"It's a trap!" Chloe cried just as an unseen door slammed down from the ceiling, sealing Clark, Davis, and herself in the kryptonite-filled room. The deadly rock seemed to be embedded everywhere in the room, filling the space with its alien green glow. Clark fell to the the ground, screaming in agony, evil-looking green veins running through his skin.
"Victor! Get us out of here now!" she yelled into the earpiece.
The only reply she got back was static.
"Shit! Help me with him, Davis!" she cried, as she dropped down next to Clark. "We have to get him out of here!"
"I'll get him," Davis said, and easily threw the big man over his shoulder into a fireman's carry. "Where to?" he asked, holding the groaning Clark secure.
"We can't go back. Lex would have made sure everything sealed behind us, but Clark won't be able to take this for much longer."
As if on cue, Clark's struggles suddenly stopped and Davis felt him go limp. He had passed out.
"Oh no..." Chloe said, fear making her eyes big.
"Ahead it is then," Davis said with finality, moving through the room. "Keep your eyes open, there might be more traps."
Just then an-evil looking gas started hissing into the room.
"Run!" they both cried, bolting for the door visible at the far side of the room.
Gas poured down on them, making both Davis and Chloe cough and their eyes burn. Some instinct told Davis they weren't going to make it to the other side of the room before they were overcome. While he could expect to survive as his body adjusted to overcome the new threat, - Chloe and Clark wouldn't. It was clear this was a trap that was not intended to leave survivors.
When he heard Chloe stumble and fall behind him, Davis knew what he had to do.
He knew the risk, especially this close to Doomsday, but if Chloe or Clark - Superman - died, that would be the greatest evil he could imagine.
He couldn't let that happen. Even if he doomed his soul for breaking his vow - even if it woke The Beast - he had to do it.
Davis began to channel from the great wellspring of power he had kept hidden away for so long.
Strength flooded into him, making him stronger, faster, tougher. It was incredible. It was intoxicating...but it came at a price.
Deep inside the earth below, Davis felt the eyes of the sleeping monster open and focus on him with laser-point accuracy. The ground gave a slight tremor as the creature shifted deep inside its earthy prison. Doomsday now knew he was here.
With a conscious effort, Davis pushed his awareness of the monster to the back of his mind. He had to get them all out of here and sever his connection to the linking power ASAP if any of them were going to get out of this alive. He reached back and scooped Chloe up in his free arm.
She weighed almost nothing. He had forgotten that detail. She was normally so full of life and vigor, that he hadn't remembered just how small a package she really was. Though with the force of his Kryptonian power racing through him, even Clark's bulk over his shoulder seemed almost insignificant.
Davis moved into superspeed. As he approached the huge reinforced door at the far end of the room, he turned so his shoulder crashed through, tearing a huge hole in the thick steel while shielding his companions. Once on the other side, Davis carefully laid Chloe and Clark down before turning back to the door. He carefully bent the shredded pieces of metal back to close off the other room as best as he could. The seal should be enough to block off the effects of the meteor rock, but not the gas that was still seeping through. Scanning the room quickly, Davis saw he appeared to be in some sort of lab. Large rolls of plastic sheeting lined the the walls and draped over metal tables full of equipment. Davis moved to one wall, and stripped off the plastic covering. Going back to the busted door, he covered it over with the plastic, blocking out the rest of the gas from the other room.
Once the room was sealed off, Davis let the power drain away. As it did, he knew Doomsday would lose focus on him, but the damage had already been done. The monster knew he was here. And close.
He could only pray that The Beast wouldn't be able to do anything about it just yet.
When he heard coughing behind him, Davis spun to see Chloe starting to rouse.
Rushing to her side, he leaned over her and gently pushed strands of silky blonde hair away from her face. "Chloe! Chloe, are you ok?" he asked her, concern making his voice sound rough.
"I'm fine," she replied in a scratchy voice, putting her hand over his in an unconsciously reassuring gesture.
Davis froze. Excluding the punch in Watchtower, it was the first time he had felt her touch in years. Even as innocent as the gesture was, it sent a wave of heat through him. He thought he felt a slight tremble go through her. Did she feel it too? He caught her eyes with his own, letting her see the fire in his gaze. Fire for her. She didn't pull away for a long moment, seemingly mesmerized, and Davis' heart began to pound.
The moment was suddenly shattered as Clark groaned loudly next to them.
"Clark!" Chloe cried, her voice a mixture of relief and surprise as she turned towards Clark, breaking their tenuous contact. Davis tried to suppress his sudden wave of irritation at the other man, reminding himself the other guy had almost died in extreme agony a few moments ago.
"Chloe?" Clark said dazedly. "What happened?" He sat up, cradling his forehead in his hands. "The Kryptonite -"
"Davis got us out," Chloe answered. Her eyes shot over to him then back to Clark. "He saved us both."
Clark's eyes were quickly clearing, and he sat up, giving Davis a steady look. "Thank you," he said, simply and with genuine sincerity.
"Oh God," Chloe said, turning back to Davis, her eyes wide with realization. "Are you OK, Davis? The Kryptonite - the gas - and your vow not to use your powers - "
"I'm alright, Chloe. It appears my Kryptonite immunity remains intact, and once I pulled on my powers, I recovered from the gas. And as for my vow - " He tried for a careless shrug. "What is the use of redeeming myself if it means I had to let Superman die?"
He didn't say the words aloud, but his eyes told her the truth. What is the use of redeeming myself if it means I let YOU die?
Chloe cleared her throat and stood up, ignoring the penetrating look Clark was giving them. "Alright, so where are we now, anyway?" she asked of no one in particular.
Clark and Davis got up and looked around the room. In his cursory inspection, Davis had noticed the metal lab tables covered in equipment, but hadn't looked much beyond that. Now he moved closer to examine what was on the nearest table. It looked like some sort of distillation setup with a number of colored liquids in vials. He read the labels on the colored vials aloud, "Red...Blue...Gold...Green..." He turned away from the labels to look at the others in confusion. "Uh, isn't this labeling system kind of obvious?"
"Let me see..." Clark said, approaching the table.
As he got close, the green vial that was helpfully labeled "Green" began to glow.
"Ah! That's refined Kryptonite!" Clark cried, backing away from the table again. As he moved away, the green glow faded.
Davis had a frightening thought tickle the back of his mind. "Kryptonite? But, it's...Does that mean...?" He turned back to look at the colored vials then back to look at the recovering Clark. Chloe's face had gone cold and hard. Davis saw the answer in her expression, but he had to hear the words aloud to be sure. "There are other kinds of Kryptonite besides green?"
"Yes," Chloe replied, her voice hard. "And it looks like Lex has been refining them."
Clark was still doubled over, his voice sounding harsh after his double Kryptonite exposure of the last few minutes, but his words held urgency. "And if he is doing it here - where he knows there is another Kryptonian being is trapped - "
Chloe's face reflected horror as she picked up Clark's thinking. "Lex wants to use the monster as a guinea pig to test out the effects of the different kinds of Kryptonite. Oh God, Clark! He is going to dose Doomsday with Red-K!"
