The Trouble with Love Chapter 5
The ride to Smallville from Metropolis seemed longer than usual. Connor looked like he was going to bolt from his seat. Oliver glanced from the latest business reports to his son and smiled. All he could talk about was spending the day in Smallville. Connor already told him everything he was going to tell his Aunt Chloe, and the boy was so excited he could barely stay still.
“Remember what I said, Connor?”
Connor nodded his head. “I promise I won’t annoy her cousin Lois.”
There was something in Connor’s expression that made Oliver believe his son wasn’t telling the truth. The limousine stopped in front of the Talon and Connor gave his dad a quick hug before he grabbed his bag and opened the door. “Love you, dad!”
“I love you, too.” Oliver replied, though he was sure Connor didn’t hear him. His son was already making his way inside the coffee shop. “Mac, can you drive to the Kent Farm please?”
“Yes, Mr. Queen.” His driver replied, and he spent the next few minutes thinking of what he needed to discuss with Clark.
Inside the apartment, Connor was greeted with an enthusiastic hug from Chloe and Connor stuck his tongue out at Lois, who returned the gesture behind her cousin’s back. “How was your trip?”
“It was excellent, you should’ve been there!” Connor rambled on about his trip while he dug something out of his bag. “Here, I got this for you.”
Chloe was touched at the gesture as she saw a small silver coloured bag. She opened it and found a beaded bracelet that looked handmade. “Connor, you shouldn’t have. Thank you!”
Connor blushed as he watched Chloe put the bracelet on. “Nah, it was nothing.”
Chloe hugged him again. “You have some pictures to show me?”
“Yup, but I also got this for your cousin.” Connor replied as he took a small box and waved it to Lois.
Lois looked at him suspiciously before she walked over and took the box. “Thanks, kid.”
“I saw it and it reminded me of you.” Connor replied cheekily and Lois narrowed her eyes as she opened the box. “It’s a pen holder.”
“Thank you for clarifying that.” Lois dryly replied as she took out a wooden hippopotamus.
Chloe tried not to smile as Connor and Lois gave each other equally fake smiles. “Well, much as I would love to continue this little chit chat, I have to go and see Clark.”
At the mention of Clark’s name, Connor’s eyes brightened as he took another package from his bag. “Can you give this to him, please? I wanted to thank him for helping me with my science homework last term.”
“No problem, kid.”
“Thanks.” Connor replied as he took a CD from his bag and focused his attention on Chloe.
Much as she hated to admit it, she had to hand it to Oliver, he raised a decent kid, as annoying the brat was. She opened her car door when she stopped and remembered her gift. “I remind him of a hippopotamus?”
_*_*
To say that Clark wasn’t happy with his presence was an understatement, but the two came to some sort of unspoken agreement. If the issue was about Lex Luthor or anything else that can endanger the world, then they have something to speak about.
“Are you sure?”
Oliver nodded. “It seems our dear President had a new lab set up, just outside Tijuana. It doesn’t look like the usual 33.1 labs; it looks more like a training camp.”
“A training camp?” Clark asked and Oliver opened the folder Victor gave him the night before.
“These are just some of the pictures he and AC managed to acquire. From the outside, it looks like a boot camp, maybe that’s why it’s outside on such a popular destination. But inside, it’s a different story.”
“Are they there on their own free will?”
“It’s hard to say.” Oliver replied. “AC said it doesn’t look like they were being held captives, there’s nothing on their bodies to indicate that there’s some sort of device trapping them there. So it’s either they are there on their own free will, they could have a hidden transmitter not letting them leave or they could have been brainwashed.”
Clark nodded his head. He briefly remembered the GPS chip buried in Chloe’s shoulders. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they implanted a chip on them. They’ve done it before.”
“Victor used the new kryptonite reader, and there’s a vast amount of green K, there’s another mineral signature that’s similar but we don’t know what. We can only assume his scientists managed to manipulate the rocks, into what? We don’t know.”
“What’s your plan?”
“I have to gather more intel. I hate to admit it, but Lex isn’t stupid. I want to make sure we have all the details in regards to the people in the camp before we make our move. I’m assuming you’d be out because of the green k?”
Clark just nodded. “I’ll be on standby, in case something happens, just get yourselves out far enough for me to come and get you out if needed.”
“Well, what do we have here?” Lois asked as she approached the two men. “What is this, a meeting of superheroes anonymous?”
“Lois.” Oliver greeted which Lois returned with a glare.
“Queen jr. Got this for you.” Lois said to Clark as she handed him a small package.
Clark opened it up and grinned when he took out a carved wooden book mark with his name engraved at the back. The grin disappeared at the look Lois gave him and settled for nodding at Oliver. “Tell Connor I said thank you.”
“I will.” Oliver replied. “I’ll leave that with you?”
Clark nodded. “I’ll see what else I can find out.”
When Oliver left, Lois glared at Clark. “Since when did you call a truce?”
“Lois, we are working towards the same goal. We can’t stop Lex if we can’t work together.”
“Chloe says pretty much the same thing. Okay, fine. I get that. But your attachment to the kid? That’s not healthy.”
Clark just smirked. “Coming from the same woman who terrorised a five year old after he pushed Connor around?”
“If I didn’t do anything, Chloe would’ve. And she already had enough on her plate that day.”
“Right.” Clark snorted. “And who went out to the grocery store at one in the morning to get him mac and cheese?”
“Chloe was sick. What was I supposed to do? Let him starve?”
“Who got him tickets to the Chinese Acrobatic Circus that even a billionaire couldn’t get?”
Lois opened her mouth for a second to reply, but quickly closed it again after she couldn’t think of a response.
“Admit it, Lois. Whatever we feel about what happened; we all have a soft spot for Connor.”
This time, it was Lois that snorted. “I’m not part of that little club, thank you very much. Hey, did you know that I remind that brat of a hippopotamus?”
Clark chose not to reply and settled for giving his girlfriend a kiss instead.
At the apartment above the Talon, Chloe watched the pictures and laughed as Connor told her about their trip animatedly, including his experience riding an elephant.
“We saw the lions, but dad said it was fine. The car was going really slow and the lions were just there watching us, dad won’t let me lean out even if the lions were far enough, I wanted to get a good shot, but I couldn’t make the zoom work properly... Dad said...”
Connor was interrupted by a knock on the door. “I’ll get it!”
Chloe just smiled as she watched Connor run towards the door and opened it, and looked surprised at the man holding a bouquet of red roses.
“Delivery for Miss Chloe Sullivan?”
Connor scrunched his nose as he looked at the flowers. “Aunt Chloe doesn’t like roses, especially red roses!”
The delivery man looked down speechless at the young boy who glared at the roses. “Uhhhh, I just deliver the flowers.”
Connor watched as his Aunt Chloe signed a form and accepted the roses. “Thank you.”
When the delivery man left, Connor looked at the offending flowers on the table. “Who is it from?”
Chloe took the card and read it before giving Connor a smile. “It’s from my friend, George Dean. Remember him?”
Connor nodded and fingered the edge of the petals. “You hate red roses.”
“I’m not too fond of them.” Chloe agreed as she placed the roses on a vase. “He doesn’t know that yet.”
“Well, he should. What if you were allergic and you got an allergic reaction?”
Chloe just grinned as she pulled Connor towards the sofa. “It’s alright, Connor. Now, what were you telling me about the lions?”
That night, back in their penthouse in Metropolis, Connor glared at the ceiling as he remembered the flowers. Who was this guy sending red roses to his Aunt Chloe? Talk about cliché.
With a grumble of his own, Connor hugged his pillow and went to sleep.
_*_*
And that's all for tonight folks! I'll be back at work tomorrow, so updates might be a little bit delayed.
I'm going to have to keep you guys waiting ;)
“Remember what I said, Connor?”
Connor nodded his head. “I promise I won’t annoy her cousin Lois.”
There was something in Connor’s expression that made Oliver believe his son wasn’t telling the truth. The limousine stopped in front of the Talon and Connor gave his dad a quick hug before he grabbed his bag and opened the door. “Love you, dad!”
“I love you, too.” Oliver replied, though he was sure Connor didn’t hear him. His son was already making his way inside the coffee shop. “Mac, can you drive to the Kent Farm please?”
“Yes, Mr. Queen.” His driver replied, and he spent the next few minutes thinking of what he needed to discuss with Clark.
Inside the apartment, Connor was greeted with an enthusiastic hug from Chloe and Connor stuck his tongue out at Lois, who returned the gesture behind her cousin’s back. “How was your trip?”
“It was excellent, you should’ve been there!” Connor rambled on about his trip while he dug something out of his bag. “Here, I got this for you.”
Chloe was touched at the gesture as she saw a small silver coloured bag. She opened it and found a beaded bracelet that looked handmade. “Connor, you shouldn’t have. Thank you!”
Connor blushed as he watched Chloe put the bracelet on. “Nah, it was nothing.”
Chloe hugged him again. “You have some pictures to show me?”
“Yup, but I also got this for your cousin.” Connor replied as he took a small box and waved it to Lois.
Lois looked at him suspiciously before she walked over and took the box. “Thanks, kid.”
“I saw it and it reminded me of you.” Connor replied cheekily and Lois narrowed her eyes as she opened the box. “It’s a pen holder.”
“Thank you for clarifying that.” Lois dryly replied as she took out a wooden hippopotamus.
Chloe tried not to smile as Connor and Lois gave each other equally fake smiles. “Well, much as I would love to continue this little chit chat, I have to go and see Clark.”
At the mention of Clark’s name, Connor’s eyes brightened as he took another package from his bag. “Can you give this to him, please? I wanted to thank him for helping me with my science homework last term.”
“No problem, kid.”
“Thanks.” Connor replied as he took a CD from his bag and focused his attention on Chloe.
Much as she hated to admit it, she had to hand it to Oliver, he raised a decent kid, as annoying the brat was. She opened her car door when she stopped and remembered her gift. “I remind him of a hippopotamus?”
_*_*
To say that Clark wasn’t happy with his presence was an understatement, but the two came to some sort of unspoken agreement. If the issue was about Lex Luthor or anything else that can endanger the world, then they have something to speak about.
“Are you sure?”
Oliver nodded. “It seems our dear President had a new lab set up, just outside Tijuana. It doesn’t look like the usual 33.1 labs; it looks more like a training camp.”
“A training camp?” Clark asked and Oliver opened the folder Victor gave him the night before.
“These are just some of the pictures he and AC managed to acquire. From the outside, it looks like a boot camp, maybe that’s why it’s outside on such a popular destination. But inside, it’s a different story.”
“Are they there on their own free will?”
“It’s hard to say.” Oliver replied. “AC said it doesn’t look like they were being held captives, there’s nothing on their bodies to indicate that there’s some sort of device trapping them there. So it’s either they are there on their own free will, they could have a hidden transmitter not letting them leave or they could have been brainwashed.”
Clark nodded his head. He briefly remembered the GPS chip buried in Chloe’s shoulders. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they implanted a chip on them. They’ve done it before.”
“Victor used the new kryptonite reader, and there’s a vast amount of green K, there’s another mineral signature that’s similar but we don’t know what. We can only assume his scientists managed to manipulate the rocks, into what? We don’t know.”
“What’s your plan?”
“I have to gather more intel. I hate to admit it, but Lex isn’t stupid. I want to make sure we have all the details in regards to the people in the camp before we make our move. I’m assuming you’d be out because of the green k?”
Clark just nodded. “I’ll be on standby, in case something happens, just get yourselves out far enough for me to come and get you out if needed.”
“Well, what do we have here?” Lois asked as she approached the two men. “What is this, a meeting of superheroes anonymous?”
“Lois.” Oliver greeted which Lois returned with a glare.
“Queen jr. Got this for you.” Lois said to Clark as she handed him a small package.
Clark opened it up and grinned when he took out a carved wooden book mark with his name engraved at the back. The grin disappeared at the look Lois gave him and settled for nodding at Oliver. “Tell Connor I said thank you.”
“I will.” Oliver replied. “I’ll leave that with you?”
Clark nodded. “I’ll see what else I can find out.”
When Oliver left, Lois glared at Clark. “Since when did you call a truce?”
“Lois, we are working towards the same goal. We can’t stop Lex if we can’t work together.”
“Chloe says pretty much the same thing. Okay, fine. I get that. But your attachment to the kid? That’s not healthy.”
Clark just smirked. “Coming from the same woman who terrorised a five year old after he pushed Connor around?”
“If I didn’t do anything, Chloe would’ve. And she already had enough on her plate that day.”
“Right.” Clark snorted. “And who went out to the grocery store at one in the morning to get him mac and cheese?”
“Chloe was sick. What was I supposed to do? Let him starve?”
“Who got him tickets to the Chinese Acrobatic Circus that even a billionaire couldn’t get?”
Lois opened her mouth for a second to reply, but quickly closed it again after she couldn’t think of a response.
“Admit it, Lois. Whatever we feel about what happened; we all have a soft spot for Connor.”
This time, it was Lois that snorted. “I’m not part of that little club, thank you very much. Hey, did you know that I remind that brat of a hippopotamus?”
Clark chose not to reply and settled for giving his girlfriend a kiss instead.
At the apartment above the Talon, Chloe watched the pictures and laughed as Connor told her about their trip animatedly, including his experience riding an elephant.
“We saw the lions, but dad said it was fine. The car was going really slow and the lions were just there watching us, dad won’t let me lean out even if the lions were far enough, I wanted to get a good shot, but I couldn’t make the zoom work properly... Dad said...”
Connor was interrupted by a knock on the door. “I’ll get it!”
Chloe just smiled as she watched Connor run towards the door and opened it, and looked surprised at the man holding a bouquet of red roses.
“Delivery for Miss Chloe Sullivan?”
Connor scrunched his nose as he looked at the flowers. “Aunt Chloe doesn’t like roses, especially red roses!”
The delivery man looked down speechless at the young boy who glared at the roses. “Uhhhh, I just deliver the flowers.”
Connor watched as his Aunt Chloe signed a form and accepted the roses. “Thank you.”
When the delivery man left, Connor looked at the offending flowers on the table. “Who is it from?”
Chloe took the card and read it before giving Connor a smile. “It’s from my friend, George Dean. Remember him?”
Connor nodded and fingered the edge of the petals. “You hate red roses.”
“I’m not too fond of them.” Chloe agreed as she placed the roses on a vase. “He doesn’t know that yet.”
“Well, he should. What if you were allergic and you got an allergic reaction?”
Chloe just grinned as she pulled Connor towards the sofa. “It’s alright, Connor. Now, what were you telling me about the lions?”
That night, back in their penthouse in Metropolis, Connor glared at the ceiling as he remembered the flowers. Who was this guy sending red roses to his Aunt Chloe? Talk about cliché.
With a grumble of his own, Connor hugged his pillow and went to sleep.
_*_*
And that's all for tonight folks! I'll be back at work tomorrow, so updates might be a little bit delayed.
I'm going to have to keep you guys waiting ;)