Soooooooooo....I have no idea why the formatting on this is so BLEEE! but you know, I try and it just...*headdesk* Anyways, I've taken notice that what I had in mind for this story was humor and romance but I'm seem to be getting angst and broodiness and no one likes that but DO NOT BE AFRAID! Humor is just right around the corner...followed by a splash of romance, a sprinkle of adventure and well...you get the idea.
P.S. I feel like I used the word "Jewelry" WAY TO MUCH and now it must never be used again. From now on it's just shiny objects.
********
Lois pulled up behind the group of cops cars that flooded New York Avenue. The entire street was aglow in the patriotic lights of red, white, and blue that splashed colors all over the buildings.
"Well so much for getting here before all the action?" She grumbled to herself as she grabbed her notepad and got out of the car. She pushed through the sea of onlookers, making her way to the front of the pack while shouting out, "Lois Lane. Daily Planet."
Wincing as her foot got stepped on she broke through to the front and glanced around, her notepad opened, pen clicked and ready.
"Perfect" She said as she saw the robbers being brought out in handcuffs. She peered around for any cops and finding the coast clear, bent beneath the barrier of caution tapes and made a beeline for the entrance of the store.
"Hey, YOU!" A voice called after her and she spun around to face the cop.
"No. Lois Lane, actually. Daily Planet. Care to comment?" She asked glancing around at the broken glass the covered the street.
"I swear, you tabloids. All you care about is getting the story. You come at these things like moths to a flame."
She lifted an eyebrow and gave him her best smile. "And who should I say quoted?"
"Get out of here before I arrest you!" He barked at her but Lois barely heard him as a familiar face appeared out of the doorway.
"Ollie?"
Oliver turned to her, his head still inside where everything had just happened. "Lois?"
Lois ran over to him, grabbing his arm and pulling him into a hug, "Oh my god. Are you ok?"
He let himself get wrapped up in her arms, "Yeah. I'm fine." He pulled back to look at her. "How'd you find out about this? The cops barely got here."
"Yeah, well that just shows how fast they are." She said, as she eyed the cop from earlier, "I heard the police scanner on Clark's desk."
Oliver looked up at the mention of Clark's name, "Where is Clark?"
"Oh him." Oliver detected the way she said his name, the way she seemed to look out at the crowd as if searching for something...or someone. "He was going to meet me here. Why?" She asked.
"Nothing. Lois, there's something I need to tell you."
"LOOK UP THERE!" A voice shouted from the crowd. Lois and Oliver looked to see a woman pointing up towards the sky, her eyes wide with amazement. Lois and Oliver followed her gaze. Lois felt her heart skip a beat as she saw what everyone was now gazing at. Etched into the building, outlined in fire, was a symbol.
"What the hell is that?" She questioned as she gazed up at the fiery beacon.
"Lois." Oliver called her name, more focused on telling her what happened to her cousin then with the symbol. She ignored him as she pulled out her pad and started to sketch the symbol.
"Lois!" He pleaded next to her.
"What is that? An 'S'?" She asked him absentmindedly. He made a grab for her arm but she pulled back at the last second, her gaze now locked on the crowd. "Where the hell is Clark when you need him?" She muttered with frustration. She shifted back and forth on her feet, her gazed looked on the sign above. Surprising Oliver, she spun to him, her face as lite as the symbol above.
"Ollie! I really feel that this has something to do with The Blur." Her eyes blazed with excitement, "I...just KNOW it." She spun around, her smile gone and replaced with a grimace of annoyance. "If we could only get pictures of it!" She all but yelled to herself.
"Lois!" Oliver hissed after her. He made another attempt for her attention but the click and flash of a camera caught her instead. She spun around to find the face.
"Hey you! Kid with the bow tie! How would you like to make some money?" She sauntered over to him. "Ollie, gimme your wallet." She called over her shoulder as she bent down to assist him on where to shot. Oliver, tired and angry, ran up to her and pulled her away, growling her name as he spun her to face him.
"LOIS!"
Her eyes grew wide as she took in the tears that started to flood his eyes,."What? Ollie, what's wrong?"
He closed his eyes. He finally had her attention but now that he had it he didn't know how to tell her.
"Oliver!" She pressed. She grabbed the hand that held her arm.
"It's Chloe." He finally whispered.
Lois felt the world tilt. She looked around and her eyes fell on the ambulance that was parked in front of the jewelers. She glanced back at Oliver's dazed face. She was afraid to ask but the question was out of her mouth before she could even think how bad the answer might be.
"What happened to Chloe?"
**********
Clark didn't know what to do. He had never felt so helpless as he did right now, seated next to Chloe's bed, watching the rise and fall of her chest. He kept kicking himself over and over again, drilling it in his head that the reason she was covered in stitches and laying in a coma was entirely his fault. He had barely made it. Couple of more seconds and she would have been gone. He grabbed at her hand as he tried so hard to get the thought out of his head.
Chloe. Gone.
Clark had made sure Lois was a good distance away from The Planet before he super sped off to the jewelry store, putting his suit on at the same time. A smile crept on his lips as he felt the wind brush his hair back. The sound of his coat snapping as the buildings and city lights melted around him. But his feeling of euphoria was short lived as he arrived at the destination. He heard the shouts and immediately recognized the voice.
"Oliver?"
And then he heard her screams.
**********
Oliver's breaths were coming in short amounts as he tried to catch up to Lois with no avail. Her body weaved through people has she practically ran through the hospital, her eyes darting over every door way till she find the one she wanted.
"Chloe?" She cried as she whisked the door open and came to sudden stand still as she recognized Clark's massive bulk in the shadows, "What are you doing here?" She shook her head as she stepped farther into the room. "How?...What....You weren't even there?! How did you even kno-How did you even get here so fast?"
Clark stood up, placing Chloe's hand gently back down, and walked over to Lois but she stepped away from him, moving over to Chloe.
"Lois." He tried to explain but she shook her head.
"Don't give me excuses, Clark. Not now." She turned to him, her eyes shining with tears.
He wanted so much to hold her. To comfort her as much as much he wanted her to comfort him. Lying to her, especially now, tore him up but he had too. He had convinced himself long ago that it was for the best.
"I'm listed as her emergency contact. They called me as I was heading over to you." The lie slipped out so easily but left the bitterest of tastes in his mouth. "I was going to call you but...I got..." He glanced down at Chloe. Lois followed his gazed. She almost cried out. He was lying. She could stand there and demand why but at that moment, Clark didn't matter to her, only Chloe did.
"Oh cuz." She moaned softly as she bent down to kiss the skin that wasn't covered in bandages.
Oliver shoved through the doorway, pausing as he saw Lois bent over Chloe.
"Um...Clark. Can I see you for a moment?" He stepped out into the hallway and watched as Clark took one more glance back into the room before gently closing the door.
"How is she?" Oliver asked right away.
Clark took a deep breath, trying to straighten his thoughts, "She's somewhat stable. She was hit with a some strong volts but....nothing to point where she should have just been...in pain." He clenched his jaw as he remembered her screams.
"Clark! She's in a coma!"
"You don't think I know that! The doctor's have no idea why her body is reacting the way it is. They don't understand why she's in this bad of a coma. They said she should be out of it by now,"Clark lowered his voice, "Oliver, her brain activity is off the charts."
Oliver gave him a questioning look, "What do you mean?"
Clark slumped against the wall, "Her brain activity is above normal. Like she's reacting to things but her body isn't responding...just her brain. The doctor's think...she's feeling."
"Feeling what? Pain?"
"They don't know. Don't you have any connections in Star City?"
"I already called." Oliver sighed slumped against the wall too, "God, Clark, if you hadn't have gotten there when you did..." He couldn't finish the thought, wouldn't finish.
"She still got hurt didn't she?"
"Are you really going to start blaming yourself over something that you had no control over. I mean I know you like doing that to yourself but come on, you got there didn't you? You got her here to the hospital, didn't you? When is that ever going to be enough for you, Clark?"
"When someone doesn't get hurt."