Part 5

It was really starting to piss her off.

And now Chloe had run off with some serial killer, Ok he was a hot as hell serial killer but still…. That was so unlike her cousin. Lois was the one who had…interesting taste in men. Chloe had always gone for the awe shucks type. Serial killers were not her type, even cute ones.

There had to be something more to it than that but every time she tried to look into it, the evil boss lady would hand her some puff piece to do. That didn't mean that Lois was going to give up without a fight.

Tess Mercer was up to something.

Chloe was not acting like herself.

The world had turned upside down.

Lois Lane was going to figure out why.

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"Clark, are you sure that's a good idea?"

After Clark had found the black meteor rock had carefully maneuvered it into a lead box that he figured Chloe had kept it in. After that he'd made his way towards Oliver's office, coming up with a plan as he walked. He could get Chloe out- the plan would work.

Only Oliver wasn't so impressed with it.

"I have to get Chloe out of there, Oliver." Clark said simply. He was trying to stay calm, but pretty soon he was going to throttle his friend.

"And what about Davis?" Oliver got up and walked toward his friend. He didn't like the idea of leaving Chloe in the Phantom Zone but he couldn't come up with any way to get her out without running into the Beast. "Do you think he'll just let her go?"

"No." Clark paused for a moment, "I'll have to kill him."

"Clark." Oliver's head banged against the glass window softly in frustration.

"Hear me out Oliver." Clark sighed. "I think Chloe came up with a plan to actually save Davis. Her plan wasn't to stop me from sending the Beast Doomsday to the Phantom Zone but it was to stop me from sending Davis."

"Is that even possible?"

"With black kryptonite it is."

"And she just happened to get her hands on some." Oliver rolled his eyes. If it had been anyone else… he'd questioned it. But Chloe had her ways…

Clark smiled, "You know Chloe can do almost anything when she puts her mind to it."

"And she put her mind to saving Davis." Oliver muttered. He stared out the window at Metropolis, his mind trying to wrap itself around all of this. It did sound like a plan Chloe would come up with. It would stop the evil that was in Davis but save the good in him. If there was any good left in him. "What if there is nothing to save?" He whispered.

"We deal with that when we have to?" Clark knew his friend was cracking- a little more cajoling and he'd have a partner in crime.

"We?"

"I can't do this alone, Oliver." Oliver's head banged against the glass again and Clark almost laughed. Instead he took another careful step towards his friend. "I need your help. Chloe needs your help."

Oliver bit his lip as he thought the information over. The rational part pointed out that they were acting on a hunch, and a plan that they weren't even sure was what Chloe had intended. But it was Chloe. No matter what she had done to them in the past she didn't deserve the Phantom Zone. No one does.

Oliver turned towards Clark and nodded. "I'm in."They would deal with Davis if they had to, and if Chloe really was a problem, they'd deal with her too, as a team.

They worked best that way.

And Chloe was part of the team.

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Davis smiled as he held onto Chloe's hand. They had decided to explore a cave nearby. They needed to make sure that whatever that thing was that attacked them didn't have friends.

"Davis if abilities don't work here why did you turn into the Beast?" Chloe asked after awhile.

Davis kept leading her through the cave, almost ignoring her question. He'd been wondering that since the attack- he could still feel the Beast inside of him… but it was different. It was calm, tame. It was still there and capable of doing horrible things but it didn't need to do them.

If it could be like this all the time…

"Davis?" Chloe tried again. She stopped walking and pulled her hand out of his.

"I think because the Beast is a part of who I am." Davis cringed as he spoke the words out loud. "Just like drinking your body weight in coffee is a part of who you are."

"Davis, I'm serious."

"So am I Chloe." Davis sighed. "The Beast is still there, this huge piece of me. Back home, it has it's own mind, it's own personality that I can't control. Here thought… it doesn't fight me to be in control. It doesn't need to come out and cause harm."

"Fight or flight." Chloe said simply.

"What?" Now it was Davis' turn to be confused.

"It's your fight or flight reflex." Chloe paused. She sat down on the largest rock, her bottom lip pulled in between her teeth. "The irony is I was right and if we hadn't been sent here I might have had a way to save you."

"What are you talking about Chloe?"

"It's why I went to the fortress. It's why I disappeared on you before Clark sent you to the fortress. I had a plan to separate you from the Beast. I just needed more time." Chloe shrugged and stood up.

"You were trying to save me?" Davis whispered. Chloe had begun exploring a bit further away. He smiled as he watched her leave- she'd always known when he needed space. Davis didn't know whether to cry or break something. She'd been trying to save him- she was going to save him.

Davis was just afraid that there was nothing left to save.