***Since I took so long getting Collera Rifatta out, I thought you'd like a sneak peek at the first chapter of the next story in the series. Hope you enjoy it. The title is still in the works but the first chapter is going to be called Flushing Out the Enemy. Let me know what you think so far.***

Standard disclaimer applies as always. I still only own Tyler.

"Dammit Ollie, will you quit that already?" Tyler was getting mad at his brother. For two hours now, they'd been at work stacking hay in the barn while Clark tossed the bales up from the bottom. It wouldn't have taken so long, but every so often the older Queen would grab a handful of hay and stuff it down his shirt. He didn't even want to think about all the places the small bits of hay currently resided in since they were already itching him.

He'd turned around to face his brother, determined to tackle him this time when a hand landed on his shoulder. Without thinking, he gripped that hand and dropped slightly, delivering an elbow strike to the person's midsection even as he tossed the person to the ground without letting them go. His fist was drawn back to strike when Clark wrapped his arms around him and pulled him up off of Chloe, who had stopped by to surprise them.

"Stop Tyler!" He held onto the younger Queen until he settled while looking over at Ollie. "She okay Ollie?"

Ollie had knelt beside Chloe as soon as Clark grabbed his brother. There hadn't been time for him to warn her and he knew that Tyler had been unaware that she was there. The little blonde had landed hard on her back, the breathe knocked out of her lungs and she appeared to be slightly stunned.

"Think she just got the wind knocked out of her." Looking up at his brother, who Clark was still keeping hold of just not as tightly. A soft groan from the petite form beside him drew his attention again before he could say anything. "Just concentrate on breating Chloe."

She nodded as she laid their, the warning Ollie had given them back at the penthouse to never startle Tyler having found new meaning in her mind. True, she had seen him work a few forms since he'd started getting back into shape, but other than the one day in the penthouse Tyler had never seemed that dangerous compared to his brother. Now, however, a new respect had formed in Chloe's mind for the younger blonde.

"Okay, so the next time someone warns me not to startle someone, think I'm really going to listen." Letting Ollie help her sit up, the pint-sized reporter faced Tyler. "Maybe I should have you teach me a few moves."

Tyler just stared at her for a few moments before jerking out of Clark's hold and making a run for the edge of the platform. The move startled them all enough that by the time they figured out he was going to jump, it was too late to stop him. With the practiced ease of someone that was used to acrobatics, Ty launched himself at the rope that was hanging from the rafters. The gloves he'd been wearing to stack the hay the only things that saved his hands as he slid down the rope and dropped the last 10 feet to the ground.

That was where his flight ended as Clark used his superspeed to get in front of him. "We're going to talk about what just happened Tyler."

"What just happened? I almost took out Chloe, Clark. That's what the hell just happened." Fear over having hurt the little blonde and anger that he'd let himself be startled like that colored his voice as he stood toe-to-toe with the brunette. "Now let me go." He tried to brush past the farmboy, but another hand on his shoulder stopped him. Again, his instincts took over, only this time, the fist that was thrown was caught by his brother. Anger flooded him as he launched an attack on Ollie.

Noticing what was going to happen, Clark went over to Chloe, holding his best friend close. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just a little sore." She watched the two brothers circle each other, one of them occassionally sending out a punch or kick, testing the other. "Someone's going to get hurt."

"I'll stop it before it gets too bad, but they need to do this."

Chloe frowned up at him. "They need to beat the shit out of each other? That doesn't make any sense Clark."

"They both have a lot of issues to work out Chlo. One of those is the fact that Oliver's been treating Tyler like someone he needs to protect. That's part of the reason Ty spent over a week out here with just mom before Thanksgiving. For Ollie to stop protecting Tyler, he needs to know that his little brother can take care of himself. This is probably the only way he's really going to understand that his little brother isn't a kid anymore."

Rolling her eyes, Chloe sighed. "This could get messy."