Chlark Fanfic: The Fallen Sky, Prologue
Hola, my lovelies! :-D
Brand new Chlark story in the house. Hope you all like it! Banner of awesomeness by the wonderful ellashy. You're a miracle, babes!
Enjoy.
Title: The Fallen Sky
Author: BabyDee
Pairing: Chlark
Rating: PG-13 (later NC-17)
Warnings: Major angst up ahead. Brace yourselves.
Timeline: Season 8 (Hex - Doomsday) and Season 9 (My version)
Disclaimer: All characters belong to the CW & DC comics.
Summary: Months after walking away from her in Doomsday, Clark returns to Chloe…but finds her a changed woman from the one he left behind.
Feedback: …always welcome. J
Poem and title credited to The Fallen Sky at kryptonsite. Thanks so much for granting me permission to your awesome work!
It isn't real
My eyes deceive me
Through the darkness
I see you
A ghost in the distance
Haunting my soul
A shadow cast on my heart
Freezes it solid
I plead for warmth
But you have none to give
My tears fall in silence
As I mourn a love
And a shattered hope
Please, tell me it isn't real
- The Fallen Sky, by The Fallen Sky
Prologue
A Shattered Hope
The Day of the Funeral
May 2009
“Clark!” she called out in relief. “You’re alive!”
Chloe ran down the steps of the watchtower and flung herself into his arms in full flight. She was sobbing quietly, holding onto him as though he were a lifeline.
How ironic. A lifeline that couldn’t save the life of someone who had only wanted to help, to do the right thing…
“How did you survive the geothermal explosion?” she asked, her voice muffled against his chest.
With great effort, he put her away from him. “Before Dinah pushed the button…” he began, and then stopped. How had he gotten out, anyway?
“I don’t know,” he finished lamely. “I got out before the blast, but not fast enough to save anyone else.”
He took a deep breath before continuing. “Chloe…I’ve searched everywhere. There’s no sign of Lois.”
She nodded, trying to put on a brave face, but failing miserably.
“I saw someone tacking her photo on a Missing Persons board,” she said sadly, “and I keep thinking that maybe…you know, maybe I haven’t…” she couldn’t complete the thought.
“Lost everyone?” he said. She nodded, fresh tears falling from her eyes. He turned away, unable to bear the sadness on her face which would undoubtedly get worse when she realised that she really was about to lose everyone.
“You were there today, Clark, weren’t you?” he heard her ask, her voice interrupting his thoughts. “I really needed you. Why didn’t you come to me?”
Clark walked slowly to the other side of the room. When he answered, his voice was heavy with grief.
“I’m the reason Jimmy’s dead,” he said quietly. “Oliver was right; I put humanity on a pedestal. It wasn’t the Kryptonian beast who killed Jimmy; it was a human.”
Chloe shook her head stubbornly. “I was standing right here, Clark,” she said, her face grim. “I know full well who killed Jimmy.”
He didn’t answer her; not immediately, anyway. Looking around the cavernous room where so much tragedy had taken place, he could think only one thought.
“He shouldn’t have been here in the first place,” he said glumly. “It’s my fault that he was.”
She took his arm gently and looked up into his eyes, her expression pleading.
“Clark… please don’t do this to yourself,” she pleaded. “Listen… let’s go back to Smallville; let’s go home.”
“Home?” he echoed, and shook his head. “I don’t have a home.”
Her eyes widened in alarm. “I don’t like the way that sounds,” she said fearfully.
Clark’s face hardened. “I’ve always tried to forget I was an alien,” he said sombrely. “A creature. I’ve always tried to pretend I was human. I was raised to believe that it was my Kryptonian part that was dangerous, Chloe, but I was wrong.”
He paused, thinking of the dreadful catalogue of errors that had led them to this point. “It’s my human side,” he finally whispered. “The side that gets attached, that makes decisions based on emotions…that’s my enemy. Davis proved that to me.”
“So because of some psychopath, you’re gonna cut the rest of us out of your life, now?” she asked incredulously. “Clark…human emotion is what made you the hero you are today.”
“They’re what’s stopping me from being the hero I could be,” he insisted stubbornly. “That’s not what the world needs now.”
“What are you saying?” she asked, her eyes growing sadder by the second.
He took a deep breath, and then spoke. “Clark Kent is dead,” he whispered with an air of finality. “Goodbye, Chloe.”
And with those words, he turned and walked out of her life, leaving her alone and enveloped in grief.
***
For the first time in her life, Chloe Sullivan felt truly alone. Despondently, she lowered her head, rested a hand on her belly and wept, not caring where her tears fell.
***
Chapter 1…