archer and I will meet you where we're supposed to."

Watching as Clark left she rolled her eyes, knowing that he wasn't happy about this part of the plan. It wasn't sinking in yet that she could take care of herself. That she didn't need a hero to save her because now she was a hero. Motioning to Oliver they headed down their corridor, moving cautiously, both aware of their vulnerabilities. She was glad that Oliver understood that she didn't need his protection. It seemed to sink in for almost everyone in the Justice League and even in the Justice Society. The only person who didn't seem to get it was Clark and it was becoming clear that he could only ever see her in the damsel in distress role.

It was something that he was going to have to get used to though. If it was up to her she would never go back to being a damsel in distress.

Raising her crossbow at a sound she knew she had to get her head into the game soon otherwise it could be disastrous. The other two parts of the plan couldn't go off without a hitch unless she was able to pull of her part. With Clark killing the backup generator all as she and Oliver headed to the main power grid she knew that J'onn and Iris would be heading to their locations: J'onn to take out the White Queen and destroy all her resources, and Iris to dismantle the backup system whilst sending a message to all the White Queen's agents, don't come back... ever. If all three part of the plan were executed properly they building would be evacuated and blown sky high, leaving no trace of what it existed for.

Rounding the corner that would take them to the main power grid they crept along, taking their time so that they didn't have a misstep along the way. They couldn't afford one at the moment. The whole operation was timed to the second. Slipping into the room she smiled as Oliver fired off two of his tazor arrows without warning, knocking out the agents in the room before they had a chance to alert anyone their presence. Moving to the main console she set up her second tablet to run the algorithm.

Motioning to Oliver she whispered, "Flick the green switch on the third console over. It should allow me greater access to the system."

Nodding Oliver moved over the console she had motioned to before whispering, "So why did you change your call sign?"

"Can we not do this now?" Chloe hissed, "Hit the red button on the second console."

"I don't see why we can't discuss it now," Oliver replied with a shrug, his hand pressing the button.

"Maybe because this is a delicate process," Chloe responded as a gust blew through the room. Ignoring Clark she kept giving Oliver directions until the power went out. Counting to three she held her breath, hoping that the backup generator wouldn't kick in. When it didn't she took a deep breath before taking out her phone and turning on all the coms in the area before saying into her own, "The power is out. We're moving onto out next step."

"We understand," the voices of J'onn and Iris ran through her ear, "Restarting radio silence."

Nodding Chloe flicked her own com off again before turning to Oliver, "I changed my call sign because I thought that where I failed as Tower I might succeed as Phoenix, rising from the ashes of the death that surrounded that call sign. It made sense to me and I don't regret changing it just because you and the League can't get used to it."

Oliver nodded, "That makes sense. Of course we'll get use to it. We just need more than three hours."

"Well that's all I can give you," Chloe replied with a shrug, "Now we need to move. Be prepared to evacuate any agents that may be coming our way."

Clark nodded, keeping his mouth shut for once, which made Chloe happy. She didn't really want to deal with him talking anymore than he apparently wanted to talk. It was a relief not to hear his opinion on everything and that's probably what she enjoyed the most about Washington. While people, Martha in particular, offered their opinions they never pushed them on anyone else. They could always see the other side of things.

Slipping down the corridor she began to plant charges as both J'onn and, five minutes later, Iris checked in to let her know that the other parts of the plan had fallen into place. Checkmate's entire database and backups had been destroyed, the White Queen had been neutralised and they were evacuating everyone from the building. The charges were being laid and everyone was getting ready to leave. All that was left was to set the charge. It was odd to think that almost two years worth of work came down to this. This moment when everything would explode and Checkmate would be no more. They couldn't have been inside the facility for more than two hours but they were ready to blow it to shreds. That was the flaw in Checkmate's system though. It was supposed to keep out the unwanted people but once they were in they could have free access to any area that they wanted as long as they had access cards, and those were really easy to duplicate.

Leaving the building a few steps behind Oliver they ran for the hill. They would stop there, blow the charges, and watch the building collapse before moving to join the others. It didn't take them long to get into place. The hill wasn't that big after all. Calling through the com to ensure that everyone else was out she pulled out the remote and held it out to Oliver, "I think you have earned the right to blow the place."

"Well, thanks," he said with a faint smile, taking the remote, "Thank you for everything Phoenix."

Watching him flick the switch she nodded, "You're welcome Archer." She whispered before turning to face the building. The building was engulfed in flames. It only took three seconds before the four towers that acted as the support system started to wobble and collapse. Then that was it, the towers fell and the rest of the building began to crumple.

It was... over.

4th of November 2012

Sitting by the bedside Chloe smiled. It was over. They had won and she couldn't help but feel glad. She was looking forward to having a normal life. Normal: now there was a watch word. Of course she didn't want it to stay that way forever but she needed a break for now. Some time. There were still old scars to be healed, scars relating to Clark and Jimmy respectively. She wasn't ready to go back to Metropolis either.

Her detour home was for one purpose: to visit her mom.

She had missed being able to see her but since she was housed in one of Oliver's labs in Star City. Chloe had known that there was no way to visit her without Oliver knowing. Now it didn't matter. The Justice League knew where she was heading, that if they were desperate they could contact her to help. They even had her new number. Of course she wasn't sure that she had their trust again but it was a step in the right direction.

Taking the seat by her mother's bed Chloe took her hand running her other down her arm, before apologising. She hadn't meant to leave for so long but it was what she needed. So she apologised before starting to talk, telling her all about the last couple of years.

As she neared the end of her tale, telling her about Checkmate, Chloe was surprised when there was a knock at the door. Turning her surprised grew when she saw Oliver.

"What are you doing here?"

Oliver smiled, "I come and visit whenever I'm in town. Just so she knows she's not alone."

"Well thank you," Chloe said, moving her chair to the side, "You should join us."

"I'd like that."

The End