Calling of the blood
Part 7: 21st Century Girl
Silence rolled across the battlefield like a wave, seeming to drown out even the ever-present sound of thunder from the storm.
Clark blinked, utterly taken by surprise at Chloe's entrance. Electricity seemed to flow across her body like a living entity, while the clothes she wore showed off more of her body than ever before. He suddenly became very aware of that fact that he was standing in the middle of a field with no clothes on. He was thankful when The Midnighter handed him a long leather jacket.
"So…" Chloe stood with her back to the others, eyes fixed on Leather and Greene as they pulled themselves to their feet. "We can do this the easy way, which means the two of you walk away and don't come back… Or we can do it the hard way, which means I get to vent all my pent-up anger on you."
"Is that so?" Leather's voice dripped sarcasm, "What makes you think you'll be able to hurt…" He stopped as his head jerked back, his eyes going wide with pain.
"Electricity is mine to do with as I please," Chloe smiled coyly. "There is enough electricity in this storm to light the entire state several times over, and if I wanted, I could direct it into your body in such a way that there would be nothing left. But I don't need to do that… the human brain runs on electricity, even one as twisted as yours. If I wanted to kill you, all I'd have to do is either remove it entirely or redirect it to the right part."
Greene got to his feet and tried to charge Chloe, only to be knocked off his feet by a right hook from Clark, who had used his hyper-speed to close the gap between them in the blink of an eye.
"Thank you," Chloe nodded with a smile. "But don't think you're getting out of it that easy, Farm Boy. We still have a lot to talk about."
"If she's anything like her mother, I'd be very, very worried," Snow smiled. "So, boys, what's it going to be?"
"We'll go," Leather nodded wearily. "But this isn't over, not by a long shot!"
"It's over when I say it's over!" Chloe's eyes glowed as she watched the two men walk away.
A flash of light enveloped them, and they were gone.
"Excellent." Snow smiled, pulling his cell phone from his pocket. "Drums, I need a trace on a teleport signal from my location. I want to know where Greene and Leather went."
"Clark, go home and get dressed. I'll be there in an hour." Chloe turned round, anger glowing in her eyes. "Mr Snow and I have something to discuss first…"
Clark was looking out of the barn window when he heard Chloe's car pull up outside. He looked down and saw that she'd changed back into her normal clothes and had pulled her hair back into a simple ponytail. She looked up at him and nodded, her face showing no emotion that Clark could read.
Clark started to pace back and forth anxiously as Chloe made her way into the barn and up the steps to the loft.
"Elijah is going to take care of everything at the hospital." Chloe stood at the top of the stair, leaning back against the railing. "I think he's a little bit scared of me at the moment. He said he was going to go to Metropolis and take care of a few details before we talk about what I'm going to do now."
"I don't understand." Clark looked at her blankly, "What is going on?"
"Meteor Freaks are the least of our worries, Clark. The world is a lot stranger than we ever thought. I'm not sure I want to be a part of it, but I've got this huge responsibility as the long-lost daughter of Jenny Sparks. I'm just not sure I'm up to it."
"You didn't do too bad last night…"
"That was pure adrenaline, plain and simple. But that's not why I came here… I need to know where we stand."
"I don't know." Clark sat on the old sofa in the middle of the loft. "I have… feelings for you… I always have… but I don't know what they are. I love you as a friend, but…"
"What happened in the Talon happened."
"Yes. I don't deny that I enjoyed it, but I was under the effect of the meteorite rock at the time…"
"Elijah told me what you are. He said to tell you he may know some people who might be able to shed some light on your past."
"You know what I am?"
"Yeah, and I must say it answered a few questions."
"You're not mad that I didn't tell you."
"I'm more disappointed that you didn't trust me, but I understand why. I haven't always been the best friend you could ask for. Does Pete know?"
"Yeah, he found out by accident, so I had to tell him everything."
"I guess that explains why you two are always going quiet when I enter the room…"
"I wanted to tell you Chloe, but I've always been scared of what might happen if anyone found out. Can you imagine what Lionel Luther would do if he knew the truth?"
"I have my suspicions, but I think he's going to have his hands full for the foreseeable future. Elijah's going to hand over some files to the FBI that implicate Lionel in the fire that killed his parents. They should be enough to put him away for a long time."
"You've got some powerful friends these days."
"They're not the friends I'm worried about." Chloe knelt down on the floor in front of Clark, "Ok, cards on the table: I love you. I've loved you from before I even knew what love was. Every time I'm about to do something I can't help but think 'what would Clark Kent think if he saw me?'. I don't care if you don't feel the same, but I'm not going to hide how I feel any longer. I just want to know one thing." She looked Clark straight in the eye, "How do you feel for me?"
Clark sat there for what felt like an eternity, unable to do anything but look into Chloe's sparkling green eyes.
"I…" He stopped, unable to find the words. He reached out with both hands and pulled Chloe close so he could kiss her.
To Be Continued…
