Fic: Games You Don't Wanna Play (Smallville)
Games You Don't Wanna Play
By Tracy (lunarknightz)
Rating: PG
Category: Future Fic, Justice Leauge Centric, slight Chloe/Bruce.
Spoilers: Through "Justice" pressumably of SV, consider Batman Begins canonish if you've seen it.
Disclaimer: My super power is that I own nothing of this I write about! Nifty, huh.
Summary: Ollie hates secrets. Batman hates sharing them. And Chloe's stuck in the middle.
“Doesn’t ever bug you?” Ollie asked with a frown.
“A lot of things bug me.” Clark lifted an eyebrow at Ollie. “Especially when people won’t shut up and let me watch the playoff games in peace.”
“Oh, come on, Clark. You’ve got to admit that the Bat is getting on your nerves.”
“Apparently not as much as he’s getting on yours.” Clark said, pointedly.
“It’s just that the Justice League, well, we’ve all been together for awhile. We all know each other pretty damn well. We don’t have any secrets from each other, and it works well that way.”
“Everybody has secrets, Ollie.”
“There’s no place for secrets in teamwork.” Ollie insisted. “And the Bat, he just waltzes in with his fancy little bat toys and dark and brooding attitude and he just doesn’t click. He’s a loner, and there’s no place for a loner on my team.”
“Yet Batman has helped our team a lot since he joined.” Clark shook his head. “Man, it’s really killing you that Batman won’t share his secret identity with you.”
“Everyone else has. It’s part of what makes the team work. You have, and I mean, really, you’re way more powerful than Batman. You could crush him with your thumb if you wanted to.”
“I could crush you with my pinky finger, but I rarely have the urge, Ollie.” Clark sighed. “Trust me, I’m sure when he feels the time is right, Batman will share his secret with us. We don’t have the right to demand that he does.”
“We should.”
“But we don’t. If it really bothers you that much, why don’t you try to figure it out?”
“You think I haven’t tried? Even with all of Queen Industries’ resources, I haven’t figured anything out!”
“And that,” Clark said with a smile, “Is why we need Batman in the JLA. He’s a world class detective.”
“Not all of us were born with super duper powers, Clark. If I had super hearing, maybe I could crack this damn case.”
“I’m not going to use my powers in a way that would breach someone else’s privacy, Oliver. That wouldn’t be ethical.”
“Ethics Smethics.”
Clark gazed upward and rolled his eyes. “Look, if you’re so damn determined to figure this out, why don’t you call Chloe?”
“She wouldn’t know.”
“She lives in Gotham. She writes about Batman all the damn time.”
“So? That doesn’t mean she knows who the Dark Knight is.”
“Chloe’s pretty sharp. She figured out you were the Green Arrow without ever being told, didn’t she?”
“She got lucky.” Ollie sighed. “I mean, Lois writes about Superman all the time, and she doesn’t have a clue who you really are.”
“Chloe’s a hell of a lot brighter than Lois. But don’t you dare ever tell either of them I said that.”
Oliver smiled in response. He’d make no promises.
________________________________________________
“Nice try, boys.” Chloe chirped over the phone. “But I’m not going to tell you anything!”
“So you know!” Ollie exclaimed. “Come on, Chlo. Say you’re doing this for an old pal in the army.”
“If it was my own secret to tell, you might be able to weasel it out of me, Queen. It’s not mine to share. So I’m not going to tell you.”
“That’s not fair!”
“If I was the kind of person to cash in on the secrets I know, I would have made millions by selling your identities by now.” She chuckled. “You want access to blueprints of the secret tunnels under the new WayneTech plant, now that I might be able to swing in exchange for some insider Queen Industries news. That’s just business. But Identification, that’s serious business.” She paused slightly. “Have you ever tried asking Batman who he really is?”
“Have you ever been in the same room with the man?”
“Why, yes, I have. He wasn’t hard to talk to.”
“You’re delusional.”
“No, I’m leaving. I have a hot date with a billionaire. Bye, Boys.”
Clark frowned at Ollie. “A billionaire?”
“Bruce Wayne. I went to school with him. He’s a tool.”
“Yeah. All the billionaires I know are tools.”
Ollie shot Clark a look.
_____________________________
“You’re not winning friends in the Justice League.” Chloe said, sipping a glass of Merlot with Bruce by the fire.
“I didn’t join the Justice League to make friends, I joined to save the world.”
“That may be true, but the group does have a charming little fraternity feeling to it. They don’t like keeping secrets any more than you like sharing them.”
“Too bad.” Bruce frowned. “How do you know these things?”
“I have super-powered friends in high places.” Chloe smiled.
“Like who?” Bruce leaned closer. “You can tell me.”
“It’s not my secret to tell.” Chloe kissed him on the lips quickly.
He frowned. “This is going to drive me nuts.”
“And now you know how the others feel about your secret.” Chloe smiled.
“You’re trying to teach me a lesson?”
“I’m giving you a taste of your own medicine.” Her grin grew larger as Bruce began to frown.
Boys. Chloe thought to herself, as she gazed at her boyfriend, trying to hold back a laugh. Oh, they needed help.
Bruce would brood about this for awhile, and then share his real identity with the League. Ollie would stop whining, and Clark would have to conquer his issues with billionaires once more.
Her boys, all of them, needed help. And she was the one to give it.
It was hard keeping secrets, but it could be a hell of a lot of fun.
By Tracy (lunarknightz)
Rating: PG
Category: Future Fic, Justice Leauge Centric, slight Chloe/Bruce.
Spoilers: Through "Justice" pressumably of SV, consider Batman Begins canonish if you've seen it.
Disclaimer: My super power is that I own nothing of this I write about! Nifty, huh.
Summary: Ollie hates secrets. Batman hates sharing them. And Chloe's stuck in the middle.
“Doesn’t ever bug you?” Ollie asked with a frown.
“A lot of things bug me.” Clark lifted an eyebrow at Ollie. “Especially when people won’t shut up and let me watch the playoff games in peace.”
“Oh, come on, Clark. You’ve got to admit that the Bat is getting on your nerves.”
“Apparently not as much as he’s getting on yours.” Clark said, pointedly.
“It’s just that the Justice League, well, we’ve all been together for awhile. We all know each other pretty damn well. We don’t have any secrets from each other, and it works well that way.”
“Everybody has secrets, Ollie.”
“There’s no place for secrets in teamwork.” Ollie insisted. “And the Bat, he just waltzes in with his fancy little bat toys and dark and brooding attitude and he just doesn’t click. He’s a loner, and there’s no place for a loner on my team.”
“Yet Batman has helped our team a lot since he joined.” Clark shook his head. “Man, it’s really killing you that Batman won’t share his secret identity with you.”
“Everyone else has. It’s part of what makes the team work. You have, and I mean, really, you’re way more powerful than Batman. You could crush him with your thumb if you wanted to.”
“I could crush you with my pinky finger, but I rarely have the urge, Ollie.” Clark sighed. “Trust me, I’m sure when he feels the time is right, Batman will share his secret with us. We don’t have the right to demand that he does.”
“We should.”
“But we don’t. If it really bothers you that much, why don’t you try to figure it out?”
“You think I haven’t tried? Even with all of Queen Industries’ resources, I haven’t figured anything out!”
“And that,” Clark said with a smile, “Is why we need Batman in the JLA. He’s a world class detective.”
“Not all of us were born with super duper powers, Clark. If I had super hearing, maybe I could crack this damn case.”
“I’m not going to use my powers in a way that would breach someone else’s privacy, Oliver. That wouldn’t be ethical.”
“Ethics Smethics.”
Clark gazed upward and rolled his eyes. “Look, if you’re so damn determined to figure this out, why don’t you call Chloe?”
“She wouldn’t know.”
“She lives in Gotham. She writes about Batman all the damn time.”
“So? That doesn’t mean she knows who the Dark Knight is.”
“Chloe’s pretty sharp. She figured out you were the Green Arrow without ever being told, didn’t she?”
“She got lucky.” Ollie sighed. “I mean, Lois writes about Superman all the time, and she doesn’t have a clue who you really are.”
“Chloe’s a hell of a lot brighter than Lois. But don’t you dare ever tell either of them I said that.”
Oliver smiled in response. He’d make no promises.
________________________________________________
“Nice try, boys.” Chloe chirped over the phone. “But I’m not going to tell you anything!”
“So you know!” Ollie exclaimed. “Come on, Chlo. Say you’re doing this for an old pal in the army.”
“If it was my own secret to tell, you might be able to weasel it out of me, Queen. It’s not mine to share. So I’m not going to tell you.”
“That’s not fair!”
“If I was the kind of person to cash in on the secrets I know, I would have made millions by selling your identities by now.” She chuckled. “You want access to blueprints of the secret tunnels under the new WayneTech plant, now that I might be able to swing in exchange for some insider Queen Industries news. That’s just business. But Identification, that’s serious business.” She paused slightly. “Have you ever tried asking Batman who he really is?”
“Have you ever been in the same room with the man?”
“Why, yes, I have. He wasn’t hard to talk to.”
“You’re delusional.”
“No, I’m leaving. I have a hot date with a billionaire. Bye, Boys.”
Clark frowned at Ollie. “A billionaire?”
“Bruce Wayne. I went to school with him. He’s a tool.”
“Yeah. All the billionaires I know are tools.”
Ollie shot Clark a look.
_____________________________
“You’re not winning friends in the Justice League.” Chloe said, sipping a glass of Merlot with Bruce by the fire.
“I didn’t join the Justice League to make friends, I joined to save the world.”
“That may be true, but the group does have a charming little fraternity feeling to it. They don’t like keeping secrets any more than you like sharing them.”
“Too bad.” Bruce frowned. “How do you know these things?”
“I have super-powered friends in high places.” Chloe smiled.
“Like who?” Bruce leaned closer. “You can tell me.”
“It’s not my secret to tell.” Chloe kissed him on the lips quickly.
He frowned. “This is going to drive me nuts.”
“And now you know how the others feel about your secret.” Chloe smiled.
“You’re trying to teach me a lesson?”
“I’m giving you a taste of your own medicine.” Her grin grew larger as Bruce began to frown.
Boys. Chloe thought to herself, as she gazed at her boyfriend, trying to hold back a laugh. Oh, they needed help.
Bruce would brood about this for awhile, and then share his real identity with the League. Ollie would stop whining, and Clark would have to conquer his issues with billionaires once more.
Her boys, all of them, needed help. And she was the one to give it.
It was hard keeping secrets, but it could be a hell of a lot of fun.