Davis didn't know what it was, but suddenly his head snapped up as his gaze locked on the north. The antiseptic tablets he'd been mashing into a paste for a septic wound instantly forgotten. Dropping both mortar and pestle, he climbed to his feet, never taking his eyes away from the north. He stared off into the far distance, unsure what had attracted his attention, but deep inside he knew that something was happening. Something terrible.

Marta came up to him and placed a gentle hand on his tensed shoulder. He'd sensed her coming, so hadn't jumped, but it had been a near thing. His body practically hummed with tension.

"Aidan? What is it?", she asked softly.

"I don't know...something is wrong..."

She didn't ask how he knew. This wasn't the first time he had sensed something everyone else had missed. He'd known about the collapse of the iron mine on the nearby mountainside well before the smoke could be seen in the air. Those extra few minutes had proven critical in collecting supplies and getting out to the wounded.

"Where?" was all she asked.

"Home..."

He barely noticed Marta's sharply indrawn breath, his attention still riveted in the direction where he instinctively knew Metropolis lie.

"I have to get back, now," said Davis, forcing himself to turn away from his haunting stare into the north. He started marching back into the center of the camp.

"Wait, what? What's going on?" Marta asked, chasing after him. "What do you think happened? Where is 'home'?"

Davis stumbled slightly as he realized his earlier slip. He forced his lips to remain sealed, even though he was desperate to tell someone his fears.

Marta sighed, recognizing the closed expression. She should have expected this. Aidan never talked about his past. Ever. "Fine. How about telling me what you plan to do?"

That gave Davis pause. Leaving wasn't as easy as it might seem. While it was possible for him to just run out of here and all the way to Kansas by using his powers, he had given up them up for a reason all those years ago. He had sworn off his alien powers so he could redeem himself - as a mortal man. Dropping that vow now for convenience would make a lie of all the work he had done here.

Also, if he suddenly gone, there would be questions. Aidan Kell was a documented aid worker with Emergency International. If he just disappeared, people would search for him. While the chance was remote, it might even make it to the press. He couldn't risk it. He had to do this the right way. Sort of.

He turned back to Marta. "I need to get back to Texas. Now. She's in danger."

He watched Marta's eyes get big, and her mouth formed a silent O shape. Marta knew exactly who the "she" he was talking about was.

Chloe.

He was finally going after Chloe.

As for Texas, it was the best place he could think to start. He certainly didn't want to show his face back in Kansas without getting some things in order first.

Snapping her jaw shut with an audible click of teeth, Marta visibly pulled herself together. "Alright then, let's go to the internet station. We need to put in an emergency leave request for you. If all goes well, we can have you on a truck out of here by tonight."

Tonight.

Looking up, Davis blinked at the bright early morning sun. Tonight seemed so far away, but he didn't have much choice.

Letting out a heavy breath, he nodded his head in agreement. Thinking through what he needed to do helped calm the panic that had seized him. Looking back toward the north he felt the pressure slacken somewhat. Whatever he had sensed had stopped. For now. He just hoped he was back in Metropolis before it returned...because he had a sinking suspicion about what he had sensed.

Doomsday was breaking free.

Chloe picked herself up from the floor of her apartment. She found herself oddly grateful she hadn't gotten to any unpacking yet. If she had, her newly placed things would probably have fallen down or crashed during the earthquake.

Stupid earthquakes, they never failed to unnerve her. Why didn't the earth in California stay put like it did in Kansas?

Wait.

She was in Kansas.

She was in Kansas during an earthquake. Something Kansas most certainly did not get. Tornadoes, yes. Meteor-infected nutjobs, sure. But not earthquakes.

This can't be good news.

She dialed Watchtower's emergency line. Courtney picked it up before the first ring. "Chloe, you ok? Your new place hold up? Thankfully, Watchtower is built like a fortress, and everything here made it through ok, but I guess you planned this place to survive a few shake-ups!"

Chloe was oddly calmed by the younger girl's chatter. Courtney was made of tough stuff, and even she was clearly rattled. Centering herself, Chloe began focusing on priorities. "Hey Courtney, yeah, I'm fine. Did you start a scan of the emergency channels and deploy the team as needed? Have you started a search on what caused the rumble?"

"I have the team deployed helping where they can, but I can't figure heads or tails on what caused the quake. Could you come in and see what you can make of it?"

"Yeah, I'll head right in. See if you can get hold of Victor. I might need his help going though some data."

"Ok, got it. See you soon."

The call disconnected.

Sighing, Chloe took only a single regretful look around her apartment full of boxes before she walked out the door. She was Chloe Sullivan, all right - leaving a mess behind to go save the day.

Go Team Me.

As Marta had promised, Davis was on a truck by evening on his way back to the main camp. From there he would be going straight to the airport and the waiting red-eye flight to Dallas, Texas. In his hands, he had all the appropriate paperwork for customs and immigration relating to his status as a returning aid worker. Once in Texas, he planned to head off on his own by catching a bus back to Kansas.

He'd be back in the same city as Chloe within 24 hours. He let out a sigh that was comprised of equal parts relief and nerves.

During the flurry of preparations, he had forgotten that Chloe supposedly no longer lived in Kansas. She was supposed to be in California...with her husband. By painful habit, his heart seized remembering the picture from The Daily Planet gossip section. It had been a picture of Oliver Queen wearing a wedding ring and the caption: OLIVER QUEEN SPOTTED WEARING WEDDING RING. BUT WHO IS THE NEW MRS. QUEEN? According to the story, no marriage certificate was ever filed, but the billionaire/vigilante had taken to wearing a wedding ring. Further stories on the subject revealed that no one new had moved into the Queen mansion apart from his aide, an unremarkable divorcee named Chloe Sullivan.

But Davis knew the truth even before seeing the follow up stories. In that first photo of Oliver wearing the mysterious wedding ring, Chloe could be seen blurrily in the background. She too had a wedding ring on her hand.

That night was the only time in over three years that Davis let himself get drunk. The events of that night were mostly a haze of alcohol and sweaty skin on skin. It wasn't until days later that he found out that was the first night he had slept with Marta. He knew now how lucky he really was that it was her and not one of the other women in camp. Some of them had been trying to lure him to their beds for years. Sometimes he let them when the loneliness became too much to bear, though he always regretted it afterwards. He could never give them what they really wanted. But it was different with Marta. They were friends, and had been since he had appeared at the Emergency International site three years ago. They had been drawn to each other because they sensed the other knew loss equal to their own. Marta's husband, Jeremy, had died a few months prior, while Davis had lost his entire life...even his name. Aidan Kell was all that was left of the late, unlamented Davis Bloome.

Now it seemed he still wasn't done cleaning up after his former life, as the monster that had been part of him for so long was once again breaking free.

And Chloe was back in Metropolis.

It had just been a small thing, but there it was. Her name on The Daily Planet's online employee directory. He had been looking for Clark's contact information, but some instinct - or maybe it was just raw hope - had made him search Chloe's name too.

And it had shown up.

She was a new desk reporter at The Daily Planet, having recently transferred back to Metropolis. Davis had stared at the screen with her name and phone extension for a long moment, unable to believe it.

If she was back in Kansas, did that mean she and Oliver had split?

Was it wrong how his heart leaped at the prospect of Chloe available again? And back in the same city that was his own destination?

Could it be fate?...or something else sinister at work?

Author's Note: No new chapter will be posted next week (Sept 6, 2015). I will be on vacation, but I expect to post the following week. :)