Action Time (Chapter Nineteen)

Chapter 19

Chloe moved through Watchtower, checking that all was put right again. It just better be. She and Victor had worked hard enough... again. Though she had indulged herself, here and there, enlisting Bart to go to The Talon and bring her a few things while Lois was at work - and emphasizing "no panty raids" until she was blue in the face. She wasn't sure if he'd followed that, but she supposed it would be worth it. There were touches now, small things that made this place feel more like home. If she was going to be trapped in here again, she would damned well leave some personal touches that made it feel less like a high-tech prison.

A loud beep told her someone was coming through on video. Good. It was working. She'd have the whole team in constant visual contact today. She smiled as she moved to her main console, seeing it was Oliver.

"Hey. You still jet-bound?"

"I hope I never fly again," he said, his image popping up as he loosened his tie a little. 

"What's with the suit?"

"Eh, I had to stop in at Queen Industries. Couldn't show up as Green Arrow, could I?"

"This for your secret project?" She grabbed the hard drive with her link codes and put him on speaker, spreading his image throughout Watchtower's monitors, so she could keep working.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He chuckled. "But I had to stop in on the weapons division. We keep a certain level of military intelligence."

She stilled on the stairs. "And?"

"They aren't buying it. Any reports of flying people are being treated like big, fat jokes."

She sighed and moved up. "Maybe that's just as well. They aren't prepared to fight them." She moved to one of the many Olivers around her, stopping in the revamped medical bay. Victor had fashioned a magnetic pen after she'd told him about Tess' tracking device. She snatched it up. "And I don't want the idea of Green K spread around for if Clark ever comes out of the..." She stopped, trying to think of a word for it.

"Closet? You know, he and Lex were awfully..."

"You're hilarious." A few screens were still broadcasting her unidentified flying person search, which remained fruitless. She moved away, exasperated. "You know, even though Watchtower's back in the game, I'm still coming up empty-handed on the Kandorian front. It's like they vanished into thin air." She stopped near one Oliver, trying to clean up the hard drive with her codes. There were still bits of shrapnel in many of her drives from that horrible night with Tess. But it was all fixable. Watchtower from yesterday to today was living proof.

"You know, that might have something to do with the fact that they can fly."

She chuckled. "Sarcasm noted." She moved back to the stairs, taking the drive with her.

"How do we know these people aren't half a galaxy away already?"

Chloe moved down, keeping her eyes on the many Olivers around. "Zod doesn't want to play Thunderdome on a planet that is desolate. He needs people to rule over. I have a feeling the war of the worlds is coming soon to a planet near us," she quipped. She had to. She had to quip and joke and chuckle or she'd be half-mad by now.

"I'm heading back to Watchtower. If a war breaks out, I want to be in the foxhole with you."

She stopped in front of her main console and the largest Oliver in Watchtower. "Oh. Okay." She hadn't thought they'd be together, with him rallying the troops. Not that she was complaining...

"Because, uh..."

"Right, because we need to protect Watchtower's database." she said quickly. Not at all because she very selfishly wanted to be near him when all this went down.

"Yeah. Yeah, the database, uh, is important so... over and out."

And he was gone. And she was wondering when they could stop playing these games or if they even should. She thought of that day, before he left, of how they felt the strange need to justify those hours they spent on Watchtower's bed, floor, and in the cramped shower. Of how she felt like it was moving mountains to justify a dinner break the night before when she just damned well wanted to see him whole after what happened. Why couldn't they just say it? That this was just as necessary as saving the world, at least to them? That it had become just as important by now. And maybe they could admit it.

She smiled at the screen, now filled with a world map detailing the stations and new weapon stores. 

A whoosh of air stirred her hair and she turned, not surprised to see Clark. "Hey. Everyone's mobilizing." She moved to a table to finish with her hard drive. "They're all out on the field, and they're packing..."

"Kryptonite weapons? Chloe, that's only gonna stall them. We're no match for the Kandorians, even when we work together. It's only a matter of time before Zod commands his soldiers to bring the world to its knees."

Chloe ignored Clark's customary circular brooding and clicked her drive into place, forcing it to load, hoping it worked again. "Then let's move on to plan A. I assume you brought the infamous secret weapon."

She heard him place it on the table and picked it up. "Wow." She'd had years of this, but the craziness of Kryptonian technololgy still floored her. Chrystals, symbols, stones... and yet still light yeatrs ahead of her world of wires and CPUs. She stood, bugged by another deep mystery. "I still don't understand how the Red Queen of the Kent farm knew about the book Rao."

"My mom inherited the Kryptonian library when Lionel died. It's no surprise that Zod would lie. The Book of Rao is not a bible. It was created by Jor-El to send the Kandorians to another world. A world they could call their own."

So that was it? That was better than a collection of data. That was the solution to all of their problems. She moved to her main console, wondering if there was some way to hook in or scan it. "Well, let's fire up this intergalactic subway token and send our visitors on a fast train to Nirvana."

"I can't," she heard Clark saying. "Once it's activated, it sends all Kryptonians to the new world."

She straightened, blinking at Clark. "Including you," she said dully.

"I know my destiny, and it's here. I've seen it. Dr. Fate has seen it, too." He paced around her. "And Jor-El has sent me on trials to prove it. I finally know who I am and what I'm meant to do here on Earth. I'm not leaving." 

And now she knew why she couldn't just admit why she need Oliver, not right now. Not out loud. Because there was no place for feelings right now. There was no time. Not until this was over.

Everything in her, every moment of her decade with Clark told her that this world wasn't as worth saving without him in it. And there were times, even a year ago, when she would have said that without hesitation, not even caring about the greater good. But she'd seen too much now, knew about the hard choices that feelings had no place in. Keeping the world safe from Zod's rule trumped feelings any day. So she'd say it. She had to. 

She turned to him. "Clark, no one wants to see you reach your true potential more than I do. I mean, I've been with you through every bump along this insane ride. But what if every trial has just been a preparation for you to make the ultimate sacrifice?"

Clark stared at her. "Then why would my father have gone silent in the fortress?" He moved to her, took the key and studied it. "Chloe, if this was a trial, my father would never skip on a chance to give me a lecture."

"Because this isn't a trial, Clark. And maybe your father disappeared on you because he knew you needed to make this last mile on your own."

"Then it's up to me. And I think there's another way to save Zod."

"Jor-El did not tell you to stay here and be our guardian," she said, moving to him, knowing someone had to say the harder things. Sadly, after this year, it could be no one but her.

"Are you saying it's selfish for me to try to save people?"

A typical Clark Kent deflection and she answered it soundly. "You think I want you to go? Clark, I can't imagine being in this world without you." She wouldn't have even known this world without him. "Look, you've inspired an entire team of heroes who will be here to protect us. And maybe your true purpose is to lead your own people"

He seemed to take the idea in, staring at her. And she wanted him to argue again because she had run out of reasons for him to go. But he didn't. He just looked around. "I need to... I need to try Jor-El. Just one more time."

She nodded, keeping her eyes wide, trying not to blink. Because she'd cry for sure and tell him she didn't mean a word of it.

"I need to decide," he said, almost to himself.

She sagged in relief when he sped off, gasping and swiping at her eyes. She'd said it, put it out there. It was something someone had to say.

That didn't mean it didn't hurt.

**********************

By the time Oliver showed up, she had gotten herself in check again. She'd got communications running for every one of them across the globe. She'd even given Zan and Jayna fair warning, but told them to lay low. She hoped they did.

For her part, she shooed Oliver off to change into his gear, tried not kiss his face clean off, and didn't panic when the Kandorians started vandalizing every monument across the globe with fire and Zod's symbol. She just sent a member to each site as this was their only clue as to where the Kandorians might be. Burning his symbol into tourist spots. It was no better than graffiti and she suddenly saw Clark's marking all over Metropolis in a whole new light. She'd get on him to stop doing that this second, except she wasn't sure he'd be around, something she was still coming to grips with.

By the time the team was spread over her monitors and staring down on her and Oliver... or Green Arrow in gear, she thought she was keeping the panic from her voice... almost.

"So they've been confirmed in China, Greece, Egypt, and DC. Victor, I want you to stay in Japan for now and I've sent Zatanna on to China to keep an eye on them there. John, stay put in South Dakota and look out for Mount Rushmore. I wouldn't put it past Zod to burn his own damned face over George Washington." She breathed deep, trying to get the shaking out of her voice. "I think we have a little bit more time before the U.N. gets involved. All our Queen Industry sources say that our military friends believe this is just some hoax. Any new activity?"

Courtney chimed in. "This is Stargirl online from the nation's capital. No sign of the Kandorians after the attack."

Dinah spoke up. "Black Canary here. Story's the same in Athens."

"All I found in Giza are mummies," Carter Hall said. She was glad they had the Justice Society's manpower added to the team. "We need to flush these aliens out. I've been around long enough to know the best way to win a war is to strike first." Except for the old school aggression.

Oliver stepped forward. "No, that's the best way to win a bowling tournament, Tweety. We're dealing with superpowered soldiers here." She was glad Oliver was on her page.

"Just as expected, Mr. Green Jeans has gone yellow."

She decided to stop the pissing contest cold. "Okay, the Kandorians are Clark's people. So we're not gonna take any sort of action until he's with us." Zod aside, they had been trying to make a life here, after all.

"Watchtower's right," John said, backing her up as always.

"I agree with Hawkman," Victor said, surprising her. "We wait too long, they'll have the advantage." Hadn't he been right here, all this time?

"I say we hold off," John cut in, "until Kal-El has a chance to..."

"How long we gonna wait, Martian?" Victor asked, cutting him off. "Long enough for them to wipe us out?"

Courtney seemed to agree with Hawkman, as expected. "We wait, and the Kandorians win."

"Sit tight till they make their next move." At least Dinah was speaking reason.

"Zod's symbols say one thing," Carter cut in. "He wants a fight. I say we move now and cause some pain." 

"At what cost?" she heard behind her. She turned, It was Clark now. He moved to join her and Oliver, addressing Carter. "Your abilities allow you to come back, Carter... after you die, but what about the others on both sides?"

"So you want us to play nice?" Carter asked, not sounding thrilled about it.

"The Kandorians have been led astray by Zod. I don't want to see them die any more than I want to lose any one of you. I will use the Book of Rao," he held up the piece, "to send them all away." He turned back to Chloe and Oliver. "I've made my decision."

Chloe clamped her lips together, kept her eyes open. Because she'd suggested this very thing. And she was damned well not going to cry about it. 

Clark moved past them, speaking loudly, to everyone. "Once I lead my people to another world, I'll never be able to come back."

"You need to think about this," Victor said.

Stargirl came through. "What about your life here?"

"There's got to be another way." Dinah now.

"With us by your side, you don't have to do this alone," Carter said.

It all came at once, everything in her that was against this through them. So unreal... She knew what they were thinking. They liked Clark, had all come to this team through him and Oliver and, in her small way, her. To lose an asset like him... But she'd be losing even more. She'd be losing the man she called, for so many years, her best friend.

"This is the only peaceful way to eliminate the threat. Without a war, a war that no one will win," Clark said firmly. And it was all true. And it hurt like hell. She kept her eyes wide. This was a job. There was no crying allowed. "Once the Kandorians are gone, there will be other threats to mankind. The world will need you. You'll have to work together to become the team that you were meant to be. I once believed that my destiny was here on Earth, but now you need to accept that destiny for me."

John nodded, but Dinah spoke first. "Clark's right."

"We'll protect the world," Victor agreed, "as one."

"It has been my honor to serve alongside each and every one of you."

And Chloe wanted to tell him to stop this. They'd hardly had the chance to serve with him, to know him, to know all the horrible and wonderful things he could be. He'd been so off this year, so on his own. Why couldn't this have happened down the line, some other time, when they'd truly been at his side. Of course, then it would hurt for all of them, as bad as it hurt her now.

"The honor was ours, Kal-El," Carter said gravely, raising a clenched fist to his heart. Dinah followed, then Courtney, then the rest and, damn it, she couldn't take it right now.

"I'm proud of you," she managed as the screens blacked out. She headed for the doors, waved her hand impatiently to let them hiss open.

"Chloe?"

She heard Clark behind her, but ignored it.

"You got to let her go, Clark," she heard Oliver say as the doors closed behind her. She bent over, leaned on her knees, tried to think of where to go. She'd just walked out of Watchtower and she wasn't about to cry on the street.

She heard Oliver's faint voice. "She's trying to be strong, you know? When your oldest friend leaves forever, there's really no way to say goodbye..." She let out a sob and dimly registered Oliver saying something about Clark seeing Lois. 

That meant he'd leave. God! She couldn't be here like this when he left. He couldn't see her like this. She pressed the button for the elevator, knowing Clark always took the stairs, stumbled in before she collapsed against the wall, slid to the floor, burying her face in her knees as the doors slid closed... and opened just as quickly.

"Clark's gone. Chloe..."

"I'm fine," she cut in, knowing she was sobbing the words, but hoping he'd buy them anyway.

He didn't, He gripped her arms, pulled her up and she'd feel horrible at the way she was crying all over his nice leather vest if she wasn't so miserable.

"I have no right to..."

"You have every right to cry."

"No." She pushed away from him and stumbled back into Watchtower, swiping angrily at her eyes. "I told him to. I have no right. I..." She took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "I'm fine. It's better this way. It's better for me if he goes."

"Chloe, he's been your best friend for..."

She whirled on him. "But that's why it's better. Stupid... feelings. There's no room for them. They make you do horrible things, Oliver! I... I have done terrible things."

"Chloe, we've all done terrible things. Don't..."

"No. I monitored everyone. I was so scared. So scared of losing him, I tracked him and everyone he knew. And I did it to all of you! So I think we need one less person for me to irrevocably f*ck up over now!"

"And I went on a drunken cage fighting bender!" He moved to her. "Chloe, I was wracked with guilt and not even willing to admit why." He gripped her arms, digging his fingers in a rather gentle massage. "Now I wouldn't call going on a drunken bender the best kind of atonement, but it was what I did. We all screw up, Chloe."

She shrugged him off. "But you pulled yourself up again."

He renewed his grip on her. "No. You did. You and the whole gang and that mindf*ck of a day. You saved me. So... what do you think? That you should be suffering the rest of your life because you made a couple of bad calls?"

"Bad calls!" She pulled away from him in earnest now. She didn't even deserve his understanding or whatever it was he was trying to give. "Is that what I did? Because there's another word for it."

"Okay. Fine," he growled, chasing her down as she backed away. "You bit off more than you could chew. You invaded some privacies. You tried to control more than anyone should. That's no reason to punish yourself."

She ended up against the doors, holding him at a distance with one weak arm that wanted to give in, let him hold her. But, right now, she truly felt all the ways she didn't deserve that. Why should she be comforted? With what she did... "Please don't sugarcoat this. Just say it, Oliver. You said it before. You know what I did."

"Christ, Chloe! I'd be the first to say you went too far at times this year, but I know why you..."

"No! Not that! God, this isn't even this year. This goes farther back. Why the hell do you think this year even happened?" She gestured around her. "Do you think I wanted this? To hide from the world? Jesus! This wasn't even about me hiding. Maybe it was protecting the world from me. I did something so... so horrible," she finished on a broken sob. "And it's not justifiable. It's not okay. I can't call it protection and I can't call it... I can't call it anything but what it is..." She stopped, gasping in breaths as the tears ran freely down her cheeks. "Murder. I'm... I'm a murderer."

He didn't say a word. For so long, the only sound in the room was her wet gasps until he finally spoke "Murderer? Chloe... What the hell makes you think..."

She leaned agianst the doors heavily, bowing her head. "You said it yourself."

"What..."

"You said it seemed like a pretty natural instinct to protect Clark. You... you... I mean, you were right."

His eyes widened. "Chloe..."

"And I wanted to think it was Brainiac. I think I must have convinced myself it was because..." She looked up. "See, I'd never killed someone in cold blood. Don't get me wrong, there have been deaths. But not like that. Not in that calculated, cold way with everything inside me screaming no when..."

"But you..."

"I thought it couldn't have been me. I'd never do that. I thought it had to be Brainiac."

"Because it..."

"Then you said those words. Was it?" She found herself sobbing again. "And they tortured me because... Why would Braniac protect Clark's secret? It was me. It had to be. Not Brainiac," she said brokenly. "Me. I was wrong. I had to pay."

"No." His eyes widened and he pulled her in, ignoring her attempts to push him away. "No, Chloe... Baby, no."

"Don't you see?" She sobbed into his leather. "I've been paying all this time, up here. And it's not enough. I don't think it'll ever be enough."

"Jesus, Chloe. I never thought... I never thought you actually..." He gripped her arms and pulled her back. "You listen to me. You saw me that year. I was miserable and bitter, and usually drunk off my ass. Hell, dragging you down that way was just me trying to desperately justify what I did." 

"You mean Lex? He tried to blow you up. That was practically self-defense with all he was doing and..."

"Yes. That's exactly what I told myself. But it was mostly revenge that drove me and not even for what Lex did. Most of that was for the sins of his father. Jesus, Chloe. You saved me from my self-hating bender. You know more than anyone how much I regret what I did. I was wrong."

"For God's sake, Oliver, I was even more wrong!" She broke away from him, breathing through her teeth. "I killed a man. And it wasn't some thug coming at me with murder in his eyes. It wasn't someone bent on killing me." She stopped, hugging her arms. "He was in a hospital bed, for crying out loud. It wasn't even remotely self defense. His name was Sebastian Kane... or Wilson Turner, really. You'd think I could get it straight, considering I ended his existence. He said something about what he saw when he touched Clark, and I... touched him right back. I murdered him."

Oliver moved to her again. "Stop saying that."

"But it's true. He was a memory thief and I was infected with enough data to overload him. And the human mind is simply a highly sophisticated computer," she said, her voice suddenly a low drone. "Download too much information, and it crashes. And all the data's lost." She shuddered. "I said that. It's still stuck in there, so clear now, replaying in my head. At the time, it was all so hazy, as if it wasn't even happening, but it was. I could hear my voice, but with no... emotion. Later on, as I walked away from that room, realizing what happened, I thought... I mean, how could I be so cold? He was human, wasn't he? He was just a confused metahuman who'd been tortured at Black Creek. And hadn't I been helping people like him for months? Why would I kill the very kind of person I was trying to save? So I locked it away. I buried it. It wasn't hard to do, my mind was bursting as it was, with Brainiac, with more than I could handle even without..."

"It was Brainiac," Oliver cut in. "I know that now." 

"No," she said brokenly. "See, I've been over this, too. Brainiac was just the weapon. It had to be me. You said it best. Protecting Clark is my natural instinct. Not Brainiac's."

"I don't care what I said then. I didn't know you then, not like now. If I had, I wouldn't have seen that footage and kept it to myself. I wouldn't have held on to it and basically blackmailed you with it. I would have helped you! Because I would have known that you running around killing people is not you at all!"

"Maybe it is!" she yelled, then quieted. "Or it was then. Maybe Clark was right to try to take my memories if I was such a dangerous..."

"Don't say that. You aren't dangerous. You were possessed and I've done terrible things without even that excuse. I was a f*cking a*shole for believing that of you. I know Chloe Sullivan now and the woman I know... she's no cold-blooded murderer."

She turned away from him, leaning hard on her desk. "No. I did it. I had to."

"No. I'll never believe that," he said firmly, his coice closer now.

"It had to be me." She sagged against the desk, feeling drained. "Why would Brainiac want to protect Clark's secret?"

"Why would he want to do half the things he did? He wanted Davis to feel drawn to you. But why would he want that when whatever feelings he had for you calmed him? Why would he take your memories? Why would he want to inhabit you when he could have taken someone more powerful?" He gripped her arms and pulled her back against him. She let him, too weak to fight now. "You're not the only one who's gone over that year, Chloe. Jesus, why do you think I hired you? Don't get me wrong. You're the best damned mission control I could have. But most of why I wanted you was because, I thought it might make up for it, for all the ways I was wrong about you. I knew it, even then, not as well as now. You aren't a killer."

She tried weakly to pull away one last time, but he gathered her closer.

"No. Listen. I've thought about this. Can't you at least admit it's possible that airing Clark's secret to the general public was something Brainiac didn't want? Because I don't think he'd want people too aware what was going on under their noses. And you know what, Chloe? We'll never know what he wanted to do because, in the end, he didn't win."

"Don't," she said brokenly. "Don't try to trivialize what I did and make it about Brainiac. I spent a year and a half trying to make up for taking that life. I sacrificed having one and don't..." She breathed heavily. "Don't make that wasted time."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," he said, taking her shoulders in his hands, turning her to face him. "And I'm sorry. Because, all this time, I never told you who you are and... what you're not. If I knew, really knew, you were punishing yourself like this..." He pulled her in, tucking her head against his chest. "Damn it, Chloe. I never want to be the one to make you feel that way," he whispered into her hair.

"But you didn't," she breathed, sagging against him. "You've been the only thing that's made me happy. Even when I knew I didn't deserve..."

"You deserve to be happy," he said, pressing his lips to her forehead.

"I did terrible things," she breathed against his neck.

"We all did terrible things this year," he said, letting those lips move to her temple, down her cheek. "But you're no killer."

"I want to believe that." Her head moved under his, her lips brushed his. "I want..."

"Believe it," he whispered, thumbs brushing at her wet cheeks as his lips moved over hers. "Believe me."

She wound her arms tight around his neck, clinging to his kiss and his words and feeling, for the first time in so long, weightless. The feeling intensified as he lifted her against him, raining kisses on her cheeks and lips and dampened eyes. He saw that person inside her, the one she wanted to be, the one she thought she'd lost and, for just this moment, there was no darkness or fear or lingering guilt or looming threats and...

She pulled away on that thought, still holding tight to his neck as her feet touched the floor. "We should get back to work."

"In a minute," he said, still keeping her tight against him. "I need you to know that... that I... Chloe, I know how this started. But things have changed."

She sniffled and tried to smile. "I do know that."

"Then you should also know this. Chloe, I..."

She pushed at his chest, panic rising in her. "Don't say it," she said in a rush.

He squinted at her. "Chloe, I..."

"No!" She clapped her hand over his mouth. "Not now."

He pulled her hand away. "But I feel..."

"It doesn't matter what we feel." She gripped his shoulders, trying to shake some sense into him... not very succesfully as she couldn't get him to budge. "When this is over," she said, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice, "when we're all still alive, that's when you say it to me. Don't say it now. Because I damned well don't want to hear it if it's the last thing I hear you say."

He pulled her to him firmly. "Jesus, Chloe, I'd rather have it said before..."

She pressed her lips hard to his. 

He mumbled against her before he quieted, kissing her back just as hard, fisting a hand in her hair and sliding his tongue inside.

She moaned against him, because she knew what he was going to say and everything in her wanted to hear it. But not now. Not when it would hurt more if they lost each other today.

It was he who pulled away this time, his eyes flashing. "Fine. But when this is over..."

"All the more reason to get it over with." She reluctantly pulled away. "Clark's putting up his end. He's working on activating the Book of Rao. We need to keep up our end, which is the failsafe."

"So if Zod's guys aren't sucked into the brave new world..."

"Then we're ready to fight." She pulled up her world map. "So we have Dinah in Europe, Carter in Africa, Victor in Asia, and Zatanna en route. She said she'd check in when she's in China."

"That's three continents manned. What about the other four?"

"Well, I doubt there's enough people to mess with in Antarctica and we have Zatanna or Victor near enough if they mess with Australia. We've got you and John and Courtney in North America."

"And you."

She rolled her eyes. "I doubt I'll be handling weapons unless they find me here."

"They better not," Oliver said darkly. "Isn't Bart supposed to be in South America?"

"Rio," she confirmed. "Let's just hope he's not taking advantage of the drinking age." She signaled him and waited.

"Como posso ajudá-lo, Bonequinha?" She heard someone say, but there was no image.

"Bart?"

"Greetings from Brazil! That was roughly 'How can I help you, Baby Doll?' My Portuguese is kind of rusty. You'd think a world traveler like myself would..."

Oliver cut in. "Bart, stop flirting with my woman and tell us what's going on there."

"And turn your cam on," Chloe added, blushing just a little.

"Aw! Oliver's there? I thought me and you would finally get some time alone, my delectable..."

"Turn your cam on," Chloe repeated.

"It is on. Hey, I can't see you guys, either. Maybe yours is off."

"Hold on," Chloe groaned. "We're piggybacked on various satellites. There must be a glitch somewhere." She typed furiously. 

"You missed the meeting," Oliver pointed out. "Always waiting till the last second..."

"It's a luxury I have with my superior speed. But I didn't wait. I just made a pitstop to check in on that gigantic Jesus. With Zod's symbol on every third wonder of the world, I thought he couldn't resist the big J.C."

"And?"

"Nothing. Looks like Zod's giving South America no attention. I always thought that guy sounded like a racist."

"He's definitely got some ideas about who's the master race," Chloe muttered, "and I don't think we make the cut." She sighed and refreshed her screen. "I still can't see you."

"Chloe?"

"Yeah. I still can't see you. Try refreshing..."

"Chloe? Oliver? Damn it. I lost them. Stupid..."

"Bart, we're still here." Loud feedback sounded out around her and she covered her ears. "Bart!" She tried to get him back, but her screen started blinking. "Oh, no. No, no, no..." She tried Carter, Dinah, even Courtney a few states away. Nothing. "What the hell's happening?"

Oliver put a hand on her shoulder. "The Kandorians must have figured out our stations."

"Or they set us up." Her eyes widened. "They lured us there." And if they did, there was only one reason why. And she'd fallen for it. She had to get them out of there!

She moved to the upper level, Oliver on her heels, trying every console. But there was nothing but static and white noise. "We lost all satellite communication. I can't reach anybody," she said frantically. "It's like everyone I sent out there is a sitting duck and Zod's about to call a start to hunting season." She moved to the other side, thinking they had to have some codes for other satellites, ones the Kandorians hadn't found and fried.

"Take a breath, Chloe," she heard behind her. "You've stared down the barrel of a gun before."

She whirled on him, still moving. She had to keep moving. "We're dealing with like 100 Clarks here. I don't know if I can dodge this speeding bullet." She looked through her flash drives, back-ups. She might even have a damned floppy disk in here. There had to be something.

"Well, you're not in it alone," she vaguely heard him saying. "We're a team, right? You got me? Hey." He gripped her arms, stilling her. "Trust me."

Chloe tried for a smile and a breath, hoping her heart rate would settle down. "Thank you. But I don't think talking me off a ledge is gonna help us solve our technical difficulty." She grabbed her box and moved to the beta station. There was an old ham radio. Maybe she could get out some kind of message. Did any of her team know morse code? She knew they should have had some kind of tutorial at some point. Damn it!

"Okay, uh, well, then maybe this will. You know, when Tess broke into our little clubhouse here, I had Queen Industries launch an orbiter dedicated to... Watchtower," Oliver finished, dropping a lid on her box.

Chloe finally registered what he was saying. "Wait a minute." She turned to him. "We have our own satellite?" 

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" 

"Well, it was sort of a gift."

So that was his secret project. She was suddenly really glad she lifted the gift restriction, except... "Uh...Well, I guess giving you a sweater for your birthday is sort of out of the question now," she said on a laugh, amazed she had one in her. But leave it to Oliver...

"Well, the satellite's up and running, but the transponders haven't been initiated for downlink yet. So I'm gonna need to flip a couple of switches at the earth station in order to be able to spy from the sky."

Chloe's mind worked furiously, thinking of all the places she and Victor had hacked into in the last weeks. But they hadn't done the Metropolis City Center. She'd been kind of soured on the place, not only because it held The Ace of Clubs where she'd spent the worst birthday ever last year, but because it was also the site where a rogue DDS agent beat the crap out of her when she was using their satellites to locate Kara a year before that. She still had the blueprints and madly hoped this year would break her losing streak with that damned place. 

"So then we should just stay in touch the old-fashioned way." She moved to her rolling drawers, knowing she had some damned two-way radios in here somewhere. "I mean, if Zod has been trying to destroy satellites from space, he's definitely not gonna be happy that you're putting another satellite online." She pulled out the only two she had that could cover city-wide range. She moved to him, suddenly feeling afraid again. That damned building was cursed.

"Do me a favor, okay?" she asked softly. "Just keep a low profile." She pressed one radio into his chest. He gripped her hand, keeping her near as he leaned down, meeting her lips briefly.

She stared up at him, wondering if he'd try to say it again. He seemed to have something so important to...

"I'm wearing green leather..."

She let out a huff of laughter. 

"So I'll do my best," he finished on a smile taking his radio and himself to the stairs.

She turned, watched him move down, somewhere between crying and laughing. Obnoxious man. The things she'd do to him when they got through this... or if. 

There was something in her that wanted to call him back, just one last... She shook her head and turned on her set, refusing to move after him. There was no time for one more kiss... or one more word that wasn't over this damned radio. There was a whole team of heroes out there that needed fair warning.

She waited until she heard the doors hiss shut behind him before she moved downstairs to find those blueprints, trying to cheer herself up, trying to see herself launching herself at him when he waltzed back in with some stupid joke. 

It had happened enough times. So why couldn't she see it?

PREVIOUS CHAPTER
CHAPTER TWENTY


So I borrowed some of the Sebastian Kane points from another fic of mine because it's really hard to think of new ways to say things I felt were my best shot the first time around. I firmly believe that it was Brainiac because, if Chloe was really in the driver's seat there, then they would have had her mention it more than once after the fact. This is the girl that paid and paid for her deal with Lionel - and that wasn't killing a guy. I just can't think she coldly killed a largely helpless man. Not buying it.

Anyway, this was the last roadblock I had as far as Chlollie saying "I love you." I just need more to get there the relationship barely developed onscreen. My assignment with this fic was to get to the ILUs while giving Chlollie more plot and resolving those unspoken issues. I'm nearly done doing that! Good thing, too. As this is at full novel length by now.

One more chapter to come!

Then an epilogue.