WARNING: Character Death.
Chapter 21
She felt something tickling the back of her neck. She didn't want to open her eyes, but she rolled over, smiling.
"Was it good for you?"
She opened her eyes and shrieked, pulling the covers more firmly around her. "Bart!"
He was laying on top of the rest of the covers, smiling. "Sorry. I had to."
She shoved a pillow in his face and he stepped off the bed. "Hey! Be nice." He held up a bag. "J'ai un croissant pour vous."
"That's great, but I'm not dressed."
He raised his eyebrows. "Pourquoi? Aviez-vous le sexe?"
"Shut up with the French already and get out."
"Fine!" He turned exaggeratedly. "I know when Je ne suis pas apprécié!"
"Leave my croissant!"
He tossed it to the bed, and stalked out. "Femmes! Ils prennent juste mes croissants et me jettent," he muttered.
She smiled as she looked around. It was still dark. She took a bite of her croissant and grabbed her robe, pulling it on under the covers in case Bart decided to come in again.
She started as Lois sailed in, all in white. "You're the last one up. Come on!"
"Okay," Chloe mumbled around her food.
Lois looked at herself in Chloe's mirror. "I hate wearing white. Look at my hips."
"You look fine... Are you nervous?"
Lois turned away. "This stupid bullet-proof crap makes me look completely breast-less,too."
"Lois." Chloe came up behind her, tying her robe. "It's okay to actually be nervous."
"It's not today," Lois said quietly.
Chloe came closer and put her arms around her from behind. "Your Dad?"
She saw Lois' face fall in the mirror. "I just wish he could have seen the light sooner. Chloe, he... He said things last night that I wanted to hear for years."
Chloe saw Lucy in the mirror behind them. "I'm glad you all got to talk."
Lois moved away as Lucy came further in. "Please just accept it, Lucy. We know what we're dealing with." She moved closer, but Lucy stepped away and sat on the bed.
"It's fine. I'd rather stay with Dad, anyway. Just go."
Lois looked helplessly at Chloe and left the room. Chloe moved to the bed and sat next to Lucy. "You okay?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. My dad's sick and it's all because of Lex Luthor and I just... Why can't he be killed? All of this is because of him. He'll probably never stop trying to..." She let out a shaky breath and dipped her head. "If he was dead, he could never do it again."
"Lucy." Chloe put an arm around her. "Lex Luthor should be stopped, but... If you just kill someone... Well, there's no going back."
"So if Luthor was coming at you with a gun, you wouldn't kill him?"
Chloe sighed. "Only as a last resort. But I believe it's better that he actually pay for his crimes."
Lucy stood. "I'd rather he just pay in hell." She shook Chloe's arm off and turned on her. "And I still don't understand why you're going. You almost died. You're not all better and..."
"Lucy, I'm part of this. I need to be there in case. Besides, wouldn't you rather stay with your father?"
"I'd rather make sure my father wasn't dying unavenged!"
Chloe watched as she walked out. She couldn't talk about it now. Maybe later...
A.C. popped his head in. "Would you suit up already? Sno-Cat's running and C.K. and Bart have already gone ahead."
"Sorry. I'll hurry." Chloe took her whites from her suitcase as he shut the door. She laid them on the bed and retrieved her ski mask from on top of the radiator. She almost took off her robe when the door opened again. "I'm dressing!" She turned to find it was Lucy. "Oh, sorry... Look, Lucy, about before..."
"No. It's cool. I understand how you feel about the Lex thing, but I happen to see it as really early self-defense."
"I understand that, but... It just goes against what this whole group is all about."
Lucy smiled sadly. "The Justice League? I mean, that's what Bart was saying they should call themselves.... But isn't it justice for Lex to be stopped now? If he gets away..."
"Lucy, someday you'll get this." Chloe slipped off her robe and picked up the jeans.
"I wish people would stop saying that. I'm eighteen, not twelve."
"I guess I still see you as that kid that Lois and I kept excluding from our cop games." Chloe smiled at the memory as she bent and placed her feet inside the legs. She saw Lucy's shadow on the floor and started to wonder if she should have turned her back when Lucy was this insistent.
"I'm sorry, Chloe."
Of course, it was too late to start wondering by then.
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Clark waited at the head of the pass with Bart. Both had tranquilizer guns belted on. "This is kind of cool, huh?" Bart pulled the gun from his holster and whipped it in front of his face. "I feel like a snow cop."
Clark sighed. Bart's energy was getting annoying. All he wanted to do was see the sno-cat in sight and get going. Bart seemed content to stand there all day and play with the gun.
"Snow Cops," Bart said in a deep voice. "We even match. This a total buddy movie. You're like that big guy who's all silent and serious and I'm like the other guy that everyone likes that totally gets the sequel with the hot female serious type." He grinned and nodded. "Yeah. Snow Cops. I'll get on the screenplay right after we stick Luthor's bald ass in jail."
Clark let out a long breath as he saw a yellow shape cresting a hill. "They're coming. Shut up." He took Bart's wrist. "And put the gun away before you knock yourself out."
Bart rolled his eyes and put it away. They both sped up to meet the sno-cat. Victor rolled down the window of the tall vehicle. "All here, Boyscout. You ready, Impulse?"
"Do you like buddy movies, Vic? Clark's not in, but I bet we could pull it off. And save a shitload on special effects, too. See, it's like this... We're snow cops and..."
Clark ignored him and raised up, floating along the vehicle. Lois had her ski-mask up and was helping Oliver adjust his quiver. Not being as handy with a gun, Oliver opted for a crossbow. But they all had a gun just in case. He nodded at A.C., who saluted him. When he got to the last window, he moved closer. She already had her ski mask on. "Chloe?"
She just turned to him and gave him a thumbs-up. He tried to smile as he returned it. Trust her to be positive. He was wishing she'd unroll the window so he could repeat his warnings from last night, but Victor called. It didn't matter. He'd make sure no one was left to hurt her. That was all there was to it.
"Yes, Boss?" he said to Victor.
Victor smiled. "I am the boss today, aren't I? " He qickly wiped it away. "I want you both to keep your masks down and try not to be seen at all." He looked at Bart. "You especially, lay low. Boyscout may be nearly bullet-proof, but you're not." He looked back at Clark. "How you feeling?"
Clark shrugged. "I'm fine. We all know I'm not a hundred percent, but even then, bullets could only bruise a little."
"Well, be careful with the flying. Just try not to. Somebody sees that, we have mass panic."
"Got it."
"Man, I'm psyched," Bart said, shaking a little. "It's go-time and the whole gang's here. Even with added luscious females."
"You better calm down, Boy. This is not a game."
Bart sneered as Victor turned away. "Guy's all business."
"Take an example," Clark said, turning to the pass. "Ready?"
"Set." Bart faced it, too. "Go!"
************************************
Chloe opened her eyes to whiteness. She was half-afraid she was still in the avalanche. That Clark coming and their time together... it had all been a dream. And now she'd die in a snowy grave without stopping Lex or ever seeing him again... with a head that ached like the devil. And naked...
She sat up, clutching her head. She was in the bathroom. She stood shakily. What had happened? As she opened the door, she remembered. Lucy. The girl must have knocked her out. She rushed to the bed. Her whites were gone. "Oh, Lucy..."
She saw her bullet-proof vest on the floor. Lucy was out there without any protection! She moved to her suitcase and took out the first pair of pants she found. They were black and she pulled them on hurriedly, pulling out a black shirt as well. She madly thought she'd look like a ninja and what would Lois say?
"I'll kill you for letting Lucy get away." That's what she would say. She had to catch them! She put her boots on without socks and hurried to the hall, frantically checking each room. There was no one. When she got to Victor's, she sighed in near-relief. Lionel and the general were there. "Did they leave?"
They turned and stared at her in dumb surprise. "Miss Sullivan, why are you..."
"There's no time," she panted. "Lucy knocked me out and took my stuff. She's with them. Tell someone!"
The general quickly turned to his headset, picking it up with shaking hands. "Hello? I..." He couldn't seem to speak and suddenly dropped it, shaking harder. Lionel quickly picked it up. "Yes, is anyone there? The general seems to be doing poorly. And we have a situation..." There was a loud burst of feedback and Lionel flinched. "Hello?" He shook the headset. "Hello?"
Chloe stepped forward and lightly shook her uncle's shoulder. His head lolled forward and he hit the keyboard. She pulled him back and put her ear to his chest. There was no heartbeat. "Oh, God!" Chloe covered her face and sobbed.
"There's no time for that now, Miss Sullivan. We need to get in touch with them."
She moved her hands and wiped her eyes. "Is it broken?"
"I think so." Lionel put his ear to it. "There's nothing." He turned to her. "What about the speaker. The other night..."
She shook her head, still sniffling. "It only works for two-way. Victor fixed these head-sets so everyone could communicate." She looked around, wondering if there was one to spare. "I don;t know what to do. I'm not an electronics whiz. I mean, I can hack, but..."
"Calm down," Lionel shouted. "Panicking will help no one."
She took a deep breath. "Where are they?"
"They'd only just set onto the pass."
She put her hands to her head. "I don't know what to..."
"We'll rent a snowmobile."
She felt the anxiety begin to clear. "What?"
"It's faster than a Sno-cat. Less weight. With the two of us..."
"No, Lionel. You're nearing sixty."
"You need me there," he said shortly. "Because I've just remembered something about my son."
"What?"
He picked up his coat. "Get something warm," he said. "And meet me in the lobby."
*******************************
"Did you get the first guard?" Clark heard Oliver say. "Is security down?"
"Yeah. Boyscout just smashed the sensor." Bart said. "Fat lot of help the general is. He's not answering."
"Can't someone else pick up?" Lois asked. Clark could hear a shade of worry in her voice. "Lucy or Lionel..."
"No one's answering," Victor snapped in Clark's ear. "Something must be wrong with the set."
"You mean your fool-proof technology?" A.C. snarked.
"Just shut up," Victor growled. "I need to think. Without the general, this will be a lot harder."
"I'm sure everything's fine, Lois," Clark heard Oliver say.
Clark sped forward to see Bart shoot at the next guard. "Another guard down," he sang. "Who's the master?"
Clark quickly smashed the each sensor on either side as Bart sped to the next shack. "Stop fooling, Impulse." They had to concentrate, get each of these guys before being bombarded at the complex. He'd do it for Chloe. He'd keep her safe.
******************************
Chloe pulled on Lucy's coat. It was lighter than her own, but she didn't care. She could get frostbitten a million times over if they could just get there. She joined Lionel at the front desk just as he was taking keys from the clerk.
"Joining your friends, eh? Gotta warn you, the seat's heated, but nowhere near as warm as the cat."
"I'm sure it's fine," she said quickly, pulling at Lionel. "What's this thing you've just remembered?"
"Lex likes to collect. Even if we destroy those clones, ten to one, he has that wraith's DNA somewhere. And not just anywhere. Somewhere important. On display. He used to keep the Kryptonian disc in a box on his desk. There's probably a vial in his quarters in a case. Well lit, I'd wager." He pushed open the door and they stepped into the snowy air. "I'll find it. I know how his mind works. If we don't destroy that vial, we might as well do nothing. Someone else could rebuild as long as that DNA exists."
"How will we find his quarters?" she asked as they rushed to a side yard where ten or so snowmobiles were facing out.
He looked at the number on his tag and approached a blue one. "I've seen the blueprint. There's a section at the top that's unaccounted for. Lex would want the highest point. He likes to feel above his minions." He got on and motioned for her to sit behind him.
She shook her head. "Other way. I've actually done this before."
***************************
Clark rushed ahead of Bart as they approached the complex, telling him to hang back. If shots were fired, he'd survive it. He had to be first. "Cyborg, how do I disable security without a power surge?"
"You don't," he sighed. "A lot of our plan's falling through without the general. Just break in and start taking out guards. They're going to know we're coming by the trail of unconscious bodies, anyway."
"What about surveillance cameras?" Oliver asked. "Police will have footage of us."
"Impulse," Victor barked. "I want you to take them out individually- as many as you can. While Boyscout concentrates on the guards."
Clark squared his shoulders and rushed forward. Stone walls rushed to meet him.
"Piece of cake, Buddy," Bart said.
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Chapter Twenty-Two
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