The past few days had been very blissfully uneventful. Emmeline's powers had stopped showing up at random times and she hadn't used any of them since she'd punched Phantom-Clark across the room. Maybe if she was lucky, whatever had made them appear in the first place had stopped it too.
On the other hand, she also still hadn't had a training session with Oliver since the whole Black Canary incident. She was aware that if she declined him enough times, he would stop calling, but at the moment, the idea of facing him again was more anxiety-inducing than the possibility of having their training sessions stop.
As Emmeline finished up some work at the front desk in the clinic, a familiar voice made her freeze.
"This place looks good on you."
Emmeline spun around and her eyes lit up as a smile broke out across her face. "Pete?!"
Pete smiled warmly at her. "Hey, Em."
"Oh, my gosh!" Emmeline raced around the desk and tackled him in a hug. "It's so good to see you again! What are you doing in Metropolis?"
"I've been working as a roadie for the past couple years, and the band has stopped here for a few days to play some sets."
"That's amazing! Which band?"
"OneRepublic."
"What?! Pete, that's so cool!"
"It may not be the most glamourous thing, but it pays the bills."
"Do you like it?"
"Yeah, I really do."
"Then that's all that matters."
"I see that you're living out the dream."
"I'm on the way to it, anyway. I just got my Bachelors a few months ago and now I'm working on my Masters. I started working here two years ago for an internship, but now I get to log in hours towards my degree. I'm also starting my practicum soon with the Isis Foundation, courtesy of Lana."
"That's awesome, Em. I'm so glad things seem to be working out for you. And it's cool that you and Chloe and Lana are still close."
"Me and Chloe, yes. Me and Lana…that's a bit different."
"I guess a lot can happen in four years."
"Yeah, you can say that again."
"I'm heading to the Daily Planet to see Chloe. Wanna come with?"
"Sure! My shift's just about over, so let me go ahead and clock out!"
Emmeline went back behind the desk and punched out, then she grabbed her bag and threw it over her shoulder.
"Ready?" Pete asked.
"Yep!"
The two of them left the clinic and began walking down the sidewalk in the direction of the Planet at a leisurely pace.
"Clark told me that his secret of the century isn't exactly so much a secret anymore, and that you're one of the lucky people to know who he really is," Pete began. "How long have you known?"
"A little over two years. I got pushed off a building and when he managed to catch me, that's when he told me all about his past and what he can do."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you got pushed off a building?"
"There's a creature called Brainiac that's a Kryptonian supercomputer that looks like a human. He tried to bring back an old Kryptonian general and said something about how my death would make that happen."
"Geez, I'm glad you're okay."
"A lot of crazy stuff like that has happened since then. When did you find out his secret?"
"Beginning of our sophomore year of high school."
Emmeline slowed. "Is that why you left the year after that?"
Pete sighed heavily. "Mostly…yeah. There were so many people trying to use me to get to him, and I was stressed out every single day that I would accidentally say something to you or Chloe or anyone that would reveal who Clark really was. I'm so sorry, Em…I just couldn't handle the pressure."
"I wish I'd known what you were going through. I mean, I can't imagine not having Chloe to talk to about everything. I'm really sorry I wasn't able to do anything for you back then."
"I know. I'm just sorry things didn't work out."
Emmeline recalled how devastating their breakup had been for her and how much she had missed him over the next year, especially at their senior prom. But hearing all this, she knew that it must've been equally painful for him. She wondered what their lives would've looked like if she'd known Clark's secret back then and Pete hadn't felt he had to leave.
When the two of them made it the Daily Planet, Emmeline led Pete down to the basement where Chloe worked.
"I always knew the Torch would light the way to the big leagues," Pete smiled as he and Emmeline approached Chloe's desk.
The smile on Chloe's face when she saw her old friend could've outshined the sun. "Pete, hey. It's so good to see you." She stood up and tightly hugged him. "Don't be too impressed, though. I just went from being a big fish in a small pond to being a minnow in the Atlantic."
"Well, I, for one have read all of your stories, and as much as some things change, some things always remain the same."
"I couldn't agree more. I'm actually in the process of mopping up Lex Luthor's daily carnage as we speak."
"Now there's a name I don't miss."
"He's playing Big Brother on all of the computers at the Daily Planet. All my work is under his cyber lock and key."
"He's doing what?" Emmeline said in disbelief. "That can't be legal."
"Let's just say when I confronted him about it, he insinuated that he wasn't worried about that too much."
"Well, can't you just work some of your virtual voodoo and get him back?" Pete asked.
"Short of a direct hit from a massive virus, all of these files will forever be in the clutches of Citizen Lex."
"Maybe I can give him something else to focus on."
His right arm extended multiple feet behind Chloe and picked up a rose then shrank back to its normal length.
Emmeline and Chloe's eyes widened. Chloe already knew about this new ability of his thanks to a picture Jimmy had shown her from a concert last night where he'd saved Kara from falling debris, but Emmeline hadn't seen this coming at all. And most insane of all was that he had done that in broad daylight where multiple people could see him.
"Cool, huh?"
"Actually, yeah. Uh, come here." Chloe started ushering him back towards the copier room and spoke in a lower voice. "You don't want Lex or anyone else seeing that you can do that."
"Come on, Chloe. Don't tell me that Clark's got you running scared because of his secret, too."
"Look, I know you don't mean that 'cause this isn't about Clark."
"Isn't it? I mean, I remember what it was like covering for him. Always having to watch what you had to say, lying…to you…and to the person that I was supposed to share everything with."
"Well, sometimes you don't have another choice."
"Yes, you do. And for once I'm glad not to be following in Clark's footsteps. No secrets, Chloe. Put it on the front page."
"Whoa, whoa, front page?" Emmeline said. "Pete, have you taken even a second to really think about what you're doing here?"
"I get the whole reach-for-the-stars mentality," Chloe added, "and right now, you actually could reach a few of those stars, but what about all the meteor-infected people who still appreciate their privacy?"
"They want to keep living a lie, that's their problem."
"Wait a minute, Pete, stop," Emmeline said quickly, "that's a really harsh way of putting it. Just because someone can sing doesn't mean they want to be a singer, and that's not living a lie, it's not wanting to be put in the spotlight."
"Well, then consider me a singer who wants to be a singer."
"It's not that simple. One person coming forward isn't going to change the way the world thinks overnight."
"I don't expect it to. I'm just starting something." He noticed Lex passing by outside the room. "It's time for everyone to realize that a real hero doesn't hide in the shadows. Excuse me."
Emmeline watched him walk off in shock. "I know it's been a while, but I don't remember him being so wildly overconfident."
"I know, which probably means that something's wrong. Most likely from whatever caused him to have these sudden powers in the first place. And if he really goes public with this, then that could be really bad news for me and a lot of other people."
Chloe didn't know it yet, but Emmeline was part of that group of people.
Shortly after Chloe and Emmeline returned from an impromptu lunch in the Daily Planet cafeteria, Clark came rushing in to catch up with them.
"I suppose you both probably saw Pete by now," he told them.
"Yeah, including his newfound confidence, or should I say arrogance, brought on by the new powers he just got," Emmeline replied.
"I just did some digging at the Stride factory a few miles away from here."
"The Stride gum factory?" Chloe asked.
"It was used as an underground venue for bands until it was shut down a few months ago."
"It's already been closed? Maybe next time they won't let the flavor last quite so long."
"I found the source of Pete's powers. Kryptonite-enhanced gum. I found a whole stockpile of it."
"Chewing gum? Is nothing sacred anymore?"
"I destroyed it, but we have to find Pete. His attitude is changing."
"Ah, so you got a whiff of Pete 'The Boss' Ross, too, huh?"
"If he ingests any more kryptonite, we both know what happens to people."
"Present company on standby. And since the 'Go, Go Gadget Arms' has been going public with his abilities, he's gotta be—"
Chloe froze when she walked into the office and saw everyone's computers completely freeze up, go black, and then pop up with several blue scorpions.
"What's going on?" Clark asked.
Chloe went over to her computer. "It looks like some kind of virus. My computer's totally fried, and judging from the collective sighs, so is everybody else's. Clark, I think our new hero went vigilante and wiped out the Planet's server to protect me."
"From Lex?" Emmeline said.
"Yeah."
Jimmy quickly came running over to them. "Hey, guys. Major scoop. Pete's headed over to Lionel Luthor's office. He's stealing something for Lex."
Chloe, Emmeline, and Clark all shared a concerned look. They'd gone from wanting to reveal a closely guarded secret to the world to committing crimes in a matter of hours.
And if they didn't do something soon, Pete was going to be in some serious danger.
Emmeline stood on the edge of her balcony, closed her eyes, and took some deep breaths. She knew Clark had gone to stop Pete from stealing from Lex, but judging from the way he'd been acting all day, she was worried that something had gone really bad or wrong and she wouldn't know until it was too late.
So she had to find him. It had been a while since she'd used any of her powers, but if there was ever a time to use one, it was now. Emmeline winced as she allowed all of the sounds in the city to amplify which made her head ache. But she breathed deeply again and focused all of her energy on sifting through the noises until she found the one she wanted.
Finally, she heard a loud crack that made her headache worsen followed by a scream of pain that she recognized immediately. The words were muffled because the sound of instruments and someone singing were louder, and try as she might, Emmeline couldn't quiet them enough to hear what was being said.
Maybe that was because Pete was so close to the music. He'd said he was working as a roadie, and Clark had told them about the Stride gum factory being a place where bands played. Plus, Pete's power came from the gum there, and he would want to be close to it if he needed a boost.
Emmeline made all of the loud noises stop and quickly regained her bearings as she ignored the lingering headache. She then quickly opened the hydraulic closet and packed up a gym bag with one of the bows and several arrows. She knew that she was capable of just waltzing in and knocking everyone out, assuming her ability to use her strength would work when she needed it, but she trusted herself much more with a bow and arrow than with abilities she didn't have full control over yet.
Once her bag was packed, she raced down to the first floor of the building, went out the door, and began running down the street towards the gum factory. She thought about speeding there, but she'd only used that ability once and that was because she only had seconds to spare before her best friend got killed. This time, she wasn't under quite that much pressure, so she didn't want to risk using that power when she didn't know if she would be able to stop herself in time from someone witnessing her using it. However, thanks to Oliver's insistence that she work on her endurance in between their training sessions, she was still able to run pretty quickly even at regular speed.
When she finally made it to the factory, she went around towards the back and discreetly slipped inside where boxes and boxes of gum were strewn all around the floor.
And right in the middle of the large warehouse room, Lex stood over Pete who had been tied to a chair. A man she didn't recognize but presumed to be a hired muscle of Lex's stood behind Pete.
"I don't like this any more than you do, Pete," Lex said, sounding like he was an inch away from completely losing it. "But I need that bracelet. Now this is the last time I'm gonna ask you. Where is it?"
"I don't have it! I already told you I don't have it! And I never did!"
"Okay."
Emmeline had to cover her hand with her mouth to keep from crying out as she watched the hired muscle lift Pete's tied arms up in the wrong direction and heard his agonized screams of pain.
By this time, she was up on one of the catwalks where she could see them but they wouldn't be able to see her.
Emmeline nocked an arrow onto the bowstring and aimed it on the horrifying scene below. For just an instant, she realized how easy it would be for her to release her arrow into Lex's forehead. She was in a position for the perfect shot. He would never hurt anyone else ever again.
But she wouldn't. She didn't learn archery to kill, she learned it to protect. It wasn't up to her to decide whose life to take, even if she believed that Lex was past the point of no return.
And the fact that it had even crossed her mind would be something to freak out about later.
Emmeline took a couple deep breaths and focused on her target. Then she released the arrow and it hit the hired muscle directly in the shoulder. It wouldn't kill him, but it would be extremely painful and take a long time to heal, so he wouldn't be hired by anyone any time soon.
She quickly sank down again before Lex could see who had shot the arrow. While she was down, she nocked up another arrow, but she didn't have time to aim before she heard Lex shout in surprise followed by the hired muscle's screams of pain silencing.
"You okay?" Clark's voice asked.
"Yeah," Pete panted. "Guess the best part about knowing your secret is being able to say …thank you."
Emmeline smiled to herself from her hidden position on the catwalk. From what it sounded like, the two of them were finally on better terms after their rocky reunion. Being saved from torture could do that to a person.
"When did you pick up archery though?" Pete asked.
"That one…wasn't me," Clark told him.
"So you're not the only one with secrets then."
Emmeline couldn't help silently laughing, only imagining what their reactions would be if they knew it was her who had played archer tonight.
The elevator inside Emmeline's loft opened. "Hi," she smiled.
Pete opened up the grate with his good arm, the other one held in a sling. "Hey."
"What happened to you?" As if she didn't already know.
"Went toe-to-toe with Lex Luthor, and as you can see, it didn't go great for me."
"Not even with your new powers?"
"When they can go just as easily as they came…"
"Are you okay?"
"Thanks to Clark saving the day like the hero he is. Along with some mysterious archer. I've heard about the Green Arrow running around here for a while. I guess it was probably him."
"I'm glad you're safe."
"Thanks."
"Want some dinner? I just finished making some parmesan chicken."
"I won't turn down free food."
Emmeline laughed and the two of them sat down at the table by the windowed wall.
"I can't believe you're living in a loft owned by Oliver Queen. How in the world did you swing this?"
"It's one of those things that just worked out when all the pieces fell into perfect place."
"So you've met him then?"
"A couple times, yeah. He's not the total egomaniacal jerk the papers try to paint him out to be. He's been pretty nice to me. And before you ask, no, it's not because he's expecting something from me. He's just nice, I promise."
"I believe you. It's so strange how different our lives are now."
"I know."
"And on that note…I wanted to apologize for acting like a supreme idiot yesterday. I know it was partially the kryptonite, but a lot of it was just me saying what I felt deep down inside. For so long, I felt like I was constantly in Clark's shadow, and having powers myself made me feel like I finally had stepped out of it."
"I never saw you like that."
"I know. And I wish I could say that had been enough for me, but…it wasn't. I didn't just go to the paper to help other meteor-infected people. I went there so that I could be the one at the center of attention. I mean, even after three years, I'm just a nobody who moves stuff for a band. No one knows my name. After that article, everyone would've known it. Of course, now that my head's on straight, I can see why that isn't exactly a good thing. I may have gotten onto Clark's case about how he's chosen to live his life, but when all is said and done, he really is a real hero."
"I had no idea you were struggling so much while we were dating. There are so many things I wish I would've said or done differently."
"You have no idea how many times I wanted to talk to you about what was going on. I hated keeping the whole thing from you. Especially because I knew that you'd be able to help me and Clark with a lot of the stuff we dealt with. Even if that was only listening to me vent."
"I'm sorry you had to deal with that all on your own."
"I'm glad you know now. Clark really needs someone like you in his life."
"Yeah, I'm glad I know too."
"Look, Em…I didn't like the way I ended things. I've been on a couple dates here and there since then, but I've never found anyone that I like as much as I liked you. Every now and again, I still wonder if I should've just begged Clark to tell you so that I could've found the strength to stay. I'm really sorry."
"You don't have to be sorry. I completely understand why you felt like you needed to leave. And you know, who's to say we wouldn't have broken up later for whatever reason? Pete, I just want you to be happy. Whether that means being a roadie or being a singer or being an accountant."
"Who would be happy being an accountant?"
"I'm sure someone is. My point is…this is the time of your life to try everything. If being a roadie doesn't give you the fulfillment that you want, then do something else. Find out what you truly love and have fun. You deserve that and more."
"Thanks, Em."
Pete and Emmeline ended up talking for over three hours, long past the time they'd finished eating and Emmeline had provided dessert for them. He was able to tell her all of the events from high school involving Clark from his perspective or things she hadn't heard Clark tell her before. She told him everything that had happened after he'd left until now, excluding her secret training sessions and her recently discovered heritage. If he still felt like he was struggling to hold onto Clark's secret, she didn't need to burden him with additional knowledge. Besides, he definitely couldn't be the first one she told all of that to.
"I should get going," Pete finally stated as he got up from the couch. "We have two more shows and then we're heading out to do a few in Oklahoma."
"Sounds exciting."
"I think it will be. I'll stick with it for now, but I do want to see what other options are out there for me."
"Good idea."
"I'll see you around, Em."
Emmeline tightly hugged him. "I'm so glad we got to see each other again."
She pulled back, but she didn't take her arms away from his shoulders, and she noticed that he hadn't released her waist either.
Emmeline slowly leaned her head forward and kissed him.
It was just as simple and gentle as she remembered.
But it wasn't the same.
She pulled back and looked at him sadly. "What we had…we're never going to get it back…are we?"
Pete sighed, his hands still on her waist. "We're different people now, Em. If we'd had the chance to grow together, then maybe, but…"
Emmeline nodded.
It was painful to realize that their relationship was well and truly over. When she'd first seen him at the clinic, a part of her that had lay dormant since they'd broken up had flared to life again and had wondered if it would be possible to pick back up where they'd left off, especially now that they both knew Clark's secret.
But of course, it wasn't that simple. She would always care about him, but she knew she would never feel the same way about him as she had in high school. She'd changed too much since then.
Emmeline gently hugged him again. "I love you, Pete."
"I love you too, Em."
She watched him pull back the grate and walk into the elevator. "Good-bye."
Emmeline walked into the training area.
"I should make you do so many drills that you can't walk or lift your arms for a month," Oliver said sharply. "But…I decided I would hear you out first."
Oliver had every right to be upset with her, so she decided to be completely honest about how she felt rather than dodge him or ignore him as she had for the last few weeks. "The truth is…I was kind of hurt when I realized you'd tried to get back together with Lois last month. But I didn't feel like I had the right to be hurt because we'd only kissed twice at that point, and considering the strange relationship we have right now, I knew we couldn't or wouldn't put a name to it. And I knew on some level you still liked her, so…maybe it was wrong of me to let all that happen in the first place.
"But then my old boyfriend, Pete, came into town this past week. I hadn't seen him since we broke up at the end of our junior year. He came over, and we had dinner, and we talked for hours. And just before he left, I kissed him. But I didn't really feel anything. You see, Pete was very safe. And at that time in my life, that was what I needed. But I'm not that person anymore. So we just didn't fit like we used to.
"I don't know if that's anything similar to what you went through with Lois, but regardless, it made me realize something. Whatever this thing is that we were doing…we're not ready. I don't want to use you as a way to forget about my feelings for someone else, and I know you don't want to use me like that either. I'm not the kind of person who just does this kind of thing for fun. I put my whole self into it. And I can't do that when I know that both of us have stronger feelings for other people that we haven't entirely moved on from yet."
Oliver sighed heavily. "I never meant to hurt you, Emmeline."
"I know. I didn't mean to hurt you either. And I still really appreciate everything you've done for me, especially that trip to Belize that I really needed for multiple reasons. For what it's worth, I don't regret any of it. Maybe in a year or two, we can even see what happens. But it's just…right now…I need you to be my trainer and my mentor first…without complicating things."
"I can do that."
