Highway From Hell, Fic 2: Welcome to Existence (1/4)
Series: Highway From Hell
Fic 2: Welcome to Existence
Authors: Xtremeroswellian and Did_It_Once
Rated: PG-13
Spoilers: “No Rest for the Wicked" for Supernatural. Nothing terribly spoilery from Smallville if you watched any of sixth or seventh season.
Disclaimer: Not ours. Don’t sue.
Characters: Chloe, Dean, Sam, Bart, Oliver.
Pairing: None yet. Eventual Chlean. Of course. :P
Wordcount: 9603
Welcome to Existence (Part One)
Chloe Sullivan made her way through the basement of the Daily Planet, carrying a manila folder in her hands. She was so used to the crowd and the noise level that neither bothered her. She headed toward her desk, setting the folder down on top of it and sliding into her computer chair, logging on and picking up her mug of coffee.
Grimacing at the cool temperature, she set it down once more, then signed onto the computer. She bit her lower lip, focusing intently on the article she'd been working on for a week now, not even noticing as two familiar figures headed over toward her.
"Ma'am, did you by chance order coffee and a bagel?" One of the men said, sitting down across from her.
She blinked in surprise at the voice and looked up to see Dean Winchester seated on the opposite side of her desk. She looked from him to Sam and back again, more than a tad caught off guard. "I didn't expect to see you guys here."
He shrugged. "We decided to check it out."
She looked over to where he'd set a fresh cup of coffee and a bagel for her and a smile touched her lips. "Well...if that coffee's hot, I'm giving you the official Daily Planet tour."
"Guess we're getting a tour."
Chloe picked up the cup and took a sip, closing her eyes for a moment. "Definitely."
Dean smiled slightly. "Welcome."
She met his eyes and smiled back faintly, standing up. "I didn't really figure I'd ever see you guys again," she admitted.
"Well, we owed you."
Her smile faded a little and she shook her head. "No, you don't," she said quietly.
"Trust me," he stood. "We really do."
She held onto her coffee cup, dropping her gaze from his. "I'll give you the tour and then I'll call the League to let them know you're here to meet them."
"Sam already did that. They know we're here...but that's about it."
Her eyebrows furrowed. "They knew you were coming?"
"Yeah. Didn't anyone tell you?" Sam asked, frowning.
Dean frowned as well. "We called them three days ago."
Chloe looked uneasy, but shrugged it off. "I've been out of the loop." Not offering anything else by way of an explanation, she gave them a quick tour of the Daily Planet.
"Big building," Dean commented when the tour was finished.
"One of the biggest newspaper offices in the country," she said quietly.
"Looks like it."
She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and pulled out her cell phone. "I'm just gonna...give them a call. See if there's someplace they'd like to meet."
He nodded. "Sounds good."
She walked away a few feet and pressed the phone to her ear.
"Queen here."
"It's me."
"Hey, what's going on?"
She heard the concern in his voice and glanced back at the brothers who stood a few feet away. "They're here. Thought you'd like to know."
He cursed softly. "I was going to tell you they were coming--"
"I know. I've been swamped with stuff here at the Planet," she lied.
He sighed. "Right."
"So I've given them the official DP tour. Where do you want to meet them? My place?"
"If you don't mind."
"No, that's fine. I've still got an hour left of my shift here, though. Do you want me to send them on over or would you rather wait?"
"No, we can wait for you to get off. You should be there."
"Okay. We'll meet you there at 9:30."
"Sounds good."
She hesitated a moment. "Who all's going to be there?"
"Everyone. They all know these two are coming."
Chloe tensed a little, but reminded herself that it wasn't really news. "All right. See you soon." She hung up the phone.
"What's the plan?" Dean asked, walking over to her.
She turned to face him. "Rendaveuz at my place, 9:30." She glanced over at Sam. "You guys hungry?"
Sam shrugged. "I could go for some food."
"I'd come with, but...I've still got an hour of work ahead. There's a great little place across the street called the Sundown," she told them, glancing up at Dean.
He nodded. "We'll meet you there when you get off."
"Okay. Have a nice dinner. And...thanks for the coffee," she said, holding up the now-empty cup.
"No problem. Figured you'd need it."
She caught his eyes and smiled a little, watching them head away.
"Wow. I didn't expect that to go as well as it did," Dean murmured as they walked toward the elevator.
"Kinda weird no one told her we were coming."
"Yeah. You'd think since they sent her for us..."
"Right." Sam frowned and pressed the button for the main floor.
Dean shook his head. "Weird."
* * *
An hour and a half later, Chloe led them up the stairs to her apartment on the third floor. She'd seen Oliver's motorcycle in the parking lot, so she knew the others were already there, as well, and didn't bother pulling out her keys. She simply offered the Winchester's a smile and opened the front door.
Dean was shocked to see the men already in there. "Gee, I feel late."
She smiled faintly and leaned back against the wall.
"Oliver Queen," the blonde said, holding his hand out to Dean.
He took it and shook his hand. "Dean Winchester, this is my brother, Sam."
Sam nodded. "Hi."
"Nice to meet you both." He smiled and shook Sam's hand, then motioned to the others. "I believe you've met Bart, already?"
"Yeah. He vanished into thin air," Dean gazed at the younger man.
"Not exactly." Bart grinned. "I just moved so fast you didn't see me leave."
"Same diff."
He shrugged, still grinning, and flickered his gaze to Chloe.
"And this is Victor." Oliver introduced, nodding toward the young man. "And A.C."
Dean shook the men's hands, Sam following suit. "So I'm guessing all of you have some sort of power."
At that moment the door swung open again. "Sorry I'm late." A man dressed in a blue suit with a red cape suddenly appeared. "Bruce is running late, too."
Oliver nodded slightly. "Dean, Sam, this is..."
"Clark Kent." He turned and shook their hands.
"A.K.A. Superman?" Dean gazed up at the taller man. "Wow. Meeting the Big Blue himself."
He smiled a bit, glancing around. "We've heard a lot about you two. Glad you could make it."
He ran a hand over his head awkwardly. "Er, yeah, our pleasure."
"And ours." Oliver smiled and motioned to the couch and chairs. "Why don't we all sit down?" he suggested.
Sensing Dean's growing discomfort, Sam took the lead over to the couch and sitting down, his brother followed quickly after.
Everyone else sat down, as well. Except Chloe, who remained by the door.
"So everyone here is part of the Justice League," Oliver began, glancing around at his friends. "And a couple who haven't made it yet. Bruce Wayne, and Dinah Lance. Not sure Dinah's going to make it. Apparently something came up in Star City."
"She need backup?" Clark asked with a hint of worry.
"She's got it covered. She'll let us know if she needs us."
Sam leaned forward. "So this league of superheroes...wants my brother and me to join up with their team? Why?"
"Have you heard of a man named Lex Luthor?" Clark asked quietly.
He nodded. "Yeah. Big business guru that's ruthless."
Bart nodded, as well. "His latest project involves using demons."
"You're telling me a bunch of superheroes can't handle some demons?" Dean spoke up, looking around.
"The problem is trying not to kill the humans being possessed by the demons," Victor explained.
"Not to mention trying to keep human crime rate as low as possible," A.C. added.
"I hate to tell you this, but demons tend to ride humans hard and then leave them high and dry," Dean turned his gaze to Victor. "It's almost a guarantee that any exorcism you perform will leave the host dead."
"But not always, right?" Bart spoke up. "Once in awhile one lives."
"That once is usually next to none. Trust me."
"One is always worth it," Clark said quietly.
Dean's eyes grew dark. "I beg to differ on that."
Sam spoke up before Dean could go further. "You guys could easily look up the exorcisms and perform them yourselves. So why do you need us?"
Oliver shot a pleading look over at Chloe, who sighed softly and pushed herself away from the wall, moving to sit down across from the brothers. "Because it's not just about Lex building a demon army. Some of us have been dealing with weird stuff for a long time, but...not evil spirits and not poltergeists and demons and witches and spells. There just aren't enough of us to go around." Her voice was soft.
"Basically, you want us to be your guard dogs against these things."
"Dean," Sam gave him a look.
She flinched a little, withdrawing.
"Not exactly. We want you to share your experience with us. The more of us there are out there fighting evil--all the different types of evil--the more good we can do. The more lives we can save," Oliver said, glancing between them.
Dean stood. "I don't need this 'we all need to fight for the greater good of man!' speech. You vigilante types think you can save everyone if you get the right people involved. Well I have news for you. You can't save everyone."
He walked to the door and opened it. "Thanks, but no. Sam, I'm going to go find a bar."
Sam winced when the door slammed shut, then turned to the others. "God, sorry."
The members of the Justice League sat in stunned silence for a long moment, with the exception of Chloe, who simply looked weary.
"Think he'll reconsider?" Bart joked.
Sam stared at him, stunned. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't joke about my brother like that."
"When Bart doesn't know what else to say, he makes stupid jokes," Victor said, shooting the younger man a look.
"Hey." Bart frowned, then looked at Sam. "Sorry."
"It's okay just...Dean's been through a lot."
Chloe lifted her gaze to look at him, her eyes intent, though she remained silent.
"I think you guys are trying to do a really good thing to. Saving people has always been important to us," he took a breath. "I accept your invitation to be a part of the league, but if Dean doesn't, I can't be a part of it without him."
"So what can we do to convince your brother?" Oliver asked seriously.
"I'll talk to him. I don't think he'd listen to you."
He nodded slightly. "All right. Take your time. We don't have to have an answer right away." He rose to his feet.
Sam stood as well. "It was nice to meet you."
Oliver reached out and shook Sam's hand. "Speaking of, where are the two of you staying while you're here in the city?"
He shrugged. "Haven't looked for a cheap motel yet."
"In that case--" He pulled a key out of his back pocket and handed it to Sam. "Penthouse Suite at Queen Hotel and Casino. Since we're the reason you're here, it's on me."
He pushed it away, shaking his head. "We can't accept this."
Oliver smiled a bit. "It's my hotel, Sam. It doesn't cost me anything. Wouldn't dream of handing out charity. I've been told the Winchester's wouldn't go for it." He glanced at Chloe.
He took the key reluctantly. "Thanks."
He nodded and headed for the door, A.C., Bart, and Victor right behind him. "See you around, Sam."
Chloe didn't have to look up to know Clark was looking at her. She stood up. "Have a good night, guys." She followed them toward the door.
"I'll call you when I have an answer," Sam said, following them to the door.
Oliver nodded and disappeared into the hallway.
"Goodnight, Clark." Chloe's voice left no room for discussion.
Sighing softly, he headed out the door, as well, glancing back at her, but when she didn't look up, he headed away.
Sam watched him go, then looked at Chloe. "Thanks for the tour today."
She glanced up, as though surprised he was still there. She smiled a little. "No problem."
"I'll call you, okay?"
"Sure." She hesitated a moment. "Sam?"
He stopped. "Yeah?"
"Is he okay?" she asked quietly, meeting his eyes.
He shook his head. "I don't know."
Chloe gazed at him for a moment, looking unsettled, and like she wanted to say something else, but she restrained herself. "Thanks for at least making the drive and listening."
He studied her face for a moment. "You're welcome. Was there...something else you wanted to talk about?"
She shook her head slowly.
"Okay," he grabbed the door handle. "Well, I'll see you around."
"Goodnight, Sam," she said softly.
"Night."
She watched him go, then shut the door behind him and locked it. Sighing softly, she leaned against it for a long moment, then headed toward the bathroom to take a shower.
** *
It had been over two hours since Sam had last seen Dean, and he had a feeling that his brother was more than trashed at the moment. Sighing, he got out of the chair he was sitting in and began to pace the big expanse of the suite. While he thought, he was surprised to discover that it wasn't exactly Dean that his troubled thoughts were focused on. It was Chloe. Getting his cell phone out of his pocket, he dialed her number and waited for an answer.
She answered on the first ring, not looking up from her computer screen to look at the caller ID. "Hello?"
"Hey Chloe, it's Sam."
She immediately stopped what she was doing. "Hey. What's up?"
He sat down on one of the beds in the room. "Not much...I had a feeling and thought I should call.'
Her eyebrows furrowed a little. "A feeling about what?"
He shrugged, mostly to himself. "I noticed you were avoiding Clark like the plague in your apartment.
Chloe winced. "Observant."
"Sorry," he said quietly. "It's a habit."
"It's a good one," she said just as quietly.
"Are...you okay?"
She paused. "Yeah. I think so."
"You sure?" He played with the end of the comforter on the bed.
She didn't answer for a moment. "Do you wanna grab some coffee?"
"Yeah. Definitely," he nodded. "Dean's not going to be back for a while so..."
She drew in a breath. "All right. The Sundown okay with you?"
"Sounds just fine."
"All right. I'll see you in...half hour?"
"Yeah. Half hour."
"See you then." She hung up the telephone and headed to her room to get dressed.
He hung up as well and put the phone back in his pocket. Exiting the room, he began to walk at a fast pace to the coffee store. Since he didn't have the car, he'd have to hurry.
* * *
Though it was a 24 hour diner, the Sundown Cafe was nearly empty when she stepped inside a little while later. The waitress was leaning against the window to the kitchen, talking to the equally-bored looking cook. She gave them a brief nod and moved to the corner booth, taking a seat and watching out the window for Sam.
Sam arrived ten minutes later, slightly out of breath. Looking around the room, he spotted her quickly and slid into the seat across from her.
"You okay?" Concern flickered over her features.
He nodded. "Had to walk. Dean has the Impala."
"Damn, I'm sorry. I should've just come to the hotel."
"It's alright. I think I needed that walk," he gave her a small smile.
She drew in a breath, returning the smile with a faint one of her own. When the waitress paused at their table, they both ordered coffee and watched as she headed away.
Sam took a deep swallow from his cup before saying anything. "You and Clark have a history?"
A wry smile touched her lips, and she thought about making a crack about if he was really a journalist too. Something about Sam made her want to drop the sarcasm. "You could say that."
"That bad, huh?"
"Not all of it, no," she said softly, curling her hands around her mug.
"Oh yeah?" He took another drink.
"We were best friends for twelve and a half years." She shrugged a little.
"Wow. That's a long time."
Chloe nodded in agreement, dropping her gaze to the table.
"But then you became distanced?"
"The opposite actually," she murmured. "We started dating."
He raised his eyebrows. "That's a twist."
"I should've known better." She smiled grimly and took a long drink of her coffee.
"No one ever knows what's going to happen in those situations."
"I did, actually. We'd been through it all before. Never ended well." She drew in a breath and let it out slowly.
He winced. "I'm sorry."
"Just wasn't meant to be." Chloe shrugged a little, not quite meeting his eyes.
"So that's why you've been avoiding him?"
"Not the most mature way to handle things, I'll admit."
He shrugged. "You need your time."
"It's been over a year," she admitted.
"Not all hearts heal at the same rate."
She looked up at him and saw the sadness in his eyes, feeling a certain kinship with Sam that she couldn't explain. "You still miss her," she said very softly.
He blinked. "What?"
Chloe winced and looked down, guilt sweeping over her. "Jessica."
"Oh," his eyes shot to his coffee mug. "You know about that."
"I'm sorry. Sometimes I open my mouth before I think and stupid things come out."
"No, you're fine," he traced the top of the mug. "It's not so bad anymore."
She dared to glance up at him again. "You're a strong person, Sam."
"I guess," he took another drink.
Chloe was silent for a moment, taking another sip of her own coffee.
"You're strong too. I can tell."
She arched an eyebrow. "How?"
He looked up. "Well, you put up with all those guys at once. You're kind of like their den mother. And...you're selfless."
"I don't know about that last part," she murmured.
"You saved me."
Chloe shifted uncomfortably. "You got shot because people were trying to kill me."
"Still, you didn't have to do that."
Nodding a little, she glanced up at him once more. "Just glad I could help."
"Me too," he murmured.
She smiled a bit and they fell into a companionable silence. "I'm guessing you're a night owl, too."
He laughed softly. "Yeah. I am."
"Funny how things that go bump in the night...tend to go...bump in the night."
He raised an eyebrow. "You know you don't have to strain for conversation."
She looked up at him with a wry smile.
He leaned forward. "So what do you know about us?"
She wondered when he'd get around to asking that particular question. "Quite a bit," she admitted softly. "Started when I found out that Dean was on the FBI's most wanted list post-mortem."
"Yeah," he ran a hand through his hair. "We got that one taken care of, thankfully."
"I know." She nodded a little. "It wasn't easy gathering information on the two of you at first."
"That makes me feel better," he grinned.
She couldn't help but grin back. "Took me awhile to put it all together, but when I did..."
"You knew almost everything."
"Not everything, but...the puzzle came together." She glanced up at him. "I wasn't really all that surprised to learn there were more things out there than I originally thought."
"Such as?"
"Demons. Poltergeists. Werewolves."
"Yeah," he chuckled uneasily. "We're not normal."
"Who is?" she said wryly, leaning back in her seat.
"Touche."
Chloe managed a small smile. "It was comforting to know there were people out there trying to keep the rest of us safe from the stuff I used to have nightmares about as a kid."
He picked up his mug and settled into the seat. "Well, someone has to."
She met his eyes and nodded. "Yeah. Someone does."
He hesitated. "About Dean earlier...I'm sorry for the way he acted."
"Don't be. I get what he meant. Can't save everyone." She lowered her gaze to the table. "If the last few years have taught me anything, it's that even if there were a million people in the League...someone would fall through the cracks. No matter how much we fight, the bad that's out there outweighs the good."
He shook his head. "I don't believe that."
"No?" Her voice was quiet.
"No. Just because we can't save everyone doesn't mean we stop trying. There's a lot of good out there," he put his cup back down and leaned forward. "I don't blame Dean for the way he looks at things right now...but I wish he'd see the good again. And you should see it too."
Chloe looked up and met his eyes, saw the sincerity there and leaned in a little as well. "Maybe we will," she said softly.
"I hope so," he whispered.
* * *
It was nearly three hours later when Sam arrived back at the hotel after meeting with Chloe. He was wide awake, wired from the coffee he'd drank. He caught sight of Dean sitting in a recliner in front of the big-screen TV, blank expression on his face. "Hey. When'd you get back?"
"A while ago," he didn't bother to look over.
He stood there for a moment, trying to decide whether or not Dean was trashed.
"I'm not drunk, in case you're wondering," he said flatly.
"You're not?" He was a little surprised and slowly moved to sit down in the chair across from him.
"No."
"Well...that's good."
"Sure."
He was quiet for a moment. "So I just had coffee with Chloe."
"That's nice."
"What happened earlier, Dean?" His voice was quiet.
He shrugged, continuing to stare at the tv.
"Dude, would you talk to me?"
He slid his gaze to Sam. "What more would you like me to say?"
Sam stared at him for a moment. "What's going on with you, Dean? You didn't even let the League finish explaining what they wanted from us before you stormed outta there."
"I've heard it all before, Sam. And so have you. Why are you falling for it this time?" His voice was tired.
"I'm not..." He shook his head. "Their intentions are in the right place. They have the same general goals we do. Would it be so bad to work together?"
Dean rolled his eyes. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions, Sammy. You know that."
He flinched at his brother's choice of words. "Is that what this is about?" His voice was quiet.
"They keep saying it's worth it to save at least one person from all of this. They have no idea what those demons do to people's minds."
"So...when Meg possessed me, it would've been better if you'd just let me die?" Sam gazed at him intently.
He sighed. "That's different."
He shook his head a bit. "How so?"
"You don't remember most of what happened," he said quietly. "These demons out now...they're different."
Sam looked down at the floor. "I remember killing that man. I remember almost killing Jo. Almost killing you. And Bobby."
Blinking, Dean turned to him. "How come you never told me?"
He shrugged. "Because it wasn't me, Dean."
"I know that."
He was quiet for a moment. "You know that...whatever happened to you when you were...in hell. I'm here for you." He looked up at him.
"Yeah. I know."
"And if you don't wanna talk to me, then...Bobby. Or Ellen. Someone, Dean."
"What makes you think I need to talk to anyone?" anger flashed through his eyes.
Sam didn't respond to the anger. "I'm just saying. If and when the time comes that you do."
"I don't need to talk to anyone. I'm fine."
"Okay."
He turned away again. "You should go to sleep."
A short chuckle escaped him. "Yeah...I don't think that's gonna happen anytime soon."
"Too much coffee?" He guessed.
"About three cups too much," Sam admitted.
Standing, Dean began to make his way to his room. "Lay off the stuff, dude."
A faint smile touched his lips. "Night, Dean."
"Night, Sammy."
Fic 2: Welcome to Existence
Authors: Xtremeroswellian and Did_It_Once
Rated: PG-13
Spoilers: “No Rest for the Wicked" for Supernatural. Nothing terribly spoilery from Smallville if you watched any of sixth or seventh season.
Disclaimer: Not ours. Don’t sue.
Characters: Chloe, Dean, Sam, Bart, Oliver.
Pairing: None yet. Eventual Chlean. Of course. :P
Wordcount: 9603
Welcome to Existence (Part One)
Chloe Sullivan made her way through the basement of the Daily Planet, carrying a manila folder in her hands. She was so used to the crowd and the noise level that neither bothered her. She headed toward her desk, setting the folder down on top of it and sliding into her computer chair, logging on and picking up her mug of coffee.
Grimacing at the cool temperature, she set it down once more, then signed onto the computer. She bit her lower lip, focusing intently on the article she'd been working on for a week now, not even noticing as two familiar figures headed over toward her.
"Ma'am, did you by chance order coffee and a bagel?" One of the men said, sitting down across from her.
She blinked in surprise at the voice and looked up to see Dean Winchester seated on the opposite side of her desk. She looked from him to Sam and back again, more than a tad caught off guard. "I didn't expect to see you guys here."
He shrugged. "We decided to check it out."
She looked over to where he'd set a fresh cup of coffee and a bagel for her and a smile touched her lips. "Well...if that coffee's hot, I'm giving you the official Daily Planet tour."
"Guess we're getting a tour."
Chloe picked up the cup and took a sip, closing her eyes for a moment. "Definitely."
Dean smiled slightly. "Welcome."
She met his eyes and smiled back faintly, standing up. "I didn't really figure I'd ever see you guys again," she admitted.
"Well, we owed you."
Her smile faded a little and she shook her head. "No, you don't," she said quietly.
"Trust me," he stood. "We really do."
She held onto her coffee cup, dropping her gaze from his. "I'll give you the tour and then I'll call the League to let them know you're here to meet them."
"Sam already did that. They know we're here...but that's about it."
Her eyebrows furrowed. "They knew you were coming?"
"Yeah. Didn't anyone tell you?" Sam asked, frowning.
Dean frowned as well. "We called them three days ago."
Chloe looked uneasy, but shrugged it off. "I've been out of the loop." Not offering anything else by way of an explanation, she gave them a quick tour of the Daily Planet.
"Big building," Dean commented when the tour was finished.
"One of the biggest newspaper offices in the country," she said quietly.
"Looks like it."
She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and pulled out her cell phone. "I'm just gonna...give them a call. See if there's someplace they'd like to meet."
He nodded. "Sounds good."
She walked away a few feet and pressed the phone to her ear.
"Queen here."
"It's me."
"Hey, what's going on?"
She heard the concern in his voice and glanced back at the brothers who stood a few feet away. "They're here. Thought you'd like to know."
He cursed softly. "I was going to tell you they were coming--"
"I know. I've been swamped with stuff here at the Planet," she lied.
He sighed. "Right."
"So I've given them the official DP tour. Where do you want to meet them? My place?"
"If you don't mind."
"No, that's fine. I've still got an hour left of my shift here, though. Do you want me to send them on over or would you rather wait?"
"No, we can wait for you to get off. You should be there."
"Okay. We'll meet you there at 9:30."
"Sounds good."
She hesitated a moment. "Who all's going to be there?"
"Everyone. They all know these two are coming."
Chloe tensed a little, but reminded herself that it wasn't really news. "All right. See you soon." She hung up the phone.
"What's the plan?" Dean asked, walking over to her.
She turned to face him. "Rendaveuz at my place, 9:30." She glanced over at Sam. "You guys hungry?"
Sam shrugged. "I could go for some food."
"I'd come with, but...I've still got an hour of work ahead. There's a great little place across the street called the Sundown," she told them, glancing up at Dean.
He nodded. "We'll meet you there when you get off."
"Okay. Have a nice dinner. And...thanks for the coffee," she said, holding up the now-empty cup.
"No problem. Figured you'd need it."
She caught his eyes and smiled a little, watching them head away.
"Wow. I didn't expect that to go as well as it did," Dean murmured as they walked toward the elevator.
"Kinda weird no one told her we were coming."
"Yeah. You'd think since they sent her for us..."
"Right." Sam frowned and pressed the button for the main floor.
Dean shook his head. "Weird."
* * *
An hour and a half later, Chloe led them up the stairs to her apartment on the third floor. She'd seen Oliver's motorcycle in the parking lot, so she knew the others were already there, as well, and didn't bother pulling out her keys. She simply offered the Winchester's a smile and opened the front door.
Dean was shocked to see the men already in there. "Gee, I feel late."
She smiled faintly and leaned back against the wall.
"Oliver Queen," the blonde said, holding his hand out to Dean.
He took it and shook his hand. "Dean Winchester, this is my brother, Sam."
Sam nodded. "Hi."
"Nice to meet you both." He smiled and shook Sam's hand, then motioned to the others. "I believe you've met Bart, already?"
"Yeah. He vanished into thin air," Dean gazed at the younger man.
"Not exactly." Bart grinned. "I just moved so fast you didn't see me leave."
"Same diff."
He shrugged, still grinning, and flickered his gaze to Chloe.
"And this is Victor." Oliver introduced, nodding toward the young man. "And A.C."
Dean shook the men's hands, Sam following suit. "So I'm guessing all of you have some sort of power."
At that moment the door swung open again. "Sorry I'm late." A man dressed in a blue suit with a red cape suddenly appeared. "Bruce is running late, too."
Oliver nodded slightly. "Dean, Sam, this is..."
"Clark Kent." He turned and shook their hands.
"A.K.A. Superman?" Dean gazed up at the taller man. "Wow. Meeting the Big Blue himself."
He smiled a bit, glancing around. "We've heard a lot about you two. Glad you could make it."
He ran a hand over his head awkwardly. "Er, yeah, our pleasure."
"And ours." Oliver smiled and motioned to the couch and chairs. "Why don't we all sit down?" he suggested.
Sensing Dean's growing discomfort, Sam took the lead over to the couch and sitting down, his brother followed quickly after.
Everyone else sat down, as well. Except Chloe, who remained by the door.
"So everyone here is part of the Justice League," Oliver began, glancing around at his friends. "And a couple who haven't made it yet. Bruce Wayne, and Dinah Lance. Not sure Dinah's going to make it. Apparently something came up in Star City."
"She need backup?" Clark asked with a hint of worry.
"She's got it covered. She'll let us know if she needs us."
Sam leaned forward. "So this league of superheroes...wants my brother and me to join up with their team? Why?"
"Have you heard of a man named Lex Luthor?" Clark asked quietly.
He nodded. "Yeah. Big business guru that's ruthless."
Bart nodded, as well. "His latest project involves using demons."
"You're telling me a bunch of superheroes can't handle some demons?" Dean spoke up, looking around.
"The problem is trying not to kill the humans being possessed by the demons," Victor explained.
"Not to mention trying to keep human crime rate as low as possible," A.C. added.
"I hate to tell you this, but demons tend to ride humans hard and then leave them high and dry," Dean turned his gaze to Victor. "It's almost a guarantee that any exorcism you perform will leave the host dead."
"But not always, right?" Bart spoke up. "Once in awhile one lives."
"That once is usually next to none. Trust me."
"One is always worth it," Clark said quietly.
Dean's eyes grew dark. "I beg to differ on that."
Sam spoke up before Dean could go further. "You guys could easily look up the exorcisms and perform them yourselves. So why do you need us?"
Oliver shot a pleading look over at Chloe, who sighed softly and pushed herself away from the wall, moving to sit down across from the brothers. "Because it's not just about Lex building a demon army. Some of us have been dealing with weird stuff for a long time, but...not evil spirits and not poltergeists and demons and witches and spells. There just aren't enough of us to go around." Her voice was soft.
"Basically, you want us to be your guard dogs against these things."
"Dean," Sam gave him a look.
She flinched a little, withdrawing.
"Not exactly. We want you to share your experience with us. The more of us there are out there fighting evil--all the different types of evil--the more good we can do. The more lives we can save," Oliver said, glancing between them.
Dean stood. "I don't need this 'we all need to fight for the greater good of man!' speech. You vigilante types think you can save everyone if you get the right people involved. Well I have news for you. You can't save everyone."
He walked to the door and opened it. "Thanks, but no. Sam, I'm going to go find a bar."
Sam winced when the door slammed shut, then turned to the others. "God, sorry."
The members of the Justice League sat in stunned silence for a long moment, with the exception of Chloe, who simply looked weary.
"Think he'll reconsider?" Bart joked.
Sam stared at him, stunned. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't joke about my brother like that."
"When Bart doesn't know what else to say, he makes stupid jokes," Victor said, shooting the younger man a look.
"Hey." Bart frowned, then looked at Sam. "Sorry."
"It's okay just...Dean's been through a lot."
Chloe lifted her gaze to look at him, her eyes intent, though she remained silent.
"I think you guys are trying to do a really good thing to. Saving people has always been important to us," he took a breath. "I accept your invitation to be a part of the league, but if Dean doesn't, I can't be a part of it without him."
"So what can we do to convince your brother?" Oliver asked seriously.
"I'll talk to him. I don't think he'd listen to you."
He nodded slightly. "All right. Take your time. We don't have to have an answer right away." He rose to his feet.
Sam stood as well. "It was nice to meet you."
Oliver reached out and shook Sam's hand. "Speaking of, where are the two of you staying while you're here in the city?"
He shrugged. "Haven't looked for a cheap motel yet."
"In that case--" He pulled a key out of his back pocket and handed it to Sam. "Penthouse Suite at Queen Hotel and Casino. Since we're the reason you're here, it's on me."
He pushed it away, shaking his head. "We can't accept this."
Oliver smiled a bit. "It's my hotel, Sam. It doesn't cost me anything. Wouldn't dream of handing out charity. I've been told the Winchester's wouldn't go for it." He glanced at Chloe.
He took the key reluctantly. "Thanks."
He nodded and headed for the door, A.C., Bart, and Victor right behind him. "See you around, Sam."
Chloe didn't have to look up to know Clark was looking at her. She stood up. "Have a good night, guys." She followed them toward the door.
"I'll call you when I have an answer," Sam said, following them to the door.
Oliver nodded and disappeared into the hallway.
"Goodnight, Clark." Chloe's voice left no room for discussion.
Sighing softly, he headed out the door, as well, glancing back at her, but when she didn't look up, he headed away.
Sam watched him go, then looked at Chloe. "Thanks for the tour today."
She glanced up, as though surprised he was still there. She smiled a little. "No problem."
"I'll call you, okay?"
"Sure." She hesitated a moment. "Sam?"
He stopped. "Yeah?"
"Is he okay?" she asked quietly, meeting his eyes.
He shook his head. "I don't know."
Chloe gazed at him for a moment, looking unsettled, and like she wanted to say something else, but she restrained herself. "Thanks for at least making the drive and listening."
He studied her face for a moment. "You're welcome. Was there...something else you wanted to talk about?"
She shook her head slowly.
"Okay," he grabbed the door handle. "Well, I'll see you around."
"Goodnight, Sam," she said softly.
"Night."
She watched him go, then shut the door behind him and locked it. Sighing softly, she leaned against it for a long moment, then headed toward the bathroom to take a shower.
** *
It had been over two hours since Sam had last seen Dean, and he had a feeling that his brother was more than trashed at the moment. Sighing, he got out of the chair he was sitting in and began to pace the big expanse of the suite. While he thought, he was surprised to discover that it wasn't exactly Dean that his troubled thoughts were focused on. It was Chloe. Getting his cell phone out of his pocket, he dialed her number and waited for an answer.
She answered on the first ring, not looking up from her computer screen to look at the caller ID. "Hello?"
"Hey Chloe, it's Sam."
She immediately stopped what she was doing. "Hey. What's up?"
He sat down on one of the beds in the room. "Not much...I had a feeling and thought I should call.'
Her eyebrows furrowed a little. "A feeling about what?"
He shrugged, mostly to himself. "I noticed you were avoiding Clark like the plague in your apartment.
Chloe winced. "Observant."
"Sorry," he said quietly. "It's a habit."
"It's a good one," she said just as quietly.
"Are...you okay?"
She paused. "Yeah. I think so."
"You sure?" He played with the end of the comforter on the bed.
She didn't answer for a moment. "Do you wanna grab some coffee?"
"Yeah. Definitely," he nodded. "Dean's not going to be back for a while so..."
She drew in a breath. "All right. The Sundown okay with you?"
"Sounds just fine."
"All right. I'll see you in...half hour?"
"Yeah. Half hour."
"See you then." She hung up the telephone and headed to her room to get dressed.
He hung up as well and put the phone back in his pocket. Exiting the room, he began to walk at a fast pace to the coffee store. Since he didn't have the car, he'd have to hurry.
* * *
Though it was a 24 hour diner, the Sundown Cafe was nearly empty when she stepped inside a little while later. The waitress was leaning against the window to the kitchen, talking to the equally-bored looking cook. She gave them a brief nod and moved to the corner booth, taking a seat and watching out the window for Sam.
Sam arrived ten minutes later, slightly out of breath. Looking around the room, he spotted her quickly and slid into the seat across from her.
"You okay?" Concern flickered over her features.
He nodded. "Had to walk. Dean has the Impala."
"Damn, I'm sorry. I should've just come to the hotel."
"It's alright. I think I needed that walk," he gave her a small smile.
She drew in a breath, returning the smile with a faint one of her own. When the waitress paused at their table, they both ordered coffee and watched as she headed away.
Sam took a deep swallow from his cup before saying anything. "You and Clark have a history?"
A wry smile touched her lips, and she thought about making a crack about if he was really a journalist too. Something about Sam made her want to drop the sarcasm. "You could say that."
"That bad, huh?"
"Not all of it, no," she said softly, curling her hands around her mug.
"Oh yeah?" He took another drink.
"We were best friends for twelve and a half years." She shrugged a little.
"Wow. That's a long time."
Chloe nodded in agreement, dropping her gaze to the table.
"But then you became distanced?"
"The opposite actually," she murmured. "We started dating."
He raised his eyebrows. "That's a twist."
"I should've known better." She smiled grimly and took a long drink of her coffee.
"No one ever knows what's going to happen in those situations."
"I did, actually. We'd been through it all before. Never ended well." She drew in a breath and let it out slowly.
He winced. "I'm sorry."
"Just wasn't meant to be." Chloe shrugged a little, not quite meeting his eyes.
"So that's why you've been avoiding him?"
"Not the most mature way to handle things, I'll admit."
He shrugged. "You need your time."
"It's been over a year," she admitted.
"Not all hearts heal at the same rate."
She looked up at him and saw the sadness in his eyes, feeling a certain kinship with Sam that she couldn't explain. "You still miss her," she said very softly.
He blinked. "What?"
Chloe winced and looked down, guilt sweeping over her. "Jessica."
"Oh," his eyes shot to his coffee mug. "You know about that."
"I'm sorry. Sometimes I open my mouth before I think and stupid things come out."
"No, you're fine," he traced the top of the mug. "It's not so bad anymore."
She dared to glance up at him again. "You're a strong person, Sam."
"I guess," he took another drink.
Chloe was silent for a moment, taking another sip of her own coffee.
"You're strong too. I can tell."
She arched an eyebrow. "How?"
He looked up. "Well, you put up with all those guys at once. You're kind of like their den mother. And...you're selfless."
"I don't know about that last part," she murmured.
"You saved me."
Chloe shifted uncomfortably. "You got shot because people were trying to kill me."
"Still, you didn't have to do that."
Nodding a little, she glanced up at him once more. "Just glad I could help."
"Me too," he murmured.
She smiled a bit and they fell into a companionable silence. "I'm guessing you're a night owl, too."
He laughed softly. "Yeah. I am."
"Funny how things that go bump in the night...tend to go...bump in the night."
He raised an eyebrow. "You know you don't have to strain for conversation."
She looked up at him with a wry smile.
He leaned forward. "So what do you know about us?"
She wondered when he'd get around to asking that particular question. "Quite a bit," she admitted softly. "Started when I found out that Dean was on the FBI's most wanted list post-mortem."
"Yeah," he ran a hand through his hair. "We got that one taken care of, thankfully."
"I know." She nodded a little. "It wasn't easy gathering information on the two of you at first."
"That makes me feel better," he grinned.
She couldn't help but grin back. "Took me awhile to put it all together, but when I did..."
"You knew almost everything."
"Not everything, but...the puzzle came together." She glanced up at him. "I wasn't really all that surprised to learn there were more things out there than I originally thought."
"Such as?"
"Demons. Poltergeists. Werewolves."
"Yeah," he chuckled uneasily. "We're not normal."
"Who is?" she said wryly, leaning back in her seat.
"Touche."
Chloe managed a small smile. "It was comforting to know there were people out there trying to keep the rest of us safe from the stuff I used to have nightmares about as a kid."
He picked up his mug and settled into the seat. "Well, someone has to."
She met his eyes and nodded. "Yeah. Someone does."
He hesitated. "About Dean earlier...I'm sorry for the way he acted."
"Don't be. I get what he meant. Can't save everyone." She lowered her gaze to the table. "If the last few years have taught me anything, it's that even if there were a million people in the League...someone would fall through the cracks. No matter how much we fight, the bad that's out there outweighs the good."
He shook his head. "I don't believe that."
"No?" Her voice was quiet.
"No. Just because we can't save everyone doesn't mean we stop trying. There's a lot of good out there," he put his cup back down and leaned forward. "I don't blame Dean for the way he looks at things right now...but I wish he'd see the good again. And you should see it too."
Chloe looked up and met his eyes, saw the sincerity there and leaned in a little as well. "Maybe we will," she said softly.
"I hope so," he whispered.
* * *
It was nearly three hours later when Sam arrived back at the hotel after meeting with Chloe. He was wide awake, wired from the coffee he'd drank. He caught sight of Dean sitting in a recliner in front of the big-screen TV, blank expression on his face. "Hey. When'd you get back?"
"A while ago," he didn't bother to look over.
He stood there for a moment, trying to decide whether or not Dean was trashed.
"I'm not drunk, in case you're wondering," he said flatly.
"You're not?" He was a little surprised and slowly moved to sit down in the chair across from him.
"No."
"Well...that's good."
"Sure."
He was quiet for a moment. "So I just had coffee with Chloe."
"That's nice."
"What happened earlier, Dean?" His voice was quiet.
He shrugged, continuing to stare at the tv.
"Dude, would you talk to me?"
He slid his gaze to Sam. "What more would you like me to say?"
Sam stared at him for a moment. "What's going on with you, Dean? You didn't even let the League finish explaining what they wanted from us before you stormed outta there."
"I've heard it all before, Sam. And so have you. Why are you falling for it this time?" His voice was tired.
"I'm not..." He shook his head. "Their intentions are in the right place. They have the same general goals we do. Would it be so bad to work together?"
Dean rolled his eyes. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions, Sammy. You know that."
He flinched at his brother's choice of words. "Is that what this is about?" His voice was quiet.
"They keep saying it's worth it to save at least one person from all of this. They have no idea what those demons do to people's minds."
"So...when Meg possessed me, it would've been better if you'd just let me die?" Sam gazed at him intently.
He sighed. "That's different."
He shook his head a bit. "How so?"
"You don't remember most of what happened," he said quietly. "These demons out now...they're different."
Sam looked down at the floor. "I remember killing that man. I remember almost killing Jo. Almost killing you. And Bobby."
Blinking, Dean turned to him. "How come you never told me?"
He shrugged. "Because it wasn't me, Dean."
"I know that."
He was quiet for a moment. "You know that...whatever happened to you when you were...in hell. I'm here for you." He looked up at him.
"Yeah. I know."
"And if you don't wanna talk to me, then...Bobby. Or Ellen. Someone, Dean."
"What makes you think I need to talk to anyone?" anger flashed through his eyes.
Sam didn't respond to the anger. "I'm just saying. If and when the time comes that you do."
"I don't need to talk to anyone. I'm fine."
"Okay."
He turned away again. "You should go to sleep."
A short chuckle escaped him. "Yeah...I don't think that's gonna happen anytime soon."
"Too much coffee?" He guessed.
"About three cups too much," Sam admitted.
Standing, Dean began to make his way to his room. "Lay off the stuff, dude."
A faint smile touched his lips. "Night, Dean."
"Night, Sammy."