This is Not the End
This is not the End
By AshtakRa
Story: This is Not the End
Pairing: Oliver/Clark
Rating: M for the moment
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Warning: MM slash
Spoilers: none
Summary: Oliver is in trouble, not so unusual really. Of course this interrupts Clark’s first good day off. But then Clark realises that for Oliver Queen he would do just about anything. As for Ollie, just what kind of message should he leave to his nearest and dearest?
Chapter One
OQOQOQOQ
Such a small thing that chip in the screen, but Oliver knew it would at some point hasten his imminent death. It made him detest the glass flaw; hate it like he had never hated anything in his life. The chip represented for him all that had ever gone wrong and caused him pain. The injuries he had suffered; the obstacles in his path…the death of his parents.
“I hate you,” he whispered at it.
In response it just crinkled loudly and grew a little bigger. Beyond the cockpit glass all he could see was hazy blue water and the white canopy of ice. Through that relatively thin sheet of ice was escape, but it may as well have been a kilometre thick. The tourniquet around his injured leg was already soaked in red. There was strangely little pain from below the knee where the kickboard had pinned his shin against the seat.
Picking up his Green Arrow shades he placed them on the dashboard facing him and activated the recorder. “I swore I would never do this,” he muttered darkly. Still there was little choice and not much time. “Hi guys, this is Ollie - and I guess this is my last message.”
CKCKCKCKCKCK
The lake was perfect even at this time of year and for once Clark could sit back and take it all in. No more zoners, no Lex and the only thing to finish was his training…surely though a few weeks would not matter. Chloe sighed next to him, also enjoying the break from one emergency to the other. As happy as she seemed these days he still saw that haunted look in her eyes now and then. Her death and then back to life experience would leave anyone with nightmares.
Today was for relaxing and he grinned as he let the sun’s rays soak in. Closing his eyes Clark let the simple pleasure of breeze across skin to lull him into a half-sleep. This naturally was interrupted by a sudden gust followed by a spray of sand and water.
“What?” he started to ask but instantly fell silent as he saw Bart standing before them. It was not just the suddenness of Bart’s appearance, that he was used to, it was Bart’s physical appearance. He was obviously exhausted, eyes red-rimmed, hair plastered back with his clothes in a state of disrepair. The expression of the young man though was the worst and it made Clark’s stomach clench in ominous fear.
“Oliver,” said Bart breathlessly. With that one name Clark’s blood ran cold and his entire world shrunk to this one moment. If something was to happen to one of the team Clark had always imagined it would Oliver breaking the news, not that he was the news. Realistically he knew that since Oliver had no extra powers then he was the most vulnerable - but reality and Oliver Queen had never really been the same. Especially for Clark ever since they had first met.
Bart had recovered a little and next words made Clark relax a little, but only a very small amount. “He’s alive, we hope - but we need you Clark. You gotta come right now.”
In the time he had known Bart he had never seen him so serious. With a quick glance at Chloe who nodded he indicated to Bart to lead the way. The two supersped away, across the lake and into the mountains. They were going north and even though it could not hurt him Clark felt the temperature drop until it was well below freezing. They entered Alaska and finally came to stop at an abandoned outpost in the artic coastal plain.
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The entire cabin shuddered and reminded Oliver that he did not have long before it was breached. He focused on the shades and had to shake his head slightly to maintain his line of thought. Either through concussion, blood loss or lack of oxygen his movements and thoughts had become sluggish. Oliver knew with his recent luck it was probably due to all three.
“Impulse, like the others you’ll be taken care of but I need to tell you how sorry I am.” He had already left a message for Aquaman and Cyborg, continually reminding himself not to use real names since anyone might find the message. “I promised to be there for you amigo.” Oliver grinned self-consciously at using one of Bart’s favourite terms. “Guess I’m breaking that promise - but stay with the team and take care of each other. The world still needs you.” His grin faded as he noticed the crack grow a little bigger. “I know that you always feel like you have so much to live up to - but the man who became impulse is already a hero, just you remember that.”
Oliver’s eyes misted over and he gulped hard, refusing to give in to despair. Talking this way to the people who had become his family made him want to bawl like a three year old and scream at the unfairness of it all. Yet that would not be a fitting end for the Green Arrow, and certainly would not be what he wanted as the last image they had of him.
He wiped away an errant tear and winced at the movement. His leg may have been numb but cracked ribs and what he suspected was a fractured arm provided enough pain to keep him aware of even the slightest change in positioning. “Tell Lois that I always wanted the best for her. Tell her that my biggest regret is not leaving but not telling her everything. She deserves better than that.”
His vision blurred for a moment as a wave of nausea hit him. Deep breaths and keeping rigidly still seemed to ward off the desire to vomit but left him more exhausted than ever. Oliver could not stop yet - he still had one person left. The severe cold had initially made him shiver but that had stopped and Oliver Queen had done enough survival courses to know that it was not a good thing.
“Boyscout.” Oliver’s expression changed to one of affection. He had left Clark to last because even now he expected the brunette to come and save him. His shallow breathing and the water starting to dribble through the cockpit crack told him even that last hope was evaporating. With shortened breaths he tried to get through his final message to the man who meant the most to him. When it came down to it Oliver Queen was not going to lie to himself in his last moments.
“I’m not sure if you know it Boyscout - but I pretty much fell for you back in Metropolis.” He paused to get some valuable oxygen and did not bother to wipe away the tear this time. “And my feelings haven’t changed. In a different world - in a better world, there would have been time.” The crack extended again and almost reached the edge of the windscreen. Oliver knew when that happened it would collapse. “We never do seem to have enough time do we?”
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Victor laid out the map before Clark and indicated the search zone he had worked out. “Knowing his last heading and where the missile struck he has to be in this area.”
“Missile?” asked Clark. Victor looked to Bart who was lying on the floor trying to recover some of the energy he had expanded in the last hour. Although his eyes were closed Bart responded to Victor’s unasked question.
“No time to brief him on the way - we were kind of travelling faster than sound.” Victor said nothing as he realised the logic of that. Bart had arrived with Clark much faster than he had anticipated. He had projected that it would take one hour ten minutes for Bart to get to Clark and return; instead they had been back in forty-five minutes. Even for Impulse that was impressive.
Time to fill Clark in.
“We were infiltrating a facility in the arctic when we realised it was an elaborate trap. We figured with Lex behind bars the 33.1 facilities would be easier to get to - we were wrong. They had three tactical teams waiting for us with advanced weapons specifically designed to take us out. Oliver, with his usual bravado, took the jet to lead them away so we could escape.” He said it almost without emotion but the next made his voice catch. “It worked, kind of. We escaped but he did not. A missile took out his wing and the last we got was a mayday from these co-ordinates.” Indicating a point on the map Victor allowed himself to show a moment of fatigue and rubbed his eyes.
Clark studied the map for a moment. “Most of this area is ice-shelf. Has A.C. been able to go in underneath?”
Victor gave Clark an approving look. He often forgot that of all Clark’s abilities it was his quick thinking that often made the difference between success and failure. “He’s made a few sweeps but even for Aquaman that water is too cold - he can only stay down there for a short time.”
The man in question stepped forward. A.C. was wrapped in a space blanket and was shivering slightly. “I stayed as long as I could but if he’s stuck on the surface or just below that’s a white plane on white ice - we need your eyes Clark.”
Handing over an ear piece Victor clapped Clark on the shoulder. “And your strength and speed. Even if he’s not trapped under water… with these temperatures his time’s almost up. Bart’s faster than you but he’s not immune to the cold. We have a satellite that will be repositioned in twenty minutes but even that may be too long.”
The last went unheard as Clark had already left in a gust of wind. Victor felt eyes upon him and looked up at A.C. “You’ve done all you can Vic, you know that.”
“Yeah - but Ollie would have found a way to do more.”
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“Remember that Boyscout, remember me.” Oliver turned off the recording and slipped the shades into the front of his suit. The angle made his arm throb in protest but it was worth it to make sure they got the messages. The crack had now almost reached the edge and only millimetres remained. Other lines snaked out from the original chip and the crinkling of the entire windscreen became audible. This was it knew Oliver and tried to find his centre. He wanted to face this like everything else: bravely and with resolve.
Water started to squirt through the cracks and some splashed onto Oliver. He cursed and shook it off. Why the hell did it have to taunt him like this, why couldn’t it just break and get it over with. Taking great gulps of air Oliver tried to get his leg out one more time and almost screamed at the effort. The only thing he managed to do was to tear the wound a little more and make fresh blood flow. Just as he was about to lament the latest setback the windscreen imploded and the icy arctic waters smashed Oliver in the face, filling the cockpit in seconds.
The rush of water and sudden pressure, combined with the deluge of sound made Oliver scream in anger and frustration. While he may have accepted there was no way out he wasn’t just about to give up. Death would have to drag him kicking from this life. Stopping his noise in order to save what air was left in his lungs Oliver closed his eyes and tried to not let his last moments be panicked and angry. A last stab at death to let it know he was not afraid.
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Standing on the mountain Clark surveyed the plain below him. It was not land of course but an icesheet. If Ollie had been heading this way and was hit then Clark knew he would not try to get over the mountain but make a landing on the ice. The problem was there was no blemish to indicate wreckage for as far as Clark could see, and he could see a very long way.
“Come on Oliver, where are you?” The fact that he might fail hit Clark like a shot of kryptonite and he was surprised at his own feelings. He had always meant to call Oliver and not just to join the team. From the very first moment they had met Clark had recognised there had been something between them. It was not like what he had felt for Lana or anyone for that matter. It was a spark that at first he had played as rivalry but then it was still there when there was nothing left to rival over.
Then there was the trust. Clark may have entrusted his secret to others but never as fast or as whole-hearted as he did Oliver. There was an unspoken connection that had led from just keeping the other’s secrets to working together and putting your life in their hands. Clark knew that right now Oliver would be trusting for him to come to the rescue; he wasn’t going to let him down - he couldn’t.
His x-ray vision wasn’t much help from this elevation. The ice hardly registered but there was just too much to see below it. The ocean bed was littered with heavy metals, shipwrecks and things he couldn’t even identify. One of those wreckages was Oliver but from up here Clark could not tell what depth they all were. Something A.C. said tickled at the back of Clark’s brain - Aquaman had searched but had no luck because… with a start Clark remembered and sped off towards the ice-shelf.
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The icy water had removed almost all of Oliver’s pain as his body went numb. The first brush of his lungs burning made him struggle to get free again but it was no use. His leg was stuck, he was drowning - as his vision flared and then darkened from oxygen deprivation Oliver Queen finally admitted that his time was up.
CKCKCKCKCK
Reaching the edge of the ice shelf Clark did not even hesitate and dived in, his body punched through the thin ice and he swam swiftly to the bottom. The increase in pressure did not even register as he looked up. The ocean bed was not too deep and he could still see the great expanse of white and light blue that was the ice-shelf above him. A.C. had it right - the plane would be white on white, invisible to the human eye or whatever A.C. qualified as. With Clark’s vision however the plane should show up like a piece of shrapnel on an x-ray photo, and from beneath there should be nothing else to muddy the view.
OQOQOQ
Oliver’s body finally betrayed him. His lungs’ need to breath overcame his mind’s knowledge that he would drown. As the sea water entered his oesophagus it made him cough out the last bit of air. The stab of cold in his chest was followed by almost instant blackness. Oliver went limp. His arms slowly rose and his head swayed with the water. An errant bubble escaped his nose and popped up and over an open but unseeing eye.
CKCK
There! The jet’s fuselage was as bright to him as the sun through his x-ray vision. It was wedged just under the ice, its tail still encased. Clark crouched and sprang up from the bottom. The super jump combined with his need meant he did not swim through the water but fly. He got to the plane in only a couple of seconds and looked in through the smashed cockpit. Oliver was there and for a moment Clark thought he was too late. The man looked dead, his eyes and mouth open with his whole body limp. Then Clark heard it, a heartbeat.
In less than a second Clark tore the cockpit apart, ripping the entire nose off and thereby freeing Oliver’s leg. He grabbed Oliver around the chest and swam out and up. To avoid risking further injury to Oliver, Clark used his heat vision to blast a hole in the ice. In an explosion of fire and ice Clark leapt out of the water, an unconscious and not breathing Oliver in his arms. Hovering for only a moment to orientate himself Clark flew off towards the rest of the team.
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Victor was standing at the door looking across the mountains when he spied something red far off on the horizon. In only a few seconds it streaked in, resolving itself as Clark flying in with Oliver. Flying! Now Victor realised Clark really had received the lion’s share when it came to superpowers.
He landed a little unsteadily and barged into the hut. Inside Bart bounded up. “Clark! We hadn’t heard anything - you got him.”
“He’s not breathing,” responded Clark as he put Oliver on the table. “We need to start mouth to mouth.”
“Let me,” said A.C. “I can exhale almost pure oxygen, and I do have a little experience in this.” He gave Oliver a quick check before giving him a quick few breaths. There was no response so he turned Oliver on his side and compressed his chest, water spewed from Oliver’s mouth but he still wasn’t breathing. A.C. kept up the mouth to mouth as the others stood back.
“I wasn’t quick enough,” muttered Clark. “Just a minute earlier and he’d be okay.”
“If it wasn’t for you we wouldn’t have him at all,” said Victor.
They were interrupted by coughing and the sound of retching. “Got him!” yelled A.C. as he helped Oliver back onto his side. He slapped Oliver on the back few times as he coughed out the remaining water. “Easy Ollie, just relax we’ve got you.”
A set of very confused eyes opened and tried to focus on the men before him. “Everyone okay?” Oliver rasped out. Victor chuckled at that. It was so typical of Oliver to always think of the team first.
“Everyone’s fine Oliver,” answered Clark. “It’s just you that thinks landing in the Arctic’s a good idea.”
“Clark?” croaked Oliver and reached out a shaking hand. “You’re really here?”
As Victor watched Clark did not hesitate to take the hand and move in closer. “Yeah I’m here - had to return the favour of saving you didn’t I?”
Seeing the emotions flowing across Oliver’s face Victor knew those two had to have a serious conversation sometime soon - but he also knew that although Oliver was conscious he was not out of the woods. “Clark” he interrupted. “Ollie needs treatment and seeing you have the best mode of transport.” The other occupants looked at Victor speculatively. “He flew here.”
“You can fly?” exclaimed Bart. “Way to go amigo.”
Clark shrugged and helped Oliver to sit up as A.C. put the space blanket around Oliver’s shoulders. He may have breathing again but his lips were still blue and his skin a clammy white. “I can now - where to?”
Victor hesitated. Several options were possible but perhaps he could kill two birds with one stone. “Metropolis - his apartment. I’ll have one of our doctors meet you there.”
“Are you sure?”
“If Oliver Queen checks into a hospital with these injuries how long until Lex’s cronies put two and two together - besides in Metropolis you can keep an eye on him.”
Clark paused for a moment and gave Victor a very hard look. Caught thought Victor but then sometimes people needed to be pushed in the right direction. “Okay - but what about you guys?”
“Hey - do I get a say in this?” said Oliver weakly.
“No!” said Clark and Victor simultaneously. To show how injured he must be Oliver just nodded meekly.
“Don’t worry about us Clark - just get him there.”
Clark hoisted Oliver up who obediently put an arm around the brunette’s neck. They all moved outside and Clark looked up into the sky. “What?” asked Victor, “You waiting on some magic words - like up, up and a-.”
“No!” interrupted Clark. “Just getting used to this power - never have been good with heights.”
“Should I be worried?” asked Oliver.
In answer Clark smiled, crouched slightly and bounded into the air. In seconds he had streaked off to the south.
“Metropolis huh?” said A.C. who walked up and put a hand on Victor’s shoulder. “You know for someone with more hardware than a space shuttle there’s a pretty big heart in there.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
The blonde broke into a huge grin, the first one today. “You know with your matchmaking skills you’re wasted on fighting crime.”
“At least he has a back-up plan for when we run out of enemies,” chipped in a smirking Bart.
“Are we done?” said Victor angrily. Two very cheeky expressions told him this could go on for some time. “Fine! But just remember that with Oliver off the market - we just became the most eligible super-heroes in the world.”
Grins turned into thoughtful leers and Victor laughed loudly. He loved these guys, he really did but sometimes they were like a bunch of school boys.
“Now let’s get out of here - I’ve had enough cold to last a lifetime.”
Tbc…
AshtakRa Masterfile
Next: Chapter 2