Chapter Two
Late 2009 – Metropolis
Since Watchtower had to meet Green Arrow in Metropolis, Chloe decided to utilize the time to break into LuthorCorp. She didn't relish being in the proverbial lion's den, but, even with her hacking skills, there were things inside the building that Chloe wouldn't be able to access via her computer, like hard copy files, intranet infrastructure that wasn't connected to an outside feed; safes and vaults; storage areas.
Watchtower had found several references to some type of experimentation on humans but nothing specific. Knowing the Luthors as she did, Chloe was certain that whatever it was, wasn't going to be ethically humane and would only benefit the Luthors in some way. This was her chance to get information from the source.
.
The Luthor security was a joke, as always, and Chloe couldn't help but smirk. After all these years, you'd think that Lex and his father would have learned from the constant break-ins they suffered through. However, that just made Watchtower's job a lot easier.
Prowling through several offices, she came across a variety of information that would be useful for her crime database but nothing of the caliber Watchtower was actually looking for. Noting the time, she cautiously made her way to Lex's office and set herself to the task of downloading the contents from his laptop. Knowing how adversarial the Luthor's were to each other, Watchtower decided to do the same for Lionel's computer as well.
Before leaving either office, she installed a piece of software that she had designed. It would be seen as a harmless piece of code by anything but a militant security level software algorithm. Knowing that the Luthor's dealt with such contracts, Chloe expected the program to be found and destroyed before too long, but it would give her a doorway into each system that she didn't have now, for a short time. And who knows, maybe they wouldn't find it for a much longer time than she expected.
Watchtower was making her way through the building to the exit she had used to get in, when the power went out. Continuing in the darkness towards the stairwell, she was momentarily blinded when the emergency lighting came on as she opened the door to the stairs. Watchtower and the guard looked at each other with twin expressions of surprise before she slammed the door and began running down the corridor to the opposite stairwell entrance.
Hearing the door crash against the wall as the guard burst through it, Watchtower zagged to the right just as the retort of a gun broke the silence. Chloe was almost to the door to the stairs when the gun sounded again. Crashing through it, she put a hand to the wound in her side and stumbled down the stairs hurriedly. Going down two levels, she threw open the door, hoping to either startle a guard for the moment it would take for her to kill him with one of her throwing knives, or find no guard whatsoever. Going down several doors, she opened one at random and slipped inside, just hearing the stairwell door crash open as the guard in pursuit entered on to the floor.
Chloe crouched in a corner and covered her wound with her hand, the bright golden glow of her healing ability flowing into the bullet wound, sealing and regenerating the tissues, muscle and veins in moments. Standing, she made her way to the door and back into the hallway. Watchtower caught the guard just exiting one of the rooms and used a throwing knife; it impaled him in the thigh and he fell to the floor, reaching for his radio.
Watchtower threw herself down the hallway and back into the stairwell.
*^*^*
The night was cold, with the promise of snow in the crisp scent of the air and Green Arrow had observed the area thoroughly before loosing an arrow to the building that was where he'd be meeting Watchtower for the first time. Landing on the rooftop, he assessed the woman carefully in closer detail, a smile playing about his lips.
"I like the look." The green leather clad archer commented.
Green Arrow tried not to wince as Impulse's whistle came through his communicator. "Mama Mia!"
"Glad you approve." Watchtower's voice distorter gave nothing of her natural voice away; even when she was manning the comm during a mission, she used it.
The wig wasn't obviously fake but Oliver didn't think it was her natural hair either, it would identify her too easily; however, it suited the look; her eyes, indeed, the entire top half of her face and head were masked not only by the wrap around sunglasses she wore, but the curly wig of long black ringlets. She wore a long black leather jacket that appeared to reach just passed the tops of her thigh-high black boots, a black body suit and black gloves.
Trying to circle her, he found that she turned with him, never letting him get behind her; the skin that showed at the tops of her boots looked to be creamy smooth but her muscles appeared well toned; the glitter of metal inside the top of each boot spoke of her being good with weapons too. Given that, Green Arrow was sure that the opened black leather jacket contained a few other surprises inside as well.
Aborting the circuit, he came to a stand still, crossing his arms over his chest. Given the information Watchtower had been sending he and others, Oliver knew she had one hell of a brain. But it appeared that she not only knew how to defend herself, but was a visual knockout also.
Just then, Green Arrow put it all together in his head. Watchtower's the woman in black, taking care of Star City when I'm out of town. That means she knows who I am!
Before he could say anything, she pulled a pair of dark sunglasses out from a pocket.
"Take out the earwig and lose the shades. Put these on." Watchtower put the glasses on the roof top and backed up a few steps.
Oliver blinked behind his eyewear, impressed and slightly surprised at the caution. Reaching up to his right ear, he took out his communicator. As he reached down, exchanging his glasses for the ones she set down for him, he replied in a slightly sarcastic tone, "Paranoid much?"
Having put his eyewear and his communicator on the roof top he stood up and backed a couple of steps away. He backed up further when she motioned him to do so, picking up the items. Examining them for a moment, she looked up at him and smirked. Talking directly into the earwig, her eyes still seemingly focused on him, she continued.
"One, just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean that I'm not being watched. Two, I don't like eavesdroppers," and she blew into the ear piece before turning it off.
Green Arrow grimaced, not wanting to think about the consequences of what the feedback did to his co-workers' ears back at headquarters.
She put the glasses and the communicator into a small black plastic bag and then put them in her pocket. Looking up, she smirked again. "I'll give them back to you when we're finished."
They stared at each other for a few moments before Watchtower uncrossed her arms from her chest. "Well, this has been interesting but I have work to do." Putting one hand inside a pocket to retrieve the plastic bag, Green Arrow shook himself out of his thoughts.
"What makes you think we're done?"
The woman raised her left eyebrow. "You wanted to meet, we've met; I don't do staring contests."
"Just meeting isn't what this is about; I still don't know anything about you."
She snorted slightly, "I'm Watchtower, you're Green Arrow. There isn't anything else you need to know."
Green Arrow shook his head with rising impatience. "How do you know everything you know? Why are you in contact with us? You suggested we get together, form an alliance, we're trying to do that now but what is all of this to you? Why does it matter to you? How do you know what the Luthors are up to? Who are you? Who are you working for?"
Watchtower looked at him and, not for the first time, Oliver wished he could see her eyes. "You don't need to know anything other than the world needs people like you and the rest of those like you. I'm good at what I do and I pass that on to people who are good at what they do."
Trying to keep her talking, hoping for her to drop more information, he continued, "You could send all of it to the police or even the FBI, why us? Why me?"
Watchtower shook her head, setting the ringlets of the wig bouncing slightly. "You wouldn't be doing what you do if you thought the police could handle it. Too few of them to do what needs to be done; too many of them corrupted to ensure that the good ones do their job and I'm not even going to talk about the government."
Before he could think of any other delaying tactics, she put the black plastic bag containing his shades and communicator on the roof. Standing up, she began backing into the darker area of the roof.
"Wait." Green Arrow called out to her. When Watchtower came to a standstill, he stepped forward a step, to which she stepped backward. Green Arrow stopped, "Boy Scout said that Lionel Luthor killed his best friend almost six years ago. He wanted to know why some of the information you've given us wasn't brought to light then.
"Given your comment regarding the government, can I take it that you've had dealings with them? Bad ones?"
For the first time, Watchtower seemed anything but confident and secure. It was very slight, but Green Arrow had enough experience with reading people that he saw the few seconds of uncertainty in Watchtower's stance.
"I'm sorry for Boy Scout's loss but there were reasons the information I've been giving you didn't come to light until now. Other things have come about that allow past information to be brought up."
Green Arrow was pretty positive that he was missing something in this conversation, he just didn't know what. While his instincts told him that Watchtower wasn't lying to him, they also told him that she wasn't telling him everything she knew.
Furrowing his brow, Green Arrow asked the researcher in black, point blank, "Did you know Boy Scout's friend, the one who died when the safe house exploded?"
Chloe had been almost blindsided by Green Arrow's revelation of Clark telling him that she had died in that safe house bombing those years ago; Clark Kent never told people things like that, he was too closed off. Then again, Chloe supposed she should have expected something but she hadn't prepared herself for any conversation on this topic for this point in time, and she certainly hadn't planned on talking with Oliver Queen about it.
His last question did completely blindside her however and she struggled with an answer, any answer that would sound satisfactory, not only to him, but to Clark.
Watchtower's hesitation, her silence, gave Green Arrow all the answer he needed.
"You did. You knew his friend. Did you have this information back then? Why did you suppress it?" Green Arrow was frustrated and confused about the situation. He was torn between his loyalty and friendship to Clark and his acquaintance with Watchtower.
Oliver didn't know Watchtower, but she had never given him bad or misleading information in his entire acquaintance with her and hadn't heard anything nugatory from Batman or the media either. In his opinion, she was doing what she could to bring justice to those who needed it; she had gotten him to think about getting together with other likeminded individuals to help achieve that goal; she kept his secrets; she patrolled Star City when he was out of town; he'd even let her talk him into linking up a communication system to share so that the team could get real time information from her when they were on missions.
Watchtower was an incredibly valuable resource, a remarkable woman.
However, Oliver did know Clark and he valued the man's friendship and trust. The man was obviously still upset over his friend's death, perhaps he felt guilty for not being able to save her as well. Whatever, the man was obviously still thinking of it and to know that there was someone out there who could have come forth to do something about the injustice left Oliver feeling frustrated and uneasy.
Green Arrow had taken a couple of steps towards Watchtower before he realized he'd even moved. Before he was within touching distance, however, Watchtower had a set of nunchaku's in her hands and was in a powerful self-defense stance.
Putting both of his hands up in the classic 'surrender' pose, he backed up. Putting both hands on his hips, he sighed, his head tipped backward slightly and he took a deep breath. "Sorry, Watchtower, don't mean to make you feel threatened."
Lowering his head, he saw the woman in black still prepared to defend herself and his lips turned up in the corners a bit.
"Something tells me that, no matter if I am a man in excellent condition, I'd have a hell of a time restraining you." He attempted to break the tension that was radiating from Watchtower.
"I'm pretty sure I could take you out." Came the tense response, although there seemed to be a hint of amusement in the distorted voice.
Green Arrow smirked, "Pretty sure of that aren't you?"
Watchtower's reply took him off guard, "You'll just have to trust me that I did what I thought best those years ago. Second, I'm sure that I'm good and good things come in small packages, Mr. Queen."
And then she was gone.
*^*^*
Green Arrow was momentarily taken aback with the confirmed fact that Watchtower knew who he was and she'd used that moment to make her escape. Once again, frustration clawed through the green leather wearing hero and he turned abruptly to retrieve the plastic bag from the roof top. Ripping into it with more force than was necessary, Green Arrow quickly put his earwig back in and exchanged the glasses. He put the ones Watchtower had given him to wear in the bag and stuffed it in one of his pockets. Given the intellect of the black clad researcher, he seriously doubted that she would have left any trace of who she was on the shades but it was worth a shot.
Turning the communicator back on, he surveyed the area and then made his own exit. Landing a few rooftops away, he tried contacting headquarters. "Anyone still able to hear me?"
"Dude, what did she do? We had to change speakers, man."
Despite the situation, Green Arrow chuckled at Bart Allen's comment. Typical Impulse response.
Bruce's voice came over the communicator, from the Bat Cave in Gotham City, complete with the growl that the Batman was known for. "Were you able to get any answers?"
Green Arrow sighed, leave it to Bruce to cut to the chase. "No, just that she seems to support us in what we're doing." Stopping himself from taking his hood off and running his hand through his hair, he continued, "And she knows who Green Arrow really is."
There was silence over the comm for a moment before Bruce voiced the question that most of them were thinking.
"Watchtower's the one who convinced us to create the League, yet she's made no overtures with regards to joining it. What do you think she'll do with that knowledge?"
Green Arrow secured another line to swing to another building, answering just as he launched himself into the dark expanse, "I don't know for sure but I'm thinking she won't do anything with it. And just because she hasn't joined us doesn't mean she's against us, Batman. After all, look at you."
*^*^*
A week had passed with no contact from Watchtower. Oliver had checked in with Bruce and had, nonchalantly, found out that the black clad researcher was still in communication with him, so it was definitely the members of the Justice League that she was avoiding.
Oliver had spent a lot of time going over his first meeting with Watchtower and he couldn't understand why he was having so many conflicting feelings and thoughts; why was the control he was so proud of, almost non-existent when it came to her?
As each day passed, Oliver was unaware that he was becoming more and more out of sorts, not only with himself but his co-workers in the League as well as the employees of Queen Industries. On the fifth day, right after Oliver had snapped at Victor about not having some non-critical information, Bart and AC decided enough was enough.
"What is up with you, man? Did something like crawl up your ass and die or something?"
"Yeah, Bro, what's up? You've been like a hammerhead shark with a severe headache for days."
Clark had to blink and chuckle regarding AC's comment and it deflated some of the tension that had filled the room after Oliver's outburst.
Oliver wiped both his hands down his face, hard, before sighing and apologizing to Victor.
Tilting his head back for a moment, he then lowered it back down and ran a hand through his blonde hair, spiking it more than it already was.
Looking straight at Clark, he said without any preamble, "Watchtower knew your friend. And I think she knew about the information she's given us, back in 2004. But she also said that we'd just have to trust her in that she did what she thought was best at the time."
Oliver gave them all a few moments to process the information. While he'd given them a run down on the meeting with Watchtower when he'd gotten back that night, he hadn't given them any real details, which he did now.
"She had no right to withhold that information! She should have gone to the police, or the FBI." Clark replied once Oliver had finished.
"Dude, your friend was killed while in FBI custody. Maybe Watchtower decided that retreating was the best way to deal with the situation for the time being." Bart squeezed one of Clark's shoulders in understanding.
"Maybe." Clark responded. "But, it's been almost six years. Why now? Why wait so long?"
"Clark, you've dealt with the Luthors for a long time. I've known Lex but not anywhere near as long or as well as you. Can you honestly say that, without a significant amount of unshakeable evidence, that Lex or Lionel would be taken down? I mean, your friend –"
"Chloe. Her name was Chloe. Chloe Sullivan." Clark interrupted, old grief and pain on his face. "She was Lois' cousin."
Oliver nodded and continued, "Chloe, she was in FBI custody, going into the Witness Protection Program, when she was killed. If Watchtower knew her, and knew about the information that she's now given us, and came forward back then… don't you think that it wouldn't be so much of a stretch to believe that Watchtower would have been killed as well?"
Clark sighed and after a moment he nodded his head.
"So, if you're so cool about this situation, Ollie, why are you being such an ass?" Victor commented.
"Just because it sounds like I've come to terms with it doesn't mean that I'm not upset, frustrated or angry about the situation. I have the same questions you do, perhaps more."
Not voicing any of them though, Oliver continued, "I'm also concerned. Watchtower and I didn't part in the best of ways and with her remaining silent with us… I just wonder if she's decided to stay silent with us, permanently."
*^*^*
Now that her past was coming in to play, Chloe wasn't sure how to continue working with Oliver and the rest of the Justice League. Working with, and she used the term loosely, Batman, was much easier because he was a loner. He didn't care much about anything if it didn't affect him personally or Gotham City in particular. But Oliver wasn't a loner at the moment. He was the leader of the League and he was a co-worker and friend of Clark.
Chloe understood how he could feel like he was in the middle of something because she'd been there a lot, with Clark and Lana and Clark and everyone who wanted to know his secret or when she covered for him when he did things that no one had explanations for.
For the last week, she had been trying to come up with a way of working with all of them, especially after Oliver talked with Clark, as she was sure he would at some point in time. It was easier siding with people you knew and if Watchtower put all her cards on the table, and things went wrong… Chloe Sullivan would be known to be alive and a target of the Luthors once more. Her cover as Watchtower would be blown and the League might decide she was too much of a problem to bother with.
That left only working with Batman.
That wasn't bad really, but it wasn't good either. She'd be cut off from helping to get justice to the people who needed it, to get the truth out there for everyone to know.
*^*^*
Another three days passed before Watchtower contacted the Justice League to give them the information she had gotten from LuthorCorp. Before she ended her communication with them, Green Arrow requested to meet with her once more and that Boy Scout wanted to accompany him.
.
Green Arrow and Clark arrived at the designated place and before too long, Watchtower exited the shadows. Nodding her head at them, she addressed Clark before either of them could speak.
"I know you can X-ray me to find out who I am and I'm asking you not to. You may think you're invulnerable but I am not and I know you aren't either. And I'm also warning you to keep your distance as I have something with me that you're allergic to." Watchtower was obviously fingering something in a pocket of her leather jacket.
Oliver blinked and Clark looked shocked.
"Do you understand?" She asked, her voice distorter couldn't quite mask the sincerity of the question.
Clark nodded.
Green Arrow looked from Watchtower to Clark, slight amusement mixed with disbelief coloring his voice when he responded, "You're allergic to something? And… you can x-ray people? Just by looking at them?"
Clark looked to his friend with a sigh and then back to Watchtower before giving Green Arrow a shrug.
"Learn something new every day."
Turning his attention back to Watchtower, he took a moment to study her before continuing. "Watchtower, I'm sorry about our last meeting. I was beginning to think we wouldn't hear from you again." He continued before she could say anything.
"I felt like I was between a rock and a hard place right then – between you and Boy Scout – feeling like I was caught between loyalties, as it were."
Oliver stared at her momentarily, trying to get across to her the conflicting thoughts and emotions he was dealing with, before saying the rest of what was on his mind. "In that database you gave me over a year ago, there was nothing of this magnitude listed for Lex or Lionel. Given all of what you've been sending to us right now… years of information, I have to admit, I'm feeling a little unsettled that you… maybe you have an ulterior motive or different agenda then the rest of us, right now."
Watchtower nodded at him. "I can understand and appreciate what you mean, Green Arrow. I know how what I'm doing could be interpreted that way and that might make things uneasy between or among us for a time, perhaps even to the point where you feel that you can't work with me any longer."
Green Arrow held himself still, feeling the tension radiating off Clark as well, but he needed to know where Watchtower was coming from.
"I've been watching the Luthors for a long time and I know that, despite what any of you may think, they aren't going to be easy to take down, no matter if we have evidence or not.
"I just need you, both of you, all of you, actually, to know that if things had been different those years ago, I would have acted. But things weren't different and I did what I thought was best, for all involved. And I need you to trust me because I don't have any motive or agenda other than getting the truth out there and helping get justice to those who need it."
Sighing slightly, the woman in black continued, "Chloe didn't want anyone else to get involved; she wouldn't have wanted all the collateral damage that would have happened if I, or anyone else, had tried to continue with things after she had died."
Watchtower moved her head slightly to focus on Clark. "Clark, you have to know that Chloe considered you her best friend. She did a lot for you, she kept your secrets and ran interference for you in a lot of things. She loved you, she was in love with you for years. She made some mistakes along the way, of course, just like any human does. But in the end, she followed her own path. Chloe chose to seek justice and truth against powerful individuals.
"Those individuals killed her and, years later, they still have power, even more than back then. There is no statute of limitations for murder; we need to build a case against them that is so strong that they can't get away with what they've done and the only way that's going to happen is with the cooperation and work of people like us.
"You know how slippery the Luthors are and they have their hands into everything and that's what makes taking them down so hard. It might take years but justice will be served, Clark, we just have to pull together and see it through. And we also need to make sure that whoever takes them on is well protected and free of corruption."
She was looking at both of them now and Oliver couldn't help but be impressed with the woman in front of him again. Watchtower was, indeed, a very intelligent individual. She kept secrets of many people and seemed to be incredibly loyal. He hoped one day that she would consider him a friend.
Watchtower sighed once again before continuing. "Clark, did you ever think what it must have been like for Chloe? How hard it was for her to keep all the secrets she had been given or found out? How, just the responsibility of those secrets, put her in danger? She did it for you and for others because you, and those others, were her friends."
Clark looked down towards the roof top for a moment before nodding his head.
"You're right. I'm sorry for thinking the worst of you, Watchtower. It's just… I miss her so much. She was my best friend and I can't help but feel somehow guilty about not being able to save her. About getting her involved with my life and the lives of the Luthors.
"That she'd still be alive if it wasn't for our friendship."
Watchtower's stance changed immediately, going from calm, reasonable and comforting to completely affronted. "Clark Kent, you are such a martyr!"
Clark jerked his head a bit, his mouth falling open slightly.
Oliver was watching the two and couldn't help the smirk of amusement at Clark's reaction.
"Do you honestly think Chloe blames you for her death? It was her decision to get involved with you, with the Luthors and with all the business that eventually led to her getting killed. She is to blame for her own mistakes, not you. You did not hear Lionel's confession to Chloe; you did not choose to pursue justice for the deaths of his parents, Chloe did.
"You couldn't have changed anything about Chloe, just as she couldn't have changed anything about you. Chloe followed the path that her life was meant for. She died doing what she loved doing, finding out the truth, standing up for it. If she were alive now, she'd be doing the same thing, although I'm sure she'd be doing things significantly different."
Clark closed his mouth with a snap, becoming angry. "How do you know? What do you know about Chloe, how do you know her? Who are you?"
Now came the truth. Chloe had deliberately made him think of the situation, having it all fresh in his mind, talking with someone he really didn't know. If she had appeared as Chloe from the get go of this meeting, she never would have gotten him to think about everything.
One thing about Clark Kent that hadn't seemed to change over the years was his non-ability to really think things through, to go off half-cocked.
Taking a breath, Watchtower took off the wig and then removed her glasses.
*^*^*
While Clark was standing beside him, mouth open and completely shocked, Oliver was standing in stunned amazement as he looked into the most beautiful green eyes he'd ever seen.
Suddenly Clark was striding towards Watchtower and before Oliver could think to hold him back, Clark was staggering to a stop. Oliver watched as Clark's eyes opened wide in disbelief, pain and hurt.
Chloe hadn't wanted to bring the meteor rock with her but she needed the assurance that having it would give her if she needed a weapon against Clark.
"Damn it, Clark, I told you I had one." Watchtower had turned off her voice distorter and Oliver got to hear her natural voice for the first time; the voice that sent shivers down his body, now in its natural state, was even harder to ignore. Shaking his head and clamping down hard on his self-control, Queen told himself to get with the program.
"What's going on? You ok, Clark." Oliver was standing near Clark, at a loss with what to do.
"Take him back a few steps, please. He'll be fine when he's not so close." He looked up to find Watchtower looking at them with a mix of emotions on her face and in her eyes.
Clark did seem to recover when he was pulled away from Watchtower but before Oliver could ask anything, Clark was verbally going after the woman.
"I can't believe you! You were my best friend and you let all of us think you were dead. And why do you have a –"
"I warned you, Clark." Watchtower, or Chloe Sullivan, Oliver realized, cut Clark off with a look to himself. Obviously whatever had caused Clark to stagger, Chloe was once again protecting Clark's secrets.
"And we just spent some time going over why I let everyone think I was dead. There was nothing that could be done then. Chloe Sullivan had to die if I wanted to live, if I wanted to continue to look for the truth and bring justice to those who needed it."
Watchtower, Chloe, seemed to struggle to bring herself back under control before continuing.
"As to what I brought with me, I wasn't sure how you'd respond to me. I've changed a lot over the years, Clark, and one of those things has been how to protect myself. Whether or not we were friends back then doesn't have any bearing on the here and now. It would have been short-sighted, not to mention stupid, of me to meet with you and not have a way of defending myself."
Clark blinked, his expression growing pained and angry. "You think I would have hurt you? What the hell has happened to you, Chloe, to make you think that? How can you believe I'd do anything to you?"
Oliver stood back, figuratively, and watched the two former best friends try and come to terms with everything. He was stuck again, somewhere between that rock and a hard place.
On the one hand, he completely understood where Watchtower, err, Chloe, was coming from. He admired her for what it must have taken to walk away from everything she knew and loved; hell, she must have gone from being a high school kid thinking about tests and college and prom, to an adult having to deal with the likes of the Luthors, gunning for her overnight when that safe house was bombed.
On the other, Oliver didn't know Chloe but he did know Clark, and Clark was obviously confused and hurt about the entire thing. His best friend was now right in front of him after six years of pretending to be dead. All Clark knew was that he'd been living with the fact that she was dead, feeling guilty for his supposed part in her death and all of a sudden, she wasn't dead, there wasn't any guilt. But there was anger at the deception, at the manipulation of the entire thing.
Taking a huge breath, Chloe spoke, "Listen Clark, the Chloe you knew is dead. She had to die for me to live without watching over my shoulder every second of every day. The Luthors don't know I'm alive, if they did, the safe house wouldn't have been the last near death experience I had.
"I spent the first couple of years after the bomb just trying to stay off the grid. I did every odd job I could find that didn't require any identification and paid in cash on a daily basis. Once I got my feet under me, I spent as much money as I could learning self-defense.
"After awhile, I went into writing freelance and children's books. After that, I had to get my life back on track – what I was meant to do. And that was become Watchtower. I've been doing what I do best since then. And I couldn't have done everything I do now, help Batman and the Justice League if I'd shown myself earlier."
Chloe looked at Clark earnestly.
"I'm still a threat to the Luthors, Clark, more so now as Watchtower, actually. However, if Chloe comes back from the dead, she won't be among the living for very long. You know that just as well as I."
Clark looked at Chloe. "Come home, Chloe, we'll find a way to deal with this. We can protect you, keep you safe."
Chloe rolled her eyes and sighed exasperatedly. "Clark, it's not your job to protect me, to keep me safe. And you can't be with me every single second of every single day. That isn't life, for either of us. And I can't do what needs to be done, what I need to do, that way either. And neither can you."
He tried once more, "Chloe – "
"No, Clark! This is my life. You can't live it for me, I can't live it the way you want me to and if you tried to make me, I would hate you for it.
"I've found a life as Watchtower. I do what I need to do and I'm good at it. I help others with what I do; I help them do what they do best too."
Clark let out a huff of air and shook his head. "Look… what do I tell Mom? What do I tell Lois?"
"You don't tell them anything."
His mouth dropped open for just a moment. "You can't expect me to just – "
Watchtower interrupted him again, intensely and with conviction. "I expect you to keep my secret. I expect you to say nothing about Chloe Sullivan being alive and being Watchtower. I expect you to give me the same courtesy that I have given you for well over a decade Clark Kent." Chloe's eyes burned with determination.
As Clark and Chloe stared at each other, Oliver didn't move, watching the battle of wills. He was really interested in finding out who would win. While he knew Clark could be a really naive Kansas farm boy, he also had the capacity to be an incredibly mature adult. However, Clark worked more with a black and white view of the world and didn't see the shades of grey that most of it truly was.
"Chloe…" Clark sounded like he was almost begging for her understanding. For her to just give in to his reasoning.
"Clark, if you can't do as I expect then you and I can't have any contact, in any way, shape or form. Not even via the League. You'll put me and everything I've done over the years in jeopardy, not to mention put the League at a serious disadvantage."
Oliver didn't react outwardly but his mind raced over Chloe's statement. Yeah, if he couldn't handle this situation, Clark would either have to stay away from the League or Watchtower would have to. And Oliver found himself extremely split on that. The advantages with both were obvious. The disadvantage of losing either of them would be a significant blow to the League in any form.
However, Oliver found himself thinking that he would miss the opportunity of getting to know Chloe Sullivan better. And, for some reason, that didn't sit well with him at all. Mentally shaking his head clear of those thoughts, he turned his attention back to the two in front of him.
Clark backed a couple of steps away. "I need to think, Chloe." And with that, there was a blur of colors and a whoosh of wind signaling Clark's departure.
As soon as Clark was gone, Watchtower seemed to deflate a bit.
Oliver watched her unabashedly as she closed her eyes for several seconds, lifting a gloved hand to rub at the bridge of her nose. Sighing, she straightened her back, glancing towards him before putting the wig back on, covering the blonde hair that was long enough to be stuck down the back of her leather jacket. Watchtower was just about to bring her arm up to put her shades back on when Oliver realized he couldn't stand to let her hide those amazing eyes.
Sticking his hand out, he said inanely, "We haven't been formerly introduced. I'm Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow." He smiled at her, using his other hand to take his own dark glasses off and push his hood back from his face.
Watchtower blinked and then laughed lightly, giving him a smile. Taking his gloved hand in one of her own, she shook it. "Actually, we have been introduced, Mr. Queen, several times; you just know me by the identity I use for my day job."
"I'm sorry, I don't recall." He wanted to tell her that, of course, he remembered her, because he would never forget that smile or those eyes.
"'She' works very hard at being unmemorable, Mr. Queen. That's her purpose, being able to cavort within the lifestyles of the rich and famous as well as other places. She needs to be forgettable in order for me to do my job.
"However, you seemed to recognize her the last time we met and that concerned me more than I'd like to admit. It's good to know that you don't recognize some aspect of myself as her when she's not in front of you."
Oliver shook his head slightly and looked at Watchtower for a long moment, blinking.
"Yes, well, while you and the rest of the League lead a double life, I…" She moved her head from side to side, "I lead a triple life, I guess. There's Chloe for when it's just me or when I'm doing some causal things, then there's my 'daytime' persona and then there's Watchtower."
Chloe tried not to fidget as the blonde billionaire continued to stare at her. To break the spell of whatever was going on, she started to put her glasses back on.
"Wait." Oliver intercepted her hand. "When did we meet?"
Even through two gloves, Chloe could feel the warmth of Oliver's hand grasping hers. She pulled her hand away and cleared her throat, "We, uh, we've met several times but the last was in Metropolis. It was the evening before the day Green Arrow was reported by the Daily Planet being in town, between the holidays in 2007."
Chloe needed to leave, her composure wasn't doing well with Green Arrow being more Oliver Queen then his masked alter ego.
She decided to put another card on the table, "It was what led me to be suspicious about you being the Emerald Archer."
Once again, Watchtower used Green Arrow's shock to slip away.
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