--10--
"Dude, I think they're moving her."
"What?" Oliver questioned Victor through the commlink. They had successfully infiltrated the building without alerting anyone--so they hoped.
"Her GPS signal is moving from the room."
"That doesn't make any sense," AC pointed out. "Why would they move her?"
"I don't know but she's not in the same room anymore. And just a moment ago one of the two heat signatures in there with her left."
"What?" Oliver asked.
"Well, where are they taking her?" Dinah interrupted.
"I--wait--I'm not sure they are. She's moving fast enough to be running now, and I don't think she's with anyone."
"What do you mean she's not with anyone?" Oliver demanded.
"I think she's making a break for it!" Victor said excitedly.
"That's the Mamacita I know!" Bart said happily.
"Arrow, she's headed for the south corridor. Head her off. We'll take care of any guards that will get in your way."
"Do you think she'll go with you?" Bart asked.
Everything in Oliver wanted to scream yes, but the truth was he wasn't sure.
"She will," Dinah answered calmly. "She trusts him."
Oliver would have liked to see the expression on Canary's face to attempt to understand what on earth made her so sure of that, but he didn't question it. "I'm heading toward her. Remember, we get in, we get Watchtower, we get out. This isn't reconnaissance or some kind of takedown. We don't know anywhere near enough about these guys to do anything but get her out."
"Hey, chill out amigo. We know," Bart said with a grin, taking out a guard before he even saw what was coming.
Chloe paused at the corner of the corridor. Her chest rose and fell heavily as she sucked in air greedily, her head was throbbing, and her heart was pounding within her chest as though it were trying to break free of her ribcage.
Great plan, Chloe, she thought to herself irritably as she bought herself time. Sure, you took down the stupid goons, but did you think about where you were or how on earth you were going to get out of this blasted...LABYRINTH?
She cursed under her breath as she braced herself to round the corner, where there would undoubtedly be more guards.
When she'd been left with only one guard in her room, she'd taken advantage of his confusion and kicked the gun out of his hand then rushed him before he saw any of it coming. Taking out the three outside her door had been far more difficult, but fortunately, she'd had the sense to take a weapon off her first captor. Those three had been quickly followed by the one who'd gone to get her water, whom she'd also made quick work of, but it had taken more out of her than she cared to admit. She wasn't sure she could handle anymore.
Oh shut up, you pansy, she ordered herself. Think like Lois. What would she do about now? Probably quote the General, complain about not having worn appropriate underwear for being kidnapped in, and then kick some ass and take some names.
"Right," she said under her breath. "Skipping to the last part now."
She rushed the corner, prepared to take out whomever she ran into.
...except him.
Oliver almost couldn't contain his relief when she collided with him. Chloe nearly screamed in surprise.
He grabbed her shoulders. "Relax it's--"
But she'd flung her arms around him, embracing him like she hadn't seen another human in years. "Oh thank God. Oliver!"
Oliver started. "You remem--"
She shook her head. "No. Figured it out."
"Hey, you got her?" Vic asked on the transmitter, clearly having seen their signals collide with each other.
"Yeah, she's with me."
"That's what I like to hear," Bart rejoiced.
"Let's get the hell out of here," AC responded.
"You got it," Oliver said. He looked down at Chloe, who had her face buried in his chest.
"When I get out of here, I'm making a leather pillow case to sleep on at night," she laughed exhaustedly.
Oliver chuckled. "All right, Sidekick, we're going."
It had been brutal, and twice Chloe had thought they were screwed. Clark had shown up toward the end, finally able to shake Lois to come and help them.
And once again our heroes have foiled the villains, Chloe thought sardonically. When I get my memory back, I'm getting a life that's less cliche...or maybe more cliche...I'm not really sure which it is anymore.
She shook her head wearily. Oliver was half carrying her through the door of the Watchtower.
Right. Oliver. The Green Arrow. And Bart, and Victor, and AC, and Dinah, and of course Clark.
"Ow!"
Oliver looked at her in concern. "What?"
"Headache," she muttered, reaching a hand up to rub her temple. "I've been having these random sharp pangs."
The team eyed her warily.
"She needs to go to the hospital, Oliver," Dinah said quietly.
His head snapped in her direction.
"The doctor said no shocks. I'm pretty sure this entire day constitutes as a shock."
"I'll take her," Clark said, stepping forward. "And then I have to get back to Mexico before Lois misses me."
Before Oliver could protest, Clark had disappeared with Chloe in his arms, leaving nothing but a gust of wind in his wake.
"I'll go find out what story he's going to feed them," Bart said suddenly before vanishing as well.
"DO THEY ALWAYS HAVE TO DO THAT?" Oliver yelled in frustration as papers were knocked to the ground by the second gust of wind.
Dinah just rolled her eyes and turned her head to the ceiling. "Go get your bike, Green Bean, and check up on her. The rest of us will detox and take care of a couple of battle wounds."
Oliver noticed for the first time that Victor was nursing a lump on his head, and AC's arm was bleeding. Dinah turned away from Oliver and went to check on AC's arm while Victor got himself some ice.
"Are you guys--"
"We're fine, Ollie," Dinah said sharply as she took a rag and pressed it to AC's arm. AC's face turned red as he watched her. "Go take care of Chloe."
Oliver nodded and went to grab street clothes before he left.
At the hospital, Chloe's headache was getting worse. The doctor's had given her a sedative, which was supposed to start taking effect soon, but for the moment her mind was reeling as images flashed before her, a muddied pool of memories fighting their way to the forefront of he mind.
With a groan, she dropped her head back on the pillow. The doctors had said her concussion had healed--abnormally well and abnormally quickly--but they found her sudden return of all high school memories unusual, and they thought perhaps that was all she was going to get. They suspected that either the rest of the brain cells had been too damaged to retrieve the rest, or else she was repressing things. Chloe had overheard one of them ask Clark if she'd gone through anything traumatic in the last couple of years.
Clark hadn't responded.
She wasn't going to let it happen. She was going to get it all back if it killed her.
She struggled with her consciousness, determined to remember who she really was. Running into Green Arrow at the castle...it had triggered something. She could tell. It was the same feeling she'd gotten the other night when he'd come to find her, but she was struggling to grasp what as the visions swam tauntingly before her.
. . . . .
"Isn't this the part where you swoop in and save me?"
. . . . .
"Do you want that more than you want Clark?"
. . . . .
"Do I tell you how to shoot your arrows? I don't think so."
. . . . .
"I can't stand by and watch you marry the wrong man."
. . . . .
"Marrying you was the worst mistake of my life."
. . . . .
"Something about me calms the beast in him."
. . . . .
"Speaking as Davis's next victim, I can tell you, your plan was seriously flawed."
. . . . .
"This is good. You're embracing your Kryptonian heritage. There's really nothing human about you anymore."
. . . . .
"You saved me, Chloe, both the myth and the man."
. . . . .
Chloe's eyes drifted shut in exhaustion as the sedative bogged her senses.
Oliver, however, was wide-awake. Bart informed him the story Clark had told the doctors was that Chloe was mugged, which explained the bruises (though unfortunately not the marks on her wrists from the rope), and that the shock had sent her into panic.
Oliver shook his head at the ceiling when Bart told him what the doctor's had said about the unusual circumstances of Chloe's healing and selective memories.
Was it possible that her quick recovery had something to do with her former meteor ability? Maybe, but maybe healing too quickly was a bad thing. Maybe--
He shook himself. There was nothing he could do about it and he shouldn't dwell on the possibility.
Everyone else was optimistic. Why couldn't he be? He should at least try for her sake if nothing else.
Oliver shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at the wall. "Go ahead home, Bart. I'll stay with her."
Bart looked at Oliver with a hint of worry. "Hey, the docs all said she was fine. She just got shook up. They were surprised she hadn't mentioned any headaches before this." He patted Oliver on the shoulder. "Don't worry so much. It makes you look like a wimp."
Oliver moved to swat Bart in the back of the head, but before he could, Bart was gone.
He chuckled tiredly and turned to head into Chloe's room. Wearily he looked down at the sleeping woman's form. Oliver didn't pray much, but at that moment he was about ready to drop to his knees if it would help.
God, we both know I'm more of a 'do something about it' than an 'ask God for it' kind of guy, but right now, I could use some help. So if You have a spare moment any time soon, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.
He pulled a small object out of his pocket and examined it. He was surprised that Chloe had kept it. He'd discovered it when he went to chase down Dinah at the Talon after Chloe was abducted. It was just sitting there on Chloe's nightstand amongst a bit of clutter: a mug with some dried coffee in the bottom, a necklace, an old corsage, her alarm clock...
With a small smile he set it down on the table next to her bed and he went to sit in the chair next to the window.
A nurse poked her head in. "Sir? I'm really sorry but you can't--"
"I can stay if I want. I've paid for at least a third of this hospital by now," he said calmly, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.
The nurse nervously flitted away, presumably to ask a superior for instructions on whether or not to leave him be.
Oliver realized as he began to fall asleep that maybe he couldn't be sure if Chloe would ever get all of her memory back, but he knew one thing: he wasn't giving up on her. She'd pieced together enough now that he could tell her almost every memory they were supposed to have together. And then they could work on some new ones until she trusted him and thought of him as a friend again.