Segment Summary: While trying to pick up the pieces of the Doomsday debacle, Oliver and the JL try to get Chloe over her own memories of that night.
Segment Timeline: Doomsday- Pandora
Segment Rating: T
Come on now, I hear you're feeling down
Well, I can ease your pain, get you on your feet again
"Comfortably Numb"— Pink Floyd
Comfortably Numb
At the sound of the gunshot, Oliver quickened his pace towards the door, It wouldn't have surprised him if he took the door right off its hinges, but the lack of sound following the shot had worried him. Turning his head, he soon realized why.
The baseball bat falling from his hand, Davis fell to his knees, seconds from his death, "Why?" was the only word that left his lips before his head hit the floor.
Oliver looked around and saw Bart unconscious not far from where he was standing, and while part of him wanted to run over and check to see if Bart was okay, instead he was haunted by her face.
The bookcase entranceway had been pulled back, and in front of the main console stood Chloe, her breathing still irregular, and numerous tears streaming down as she realized what she had done, the accumulation of everything she had tried to save. Throwing the gun away from her, she crossed her arms over her chest, gripping her arms tightly. At this point, Oliver couldn't even begin to imagine what was going on in her head, so he carefully walked towards her, hoping he wouldn't scare her.
His movement was what got her to notice his presence. "Ollie," she said, her eyes widening as she bit her lip, trying to keep the tears under control. As he got closer, she stopped trying and let them fall before whispering, "I had to."
"I know Chloe," he replied, bringing himself close enough that he can reach his hand to her shoulder, but far enough to keep his distance. "It was self-defence."
She wanted to say that he was right, but Chloe could still see Davis' arm despite Oliver standing in front of her, and it was enough for her to admit the opposite. "But I still killed him. I... I wanted to... but he..." Eventually, Chloe gave up on coherent thoughts and buried her face in her hands.
As much as he hated to admit it, Oliver felt lost right now. Sure, he had taken his time down the morally gray of killing for the greater good, but what on Earth was she supposed to tell her? Chloe, who had quickly become the rock of his team, who saw the good in everyone, was breaking, and Oliver couldn't think of anything he could do to make it better. She just killed a man, and no amounts of words would erase that mental image from her brain.
So he wrapped his arms around her, therefore taking Davis' body fully out of her eye-sight. Patting her head, he soothingly shh'd her, hoping she would relax. Eventually, they came to the floor together and just sat there, time ticking away.
After a while, Bart came to, eyes widening at what he had thought he let happen. There wasn't a lot he could have done, but Bart couldn't help but blame himself. The last thing the younger man ever wanted was to cause Chloe pain in any form.
"Chloe?" he said, getting both of the blondes' attention. It was a surprise to see Bart up so fast, but it was the way he addressed Chloe that really caught Oliver's attention. Chloe, not some cutesy nickname, and his tone pretty much set the scene. It wasn't everyday that Bart wasn't the light-hearted one of conversations, but today, even he knew better than to joke around.
"Don't," Chloe managed, just barely shaking her head as she pulled herself out of Oliver's arms. "I'm okay," she said unconvincingly, hoping it would calm the younger man down, but it didn't.
Hearing the sirens in the background, Oliver and Bart glanced at each other, knowing that they would have to leave her at some point. They hated the idea, but they couldn't risk their identities being exposed, especially because with all the wreckage, they had no time frame for when they would arrive. Oliver attempted to stand up, but she grabbed his hand desperately.
"Please," she whispered through her tears, "I don't want to be alone."
Oliver couldn't even see her eyes and he was caving. He looked around, wondering what was taking Clark so long to come and see her, but the truth was that she needed someone, and even though Oliver knew he was unlikely her first choice, he had to stay.
Looking over at Bart, he calmly asked, "Can you grab a suit for me from home... make it quick."
Bart didn't need to be told twice, as he zipped out of the room, leaving the two blondes together for a couple minutes.
"Go ahead," Chloe said as she pulled herself up, "Say I told you so."
"No," Oliver replied, looking back towards her, but she had too turned away. "This isn't what I wanted Chloe. I never wanted you to..." His words trailed, realizing that in a way, she was right. The way Oliver talked about getting rid of Davis Bloome, this was the sort of thing he had in mind. But he never wanted Chloe to be the one to pull the trigger; he didn't want to see her like this.
"If I knew this was how this was going to end, I would have never said that."
"You're lying," Chloe whispered back. "You would do whatever it took to save the world; it's why you killed Lex."
"Don't compare what I did to this Chloe... this is different."
Finally peering back in his direction, she scoffed lightly. "That's not what you said when you found out about Sebastian Kane."
Oliver opened his mouth to respond, but they both heard a gust of wind and saw Bart standing over them with Oliver's suit.
"Medics are on their way up... hurry."
Oliver nodded and started to put his suit over his leathers. Realizing that he couldn't exactly fit the vest under the shirt, he shrugged it off. "Don't suppose I can ask you to take this away?"
"It's fine," Bart replied, taking the vest from Oliver's hands. "I'll let everyone know what happened and tell them to keep their distance for now."
"Thanks Bart."
He ignored Oliver to walk towards Chloe, taking her hand up to his lips. "Stay strong 'licious... I'll be back."
Bart had said his words with a grin, hoping for a smile of any kind, but instead Chloe only nodded right before Bart sped away.
To be honest, Oliver had half-expected the continuation of their previous conversation, but any animosity she might have had was replaced by fear as her whole body began to tremble. "What do I tell them?"
"The truth... he tried to attack you, you were only trying to protect yourself. The rest they don't need to know."
"But the computers... the database..."
"They don't need to see this," Oliver replied, taking Chloe's hand to take her out of the room before aligning the bookcases again. "It isn't pertinent." He turned again to see that Chloe had walked back into the main area... as far away from Davis as her legs would take her, before sitting back down on the floor. Oliver knew the recovery process wouldn't be easy, but he sat in front of her, ensuring that she couldn't see the body, and looked her straight in the eyes. "Chloe, I'll be right here with you, and I'll be here as long as you need me."
Oliver only hoped that would be enough.
It wasn't long before they found themselves with company. Cops came through the door first, asking both of them what had happened, followed by medics reassuring Chloe and ensuring she was alright. Eventually, Emil came through the door and politely told everyone that he would take control of the situation for now.
The cops were easily convinced, as they seemed satisfied with the reports Oliver and Chloe told them, and they filed out. Davis being the Corn Field serial killer and all, they found no need to do any further work. It was almost a shame that the man would be defined by things that were beyond his control, but it wasn`t Doomsday attacked Chloe mere minutes ago, it was Davis.
Regardless, as everyone left, Oliver mouthed Thanks to him, knowing that right now, Chloe needed a familiar face, rather than incessant reminders.
Oliver watched as Emil talked with Chloe, keeping enough distance to give her reassurance that he wasn't eavesdropping, but he was genuinely worried about her. He saw Emil give her a single nod and a half-smile before turning to Oliver, and based on his expression, things didn't look too good, but that was no surprise. After all she had gone through to protect Davis, only to shoot him... it wasn't the ending anyone was looking for.
"She needs supervision, but she refuses to go to the hospital," Emil told Oliver. "I tried calling Lois on my way here, but she's not responding... neither is Clark."
"Got it... I'll do my best."
"She's fragile Oliver," Emil replied, seeing the agitation in Oliver's face the moment he said it.
Keeping his cool, Oliver took a deep breath, knowing that there was no point rationalizing or arguing with anyone right now, especially Emil, with Chloe nearby. "I know."
"Call me if anything happens."
Oliver nodded, and then watched as Emil left Isis, but not before taking one last look back at Chloe, who had grown quiet since she had to repeat the same story over and over again, embedding the memory further into her brain.
Offering her his hand, he said calmly, "Okay Chloe, let's get you out of here."
As Oliver walked her outside of the office, there were people coming back in to look over the crime scene, and Chloe almost felt sick as she remembered what had happened. The dried blood on her hands, the small tear on her jacket, all the reminders, the repeated words were continuing in her head.
She had enough.
At the entrance of the building, she stopped suddenly, as she almost became like a zombie just idly walking in the lobby. Chloe blinked a couple of times, and looked up at Oliver, whose concern hadn't wavered since she first spotted him.
"We'll stop by that coffee vendor you like on the way back okay? You probably could use a little caffeine right?"
He was trying, Chloe could give him that, but even if the vendor was up and running, she knew not even coffee could erase the stain of this memory, so she shook her head and continued towards the doorway.
All she had worked towards, all that she had sacrificed, gone... by her hand no less. Her marriage, down the drain, her ex-husband more than willing to skip town minutes after the ink dried on the divorce papers. She had told her best friend to forget about her... which apparently he had as the only person she hadn't seen since she split Davis was Clark... and Lois. But Chloe hoped she was off for a story.
She always figured after a dose of the Zatanna dust that she had found her purpose, but maybe she had it all wrong. She tried to save Davis, find the good inside of him so he could embrace it, and all it resulted in was a downpour of blood. The proof was the sight on the streets as they exited the building.
Cars overturned, smashed windows, and various people lying on the streets, medics scrambling to help them. Sounds weren't much better, as between the sirens and screams that filled the air, Chloe instantly plugged her ears, and tried to calm her breathing once more.
This was her fault too, the consequence of splitting man from beast.
She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling the tears coming back, but she soon felt the weight taken off her feet. Eyes sliding open, she took notice of Oliver carrying her in his arms while his eyes firmly found hers.
He sighed at her expression, knowing what thoughts would be roaming her mind. "Don't look at this Chloe... just relax."
Right after he said those words, Oliver wanted to roll his eyes. That was easy for him to say, but he knew Chloe felt guilt in what happened here. She had stopped cold the moment the door shut, eyes wide open in fear and remorse, and he had a feeling if there was anything other than coffee in her system, she might have lost it.
Emil was right, but she was much more fragile than both men thought, so Oliver knew he had to get her off the streets. He stared down at Chloe again, who had taken his advice and rested her head against his shoulder. He noticed the twitching of her eyebrows each time a scream broke out, so Oliver tried to hurry up to the clocktower. It was odd though, Oliver had done this walk a thousand times... but those few blocks were the longest in his life.
When he did finally reach the doors, he took one final look and shook his head. This was the consequence of the team not working together, of having trust issues, regardless of whether they were deserved or not.
After Chloe split Davis and everyone were knocked unconscious, they didn't have a lot of time to spare. If it wasn't for Bart's metabolism, everything would have been much worse. He recovered from the blow first, speeding away to pull the dart from Clark and bringing him to the facility.
It was then that Oliver faced his betrayal, but Clark, wanting to talk business as always, only asked Oliver if he should trust him now. He replied yes without any hesitation, hoping that together they could handle Doomsday.
Dinah volunteered to stay behind to detonate the explosives while Bart took Chloe and Davis back to Isis for protection. Oliver helped the people on the streets, while Clark took care of Doomsday. It wasn't the perfect strategy, but it seemed to work in the pinch.
It had been five, maybe ten minutes since Dinah confirmed the explosion, that Oliver was approaching Chloe's Isis office, but it had been enough time to pull the final trigger.
After the elevator gate to his penthouse opened, Oliver put a still-scared Chloe down on the couch, leaving her only momentarily to read the note left on the clock face.
I put away your gear... clothes for Chloe on your desk.
Thanks Bart, Oliver thought as he looked back at Chloe, who had brought her knees to her chest as she looked out the window.
Walking back towards the couch, he knelt down in front of her. "You're going to get through this Chloe," he said with optimism, only to watch her ignore him, shivering as the moment likely replayed in her mind.
Oliver hated to leave her eyesight in that moment, but he had to. Going down the hallway, he tracked down a blanket and promptly walked back. When he saw her still there, he sat down next to Chloe, draping the blanket over her body.
As he sat there, he half considered calling Clark to tell him about everything, but with Bart circulating around, he should have gotten the message by now. There couldn't be anything else wrong or else Oliver would have received notice from Bart, and that wasn't the case.
So Oliver cursed internally, wondering what could have been more important to Clark than the state of his best friend. She had sacrificed so much, dealt with Davis, killed Davis, all because she wanted to help Clark, and where was he now?
Of course that wasn't the only reason. Clark was also better at this, saying the right things to cheer someone up. Oliver knew he had screwed up too much to even have a hope of making her feel better, but right now, he was all Chloe had, so he had to try.
Oliver reached out, touching his hand delicately to her shoulder, wondering if she would pull away. She didn't, so he shuffled over, fully wrapping his arm around her now, allowing Chloe to rest her head against her chest. He knew words had little meaning right now, so he silently held her, praying that there was some way Chloe would find sleep tonight.
~0~
Upon sensing the sunlight on his eyes, Oliver blinked himself awake, only to find out he was alone on the couch. Frantically looking around, he realized that Chloe must have left, but by the state of the garment bag on his desk, she hadn't changed.
Within seconds, he was in the elevator, wondering what the heck she was doing. There was no reason she was supposed to be out right now. He was tempted to call Emil, as he wondered where she'd go, but the moment he saw the wreckage... he knew.
The streets had been cleaned up a little, and it killed Oliver to walk by the people screaming for help, but he couldn't abandon her right now.
This time, the blocks seen to fly by, and sure enough, inside the main area of Isis stood Chloe. The police tape was still intact, but the evidence of what happened still there. The gun, shells, and baseball bat were nowhere to be found, but the dried blood, the relative outline of where Davis lay remained, and it was all Chloe needed.
"We'll set up somewhere new," he said, surprising her. "You never have to go back here again,"
It was then that Chloe faced Oliver head on, and although there was no sign of tears, there was still a sense of terror in her eyes. Shutting them, she walked towards Oliver, leaning her head against his chest.
Patting her back, Oliver leaned his head down to rest on hers. "Come on, I'm going to get you something to eat."
~0~
He had been tempted to take her somewhere, but in the end, breakfast was served on the balcony, high above the trauma below. Based on the view, it was just any other day, and that was part of the reason Oliver decided against a restaurant. However, Oliver also had a feeling she wouldn't eat much, and sure enough within a couple of bites, she pushed her plate aside.
"You have to eat."
Chloe didn't respond, didn't even acknowledge his comment, just stared ahead at the skyline, blinking as the wind blew the hair from her face. Never had she looked so lost to him, in fact, Oliver had never seen Chloe look defeated like she did now.
He couldn't blame the look, the feeling, but he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. He had been in Chloe's shoes once, but the situation was very different. In fact, his initial solution had been to forget all about it, but that didn't work. Killing Lex ate away at his conscious because Oliver was supposed to be the good guy. The twisted thing was that Oliver didn't regret it. Lex was gone, he couldn't hurt anyone anymore, and that was a good thing, no matter the cost. It's what Oliver had to believe because no matter what he did, he couldn't change his past decisions.
That was the problem with Chloe, she had made some questionable calls, but she had the best intentions, she always did. That was why Chloe had been determined to remind Oliver of what he stood for, despite what he had done. It was that belief that kept Oliver from turning back to his old ways.
"Don't you have work?"
Oliver was almost surprised by her words, as they were the first he had heard in a really long time. Managing his signature grin, he hoped he could lighten the mood, even for a second. "Even billionaire CEO's can take a day off."
"Why do you care Ollie?"
So much for that theory, Oliver thought, pursing his lips as he deliberated an answer. The truth is that Oliver knew that he owed Chloe, but for now, he knew those were wasted words.
When Oliver hadn't responded, she added, "You don't have to do this, be so nice about it. There's no need to clean up my mess."
"A lot of this is my mess too." It may have seemed like a lie, as Oliver was distant in all this, but the distance was his own doing. As much as Chloe wanted to believe in him, she didn't trust him. So when Jimmy left and she was forced to hide Davis, she was convinced she was alone. There's no way of knowing what might have happened, but maybe things could have gone smoother if she had enlisted his help.
His response had surprised Chloe, and instead of a witty retort, she ate a couple more bites, pausing as she realized they had cooled down, but chewed and swallowed regardless. She couldn't remember the last time she had actually sat down and eaten an actual meal.
While she was out with Davis, Chloe survived on granola bars and coffee, as they spent much of their time driving, living with their heads over their shoulders. They were never supposed to be found, but they had, and everything went downhill from there.
She could no longer calm the beast, she separated man from beast, and then she was sloppy enough to reveal to Bart that she was just trying to protect Clark, the guys, and the world. Davis was supposed to be unconscious, but within seconds, Bart was knocked unconscious with the baseball bat that she kept in Isis, and terrified by the reaction, Chloe remembered stumbling back to the console, desperately hoping it was still there.
The gun wasn't hers, it was Lana's, as she was worried Lex's cronies would come after her at some point. Chloe never thought she would actually need it, but she pointed it at Davis, telling him to stop.
"So this was all a lie? A way to protect Clark?"
The answer was simple, but Chloe couldn't find words as her hands trembled as she held the gun in front of her.
"I loved you Chloe. I thought you loved me too."
The gun hadn't fazed him, he kept walking towards her. Chloe whispered Stop a couple more times, but Davis didn't listen, and the bat was still gripped in his hands.
He got too close for comfort, and she fired.
Bang.
"Chloe! Chloe, look at me."
Blinking a couple times to regain her surroundings, Chloe noticed Oliver shaking her shoulders. "Hey," she whispered, looking at him, hoping he'd stop. "Sorry about that."
He breathed a sigh of relief as he wrapped his arms around her. "You scared me, sidekick."
"What did I do exactly?"
"You just started whispering stop... I didn't know what else to do."
With her head resting on her shoulder, Chloe sighed. "He wouldn't... I told him to, but he kept coming." Squeezing him tighter, Chloe shook her head. "Why Ollie? Why didn't he stop?"
