When Chloe pulled up a link on her computer that Oliver had provided Clark, she could scarcely believe her eyes. An intense cage-match was being live-streamed with two buttons on either side that said 'Live' and 'Die'. "Clark, can you believe this? A krypto fight club on the internet? How come nobody else knows about this?"
"According to Oliver, getting the link and the password costs more than most people make in a year," Clark answered.
"People really pay that much for something like this?" Emmeline asked in disbelief.
All three of them watched the screen in horror as two men, both very tall and muscled, viciously fought each other. The taller of the two mercilessly beat the other man with the blond hair over and over again. To their shock, the blond lifted up his hand and expelled some kind of power from it. However, the other man just batted his hand away and grabbed him by the hair.
"Yeah, fight fans!" an announcer on the video said. "The choice is yours! Live or die? Vote now!"
The two buttons on either side of the screen pressed up and down until the red 'Die' button stayed down. The man holding the blond let a sharp blade form from his armband and then plunged it into the other man's back.
Emmeline put her hand to her mouth in disbelief.
"Clark, he just killed that guy," Chloe swallowed.
Clark kept his eyes on the screen as it zoomed in on the victor's face. "Chloe, I need you to trace the link back to the source."
Chloe anxiously typed some commands on her keyboard. "I'm trying, but they're bouncing it off about a billion different proxy servers. I mean, whoever's running this operation made sure that no one would be able to find him. Didn't Oliver and your super pals give you anything else?"
"It was a short conversation, Chloe. They're kind of busy lately."
Emmeline knew that was the truth. All of her and Oliver's recent conversations lasted about two minutes, if that. She had decided not to tell Clark and Chloe about her meetup with Oliver in a couple days, mostly because she was afraid they would try to talk her out of it. Considering how on-the-fence she already felt, she knew they would succeed.
"All he said was he thought the location was somewhere nearby."
"The security on this stream is off the charts. I mean, I can't record it, I can't download it. I can't…"
A man wearing sunglasses and a cowboy hat jumped into the caged ring. "Hey, hey, fight fans! Your winner and still undisputed champion, the one, the only, Titan!"
The man held up the winner's hand, and they could see a tattoo between his bicep and tricep.
"Freeze that frame," Clark said quickly.
Chloe paused the feed.
"What is that?"
She zoomed in on the marking. "Is that Kryptonian?"
"It's a prison tattoo. Chloe, Titan isn't meteor-infected. He's from the Phantom Zone."
"You okay?" Chloe asked. "You've been fidgeting like crazy all day."
Emmeline couldn't tell her that she was meeting with Oliver Queen early in the morning by going to an airstrip and hoping that whoever was flying the plane wouldn't take her somewhere other than his location. "I guess it's just kind of scary to think that someone like that Titan guy is out there and will kill all those people with no remorse."
Chloe printed out a picture from the feed last night of Titan's tattoo. "Well, hopefully, we can put a stop to it."
Clark suddenly zoomed into the room, making Chloe's coffee spill onto the newly printed picture.
"Clark!" she exclaimed. "Slow down. I don't have enough money to hire a full-time maid to clean up every time you decide to blow in." She crumpled up the picture, threw it and the coffee cup away, and grabbed a dishtowel to wipe up the mess.
Clark scanned her computer. "What did you find?"
"The URL and the password that Oliver gave you are both null and void which means that the fight-club promoters must be rotating them in order to maximize security and profit."
"You have nothing?"
"Don't bite my head off. You know I always have something up my sleeve. I'm starting to think that super-sleuthing might be my latent krypto power." She smiled up at him, but Clark clearly wasn't in the mood for jokes. "Okay." She pulled up a profile of the blond man from last night. "So it turns out that our Billy Idol look-alike is actually a meteor-infected Belle Reve resident. Now, this is the weird thing. After he was killed in that cage, he was returned back to his padded cell. The orderlies found his body this morning."
"So if we find who got him in and out of the hospital, he'll lead us straight to the fight club. And to Titan."
"Already on it. See? Your sidekick isn't completely useless."
"I'm sorry I snapped, Chloe. I'm just worried that Titan might be a bigger threat than I thought. Your friend down at Metropolis precinct helped me find these." He set his backpack on the table and pulled out several files. "It's Titan's victims. They were all found between a crater outside of Omaha, where I think he landed, and Metropolis."
"He left the same wound on all the bodies, and…and they're all fighters."
"I know why. The tattoo on Titan's arm. From what I could tell, it said he was a warrior, enhanced for combat. Ever since he's been here, he's been looking for a fight."
"And what better challenge for a brawl-loving Zoner than a rumble at a krypto fight club?"
The door opened and Lois walked in which made Clark quickly take back all the files. "Hey. Can you believe this? I couldn't find proof of the Chupacabra in the Everglades, so now my editor wants to downsize me. If I don't come up with an article in the next 48 hours, I can say adios to my weekly paycheck." She looked over at Emmeline who was situated against the counter. "So I guess you guys are on good terms again. Congratulations." Her eyes scanned the profile of the Belle Reve patient on Chloe's computer. "Is that a story?"
Chloe quickly shut her computer. "No."
"Okay, look, normally I would be hands-off, but this puppy needs a bone. Please, cuz. I'll owe you big-time."
"There's no story for the Inquisitor here, Lois. It's just a dead end."
"I'm sure after a shower and a cappuccino, you'll come up with something in no time," Clark said as he quickly slung his bag over his shoulder and left the apartment.
"Clark's right," Chloe said hastily. "We'll give you some room."
None of them saw Lois take the coffee-stained picture out of the trash can and figure out the location of the fight club.
Chloe handed Clark a gray file. "So, I think I found our Vince McMahon wannabe, and he has total access to an endless supply of meteor freaks. Meet Richter Maddox, Executive Administrator at Belle Reve."
Clark looked at the Belle Reve profile of the announcer they'd seen last night calm and demure in regular glasses in his picture. "How's this guy keeping Titan locked up in Belle Reve?"
"Actually, our jolly mean giant isn't in the Belle Reve yearbook. He must be freelancing."
"So Maddox isn't just pulling fighters from the hospital, he's using outside talent? If I can talk my way into that ring, I'll find Titan." He quickly began making his way to the stairs.
"Clark, these bouts are televised live. You can't risk showing people your abilities."
"I don't have a choice, Chloe."
Chloe firmly stepped in front of him. "Clark, he can kill you."
"Not if I kill him first."
Emmeline's brow furrowed in concern. It would've been one thing if he was conflicted about it, but he sounded like he was looking forward to it.
But as worried as she was, she knew she couldn't talk him out of it. And she was expected elsewhere.
Emmeline considered herself a morning person because she didn't like to waste a day sleeping in, but having to be at an airstrip in the middle of nowhere (even for Smallville) at six in the morning was too much even for her. She just hoped that she wouldn't be too exhausted for her training in a few hours.
The jet was small but very exquisite, and she envied Oliver for being able to own a plane that could take him literally anywhere at a moment's notice. While she flew to who-knows-where, she ate some protein snacks to keep her energy up and also hopefully keep her awake. The last thing she wanted when she met Oliver was for him to think that she wasn't going to take this seriously. Despite her flaws, she never did things halfway.
After what felt like an eternity, the plane began to descend and finally landed again in the middle of nowhere.
Someone in a black hoodie stood at the edge of the airstrip. There wasn't a car or any other mode of transportation nearby, so if he was a kidnapper, he was a pretty terrible one.
Emmeline hesitantly approached the person because what else could she do? When the hooded person looked up, her nerves eased and she let out a light laugh. "Hey, Bart."
"'Sup, Emma?"
"'Emma'? No one's ever called me that before."
"Exactly. I like being original."
"I take it Oliver told you what we were doing?"
"Of course. Teammates don't keep secrets from each other."
Emmeline felt a tiny stab of guilt that she hadn't told Chloe and Clark about this but decided that they weren't really 'teammates' per se and weren't in immediate danger like Oliver and the other guys.
"He thought it would be better if someone you knew came and got you."
"It's weird seeing you in a color other than red. Where are we anyway?"
Bart gave her a suave smile. "It's probably better you don't know."
"Right."
He turned around and held his arms back. "Okay, hop on."
Emmeline's face reddened. "What?"
"Well, how else did you think I'd get you to the meeting place?"
"Uh…"
"Relax, it's not so bad to travel this way."
With no other choice, Emmeline hopped up onto Bart's back and secured her legs around his waist, hoped he couldn't see her blushing face.
"Okay, all comfortable?" he asked.
"Not really."
"Well, luckily, you won't be like this for long. Hang on tight."
Before she could protest, Bart zipped off so fast that Emmeline nearly fell off his back. She clung onto his neck as the world around her blurred and flashed by them at lightspeed. She quickly clamped her eyes shut to avoid throwing up all over him.
After less than a minute, which felt to her like a thousand years, Bart suddenly stopped. Emmeline fell from his back and her legs gave out beneath her. As she tried to catch her breath, she put her hand to her mouth to stop any of her breakfast and snacks from coming back out.
"We'll have to work on your motion sickness," a familiar voice said, "since that won't be the last time you travel that way." Oliver knelt down in front of her and handed her a bottle of water. "Here."
With a slightly shaking hand, Emmeline took the water from him and drank slow sips of it. She decided to ignore that comment about having to travel like that again because if she even imagined what she'd just experienced, she might vomit.
In a few minutes, her nausea had mostly subsided and she was able to stand up again.
Bart had left, and Emmeline tried not to be offended that he hadn't apologized for making her feel sick. She supposed that it was just going to be another part of her training.
Now that she could see straight, Emmeline looked around where he had brought her. It was a shambled room on the top floor of an abandoned building, but there was plenty of space for practicing. Oliver had set up three targets on the far side of the room. A few feet away from her was a black line of tape on the ground along with several green-tipped arrows and a plain black bow.
"Let's get one thing straight right away," Oliver said firmly. "You are not to question any of my methods. If you resist any of it, all of this stops immediately and you won't hear from me again."
Emmeline had only ever seen Oliver charming and cordial so it was a little disconcerting to see him so serious. But she reminded herself that he was also the Green Arrow, who was stoic and imposing and not at all charming or cordial, and she quickly agreed with him.
"All right. Step over here."
She moved to stand directly behind the black line.
"Are you right- or left-handed?"
"Right."
"Okay." He handed her a black armband. "Put this on your left forearm."
Emmeline slid the band onto her arm and adjusted the Velcro straps until it was secure.
Oliver then picked up the bow and handed it to her. "Hold this part in your left hand. Now pick up an arrow and nock it onto the bowstring, meaning put the end of the arrow onto the that marking in the center."
Emmeline noticed a small black dot on the bowstring, and she was unable to tell if Oliver had done that or if it was already part of the string. Aside from that marking, the bowstring was completely empty, no finger-rests or anything. That seemed a little advanced, but she had promised not to question him.
"Stand sideways to the target with your feet shoulder-width apart. Using your first three fingers, pull the string back, and try to use your back and shoulder muscles instead of your arms so you don't wear yourself out. The corner of your mouth is going to be your anchor point. You should always pull back the string to that place. When you release the string, let your fingers go to the back of your cheek."
Her head spinning a little at the amount of information, Emmeline followed his instructions and released the loaded bowstring. The arrow sailed across the room and hit the very edge of the center target.
"Good. Now shoot 400 of those."
Emmeline's head whipped towards him. "What?! But—"
Oliver held up a hand. "Are you questioning me already?"
The young woman reluctantly shut her mouth before Oliver kicked her out of the room after shooting only one single arrow. Or worse, made Bart take her back to the airstrip.
"200 with your right hand, 200 with your left."
Looking at him pointedly, she loaded the bow again and shot an arrow into the target. "One."
Oliver smirked and left the room.
Panting and covered in a glistening sheen of sweat that had mostly drenched her clothes, Emmeline's trembling hands loaded up another arrow into the bow.
"T-Three hundred n-ninety-eight."
She released the arrow and it hit the right target to join the others she had previously shot. It had been a vicious cycle of shooting twenty arrows, retrieving them from the targets (and/or the floor for the more poorly aimed shots), and then shooting them again.
She loaded up yet another arrow.
"Three h-hundred ninety-nine."
The arrow sailed from the bow and missed all three targets.
Why on earth would Oliver start her off with 400 arrows after about thirty seconds of instruction? Shouldn't he have stayed to give her some pointers?
Gritting her teeth, she loaded up the final arrow. Her arms shook with effort as she lifted the bow and used all of her remaining energy to pull back the string. "F-Four h-hundred." She released the arrow, and it hit the left target a few inches from the center.
With a soft cry, Emmeline let the bow fall from her hands and she sank down to her knees. She looked at her trembling fingers which were torn, bleeding, and blistered. The bowstring had since become tinted red with her blood, and she could see pieces of her skin still hanging onto it. Both of her arms were covered in dark bruises from all the times the bowstring had missed the armband and snapped onto her skin when she released it. Muscles she hadn't even known she had flamed in her arms, back, and shoulders, and she wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to stand back up again.
Oliver slowly knelt down in front of her. She hadn't even heard him return. "I didn't think you'd be able to do it," he quietly admitted.
Emmeline looked up at him, and a tear rolled down her cheek that she was physically unable to wipe away. She was far too exhausted to be embarrassed by it or worry what Oliver thought about her crying.
He gently took her hands in his and began to clean the wounds which made her wince. "Every time I meet with you, I'm risking the safety of you, me, and my teammates. I didn't want to jeopardize them or our mission if you were going to just quit the second it got difficult. But now I can see that you're really serious about this."
Emmeline closed her eyes as she allowed him to clean off her bloody hands and wrap medical tape around each of her fingers. Even with Oliver holding them, she could barely keep them from shaking.
Oliver had been nothing but curt and brusque since the moment she'd called him asking if he would teach her. But sitting here feeling his extremely gentle touch as he fixed her damaged hands and hearing him softly explain why he'd made her do this reminded her of the other side of him: the Oliver Queen side. And to be honest, it was comforting to know he would still show that side of himself to her.
"Allow these to heal, and we'll meet again and start working on some actual techniques so you don't shred your fingers every time. I'm not gonna lie though, this won't be the last time you walk away with injured hands."
Emmeline nodded.
"You're not saying anything. Are you super ticked at me?"
She let out a rough laugh and shook her head. "No."
"Good. Because this also won't be the last time I push you past your limits."
"I wouldn't want anything less. I am really hungry though. I don't suppose there's food around here, is there?"
Oliver smiled and stood up to retrieve a plain white takeout bag with a hamburger and fries. "I figured you'd need something to eat."
She gratefully took the bag and opened it up which hurt her injuries, but she was so hungry that she didn't care. "This doesn't tell me anything about where I am. Which is probably exactly why you chose it."
"Smart girl." He put a new burner phone into her bag. "I'll give you a new one every time we meet."
"Okay. How am I getting back home?"
"Well, I don't think you want to travel with Bart after all this, and he won't want to right after you've eaten anyway, so I have a car waiting for you outside."
"Are you gonna blindfold me?"
"Not necessary. The windows are tinted."
Emmeline laughed again. "It almost feels like you're kidnapping me."
"Anyone who kidnaps you would certainly end up regretting it quickly. Even if you didn't have all of us as backup, I'm positive that Clark would leave no prisoners."
"Uh, Clark…doesn't know about this. No one does."
Oliver nodded. "My confidence in you rises, but I trust him and Chloe. You can tell them if you want."
Emmeline shook her head. "Not yet. I need this to just…stay between us for a little while."
"All right, you won't get any complaints from me. You okay now?"
She rose to her feet despite every single muscle in her body protesting the action. "I'll survive."
"Go home, take a hot bath, and get some rest. I'll call you again in a couple weeks and set up another meeting."
"I really do appreciate you helping me out, Oliver."
"Well, let's just hope I don't end up regretting agreeing to it."
Emmeline climbed the stairs up to the loft. It seemed like such a long time since she'd done this which saddened her as it reminded her that things were changing now that they weren't in high school anymore. She leaned against the railing as Clark sat on the couch. "How'd things go with Titan?" she asked. "I'm assuming okay because you're still alive which is a relief."
Clark turned to look at her. "It…definitely didn't go the way I expected."
"When does it ever?"
"Yeah, well, this time, it was because of Lois."
"…What?"
"Remember how she was desperate for a story? She snooped and somehow got wind of the fight club. So there I am, ready to bust up Titan, and guess who they make me fight first?"
Emmeline leaned her head back. "You're kidding."
"No." A ghost of a smile appeared on his face. "It was kind of funny though when she punched my stomach to try to make the fight look real."
"Did she break her hand?"
"If she punched any harder, she probably would've."
"You're terrible."
Clark's tiny smile faded. "When I walked into that club…I was out for blood. I just wanted to hit something, anything, and a Phantom Zone prisoner seemed like the best option. It made me wonder if I'm any different from Titan."
Emmeline sighed a little and walked over to sit next to him. "Sometimes I forget how hard being so different must be for you. I mean, when we feel mad, we can just punch a pillow or break something. But if you try to do that to get all of your anger out, you might send shards of something over to Asia." She swallowed a little and added, "I haven't…asked how you've been holding up since the wedding."
Mainly because a large part of her didn't want to know the answer.
"I don't know how I'm holding up. I don't know how I'm feeling. I don't understand anything and it makes me want to just burn a hole in the wall and then some. The day of the wedding…Lana told me that she wasn't marrying Lex and that she would meet me here instead. I waited, but she never showed. So I show up at the chapel…and there she is, marrying Lex. I don't understand what happened."
Emmeline's eyes widened slightly. When she'd talked to Lana about her doubts about the wedding, Lana had confessed that the only thing holding her back was Clark's secret and that knowing what it was might change everything.
If she had been ready to call off the wedding and meet with Clark…then did that mean she knew his secret? Should she tell Clark that? But what if Lana didn't really know? What if that's why she had gone ahead and married Lex that day?
Clark's eyes widened in alarm and he quickly took Emmeline's hands in his. "What happened to your hands?" he exclaimed.
"Nothing, don't worry about it," she answered calmly, blushing the tiniest bit at his touch.
Clark's brow furrowed. Since when did Emmeline keep secrets from him?
He wasn't going to lie, it hurt to know that there was something she felt she couldn't tell him, but at the same time, who was he to talk? She had allowed him to share his secret with her on his own terms, so he supposed that he had to show her the same decency.
"Are you okay?"
Emmeline smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine."
And with that smile, he knew he had nothing to worry about. However she'd injured herself, he knew that she was all right and that he could trust her to tell him if something was really wrong.
His best friend looked at him earnestly as she rubbed her thumb over his. "Look at yourself right now. Do you think Titan would be asking someone how she hurt herself? Do you think he would make sure that that she was okay? Do you think he would've saved me all the times you have? You're not like him at all. And don't ever think that you are."
