The Depths We Sink To (Chapter Twenty-Three)

Now spoiling Traveler

Chapter 23

Lex sauntered into his best guest suite to find her cross-legged on the bed, poring over the scans of her supposed past he'd gathered for her. "Hope you like your room." He didn't even have to fake a smile. It was genuine. For the first time in so long, all his work was going somewhere. He supposed just housing a pretty young girl didn't seem, on the surface, like progress. But it was all about what was underneath. So deep underneath, she didn't know herself. It only made this easier.

Kara smiled widely and sat up straighter. "I only moved in last night, and it already feels like home." He smiled to himself again, wondering what Clark would think of that. He wondered what Clark had thought upon finding her gone after they met yesterday. Not happy, he imagined. It was a petty sort of thrill, but he indulged it. "Thank you for letting me stay here, Lex."

Lex glanced at the scattered papers. "Taking another look at your alleged biography?" He nearly cringed. Maybe he shouldn't have used the word alleged. Too close to the truth.

Kara didn't seem to notice. "Yeah, I thought I'd give it another try." She sighed and stared at a citizenship award. "I still don't feel like I was ever this person." He didn't, either. It all seemed to check out, yet it didn't add up. She herself had no reason to know this wasn't all the gospel truth about Kara Kent and neither did he. It didn't change the fact that it was a lie. He felt it. And she did, too.

Lex sat on the edge of the bed, thinking the time was ripe to try again. "Kara... you should really consider having the procedure we talked about."

Kara smiled ambivalently. "I don't know. I mean, I don't have my memory, but I'm pretty sure I don't like hospitals."

He kept his smile, deciding to push just a little further. "It would be done in my private clinic by a team of the world's top neurologists." She glanced away, her smile dropping. It would be discouraging if a smile hadn't been a precursor to her refusing his offers before. He was wearing her down. He leaned in for the kill. "You said you trusted me. Trust me now. Let me help you."

She swallowed hard, then met his eyes. "Okay, Lex. I'll do it."

"Good." He stood and moved to the door. "I'll pull my team together as soon as possible." He turned back before closing, wondering if she needed some other reassurance. But he had her now. No need to oversell. "Good night, Kara," he said with a smile as he closed it.

He didn't waste time congratulating himself. He quickly moved down the stairs and to his study.

Gina turned away from the monitors as he came in. "We've been watching her since she arrived, Sir." She turned back to the feed. "So far, nothing indicates she's anything more than a pretty girl from Minnesota."

"I don't pay you to comment on her appearance." Lex moved forward and stared at the insets, all time-stamped. No. Nothing out of the ordinary. "Besides, looks can be deceiving." He stared at her, all in white again, like an angel. And maybe she was. She'd saved him, after all. But he'd been saved before in much the same way. Another angelic youth with the name Kent. It was all too familiar. And he wouldn't just let it go again. He wasn't going to tread crefully and wait years for a bond to form in some hope of being trusted. He'd strike now. "Kara's agreed to do the procedure."

"Sir, if I may, we just started observing her..."

Lex turned. "Her mind may contain answers to questions I've had for a very long time," he snapped, growing frustrated. "Now, I've waited long enough. How soon can the lab be ready?"

Gina looked nervous. She should. He wouldn't be put off by anyone now, least of all his employees. "Tomorrow," she answered. 

It was the right answer. "Keep an eye on her," he said, moving out the door. "If she shows any sign her memory is coming back, lock this place down." He wasn't taking any chances. Never again.

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

Chloe took another long gulp of her coffee and shook her head trying to keep her eyes open. She hadn't slept except for a few accidental moments at her desk. It was thirty-eight hours and counting since Clark had disappeared from the barn, leaving the place in shambles. If that wasn't enough evidence that foul play was involved, there'd been a tiny dart left behind, a kryptonite-laced electrode from a taser gun, according to Lionel. That was about the only thing she trusted about Lionel right now. And she had good reason.

It had all started the other night. She was on her tenth cup of coffee with Jimmy and one of the longest conversations of her life when Lana had called.

He'd been understanding. "No. I get it. You don't need to explain. She's your best friend."

She decided not to correct him and tell him it was all about her actual best friend, Clark. She wasn't so sure he would be so understanding, emergency or no. So she wouldn't tell him. She'd rather he keep being understanding.

He was understanding yesterday and today when she told him they couldn't pick up where they left off because she was "just swamped." He'd been understanding about a lot of things. Things like taking it slow. 

"I just want to start over," she'd said carefully over coffee that night. "I don't think we had the best start in any way. We had sex, didn't see each other for years, met up during a black-out and then... We just jumped right in again." And she knew why she'd done it. She wanted to take the fast track to getting over Clark. She could admit that now. But she wouldn't do it again, use him that way again, not to get over... anyone. 

Jimmy was a good guy and he deserved a fair chance this time. 

"I just want a fresh start," she'd said. "Just be together and not jump into anything more."

"By anything more, do you mean..." He'd stared into his cup. "I shouldn't ask. I get what you mean. I'm not expecting to spend the night or anything. I'm good with taking it slow." He'd looked up with a half-smile. "Mostly."

And maybe he wasn't being completely honest. When he'd walked her to her car amid her many apologies, she could tell he was waiting for something more, something as small as a kiss. But it was too soon. And he didn't need to know why.

But at least they could be honest about really important things. He knew about her power. He seemed to want to know more, but she wasn't sure she was ready to talk about it like it was some... talent. Like the ability to wiggle her ears or raise on eyebrow.

"Why not? It's kind of cool," he'd said. "You can heal people. It's like you're something straight out of the world of superheroes."

He didn't know how right he was. She was all too mixed up with heroes. And villains. But that last was over.

She glanced around the bullpen and toward the elevators. Half the reason she'd done her research here rather than at home was to see Lex. Not because she wanted to. Because she didn't. She absolutely didn't. Not at all. But because she had to. She had to see if he gave anything away. But he hadn't been in for two days now. Not since Kara Kent had, apparently, moved into his mansion. 

She glared at her monitor. Clark had been very upset about that, according to Lana. She could understand why. Kara hardly knew who she was, beyond what Chloe had fabricated of her past. She didn't know who not to trust. She could see Lex now, worming his way into being her shoulder to cry on, comforting her, holding her...

She stood quickly and pushed the visual away. Lex shouldn't even be on her radar right now. Lionel, however...

She leaned against her desk and battled against another surprise sleep attack. 

Lionel had seemed so helpful last night. Identifying the taser dart, pointing them toward LX Dynamics, saying he'd do some research.

"Or plant some," she muttered. Plant just enough to get their focus where it already was: on Lex.

"Chloe!" She glanced up as Lana moved into the bullpen. "I dug around for some information on LX Dynamics. Lionel was right. Lex is having them build experimental TASERs for the military." She handed Chloe a print-out that contained the same info she'd found two hours ago, just before she'd thought to dig further. 

"Actually, I've been wielding my own shovel, and I think I may have found where Clark is being held." She tossed the paper aside and leaned toward her computer. "About a year and a half ago, LuthorCorp bought an abandoned airstrip just outside the city. Now they've rebuilt the hangar. Check out the construction manifest." She pulled it up.

"Concrete, reinforced Plexiglas, a ton of refined meteor rock," Lana read. "Lex built another 33.1 lab."

Chloe shook her head. Amatuers. "Wrong Luthor. According to all of these records, this was all Lionel." She pulled up a work order.

"Construction started around the same time Lionel found out Clark's secret." 

Chloe hit print and moved to the printer, relieved she was catching on. "The department of water and power said they turned the lights on for the first time two days ago." Just when Clark went missing.

"Lionel's been planning this kidnapping for months," Lana said, thankfully keeping up. She joined Chloe and stared at the print-out. "And if these specs are accurate, the place is built like fort Knox."

If that was true, no one could break Clark out except Clark himse... Chloe turned to her. "We need Kara."

"Chloe, Kara can't help if she doesn't have her powers back," Lana whispered.

"Clark was on his way to the fortress of solitude to ask Jor-El for help. Now, maybe we can Polar Express Kara there ourselves."

Lana leaned in. "The key -- do you know how to use it?"

"If we can get her out of the mansion, I can get her there." And she meant I. She knew where she was going. Also, she'd heard Lana in Lionel's office.If he harms Clark, I will kill him. And that was about Lex, who Lana already had it in for. She could only imagine what she might do to Lionel after his newest deception. Despite this uneasy alliance, she wasn't confident in Lana's ability to keep a clear head.

And maybe she was right, as Lana was waffling already. She could see it in her eyes. "She wanted to move in with Lex. I don't think it'll be easy getting her to leave."

She could. If anyone had experience talking someone with the last name Kent out of doing something stupid, it was her. But that wasn't the problem. "Lex probably quadrupled his security since she moved in." Hell, he might have done it after that weekend she stayed there. He'd certainly threatened to. She moved back to her desk, wondering where to go from here. It's not like they could just ask to get in for a chat. What was she supposed to do? Show up at his gates and flash a black teddy? She might... for Clark. "We won't be able to get past the mailbox," she said dejectedly. And she didn't even want to. Taking Lex out of the situation had made it easier to think. To have him in again... 

Lana grabbed her arm. "I'm thinking something with a little more stealth." She turned to Lana. "When I was married to Lex, he showed me these escape passageways he had built in case of another home invasion."

Chloe considered it carefully. "So use his secret way out to sneak in." It was just as well. She didn't own a black teddy.

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

Lex moved into his study ahead of Patricia Swann. He shouldn't be entertaining surprise guests right now. But Gina said everything wouldn't be ready for hours yet. He supposed he had time for this pointlessness. "It's good to see a friendly face from my childhood. What brings you to Smallville?"

Patricia followed him. "I'm rarely in Metropolis, but I have some business there, and I remembered you'd moved out here." His eyes narrowed as he leaned against his desk. That couldn't be true. Her tone was too businesslike for her to have stopped by for a chat.

Still, it would be impolite not to engage in pleasantries. "Well, I'm glad you came by, Patricia. I have to admit, I don't recall much from when we were kids. After getting caught in that meteor shower, the years leading up to it became something of a fog." He wondered if she could help clear some of it. Yes. He was glad she came by.

Patricia blinked hard. Maybe she wasn't expecting him to bring up the unpleasant things in the middle of pleasantries. "You were so young, Lex. It must have been traumatizing."

"I survived." He smiled and gestured to the chairs nearest the fire, glad the tea had been laid out. But he still hoped this wouldn't take up too much time. "What about you? Where did you disappear to?"

She took her seat, as did he. "I spent most of my life studying abroad. When Dad died, I decided to stay in Europe." Her tone was still sort of abrupt. She was definitely here for something.

"I always admired Dr. Swann's genius." And he did. Virgill Swann was more than just a smart man. He was a man with insight into the extraterrestrial beings, according to many. Some might have called him eccentric, but Lex never would. "I was sorry to hear about his death," he said sincerely. He'd had answers, ones he took to his grave, sadly.

"Thanks, Lex," she said, her voice softeing. "I'm doing my best to carry on his legacy." Her hands drifted to her neck.

"That's a beautiful locket you're wearing." It was rather bulky, too. But he found his eye drawn past the cameo and to the metal plate just above. It looked like...

"Dad gave me this right before he passed away. I've worn it ever since." Her tone changed to business again. "Actually, I have a gift for you." His eyes dropped reluctantly from the locket as she bent to reach into her purse and he wondered if the point of this visit had, thankfully, been reached. It was a big day for him and he was pressed for time. Still, it wasn't every day the daughter of a certified genius specializing in the study of alien life came bearing gifts.

She pulled out a paper tube and he took it, trying to keep his expression bland. "A child's painting?" Even as he said the words, he knew it was more than that. He stared at the sun, at the V, at the stars, resisted the urge to look back at the stained glass window and compare.

"It's your painting," she said with a smile. "I was going through some of my father's things, and I found it. You gave it to me when we were kids."

Lex forced a smile. "Well, I guess I thought I could romance you with my ABC's."

She chuckled. "It's an insignia... from when our parents would get together with the Queens and the Teagues."

"Really?" He'd seen it on the window, but... "I don't remember that."

"That V was the symbol for their astronomy club. You must have seen it once and copied it. They called themselves Veritas. . While we were off playing, they were discussing secret things behind closed doors." She was staring steadily at him. And he had a feeling that this was the point. The painting was just some excuse to bring it up.

Lex held her gaze. "Do you know what they talked about?" he asked, trying to sound merely curious.

Patricia smiled blandly. "No idea. But considering your father's the last surviving member, he can probably explain it all to you." He stared at her locket again. At the V and the stars on the plate. He could see it more clearly now, having his childish painting before him. What did she want, exactly? "You should tell him I say hello," she said with another bland smile.

He tried to answer with one of his own. But he couldn't. His day was full enough and now...

Now he had even bigger things going on than Kara Kent.

Maybe he should tell his father she said hello.

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

Lana shoved the bulky winter coats in the trunk and slammed it shut. "Lex likes to keep his women on a short leash."

Chloe knew more than she wanted to about that, given the last few months. "Sounds more like a choke chain, if you ask me." Chloe opened the car door. "Let's get her out of there."

Lana closed herself in and pulled out the blueprints. "Okay, the passageways open up onto a steep hill. It's pretty far off the road. It's gonna take us a while to climb up there."

"If it means saving Clark, I'd climb Mount Everest," Chloe said without hesitation.

Her priorities had been so skewed lately. She'd been so focused on saving someone that couldn't be saved. Didn't even want to be. It was good to have a clear goal in mind, one not muddied with complicated feelings. She had to save Clark. In order to save Clark, they had to get Kara away from Lex. It was all so simple. 

Only not really.

"This hill might actually give Everest a run," Lana panted behind her. 

"Yeah," Chloe gasped, pulling herself up onto a rock. She reached a hand down to pull Lana up after her. "You sure this is a hill? It feels like a cliff."

"I didn't know it would be this steep. Never had to... actually use it," she finished on a grunt as she joined Chloe on the rock. "This is taking longer than I thought."

"Just means we have to move faster... for Clark." She straightened.

"I know," Lana panted, pulling herself up.

Chloe stood and tried to find another foothold. "So it's worth it." Still, she made a note to tell him later that she climbed a rocky wall that dared to call itself a hill.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come to the Arctic? I mean, Kara's lived with me and she might be more comfortable..."

"I already know where I'm going," she grunted, pulling herself up by a scraggly root. "It's just best to keep it simple."

"Well, I don't want you to feel overworked or..."

Chloe stopped, taking a deep breath. "This isn't really some extraordinary task. Okay?" She wanted to make that crystal clear as Lana seemed eager to imply, all this time, that she was "putting herself out" or something. "I've been through worse. I'd do anything for Clark."

"Like I wouldn't?" 

Chloe froze, her foot half-on another rock. "Lana, I didn't say you wouldn't..."

"But you think it. I know it."

"Lana," she groaned. She renewed her efforts and grasped onto a root, pulling herself up. "I really don't want to get into this right now." 

"Well, I do. We used to be friends and now you look at me like I'm crazy or..."

"I don't think you're crazy," Chloe ground out, picking her way up the rocks. "I just don't think..."

"What?"

"Lana, I don't want to..."

Lana grasped her arm, stilling her. "Just say it, Chloe. You've wanted to all year. Maybe even longer."

"I don't think you're good for him," she finally said. "I never did."

"I knew it. And I bet you have an idea who is. Someone more like you, maybe."

"This isn't about me and Clark," she snapped, turning to her. She'd accepted that nothing would ever be about her and Clark, no matter how she felt. How she might always feel. "This is about you and Clark," she said more calmly. "How many times do the two of you have to self-destruct before you accept that it's never going to work? I don't think he's good for you, either. Ever since you found out who he was, you've been unhinged. I hardly know what you're going to..."

"How can you say that? I would die for Clark."

"No." I would. I even have. "You would kill for Clark," she said steadily. "That's something you've made clear a few times now. And, just so you know, that's not a good thing."

Lana drew back. "Okay. I'll give you that I've messed up before, but I'm trying to do better things now. The Isis Foundation..."

"Was a front to spy on Lex." Another connection that was no good. Lana had a history of picking the wrong guy. Of course, with her dating history of Krypto-freaks, rejection by Clark, and affair with Lex, maybe she had no room to talk. But she was taking steps to break the cycle. With Jimmy.

"Maybe Isis started that way, but it's doing good for..."

"Lana, I heard you in Lionel's office. Don't act like you'd never hurt a fly." Chloe turned back and pulled herself. "We should stop wasting time." She glanced up. The rocks were thinning, but the hill's incline was decreasing. "We need to keep moving."

"You don't trust me," Lana said behind her.

"Not all the way. I have good reason not to," Chloe said with finality.

They kept silent, except for pants and grunts as they moved upward. 

"The Isis Foundation is actually doing some good," Lana said after a while. "But I guess you wouldn't appreciate that."

Chloe didn't stop. They didn't have time. "What do you mean by that?"

"You've been outing freaks for too long to care if they need help or..."

"I haven't been outing freaks," Chloe growled, still moving. "I have been outing criminals and murderers who happen to be meteor infected. There's a difference. And I've helped Clark and... others," she said carefully, "stop Lex's torture of freaks, meteor or otherwise, for three years now. Don't act like you know me or what I think."

"I don't. And I should. And this sucks." Lana sniffled as she suddenly moved past Chloe.

"Lana," chloe called after her. She caught up, increasing speed as the hill spread out onto a flatter plain with woods ahead. "Do you think I like this?"

"Maybe you do," she threw over her shoulder. "Maybe you're happy every time I screw up. Maybe you're still waiting for him to choose you."

"I'm not that stupid anymore."

"So you're going to deny it? That you still love him."

"No. I won't."

Lana stopped.

Chloe stopped behind her. "I love him. I always have and I probably always will," she said tiredly. She'd accepted that now. Feelings that intense didn't just go away, especially not when everything she did was still so tied up with him. "And it doesn't change anything. I've dealt with that." She skirted past Lana. "Like I said, what I think about you and Clark has nothing to do with me and Clark. And what I think doesn't change anything, either."

"It does for me," Lana said softly, closer behind her now. "But you're right. We shouldn't have gotten into this." She suddenly grabbed Chloe's shoulder and Chloe braced herself for another confrontation. "There it is."

They were in the trees now. And Chloe saw nothing that resembled a door. "I don't see anything."

"Those bushes are hiding a door, like a storm cellar. Lex planted them himself."

Chloe's stomach dropped at the mention of his name. She'd been so focused on Clark, she'd nearly forgot whose lair they were invading. "Here goes nothing."

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

He had nothing. He wasted hours of this day between Patricia Swann and his father and for nothing.

Lionel had laughed off the painting, but Lex didn't miss a certain twitch when he mentioned the name Patricia Swann. He'd recovered quickly, however.

It's the misguided musings of a few youthful idealists with a little money and too much time on their hands. We took ourselves much too seriously, I'm embarrassed to say.

What secret was so important that you and your friends built a group around it?

Oh, think about it, Lex. Skull & Bones, Scroll & Key, the Delphic. The rich have secret societies. The others have poker nights.

His father was always clever about brushing him off. He'd give him that.

Well, it seems life dealt your charter members a poor hand. Besides you, everyone else is dead. Why'd you kill them? 

He knew it was a risky move, just putting it out there. But the drive over had made him more and more certain it was true.

The fact that Lionel had brushed that off just as handily didn't change his conviction.

Why don't you treat this sketch for what it is? A reminder of what you could have become.

Years of being told he wasn't good enough to be a Luthor made him wonder if there was a double meaning to that. That Lionel might have trusted him, let him into that secret world, as if he ever would.

If you won't tell me, I'm sure Patricia will.

And she would, if he could just get a hold of her. "Gina," he barked into his phone as the helicopter lifted off. "I need to contact Patricia Swann. She said she had business in town. If you can't get me her cell, then get me info on who she's meeting and..."

"Sir, I have a team of neurologists all over the lines and the lab isn't ready and I hardly have time to dig up some woman's... Where are you, anyway?"

"Never mind," he said, on all counts. "Just get it ready. I'll be there in an hour." 

He should focus on Kara. He had little enough going for him. He needed a win. Kara would be that win. He might have more answers than Swann could give him soon enough.


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


"Come on. This way," Lana whispered. Chloe hugged a darkened corner as they crept out of what now looked like a stone wall. Lana rushed forward.

Chloe gripped her arm. "What are you doing? Someone could see. I still need to disable the..."

"Don't worry. He doesn't have cameras in this wing."

"How do you know?" 

"I watched him. Remember? He only monitors certain areas."

Chloe relaxed and stepped out of the corner. Then the blood seemed to drain from her face. "What areas?" she asked fearfully.

"The master bedroom, the pool, the study, the kitchen..."

The blood rushed right back up until her cheeks were damned near on fire. The list might as well be titled "Every place Chloe Sullivan and Lex Luthor had sex."

"...best guest suites, gym, library, at least four bathrooms, the eastern hall, but only about ten feet of..."

"Okay, okay," she hissed, making a mental note to not only disable the security feed, but erase the last week while she was at it. She pulled out her palm pilot. "Let me at least get this ready before we go any further."

"How exactly are you going to disable security with that?"

"It's synced to my laptop. I just need to command it to start up and then, when we get closer, enter the codes and ..."

"Oh, I guess that's okay."

Chloe groaned and turned to her. "What?"

"It's just that Isis has a newer system and even I can use it with no problem and you know me and computers. If you'd told me, we could have this all done with one click."

"Really?" She might have to take that for a test drive one day. Despite how Isis started, resources like that should be tapped by someone who could really take them for a spin.

"Yeah. It can also function like a Tivo. I had my cable guy hook it up so that I can watch Dawson's Creek whenever I..."

Chloe nearly smiled. "Are we bragging?"

Lana did smile. "Maybe a little. The funding for that technology has made me able to use a computer. It was pretty much the only good thing to come out of marrying Lex."

Chloe stilled. "Really? I mean... There had to be other good things, like when you were married." Like the sex, maybe? Not that she was about to trade sex stories, but... "There had to be some perks." Like the sex, her mind supplied again. She couldn't be the only woman in the world who thought Lex Luthor was sex on toast, despite his flaws.

"I... I guess the shopping allowance was okay."

"Yeah, but what about the..." She shook her head. "Never mind." Maybe she was the only one.

"Chloe, the man decieved me. He screwed me up. I'm still trying to get over it. No perks could make up for that. He's... irredeemable."

"Yes, he is," Chloe said softly. And she wished he wasn't. If Lana could say that after something as relatively trivial as a faked pregnancy, then she should be sure of it after what he'd done to her, to Pete, her mother... Lana didn't even know the half of it. And yet there was this piece of her that wondered if it could all turn around. Maybe they'd take Kara away and maybe he'd finally, thankfully, stop. Maybe he'd reevaluate. Maybe he'd realize...

She concentrated on her Palm.

It was stupid to even hope. He'd go after what he wanted even harder. That was what he did. Feelings that intense didn't just go away, she'd thought earlier about her and Clark -- or, more correctly, about her with regards to Clark. But it didn't just apply to Clark. She could admit now, with it over, that it could as easily apply to her and Lex. She still wanted him. She still wished he could have been saved. And it changed nothing about where things stood now... or even how they stood then.

I might have waxed a bit poetic at times. But don't you start thinking your pussy is so magical it can 'save me.' What a way to describe a ****. I have had better.

She'd been decieved, too. She found herself touching Lana's shoulder, even rubbing lightly. "Almost done."

Lana glanced at her, surprised. "Okay. We'll get moving when you're ready."

"Thanks." She returned her hand to her Palm. "I just need a minute."

"It's okay," Lana suddenly said. "I'm not going to hold it against you."

"What's okay?" Chloe's eyes widened. She suddenly had a new fear -- that Lana had somehow got her feed on The Luthor Mansion back and she knew...

"It's okay to love him."

Chloe's eyes widened and she nearly dropped her Palm Pilot. "I don't love him. I swear. It was only..." Her words dried up. She might think about him more than was healthy, but that didn't mean she loved him. Who could love a man who did such terrible things?

"Chloe, you love him and it's okay. I understand it."

"You do?" How could she? Chloe didn't understand it herself. "But I... I'd never call it love."

"But out there, you said... Listen, I'm just trying to say that I don't resent that you love Clark."

"Clark," Chloe repeated, unclenching her... everything. She'd been so afraid Lana was talking about... And why? Why would the word love bring up Lex in any way? Of course, if she was honest with herself, something she was struggling to do from now on, she'd admit that she felt more for him than lust. And it could have been so much more if he were only a better, stronger man.

Not physically. Lex had money and influence and pull the same way Clark had power. The test of him was, once again, what he did with it.

"You've saved him more than I ever could have and... It would be stupid to resent someone for saving someone you love, for loving someone that's... hard not to love." Lana smiled. "I know from experience."

Chloe smiled. "Clark's very easy to love." It was a no-brainer, really. "I think most of my energy since I moved here has been spent trying not to love Clark."

"How does he do this to us? Because I've tried to move on and I never can..."

"You don't have to," Chloe said sadly. "He loves you."

"But sometimes I think maybe... maybe you're right. Maybe we aren't..."

There was a buzzing in her hand and she jumped. "It's done," she said, staring at her Palm. "It should kick in in a minute or so. But we can start moving," she added almost regretfully. She'd felt there was something happening between her and lana that hadn't happened for years.

Honesty. 

She didn't want to let that go. She grabbed Lana's hand as they moved down the hall. "When this is all over, do you want to maybe... get something to eat?"

Lana grasped her hand back. "Like a celebration?"

"More of a reunion." 

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

Lex was cheered as they touched down on his grounds. The stink of failure that surrounded every encounter with his father washed away, the further he got from the man. He didn't need him anymore. He'd have all he needed in a matter of hours.

"Keep it running," he said as he nearly hopped out. "We'll be out shortly." He smiled, wondering if Kara would be impressed with a helicopter ride. She might, not knowing what she was -- what he knew she had to be. Still, it was nice to treat the girl a little. She might stay grateful when this was over, might trust him, stay with him. It would be a bit like having a ward, which seemed antiquated, but charming.

Still, he'd get in touch with Swann when this was over, repay her visit. It was only polite.

His step was lighter as he moved into the study. "Is she ready?"

"Yes, sir. And so is the lab."

"Good. It time to find some answers," he said with relish as he stared at Kara on the screens, packing her bags with what clothes she had, with the scans. He should tell her not to bother. She wouldn't need the false trappings of Kara Kent, aspiring model from Minnesota, where she was going once they were done. Of course, it might not be for long. If she only trusted him...

It was all coming to a head. Everything he'd been working toward was finally paying... Kara's image faded into snow on all his screens. "What happened?"

"The feed's been cut," Gina said, eyes wide behind her glasses.

"Lock this place down!" Lex shouted. "Now!"

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

They didn't have much time. If Lex was monitoring Kara the way Lana had claimed Lex had watched her, then someone had to have noticed it had been cut off.

She moved into the main hall and stopped, pulling Lana to a stop with her. Double doors. Lex's room. If Kara was in there... She found herself marching to the doors.

Lana pulled on her. "Not in there. That's his room."

"I know," Chloe found herself growling. "She better not be..."

"We need to check the guest rooms," Lana said, pulling her down the hall. "If you check the right, I'll take the le..."

"No." Chloe's mind cleared. "She's too important. Nothing but the best guest room." She nodded to an open door to the left of the steps, from where they were. "Over there."

Lana stared at her. "How do you know..."

"From when the... when Lionel was... the... no time. That's the one."

They rushed forward and she was relieved to find Kara there, after all. Kara turned from the large bed, holding several bags. "What are you doing?" she asked, staring at them.

The better question was what was Kara doing... and with bags. Where was she going?

"Kara, you have to come with us right now," Lana said gravely.

"We'll explain everything later," Chloe added, knowing she'd need something more. "Just trust us."

Kara's eyes widened, but she did grip her bags tighter. "Where..."

Chloe grabbed her arm and moved out of the room, down the hall, to the east wing.

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

Lex stared into the empty room. No papers strwen about, no bags, bed made. It was as if she'd never been here. His men milled around him, then moved past him with vague promises about how she couldn't have gotten far. But she could have. She could have very easily. He knew it.

It was all slipping away.

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

"What is this place? It's freezing in here."

Kara had been a mass of questions since they'd left. "Why does Lex have a tunnel?" she'd asked as Lana and Chloe pulled her through it. 

"What's with these caves?" she'd asked after Lana dropped them off. 

"What's that thing?" Kara had asked as Chloe placed the key in the stone table.

She didn't waste much time answering them, but after being dragged through some kind of well-lit vortex, Kara might have proved herself a really good sport about all this. Plus, she felt a little catty about having suspected she slept with Lex.

"It's Clark's fortress," Chloe said breathlessly as she moved inward. "We're way up in the North Pole."

"Right, fortress, North Pole," Kara said, shivering behind her. Chloe had to wonder why she was shivering. Clark never felt the cold. Had Kara convinced herself she was supposed to be cold? "And how did we get here?"

"Through the... through the portal." Chloe didn't want to explain too hard. If everything went according to plan, she wouldn't have to. "Oh, and if there's a sudden shift in weather, just get out of here as fast as you can." If Kara's shivering was in more than her mind, that might cause trouble. She'd been badly exposed her first trip up here.

"That's reassuring." Kara didn't sound happy. Chloe didn't blame her. She was scared, too. But there was a plan. Lana was now driving to Metropolis, to just outside the plant where Lionel was keeping Clark. Chloe had told her not to make a movie, but to stay there just in case. If things went awry, Chloe would meet her there and she'd see if they could get in. But it would take a superhuman effort.

Luckily, they had a superhuman on hand, if she'd just remember... On that note, Chloe decided to get started.

"Hello?" she yelled as the wind whipped, even inside. "Jor-El?"

"Who are you talking to?" Kara asked, drawing up beside her.

Chloe ignored her, trying to stay on task. "Clark's in trouble. Now, I know that your brother started all of this..." She felt wary of Kara herself. She had reason, with the way she'd captured Le... Jimmy's fancy so easily. "But right now," she went on, trying t reason with him. "the only way we can help your son is if you restore Kara's memory and powers."

There was silence. Nothing more.

She heard Kara move away. "Whatever Jor-El is, I don't think he's here right now."

But he had to be. She had to reach him. He was a machine. Reason was the only way to... No. There was another way. "Jor-El!" She whirled around, yelling louder. "Out of all the planets across the universe, you decided to send your only son to this one! To Earth!" Maybe it was silly to think a machine would respond to emotion, but she had to try. "You trusted us to protect him! Now, please, Jor-El, I need you to trust me!" Her voice broke as she said, not just with the worry for Clark, but for the pain that came with the truth. "I love your son!" She did. She always would, no matter how it hurt. He was so easy to love. "He's in danger and he needs our help!"

Maybe it was silly to think love like hers, forever unanswered and unrequited, could make a difference.

There was a crack, as if a thunderstorm was breaking out. Not even above them, but around them. The wind whipped through the fortress and Kara shook with it. But Chloe found herself smiling. This was something. She could feel it...

"What's happening?" Kara screamed above the din. 

Chloe didn't move to her. She could see the mass of crystals in the center, glowing red. This wasn't some awful change in the weather. This was a change. Maybe even her love could matter enough to...

She gasped as beams of light shot up from the floor, as Kara rose up from the ground surrounded by a pillar of white light. 

The red glow grew stronger and faded as did the white light as Kara...

No. She ran toward her figure, now slumped in the mist that now crawled along the floor.

But Kara stood on her own, looking around before turning to her. "Chloe, why are we in the fortress?"

Chloe smiled widely. She knew. She knew where they were. That meant she knew more than that. "We have to save Clark."


PREVIOUS CHAPTER
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR


I'm still increasingly amazed that, in an episode before which Lana and Chloe were tense with each other all season, in an episode that marked the last time they shared a scene until season eight (where they were suddenly buddies again as if nothing happened), the writers didn't think these girls needed to work some shit out. I really want to make sense of it all, so I had to give them a scene.