The Last Job You'll Ever Have Chapter 19, a smallville fanfic

A/N: This was a crappy place to leave it I know and there is more. Two maybe three Chapters at least. The next chapter should be up pretty soon, I just wanted to do one final edit, probably tomorrow so, enjoy!

It took two months to get all the information they needed and a few tweaks to the plan. Some of them were minor, like the time frame and some of them were major, like substituting Chloe in place of Bart, a change that Oliver was not pleased with.

"You really don't have to do this." Oliver said.

"Do you not want me to do this or do you not think I can do this?" Chloe asked grabbing her jacket off the back of her chair. He didn't say anything and she rolled her eyes and walked over to the table.

"Ok." Victor turned to Chloe. "We're going over this one more time."

"I understood the plan the first five times we went over it." Chloe assured him.

"Humor me." Victor shot her a look. "You're going in there blind and alone and…" He looked up at Oliver. "Are we sure we want her to do this?"

"I'm the only one that can do this. I start here." Chloe pointed to the edge of the canyon.

The thing that Bart had noticed was every ten miles or so along the top of the canyon there was a rope that extended over the opening from one side to the other, attached to poles that were driven deep into the ground. He did some research and found out they were used to pass things from one side to the other before bridges were built. Just their luck, there happened to be a supply line running right above the front of the building.

"So I'm going to pull myself along the rope until I get over the compound." Chloe said.

"The old, decaying, rotten rope." Oliver said.

"It's sturdy." Chloe said. "We tested it." That's what caused the substitution from Bart to Chloe. When they tested the weight that they were comfortable with the rope holding, it became obvious that it wasn't going to hold Bart's weight, but it would hold Chloe's.

"Yeah ok, but it's not like you're pulling yourself across a set of monkey bars." Oliver reminded her. "It's six hundred feet to the roof."

"I can make it." Chloe assured him.

"We'll let you know when you get over the roof." Victor said.

"Yeah so I'm still not comfortable with the whole her not being able to see." Oliver said.

Their first night doing recon they noticed that you couldn't see a single thing out there. The compound had lights outside but it didn't spread very far. "We'll be watching her progress with the night vision goggles." AC reminded him.

"And why can't she use the night vision goggles?"

"Because all the other stuff you're adding to my weight, I don't need anything else throwing off my balance." Chloe told him.

"Once you're over the roof, you'll drop."

"Six Thousand feet." Oliver mumbled.

"Hopefully six thousand feet." Victor said. "That's the stretch we've estimated from the bungee cords."

"And if we achieve six thousand feet with the cord, the last drop will be less than twenty feet right?" Chloe asked and Victor nodded.

"Sure, Twenty feet's nothing after six thousand." Oliver sighed.

"Twenty feet is the farthest I've jumped without breaking a bone." Chloe explained for what felt like the millionth time.

"We estimated eighteen feet from the rope to the roof but we're pretty sure it's less than that." Victor said.

"I love when we go into a plan with "pretty sure"." Oliver snapped.

"Actually." Chloe turned her head to glare at him. "You do love that. When it's you." She turned back to Victor. "So you'll be on the com's the whole time right?"

"We'll be on the ledge watching with the night vision goggles, I'll let you know when you're over the roof." Victor said for Oliver's benefit and not really Chloe's. "Then it's up to you." Chloe nodded. "If our information is accurate, as soon as you hit the roof, the connections going to go dead, you're communicator won't work, you're wrist monitor will be a giant useless bracelet and if you've got a digital watch, it's gonna fry."

"Explain this to me again?" AC asked.

"Supposedly Lex managed to create a shield."

"Force field." Bart butted in.

"Ok, a force field around the compound, it's basically a constant EMP signal that fries anything electrical that goes through it." Victor said. "Ok, I'm starting to have second thoughts about this myself." Victor turned to Chloe. "This is ridiculous."

"You want to go in gun's blazing?" Chloe asked. "Announce our presence with a bang and let them destroy everything before we can even get to it?"

"No." Oliver sighed.

"Right then, let's get going." Chloe said.

"Wait, now?" Oliver asked.

"That was the plan." Chloe groaned. This whole thing was starting to bother her.

"This plan is full of what ifs." Oliver said. "I just…I don't know if I want to go through with it anymore."

"We can't just back out now." Chloe said. "We've been over it a hundred times."

"Then we'll go over it a hundred more." Oliver screamed.

"I'm doing this Oliver, you're just going to have to deal with that." Chloe said.

"Ok, so your saying that I'm not supposed to be worried about the fact that you're going to pull yourself along a very old, possibly unstable and rotten rope six hundred feet out and then drop yourself onto a roof that's over six thousand feet down. Oh yeah and you'll be doing it all in the dark, and not like big city dark, like out in the jungle dark where the stars don't even give off a hint of light so you can't even see whether you're over the roof, or over a thousand foot drop to a river that white water rafters don't even attempt to go in, and then scale the side of the building, break into the compound, whose security don't even have an inkling about and we have, as of yet, failed to come up with a plan to get you out of there." He screamed.

Victor, AC, and Bart backed away from the table slowly. "She's gonna blow." Bart whispered.

"This is not gonna be good." Victor said and elbowed AC. "Grab the goggles, get them out of throwing range."

AC picked up the night vision goggles quickly and backed away. "Ten bucks on Chloe."

"Please." Bart scoffed. "No bet."

Chloe turned around annoyed and glared at the three of them and then back at Oliver. "Bedroom." She grabbed his arm. "Now." She stomped off pulling him with her. The door slammed behind her and they guys all looked at each other before running to the door and sticking their ears up to it.

"First of all, that out there, was out of line." Chloe screamed. "There is no scenario where it's ok to yell at me like that in front of them. You spout out all this bullshit about how this is a partnership and we're in this together and then you try and pull rank on me like that. It's degrading and it undermines me."

"At this moment." Oliver yelled. "That matters very little to me."

"Oh, thank you for that." She snapped.

"This plan is ridiculous even for us Chloe." Oliver said. "I don't like it."

"I trust you." Oliver said. "I know what you're capable of, and that's not how I see you at all." He told her. "I have no doubt in your ability. But I can't control the situation, I can't control the rope, I can't control the bungee cords and I can't control the fact that you falling six thousand feet onto a roof worries me more than I can even articulate."

"So that's what this is about?" Chloe scoffed. "Is this how it's going to be from now on? You had no problem when I did all those things I did for you before. What so now that we're together I'm going to be treated differently. We're going to the coddle Chloe plan?"

"Yes." Oliver screamed so loud the guys jumped. "Yes, that's the plan. Before I even knew I loved you, before and after you got all your fancy training, I worried, every mission you went on, every job you did, my stomach tied up in knots because I'm responsible for you, for bringing you here, for what happens to you. And no, I'm not going to apologize for wanting you to be safe, to be alive."

"You are not responsible for me." Chloe said. "I am responsible for me. I am responsible for what happens to me, for what I do."

"No you're not Chloe." Oliver told her. "It's like you don't even realize, you're actions effect everyone. Seven years ago Lionel Luthor walked through my door holding your dead body. I sat on the couch next to you for eighteen hours and even thought I knew you were gonna wake up it didn't change how I felt. It didn't change the feeling in the pit of my stomach when I looked at you, lying there, not breathing."

They were quiet for a while and Victor and AC looked at each other confused. "I can't apologize for that, I'm sorry how it made you feel but not that I did it. I can't put my life on hold, live in a padded room without sharp edges just to keep you worry free. I can't and I won't and you're going to have to live with that." Chloe said, her voice was so calm, so un moving it was scary. "I've got a job to do." They heard her walking to the door and quickly backed away. She stormed out of the room and to the table where she grabbed up her things and walked to the door. "Am I doing this on my own?" She asked.

AC, Bart, and Victor followed her and Oliver was a few paces behind them.

"This isn't going to work." Chloe said annoyed.

"You don't have to do this, we can leave now." Oliver whispered to her.

"What?" Chloe said confused. "I'm talking about the gloves." She pulled them off her hands. "I'm not going to be able to get a grip with those on."

"You're gonna tear up your hands." Oliver said again.

"Maybe." She shrugged. "They'll heal."

"Chloe…" Oliver grabbed her hand and turned her to look at him. "I don't want you to go out there…with this thing hanging between us."

"I can't change who I am Oliver."

"I don't want you to change." He sighed. "That's who I fell in love with. The girl that walks into danger because she thinks she has to, because she thinks she needs to, without question, without hesitation. But I'm gonna worry." Oliver told her. "And it's not fair and it's not right but I'm gonna worry more now that we're together, it's just the way things are."

"Can I hit you if you get over protective?" Chloe asked smirking a little.

"Maybe." Oliver said. "We'll work out the details later. Are you sure you can do this?"

Chloe looked out at the rope and nodded. "I can do this." She said.

He helped to load the bag with the bungee cords onto her back and then attached the harness, made sure it was nice and tight.

"Play nice with the other kids." She smoothed down his hair. "Don't be pick any unnecessary fights, and don't use any of those cheesy lines you love so much I may think it's charming but it only pisses everyone else off."

"I'll be fine mom." Oliver grabbed her hands. "I'm more worried about you."

"Me?" She smiled. "You don't have to worry about me. I'll be back. And you'd better have cake." She walked over to the rope and grabbed on then turned around. "Hey." Oliver looked over to her, she opened her mouth but nothing came out.

"What?" Oliver walked over to her.

"This isn't the optimal place or optimal time for this I know believe me…" She rung her hands.

"Are you…are you breaking up with me?" Oliver chuckled.

"No." Chloe laughed nervously. "I just wanted to let you know that…" She trailed off unable to articulate herself and grabbed his neck and kissed him hard. She pulled away and rested her forehead against his. Oliver looked confused. "I love you." She said. It was out there now. He'd told her a dozen times but she hadn't been ready, and she wasn't sure why she felt this was the right time but somehow it just was.

He stared at her for a second before quirking his lips in a smile. He pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead. "You're wrong." He said to her. "It was the perfect time." He kissed her softly.

She grabbed onto the rope then swung herself over the side of the cliff. Slowly but steadily she moved further down the rope, one hand in front of each other. She'd only gone about five feet when she felt the blood start to drip down her arm.

"You're doing good." Victor said. "Just remember to breathe."

"Why does everyone tell me that." Chloe groaned moving another three feet. "Do you people think I'm gonna forget?" She asked.

"Who people?" Victor asked confused.

"Mindful breath." Bruce screamed from his spot on the floor. Chloe looked down at him and resisted the urge to drop a logy in his hair. She figured if it fell from 20 feet up, there was a chance it could knock him out. "Block out the pain." He said to her and she lifted her head up and looked straight ahead, concentrated on the wall in front of her, the other side of the wire, the platform that signaled she was done. She took a deep breath in and out keeping her eye on the platform. She slowly removed her right hand from the barbed wire she was dangling from, twenty feet up in the cave and let it drop at her side, trying to aim some of the blood at Bruce, she did her breathing and swung the arm up again, further in front of her. She grabbed on to the wire and ignored the pain when the barbs dug fresh holes in her already torn up hands. She carefully released her other hand and swung it around. She continued her breathing exercises as she slowly made her way across the strand of wire to the other side.

"You're almost there Watchtower." Victor said in her out of her thoughts.

She was going to have to trust him, she couldn't see anything. It was exhilarating and terrifying all at the same time. It felt as if she was hanging in the middle of nothing. She couldn't see anything below her, beside her or on top of her. "You're there." Victor said and his voice now sounded as nervous as she felt.

"I'm gonna take a minute." Chloe told him as she dropped one arm and grabbed the bag from her back, then alternating hands so she could take it off. When she got the bag off she hooked it onto the rope and then opened it, pulling out one end of the cord and hooking it on the rope and the other end of the cord and hooked it onto her harness. She pulled the rest of the cord out of the bag and let it fall down and hang there. She took a deep breath. "You sure I'm there?"

"You don't trust me?" Victor tried to joke.

Chloe wanted to laugh, but she couldn't.

"Do you trust me?" Bruce asked.

"Yes." Chloe said.

"Close your eyes." She obeyed without protest and continued to move along the wire. "Let go." Bruce said and without thinking, without questioning Chloe released her hands from the wire and allowed herself to drop. She didn't know if she'd made it to the platform yet or not, she'd know if she didn't hit it in a second, which she didn't so she braced herself for the impact on the ground. The cave floor was hard but if she hit at the right angle she could probably get away with a broken ankle instead of a broken femur.

But the impact never happened. She fell on something but, something soft. She opened her eyes and noticed that she was in Bruce's arms. He lowered her to the ground and she stood up shakily. "Wrap your hands and come to dinner." He said walking away.

Chloe followed him back up her hands leaving drops of blood like a trail all the way through the caves.

There was no one at the bottom to catch her this time, no one to make sure she made it ok. She trusted Victor to the ends of the earth but he was at an odd angle, twenty degrees in any wrong direction and she was falling into the water. "I'll be back for diner." She said as she prepared to let go.

"What do you want to eat?" He joked.

"Not steak." She said before letting go and falling to the roof.

Alfred wrapped her hands and she walked into the dining room to see Bruce all ready eating. He was eating steak. Chloe glared at him as she sat down in her seat, steak required two hands to eat, Chloe didn't have one good one. Alfred came forward and reached for her knife, ready to cut her steak up for her. Bruce paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. Chloe glared at him and grabbed the knife and fork from Alfred and cut the steak herself. She wanted to scream, to cry out in pain but she didn't. Instead she speared a piece of steak and angrily chewed as she stared at Bruce.

"You're crazy you know that?" He asked as blood started to seep through her bandages.

"That was your stupid exercise." Chloe pointed out grabbing her glass of wine and taking a sip as angrily as she could sip wine.

"Crazy." Bruce shook his head.

She got a glimpse of the roof as she made it to the edge of her bungee cord. When she was settled and she stopped bouncing she looked down at the roof, unclipped the cord and went into her free fall. She rolled as she hit and come to a stop before catching her breath. "Holy shit that actually worked." Chloe smiled as she made her way to the ledge to determine the best way down.

Victor dropped the night vision goggles and sighed in relief. "She made it." He said.

"Safely?" Oliver asked.

"She got right back up. No broken bones."

"That's my girl." Oliver smiled. "All right. That's out of the way, let's get to phase two."

"Phase two?" AC asked confused. "There is no phase two. Do you guys remember anyone talking about a phase two."

"Phase two was a secret." Oliver said pulling out his phone. "Why do you think I made you guys suit up? To come stand on a cliff and watch her?"

"Well…" Bart looked around. "Now that you mention it, I did think that was a little strange."

"Ok." He took a deep breath. "Time to call in the Calvary."

"What Calvary?" Victor asked. "What are you talking about?"

"You'll see." Oliver smiled.

Chloe jumped the last few feet to the ground and walked the perimeter, searching for an entry point. "Freeze." She stopped dead in her tracks. "Hands up, turn around." Chloe obeyed and turned to face the guard. He pulled her hood off and took her glasses from her. She smiled at him and then shot her arm out, knocking the gun from his hand and punching him right across the jaw. He went down and Chloe reached for the gun when she heard a noise behind her.

"Freeze. Step away from the gun." Chloe did as she was told, moving back slowly as the first guard picked up himself and then his gun. "She was right there, where the crazy chick said she'd be. Where the hell did you come from?" The second guard asked. She smiled at him and then looked up. He followed her gaze but didn't see anything. "Let's go." He said motioning for her to move forward.

Chloe walked and passed them up. One pushed her forward with a gun at her back until they came to a door. He swiped his card and punched in a code before it opened. The distinction between outside and in was night and day. The whole interior of the building was bright lights and stainless steel and Chloe literally felt like she was walking into another planet. "Sterile." She said. "Not really my style, I like earth tones, a little brown, maybe some blues, definitely green." He poked her in the back and she moved forward into another room. "You're not very talkative." Chloe shrugged. "Ok, that's fine."

"Sit here." The other guard shoved her into a chair and grabbed the phone. "Mr. Luthor, you said to call if anything happened. Well we caught a leather clad ninja lady jumping off the roof, figured you want to know. No she was alone. Very good sir." He hung up the phone and turned to the other one. "He's on his way. Well, you're in for a treat."

"Am I?" Chloe asked. They pulled her out of the chair and moved her along to another room.

"Mr. Luthor's been waiting to catch one of you guys for years. I expect to get a bonus the size of the United States deficit for this."

"You could use it to buy some deodorant." Chloe said. "Or are you going the MTV route and buy a big house and a garage full of cars?"

They shoved her through a door and she almost tripped. "Well I for one am excited. An audience with the king. Tell me the truth? Do I look ok?" She turned around. "I mean I guess my hair's probably all crazy from the drop, and I definitely shouldn't shake his hand." Chloe held up her bloody hands.

"Get in there." He pointed to a room, stainless steel walls, floor, and ceiling. With a glass front that slid open when the guard punched in a code.

"I'll make sure to tell him about your hospitality." Chloe said as he shoved her in and closed the door. There were holes cut out, she wasn't sure if it was for air or conversation but she screamed through them at the retreating guards. "Put in a good word for you. Maybe that bonus will be good enough we can get you a 24 carat gold bathtub." She looked around and smiled. "How do I go to the bathroom in here?"

"Pulls out of the wall." A voice said from the cell across from Chloe. "Right hand side, flushes by it's self, no lever. How does it do that?" The voice was a woman, confused, uncertain, a little scared. "You're a new person." She said. "No new people, I didn't see any new people, and I see everything."

"Cassandra?" Chloe ventured. "Janet."

"New person knows my name, my real name." The woman said, her voice shaky, and made her way into the light at the door to the cell as she mumbled to herself.

"Janet." Chloe said again. "It's me Watchtower, Chloe." Chloe looked at her confused, this was worse than she thought. They'd driven her crazy. This mumbling mess what not what she expected.

"Chloe?" She said her voice normal as she stood up straight. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Chloe stepped back surprised. "You…your not…"

"Crazy, no." Janet smiled. "I just act crazy and they leave me alone. I started to loose it for a while there but then I had a vision of you rescuing me and that helped me to hang on." She looked at Chloe standing behind her glass door. "So this is how you rescue people? I seriously over estimated you guys."

"Don't worry." Chloe smiled. "This is all part of the plan."

"Run that by me again?" Victor said.

"She should have been caught by now." Oliver said. "If things go according to plan, they've put her in a cell and called in Lex."

"And this is the plan how?" AC asked.

"Chloe's just the opening act." Oliver said.

"We're the Main Event." A voice said from behind them and they turned to see Clark and Kara floating a little way above the ground and smiling.

"Did I miss all the fun?" Another voice called from beside them and a man in black lowered himself from the tree's above them, it was Batman.

"Don't worry you big old Bat." Another voice said. "We'd never start without you." A man in a red and blue suit came swinging on what looked like a white vine out of the trees and landed gracefully on the ground. Spiderman.

Victor, AC, and Bart looked around more confused than they were before.

"I am so confused." Bart said. "Is anyone else confused?"

Victor and AC both raised their hands. "Right there with you." Victor said.

"Good." Oliver smiled. "That means they will be too. It's all a part of the plan."

"Ok, but since we're part of the plan can we get some sort of explanation?"

"I never heard from Jackson." Oliver said. "He never called with new information."

One Month Ago

"There's another lab." Oliver told her. "One that no one knew about, one that you never would have found on your own, and he didn't blow this one up."

"Another lab?" Chloe asked confused.

"Oh yeah, and this one's a real dozy." Oliver held out his hand. "You want to hear more?"

Chloe looked behind Oliver's shoulder at ruble and then back at Oliver's hand. "You know it." She smiled and he pulled her down the street, back to their hotel room.

"I thought you said my nose was safe." Oliver rubbed his stomach.

"Did I hit your nose?" Chloe asked him and looked around the street. "This isn't the way to the hotel."

"No." Oliver said. "It isn't. We're meeting someone, someone who can help us." He led her down a back alley and into a warehouse.

"I hate warehouses." Chloe mumbled.

"Is she here?" A woman called from the shadows of the warehouse.

"She who?" Chloe called into the shadow. "She me?"

High heels clicked on the concrete floor and suddenly the last person on the entire earth that she expected to see there, besides Lex Luther, walked into the light. "Dr. Rao?" Chloe looked from Oliver to the Doctor then to Oliver again. "Are you evil? Did something turn you evil?" She took a step back. "Is that why you fought with me on the street?"

"I didn't fight with you, I protected myself, and I am not evil."

"But she's evil." Chloe pointed out as if he didn't know.

"I know." Oliver smiled.

"No I'm not." She protested. Chloe raised an eyebrow at her. "I guess from your perspective I was a little evil."

"A little?" Chloe scoffed. "You kidnapped and experimented on innocent people."

"Not at first." She took a step closer and Chloe moved back. "At first it was just tests, on plants, animals, then blood samples, the people didn't come until later and then it was too late."

"Don't." Chloe held up her hand. "Don't stand here and try and justify what you've done." She turned to Oliver. "Why are we talking to her?"

"Because she knows everything we don't about Lex." Oliver said. "And she's going to tell us."

"How do we know we can trust her?" Chloe asked.

"How do you think I knew who to come to? Who to find? I know who you are, who you really are." Chloe raised an eyebrow. "You're the one they call Watchtower, and he is the Green Arrow. I haven't told Lex, I've known for years now, and I haven't said anything."

"Why?" Chloe glared.

"Because I like what you do." Dr. Rao said. "I thought I could handle it at first. Handle what we were doing. I bought into his whole line, his whole story. How we were doing it for the greater good. Getting ready for the inevitable invasion, to save the human race."

"He was always so dramatic." Chloe rolled her eyes.

"But ten years and no invasion." Dr. Rao said. "And we were taking more and more people, people who didn't even know what they were, what powers they had."

"Were you there?" Chloe asked. "When they took me?"

"Yes." She answered quietly.

Chloe nodded and then punched her in the face. "Chloe!" Oliver grabbed her as Dr. Rao put a hand to her nose, it was bleeding, probably broken.

"What?" She asked shaking out her hand. "I never promised not to break her nose."

"Do you feel better?" Dr. Rao asked.

"Much." Chloe said. "Let's get down to business."

Oliver pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it over. "Thank you." Dr. Rao said. "After you took out the first three labs, Mr. Luthor was, believably upset. He ordered the other labs destroyed before you could get there."

"The fact that he was willing to destroy all his work to keep it from us means we did something right?" Oliver smiled.

Dr. Rao said. "He didn't destroy anything." She shook her head. "A few years ago, when construction was completed on the main lab, everything was sent there as a back up. Every day, every lab backs up to the main lab."

"So you mean that for three years, we haven't actually destroyed anything?" Chloe asked.

"Well you destroyed equipment, facilities." Dr. Rao said. "But not research, not information."

"Well, this is a very productive meeting. I'm so glad to know that the past three years of our lives have meant nothing." Chloe looked at Oliver. "This is like the best day ever."

"Just listen." Oliver said.

"He didn't care if they were destroyed because he wouldn't lose anything." Dr. Rao explained.

"He lost the labs." Oliver said.

"He didn't need the labs anymore. He'd done what he needed to do, well, fairly close, he just needed a few test samples, which had been shipped to the main lab the week before anyway."

"When you say done what he needed to do, do you mean the cure?" Chloe asked.

"I mean the cure." Dr. Rao nodded. "I mean the cause."

"Both?" Oliver asked.

"Yes both." Dr. Rao said. "Lex wanted to be the one in charge. He wanted to choose who he trusted, who he could control to have the powers, and…"

"Cure those who couldn't control?" Chloe said.

"Yes. He's only got a few more weeks, tops before he perfects everything." Dr. Rao said. "We have to stop him."

"You want to stop him?" Chloe asked. "Why?"

"I was the head of the Lex's genetic research team but I had a personal subject, one case that I was in complete control of. Project Cassandra." Chloe's head snapped up.

"She's dead." Chloe said. "You killed her. You know when you blew up your labs."

"She's not dead. No one's dead." Dr. Rao shook her head. "I got them out." Chloe seemed surprised. "I blew up the lab but I got them all out, their safe."

"Where?"

"They're on their way to our labs right now." Oliver said.

"How do you know all this?" Chloe asked him.

"She came to me yesterday. I don't know the whole story but she told me some things." Oliver said.

"Cassandra." Dr. Rao interrupted. "Was Lex's prize subject. He had a vested interest in her. He wanted her power for himself. The ability to see everything, to know everything, he saw it as the ultimate power. He was wrong. The visions she had weren't frequent enough, weren't powerful enough so he made us boost them."

"Boost?" Chloe asked.

"The theory was that if a person had meteor powers already, giving them the meteor solution would enhance them, make them stronger." Dr. Rao said. "And he was right, but because of the nature of her powers. There were unforeseen side effects. She sees everything now, she can't turn it off, she sees horrible things and random things and it drove her a little crazy."

"I don't like the needles, I can't close my eyes." Chloe murmured.

"How did you…she used to say that to me." Dr. Rao said surprised.

"That's what she told us." Chloe said. "She sent hidden messages in the letters to her sister, who passed them on to us."

Dr. Rao smiled. "I always wondered how you got your information. No offense meant to your investigation abilities."

"So she's crazy?" Oliver asked.

"She's unstable." Dr. Rao said. "And that's the first problem."

"The first problem?" Chloe wondered.

"If we're going to take down the main lab, we're going to have to get around her." Dr. Rao said. "She'll see us coming a mile away."

"But she would never sell us out." Chloe shook her head.

"Not on purpose. The mental instability allowed Lex to use her, to drug her and pull the visions from her without her even knowing."

"So we have to get past a super omnipotent spy, and break into a super secret lab that I didn't even know existed." Chloe shrugged. "Sure, then I'll solve world piece."

"Just hear her out." Oliver said.

"You have to figure out how to get in, I can't help you there, it would be too obvious, but I can help you when you get in. I work there now, it's the only lab left."

"What about Cassandra?" Chloe asked.

"If you can fool everyone else with a different plan, make them believe a different plan, I can make Cassandra believe that one to." Dr. Rao said. "And I can help you on the inside, help you get out, get Cassandra out. Take down Lex."

Chloe and Oliver looked at each other and had a private conversation without words. "The devil you know." Chloe said with a shrug.

"Ok." Oliver said. "How do we do this?"

"So we worked to come up with the plan." Oliver explained. "Obviously Chloe was the one that had to go in, because she's the one who knew the whole plan."

"Wait, hold on." Bart held up a hand. "Back up. The whole time, the plan was for Chloe to go in alone?"

"Yes." Oliver said.

"So what was all the fighting about? The huge blowout earlier today?" Victor asked.

"Oh." Oliver said. "That." They could of sworn they saw him blush. "All part of the plan, to make it believable. You guys definitely would have thought something was up if I hadn't protested."

"Well that's true." AC nodded.

Oliver turned away, smiling at the memory of their fight earlier that day.

Chloe basically threw Oliver in the room and slammed the door behind her. "Did you have to pull me so hard?" He whispered rubbing his wrist.

Chloe glared at him and then pretended to clear her throat. "First of all, that out there, was out of line." Chloe screamed. "There is no scenario where it's ok to yell at me like that in front of them. You spout out all this bullshit about how this is a partnership and we're in this together and then you try and pull rank on me like that. It's degrading and it undermines me."

"At this moment." Oliver yelled. "That matters very little to me."

"Oh, thank you for that." She snapped and then walked up to him. "Did I hurt your wrist?" She whispered.

"This plan is ridiculous even for us Chloe." Oliver said. "I don't like it." He shook his head. "No I'm fine." He smiled.

"No, you don't trust me when I say I can do it." She pointed out. "I have proven myself over and over again and still you treat me like I'm this uncertain little computer geek who showed up on your doorstep ten years ago and I am getting tired of it." On a whim she picked up the bowl on the dresser and threw it against the wall. Oliver looked at her amazed and she shrugged. "It just felt right." She whispered then motioned for him to go.

She slapped his shoulder. "So that's what this is about?" Chloe scoffed. "Is this how it's going to be from now on? You had no problem when I did all those things I did for you before. What so now that we're together I'm going to be treated differently. We're going to the coddle Chloe plan?" He kissed her neck and she squirmed. "Stick to the plan if you want to get any later. You do want to get lucky later don't you?"

"Yes." Oliver screamed and Chloe giggled. He regained his composure. "Yes, that's the plan. Before I even knew I loved you, before and after you got all your fancy training, I worried, every mission you went on, every job you did, my stomach tied up in knots because I'm responsible for you, for bringing you here, for what happens to you. And now, I'm not going to apologize for wanting you to be safe, to be alive."

"You are not responsible for me." Chloe said. "I am responsible for me. I am responsible for what happens to me, for what I do." She looked scared for a second. "Did you get milk yesterday at the store because we'll probably be gone for a week and I don't want it to spoil in the fridge."

"No." Oliver told her and the guys they knew were listening outside the door. "You're not Chloe." Oliver told her. "It's like you don't even realize, you're actions effect everyone. Seven years ago Lionel Luthor walked through my door holding your dead body. I sat on the couch next to you for eighteen hours and even thought I knew you were gonna wake up it didn't change how I felt. It didn't change the feeling in the pit of my stomach when I looked at you, lying there, not breathing."

"You were laying it on a little thick there weren't you?" Chloe said rolling her eyes.

"I don't think so." Oliver shook his head. "I meant all that."

"A bit condescending don't you think?" Chloe said. Oliver looked at her and she shrugged and then she opened her mouth in surprise, it was her turn to talk, she had to wrack her brains for a come back. Oliver made a motion for her to say something and she shrugged and just blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "I can't apologize for that, I'm sorry how it made you feel but not that I did it. I can't put my life on hold, live in a padded room without sharp edges just to keep you worry free. I can't and I won't and you're going to have to live with that."

"Point taken." Oliver nodded at her.

"I have work to do." She said and affixed an angry glare on her face before kissing him and leaving the room.

"That whole thing was an act?" Bart said. "Man you guys should take the show on the road."

"Pay attention to what you're doing." Oliver scolded him.

"How can I pay attention to what I'm doing if I don't understand what I'm doing?" Bart looked up from the radio that he was tuning

"Just go slow and listen." Oliver told him.

"What good is Chloe being in a cage exactly?" AC asked.

"All part of the plan."

"The plan you won't tell us about?" Victor asked.

"It'll all make sense in time." Batman said.

"Oh he knows the plan?" Bart asked a little annoyed.

"Listen." Oliver told him.

"So you've had Dr. Rao on your side?" Cassandra asked as Chloe pulled out the toilet from the wall. "Do you need privacy?" Cassandra asked.

"What?" Chloe asked reaching down behind the toilet and pulling out a small bag. "No, I'm not going to the bathroom." She moved to put the toilet away and it flushed on it's own. Chloe paused. "How does it do that?"

"I know right?" Cassandra asked. "I can't find a sensor."

"Right, not the point." Chloe pulled something out of the bag and walked to the wall next to the glass door. "How far from the glass is the key pad?"

Cassandra looked confused. "Uh…six inches." Chloe gauged the distance and placed what looked like a small PDA on the stainless steel and the guessed the height on the wall. "What is that?"

"A key." Chloe said pushing a button and watching text scroll across the screen until the door slid open. She stuck the device back in the bag and then walked to Cassandra's cage. She looked at the keypad and her fingers hovered over it in confusion. "How am I supposed to open this one?"

"78459." Cassandra said and Chloe raised her eyebrows. "I know everything."

"Huh." Chloe typed in the number and the door opened.

"Let's go." Cassandra said.

"No, I mean, we will, but not now." She handed Cassandra the bag. "Wait until I'm gone and then use the radio to call out. There will be someone waiting for you."

"What?" Cassandra asked as Chloe slipped back out and closed her door. Then she got in hers and closed it, locking herself back in. "Well that seemed completely useless and unnecessary." Cassandra looked down at the bag.

"Lex is going to be here in a minute." Chloe said. "He's going to take me out of here and…question me."

"Torture you." Cassandra corrected.

"Probably." Chloe nodded. "I need him distracted with me so that the others can get in."

"And then we'll get out?" Cassandra asked so hopefully.

"I promise." Chloe smiled at her. They both turned when they heard the sound of the helicopter. "Show time."

"I hope you know what you're doing." Cassandra said hiding the bag in her own toilet.

"You and me both." Chloe said, which didn't inspire confidence.

"He'll know you." Cassandra said.

"Yeah." Chloe nodded. "That's a risk we have to take." The helicopter landed and they both waited anxiously.

"Which one is it?" Lex asked walking into the compound from the landing pad.

"The new one, the girl."

"Watchtower." Lex said. "That's what they call her."

"Yeah well she's a little feisty." One guard said holding his jaw.

"I trust you had no trouble wrangling one measly girl?"

"No sir, no trouble." He shook his head.

"Take me to her." Lex said and the guard nodded leading him inside.

As soon as the door opened Cassandra went back to mumbling to herself and Chloe took in a shaky breath before plastering a smile on her face and staring straight a head. There was no way she was going to miss the look on his face when he saw her. His footsteps got closer and Chloe nodded encouragingly at Cassandra who was mumbling something about puppies. She saw him before he saw her and her blood boiled under her skin but she stood her ground. When he was in front of the glass door he turned to look at her and she wasn't disappointed. She'd managed to surprise Lex Luthor and that if anything was a big accomplishment. "Hey Lex." Chloe smiled. "Long time no see."

He stared at her for a second, not believing it, not wanting to believe it and then coming to the realization that he had to believe it, the evidence was right in front of him. "Ms. Sullivan." He looked her up and down, taking in the leather and the bloody hands. "I take it you had no trouble getting to the place."

"You know me." Chloe said. "I stumble into the worst situations. I was just out taking a tour of the canyon and…here I am."

"Yes, here you are." Lex smiled. "Take her out."

The guard nodded and opened the door reaching out for Chloe. She made a motion to hit him and he flinched and scrambled for his gun. Chloe heard a gun cock and looked to the side to see Lex holding a 9mm at her head. "Don't take you're eyes off her for a second."

"You never were any fun Lex." Chloe whined as they took her away. She managed one last look at Cassandra who nodded imperceptibly as Chloe was taken away. When the door closed Cassandra opened the toilet and grabbed the bag, fumbling for the radio. She turned it on and spoke into it.

"Hello?" She asked. "Is there anyone out there?" She said. She was met with nothing but static. "Marco?" She offered.

"I'm not getting anything on this stupid…" Bart stopped as he heard a voice.

"Hello, come in Houston, we have a problem." The voice said. "Marco."

"I'm here, we're here. Uh Polo?" Bart offered and waved Oliver over.

He grabbed the radio and spoke into it. "Green Arrow, is this Cassandra?"

"Yes." She sounded so relieved. "Watchtower told me to call you. She was taken, by Lex about five minutes ago."

"We're on our way." Oliver said putting the radio down. "Let's go."

Bart and AC were flown in by Clark while Victor and Oliver were taken by Kara. Batman and Spiderman made their own way in. They all landed on the helipad by the copter and stood looking at the compound. "I can't go through there." Victor reminded Oliver, he'd die in a second when the EMP fried his systems.

"Taken care of." Oliver smiled. They watched as the back door opened and Dr. Rao peaked out.

"We don't have much time." She motioned to them. "I've turned of the shield."

"Force Field." Bart corrected as he walked forward.

"Are we sure we can trust her?" Victor said anxiously.

Oliver held out his wrist where his watch wasand Victor saw it was still working. He took a large step forward and when he didn't drop dead he sighed in relief and walked to the door. "Where's Watchtower?" He asked Dr. Rao.

"In with Lex." Pointing down a hallway.

"What?" Bart turned in the direction that she pointed and Oliver grabbed her arm.

"She's got a different job. Leave her to it." Bart frowned but nodded. "I need you to go get Cassandra out and then both of you meet me in the lab. She'll know the way."

"Down that hall, last door." Bart nodded then sped away.

"Cyborg." Dr. Rao said. "I need you and Aqua man in the mainframe." They nodded and followed her.

"You two." Oliver said looking at Kara and Clark. "I need you to get as much of the hard copies out of here and the staff." They nodded and zoomed off in the direction of the file storage.

"Me?" Bruce asked.

"You two are on demo." Oliver said. "Everything, even the pillars."

"You got it." Bruce saluted and walked away as Peter followed.

Lex smacked Chloe again and her head snapped to the side, her lip splitting open. She was in a room with Lex and a guard. Her hands were tied behind her back as she sat in a chair. He shook her blood off of his hand and smiled. "I could do this all night."

"I knew you were into S&M." She glared at him licking the blood from her lips and then spitting.

"Who are your friends?" He asked. "Where are your friends?"

"Which ones?" Chloe asked. "I have quite a few. Abby I suppose is back in London, helping Rose with the wedding."

Lex pulled his hand back and Chloe closed her eyes taking a deep breath and bracing herself.

"Holy mother of God." Chloe screamed as Bruce smacked the pole into her stomach. She was hanging upside down in the cave and Bruce was beating the shit out of her. He called it training but Chloe was sure he was having a little too much fun.

"You aren't relaxed." He sighed. "Mindful breath."

"Don't mindful breath me." She choked out. "What good is meditation when I know you're going to hit me with that bloody pole?"

"All the good in the world." Bruce said. "Up." Chloe pulled herself up and allowed the blood to return to her head. "You worry about the things you shouldn't worry about?"

"I shouldn't worry about the fact that you're going to hit me?" Chloe asked.

"No." Bruce said. "Because you know for certain I am going to hit you. It's going to happen no matter what you do. How you take it is what matters." Chloe rolled her eyes. "Again." He said and she lowered herself so she was hanging upside. He pulled back the pole and swung it again. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Lex was wiping his hand on a rag now, it was covered in red. "Chloe I don't want to do this." He said to her. "We were friends once."

"Oh yeah." Chloe smiled, her head was killing her and her lip was swelling badly. "Remember…remember that time when you kidnapped me and ran tests on me? Or what about that time that you took my mom to get to me." She laughed. "I almost shot you. Good times."

"We could be friends again." Lex offered.

"I've got enough friends." Chloe told him. "But thanks for the offer."

"Go get the tools." Lex said to the guard who nodded and left the room.

"Tools?" Chloe smiled. "I didn't realize you were so handy."

"Where are your friends?" He asked again and Chloe just shook her head.

Clark saw Spiderman hanging by a web from the foundation of the building setting the explosives on the pillars. Spiderman saluted as he flew to the side of the canyon carrying an arm full of file boxes. He set them down next to the tied up guards and then flew back to the building. He wanted to scan for Chloe but Oliver had asked him not to. Clark was guessing it was because whatever he saw would no doubt make him rush in and rescue her and she had her job to do. He passed Kara carrying another guard out. He had to trust that Oliver and Chloe knew what they were doing.

Bart slipped into the room and heard someone mumbling. He walked down the hall and stopped at a glass door where a woman was sitting there rocking back and forth. "Cassandra?" Bart asked.

"The puppies were bad, earthquake in Indonesia." She mumbled.

"Cassandra, I'm here to get you out of here." He said. Her head snapped up and she smiled. "It's about damn time." She jumped to her feet and gave him the code. "Come on." She said impatiently.

"What?" Bart smiled. "You're in a rush to get out of here?"

"We all should be." She wasn't smiling now. "This whole plan is about to go to shit." She grabbed his arm and pulled him behind her.

"That's never good." Bart sighed.

Oliver had to trust that everyone was doing what they needed to be doing. Victor and AC should have gotten into the mainframe by now and he trusted that Clark and Kara were fine. Bart should have gotten Cassandra by now and everything was on schedule. Chloe…he couldn't think about Chloe or he wouldn't get his job done. Bart stormed through the doors, pushed in by a woman who was smiling and panting. "Haven't run like that in ages." She bent over and tried to catch her breath.

"What's up?" Oliver asked.

"We've got a problem." Bart spit out.

Oh how Oliver hated those four words.

Lex paced back and forth in the room and glanced at the door again. "Do you need a bathroom break?" Chloe asked. "Cause I can wait." She was more nervous than she let on. If the guard wasn't back yet, it could be because something was wrong.

"What I need is for you to start cooperating." Lex snapped at her. "Do you have any idea of what you've cost me?"

"Put it on my tab." Chloe smiled.

He ran forward and shoved her chest so hard that she and the chair fell backwards and her head slammed on the floor hard. She didn't see that coming. "Ouch." She sighed. She was heaved back upright quickly and she blinked rapidly.

"Where are you're friends?" He hit her. Before she could answer he hit her again. "Where are they?" He hit her again.

"Ok." Chloe choked out. "Ok." She panted and caught her breath, her lip trembling, tears unshed, threatening to fall from her eyes. Lex leaned on the table and caught his breath. "They've gone…"

"Where?" Lex asked.

Chloe took a shaky breath and let out a sob. "They've gone to see…to see…"

"Gone to see who?" Lex screamed.

Chloe turned her head to him and smiled, the tremble in her lips gone, the tears a faint memory. "They've gone to see the Wizard." She smirked. "The wonderful Wizard of Oz." She laughed.

Lex growled and hit her again. Her laughter died when his hand made contact with her chin but her gaze never wavered. "You should check the yellow brick road." Chloe said.

Lex looked at the door again and then walked over to it. "I'll get the tools myself."

"Wait, leaving so soon." Chloe said stopping him in his tracks. "We were just starting to have fun."

He turned to her, his hand on the door knob. "The Chloe that I know isn't usually so anxious for pain." Lex said.

"What can I say." Chloe shrugged. "You just bring it out in me." She smiled. "But don't forget the safe word this time."

"Are you…" He looked at the door and then at Chloe. "You guys never do anything alone. I've studied you long enough to know that."

"Really?" Chloe asked. "Are you a fan? Untie me and I'll give you an autograph."

"Are you trying to keep me in this room?"

"Yes." Chloe said. "All to myself. Couldn't bear to share you."

Lex just smiled and opened the door. "I'll be back."

She opened her mouth to stop him but it was too late. She stood up and flexed her arms to get the chair off of her. She sat on the ground and pulled her arms under her butt and put her legs through so her hands were in front of her but still tied together. She opened the door, looked both ways and then took off running. She rounded the corner and slammed straight into Oliver who was running toward her. They both fell to the floor and Cassandra pulled her up as Bart helped Oliver. They regained their footing and said at the same time. "We've got a problem."

Oliver froze. "What happened to your face?" He touched the side of her cheek and she winced as he traced a bruise that was starting to turn purple from her temple to her chin.

"You know how Lex and I are when you get us together." Chloe shrugged away from him. "I insult him, he ties me to a chair and beats the crap out of me. Such fun we have together."

"Does he at least look this bad?" Oliver fumed silently pulling an arrow out and using it to cut her wrists free.

"I wish." Chloe said. "We hadn't gotten to that part yet. He's not in the room, he left, he suspected something wasn't right."

"Something isn't right." Cassandra said. "We've got to get everyone and get out of here."

"But we aren't finished." Chloe said.

"We're gonna have to be." Cassandra said. "Trust me. I know…"

"Everything." Chloe said. "Yeah, yeah." She sighed. "You know you're starting to remind me of someone."

"What's going to happen?" Oliver asked.

"Lex had his own emergency plan in place." Cassandra said. "And it's set to blow in about five minutes."

"Man." Bart groaned. "We were gonna blow this place up."

"Well we're gonna get blown up if we don't hurry." Cassandra said.

"All right, let's move out, Impulse you round everyone up." Oliver said.

"Wait." Cassandra said. "We've got to get the others."

They all froze. "What others?"

"The ones on the other side of the compound." Cassandra looked between Oliver and Chloe.

"Dr. Rao didn't tell us about any others."

"She doesn't know." Cassandra said. "Lex didn't trust her as much as she thinks he did."

"Let's go." Chloe said grabbing her hands. "Show me." Cassandra nodded and pulled Chloe down the hall.

"Chloe!" Oliver screamed.

"You need to get to the safe." Cassandra said. "That's where Lex is going. He's got a back up of the back up of the formula in there." She told him how to get there.

Oliver debated, Chloe and Cassandra were running down one hall and Bart was waiting for him in the other. "Let's go." He said.

Oliver nodded and followed Bart, the place was huge and they had seven people to find in five minutes, and they had to stop Lex from getting away with the formula.

"It was a good plan." Cassandra said.

"What went wrong?" Chloe asked as they jogged.

"The guard." Cassandra explained. "When he left the room to get the tools, Kara found him and took him out of here."

"And when he didn't get back Lex got suspicious." Chloe cursed.

"But all in all, it was a good plan." Cassandra pointed to a corner and Chloe nodded taking it.

"Yeah?" Chloe said. "Say that again if we don't blow up."

Cassandra didn't respond and Chloe found that very unsettling. They got to the end of a hall and Cassandra pointed to a door. Chloe went in and froze in her tracks. Standing in their very own glass cells, completely furnished with beds and dressers and toy chests were five children. Ranging in age from four to ten. "I'm so killing him." Chloe said walking up to the first cell. "Code." She called to Cassandra.

"98723." Cassandra said. Chloe punched it in and the door opened. "Go get the rest." Chloe said as she coaxed the girl out of the cell to stand by her.

"Clark." Chloe called knowing that he would hear her. "Clark." She screamed again as Cassandra moved to the next cell. There was a red blur and Clark was standing there.

"It's Superman." One boy said excitedly.

Clark stood frozen. "We need to get them out of here." Chloe said herding the kids in Clark's direction. Clark nodded and picked two of the kids up and zooming out. He was back in a second for two more as Cassandra got the fifth out. He came back for the last one but she didn't want to go.

"You have to sweetie." Chloe pleaded with her.

"I can't leave without Wookie, I need Wookie."

"Who's Wookie?" Chloe asked, figuring they'd wasted three minutes.

"My teddy bear." The girl said.

"I'll get him, I promise but please go with Superman." Chloe told her.

The little girl nodded and Clark picked her up and zoomed out. "Come on." Cassandra said.

Chloe ran into the cell and searched for the teddy bear. She threw everything out of the toy chest and then tossed all sheets on the bed. "Where the hell is Wookie?"

"Who cares, we've only got a minute." Cassandra screamed.

Chloe dropped to the ground and smiled. Wookie was under the bed. She grabbed for him and pulled him out tossing the bear to Cassandra. "Hold on to that."

Cassandra stuffed the bear in her back pocket and she and Chloe ran out heading for the helicopter pad.

Oliver got to the safe but it was open and empty. He cursed and then he heard the helicopter start up. He shook his head and changed direction, heading for the helicopter pad. He made it out there just as Lex was climbing in. He strung and let loose an arrow in record speed, slicing Lex's cheek and halting his progress. "Not so fast." He said in his Green Arrow voice.

"Well." Lex said turning around and pulling his gun out. "If it isn't the Green Arrow."

"In the flesh." Oliver said.

He heard a noise behind him but didn't move. "Stay behind me." Chloe said and pushed Cassandra back.

"Where's the rest of the team?" Lex asked.

"Do you really expect me to answer that?" Chloe scoffed.

"No." Lex shrugged. "Not today anyway."

"Not ever." Chloe said. "It's over Lex." She was mentally counting in her head and they didn't have much time.

"I've still got the formula." He said holding up a flash drive. "I can start over."

A red blur sped past and when it came to a stop next to Chloe Bart smirked and Lex was standing there with no gun and no flash drive. "You were saying?" He smiled.

Lex opened his mouth, but he didn't get anything out because the first explosion rocked the compound. The foundation shook and Oliver and Chloe looked at each other in horror. Lex turned to the helicopter but it had taken off. "Guess you're stuck here with us."

"We're all gonna die." He screamed.

"At least we'll take you with us." Chloe said and she scooted over and grabbed Oliver's hand as the foundation shook with another explosion. They lost their footing and before they could stand up again the third blast hit and all they saw was darkness.

Chloe opened her eyes and tried to stand up. She couldn't move her right arm so she looked over and saw a huge gash in her shoulder. Lex hadn't been as thorough setting up his explosives so the whole building didn't blow, it just sort of collapsed. She pulled herself up and felt the whole thing shift under her. They survived the explosion but they were screwed if they got stuck on here when it decided to fall. "Chloe!" Clarks panicked voice called out.

"Here." Chloe coughed and she felt a gust of wind and then Clark was standing there.

"Thank God you're ok." He sighed.

"You were worried?" Chloe let him pull her to her feet.

"About what Lois would do to me if you died." He joked.

"I'd be worried about that too." She said. "Oliver?" She looked around.

"Kara's got him." Clark looked over his shoulder.

"You need to sit still." Kara said shoving him down.

"I need to find Chloe." Oliver said.

"I'm fine." She walked toward them. "Bart? Cassandra?"

"He grabbed her and outran the blast." Oliver smiled when Chloe got over to him. "Not a scratch on them." He stood up and pulled her into a hug, holding on tighter than he ever had before.

"Everyone else?"

"Fine." Oliver said. "They all got off fine."

"Thank God." Chloe said relaxing into his embrace.

"Hey." Clark called and they both turned to him. "I think he's still alive." He pointed to an area of rubble. Lex was lying there underneath a large piece of concrete. Trapped. "You want me to get him out?"

"No." Chloe said pulling away from Oliver. "Not yet." She took a deep breath and walked toward him.

When Lex opened his eyes he was struck first by the quiet. Compared the noise and destruction, the literal hell on earth from a few minutes ago the quiet was strange. Was he dead? He sucked in a breath and it felt like a hot knife slice down his side, he wasn't dead. He tried to take stock of his injuries, figure a way out of this and then he heard it. A strange sound, a rhythmic clicking coming closer and closer, shoes, boots probably walking steadily to him. They stopped, next to his right shoulder and suddenly his senses kicked back into gear and he was bombarded with other sounds, overwhelmingly loud compared to the silence he'd just experienced. He could hear the electric wires snapping and popping where they broke. Alarms were going off, and pipes were bursting steam over head.

A shadow passed over his face and he managed to move his eyes to see her. The one they'd called Watchtower, Chloe Sullivan. She was crouched down next to him, her eyes intently boring a hole into his. He tried to cry out, for help, for death, he didn't know what. "Don't talk." She said. Her eyes cut to his throat and a small smile appeared on her face. "You're larynx is crushed." He gurgled something and coughed.

"You have about two minutes to live Lex. You'll probably choke on your own blood, unless the internal bleeding is worse than I think or one of those broken ribs punctured a lung." She shrugged. "And you know what I'm perfectly ok with that." She seemed to lean back a bit and survey him. "I've been waiting for this for…" She thought a minute. "Over ten years now, gosh, has it been that long?"

He tried to gurgle again and she smiled grabbing his wrist and looking at her watch. "Pulse is slowing, about a minute and half now." She smiled at him. "Normally this would be a morally grey area for me. Would letting you die be just as bad as killing you myself, and I am one of the good guys. But after what you did to me today?" Lex closed his eyes for a second and then looked at her again, there were scrapes all over her face, her jacket was torn on her right shoulder and the skin underneath was gashed and bleeding. "What you did to my friends and to all those people." She turned her head and looked behind her.

"After all this, it seems pretty black and white to me." She sighed and dropped his hand. "The problem with that is, does that make me any better than you?" She pretended to think. "I'm going to let you die Lex, here on this dirty floor, bleeding, broken, and in so much pain you'll probably welcome it, and I'm going to be ok with that." She watched as his eyes betrayed the desperation that he was feeling as his breath became more rapid and then nothing. His breathing stopped, his head fell to the side and his eyes stared up at her lifeless and cold. Lex Luther was dead, and something that she didn't want acknowledge, some part of her, was happy.

"Chloe." Oliver's voice called to her and she nodded. She put her hand to Lex's chest and the team stood behind her and watched the light course from her hand and through Lex's body. After a minute she fell back on the ground lifeless as Lex's eyes shot open.

"What..." His head darted around. He saw the Green Arrow and his team, standing stoically in the background, and he saw her, the Watchtower lying on the ground next to him, dead. "What happened?" He could speak now, and breath, it didn't hurt anymore, he seemed fine if you didn't take into account the pile of rubble lying on top of him, pinning him to the ground.

"She let you die Lex." Oliver said and walking forward. "But only because she knew she could bring you back. Because she's not like you, you're a monster and I have no doubt that the world would be a better place without you in it. But she's not like you. I want you to remember this moment, remember what she just did for you, that after everything you did to her, she died to save you. Because if you're half as smart as the world thinks you are, you'll do something with this second chance."

He bent down and picked up Chloe and then stood up and glanced at him one last time before turning around. "Go get her." He said to Clark who nodded and flew away. A few minutes later he landed back on the rubble carrying a very familiar face.

"What's the crazy girl doing here?" Bart asked.

"I'm not crazy." Rebecca said. "Not anymore." She assured him. Rebecca turned her attention to Oliver and saw Chloe's body in his arms. He ignored the surprise on her face and nodded to Lex. She walked over to him and crouched down. "You want him to forget the whole thing?" She asked.

"Let him remember what he did to her, and what she did for him. Just don't let him remember who she is." Oliver said coldly. Rebecca nodded and placed her hands on either side of Lex's face and closed her eyes. "Oh and screw around with any memory of the cure in his head."

"It's done." Rebecca said a minute later and stood up.

"Thank you." Oliver told her.

"I owed you this." She smiled.

Oliver just nodded as the foundation creaked and shifted again. "We've got to get you off of here." Clark said. "What do you want me to do with him?"

"Drop him off in the middle of nowhere." Oliver said and then turned around. Clark grabbed Lex and flew off as Kara walked up to Oliver and held out her hands.

"Let me take her." She said. Oliver hesitated for a second but when the foundation shifted again he nodded.

"Bring her back to her apartment." He passed her body over to Kara and she smiled and nodded before taking off.