Solace

Prologue – Land of Confusion

Now, this is the world we live in
And these are the hands we're given
Use them and let's start trying
To make it a place worth fighting for

This is the world we live in
And these are the names we're given
Stand up and let's start showing
Just where our lives are going to
(Land of Confusion – Disturbed)

"Miss Sullivan?"

Chloe looked up from her laptop, mildly annoyed at the interruption. Her eyes locked upon the courier in front of her desk. She quickly stood up, extending her hand to take the envelope he was presenting her.

"Sign here, please"

The petite blonde obliged, noticing that there was no sending address on the form. She frowned a moment as she reached in her pocket for the courier's tip: she wasn't expecting anything from any of her sources.

"...Can you tell me where it comes from?" she asked innocently. The courier shook his head:

"I'd tell you if I knew. But all I was told was that it had to be delivered as soon as possible, no matter what." he answered, refusing the young woman's cash before taking his form and leaving.

Chloe sat down, weighing and feeling the envelope. It was of standard size, but she could feel that there was more than paper in it. Her heartbeat rose slightly at the thought of her first real big tip for a story. Looking around to make sure she had not attracted attention, she opened her package. She nearly laughed when its content spilled on her desk. To anyone else, it would have meant nothing, but she knew exactly the message behind the three objects before her. She picked up the white keycard, and looked at it carefully. It was plain with a magnetic band, the only decoration being the Queen's Industries logo engraved in the plastic. The second item was a keychain representing Metropolis Clock Tower. It was the last item that made her raise an eyebrow, her lips curving into a small smirk: it was a simple white business card in the form of an arrow. On it was written in green ink '7PM'.

Chloe turned the card several time between her fingers as she made a call on her cell phone.

"Jimmy? Yeah...I won't be able to make it tonight...I'm sorry...Something big came up at work...Nah, it's ok, thanks for offering...Tomorrow's fine for me...I'll miss you too. Bye!" she hangs up, smiling as she looked at the time. Only two hours before show time now...

Slipping the keycard in the slot in front of the elevator's doors, Chloe couldn't help but hold her breath for a moment, half expecting her access to be denied. But the doors opened and she stepped in, her heartbeat raising slightly at the thought of what was waiting for her at the penthouse. The elevator ride seemed to take forever and when she finally walked into the apartment, she discovered that she was alone. She felt a slight tug in her heart and frowned, wondering why it was bothering her at all. She looked around, finding the apartment oddly clean despite the tenant being absent for the past three months.

She walked to Oliver's desk and laughed, shaking her head slightly at the sight of the green laptop on it. His obsession with the colour is going to be his downfall, Chloe thought. On one side of the computer was a coffee machine complete with her favourite beans and snacks. The young woman instantly knew Clark had been the one giving away such information to Oliver. The gesture still made Chloe smile and she thanked the restlessness that had made her come in half an hour before the rendez-vous time.

Finding the kitchen on the second floor of the apartment, she rummaged through the cabinets and picked up the biggest mug she could find, making a mental note of buying a bigger one if she ever come back. Apparently, the richer you are, the smaller the mugs you buy, thought Chloe with a small smile as she walked down the stairs. The scent of freshly brewed coffee was already filling the air and she poured the black liquid in her mug as she opened the laptop. When the computer promptly asked for a password, she entered without much thinking her codename, and was almost disappointed when the program granted her access. She was somehow expecting something tackier for a password, something like '2hot4green'. Chloe shook her head, chuckling slightly: she was spending too much time with Clark. Not all superheroes had to be easy to read through like the Man of Steel. She picked up the small headset by the computer and put it on, suddenly reminded of the first time she had helped Clark's friend in rescuing their youngest recruit.

The alarm on her watch beeped, marking the T time, and Chloe sat down behind Oliver's desk as one of the big screens reeled down on its own. The black image quickly made place to the grinning face of Impulse.

"Hola, mi bella Conchita..." he greeted her before taking a step back, revealing the presence of his teammates.

Chloe stopped her eyes from rolling and could only imagine the wink Bart had given her behind his sunglasses. She smiled back at them:

"Impulse, Cyborg, Aquaman." she said, each of her greetings answered with either a blown away kiss, a simple head nod or a trademark smile. The young men moved away from view, leaving the space to their leader.

"Green Arrow." Chloe nodded slowly to the impassive face of the man on the screen, taking a sip of her coffee in hope to settle down the wave of excitement the sight of the superheroes had caused in the pit of her stomach.

The view of the petite blonde sitting behind his desk halfway across the globe relieved Oliver more than he would have wanted to admit. They desperately needed her help and guidance for their next mission, and he had been afraid she would have been already busy helping Clark saving his own world. She looked as she had been doing this for years, her back conformably pressed against the leather chair of his office, leaning back slightly as she drank her coffee. He looked closer at her and couldn't help being impressed: if she was nervous, she was hiding it very well. Then he finally noticed that her position was not purposeful: her feet were barely touching the ground. Her faked confidence reminded him how nervous they all were on their first mission and he smirked slightly as he finally greeted her:

"Watchtower."

Chloe answered Green Arrow's smirk with a grin of her own before she sat up: "Alright, boys. How may I be of service tonight?"

To be continued…