Not in a good mood with fanfiction right now... I spent half an hour this morning editing this chapter online. I go to click save and it tells me i'm not even fluffin logged in and reverts back to the original version. So... this is my second time editing this (after a mad rage gym session), and I apologise if I miss anything.
Anyhoo, Happy Monday, and Happy December 9th, I hope you are all well.
R.I.P. Nelson Mandela. (What is it with people dying this month? Isn't December meant to be happy?!)
Reviews have been spectacular, as they usually are (you guys rock!). Yes; I do like cliff hanger endings, what can I say, the devil in me finds them beautiful. Otherwise, I bid you to relax dear viewers, I promise, EVERYTHING will work out in the end. Everyone will get what's coming to them.
My favorite Smallville Quote sits below, it's just beautiful, it sums up the entire bad guy plot of Smallville and also this story, so yes; I LOVE this quote.
The chapter is a bit bitty/clunky, and I apologise for that too, things are a bit crazy right now and smooth writing isn't happening so well. Deepest apologies.
Previously; Chloe knows! Oliver knows! Chloe knows that Oliver knows, but Oliver doesn't know Chloe knows! (Yeah, I deliberately made it confusing, haha). In an effort to process the new information, Chloe takes a walk into the wrong side of town. Naturally, she ends up in cliffhanger trouble.
Chapter Thirty-Five; Villains
'You were right about me all along Mr Kent. I am the villain of this story' – Lex Luthor (Season Four, Episode Onyx)
"Tell me, and I may spare you." he offered, pausing the progress of the card. She wished she could see what it was, but she knew she wouldn't be able to know its effect even if she did. "Why are you here?"
"I was walking, I heard an argument. Nothing more." she answered, knowing it would not sate the man.
"Walking where?"
"Just a walk." she replied as quickly as she could.
"No-one takes 'just a walk' and, they definitely don't in this part of town." Chloe had to give it to him; he had a point.
"Smells like th' sea on' storms night. Crime all ov'r 'er." The harsh Scottish broke against her ears.
"Maybe we got off on the wrong foot then." The leader grinned. As with most criminals, when they heard she ran in the same circles as them, they presumed she'd jump at the chance to join their crew. They were wrong. "Perhaps we can make some arrangement." Chloe had been here before, she'd learnt her lesson very fast. Never make deals with criminals.
"Hacker." The Scottish came again, grumbling the word out. "Smell's all ov'r your fingers." he followed with a sniff of disgust.
"Then we can come to some agreement." The leader happily spoke, Chloe's face had nothing of happiness. She was done with this life, she wasn't getting tied back down and she wasn't playing assistant to these bastards.
"I don't make deals with criminals." she hissed
"Yet you are one yourself. Does a code mean nothing?" Interest. Sick interest poured from him.
"I have a code. It doesn't involve working with the men that were willing to kill me for walking past."
"You say that like you're above it." The same satanic laugh came as before. "Murderer is just a label."
"I don't make deals with murderers." she hissed violently, tugging at her arm again, but she gained nothing more than her own pain.
"Then we have no use for you." And Chloe's eyes opened in alarm as the card between them flew towards her. She turned her head, closed her eyes. She refused to see the swirling death overcome her.
But she felt a strong gust, a sharp whip of air past her. A curse followed.
"Bastard!"
Her beating heart pounded wildly and she opened her eyes. There, in the wall before her, an arrow was fixed into the brick, its tip shot through the card of her death.
Green fletching.
Her heart flipflopped, her stomach swirled and that hope she'd spent years shutting down flooded her system. She smiled, turning 180 degrees to view behind her, the red man still locking her arm which forced her to curl into him.
But there he was. Arrow.
No… Oliver. Oliver had saved her.
She'd never felt happier to see him in her life.
How she'd missed him. She was relieved, free and saved.
Oliver.
She wanted to run, to kiss him, to tell him she knew and she didn't care, to feel his arms around her again. But she was tugged back by the grasp. It was probably a good thing.
"Let her go!" he ordered to her captor. It was like a dream moment, where you don't believe if you're living in reality because nothing ever turns out this good.
He was a regular hero, using regular hero lines from films of knights, dragons and damsels. As much as she hated being the damsel, she loved her saviour and hoped her story ended the way it usually did, with the valiant knight riding off into the sunset with the weary damsel.
"Yes, yes. Sorry." And the red man's grip was gone, his size shrinking, his skin turning yellow. Chloe couldn't believe it, she cradled the wrist, pained by the rush of blood that once again got to flow.
"You idiot!" the leader hollered. "Damn it! Grab him!" Yellow flashed off, red on and the man was charging down her saviour. But he was knocked off course by a dart jabbing into his bicep. Chloe followed the trajectory to find Cyborg and Canary to her left. No… Victor and Dinah, she recalled. They were people, with real lives, and real jobs… and they saved people like her.
The raged man kept running and another dart fired. Chloe turned back though, where was the other part of this killing duo? He was summoning the cards again, lifting them to swirl around him. Chloe took the distraction to curl her fists and aim straight for his unprotected head. Instead, she found herself pulled from course by his hands and slammed into the crates. But, as she stood, she was caged, four walls of cards glowed green to surround her.
Her captor gave her the toothy grin that showed his lack of soul and he turned back to Green Arrow's aimed crossbow that was sure to hit the area his heart had vacated.
"Wouldn't do that if I were you." the leader teased, no fear in his voice, no worry for his companion who laid knocked out 12 metres from him. "Little lady can be killed with no more than a flick of my hand." This froze her saviour. She wanted to yell, wanted to scream for him to shoot him and be done with it. But she said nothing. "So, how about you point that bow back at yourself and stick an arrow in your own chest." he offered. "Or she dies."
There was silence, then a female's voice followed in protest. Dinah.
"You're not seriously considering this are you?!"
"I'm not letting her die." he argued.
"And I'm not letting you commit suicide!" Chloe watched as Arrow's face turned to her. Oliver's face, she corrected herself. He was thinking about it. She could see him considering this.
The man was insane!
"Then we're at an impasse." her villain purred and claimed all attention. "Perhaps you'd like to try your luck with the fates." Chloe watched through the gaps in her cage as he drew a second deck, this one glowing purple. "Pick a card. Major deck and I'll let her free and kill you on equal terms. Minor deck and she dies painfully and I kill you as you cry."
"Major and minor?" Victor asked. "Don't speak Tarot." This seemed to tick the slender man off, his grin faltering.
"Minor is pentacles, swords, sticks and cups. Major is picture cards." Dinah supplied, listing the knowledge. "There are more minor than major."
"You know this stuff?" Cyborg turned to her.
"Was a phase. Was free." she answered dismissively.
They weren't just a group of rebels, Chloe noted. They were family. Friends.
"Perhaps you would have better fortune with the fates then Miss." The psycho teased, sending the purple cards to fly around her then back to him at lightening speed.
"If that's one of your predictions, then clearly you have no talent." she laughed. "I can't pick a winning card from a table with all three face up and rewarding."
Again Chloe watched his face tick with annoyance.
"Pick a card, or she dies." he ordered but she held up a finger to pause him.
"Question." she purred. "What happens if you die?"
"You go with me pretty doll."
"You'll be gone before you have the chance." Chloe turned to Oliver's voice distorter as he spoke, aiming his bow at him again. The cards left the villain, spinning like shurikens towards Arrow.
"No!" Chloe screamed, but the cards dropped suddenly, falling from the sky like they'd lost all momentum. She whipped her head to the villain only to find him out cold, Bart crouched next to him. "Bart." Chloe whispered in awe. He turned to her with a smile as bright as she always remembered. The cards caging her dropped to the floor without their glow and she threw herself into his arms instantly.
Things had been crazy, her emotions were everywhere… and yet Bart was the one that hadn't changed for her. Hell, he'd saved her.
Oliver stood from the brute he finished tying. A phonecall had already summoned the boys in blue and they needed to go. But his eyes couldn't leave Chloe. The way she held onto Bart like he'd single-handedly saved her. The way she wrapped her arms around him. Maybe the RL hadn't completely gone, or maybe the jealousy was stronger seeing her with someone he knew she had a past with, because he felt a rage summon within him at the thought of Bart holding her.
He felt Dinah's eyes on him, but he didn't care, he crossed the distance before Bart could do anything else and stood before the two.
"I got her." Oliver ordered. The tone clearly said to back off, and Bart grudgingly accepted it, not wanting to start a fight. Not now, not in front of Chloe.
Chloe looked up to him, her eyes soft and vulnerable. But there was something new in her eyes, something that said she understood. Had her drunken tirade filled her with guilt? "We need to be leaving." he spoke to the group, despite his eyes being on her.
"Want me to tell Boyscout?" Bart offered. With a nod, Chloe watched the other members scatter.
Oliver's gloved hand came out to her.
"We need to talk."
Chloe just nodded, accepting his hand and his lead away from the other members of the team. It was quiet, eerily so. But that was just another point of the docks, a reason why criminals loved them. They were far from people's ears and didn't have a lot of visitors.
She followed him silently, wondering what had claimed his mind. She felt a pull toward him, a want to have him pressed to her. She put it down to her rescue.
"Last nigh-" she began, prepared to apologise for her drunken words. But he cut her off.
"Not about that." he simply spoke and when he qualified their distance as appropriate he turned to face her, his hand slipping from hers to cross his arms over his chest. "I need to know about the contract." Chloe's expression dropped. Of course it was about that…
"I can't tell you. You know that." He noted the way she spoke, the way she was annoyed at repeating herself… but there was something else there too. He dare say disappointment.
"I need to know." he repeated. If he was going to free her, he needed the information.
Chloe rolled her tongue over her back teeth, trying to calm the rage. No, she couldn't tell Arrow she knew he was Oliver. She knew that. He valued his divide, she wouldn't be the one to spoil that for him. Besides, he'd probably hit a rage about her telling Lex… he wouldn't understand.
"You don't." she answered simply, closing off.
"I know who you are. I need to find a way to free you from your contract with the Luthors." She knew she should pull a shocked face, but she didn't have the energy, she had no fight.
"You can't." And she turned from him. As expected, his fingers wrapped lightly around her wrist, stopping her escape.
"Chloe." Her name, in that voice distorter… it did things. Don't get her wrong, her name from Oliver did things for her… but with the distorter, she felt like her panties had just melted. It was perhaps the strangest thing to make her feel that way, but it was true.
Oliver watched her body respond to the name, saw how it ran heat through her back, how she shuddered slightly. Really? "Chloe." he spoke again and she turned back to him, his hand still on her wrist. Her eyes looked darker, looked lost.
"I told you not to look." But the berating statement was without the chastising tone. Somehow, she couldn't make it work for her. She wanted Oliver to hold her again, she wanted to feel his tender kiss. She wanted to tell him she knew he hadn't stood her up, that Lex had lied and Nexus plans had happened the night he left her. That she knew why he wasn't there. But she couldn't. "Did the plans help?" she asked instead, quickly changing the topic. It took him a second, but he caught on.
"A lot."
"Did it go well? I didn't hear back from Lex." she lied.
"It could have gone a lot worse." he answered. She couldn't see, but she'd bet behind those dark glasses, he was narrowing his eyes, wondering her line of question. Was it so absurd that she cared?
"I'm glad you're okay." And it was the truth. She looked up to him again, she felt his fingers refusing to leave his touch to her. Here he was, and there was nothing in her head other than to feel his embrace again. So she did what she wanted; she caved to her desires.
"We h-" Her steps crossed the distance, her feet pushed onto tiptoes as she came to him, her lips pressed to his. It took a second, but he responded like she was his addiction. His tongue parted her lips, dancing with hers. She kissed Oliver, she kissed Arrow, but what she felt was a medium of tender and raw. It was a vicious peace. The eye of the storm. Hot and cold. Crazy and sane.
His arms came around her, taking the weight from her weak knees and giving her the rush of comfort she wanted. Everything would be fine. She knew that when she was in his arms.
But too soon, her pulled back from the kiss.
"Chloe." She kept her eyes closed, just dropped her head to his chest. "Tell me. Please."
No. She couldn't. She'd got her last kiss, she told herself, though it ached no less. She pushed back from him.
"I can't." His hand tried to hold her to him, but she ducked under his grip. "Thanks for the save." she spoke in goodbye. And he let her walk away. He probably figured he'd catch her at her apartment and corner her. But she had no plans of going there for a while. She needed to figure out a very important question; did she tell Lex?
And if she decided not to tell him… what would become of her?
She heard his motorbike engine roar to life, she heard the noise come closer, then fade into the city again. She sighed.
One last kiss huh… and she rose her fingers to her lips. She was already craving another.
Maybe a drink would help?
It didn't last night… but that was entirely different. Right?
Chloe found herself back at the Ace of Clubs, hit with the nostalgia of her first meeting with 'Jonas' all over again. But this time, she took her drink to the balcony instead of the bar.
Lex sat back in his chair, his attention on the computer screen. Arrow was back in Chloe's apartment. But where was Chloe? There was no point busting him yet, he wanted to catch Chloe red handed with him. He narrowed his eyes at the screen.
"Lex." Lana called yet again, the tailor kneeling by her feet annoying her as she turned up the dress again. "Lex."
Lex lifted his eyes. "I thought you said it wasn't formal."
"I did." he agreed, leaning back to look at his women. She stood with her hair piled atop her head, one assistant adjusting the halter neck, the other re-pinning the hem of the dress to an appropriate length.
"So why am I wearing this?" Lana questioned, her disapproval evident in her features. She wasn't used to functions like this. He regretted asking her slightly. Yes, he enjoyed having her on his arm and showing her off. Yes, she was good company. But he couldn't tell her to deal with the dress, he couldn't tell her to be quiet, he couldn't order her from the room when she got annoying, he couldn't roll his eyes at her incessant questions and he couldn't wave a contract before her to get her to jump when he asked. "I'd rather wear something less… long." Lana scanned down the dress again.
"The colour suits you." he complimented, knowing he had to. It was a teal dress, flowing to her feet. Christmas was filled with social events he hated attending, it was the charity season and it was upon him as it was every year. Yes, it wasn't 'formal' per se, but neither would he have her turn up in jeans and a t-shirt.
"There's nothing wrong with the colour." she agreed with a small laugh. "I just don't think I can walk with this length." Lex contained the inner remark that Chloe would have had no problem, she wouldn't have even thought to complain.
"You look beautiful." But he saw his words were not soothing the problem. Again, he wished he could just order her to like the dress and be done with it. He stood, waving off the assistants and crossing to where she stood. "I know it's different, but you'll be fine." he spoke to her as the door closed behind the staff.
"That's easy for you to say." she laughed. "You're used to all this."
"And you will be soon too." he hoped, he didn't want this performance every time he had to go to an event with her.
"I just… I feel like an idiot." Lana turned to the full length mirror, her hands smoothing the material again.
"You look stunning and you should feel as wonderful as you look." Lana turned back to him. At least Lana heard honesty in his words, Chloe was more skilled in hearing the undertone of a lie and would call him out on it. "Once you get there, you'll see what I mean."
"Are you sure?" And with a nod, he saw her relax a little.
"I have to make a call to the office. I'll be back soon." And he left out the door, sending the assistants back in with the same instructions as before. To alter the dress to his requests, not hers.
Chloe's arms rested over the balcony of the Ace of Clubs. It was drawing darker, the window pulling in the night sooner than expected. Apartment blocks were lit up with tenants turning on lights, businesses were glowing and the bar scene was growing.
She still had no decision thought. On one side, she desperately wanted her freedom. But… Oliver was doing good things, he was saving innocents… she couldn't hand him to Lex unknowing of his future.
Either way, one person had to be sacrificed.
The question was; her or him?
Yes, she'd been slave to the Luthors since she left high school, but did that make her more desperate for freedom, or more capable of dealing with her imposed cage? Oliver had saved numerous people, but he'd destroyed the hearts of women for years, but did that make him deserving of Lex's wrath?
She held her head to her hands.
"I heard you were back in town." Chloe lifted her head, turning to the female voice. Her lips curved up and she lifted her arms to embrace the friendly face. One of the few people who knew her real identity. Zantana; resident magician in metropolis. "You look terrible though." And Chloe felt her laugh as she released the hug.
"I heard about your dad." Chloe offered in sympathy.
"Yeah…" Zantana just replied. "I heard you've been busy." And Zantana grinned. "Queen's a lucky man to have held you."
And it was Chloe's hesitation before her smile that led Zantana to her next question. "What's bothering you?"
As much as Zantana knew about her past and present, she couldn't burden her with the truth now. She seemed to pick up on this and roll her eyes at Chloe. "Always in trouble Sullivan." Chloe's eyes went wide and she scanned the area, luckily no-one heard the name pass her lips. "Sorry." But Zantana laughed the word. "Paranoid much?"
"Not getting much sleep." Chloe spoke honestly, trying to pass off her behaviour as sleep deprivation. Zantana didn't buy it.
"Truth C, as little info as you like." Chloe sighed, humoured by the old nickname Zantana knew she disliked, and she gave her the vague details.
"Ever had to make the decision between your own suffering, or someone elses?"
"Sometimes, suffering is needed." Zantana skated past the answer, it was a sore spot, her mind on her father.
"How do I choose?" Chloe asked again.
"Can one be avoided?" Chloe shook her head. "Can it be escaped?" Again, Chloe shook her head. "Are you sure one will suffer?"
"I don't know…" And Zantana grinned widely.
"I presume this relates to Lex." she spoke and Chloe gave her the facial expression to say 'when does anything not?' "Good. We'll make a deal then."
"A deal?" Chloe scoffed. "You know how I feel about magic." Zantana took no offense though.
"What about if I tell you I can give you 12 hours of a different path? 12 hours where you can do anything you like, and after that time is up, you'll come back to this point of time and nothing will have happened except the memories of a 'dream'."
"You can't be serious."
"Very."
"I'd ask what you want in trade."
"Luthor has something I want. You'll bring it to me." Zantana knew she had Chloe sold. Whatever was troubling her needed sorting and this was her way of a free pass.
"What is it?" Chloe pressed.
"You agree?"
"I agree." And Zantana smiled, speaking some words and pulling a silk bag from thin air. Chloe was always amazed no-one saw when she did things like this.
"Luthor has a crystal like this." She pulled a big glistening gem from the silk. "It has great value to me, while he keeps it as a mere paperweight." The point clearly annoyed her. "Swap the crystals, put his 'paperweight' in this bag and it will keep with you after the time resets."
Chloe knew of the article she spoke of. That wouldn't be too hard. Lex kept it on his desk.
Zantana left the club with her, told her to expect an absent feeling during the time limit, and that the twelfth hour would hurt the further she was from the spot she stood now. And then, she spoke the words and Chloe felt herself splitting apart where she stood.
The first few minutes felt like she was learning to walk again. She felt like she wasn't herself, like there was someone else driving her body. Zantana just told her she needed to be back here at 7am or she'd be pulled back and thus, it would hurt. Chloe nodded and called a taxi, heading straight to Lex.
Lex sat in his parlour, alone with his brandy and finances. He didn't expect Chloe to come barging in. He certainly didn't expect the words that came out of her mouth.
"I know who Green Arrow is." she said with a single breath. Lex rose an eyebrow, set the pen to the desk and stood.
"You know who Arrow is?"
"Name and address." she reiterated.
"I suppose this brings our agreement to a close. Who?"
But on this, she dithered. "Chloe. Who is it?"
"What will you do if I tell you?"
"If you've come to taunt me Chloe I have no patience for it on this subject. You will tell me now, or god help me I don't know what I will do."
"If you know him." she pressed on. "If he was someone you spoke to. Who you had spent time with. Would you want to know?"
"I don't care for your games. Tell me."
"What do you do in your labs? What will you do to him?" she pressed.
"I don't know what you mean." he lied, the serpent tongue back. Why wouldn't she just spill the damn name?!
"You do, and I know what happens, I know you take the meteor enhanced off the streets and test their abilities." Lex looked at her judgingly, but whatever he saw, he answered.
"Small tests. Nothing harming. I take away the powers if they pose a threat, if not, they keep them and will be set free with nothing more than a mild headache and a few weeks of lost memory."
"That's it? That's 33.1?"
"That's all. I'm doing the country a service Chloe. Unlike Arrow, who continued to pull apart my facilities." he grumbled. "Arrow will get the same treatment, regardless of who he is."
"But he has no powers."
"Then he will have his memory wiped and nothing more." She should have heard the lie, it was obvious. But she so desperately wanted to believe it was true, she told herself she heard truth.
"He won't be harmed?" she pressed. Lex narrowed his eyes.
"You have feelings for this man… don't you?" Her silence answered his question. "Who is it Chloe?" She didn't answer and he knew.
He sighed and lifted the phone. "Bring me a car around, I need to visit Oliver Queen."
Chloe felt herself crumble, only the knowledge she could re-do this was keeping her standing. Lex crossed the room, touched a hand to her shoulder. "You did the right thing." he praised. "We'll talk terms when I come back." And he left out of the door.
12 hours later Chloe's 7am sunlight darkened significantly to 7pm darkness. Her bones cracked and she screamed in agony, feeling the pull of her body to another area. Zantana paced in the night and howls of pain came to her. Chloe was being pulled back, she hadn't made it to her in time. And when she did materialise before her, she was cradling her sides, sobbing, the blood on her hands fading away like it was never there.
"Jesus Chloe." Zantana dropped to her. "Look at me, nothing happened. It's all gone back to before." Chloe looked up to her friend, her eyes had seen terror. "What happened?"
"Blood… so much blood." she whispered through the tears.
"It didn't happen." Zantana soothed. "Whatever you saw, it hasn't happened."
"And it won't." Chloe swore. "It can't." Her tears quietened, and her determination shone. Her hand went into the bag beside her and she pulled out the silk bag, putting it in Zantana's hand. Zantana lifted out the crystal, her hand warmed as she felt the magic run through it. Chloe had done well, whatever horror she saw.
"What are you going to do?" Zantana asked, her hand waving and the crystal disappearing into the night.
"Lex isn't who I thought." Chloe simply spoke.
"So what are you going to do?"
"I don't know." And the honesty of that statement scared Chloe worse than the fate she had seen.
Chloe had sat alone with the memories of a time that hadn't passed. She thought Lex was a saviour when she first met him. Thought he was a knight to slay her dragon as time passed. But now… he was a dragon; like his father. As much as it pained her, Lionel was right. His son was just a younger version of him.
She paced the room, trying to find her next steps in this hell hole of a life she was leading. What could she do? Turn over Lex to the police? He'd be out within minutes, and she'd be in for the rest of her life; if she didn't get the death penalty.
Tell Oliver? No, he'd either call her crazy or seek Lex's death himself.
She came to only one conclusion, she had to fix this herself. She had to see Lex. Find her way out from the deal and leave the country. She didn't care if she was still his property, as long as she didn't have to be around him. She didn't think she could look at his face again without seeing the splatter of Oliver's blood across it.
Chloe was in the car swiftly, making up her plan as she drove. Whatever happened, she had to back out of the deal for Arrow's identity. She'd tell Lex it was impossible, that she'd failed. Once Oliver was safe, she'd try and save herself.
She never thought of herself as a martyr, but for Oliver. Perhaps she could change.
She arrived to find Lex as she had before, sitting in his parlous, drinking brandy and working over his finances.
"Yes?" he spoke as she entered. Something was bugging him and she didn't have the good news slipping from her tongue to put him in the good mood as before.
"Arrow's not going well." she replied, sitting on the sofa. She heard his grumbling sigh, heard his muttered curses and let him finish whatever section he was working on before he next addressed her.
There was silence for a few minutes. A long set of 10 minutes.
"How so?" he finally asked.
"No progress. I've tried every avenue, every idea. He's covered his tracks too well."
"You walked into my office and told me you'd find his identity. And now, you're telling me you lied about that." he questioned, spinning her words to fit him.
"I'm telling you I didn't have the information to make an informed decision regarding the difficulty of the case. I was overly optimistic and knew too little."
"So you still failed me." he summed disapprovingly.
"If you want to put it that way. But I hardly blame myself for the difficulty he poses." she defended herself, trying to remain calm, and avoid Lex's anger.
"You told me you could Chloe. We made a deal."
"And now the deal is finished. We'll go back to the way we were before. I'll go back to Spain, you'll stay here and call me when you need me."
Lex stood, and crossed the room.
"Chloe. You're going to go back to your apartment, collect everything you have on Arrow and bring it to me tomorrow morning." he instructed with no ounce of room for argument. "Then we're going to talk seriously about the next steps. Because you are not leaving the country until you find me who he is."
"Lex he's covered his tra-"
"Everyone makes a mistake at some point. You'll stay here until he does."
"I ha-"
"At the mansion." he added. "You'll be moved back in by the end of the week if you have no progress."
"Lex I-"
"You can leave now." he interrupted and sat back in his chair, turning to the notes.
"Lex, you can't keep me here. If anything I'd do better work in metropolis!" He ignored her, picking up his pen again as he noted something from his screen onto a paper copy. She crossed the room. "Damn it Lex. At least I know when to give in! Let me go back to Spain. You have no use for me other than Arrow. Which is entirely a lost cause!" Again… no reply from Lex, he just scrolled his mouse. She slammed her hands flat to the table he was working on. "Damn it Lex I-"
"You're forgetting I own you Chloe." he snapped, swapping his gaze to her in a way that chilled her blood. "You'll bring me everything you have tomorrow morning and we'll discuss next steps."
"Lex, I-"
"Leave." he ordered.
"Le-" His eyes snapped sharp to her.
"I told you to leave. If you speak another word you'll regret it."
Lionel was right; Lex was turning into his father. She turned, heading back to her apartment. She'd sort out the files and she'd go to Lex, presenting him with the nothingness she had accumulated on Arrow. She'd discuss next steps. Hopefully, he'd see sense and send her back. Otherwise… she could try other deals. But until the worst came she'd keep on track with him, she'd play along. Lex wouldn't hurt her.
Chloe expected Green leather in her apartment as she returned, she expected a flash of red maybe. But she found herself alone. Alone with the haunting images.
Lex… the things he did. The words he spoke tonight. Was she as trapped as she felt?
Chloe dropped to the bed, her thoughts on Oliver. What was he doing? Would he be out saving people tonight? She turned her head to the window in her bedroom, would he be running rooftops? Saving other women from the crime of metropolis? She sighed and turned back to her ceiling.
What was she going to do?
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So Chloe is yet again in trouble.
There will be a glimpse of the horror she saw in the next chapter, if you don't want it, skip the italics (it's not that graphic, promise).
What do you think of Lana? I can't decide what to do with her in the future of this story. Do I kill her? Do I keep her pining for Lex? Do I give her the spine to get up and leave him? It's all so complex, yet doesn't make a difference to the real ending we all care about (Ollie and Chloe), haha. So, yeah, what do you readers fancy seeing for Lana?
Hope you have a good week, see you soon.
Xx