Happy Monday once again. I hope it goes well.
Hugs to my readers and reviewers, you make my Tuesdays the best ever :)
I must apologise, I know how much you are all waiting for Ollie to play saviour, but the plot has a little more progressing to take before anything rescue related occurs. So... it might not be until a little later. And I accept your hate for that, haha.
EDIT; Sadly fanfiction had a type 1 error for me yesterday and I couldn't access 'manage stories'. I had the update ready and edited, but I was in error all day. Apologies, but here it is. Happy Tuesday.
Previously; Lex played with a truth serum only to find dissatisfaction. Feeling down, he went to his favourite past-time; demonstrating his power over Chloe. But Chloe wasn't game, and instead Lex left with a bust lip and painful limp. But not before he took his sweet revenge and threw her in a pit of his experiments, all told Chloe was to blame for their pain.
Lex should know not to mess with Chloe though...
Chapter Forty; Humanity
'Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war.'- Lex Luthor (Season One, Episode Tempest)
Humanity. What makes us human? Some argue it's the fragility of human life, the time limit that gives us the push to move forwards. The tunnel at the end of the road on life's journey. But for some, the road cuts short, the tunnel comes around a sharp bend and the journey finishes bloody and torn.
For Lionel, his humanity came to him on a Friday evening, as the snow started to settle on the ground of Metropolis. He was on the hunt for Chloe. Losing track of her like this had never happened before. As his property, he needed to find her. So, he was in the best hotel in Metropolis, in the best suite, in his best suit, ready to meet with anyone who had the right information.
He straightened his tie in the mirror, wondering if the yellowish tint to his skin and eyes would have been less obvious with another colour. He grunted to his reflection, the face a shadow of his former self, the skin too big for his face, the bones pushing through his frame. In short, he looked like death; old and haunting. He tugged the tie from his neck in a burst of anger. It was a bad day. He felt sick as a dog since he woke, his hair was coming out every time he touched it, he couldn't stomach the luxury breakfast served and he felt pain with every step.
He had all the money in the world and he still couldn't buy himself some damn pills to fix the pain. He grumbled internally and crossed the room to choose another colour tie for his suit.
But, the colours started blurring, the edges of his vision were going again. He kept getting lightheaded. Side effect of the tablet they told him. He told them to stop the side effects and create a drug that actually worked! They'd scarpered from his presence quickly.
It was the weakness that annoyed Lionel the most. He could do almost everything as he usually did, he could cope with the pain. But the dizziness, the sickness, the lack of appetite, it was starting to bite at him in ways he couldn't evade. He complained to himself, but headed to the bed, sitting on the corner and taking deep breaths. His heart felt like it was speeding into a buzz like a hummingbirds wings, his breaths weren't clearing his vision and his pain increased twofold.
Morality. It was something Lionel didn't like to face. But here it was staring a breath from him, licking its lips at the sight of his crumpled form, and it placed a hand to Lionel's clammy forehead.
Lionel felt a cold chill, felt the pain in his stomach crushed at him, and then everything went white and he felt himself slipping. Slipping. Down from the bed and onto the floor.
Human life… so fragile.
"What happened?" Lana's hands came to Lex's face. She'd left him a voicemail, and he'd told her to come over without even listening to it. So, here she was. And the instant she'd come through the door, she saw his bust lip and raced over.
"It's nothing." He turned his head from her hold. At least he was sitting, she wouldn't be bothering him about his limp yet. Fucking Chloe…
"Lex, it looks pretty bad." She reached out again and he let her.
"It's fine."
"What happened?" she asked again, stroking a thumb inches from the cut.
"Disgruntled employee had a few things to say." he grunted out. "Stop it Lana. It's not that bad." She wisely lowered her hands from her caress, understanding his male pride had taken a blow too.
"I thought you'd be at the hospital." she spoke instead.
"I told you, it's fine." he repeated, this time with more force. But she tilted her head, her expression confused.
"You don't know?" His eyes flashed up to her, asking what. "Your father was taken into hospital an hour ago."
"I know." he spoke, but as he saw the shock cross her features he remembered it was Lana he was talking to and amended. "I'm sorry." He reached out a hand, cupping her cheek, softening the shock. "With the recent reports in the news, there's so much work to be done."
"You're stressed." she summed before he could finish. Lex took the offered excuse with both hands.
"I imagine so."
"I can't imagine how hard it is for you to see your father like that Lex." And he watched a glaze take over her eyes. She was upset… for him. He let his lips take a grin. "I can come with you if you like." Her brown eyes were too big and soft for her to understand his family dysfunction. The truth would only repel her affections. "He might not have much time left Lex." And again, she cast down her eyes, guilty for speaking the words, saddened at the thought of a man she did not know.
"I've already called for an update as soon as he was admitted." Lex spoke softly to her. It was true, but not for reasons she would think. He had grinned as he received the news, asked how long he had left, asked if he was in pain, then had a celebrating glass of scotch when the nurse sadly informed him he was. "I'll see him before the day ends."
"Wish your father the best from me." She leant forward and pressed a quick kiss to his smooth cheek.
"Of course." The lie rolled smoothly from his serpent tongue.
"I'll see you soon?" she asked hopeful, but not wanting to intrude upon his grieving process. Her hand stroked caringly over his bald head in what he was sure was meant to be soothing. His mind was elsewhere though, only tagging onto the general gist of her words.
"Lana." he called back as she turned to leave. "The security knows to let you in." he begun and watched the wrinkles above her brow come with her short lived confusion. "I'd appreciate if you came tonight." Then she smiled, it touched her eyes, it filled her with life and purpose again. Allowing her the role of supportive girlfriend she so desperately wanted, and him; the company he craved on lonely nights.
"I'll be upstairs waiting when you return." she promised and pressed another quick kiss before leaving out of the room.
Lex stood after he was sure she left. He had little intention of seeing his father, but maybe one last gloat before the old bastard passed on would be necessary. With a smile, he stood to his feet, careful of his pressure on the injured leg and he cursed Chloe every step he took. Work first, then play.
Chloe backed herself against the wall, prepared her body mentally and took short shallow breaths. She could run past them, but where would she go? She was still trapped. She could fight, but there were too many. An ache came over her chest, the overdrive of her heart shivering her bones with each beat. There were worse things than Lex… But surely the fact he was allowing this to happen made him a thousand times worse than her fate now. Besides, she would never tell him who Arrow was, she'd die first. And… possibly very soon.
They weren't the men she first imagined them to be, they each carried their own menacing look in matching red irises. But whatever it was, it made them look even larger and even scarier than before. To say they were muscled was an underestimation, they were the kind of men you'd run screaming from if they followed you into a dark alley, the same kind of career men you'd see at the gym and wonder just how many times a day they took their steroids.
But they stepped closer, predators, hate on their features, fingers curled into fists ready for a fight. Her gender won her no favours, no questions, no pity. In the red eyes of these men, she was just the reason for their suffering.
Chloe felt the glass against her back, she knew there was no escape behind her, the only option was forward, past the angry mob before they closed on her.
She had to move. Now.
Chloe ran, sprinting down the left wall, barely escaping the hands that lunged to snare her. She was smaller, lighter and obviously more nimble than the men pursuing her. Two more came barrelling towards her, converging on her at great speed. All she saw were two boulders of muscle, she wheeled right hoping to avoid them only to find herself caged by another wall of muscle, his arms ensnaring her tightly. All her breath rushed out of her, his dark chuckle came to her ears and she felt alarm shatter her resolve. Was this it?
The arms caged her, lifted her feet from the floor and turned her to the other men as they looked smugly at her fearful form. By some miracle she put brain to the situation and struck down on his knuckles with hers, breaking his hold, dropping to the floor and running back to the wall. She paused, back to the solid brick. Above her were the calls of the guards, betting on her, joyfully cheering the men on. Cheering obscene things. It made her stomach swirl.
She took the breaths she could manage before the men could get too close and then she ran again, down the wall, ducking hands, diving between men and then she was at the other end of the pit, trapped entirely.
Where could she possibly run?
The men were grinning, sadistically grinning.
Then came round two. Her eyes scanned around for anything to help her. To her left and right were cages, glass doors with electronic locks, all open, locked in the open position. They offered no aid. Her immediate left housed a man, rocking on the floor of the cell, head in his hands, mumbling to himself below the noise. Her immediate right had a female, but she offered nothing. She just leaned against the doorframe watching the boys in boredom. What had Lex done to these people?!
"Flip you for her." Chloe snapped her head back to the voice that spoke. Two of her chasers were standing together, one nudging the other in the ribcage as he spoke. Both wore the biggest grins there.
"Race ya?" the mate proposed instead.
"What happened to sharing?" Chloe whipped around to the females voice, joining in the banter. "Besides, I want the beating heart."
"Fight you for it bitch." the first guy replied, leaning forward into a hunting crouch, but this fight was for the other female, not Chloe.
What had Lex created down here? Did they crave nothing but violence and war?
Project Ares, named after the Grecian god of war.
Chloe knew what had happened. One of Lex's early projects, working with the military. He took the best squad he could find, injected them all with a meteor rock fuelled testosterone substance and watched the results. Chloe thought they were all killed, the project terminated. But, obviously not.
"Oh, today is my new favourite day!" Dinah announced, walking into the Queen residence like she owned it. In fairness, she'd spent more time here than she did her own apartment recently. Oliver needed it, he was overworking himself in a bid to see Chloe again. The team were spread across couches.
"You heard about Lionel then?" Victor answered her voice. They were having down time. Ac and Victor on the game console in a football match. Oliver napping on the sofa… well, he was. And Bart decorating a sandwich with a million toppings in the kitchen. Downtime.
"Not just Lionel. Tell me you've seen the other Luthor today." Dinah insisted, nudging Oliver. But Oliver met her with a shaking head. He was still going into work, still working with business. But, he was not as passionate as he used to be. Now; he delegated.
"Why?" Ac asked, turning his head from the screen barely a fraction.
"Someone's done a number on him." she announced. "Bust lip. Killer limp. Probably some other bruises too."
"I didn't read anything like that." Victor pointed out, hesitantly.
"Well, that's because it wasn't in the paper. Or online, genius." She rolled her eyes, taking a seat on the sofa opposite Oliver who was waking himself up slowly. "It was a watch and record kind of deal."
"You were in Smallville today?" Oliver finally piped up, trying to piece together the information. Dinah nodded.
"Wonderboy's been acting strange. I was called for a consultation." Lois and Dinah didn't see eye to eye, but Lois knew how to keep contacts, and she knew Clark had been busy helping the justice league in his spare time. "We went into town and he was giving the luthorcorp workers a good rally up. Made my day to see him limp off that plastic stage." She grinned.
"Any ideas who?" Bart asked, returning with a killer sandwich the size of Dinah's head. It was making her hungry actually… But, unlike the kid, she wouldn't be able to get through even half of that.
"No idea. But I'd sure like to buy them a drink." Dinah voiced, stealing a slice of bacon from Barts plate as he sat between her and Ollie.
Bart pulled a face, but with the loaded plate, he wasn't in a place to fight back without losing more food. So he accepted his loss and pulled the plate further into his body to guard.
Chloe watched the men draw closer, anger in their eyes, hate running their blood, red eyes piercing her soul. But she saw the scars healing and healed all over their bodies, she saw the way they sneered at the guards above them… above all, she saw the hate they had for Lex for doing this to them.
"I swear. I'm not working with him." she found the voice to say, raising her hands slightly, but still prepared to run.
"M'hmmm." one spoke, sarcasm dripping from the noise.
"I'm not." she repeated. "I said no. That's the only reason I'm in here."
"Spin us another one doll." And the speaker lunged, racing for her. Chloe took off, towards the wall of muscle to escape the animalistic pounce aimed for her. She found a gap in the wall of bodies, pushed past arms, paining the wrists that grabbed her and continued running, back to the glass elevator. She could call for Lex, tell him she wanted to talk. If only to get out of there alive.
Lionel had always said she was a survivor and would do anything to survive. But Chloe had drawn herself a line. She wouldn't give Oliver up, but she'd give Lex what he wanted besides that to get out of here, even if that was her body.
Before she could make it, a body slammed into hers, knocking her from course and only the floor to slide painfully into the wall. Her head knocked immediately after her back and the dizziness came back.
"Winner!" she heard a man call. She tried to push up, through the blurred vision, through the swimming head. She just had to get out. A hand came to her though, grasped around her throat, pulled her with almighty strength from the floor and dragged her up the wall off her feet and away from gravity. The pressure around her throat was going to black her out through suffocation surely. The eyes that looked to her were glowing red like fire embers, but soft, guilty for watching her struggle.
"Stand down!" a voice called about all the other noise. "Let her go!" it added and Chloe felt her back slide down the wall, the hand removed and she crumbled to the floor in a heap, gasping for breath. "Who's this?" It was a commanding voice, deep and rough. It spoke of pain, it spoke of anger, but there was a layer of sadness too. Whoever it belonged to, it held authority in the den of thieves.
"Boss got bored of a pet." one of the men answered. Chloe didn't see which, didn't want to.
"Yeah, she's one of his underlings." Another one chuckled as he spoke. Chloe risked her eyes and looked up to the men. All were dressed the same, standard issue military coloured wifebeaters and combat pants. They looked exactly like they were meant to be, a squadron plucked from a military base, locked for Lex's sadistic pleasures.
Lex had a lot of military operation; trial weapons, vitamin pills, improved armour. Funding didn't have a limit when it came to the countries defences.
"Proof?" the deep voice asked and Chloe found its owner. An older man, but build exactly the same as the others. The commanding officer.
No reply came from the other men. Chloe took a glance to the top of the pit. The guards were gone, their fun was over for today. She breathed a sigh of relief. If the guards were bored, maybe she'd stay in one piece for today.
"Speak woman." the commander barked and Chloe locked eyes with him, eyes that were a darker red. Was that because of age? Or… wait… no, she remembered project Ares's first trial had three levels of dosage. One group had three hits, another had two, and the last had one. The more doses, the brighter the red eyes they developed. It was a side effect Lex hadn't planned for, but it allowed him to differentiate his test subjects. "Woman!" he insisted again and Chloe refocused, absently rubbing her throat, trying to ease the pain.
"Chloe." Her aim was to speak the words 'my name is Chloe' but she barely managed to sound out her name around the ache in her vocal chords. She felt like she'd spent all day screaming herself hoarse.
"And what are you doing thrown in here Chloe?" he asked, repeating her name with annoyance.
"Lex. Punishment." she choked out and she watched the hint of reaction in her audience. Did they not know it was Lex?
"Luthor?" one spat out in question, she nodded but the commander silenced the viewers with a look and turned back to her.
"What does Luthor have to do with any of this?" he gruffly asked. They truly didn't know. She blinked up at him, they'd been here for years according to reports, how did they not know Lex was doing this to them. "Speak!" he ordered again and Chloe threw herself into the answer.
"He's doing all of this." she forced out. Her temper was rising as well, she could feel the anger that even those he held captive didn't even know the true extent of his perverted evil nature. "He's the reason you're in here." she continued, no volume to her voice.
"She knows him. She works with him. She's the reason we're in here." someone behind the commander spoke. Chloe couldn't see him
"And he was the one who sent you here. Are you working for him? And be honest." the commander offered her the sole chance she would get to explain. But she barely managed to part her lips before another voice came to her ears, closer than she imagined.
"Gunna have fun ripping you apart." Chloe whipped her head left, nose to nose with one of the red eyed warrior, he was crouched to her level, flashy a toothy grin. Scars littered his face, his arms… she'd bet they'd cover him head to toe, but she scrambled backwards from him, kept attached only by the hand he slapped to her arm tightly.
Her heart was thumping in her chest, her breaths rushed in like each would be her last.
"No. No. I was but I said no and he needs me to change my mind, so he threw me in here." she hurried out, some words managed to be vocalised, others fell, but the meaning still came through to them. The fingers around her tightened still and she flashed her eyes back to him asking for any pity. Whatever he saw, he smirked and lifted his forefinger from her in a show of ego. It relieved only the very edge of the pain.
"I suggest you explain better before their patience runs out." the commander urged, no care for the vice grip scar face had on her. Chloe prayed the truth would set her free this time.
"I was blackmailed by the Luthors to working with them. Lex wanted me to cross a line I couldn't. He drugged me with some truth serum thing then threw me in here when it didn't work and I wouldn't sleep with him." she sped out. The fingers around her tugged her fast and she found herself spread on the floor beneath the brute, his second hand pinning her down.
"She's lying." he spoke.
"Jayden!" the commander called aloud without taking his eyes from her. Chloe didn't see much, just heard quick, light footsteps and then there was a skinny man, young and defenceless in her vision. He fiddled with his fingers, had hair over his face, but Chloe recognised him as the man from down the other end of the pit, rocking in his room. "Why is she here?" the commander asked of the newest man and a hand came down over her. Chloe tried to move away, but the man pinning her down was too strong and Jayden's hand rested over her hair. Everything in her body tingled.
"Luthor's angry. Lex." a soft voice echoed in the silence. Chloe identified it was Jayden, his hand still on top of her head. "Lionel killed a man. She was going to be killed." No emotion, just words spilling from him. But Chloe started to fight back at this point. If Jayden could see the past. If Jayden could read anything from her mind Oliver would be in serious trouble. "Lex wanted to know who the Green Arrow was, she wouldn't say." Chloe stilled, her heart pounding. He knew. He knew who he was. He would sell it out to Lex. She fought again, unexpected and knocking loose the hand on her head, but the hand on her back as well. She didn't know what drive her, but she dove for the man called Jayden. He knew and he couldn't be allowed. Her fist flew to him, but he was quick, moving aside, grabbing her hand and spinning her back to the floor in an arm lock she didn't know. Then, like she'd burned, he was gone. Apologising in a mutter, his hands shaking, and then he was quick walking back to the room she'd seen him in before.
"So you were telling the truth." the commander spoke. "Stay away from us and you'll survive." Those were the parting words to her, the commander signalled something to the others and they grumbled, but moved away. Chloe rolled onto her back, breathing out a heavy sigh. She had a lot of days that contended for the 'worst day of her life' competition and this was definitely a contender. Maybe 'luckiest day of her life' too.
"Told you we were under Luthorcorp." She heard someone speak to another. Luthorcorp? Under Luthorcorp? No… they couldn't be…
Unless…
The building permission for the fertilizer plant in Smallville. All the transport.
It would have been everything he's need to reconstruct 33.1. But that was… at least a year ago after the first facility for 33.1 was destroyed by Green Arrow.
All the records for Luthorcorp shipping, all the time he spent there. Who would look underneath Luthorcorp buildings for a secret lab?! No wonder Oliver couldn't find it, it was right under his nose. All the shipments to the fertisilier plant would be ruled out as Lex's work. But they were far from it.
Underneath Luthorcorp… seriously?!
"Where was he?" Oliver asked after a few moments of quiet.
"Who?" Dinah asked, too absorbed into the game to pay attention to his train of thought.
"Where was Lex?" he repeated. "He wasn't injured yesterday during the press conference." There was a lot of attention hitting Luthorcorp workers recently. One of Lex's escaped employees had gone to a paper and told them he had been underpaid and overworked like a slave. The paper had literally pulled the torch out of their backsides and thrust it onto Lex's business shadows, so he'd been in the press a lot. "So where was he?"
"Dunno. Could check his car." Dinah suggested and accepted the tablet passed over to her from Ac, who'd been using it to check the weather report. He wanted to take some girl out on the lake next weekend and borrow one of Oliver's vacation homes. Oliver said yes, he just needed the weather forecast to hold out as promised. Dinah tapped her fingers over the controls, accessing the GPS in Lex's car and rewinding. "At the mansion." She spoke to the room, watching it in reverse. "Still at the mansion." Then some more. "Still at the mansion." She continued with a sigh. "And guess what, still at the- woah, wait wait. We got movement last night; 11pm."
"Where?"
"Ummm, looks like Luthorcorp plant three." She sighed. "Probably forging some documents for the company". And it was instantly dismissed.
"Before that?"
"I'm rewinding." she replied with a huff. She knew how to work it god damn it. "Ummm… mansion and Luthorcorp most of the day." She answered.
"So what?" Bart offered. "Spar session gone wrong?" he guessed. "Tripped on the stairs. Angry employee. Angry girlfriend?"
"Isn't he dating that Lana chic that ran that foundation thing?" Ac asked.
"Yeah, the one Clark used to fawn over." Dinah supplied. "She couldn't hit an ass if it stood still and asked for a spanking." Dinah scoffed.
"So what?" Bart repeated.
"Dunno. My vote goes to employee. Would explain why it's not in the press yet. He's probably having them drawn and quartered." Dinah put forward and shuffled in his seat to get comfy again.
"Anything is possible" Oliver agreed, letting it drop.
Chloe found herself wandering slowly back down the other side of the pit, she needed to know if Jayden would tell anyone, she found him in the cell, rocking again. She tentatively looked around, then stepped inside.
"Jayden?" she whispered, not wanting to alarm him.
"Can't. Can't. Not an order. Didn't follow an order." He was mumbling to himself, louder when she called him name.
"Jayden?" she tried again.
"Don't ask. Don't ask. I tried. It hurt too much captain. He was my friend. I swear. I swear I did all I could." And the rare sound of male tears came to her ears. He wasn't in that room with her, his mind was elsewhere.
"You won't get a thing out of him unless you're a superior officer." Chloe turned to the male voice, finding herself blocked in the room by a large scared body. She didn't recognised him from any of the others who had caged or fought her, but he'd been in the mass somewhere and he made all the hairs on her neck stand up in fear.
"I said NO! Captain! Don't make me! Don't make me do it!" Jayden shouted. Chloe turned in alarm but found herself dragged from the room in a strong tug.
Chloe found herself gripped by the arm again, pulled from the room by the stranger then 'encouraged' to follow him from the screaming man.
"What's wrong with him?" she asked softly as she followed his lead towards the opposite cell. But instead of going in, he gave her a shove to the floor and took seat a metre away. It seemed they were talking whether she liked it or not.
"Sleep deprivation." The man answered when she'd already presumed he wouldn't. Sleep deprivation… her eyes sped back across to Jayden. Would she end up like him? "Familiar?" he asked, reading her features. Then chuckled. "You really must have pissed off the boss." Her eyes flew back to the man. "Chloe right? Welcome to F-wing." Then unexpectedly, he offered her his name "Mason." She nodded, but said nothing. "How much you know about us?"
"Military. Project Ares. Nothing more." But her inner curious cat was coming back. "How long have you been down here?"
"Here for the story huh?" Mason chuckled, his eyes flashing brighter for that small second. "Sure pussy cat. Let's share horror stories." he announced to the room with a sick thrill. "See this room?" he asked in rhetoric. "What's left in this room are the survivors of three elite squadrons run in secret by the government. The best of the best." Chloe saw the red irises flicker again, glow brighter. She felt danger rise as his fists clenched. "But we weren't good enough. So we get told were getting 'vitamins' to improve speed, strength, agility… the works…" His jaw set with the memory, then he started again. "One squad gets a single dose, another gets double, the last gets triple dose. And then, a week on these drugs and we were hooked. They worked." A smug smile crept over his lips, the scar in the corner twitching with the sick joy he expressed. "And this investor comes and gives us an 'activating compound'. Next thing we know, we're in blinding pain, raging for the next pill and ready to kill everyone and anything for it. Our eyes bleed red. Squad one gets wiped off first, none of them had the will to fight as much as the others. Squad three had triple doses, they turned on each other the fastest, wiped themselves out. And then there's the middle ground, they fought, but they weren't consumed by it."
"This is all the second group?" Chloe asked, intrigued. Mason narrowed his eyes to her, not expecting the interest.
"No." He was quick to answer, then with a pause, he continued. "Commander from the first squad survived. The other two tore each other apart. Jayden is single dose as we-."
"What happened?" she interrupted, then saw the way he clenched his fists, the way his eyes burned. Small things triggered their anger, she noted quickly. "Sorry." she added, watching his eyes close paired with heavy breaths, then when he re-opened, he was back to his usual colour, looking at her with caution. Chloe sat quiet while he found the patience to restart.
"He was meteor infected, had family in Smallville he visited during the meteor shower. The meteor infection fed on the drugs they gave us. He wasn't addicted like we were, he didn't bother to fight for more." Chloe glanced over to Jayden, he was still rocking on the floor of the cell. No wonder Lex had him on sleep deprivation, he probably wanted to see what his body could withstand, his sick interest had no bounds. "Alexis," Mason started again and Chloe turned back. "Is third squad. The drug was meant to hook onto testosterone, so she ended up with the same effects as the middle group overall." He scoffed. "Still a bitch though." he grumbled under his breath.
"How long have you been here?" she asked, waiting for the natural pause of the conversation.
"No idea." he admitted. "Been moved around facilities. Time hasn't really been measured. At least a few years though."
"Jayden… will he know what I do?"
"Usually, yeah." Mason nodded, turning to the man in the cell. "But recently… the deprivation has been playing with his memory. Who's to tell if he remembers your dirty little secret or not."
"It's not my secret." she disagreed lightly, trying not to anger the man before her. "I need to know he won't tell Lex."
"You really think he's capable of telling anyone anything?" Mason sadistically pointed out. "It's only been two weeks and he's already relived everyone he's killed. His mind doesn't have room for your problems too."
"The drug… does everyone become like that?" Chloe could feel her heart beat slow for the answer. Mason smiled. "First, you get these mini hallucinations. You start to see things clear as day that shouldn't be there. Then, you start these dreams, but you're no longer asleep while you have them, so everyone can hear them. Then comes the screaming, the fears, the crying, the cracking of your mind. Everything starts spilling out. " Mason chuckled darkly. "Can't wait for you to crack, bet you'll be more fun than him." And with that, he pushed from the floor and strolled off further down the pit.
"359" Chloe heard the number called from above and she froze. The number annoyed her for many reasons. All her life she'd been happy playing other names, other people, but it had always been a person, she'd always had an identity. But, above that, she thought of the 358 other people before her that had been where she was, suffered like she was, and she'd done nothing to help them. Oliver… he'd taken on an entirely new identity to save those without. But she'd just stood by and let it happen. Lex had always told her it was for the greater good. How did the guards justify what they did? "359!" they called again, limited patience evident in the tone. Chloe pressed her hands to the floor, standing and glancing up to the speaker stood at the top of the elevator. "Elevator, now." he ordered and Chloe started walking. Red eyes turned to stare at her, edging her nerves, rising the heckles on her back, general creeping her eyes. But the eyes followed her, bodies started to converge behind her. Curiosity was leading them.
"359?" one asked from behind her. She kept walking, silent.
"Numbers?" another asked. Clearly they'd kept their names.
"Back away from her!" The order came from above, but the men paused for only a second before speeding up their walking. "359. Alone." But the men kept walking. Chloe was hardly going to tell the men to stop doing anything they wanted, so she just watched above as she stopped before the elevator. She saw the superior guard on the left of the speaker nod behind him, then there was the sound of leaking gas, the hiss of trouble. Then a white cloud sprayed over the pit, but Chloe didn't have a chance to say anything before her collar came on, sending her into screaming, throwing her to the floor and ripping her body with the high voltage shocks. The main shock bottomed out quick, but she was still receiving small signals and it was keeping her on the floor, keeping her crying in pain, keeping her where she was. Vulnerable. Then it stopped and gloved hands were on her, dragging her to the glass of the elevator shaft. But it was there, in the pits of white gas, she saw the squad floored, eyes glowing as bright as fire in each one of them, like beacons in the nights. Whatever they were breathing in paralysed each one of them, but their anger raged on inside them. Chloe turned a head to the guards hanging onto her limp frame. No gasmasks. Whatever that concoction was, it was tailored to them and them alone.
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Chloe's out of trouble, but Lex is far from satisfied. What will he do next? It's Lex, so anything is possible.
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