Calling of the blood
Part 4: Runaway
The Sheriff's office had already cordoned off the hospital ward by the time Pete arrived the next morning. He hung back in the shadows, keeping out of everyone's way in the hope of hearing what had happened.
"This isn't good. Chloe's totally unprepared for what's happened." Snow's voice came around the corner from where Pete was hiding. "I can keep the local authorities from asking too many questions, but if she has another outburst in public…"
"It'll be too much to hide." Another man with a New York accent agreed. "The others are out looking for her now and Drums is keeping an eye out for anything that comes across the radio or net."
"I should never have called Jeroen back from guard duty."
"You had no way of knowing this was going to happen. I worked with Jenny for four years and she never once said anything about having a family."
"Yes, but I knew, you see? I knew she had a daughter here, but I did nothing. I should have done something when she died…"
"You still hadn't gotten all your memories back. You didn't know Chloe existed and Jenny chose not to tell you for her own reasons, whatever they may have been."
"That may be, but it doesn't make me feel any better."
"Yeah, well. You've got to go tell Gabe Sullivan that his daughter has manifested meta-human powers and was so freaked out by it that she's run away."
"You can be a right bastard at time, Hawksmoor."
"I try my best…"
The two men walked off, leaving Pete with his thoughts.
Chloe ran through the woods, trying to put as much distance between herself and Smallville Medical Center as she could. Her clothes were soaked with the rain that was falling constantly and it mixed with the tears that were falling from her eyes, making it almost impossible for her to see properly.
She tripped on a tree root and fell, banging her head as she landed.
"Clark!" Pete ran into the Kent's barn, looking for his friend, "Where are you man?"
"I'm up here." Clark called down from his 'Fortress of Solitude' up by the window. "What's going on?"
"Something's wrong with Chloe, man…. something big." Pete took the stairs two at a time. "Something happened at the hospital and she took off. No one knows where she is."
"Wow, hold on a second! Who told you this?"
"No one. I heard that old guy with the white hair talking to someone named Hawksmoor. He said something about 'meta-human powers', whatever the hell that means."
"Chloe sounded upset about something when I talked to her yesterday. She said it wasn't something she could talk about openly. There's something no one is telling us…"
"Yeah, there is." Gabe Sullivan appeared in the middle of the barn, "I guess its time you two knew the truth about Chloe…"
"She's not at the High School," Jakita reported in over the radio. "I'm moving towards the Talon."
"OK." The Drummer looked up at the electronic map of Smallville on his computer screen. "Jack is checking out the industrial estate, while the others are moving out to check the farmland."
"Who do we have on standby in case the Four show up before we're ready?"
"Apollo and Jeroen. Midnighter went to find that Kent kid who was hanging around outside Chloe's room yesterday. Elijah thinks he may know where she would hide."
"Is that such a good idea?"
"Probably not."
"You going to sleep all day?"
Chloe opened her eyes to find herself laying on a grassy meadow under a clear blue sky. It was unlike anywhere she had ever seen, but she felt somehow at home.
"Good. I was beginning to get a little worried."
"What?" Chloe looked round, then saw the woman sitting on a nearby boulder. "Momma?"
"Yeah, it's me." Jenny Sparks smiled. "It's good to see you again, Chloe."
"Momma!" Chloe ran over to the other woman and wrapped her arms around her. "I missed you."
"I missed you too." Jenny hugged her daughter. "I'm sorry I had to go away."
Clark stood outside the barn, trying to stop his head from spinning. If even half of what Gabe Sullivan was true, then Chloe could be in a lot of danger. He could hardly recall Jennifer Sullivan, as she had left when he was still young. The revelation that she was some secret-agent turned superhero was enough to turn his world upside down, but he was comforted by the idea that he wasn't the only person with powers.
"Hey, kid." The blond security guard from the hospital pulled up on a motorcycle. "You know where Chloe is?"
"Sorry, I don't." Clark shook his head. "I was just about to go looking for her."
"Mind if I tag along?"
"Thanks, but no thanks. I know the area and I'll cover more ground alone."
"Look, kid." The man grabbed Clarks arm as he went to pass, his grip surprisingly strong. "This is way out of your league."
"Let go of me." Clark's eyes narrowed.
"What you going to do?" the man asked. "Run to your mommy?"
"No, this!" Clark flipped the man over, but to his surprise the guard landed on his feet, un-phased.
"So you want to play it like that, huh?" The guard flexed his muscles, "Been a while since I got a decent workout…"
"Hope you don't mind if I smoke?" Jenny lit a cigarette as she sat next to her daughter. "Being dead doesn't seem to affect the nicotine craving at all."
"Dead?" Chloe looked round. "Is this…"
"Heaven?" Jenny laughed as she blew a smoke ring. "No, this is what a friend of mine calls the Garden of Ancestral Memory: the accumulated knowledge of the entire human race can be found here."
"Then what are you?"
"I'm the part of me that lives on in you. When I died, doing something I still believe was immensely stupid, most of me was passed on to the Spirit of the 21st Century, but one small part was passed on to you. You probably remember feeling a little funny New Years Eve 1999."
"Yeah… I thought that was just the Champagne Dad gave me!"
"That sounds like the Gabriel Sullivan I fell in love with."
Clark felt his jaw snap back as the stranger landed another blow. Whoever the guy was, he wasn't a regular human. His strength and speed were staggering and he was able to shrug off some of Clark's blows with no apparent effect.
"I haven't got time for this!" Clark hit the man as hard as he dared in the middle of his chest, sending his opponent flying across the farmyard and into a tree. The man landed with a thud and lay on the ground, dazed but still awake. "We'll finish this later…" Clark promised as he took off at hyper speed.
"Now that's something you don't see everyday." Shen landed softly, folding her wings up behind her back. "I think Apollo's going to want a crack at him for that."
"No need." Midnighter stood, stretching his arms and legs. "Nothing that a good night's sleep won't cure."
"Yes, but did you plant the homing beacon Angie gave you?"
"The day I can't slip a pin-head sized transmitter into the pocket of some flannel-loving Kansas farm-boy without him noticing is the day I hang up my knuckledusters for good."
To Be Continued…
