The Arms Hotel, Friday Afternoon
Chloe laid back on the bed in her hotel room, drowning herself in the pillows in an attempt to relax. The last few days were still a blur, and while thinking about it was making her start to second guess her actions, she couldn't make her brain shut down.
When Oliver had gotten kidnapped (setting up a satellite for her, it was always because of her that people got into trouble, wasn't it?) the last thing he'd said to her was that whoever was coming for him wasn't Kandorian.
No, that wasn't totally true. The last thing he'd said to her was that he loved her, and that had just made watching him get beaten down even worse. Chloe never imagined that she'd wish Oliver would be in Kandorian hands, but watching the video feed from security, and realizing that she had no idea who had taken him, no idea who was threatening to come after everyone, was just about the worst feeling possible.
Then Clark had come back, miraculously, and while Chloe had been at least momentarily distracted by how he'd nearly died, and how Jor-El had warned him about some greater evil, and how god, of course Lex Luthor was somehow involved from beyond the grave, her big dumb alien just couldn't contend with Oliver being missing without a trace. For a moment, she'd felt guilty about sending Clark to the Daily Planet on a wild goose chase, but she had to get him out of Watchtower before he figured out that something was wrong with her, and that she was going to do something ridiculously stupid in return.
The helmet of Doctor Fate was locked up for many, many reasons, one of which was that only the chosen were supposed to put it on. The helmet had mocked her as soon as she'd arrived, calling her foolish, and pointing out how dangerous love was, but that didn't stop Chloe from pulling it out of the case and demanding that it show her where Oliver was being held. When the helmet asked, "Would you sacrifice your sanity to save the archer?" Chloe would have laughed, if she'd had time before the helmet had opened and pulled her in. There wasn't much of a point to having anything, including sanity, if Oliver wasn't okay.
Chloe closed her eyes and put one of the pillows over her face as she tried not to think about all the things she'd seen inside that helmet. All she'd wanted was to know where Oliver was, but the other things she'd seen...she'd known that there'd be a price to pay for messing with something she supposedly wasn't worthy to touch, but if she hadn't been able to heal herself, she might not have made it. Clark had had a million questions when she woke up, and she'd wished like hell that she could have told him what she'd seen, how amazing he'd become once he finally embraced his destiny, but she'd already messed things up enough, and if she didn't hurry, there'd be nothing left of Oliver to save. This time, when Chloe had gotten rid of Clark by telling him she'd seen Cadmus Labs burning, there was no guilt involved, only sadness that he might not forgive her.
In the grand scheme of things, plotting one's own demise had turned out to be easier than Chloe expected. If she hadn't been in a rush, she would have found someone to complain to about how easy it had been to get her hands on both cyanide and an antidote. As she went through Watchtower's systems and erased every trace of her existence, she hoped that people besides Tess would understand what she'd done. She also hoped that Clark and Oliver would trust Tess, but that was like hoping for a magical unicorn rescue at this point, and Fate's helmet hadn't taken that much of her sanity, really. It had been easy to track down Oliver's kidnappers once she knew where he was, and while she wondered why they were so willing to accept her offer of a trade - her life for Oliver's - she hadn't had time to figure out what they were after. That was something that would just have to wait.
In the end, everything had gone according to plan: Oliver had been released, Chloe had been taken, and her "death" had been quick. She hadn't been sure if the antidote would be necessary, but it hadn't seemed like a good idea to test her healing ability's success with cyanide right now. After she escaped, Chloe headed straight for the safest place she knew - Fandom. It was entirely possible that Clark wouldn't look for her. He had finally learned to trust her judgment, and he had the whole rest of the world to worry about. He could very well assume that Chloe knew what she was doing in making herself disappear. But Oliver wouldn't stop. If he figured out what she'd done - which she had no doubt would happen, because he was way too smart for his own good, and that was a nice change after spending so many years working with Clark - he'd scour the ends of the earth to find her. The only way to keep Oliver truly safe was to be somewhere beyond his reach.
It could have been worse, Chloe thought. She had enough cash to keep herself going for a few days, and then she'd have to find a job, and somewhere else to stay. It looked like there was about to be a new crop of students coming, so the rush of new faces would make it easier for her to blend in. She could get settled, as much as anyone ever settled here, and figure out who'd gone after Oliver, and what they wanted with her friends.
But first, she was going to find something strong to drink.
[Finally taken from Smallville episodes 10x01 and 10x02, and done this way because I love you all too much to subject you to this plot canon catchup-style. :) Establishy and OOC okay!]
When Oliver had gotten kidnapped (setting up a satellite for her, it was always because of her that people got into trouble, wasn't it?) the last thing he'd said to her was that whoever was coming for him wasn't Kandorian.
No, that wasn't totally true. The last thing he'd said to her was that he loved her, and that had just made watching him get beaten down even worse. Chloe never imagined that she'd wish Oliver would be in Kandorian hands, but watching the video feed from security, and realizing that she had no idea who had taken him, no idea who was threatening to come after everyone, was just about the worst feeling possible.
Then Clark had come back, miraculously, and while Chloe had been at least momentarily distracted by how he'd nearly died, and how Jor-El had warned him about some greater evil, and how god, of course Lex Luthor was somehow involved from beyond the grave, her big dumb alien just couldn't contend with Oliver being missing without a trace. For a moment, she'd felt guilty about sending Clark to the Daily Planet on a wild goose chase, but she had to get him out of Watchtower before he figured out that something was wrong with her, and that she was going to do something ridiculously stupid in return.
The helmet of Doctor Fate was locked up for many, many reasons, one of which was that only the chosen were supposed to put it on. The helmet had mocked her as soon as she'd arrived, calling her foolish, and pointing out how dangerous love was, but that didn't stop Chloe from pulling it out of the case and demanding that it show her where Oliver was being held. When the helmet asked, "Would you sacrifice your sanity to save the archer?" Chloe would have laughed, if she'd had time before the helmet had opened and pulled her in. There wasn't much of a point to having anything, including sanity, if Oliver wasn't okay.
Chloe closed her eyes and put one of the pillows over her face as she tried not to think about all the things she'd seen inside that helmet. All she'd wanted was to know where Oliver was, but the other things she'd seen...she'd known that there'd be a price to pay for messing with something she supposedly wasn't worthy to touch, but if she hadn't been able to heal herself, she might not have made it. Clark had had a million questions when she woke up, and she'd wished like hell that she could have told him what she'd seen, how amazing he'd become once he finally embraced his destiny, but she'd already messed things up enough, and if she didn't hurry, there'd be nothing left of Oliver to save. This time, when Chloe had gotten rid of Clark by telling him she'd seen Cadmus Labs burning, there was no guilt involved, only sadness that he might not forgive her.
In the grand scheme of things, plotting one's own demise had turned out to be easier than Chloe expected. If she hadn't been in a rush, she would have found someone to complain to about how easy it had been to get her hands on both cyanide and an antidote. As she went through Watchtower's systems and erased every trace of her existence, she hoped that people besides Tess would understand what she'd done. She also hoped that Clark and Oliver would trust Tess, but that was like hoping for a magical unicorn rescue at this point, and Fate's helmet hadn't taken that much of her sanity, really. It had been easy to track down Oliver's kidnappers once she knew where he was, and while she wondered why they were so willing to accept her offer of a trade - her life for Oliver's - she hadn't had time to figure out what they were after. That was something that would just have to wait.
In the end, everything had gone according to plan: Oliver had been released, Chloe had been taken, and her "death" had been quick. She hadn't been sure if the antidote would be necessary, but it hadn't seemed like a good idea to test her healing ability's success with cyanide right now. After she escaped, Chloe headed straight for the safest place she knew - Fandom. It was entirely possible that Clark wouldn't look for her. He had finally learned to trust her judgment, and he had the whole rest of the world to worry about. He could very well assume that Chloe knew what she was doing in making herself disappear. But Oliver wouldn't stop. If he figured out what she'd done - which she had no doubt would happen, because he was way too smart for his own good, and that was a nice change after spending so many years working with Clark - he'd scour the ends of the earth to find her. The only way to keep Oliver truly safe was to be somewhere beyond his reach.
It could have been worse, Chloe thought. She had enough cash to keep herself going for a few days, and then she'd have to find a job, and somewhere else to stay. It looked like there was about to be a new crop of students coming, so the rush of new faces would make it easier for her to blend in. She could get settled, as much as anyone ever settled here, and figure out who'd gone after Oliver, and what they wanted with her friends.
But first, she was going to find something strong to drink.
[Finally taken from Smallville episodes 10x01 and 10x02, and done this way because I love you all too much to subject you to this plot canon catchup-style. :) Establishy and OOC okay!]