Chapter Ten
She waited at the corner of the bullpen until Lois got up from her desk and seemed like she was going to be away for a while before sneaking up to her computer and sitting down at the chair.
She blocked out the thoughts of her old days at the bullpen. Watchtower was her life now. It was all that mattered, and she had a job to do right now. She inserted a digital replicator in one of the USBs and waited for all of Lois' data from the Daily Planet to copy over to her drive.
Chloe ran a full system security check and a window popped up: spyware detected. So Tess was keeping an eye on her cousin. Interesting. She copied over the spyware to her own drive so that she could investigate it back at the Watchtower to see exactly what precautions were necessary.
Right as it finished, she heard a voice calling her name. "Chloe?"
She looked up. "Lo!" Okay, keep calm. Lois didn't know what she was up to. The excuse for lunch was still out there just waiting to be used.
Chloe shot up from Lois' chair, her hand wandering over to the USB drive in front of her, covering the drive she had plugged in.
"You know, when I asked if we could table our talk about you know who, I meant until I got home."
Table the talk? Right, this morning. It felt like so long ago.
"Actually, the only table I'm here for is the kind they serve lunch on." Chloe started with her excuse. "I was thinking that maybe we could celebrate you getting your job back." She fit the USB between two fingers and pulled it out slowly.
"I would love to", Lois said enthusiastically before pulling Chloe away from her desk. Chloe used the opportunity to hide the device in her hand underneath her jacket pocket. "But I'm kind of already on a job. Working for you know who."
What did Clark have her working on right now? Chloe hadn't heard about anything. Clark hadn't said anything to her. "The Blur?" She asked. "Doing what, exactly?"
"Hunting down a real life terminator!" Lois sounded incredibly excited about the work.
"Lois, that sounds dangerous!" Hunting down people was Chloe's job, though. Why hadn't Clark come to her? "Why is he not doing that himself?" She asked, more to herself.
"Sometimes, heroes can't do it all on their own, Chloe", Lois said, leaving her in an elevators. "That's why they have sidekicks. Rain-check on lunch", she pointed as the doors started to close on her.
Before Chloe could tell her to be careful, the doors shut. She just blinked a couple of times as the elevator went down, feeling replaced as the sidekick of the week.
***Flash***
"Let's just stick to the main plot, there, sidekick."
***End Flash***
She did the only thing that she could do now. Go back to the Watchtower. Before she did, she stopped by the flower shop and picked up a bouquet of yellow roses, setting them on the desk, in front of a picture frame of Jimmy at their wedding.
She never used to buy herself flowers, but she had hoped that it would help her feel better. It just made her feel more pathetic, especially when she remembered the speedster who used to just run in with flowers to make her smile.
She booted up the traffic cam software, and tried to see if the scanners had recognized the profiles of anybody else from her old team. Finding nothing, she sighed to herself.
This was the problem with tracking down people who used to have mistakes that she helped to correct. Bart used to get caught flashing in and out of places on traffic cameras, not because he was too slow, but because he kept bumping into people as he ran around.
Dinah was easily recognizable when she stuck with only one wig, so a year or so ago, Chloe gave her an assortment of different wigs for her birthday for when she ran around in civilian wear.
The two people in the team who were directly affected during Doomsday apart from the man who originally brought them all together, and they were nowhere to be found.
There was a super-speeding sound, and she almost expected to turn around and find Bart there. But Bart wasn't there.
"Chloe, Lois has been kidnapped. I need your help."
Was he kidding? Lois was kidnapped? He got Lois kidnapped. Good job, Clark.
"Tell me that this isn't because you let her chase down that sinister cyborg all by herself."
"I told her not to get involved."
Why didn't he know that just saying that alone would get Lois more involved? If Lois was the person that he was confiding in now, why didn't he know that? "Clark, what did you think she was going to do? This is Lois!"
He looked away from her for a second.
"You know, she was just referring to herself as the Blur's sidekick!"
"I should have never called her in the first place, but I can't let anything happen to her now."
She remembered checking her voicemail somewhere between the Daily Planet and Watchtower. She listened to a message from Emil about the guy Lois was trying to track down. He had a kryptonite heart. Clark was going to get anywhere close to him.
"Well, Dr. Emil told me about this guy, and he said that he has a Kryptonite heart. Okay? You're not going to get close enough to him to do anything about it."
"He gave me this." Clark pulled a device from his pocket. "This is an EMP grenade. It'll blast an electromagnetic pulse and stop any electronic device within fifty yards. I'm hoping that it'll stop him long enough for me to get Lois to safety."
"Yeah, well, will it work against meteor rock?"
"It's a chance I'm willing to take."
There was silence between the two of them. Chloe was trying her hardest to not care too much about Clark anymore. She knew one thing, though- if Lois died because of this, if she lost her cousin because Lois got involved with something that Clark was up against when he should have come to Chloe, she would never forgive him. Or herself.
"The guy's name is John Corbin and he works at the Daily Planet."
She walked over to another monitor, leaving the global traffic cameras on and scanning for the profiles of her old team on the other side of the room. Her eyes drifted to her desk as she walked, to where she had her gun stashed. If Clark didn't save Lois, she would shoot this Corbin guy between the eyes herself.
"I can't find him anywhere", Clark said as she got to the computer and started typing.
"Clark, I wish you had come to me with this. Lois doesn't have any experience dealing with these things." He could have stopped her before she broke into a Luthorcorp facility and stole a submarine. He could have found her in a million different ways.
Chloe wasn't the one who had turned off her tracker. She made sure that it was on at all times since the funeral.
"Things have been easier with Lois lately." Clark told her. "Talking to her just felt right."
Stinging words. But her computer beeped, and she stopped thinking about the pain when she saw the work in front of her. There was a video clip. She pressed play, and turned around as it projected on the screen on the other side.
John Corbin's face appeared, and he started talking. "Hey, you know, I thought it always sounded ridiculous when people say it, but, it's kind of like having a little piece of home."
Chloe wished that she had that sometimes. A little piece of home. She didn't even bring much with her when she was on the run with Davis.
"I saw the DVDs and the notes you sent me", Corbin continued. "Awesome." Corbin looked behind him before refocusing on the camera. "I miss you. Oh, and you better be practicing at foosball also, because I'm taking back my title as soon as I get back there, alright?" He turned around again before looking back at the camera. "Do me a favor. Be safe. And be careful in the city, okay? It's not like home. Alright? I love you. Bye."
The clip ended, and while a part of Chloe wanted to think about how nice that would feel, how good it would be to have a partner, she turned her back on the screen and the idea, and started typing.
It wasn't Corbin's wife. Chloe didn't know why, but that made her feel relieved. And like less of a failure.
"That's his sister", she said. "Rebecca Corbin." A file popped up from Metropolis PD, and she opened it, reading it quickly. "She was murdered in her apartment in Metropolis three months ago while he was overseas."
She accessed another file of recent activity in the apartment building. "Wait a minute", she skimmed the page. "He bought the building a few weeks ago."
She turned around. "Maybe that's where he took Lois."
"Thanks, Chloe." Clark made a motion to speed out of there, but she stopped him.
"Wait, Clark." She tried to summon up as much care as she could. To have things be the way that they were, even if it was for a second. "Be careful."
She remembered over the years, he would give a reassuring smile or say okay. His demeanor didn't change. He just sped out and left her alone.
It wasn't as if all worry and care for Clark had completely diminished, just that Lois was new to this world and that Chloe just got her back. She just got both of them back, and while Clark was constantly in danger and Chloe just woke up a couple of hours ago after having been drowned in the middle of an ocean, the two of them chose that life.
They knew what they were fighting for, who they were fighting for. Clark suited up in his trench coat, and Chloe strapped herself into that submarine knowing that there were risks. They knew what they were doing all of this for, who they were doing all of this for.
She didn't like that Lois had gone into everything blind. She was also afraid of Lois getting hurt the same way that she did, doing everything to help Clark just for him to leave again to finish his Kryptonian training. Chloe didn't want Lois to think that the Blur was all alone when she was around in the Watchtower, a very good database available at her fingertips.
A part of Chloe also didn't want Lois to idolize Clark, thinking that he was the only one out there doing good for the world with special abilities. There was a team of them, and Chloe would put money on the idea that Oliver's little group of friends was only the beginning of people just like AC and Bart all around the world.
Most of all, Chloe was tired. She had no idea how long she was unconscious, but it couldn't have been for very long, because she was still so exhausted. She thought of refocusing on her monitors and checking out the spyware that was on Lois' computer, but knowing that Lois was kidnapped meant that she wasn't at the Daily Planet right this second.
She could get a little bit of shut-eye. Ten minutes wouldn't hurt the rest of the world, it would be alright. She went upstairs, and without even taking off her shoes or coat, she landed herself on the bed, closed her eyes, and tried to fall asleep.
But it didn't work. She was beyond exhausted, but sleep just wasn't happening for her. She went downstairs, looked around the Watchtower and spotted the flowers. She grabbed them and stared at them as she climbed the stairs again.
These flowers didn't fit, for some reason, and she couldn't put her finger on it. She bought them to cheer herself up, to maybe bring a little bit of that cheer into the Watchtower.
She looked at the vase, and thought for one second that she could see something white hanging off the end of a flower.
She blinked, and a memory flashed before her eyes of a card. She remembered the handwriting in that memory, could recognize it anywhere.
Thanks for my first unsucky Valentine's Day Love, Jimmy xoxo...
Flowers covering the entirety of the Barn, her wedding.
No. This wasn't happening. She shifted the vase so that she was only holding it with one hand and in a split second, threw the floral arrangement against the wall, watching as the glass shattered upon contact, the flowers falling onto the floor, shards of glass falling on top of them.
She looked at what she had done, and wanted so badly to just start crying. To let all of the pain go, but she knew that it wasn't going to help. Crying didn't do anything to her except make her eyes puffy, her head spin with emotions, and render her useless to do any work.
She wanted to tell herself to forget about the work, to forget about Lois' computer, Watchtower and tracking down the rest of the team. To just take a couple of minutes to mourn and hope to feel better later.
But her phone started vibrating. She let out a curse and wanted to throw her phone at the wall too, but when she pulled it out of her pocket, she saw that it was Lois. Lois was family.
She cleared her throat a couple of times before pressing the accept button. "Lois, are you okay? Are you safe?"
"Chloe, I'm fine. I'm not exactly sure how, I mean, I was kidnapped and attacked, but I woke up on the floor, and there he was!"
"Who?" She asked innocently
"The Blur! There he was, just standing in the shadows. He saved me. And even when I was in trouble, even when I thought I wasn't going to make it, there he was. He was right in front of me."
"Of course he was", Chloe said with a slight tone of bitterness in her voice. "Did you see him?" She asked, not sure if she even wanted to know the answer.
"I couldn't make out his face. I asked him, but he just did his thing and pulled a disappearing act on me."
She let out a sigh of relief as she headed down the stairs. "Lois, I'm just glad you're okay. I'm coming home right now."
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Okay", Chloe answered. "I'll see you soon."
She ended the call as she made it to the end of the stairs when she saw Clark standing there, looking out of the window.
Well, this was a first. Clark didn't usually like to stick around and chat these days.
"Clark." She acknowledged.
"This view really puts things in perspective."
Puts what in perspective? Was this Clark trying to fix what seemed to be their dying friendship?
"Jimmy knew exactly what he was doing when he bought this place." He continued.
A part of her got very mad very quickly, just hearing that name from his mouth. After what he refused to do for her.
She wanted to kick him out right then and there, but she approached him cautiously instead, hoping that maybe he was bringing up Jimmy to make amends.
She looked out the window too. And for some reason, this felt okay. This felt a little bit like when she used to hang out at the Barn and talk to him.
She remembered when he first controlled his super-sneeze. He blow a puff of air out of the Barn, and what was a cloudy day ended up being sunshine with clear skies. She wished that he could clear up the clouds right now. But maybe it started with her offering a slight assistance.
She took a deep breath, hoping that she wouldn't be disappointed. "I really miss him", she admitted, looking straight ahead and not looking at Clark.
"I took the easy way out, Chloe."
With what?
"I should have been there when you needed me. I'm sorry", he said.
Yes. You should have. But even though she wanted to yell at him, to scream, the triple filter took over, and she tried to be understanding.
"Clark, there's nothing easy about burying everyone you love in your past." She said.
"I'm afraid I haven't even done a very good job of that."
So when she was yelling at him in the Barn earlier, a part of him was listening. She wasn't lying when she told him that it seemed like he was blocking out the world when it suited him. She was still mad at him. But a little bit of acceptance of the consequences was a step in the right direction.
He turned away from her. "I've been trying to fill the void by hanging around on rooftops, eavesdropping on people. People who are connecting, living. Thinking what's the point of protecting life if you've lost your sense on how to live it. Maybe I can't do this, Chloe. Maybe I can't completely stay away."
Chloe realized that this wasn't about the world at all. Yes, Clark was talking about not staying away from people who were connecting, but he meant a specific person.
The only reason that he was telling her all of this was because he couldn't talk to Lois about his feelings for her. Not yet, anyway.
"Stay away from her, you mean" she clarified.
He shot her a confused look.
"Lois means something to you, something more", she said, hiding the bitterness.
***Flash***
"News Flash: you've always been in love with Lana! It's like fate, Clark", Chloe told him. "Inevitable, but always surprising when it actually happens."
***End Flash***
"So does this mean that Clark Kent is coming back for an encore?" She asked him
"I don't know. But I can't let that life interfere with my training again."
But life had already interfered. All of that training, and he was still speeding in and out instead of flying out. Maybe he could fly, and she didn't know about it, there was no way for her to tell.
The real truth, though, was that she was disappointed in him. She never agreed with his decision to block everybody out, but she encouraged him to do it if that was what it took to make a difference.
Chloe had done the same, but it looked like lurking around the city in the silence was working for her. The two of them used to approach situations together. They brainstormed, figured things out, broke a couple of cyber laws to get the information that they needed, and saved the day. For the most part, they were on the same wavelength.
For what seemed like the first time, a method that worked for Chloe didn't work for Clark. Even if she was just following his lead.
There needed to be some excuse that she could come up with to verify Clark's seemingly emotional weaknesses in her head. She looked over at the drive at one of the computers.
Lois needed very close surveillance at the Daily Planet, and if Clark wanted to keep talking to her as the Blur, the closest thing to around the clock protection as well.
Besides, there was the chance that Clark might actually stick around if it was for Lois.
"Clark, lurking around building edges pining after the life you gave up isn't exactly amping your hero performance either."
***Flash***
"Clark's very lucky to have a friend like you. All that integrity." Lionel got up and started to walk away, but on his way out of the Torch, he stopped at where she was standing. "I wonder, though", he turned his head to the side to face her. "If he had to make a choice, would he sacrifice his dream? Out of loyalty to you?"
***End Flash***
She let out a small chuckle at the ridiculousness of what she was about to say. "You know, maybe I was naive to think that you could just turn a corner and never look back. But either way, Kal-el needs his human disguise now more than ever." She told him, starting to explain her excuse for him.
"Why do you say that?"
She walked past him to the desk where the drive was, feeling the emotions and past quickly being diluted by the necessary business talk. "I went to the Daily Planet to take a look at Lois' computer and found that Tess had loaded it up with serious spyware."
"You mean, she didn't hire Lois out of the goodness of her heart."
Of course not. It was just like she had said to Emil in that submarine. Luthorcorp is always up to something. That wasn't going to change.
"No, she wanted to find out where Lois has been the last three weeks. Now if she figures out"
"-that she was in the future? And brought back a kryptonian who says that I'll end the world..." he trailed off.
"Tess already knows way too much about you. We can't let her get to Lois' memories before you do." To Tess, Lois was just a memory containing vessel to be extracted. And in order to get there first, Chloe needed to be able to see her the same way.
"I'll see what I can do", he said before speeding away.
She almost ignored the absence, and turned back to her computers. She set him up with a project. Now it was time for her to get down to work on her own.