Someone To Save You, ch. 2
Chapter Two
Victor arrived at the penthouse early the next morning. To his surprise he found Oliver sleeping in front of his computer. Victor had never known Ollie to sleep anywhere other than his bed covered in one thousand count sheets. Whatever was going on it was big.
Victor gently shook Oliver’s shoulder. “Hey, Ollie, rise and shine, man.”
“Wha?” Oliver muttered sleepily. He’d been having that dream again. He rubbed his eyes and tried to focus on Victor.
“What’s up?”
“Up? Nothing.” Oliver attempted to dodge, but he could tell Victor wasn’t buying it.
“You’ve got to be kidding. You never stay up all night doing research, much less fall asleep at the computer. You have me for that.”
Oliver tried to get his sleep-deprived brain to function. He wasn’t ready for the others to know about Lex. He didn’t know enough. Not yet. He couldn’t run the risk of one of them telling Clark. The less Clark knew the safer he would be. So will everyone else.
“I was just working on a few business ventures in Japan,” Oliver lied. “International dateline and all. It’s a never-ending cycle.”
Victor looked skeptical but accepted Oliver’s explanation without argument. Oliver nearly ran himself ragged sometimes trying to balance Queen Industries and his Green Arrow responsibilities simultaneously. It was a wonder the man hadn’t fallen asleep on the job before this.
“If you say so, boss.”
Just then AC and Bart arrived; Bart, of course, bringing his usual whirlwind. “What’s for breakfast, boss man?”
“Don’t you ever stop eating?” AC asked.
“Gotta maintain the physique for the senoritas, Fishboy.”
Oliver shook his head. “Get a grip, gentlemen. We’ve got a relatively light day ahead of us. I need you to do a little recon. Our erstwhile friend in Gotham has requested we check into a warehouse on the outskirts. He suspects ties to Luthorcorp but he,” Oliver cleared his throat dramatically, “has problems of his own.”
AC punched Victor in the arm. “Told you Wayne was a lightweight. He’s calling in the cavalry!”
Oliver chuckled inwardly. His friends’ rivalry with Bruce never ceased to amuse him. He knew Bruce could hold his own in a fight. Besides, Oliver wasn’t completely truthful about Bruce’s request. Oh, the request had been made - two months ago. Bruce had made it clear that there was no rush. The warehouse appeared to be abandoned but the Caped Crusader thought it bore verification. The truth was Oliver wanted his team out of Metropolis. The Green Arrow had some reconnaissance of his own to do.
Oliver tossed his keys to Victor. “Take the jet. It’ll have you in Gotham in a couple of hours.” Bart grinned. “Whoa not so fast, Impulse. You’re taking the jet too.”
“You’ll have to catch me first,” Bart replied and was gone.
“Go on, you too. Hopefully, you’ll get there before Bart eats half of Gotham.”
“You’re not coming, boss?” AC asked.
Victor answered for him. “Ollie’s going to get some sleep. He was up late working on some business deal, weren’t you, boss?”
Oliver yawned. “Yeah. I better get some shut eye. Meeting this afternoon. You’ll be fine. You have to leave the nest sometime, right?”
AC nodded. As Oliver watched them leave, he frowned. He hated misleading his team like that, but he felt it was necessary. Until he had hard intel regarding Lex’s resurrection they were all better off. None of them knew Lex like he did.
Oliver hadn’t been lying about the need for sleep though. His all-too-human body was worn out. He needed rest. Oliver headed back to his temporary bed in front of the computer. He pulled out the USB drive and pocketed it. Then he carefully deleted the original files he’d been working on from the hard drive. No need to alarm anyone just yet. Oliver walked back to his bedroom, carelessly discarding his clothes after he closed the door. Standing in his boxers, he pulled back the comforter and climbed into bed. His exhausted body tumbled into oblivion.
He’d never been so cold in his life. The biting arctic wind cut right through the heavy green thermal jacket. Next to him Chloe shivered violently. She, too, was wearing the warmest clothes money could buy and still looked as cold as Oliver felt.
“See? Isn’t this better than some nice warm government jail?”
“Yeah, my dream vacation,” Chloe deadpanned. “What more could a girl ask for? Snow, ice, wind and more clothes than a person should ever have to wear.”
Oliver squinted at her through the snow. “You know Clark’s more than an alien from another planet. He must be a saint. Between you and Lois, I’m surprised he hasn’t completely lost his mind.”
Chloe was about to retort when her tracking device beeped loudly. “Oliver, look.” The small monitor showed a tiny heat signature about two hundred meters to their left. Chloe looked toward it but the snow and wind made it impossible to see anything. Chloe glanced back down as the tiny light flickered and died.
“Bart!” Oliver yelled.
Chloe stumbled after him as Oliver ran blindly in the direction they’d seen in the monitor. Finally, two dark shapes appeared against the ice and blinding snow. Oliver was already kneeling next to Bart. With no more covering than his league gear, Bart laid still on the ice his face ghostly pale. Oliver whipped out his spare blanket to cover Bart while he called for his helicopter.
Clark lay nearby in a pile of broken ice. Chloe moved what she could managing to expose Clark’s upper torso, but his legs were still pinned under the ice. “Oliver, help me move this ice.”
He was by her side a second later and together they removed Clark from the rubble. The man of steel was unconscious but alive.
“We have to get him in the sun,” Chloe said.
“Why?”
“Kryptonians draw energy from the sun.”
“Good luck finding sun around here,” Oliver commented, indicating the heavy cloud cover above them.
“Damn. He should hold out until we get back to Smallville. How’s Bart?”
“I’m not sure. I think hypothermia might be setting in. We have to -“
Oliver got cut off by the sound of the helicopter arriving. AC and Victor helped load Clark and Bart into the chopper. Once everyone was safely aboard they took off. Chloe went to check on Bart. He didn’t look good. She knew there was a faster way to ensure Bart’s survival. Chloe removed her gloves and pulled back the blanket covering Bart. After checking to make sure everyone else was occupied, Chloe spread her fingers over Bart’s face and they began to glow blindingly whlte.
The light caught Oliver’s attention. He looked over to where Bart lay. To Oliver’s shock, Bart drew in a ragged breath and sat up. “What happened?” Bart asked, disoriented.
“I thought you were -“ Oliver cut himself off as he scanned the interior of the chopper. “Where’s Chloe?” he asked as his eyes fell on the lump lying next to Bart. “Chloe!” Oliver rushed over, tripping on equipment as he went. She wasn’t moving. Oliver felt her skin; she was icy cold. He turned to Bart. “What did you do to her?”
“N-nothing, honest. The last thing I remember is finding Clark in the ice. Then it all came rushing back. I don’t know what happened.”
Not mollified, Oliver turned back to Chloe. She appeared dead. Oliver felt his stomach lurch. Clark will never forgive me. I got her out of jail for this. Oliver kneeled next to her and cradled her head in his lap. He continued to stare at her lifeless face until they touched down outside Metropolis.
Oliver brought Clark and Chloe back to the penthouse. He knew it was the wrong place for Chloe - she was dead, after all - but he couldn’t let her go until he could explain to Clark what happened. His friend deserved that much.
The confrontation came sooner than Oliver expected. Per Chloe’s instructions, Clark got maximum sun exposure on the penthouse balcony. A few hours after they returned Clark was up and about no worse for wear. Oliver glanced up from Chloe’s bedside as his friend entered the bedroom.
“How long has she been out?” Clark asked, worriedly.
“Out? What are you talking about, Clark?” Oliver paused. “She’s dead. I’m sorry.”
“Oliver, she’s not dead. There are some things you don’t understand.”
Puzzled, Oliver asked, “Would this have anything to do with a certain emerald rock we all know and loathe?”
“Yes.”
“Chloe’s meteor infected.”
“Yes.”
“And she didn’t tell me?”
“She didn’t tell a lot of people. She was afraid of how people would react.”
“Does Lois know?”
“No, she doesn’t.”
“Her squirrel of a boyfriend, Jimmy?”
“I think so.”
Oliver gestured to the seat on the opposite side of the bed. “Then it looks like you’ve got some explaining to do, Boy Scout.” As Oliver listened to Clark’s rendition of the months since he left Metropolis, he absently took Chloe’s hand and began to stroke it gently with his thumb. After what felt like an eternity to Oliver, he felt her hand jerk in his as Chloe opened her eyes and took in a breath.
A faint smile appeared. “Well, it’s not everyday that a girl wakes up with two handsome heroes at her bedside.”
Oliver dropped her hand like a hot potato. He missed the flash of disappointment in her eyes as he got up to leave. “I’m glad you’re back among the living, Chloe. I’ll leave you two alone so you can catch up.”
Oliver jerked himself awake. Damn, he’s had that dream again. The one with the snow, ice and mind numbing fear. Seeing Chloe’s lifeless body lying in his bed for hours while they waited for her to wake up was the most terrified he’d ever been in his life. Nothing he’d faced as the Green Arrow compared to it. The idea that Chloe could - and would - willingly give her life to save someone’s staggered him. Sure, it was something all of them willingly walked into everyday. But Chloe had walked the walk. More than once. And it terrified him that his sometime Watchtower would see him for the poser that he believed himself to be. She was a hero among heroes and he was determined to keep her - keep all of them - safe.
It was time to visit Luthor mansion.
To be continued…