Chapter Four
Shared grief brought a passion to the kiss that neither one had expected and yet neither shied away from it.
He wrapped his arms around her back tightly and buried his face against her shoulder and let go of the pain; the heart-wrenching sobs shook his whole body. She pulled him closer and let her tears fall as she lowered her head onto his shoulder.
"I want to come home to you, Chloe."
He helped her to her feet and after checking that there was still water in it she replaced the flowers in the stone ground vase with the new ones she had brought. Kal walked to the trash can at the edge of the lawn with the old flowers and allowed her the time she wanted to be alone at Jimmy's grave. He hadn't meant to listen but it was not a whisper that came from her lips as she touched the top of the headstone, "Thank you, Jimmy, for keeping an eye on him."
They were both silent as they walked slowly to her car and she handed him the keys. He'd driven carefully and slowly through the streets of Metropolis until he found her apartment. She didn't even question how he knew where she lived without her mentioning the address. It did not take him long to find a parking spot. Before getting out of the car he scanned the entire block; he didn't want to risk being seen. He then opened her car door and helped her out. He held her hand tightly as they walked towards her building and he used her keys to unlock the front door. He scanned the lobby and looked through the door marked 'STAIRS' and seemed to be following the steps to her floor with his special vision. She started to reach for the button to call the elevator down when he smiled down at her and said, "Let's use the stairs."
"Kal, I live close to the top floor, the 22nd floor to be exact…that's quite a climb…" she protested mildly.
"I'll carry you…I want to show you something, okay? Don't be afraid…"
"I don't recall ever being afraid of you…" she answered quickly as she followed without further protest.
Once inside the stairwell, he lifted her up into his arms, "Put your arms around my neck and hold on tight…"
"Oh, my God, Kal…you can…" They passed the sign for the fifth floor before she could finish the astonished sentence, "…fly."
He smiled down into the beautiful sparkling eyes of the Chloe he had always loved; not a trace of sadness on her face as she laughed with sheer joy and clung more tightly to him as she dared to look down. She finally looked back up into his face, "When? How? How high can you…? How fast? Whoa! I can't believe it…"
He slowed down and just floated for a few moments around the 15th floor because he needed to absorb the happiness that spilled from her. He lowered his face to hers and kissed her. She kissed him back gently, a kiss filled with the happiness that she wanted to share. He reluctantly ended the kiss and smiled at her, "The day I left you. It happened by accident…oh, I think this is our stop…"
He set her back down on her feet on the landing of the 22nd floor and followed her as she led the way down the long hallway to her apartment. She took her keys back from him and unlocked the door. "Welcome to my humble little home," she invited him in.
He looked around the living room as she set her purse and coat down on a chair and pointed towards the couch, "Make yourself at home, I'll get some coffee started, okay?"
He smiled and waited until she came back with two over-sized mugs filled with steaming coffee before he sat down on the couch next to her. They both took a sip before facing each other, Chloe the first one to speak, "I want to know more about the flying…I still can't believe it…That was amazing, Kal."
He was overwhelmed at how good it felt to be close to her again. "When I ran away from you…when I abandoned you that day… No, it's okay, Chloe; it's what I did; I can't deny it. I'm not proud of it. I just couldn't stay. By the time I got downstairs from the Watchtower, I was filled with a dangerous rage and I just ran. I ran so fast I couldn't stop and almost crashed into a truck at the end of an alley. To avoid the truck, I jumped! Chloe, I was so angry, I literally crashed into the air at such a speed I was probably ten thousand feet in the sky before I knew what was happening. The sound of an airplane engine heading towards Metropolis brought me to a sudden stop and I started falling. At some point before I fell too far, I realized I knew how to fly…it was actually second nature. I'd done it before years ago, when I wasn't exactly myself. I headed straight for the Fortress so fast I caused a sonic boom or two on the way. I spent the next month there with Jor-El."
"You finally started your training?"
"Yes…" he replied, strangely humbled by the pride in her voice when she'd asked the question. She had always admired what he was and had so often wanted him to embrace it and now seemed happy that he appeared to actually be starting this long-delayed journey.
He stood up and paced for a few moments in front of the coffee table and then realized he felt more comfortable sitting close to her and immediately sat down again. "I didn't know where else to go to deal with the helplessness and guilt and to calm the rage. There was so much wrong with me. There still is, Chloe. I haven't learned enough; it's incredible the knowledge contained in those crystals at the Fortress. But I just got a glimpse of that vast library because I first needed to know more about my purpose here. I wanted to learn how to make better decisions and not so many costly-deadly mistakes. I came back much too soon but I didn't have a choice; I had to follow Jor-El's instructions."
"When do you have to leave again?" her voice was calm, but he could hear her heart racing in fear.
"I don't know; it might not be for quite a long time," he answered honestly. "Tell me what's been happening to you, Chloe? Honestly, please don't hold anything back. Why did you sell the Watchtower?"
"I locked myself in that tower for days. I didn't eat or sleep. I just cried. And felt sorry for myself. I felt alone, and like you said, abandoned. Oliver rescued me; actually, he broke the door down because I wouldn't open it nor answer any of his phone calls. He hired a crew who spent about 24 hours straight cleaning everything up. The place looked like new and he arranged to have some of my furniture from the Talon apartment moved there." She stopped for a moment and took her turn pacing in front of the coffee table.
She continued in a calm voice as she paced back and forth, "After that what shocked me the most was I didn't feel Jimmy anywhere in it anymore. All I felt was pain and all I saw was blood, even though there wasn't a single drop left in the place. I finally visited his grave and thought about everything and had the conversation we never had while he was alive. Jimmy always suspected that he didn't own my whole heart because so much of it belonged to you. Almost all of our arguments were about you and how I was always there for you and defended everything you did."
He interrupted, "I'm sorry, Chloe…"
"Don't be; you had no control over how much I loved you; how much I fought it and tried to make it work with Jimmy. Even though I had sworn to never betray your secret, I know you never meant it to hurt my life and you would have understood if I'd told Jimmy to save our relationship. I couldn't do it though; losing your trust meant more than losing him. But that last day, after you told him the truth and he so willingly told me he now understood everything I'd done and lost…I thought the love I did have for him could be enough. I don't know if it would have been had he lived. I think he deserved so much more than I could have given him. I had to be honest or I would never have been able to leave that tower. I stayed by his grave for a long time that day and poured out all my regrets and asked him to forgive me."
She stopped pacing and Kal-El stood up, lifted her into his arms and sat back down on the couch with her in his lap, letting her cry out the last of her tears. He knew he was a month late but he knew she needed him today as much as she'd needed him the day he'd turned his back on her. He swore to himself, he'd never abandon her again.
After a while when he'd felt the heartbeat he'd been unconsciously listening to, slow down to an even rhythm he was sure she was sleeping and kept very still so as not to wake her. He was surprised when a few minutes later she continued softly talking into his chest, "I had to sell the Watchtower apartment…as much as it represented Jimmy's kindness, it was nevertheless a worse reminder of the deaths that occurred there: Davis, Jimmy and Clark. A few days after Oliver had it cleaned I contacted a realtor and put it on the market. It sold so fast I'm almost sure Oliver had something to do with it. I never asked him because he'd probably just lie about it and, anyway, I was much too grateful for his help to stop him. Especially since I knew he held me responsible for almost getting him and Jimmy killed by hiding Davis. We eventually did talk about that. We agreed that all our intentions had been for a positive outcome and none of us could have solved that danger alone. We should all have worked together. We promised each other that if we should ever be unlucky enough to face such an enemy again; there would be no more individual heroics without help from the team."
She stopped for a moment, sitting up and trying to remove herself from his lap, but Kal-El just pulled her closer, "Let me just hold you," he whispered quickly.
She didn't argue and slowly continued her story. "He called me a few days after I signed the lease on this apartment and told me the Justice League was secretly re-organizing and he wanted me back working with the team. It kept me busy. In the beginning…everyone had a tough time being around me; I cried every time someone mentioned Jimmy or Clark. One morning I just burst out and told them Clark Kent was dead and there was only Kal-El left and he might never come back. Since then they only refer to you as Kal or Boyscout when talking about you can't be avoided. Oliver also refers to you as the Lone Wolf."
"That's pretty much everything. The team has been trying to help me find Lois. Guess we'll have to tell them they can quit that search. Why did you…why did Jor-El instruct you to stop your training too soon?"
The question came so unexpectedly it took him a moment to answer, "Zod is back."
"We know," she replied immediately.
They both raised their heads and their eyes locked as Kal-El asked, "How do you know?"
"A Queen Industries satellite picked up his calling card burnt into Tess' front yard at the Luthor mansion. Not knowing where you were, I called the Senator. She's the one who told me you probably started your training. Well, actually she only hinted at it by saying she thought you'd gone on a journey up north. I went to the Farm and snuck into the barn to try to find that octagonal key to go to the Fortress and bring you back, but everything in the barn had been cleaned out."
"I had to find a new hiding place for everything after Tess used one of her meteor-infected people to pose as you and find out everything she could about me and try to get me to kill Davis. Tess stole and destroyed the crystal that had the power to open the portal to the Phantom Zone. She didn't want me to have any easy way out. For some reason she thought it her duty to force me to face what she believed was my destiny. According to Jor-El, she's the one who released Zod. It's why he stopped the training and told me to come back," he responded in way of another apology for not being there when she needed him.
"The Senator also told me she sold the farm. Are you okay with that?" she asked in a slightly worried voice.
"Yes," he answered very calmly. "It was long past time to let that go. Clark's life had been in Metropolis and hiring extra help all the time because he wasn't there often enough kept it from making any kind of profit. And I believe it was a constant reminder to Martha of the husband she had lost."
"I was worried, you know?" She looked searchingly into his eyes for a long while, not revealing how unusual it sounded for him to say "Martha" and "husband" instead of "mom" and "dad" and refer to himself in the third person, because she believed she understood his need for detachment. Finally, she continued. "Anyway, I was left with no choice but to explain everything that the team didn't already know about Krypton's worst criminal and the real cause behind Dark Thursday. So, in addition to searching for Lois, we've been using all our resources to finding Zod. We didn't know Tess was responsible for releasing him; but we have suspected that she's working with him. Unless he came back to use the still-missing Lex as a vessel again, there was no other reason to burn his symbol into her front yard."
"Since Queen Industries and Luthorcorp are still partners, Oliver has been so extra careful with all his dealings with Tess. He didn't want to reveal in any way what we suspect and he's trying to stay within her radar to find out whatever plans she's cooking up with her new illusive friend and yet not get close enough to get burned or caught. It's been a rough couple of months in the hero business."
He studied her face as though committing it to memory before he spoke again, "I leased a warehouse. Following Jor-El's instructions, I have been preparing to face Zod. Would you like to see it?"
"Yes," she smiled at him.
"I'm trying to avoid letting Zod discover that I'm back. The 'hero business' as you call it has had to be very discreet since I've been back. I'm using the warehouse to stock supplies and as a place to hide out if and when necessary. I've created a tunnel to get to it unseen."
She quickly stood up and invited, "Let's go! I have a couple of over-sized hooded sweat-shirts we could wear and we can take the subway. That's how I get to and from JL headquarters back-tracking and taking different routes as much as possible. Oliver has us all brushing up on evasive spy-school tactics. If it weren't so serious, I could say that's actually been a fun experience learning how to be aware of everything going on around you at all times."
She opened the coat closet by her front door and Kal-El saw that she had quite a few more than a 'couple' of hooded sweatshirts of all sizes, colors and styles. "Secret disguises?" he asked.
"Oliver found you by searching the entire globe using every satellite he owned or could get access to, some of which he had to hack into, and running some very sophisticated facial and body recognition programs through them. He figures he's not the only one who can get his hands on such technology and just wants us to make it a little harder to be followed to and from HQ. I didn't want to be too boring by wearing the same stuff every day."
He grinned at the smile on her face as she indicated he should pick one, "You're amazing, Chloe."
She actually blushed with happiness. Pleasant memories of previous joint clandestine investigations filled her mind. It only took a few minutes to choose the shirts and take the elevator downstairs. They exited the building through the underground garage, Chloe explaining it was closer to the nearest subway. With his arm around her shoulders they slowly walked the three blocks to the subway entrance leading no-one to think they were not more than a happy young couple out for a stroll. No passer-by would guess they were aware of everyone around them, even scanning cars that seemed to slow down for no reason. It had become second nature to both of them.
On the subway they felt lucky to find a car with no-one else in it and sat close together talking, happily for once, about their high school days, remembering the pressures of 'Torch' deadlines that helped make a caffeine addict out of Chloe.
They had to walk several blocks after getting out of the subway into a small park heavily filled with huge trees. At the thickest section of trees, Kal-El pulled her down to the ground. They sat quietly for several minutes as he scanned the surrounding area and when he knew it was safe he reached under the thick weeds and punched some numbers into a hidden keypad. Chloe barely heard a lock release and then watched as he lifted a heavy door only high enough for them to slide down into the opening. While she tried to adjust to the darkness sitting on the cold dirt ground she heard him close and secure the door.
"Right in front of where you're sitting are some makeshift steps; just sort of scoot down on them…here, give me your hands; I'll help you." Almost two dozen steps later he showed her that she could stand up. "A few more steps and we'll reach a light switch, okay?"
And as promised they reached the light switch, "Close your eyes then open them slowly; the bulbs are bare and quite bright…okay, you can open your eyes."
"Whoa, Kal, this is…how long?" she asked amazed.
"A little more than a mile. This entrance is the furthest from the warehouse; I made two others closer. Would you like to take a motorcycle to the warehouse or want me to take you along for the faster than a speeding bullet ride?"
She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Guess…"
He lifted her closer and in seconds they were at the other end, where another heavy door was locked above their heads. "You have been quite busy, haven't you, Kal?"
He only nodded as he quickly lifted open the door and still holding her in his arms flew her the short distance up to the warehouse floor. He gave her the detailed tour, first flying her to the ceiling and showing her the space he had built on the roof before letting her go again once he touched back down on the floor.
She didn't say a word until she saw the office, "My God, you've got some fancy computer set-up here. Can I check it out?"
"Nothing's on-line yet. That will be the very last step and only if necessary," he explained.
She looked into some open wooden crates, "What are those contraptions?"
"Weapons. Earth-made materials with a lot of Kryptonian technology and a protective defense system against them."
"You should let us help you…" she offered.
He was silent for a very long time. "I'm not sure it would be safe to risk all your lives…" he started to defend his strategy.
"You can't do this alone, Kal-El; and neither can we. It's not just your home, it's ours too. It belongs to all of us. We have a right, a duty to protect it with everything in all our powers. You can't take that away from us. It is not just you who will suffer if Zod succeeds; it's all of us. We must defend ourselves. Zod is not alone; he has Tess and all the power her money brings behind him. If we work together we'll be much stronger." She hadn't screamed it at him as she had wanted to; she spoke only in a slow rational voice.
He put his hands in his pockets and stared at her for endless minutes. She had not said it wasn't his battle or that it wasn't his home. She included him. As if he were one of them. He suddenly knew that if he stayed with her, one day he would think of this planet as his home without adding 'second' or 'adopted' and not feel as if he didn't belong.
"Do you think Oliver would allow me back? Would the rest of the team?" The doubtful look in his eyes did much to tell her that he seriously doubted any of them would welcome him.
Without dampening his hopes, she answered, "No time like the present to find out, right? Can I use my cell phone down here?"
"Yes."
"Don't worry; our communications are all coded." She punched a speed dial number and then typed in some letters and before hitting send, she showed him what she'd written.
"LW&IrE" He read it out loud and then asked, "What does it say?"
"Lone Wolf and I request entry," she informed him and laughed at his smile, "I didn't say it was a complicated code.".
---To be continued ---
