Chapter Thirty Five; Dark Plans
She pressed her ear closer to his chest, his heartbeat slow and melodic as he slept. On and off he'd woken in the night, all the while she was cuddled up to him, her eyes closed feigning the act of sleep. She'd listen to him grunt out a sigh then pause, his gaze hot over her, before he'd sink back down, letting the comfort of her anchor him. She'd monitor the breathing till he dropped off again then her eyes would fly back open, locking onto him and setting her thoughts free again. They all centred around a simple topic: Oliver. More specifically: A future with Oliver? The topic was still under debate, even after a few long hours. Sleep was starting to make itself known, despite all her shuns and ignorance.
Oliver awoke later than usual, having been haunted by terrors all night. Each time he'd close his eyes wonderful things would play out, but soon they would wilt away and Chloe would leave him alone, painfully alone. Of course then he would wake, see her contently strewn across his body, and all his fears would heighten that he could loose such perfection. After another few seconds rational thinking stepped in and he could close his eyes without fear as he felt her warmth spread through him. Again and again he went through the pattern, his subconscious taking no mercy on his poor heart.
Now there was his darling hugging his arm like it was the comfiest pillow in the world. Her hair spilled across him tickling as he moved. Despite all his intentions to stay and let her cuddle him, other needs were making themselves known. The call of nature probably the greatest, followed by a twinge in the back of his head that desired coffee. Maybe Chloe was rubbing off on him. He chuckled internally at the thought and started his morning mission impossible: get out of bed without waking Chloe. Eventually a few long and complex minutes of high stress later Chloe was still sleeping angelically attached to an actual pillow and Ollie was tiptoeing from her cloud.
Finally she'd woken. They'd sparred. They'd played around in the shower. But then there was the down side of her morning.
"Chloe?" Oliver's head came around the door to the bedroom where she was sprawled across the bed, a book between her hands and the start of a headache fizzing in her lobes. "They're all here. You still wanna do this?" She nodded and rolled with precision from the bed, taking his hand for a second of support before following him down the stairs. As she reached the bottom she met Bart. He was casually leant against the wall, throwing chunks of toffee into his mouth from a paper bag. His face lit with a smile as he spotted her.
"Sure you wanna do this Chlo-a-licious?" Oliver gave her hand a tight squeeze and stepped ahead of her into the living room as Bart offered her some candy and slipped an arm over her shoulder, her small size offering him the perfect height to do so.
"I'm fine." Why was that sounding less like a word recently?
"Says the woman with bags under her eyes." he repeated and she rolled her eyes. "How many hou-"
"3 or 4" she replied before he could ask. It seemed to be a joint effort between him and Ollie to record her sleeping habits till she satisfied them. Sure, she could try to lie, but why bother when she wouldn't be believed anyway. Besides, no matter of make-up could stop her eyes from giving her away.
"You sure. You look pretty dragged." He stood in front of her, tilting her chin up so she met his eyes. "Red eyes as well. Chlo, you're looking dead."
"So, it was maybe closer to 2 or 3. But I did sleep and that's what is important."
"Of course." he replied condescendingly. "You can always take a few extra hours if you want. I'm sure no-one will mind if I take a quick nap with you." He winked and sped around her showing off again.
"Let's just get this over with. You can petition Ollie for his bed later. I'm sure he won't mind chasing you around the apartment."
"There's always Mexico girl. I can take you anytime you want. Just ask me to snap my fingers and you can be living la vida loca sipping margaritas under a flaming sky. Ollie doesn't even have to know."
"Like I said. Let's get this over with." she repeated and stepped past him.
"You wound me Chlo baby. You know I'm much better for you. I'd run ac-"
"How's Gotham?" she asked changing the subject. Bart grinned.
"Jealous?"
"Of your rampage leaving this city? No, not at all." She ducked under his arm and into the living room. She gulped, never had it looked so intimidating.
Heads turned when she stepped in, and not just to look at Bart's mouthful of chewing candy. Clark practically radiated worry as his large frame filled one half of the sofa. Lois was pushing against his shoulder. No doubt he'd said something clueless and un-knowingly offended her.
"Chlo!" She practically leapt up as she spotted her and crossed the room straight into her.
"I love you too Lo." Chloe breathed once Lois finally let her breathe.
Her eyes scanned the room. Victor was on the computer chair, pulled out into space. Ac and some beautiful female she guessed was Mera were leant against the back windows. Dinah had her fingers on her mobile, no doubt pissing off her Batman as she sat awkwardly in a kitchen chair. Oliver stood central, commanding attention to his troops.
"Do you have any idea how worried I was? And then Smallville tells me you've been taken again. I swear to god if I ever see this bastard I'll…" Lois droned on, letting her threats guide her tongue as she pulled Chloe to sit on the other side of her on the crowded sofa.
Oliver cleared his throat and the meeting began. They needed updating on the situation, they needed full forces to take down this guy and they needed Chloe's inside knowledge to do that. As much as Oliver had been against it, against her reliving anything of this, she needed to do it to help end this. Chloe heard footsteps and turned, Emil came from the kitchen and nodded at her silently before leaning over Dinah's chair as Oliver spoke. Dinah complained and rolled her eyes before setting the mobile square on her leg.
"We need a plan of action." Oliver began. "We're up against forces we can't even imagine. Our main target is a man named Charles Feston, as far as we know he's been resurrected by some meteor power allowing him to move around as a shadow. The shadows allow him to change physical appearance, they provide him with the ability to become incorporeal and when touched they can project fears. He can move around the city with them by appearing in shaded areas. So far, the only weakness we can think is light. We can-"
"Actually, that's not true." Chloe piped up, her voice quieter than her usual confidence as the eyes all turned to her. "He can move as a shadow with other people with him, but it severely drains him and he can barely stand for a few hours after." There was a short silence.
"We could use this. Plant a bait, get him to take it and hit him with all we have while he's down." Dinah was the one to speak, quickly cut off by Oliver.
"No" Oliver answered before a breath could be taken.
"It's dangerous but-"
"No. There are too many issues. First, we'd be hard pressed to give him bait, because we've all agreed it won't be Chloe." Chloe opened her mouth to argue, but Oliver's eyes met hers hard and fast and stuck deathly on his decision, she closed her mouth and Bart held back a laugh. "There isn't a lot else he would take such extreme measures with. Not only that, but we would lose contact with whoever we had, we would have no idea where they went and not to mention the other guards he has."
"What do we know about the other guards?" Chloe didn't recognise this speaker. Oliver's eyes went to the phone on Dinah's knee as he replied.
"Quantity is un-known, but they are loyal to the cause and believe truly they are doing what's right. They've been juiced up with other meteor powers past their own and have no objection in using them."
"Do we know any of them personally? Dinah said there was a woman to summon clones and a hit man type." Ah, it was Batman on speaker phone.
"It's unknown as to how far they go power-wise. We've had a run in with clone woman before, but she seems to need blood in order to clone you and the clones are only available for a limited time. They are dangerous, but not impossible, we just have to be careful. More importantly is the muscle behind this. He's ruthless and packs a hell of a punch. Probably juiced up a hell of a lot more than just meteor powers."
"Actually… Copycat woman isn't an issue." Victor spoke up. "I went back, to see if I could find anything and she'd been stabbed, hidden in an area behind the room." Chloe suddenly felt very warm. Clark sent her a concerned look, no doubt hearing her heart slam against her chest violently. He'd probably assume it was because of the memories of that place. She wouldn't correct him. Her head was already feeling abused without dealing with an arguement or defending her actions.
"She's dead?"
"Well she was last time I saw her yeah. I'm thinking she was either turned against or there was something else in that room with us." Vic carried on, swivelling slightly on the computer chair as he spoke. Chloe's nerves were tingling. Would they find out she was behind this? Would they look at her the same? After Oliver took care of Lex Clark could barely look at him. Would she be shunned the same? Her palms were sweating, her pulse kicking a fuss.
"It could have been-"
"Does it matter?" Ac came as the voice of reason. "She's dead. One less to worry about. Let's focus on problem's we actually do have." Chloe breathed out a sigh of relief as they accepted his comment and the conversation swayed onto the other minion of doom after her death. Amongst other things. Chloe pulled at the sleeves of her cardigan, even if it was just his name flying around in conversation, she didn't want him to see any of her.
"Alright, so we know he's the muscles behind the operation. Chloe's told us he doesn't follow orders too well, but remains loyal all the same. He's probably our most dangerous. He's got brute strength, brains, and a need for power. Weaknesses?"
"Over confidence?" Dinah suggested.
"Serious weaknesses?" Oliver repeated.
"Actually. We could use that." Bart suggested. "He gets over cocky. Makes a few mistakes and Bam! We got him. Little bit of a sneak attack."
"And how do you propose we do that?"
"I hate to say this, but this is all swaying to a bait idea still." Batman sounded. Oliver glared at the phone accusingly as he continued. "Blast gets overly cocky, thinking he has the control in the situation. Shadow's gets drained of power. We take them down two at once."
"The bait idea is already ruled out. We'll think of something else." Oliver corrected, putting a block on his temper as it rose in his voice.
"Oliver. If it works we can do this. If it ends this I don't mind-" Chloe was cut off by a thousand different eyes, the worst being Oliver's, telling her then and there to stop talking. She held up her hands in surrender and leant back. Lois's hand slapped out to her shoulder.
"Are you insane?" she hissed quietly. "You'll get yourself killed, and burying my cousin is not on my list at ALL." she whispered in reprimand. Chloe took Lois's hand and squeezed in an apology, her attention switched back to Oliver.
"So, as far as we know for sure. He has one bodyguard, juiced up on meteor powers and lots of other's collected into syringes from dead missing persons."
"He could be creating new minions as we speak. If he has the serums for it, he could even control minds and dope people up to use for his own free will." Vic was right. He could be doing anything. At least they knew that the electro twins could no longer be seen. She had taken both of their essences in full. There was nothing left of them. Her fingers ran to her elbow where they had injected her, slowly rubbing circles over the point of intrusion. Maybe it was a pain of the memory, or maybe just the headache, but she could swear it actually started to sting as she touched it.
"So we focus on that. If he's minus his juices to create his army he'll need to go out and collect. We plant some Non-Chloe bait he takes and get him as he tried to take the powers to stock up his collection." Ac spoke, stepping forward from the window. Mera walked with him, still remaining silent.
"Take the remaining meteor powers?" Emil asked, questioning his sanity. "That's possibly more dangerous. If they are his secret weapon in this war he'd be keeping a solid eye on them at all times. It would be even more guarded that himself. I doubt he'd leave them lying around."
"But if we distracted him. Got him away for a few hours and destroyed all the ones he had." Bart stepped forward, settling next to Ac. "It would draw him out further into our grasp."
"And how do your propose to get him distracted? Hold a banner saying 'You Smell'?" Dinah hissed, shooting down his idea.
"Not exactly my theory, but we can give it a try." he replied with a smirk. "If you think about it, he wants Chloe. That's his main goal here." Not any more, she thought. He'd said she would come to him next. "We buy some plane tickets for Chloe, fake the fact she's leaving the country alone. He'll be on the next plane chasing her. He's probably got tabs on her all the time. He leaves the country and we go for a little look around." Lois was the one to knock him down this time.
"Why would he take the bait? Chloe's been careful so far. Wouldn't it look a little suspicious that's she no longer bothered and hopped aboard a plane, no care of covering her tracks? And besides if he can hop countries in a blur why would he bother staying around there. He could pop back at any given time." Lois was building a temper. Chloe could feel it.
"So we provide something else for him." Oliver suggested. Lois stood, hands on hips in front of him.
"Really. What would you propose Arrow?" Lois's temper was building fast.
"Chloe had a list of possible hide outs. We find which one he's staying at. Cause a distraction out front and Bart can slip in and steal them right from under him. We don't even need to be in combat that long. Just a few seconds."
"And while you're all out playing chicken with your own shadow you're just going to leave Chloe here alone?" she hissed and took another step forward.
"We'll split forces." he simply stated. "I won't leave her unprotected."
"You mean like before? When you swore to protect her but she got taken anyway." Lois snapped, her fists forming. Clark had his hands on her shoulder before she could swing for him. Chloe shuffled in her seat feeling very small.
"Lois, that was no-one's fault." Clark spoke calmly, but Lois rolled her shoulders trying to shrug him off.
"The hell it wasn't! He promised me no harm would come to her!"
"Lois-"
"She's half mummified and all you can say is that it wasn't his fault? This is all his fault. She wouldn't even be in this mess if it wasn't for him." Clark had a hand over her fist before it could collide with Oliver's face. Chloe watched as the anger drained from her, her eyes meeting with Clark's. It would only be a few seconds before she felt guilt and would leave. 3…2… Lois swirled on her heels, snatched her bag from the floor and stalked out the room. Clark apologised and followed her out.
Oliver continued after a slight pause, addressing his troops with a plan of attack, divvying up the duties.
Chloe slipped from the room quietly, avoiding line of sight as she entered the kitchen, reaching into the cabinets only to sigh and scrounge for a chair. She cursed silently, realising they were mostly in the living room for all the extra guests. She hissed at her small height and stood on her tiptoes, reaching for the tablets on the top shelf for her thumping head. It felt like it usually did after Brainiac had had a fit. Only now she knew it wasn't Brainiac, it was just normal Chloe trying to kill her own brain functioning.
"Want a hand?" She spun to find Emil behind her. She graciously nodded and he passed her down the tablets. She chucked two back and downed some water to swallow them with. "The arm giving you trouble?" he asked, leaning against the cabinet watching her.
"Head." she simply answered. He narrowed his eyes, the doctor taking front and central view.
"How bad?"
"It's just a headache. It will go away." she diagnosed herself and rubbed at her temples.
"How bad?" he asked again.
"It hurts. But considering the lack of sleep and the millions of problems whizzing around I don't really blame it. I'd be kicking up a fuss as well."
"Have you had any other problems since Brainiac went?" She could have laughed.
"A headache can just be a headache. It will go away in a few minutes." She hoped.
"Have you had any other problems?" he asked again. Not satisfied till she answered his questions.
"No. Not a single problem."
"How's your cuts?"
"Healing." she answered. "At human speed." she carried on before he could jump back on a Brainiac boat.
"Giving you any pain?"
"No more than I expect."
"How many hours of sleep are you getting?" She rolled her eyes, but answered anyway.
"Around 3. Give or take a few."
"You need more." he simply stated. "I can get some sleeping tablets if you need them." She shook her head. "Let me re-phrase. I'll be giving you sleeping tablets if you don't get more." She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Sure. I'll get right on that." she replied with sarcasm.
"I'm serious Chloe. You're not giving your bodily clock enough time to regenerate. You need sleep as a basic function."
"Tell that to the men who won't leave my dreams alone then." she snapped and her hands flew to her head again.
"Are you still getting the nightmares as bad?" She sighed and nodded. "The sparring not helping?"
"It gives me more control during the day. But … at night…" He nodded, understanding.
"You will come to me if it gets worse. I can recommend some therapies that may help."
"I'm not some nut case."
"I never said you were Chloe. There are few people who can get over trauma like yours with only their free will. There are a lot of practices which could help."
"I don't need a head shrink to tell me I'm angry and pissed at myself. I know that, they won't be doing anything or saying anything I don't already know."
"People can find it helps to have someone to talk to though Chloe, especially after all you've been through. It's normal. Healthy even. Please, just think about it before you shoot it down."
"I've thought about it and I'm not discussing my problems with a complete stranger. They'd probably lock me up for all I've seen."
"Chloe-"
"No. Just… look, I'll see you if it gets bad. But that's all. No doctors, no shrinks."
"Chloe, yo-"
"I said no." she repeated calmly. He cut off his argument.
"How's Oliver dealing with this?" he asked after a few minutes. She sighed and pushed herself up onto the counter, wincing at the weight on her arms for the few seconds.
"He wakes up every hour or so, but drifts back off a few minutes later. He's edgy and terrified he'll say something wrong. But he's coping." Emil nodded and took her mug down, starting the coffee maker as he caught her eying it lovingly and desperately. "Thanks. I know you don't like my coffee addiction, but it's getting me through this."
"Saying I merely don't like it is an understatement. I'm surprised you can even function with the amount you ingest."
"It gives me a coffee coloured glow." she joked and smiled at him as he made her the drink.
"It's probably the cause of your headaches."
"Blasphemy!" she accused and laughed.
"In all seriousness, how are you?" he dropped his voice quieter, though the next room was too crowded with voices to hear anything. She dropped her eyes to the mug he passed her. The smell invaded her brain, spiking up her headache for a few seconds before relaxing into the familiar heaven.
"I don't know." she replied honestly. "I know what happened. I know what could happen and I know what I want to happen. But I don't know how to describe how I feel. Right now I'm just trying to keep going with each day without being swallowed whole. I can feel happy, sad, angry and annoyed all at the same time and it confuses me. Everything just doesn't seem as important anymore." she confessed truthfully, glad to exhale her worries to someone. "Is that bad?" She looked up through guilty eyes to him.
"No. You've gone through a lot Chloe. Your head's trying to find somewhere safe, something to stay afloat in all the mess."
They sat in silence, listening to the other room as positions were given and tactics flattened out. Bart eventually stuck his head in around the corner.
"Chica, Doctor. I gotta run. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Stay safe Bart." Emil spoke in parting. He nodded and winked at Chloe before he was gone. Mera and Ac were next to go, agreeing to meet back tomorrow. Emil and Chloe took the sofa as Victor played computer man and Dinah tapped away to Batman. Oliver sat opposite sharing the plan of action.
"Clark and Bart are checking out locations now. They'll take note of anything they find. If it's being used or has been. Tomorrow we'll go out and take the serum's if we find the right place. Vic's looking for other possibilities now." He nodded over to Victor who was jacked up to the main monitor. She didn't know what his search parameters were, but he seemed to be noting a few more places down to her original list. "If all goes to plan we'll have two groups. You, Dinah, Lois and Clark will stay here with Victor. I'll be going with Bart and if we can Bat will be going too."
"Ac and Mera?" she asked.
"Vic found an island in Charles's name. It was hidden under some accounts." She nodded, she had found it as well. But there was no record of him travelling to it, or being used at all, so she had discounted it. Of course, that was before she knew he could jump with shadows. "He could be keeping the powers there and they volunteered to check it out while we keep him busy. It's less people, but if we have too many he may suspect something's wrong."
"You're going to distract him?" she asked, not at all okay with that plan.
"We can't risk Clark going in case they have green k and take his powers to use against us. He's better to stay and protect anyway. Vic needs to run computers and Bart needs to speed in. It's the only option." He shrugged. "I'll be safe. It's only for a few minutes while Bart gets in and out."
"It's too dangerous." she protested.
"Chloe. Listen to me. We need to do this. Nothing will go wrong. We've thought this through and we've planned this."
"They'll kill you." she hissed.
"I won't let that happen. Besides, they have no use for me. I don't have any meteor powers."
"But you do!" she insisted. Clicking back to what the copy cat had said. "It's how she was able to clone you. She could only use those with meteor in their blood."
"Chloe. I've tested his blood. There's nothing meteor in their." Emil spoke up.
"Test it again."
"Chloe. There's no power. I'm just me."
"No. There is something." she argued, ignoring the spinning of her head. She blinked her eyes, shunning the blurry vision. Seriously, what was wrong with her? Brainiac was gone. Maybe it was a side effect.
"I'll look again at his samples, but wouldn't the power have manifested by now if there was?"
"I don't know." She sat back with a sigh. No energy left anymore.
"Hey. Guys. I got a possible." Vic called and their attention switched. "Bart says he's found some factory where the sun don't shine. Literally. He say's it's all dark in there. No light at all, even through the windows."
"Get the location and tell him to keep looking else where. Don't go in." Oliver instructed walking over to see. Vic nodded, his fingers to the screen, pointing on a map.
Chloe turned back to Emil.
"If the headache doesn't go away call me." he told her quietly. She nodded. "I'm needed back at the hospital in an hour and I'll check Oliver's blood. But don't get too worked up about tomorrow. Everything will run smoothly. They know what they are doing." She nodded again and he stood. He muttered a few goodbye's then the seat was taken over by Dinah, who handed over her mobile to Chloe. Chloe read the first line then passed it back.
"Things are going good for you and the bat then?" she commented.
"Not as well as I hoped. But good can be used to describe it. He's in some board meeting right now and is a little bored." She laughed. "I do my best to entertain."
"Yep. You definitely offer entertainment." Chloe agreed. Dinah had text him with her Christmas list, despite the fact it was only early in the year. Atop that list was a naked Batman. Then followed a bunch of things she could only want for comedic effect.
Dinah was content in her own life. She liked her small apartment and small time job. She liked men that took her for pizza down the road from her house and classed that as a date. But at the same time she didn't have any objection to being wined and dined in a five star restaurant wearing a dress she would never afford after a years worth of work. If given the option she wouldn't know which she preferred, pizza or money. She viewed them both exactly the same and that was why it would work between her and Batman. Well, at least that was what Chloe thought. Billionaires had probably seen their fair share of girls who wanted the best in life and clung to them for the money and diamonds. Oliver seemed to feel that way. He fell for Chloe who would preferably eat Chinese over caviar and she had no doubt Batman would fall for Dinah, if he hadn't already. Chloe grinned.
"I'm thinking of asking for a naked photo. Do you think he'll comply?" Dinah teased.
"Sure. Who could say no to you?" she jested in return.
"I know." Her fingers flew over the keypad. Chloe's eyes widened, she didn't think she'd actually ask. Dinah giggled a few seconds later and tilted the screen toward Chloe.
'Only if I get one of you'
Chloe's smirked.
"Good luck with that." She grinned, then hissed mentally. When would this headache go away? Maybe a dark room would help… it was worth it at this point, and nothing else was going on. "I think I'm going to catch a few minutes snooze." Chloe lied.
"Sure. Go for it Chlo. I'll make sure the boys stay quiet with their manly computing. Besides, Vic's my ride." Dinah scowled at Victor who was busy with the screen. Oliver as well. "Night Chloe. Sleep well sweetie." Chloe nodded and gave Dinah another half hug, wary of her stitches and slipped upstairs.
Chloe closed the curtains, blocking out the sun and crashed on the bed, closing her eyes.
"You won't get away from me." She was back, tied by metal to the chair she never wanted to be in. "I know exactly where you are." he continued, the shadows vibrating with his joy. "I know what to do to make you scream." A knife sailed through her, but still she did not wake. The screams did not sound. The blood did not stop flowing. "I tried to be patient. To care about my actions. To think that maybe a sweet little girl could be innocent, but looking to your empty eyes tells me exactly what I need to hear." He pulled out the knife. "That." He lunged, stabbed into her stomach again. "I." Another stab. "Am" Again. "Always." Another. "Right." He sunk in the blade to the hilt, watching in fascination as it disappeared into her skin then twisted his wrist, making the blade follow and tear her apart.
Then there was blackness. Nothing but the dark. Those few moments of peace before her eyes re-opened. Her skin fully free of scars or any evidence. She pulled at her wrists, the metal still over them. The shadows came back and the scene re-played.
"You won't get away from me." he spoke. "I know exactly where you are." he continued. "I know what to do to make you scream." She braced herself, but not even the locking of her muscles stopped the searing pain of the knife. Her screams still soundless. Her blood still flowing. Her pulse still hammering inside her head. The headache not giving in. He finished the scene, and she watched her life drift away yet again.
Three more times she died before finally she made a scream, she called out for Oliver, but he didn't not arrive. Instead she stood atop Smallville dam, eyes cast down. Her body was whole. Her spirit was not.
"I won't stop. This will continue as long as you live. You know that." She turned to the shadows again.
"I know that." she spoke, agreeing with him.
"Then you know what you have to do." His eyes flickered to the edge of the dam.
"I know what I have to do."
"You'll meet your fate one way or the other. I'm offering you a kindness. You know this."
"I know this."
"What are you waiting for my child? Don't you want to save them? Don't you want to stop the pain you feel?" She nodded. "It will take away the pain, the misery. The pointlessness you feel will go away. You'll find peace child. You'll find something worth your time. We both know you don't want to live in this life anymore. Do what no-one else can. You're special Miss Sullivan. Use that gift."
"I want it to end." she whispered, turning to him with soulful eyes, weeping in desolation.
"Of course you do. The pain you feel takes too much of your soul. It fills you with its sorrow. End this now. Be the saviour of the people." He voice purred to her ears and she stepped to the barrier, climbing to stand atop the railing. "Say goodbye to your pain Miss Sullivan." She steeled a breath and jumped. The air flew past her, her hair lifted back, her clothing rattling against her skin. The wind caressed her in parting and she watched the ground grow closer and closer. Her eyes closed, the evil laughter of a sadist being the very last thing she would hear.
She woke up panting for breath. In a quickly learned habit she scanned the room, scurried to put her back to something solid, ready to be attacked. Just another nightmare, she told herself. Another nightmare. Her fingers ran to her hair. How long would she be pray to him? Her gaze went to the clock. She had slept two hours. That was good, she praised. Two solid hours of sleep was a new record since she came back. Would Dinah be gone by now?
As she stood she soon found herself swept over by dizziness, pulling her back to sitting and rubbing her temples. The headache had dulled but she felt so weak. Vaguely she was aware she hadn't eaten since breakfast. Even then it was only a cereal bar. No wonder she felt weak. She caught her reflection in the bathroom mirror and froze.
Her eyes… they had specs of silver in them. What the hell? She squeezed them shut and rubbed her hands over them. She opened back up to see her paling skin and more silver. What was wrong with her? Was this still a dream? Brainiac was gone. There should be no headaches, no dizziness, no silver. Dragged down by her weakened state she lowered herself to the floor, the cold tile of the wall offering some anchor to her craze. Her head dropped to her knees and she concentrated on the breathing. It couldn't be Brainiac. She was just seeing things. Besides, she had no other effects of it. No need to worry Emil about nothing. She'd be fine. She let the tile cool the sheen of sweat on her back and finally pulled herself back up. Her colour was back, her eyes returned. They even looked less bloodshot. She smiled to herself about her over-reaction and went to satisfy her hunger. Everything would be back to normal when she ate something of substance.
Oliver was sitting on the sofa with a book when she came down. He snapped it shut and turned his full attention to her.
"Hey. Dinah said you went for a quick nap. Did you sleep well?"
"The usual." she admitted. "Kind of hungry though."
"I know how you feel. You want to order in or raid the fridge?" She noted the lack of an option to go out. Ollie was playing it careful recently. She would probably be locked in her tower till this was resolved.
"Whatever." she answered not bothered by her options. She'd settle for dried pasta at this point. Oliver stood and made his way over as she hovered by the stairs. His arms came around her.
"Sorry you're not sleeping well." He kissed the top of her head lovingly.
"It's fine."
"No. It isn't. But I'm working on it. I'll make it better." She softened into his grip, letting him walk her to the kitchen and lift her to sit on the counter. "What do you fancy? I can call for some Pizza. Mexican? Chinese? Indian?" he frowned at her indifference. "We can always order a cake or two from the bakery. Muffins? Cookies?" Still nothing. "Candyfloss?" She laughed once and settled back against the wall.
"Pizza." she spoke without any emotion. Just choosing an option.
"Where's you head at Chlo?" He saw the sadness swallow her eyes as she flashed up to him. "It's more than just bad dreams, even I can see that."
"Don't go tomorrow." she petitioned. He took her hands.
"I have to Chloe. Don't think I wouldn't rather be here with you, but if this finally finishes the nightmares, if it finally stops the terrors from your head then I'd like to think I'd be the one saving you from that."
"You are already." she insisted. "I don't know what I'd be like if I didn't have you. I can't lose you Ollie. Not now."
"Then you know how I feel if I was to ever lose you. I promise I'll return to you."
"Ollie, he could kill you."
"He could have killed you." he reflected back at her.
"He could still." she argued whisper quiet. Terrified of the possibility.
"I won't let that happen. And even if he did. I wouldn't be far behind. I won't leave you."
"Ollie-"
"I love you and you can't honestly expect me to keep on living in a world where you don't. I wouldn't be far behind you. I'd find him and show him true revenge before following you into that bright light."
"No! You can't."
"You wouldn't really have a say Chloe. You'd be dead sweetheart."
"No! How would you feel if you died and I went and offed myself?" He paused his comeback, she could see it in his eyes.
"Luckily I won't ever die."
"Ollie, would you want me to?" she asked, deathly serious.
"No."
"Then you know how I feel. Promise me, even if I die, you will not follow. You'll go on living. You'll settle down with some sweet beautiful women and grow old, surrounded by blonde haired angels." Her heart broke as she gave away her own dream to someone else. Amber had seen her jump from Smallville dam. Her dream had seen her jump. Chances are her death was imminent. Oliver's would not be. Not if she could change that.
"No. Only you. Only ever you." She reached out a hand to his cheek, his eyes rimmed with water.
"Promise me you won't follow and I'll promise you the same."
"Chloe…" She wrapped her arms around him, letting her own tears fall.
"Promise me Oliver." she whispered.
"I promise." he spoke, his voice muffled, choked by the emotion. She repeated his words to him. Her voice completely run over with emotion.