Fic: The Night Things Changed (2/2), Gen, PG
Fic title: The Night Things Changed
Author name: isdon_isgood9
Genre: Gen
Pairing and/or characters: Chloe Sullivan, J’onn Johnz, Martha Kent, Oliver Queen, Victor Stone, Bart Allen, Tess Mercer, Waller/The White Queen, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Carter Hall, Kent Nelson, Courtney Whitmore
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I in no way own Smallville. Please don’t sue, I’m a poor uni student.
Word count: 11,510
Warnings: Spoilers for Roulette, Checkmate, Absolute Justice
Summary: After the devastating events of Doomsday Chloe doesn’t feel like she can continue on with the life she has been living. She restores Oliver to his status as the Green Arrow and then leaves, hoping to come to terms with what had happened. Little did she know that she would discover a path that would make her into the hero she always dreamed to be.
Link to fic:
Part one, Part Two
September 28th 2012
Smiling at J’onn when he entered the hotel room Chloe couldn’t help but sigh. She was still trying to deal with all the emotions from the day. Seeing Oliver was really messing up her mind, considering the sad tint that his eyes had. It also confused her. According to J’onn the League didn’t know about the Justice Society of America, so what could he have been doing there.
“I don’t know,” J’onn replied, “But it is defiantly something we should look into.”
“How many times do I have to tell you that reading minds is only fun for you?”
“Well if you said what was on your mind I’d stop reading it.”
Chloe turned to face the man, “Well J’onn, explain to me how Oliver could be at the museum when I was leaving? It doesn’t make sense. Why would he be there?”
“I do not know but I intend to find out as soon as possible,” J’onn replied, “I’ll go to the League tonight while you plan for tomorrow’s mission. We still have to get the Book of Rao back.”
Chloe nodded, “Maybe this will all make sense soon.”
“I hope so but no matter what, we complete our mission.”
Chloe nodded, “We’ll always complete our mission.”
December 4th 2010
Typing away Chloe couldn’t believe how fast everything was moving. It had been just over a week since the trio had discussed their plans to protect Clark from Checkmate. It was a solid plan but it felt weird, knowing that she would have to step into the role of the hero. She had never thought of doing anything like that before. She was always the sidekick. The one who sat behind the computer and helped the only way she knew how, by using her brain. It was insane to think that she could be the hero but here she was, proving it every day.
The team was still small, only really her and J’onn, Martha barely counted. While the older woman worked with them, financed them, she wasn’t as hands on as she could have been. Compared to the way that Oliver had been with the Justice League Martha was barely there. She was a name on their pieces of paper. Nothing more, nothing less. She wanted to help but there wasn’t much she could do whilst staying out of the lime light. Not that they had really entered it yet.
There was time for the lime light later. Right now they needed to establish themselves. She needed to train and they all needed to stay as far off Checkmate’s radar as possible. It would be hard later on when the rest of the world would catch up with them but for now it didn’t matter. There three man team wouldn’t cause too much trouble. If she was able to recruit the girl she thought was a great match for the group they would probably have all the members they needed, especially if they stuck with the idea of using the Justice League and Society when they actually brought down Checkmate.
The woman was young, blond and possessed the ability to turn herself, and anyone touching her, invisible. It would be a useful power when they were trying to get into Checkmate’s headquarters, if she found them.
Chloe wasn’t too worried about recruiting the woman at the moment, she wasn’t sure if the three of them were ready for another member and she hadn’t brought the woman up too her two team mates, but she needed to keep an eye on her. If Oliver or anyone from the Justice League discovered the woman she wanted to know about it. She wasn’t going to let the team snag her from under her nose.
Finding the information that she needed she printed it so that it could be packed away for safe keeping before turning to her next search. There were a million things that she needed to know before things could take shape. The plan was still in its tentative stage but they were slowly making head way, especially with the way the information that J’onn brought in every day. The more information they had the easier it was to make the plan more realistic, more accessible, and more likely to hold the ability to convince the right people to join in the good fight with them.
It would take time, more than a year, before the plan would be able to take effect but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that Checkmate went down. Everyone understood that.
September 29th 2012
Searching through the safe Chloe hoped that she would be able to find what she was looking for before Tess came into her bedroom. The team had known that it was a risky move, coming in while Tess was at home, but they had little choice. If they’re plan was going to succeed they would need to take the Book of Rao back before infiltrating Checkmate. They had to ensure that the book didn’t fall into the wrong hands, after all that could be fatal for their cause and they knew it. It was sad to think that a government organisation would take such drastic measure, as if they didn’t actually trust that the superheroes of the world would be able to make the choice to help fight off the alien invasion by themselves. Of course if they were still the heroes that she one knew than they would have been trying to find ways to take out Major Zod and his team since they had found out about them. It would make sense, the only one who wouldn’t want to stop the aliens would be Clark, but then again he was always trying to find ways to connect with his Kryptonian heritage and Chloe couldn’t fault him for that.
Smiling when she finally saw the book she picked it up, heading for the door as J’onn’s voice came through her com, “Phoenix, we’ve got a problem. Tess and Arrow are on an intercept course for your room.”
Gasping Chloe turned to face the door before whispering to J’onn, “Put me through to Iris and come and get me. I’ll have to jump from the bedroom window to leave undetected.”
“I’m on my way,” J’onn replied.
Nodding Chloe circled the bed, heading for the window that she knew she would be able to open just as the bedroom door was swung open. The pair entered the room arguing, too caught up in their rage to notice Chloe until she jumped onto the cabinet to access the window. Hearing their stunned gasps she kicked the window open before turning to face them.
“You,” they both gasped at the same time.
“What are you doing here?” Tess demanded, taking a step towards Chloe.
Shaking her head Chloe smiled, “I’m taking back something that doesn’t belong to you.” Watching as Tess glanced down at the disk in her hand, Chloe raised it so that the other woman could see the book. Hearing her gasp Chloe shook her head, “You didn’t really think that you could keep something that doesn’t belong to you?”
“And what are you going to do with it?” Tess growled taking another step forward and pulling a knife off the table.
Smiling Chloe shrugged, “I intend to return it to its rightful owner so that it can be used how it was intended to be used. What were you planning to do with it?”
“I was planning to make it into a self sufficient energy source,” Tess whispered, “I was going to save the world.”
“It doesn’t work that way Tess. You can’t just manipulate it because you want to and you can’t use alien technology to enhance Earth. We must find our own way to evolve, to learn to take care of the Earth.” Chloe replied with another shrug, “And do you really think that Zod would let you use the book that way. Cause I seriously doubt it?”
“How do you know about Zod?” Oliver demanded, making the first noise of the evening.
“I know a lot of things.”
“Well than you better get to know this,” Tess screamed, throwing the knife across the room. Seeing it being hurtled across the room at her she jumped out the window, feeling J’onn’s arms catch her. Smiling at his twinkling red eyes she allowed for him to transport them back to the hotel.
Waiting until they were safely on the ground she turned to J’onn and said, “You were cutting it kind of close there.”
“Well Iris said that you weren’t in position yet, I figured that you were obviously engaged in small talk with Tess and that I should wait until you were out the window before I swooped in and saved you.”
“Well thanks but I wish you had been there sooner,” Chloe said with a sigh, throwing back her hood and holding up her hair, “But that knife got my pretty hair and my hood.”
Smiling at her J’onn shrugged, “I’m very sorry for that but this should make you think about tying your hair up more often than. It would stop situations like this.”
“Funny,” Chloe replied with a roll of her eyes, “Now are you going to tell the Red Queen we have the book or should I?”
“You do it. After all it did cost you some hair.”
September 30th 2012
Walking up the pathway Chloe felt more confident this time. She was sure that with J’onn around she would be able to convince the Justice Society that this was the right course of action. It was time for them to stop hiding from who they were and forgive society for what they had done to them. She knew that it could only help for J’onn to be there, they had worked with him, restored his powers. She just had to hope that Nelson was around to greet them.
Following J’onn through the doorway that he had unlocked with his abilities she waited at the bottom of the stairs as J’onn called out for someone to come to them. Smiling when she saw a man in the corner, clutching a bag, she walked towards him, hoping not to scare him off. Moving cautiously she crouched a little way away, letting her smile grow further to seem friendlier.
“Hi,” she whispered, “I’m Chloe. Are you Nelson?”
“Why does it matter? Nothing matters? It’s all jumbled.”
Shaking her head Chloe couldn’t believe what she was seeing. With every word the man seemed to curl more and more around the bag, clutching it tighter into his chest. Clearly he was attached to the bag, not wanting to let it go. Before she could ask any further questions Carter was bellowing at her from the staircase to leave Nelson alone.
Standing she walked over to the man, and the girl from yesterday who followed him down the stairs. “It’s good to see you again Carter.” She whispered, “Though I think it’s time that you stop yelling.”
“I agree,” J’onn said with a nod, “Anger will not get us anywhere.”
“Why are you here J’onn? We haven’t seen you since the Icicle debacle,” Courtney whispered.
“Cause we need your help and you wouldn’t listen to me,” Chloe replied.
J’onn nodded, “We could really use you help. Maybe we should go upstairs before we discuss this further.”
Nodding Carter turned, placing a hand on Courtney’s arm before leading them upstairs. It was obviously that the relationship between them held a lot of affection. It was almost as if they had a father and daughter relationship. When they were in the room Chloe couldn’t believe what she was seeing. It was more of a museum up here than it was downstairs. Artefacts where strategically placed in cabinets. Leaning down she read the label for every one of them, recognising most of them from her research. The artefacts obviously meant something to each hero, the lantern and ring for Green Lantern, the mask from Wildcat’s uniform. It gave a touch of personality.
Though if she was being truthful with herself she knew that she was only bidding her time, allowing for J’onn to have his say but when Carter said, “It’s ridiculous. There’s nothing that can be done. They are too powerful, they’re ties run too deep and there is nothing that the under dogs can do about it. It’s time for you to understand that.” Chloe stood and walked over to the table. Slamming her fists into it Chloe looked up at Carter, “It’s time for them to fall Carter. If you don’t like Checkmate then help us bring him down.”
Carter shook his head, unsure of how to react. Sighing he walked over to the case that held the helmet of his true love. Running a hand over the glass he looked in, wondering what she would say to his reaction now. She always knew him and she would tell him that he was being a coward, it was time to take vengeance for the society that they had created and it was time that they did it for all. Closing his eyes he allowed his thoughts to linger on her for a second longer before turning back to Chloe.
“Carter, it time we stand and fight for what we’ve worked for, what you and JSA used to work for. The battle has been long but we’ll stand up tonight, champions. What do you say?” Chloe asked, arms crossed in front of her.
Carter nodded, “Go get the rest of your operatives, I’ll gather what I can of the JSA and I’ll meet you across the street from the new punk superheroes.”
“One of these days Carter you’ll have to realise that they are going to make a difference. Tonight it’s time to let everything go. Who knows, maybe the new team will listen when you give advice.”
Laughing Carter shook his head, “Go. I’ll meet you there.”
Smiling Chloe left leaving Carter alone to his thoughts as he return to staring at his wife’s helmet for a while.
********
Pulling on her belt Chloe looked up in the mirror. At times it felt like she was a different person. It was odd, the red hair, at first it she hadn’t liked it much. When she had first dyed it she had decided to only keep it like that for as long as necessary but by the time she knew for sure that the others had stopped looking for her she had grown to love it, and the long hair she had grown to go with it, so she kept it. Pulling it back into a ponytail she smiled at the way she looked. She couldn’t wait to show the league what she had become, although she knew there would be a lot of hard memories that would come with the day. She hadn’t been in Watchtower since she had left, she hadn’t wanted to be, and although J’onn assured her that her access codes still worked she hoped that the flashbacks wouldn’t come. She hadn’t told anyone that she had constant nightmares while she was staying there, she didn’t think that there was a need.
Sighing she shook her head, trying to shake all those thoughts away. They wouldn’t help now, she knew that. Straightening her skirt she picked up the belt and put it place. She emptied it after each use, putting it back in its place in the case. It seemed as though she had picked up Oliver’s weird habitat of obsessively putting her gear back into the right place. It didn’t bother her that much, it could be worse in her mind. She could have picked up his fascination for green or getting up ridiculously early or, heaven forbid, substituted coffee for tea. It was insane pick up a habit from a person who was barely her friend but she liked that she did.
“Stop thinking so hard,” J’onn said from behind her.
Smiling she shook her head and turned to face him. It felt weird standing there in only her skirt, belt and bra but she knew J’onn had no interest in her. It was an odd relationship they had. Before he had just been Clark’s mentor, sent by his father to save him from himself but now he was her friend. He was one of her best friends.
“I can’t help it. What if this doesn’t work? We’ve put so much into it. This has to work,” Chloe whispered.
“It will, because it’s your plan. Trust in yourself Chloe. You have the Justice Societies support and you have my support. You have the Red Queen’s support and everyone in the organisation is rooting for you. Now you just need to have faith in yourself.”
Smiling she walked over and hugged J’onn, “Thank you. I’m glad you’re here, in the foxhole, with me. I don’t think I’d want anyone else to be here with me.”
“That’s great to know Chloe. I wouldn’t want to be with anyone else either,” J’onn whispered, squeezing her tight before letting go. “Now how about we finish suiting up then you can go talk to the League and I’ll bring the Society to us. We’ll convince the League and then we’ll do what we’ve been working to do for years. We’ll take down Checkmate.”
Smiling she nodded, “Well let’s get to work then.”
**************
Watching as the group moved around below her Chloe sat in the closest chair, placing her feet silently on the desk. She would have to take a different approach with the League than what she did with the JSA. She only had one chance with them. So instead of charging in she waited and watched as Victor helped Dinah try to hack into Checkmate’s headquarters, Tess was handcuffed to a chair and Clark rushed around like a mad man. Oliver threw around orders before sitting quietly on the couch, as if he knew he was only getting in the way. She studied him for a bit, shocked to see that sadness that crept into the corner of he’s eyes. She hadn’t noticed the enormity of that sadness until now and J’onn hadn’t mentioned it.
Smiling when she saw Lois walk in she was surprised with the way that the boys reacted to her presence. Everyone but Dinah, Tess and Oliver seemed to calm down a couple of notches. It was weird the way she walked around. But then maybe it was the fact that Lois was the first one to look at her in an hour and a half. It was kind of ironic the way that had worked out.
“Um... guys?” Lois said, motioning to where Chloe was sitting, “Did you know that someone else was sitting up there?”
Chloe’s smile changed to a smirk as every eye in the room looked. It was interesting. A group of superheroes didn’t notice she was there but trust her cousin to be there for two seconds and know that something was off. Standing she moved slowly over to the railing so that the team could see her properly. Hearing Tess and Oliver gasp her smirk grew.
“You should really change the security around here. I didn’t even need J’onn’s help to get in.”
Oliver stood and took a few steps forward, “You’re the girl who rescued me.”
“And stole the book from me,” Tess whispered.
“I have many talents,” Chloe said with a shrug.
“What I want to know is how you got in here?” Dinah demanded, “This is a secure location.”
“No it was a secure location,” Chloe replied with a shrug, “But when you created the system and it hasn’t been changed in three years it’s very easy to get in.”
Pulling the hood off her head, flipping off her voice distorter and placing her glasses on the desk she waited for the shock gasps to come. As they did she smiled down at them and continued, “Now’s not the time for explanations. I need your help. Checkmate needs to be taken down and it needs to happen tonight.”
“Why us? Why now Chloe? You should have come to us before you left.” Bart asked, confusing filling his eyes.
Chloe laughed hollowly, her eyes hardening over, “So what? You all get to fall apart but when my husband dies I’m just expected to get up and push on. No! That’s not expectable! I deserve that right as much any of you, even more. And contrary to what Emil thought making this place into a Watchtower didn’t make me feel any better about the fact my husband died in my hands because of my bad decisions.”
“He didn’t mean it like that Chlo,” Lois whispered.
“It doesn’t matter now,” J’onn said, startling them all.
Chloe looked back at him, tears at the edge of her eyes. Smiling as he rubbed a hand over her eyes she looked at Iris, Carter, Courtney and Doctor Fate, smiling at them too.
”You’re alright Chloe. Your safe,” J’onn communicated to her through telepathy.
Nodding she turned back to the others, “It doesn’t matter. The reasons can’t matter at the moment. We need your help. We’re invading Checkmate’s headquarters, taking them down once and for all tonight but we need your help.”
“We don’t have the man power to do it alone,” J’onn said.
“So what the Red Queen can take over,” Tess snarled, “Waller won’t let that happen.”
“There nothing to fear from Red Queen or what she stands for,” J’onn replied.
“He’s right,” Chloe whispered, turning to the league, “Trust what you know about J’onn and me. Do you really think we would work for someone who just wanted to control the world?”
“Not in a million years,” Lois said with a nod of certainty.
Smiling at her cousin’s conviction Chloe continued, “Anyway, the Red Queen is someone you all trust?”
“Who?,” Clark demanded.
“We share a common goal,” Chloe continued, ignoring Clark’s question.
“And what would that be?” Olive whispered, making eye contact with Chloe for the first time.
Holding Oliver’s eye contact she smiled, “To allow and trust the traveller to make the right decisions and extend that curtsey to anyone who may follow his in his footsteps, because we know they are righteous.”
Clark’s eyes widened as he realised who she was talking about, “But why were you recruited?”
“Cause you and Chloe have been friends for a very long time and I knew I would be able to trust her with our mission. I knew she would be able to uphold everything we stand for and she did a marvellous job,” Martha answered from the doorway.
Watching as the League tried not to choke on their tongue’s Chloe tried to stifle a laughing. Glancing back at J’onn and Iris she wasn’t surprised to see that he wasn’t reacting at all. The three remaining members of the Justice Society where wearing the same expressions as the League however. Obviously they were as shocked as the League but that was the beauty of their operation. Who would expect a senator to be running operation like this?
Smiling Chloe continued, “We all share the same drive. The Justice Society of America was dismantled by the Checkmate and that’s what they are going to do to League if we don’t stop them.”
Tess rolled her eyes, “You can’t believe.”
“No they can’t believe you Tess or do they not know that you’re a checkmate agent?” Chloe replied, raising an eyebrow at her.
Startled Tess opened her mouth to respond only to close it again, as if knowing she wasn’t going to win against Chloe.
“It doesn’t matter now Tess. At the end of the day Checkmate will be done with and you’ll be free,” Chloe replied, “Or did you think that we didn’t know that Checkmate has a price on your head.” Watching Tess’s shock she couldn’t help but feel amused, “Don’t worry,” she continued, speaking solely to the red head, “We have a plan.”
*******
Crouching on the ground, Oliver and Clark on either side of her, Chloe took several deep breaths, the voice of her taekwondo instructor running through her head. Finding her centre was easy, keeping it whilst Clark was glaring at her and Oliver was looking confused was difficult. She needed to remain grounded, centred; otherwise she wouldn’t be able to complete her job.
“Can you just answer me one question,” Clark whispered.
“Not right now I can’t,” Chloe scoffed.
“I just need to understand why,” Clark pleaded, trying to give her his puppy dog eyes.
Rolling her own eyes she was glad when J’onn came through her ear, telling her that it was time to get into place.
Moving swiftly she didn’t even check that the boys were getting into place beside her before placing her tablet into the security system box. Watching the system load she quickly entered the program into the system hoping that the boys behind her would stop staring. She knew this was hard for them, her coming back in the hero role as well as everything else but now was not the time to be discussing it. It would only distract from the mission and there was no need for anyone to get hurt just because Clark’s curiosity couldn’t wait the few hours it would take to bring down Checkmate.
Keying into the system she saw that Iris was already in from her vantage point. Clicking her com she said, “Manhunter why aren’t you in the system yet? You’re the only one we’re waiting for?”
“I’m working on it Phoenix, give me two minutes.”
“I can give you one but that’s it. We can’t let them know that we’re in the system.”
“I’m on it tower,” Victor responded in her ear as he obviously pushed J’onn aside.
“One its Phoenix and two I should have just let you do it from the start. It would have saved this hassle.”
“It certainly would have,” Victor replied, “I’m in.”
Chloe nodded, “Do you know what to do now?”
“Manhunter is filling me as we speak.”
“Great, we’ll go on three then, by my count, ok?” Hearing the affirmatives she started counting down. On three they all hit the switches on their tablets, the screen coming to life as it upload the information from the system and brought up the codes to let them in.
During her research Chloe had learnt that Checkmate kept three main entrances, each entrance had its own code which changed daily, hourly when there was an emergency. Once the main wall had been breached they would need the next set of numbers, all prime digits, to get through the next set of doors. The hidden trick was that all three main doors had to be accessed at the same time, correct codes inputted, before moving onto the next set that also needed to be inputted simultaneously. If even one digit was out of place the building’s alarms would activate and a swarm of guards would descend on all three locations. As far as she could tell no one had ever made it out alive after entering a wrong number.
Setting it up so she could count down again she turned to check that Oliver and Clark were following. Satisfied when she saw that they were, and that Oliver was somehow keeping a hand over Clark’s mouth, she focused on the task in hand. It would only take one mistake and this whole operation would be done for. Years of planning would go down the drain for nothing. It was more than that though. This was her getting to be the hero, not some sidekick who sat on the sidelines, and sure when this was over she never planned to play either role again but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t enjoy this, that she couldn’t, for once, love being the hero, the one who would save them all.
As the next door opened she couldn’t help but squish what she was feeling, pushing her emotions aside for the greater good. She didn’t know what it was to be a hero when Jimmy was around, maybe she would have known how to save him had she known better but she didn’t and all that mattered was ensuring that everyone got out alive.
“Ok,” she said through her com as the three of them walked though the opened door, “We all know our parts in this. Let’s bring down Checkmate.” Tapping off her com as radio silence was initiated she smiled at the boys behind her before turning to Clark, “Off you go. Archer and I will meet you where we’re supposed to.”
Watching as Clark left she rolled her eyes, knowing that he wasn’t happy about this part of the plan. It wasn’t sinking in yet that she could take care of herself. That she didn’t need a hero to save her because now she was a hero. Motioning to Oliver they headed down their corridor, moving cautiously, both aware of their vulnerabilities. She was glad that Oliver understood that she didn’t need his protection. It seemed to sink in for almost everyone in the Justice League and even in the Justice Society. The only person who didn’t seem to get it was Clark and it was becoming clear that he could only ever see her in the damsel in distress role.
It was something that he was going to have to get used to though. If it was up to her she would never go back to being a damsel in distress.
Raising her crossbow at a sound she knew she had to get her head into the game soon otherwise it could be disastrous. The other two parts of the plan couldn’t go off without a hitch unless she was able to pull of her part. With Clark killing the backup generator all as she and Oliver headed to the main power grid she knew that J’onn and Iris would be heading to their locations: J’onn to take out the White Queen and destroy all her resources, and Iris to dismantle the backup system whilst sending a message to all the White Queen’s agents, don’t come back... ever. If all three part of the plan were executed properly they building would be evacuated and blown sky high, leaving no trace of what it existed for.
Rounding the corner that would take them to the main power grid they crept along, taking their time so that they didn’t have a misstep along the way. They couldn’t afford one at the moment. The whole operation was timed to the second. Slipping into the room she smiled as Oliver fired off two of his tazor arrows without warning, knocking out the agents in the room before they had a chance to alert anyone their presence. Moving to the main console she set up her second tablet to run the algorithm.
Motioning to Oliver she whispered, “Flick the green switch on the third console over. It should allow me greater access to the system.”
Nodding Oliver moved over the console she had motioned to before whispering, “So why did you change your call sign?”
“Can we not do this now?” Chloe hissed, “Hit the red button on the second console.”
“I don’t see why we can’t discuss it now,” Oliver replied with a shrug, his hand pressing the button.
“Maybe because this is a delicate process,” Chloe responded as a gust blew through the room. Ignoring Clark she kept giving Oliver directions until the power went out. Counting to three she held her breath, hoping that the backup generator wouldn’t kick in. When it didn’t she took a deep breath before taking out her phone and turning on all the coms in the area before saying into her own, “The power is out. We’re moving onto out next step.”
“We understand,” the voices of J’onn and Iris ran through her ear, “Restarting radio silence.”
Nodding Chloe flicked her own com off again before turning to Oliver, “I changed my call sign because I thought that where I failed as Tower I might succeed as Phoenix, rising from the ashes of the death that surrounded that call sign. It made sense to me and I don’t regret changing it just because you and the League can’t get used to it.”
Oliver nodded, “That makes sense. Of course we’ll get use to it. We just need more than three hours.”
“Well that’s all I can give you,” Chloe replied with a shrug, “Now we need to move. Be prepared to evacuate any agents that may be coming our way.”
Clark nodded, keeping his mouth shut for once, which made Chloe happy. She didn’t really want to deal with him talking anymore than he apparently wanted to talk. It was a relief not to hear his opinion on everything and that’s probably what she enjoyed the most about Washington. While people, Martha in particular, offered their opinions they never pushed them on anyone else. They could always see the other side of things.
Slipping down the corridor she began to plant charges as both J’onn and, five minutes later, Iris checked in to let her know that the other parts of the plan had fallen into place. Checkmate’s entire database and backups had been destroyed, the White Queen had been neutralised and they were evacuating everyone from the building. The charges were being laid and everyone was getting ready to leave. All that was left was to set the charge. It was odd to think that almost two years worth of work came down to this. This moment when everything would explode and Checkmate would be no more. They couldn’t have been inside the facility for more than two hours but they were ready to blow it to shreds. That was the flaw in Checkmate’s system though. It was supposed to keep out the unwanted people but once they were in they could have free access to any area that they wanted as long as they had access cards, and those were really easy to duplicate.
Leaving the building a few steps behind Oliver they ran for the hill. They would stop there, blow the charges, and watch the building collapse before moving to join the others. It didn’t take them long to get into place. The hill wasn’t that big after all. Calling through the com to ensure that everyone else was out she pulled out the remote and held it out to Oliver, “I think you have earned the right to blow the place.”
“Well, thanks,” he said with a faint smile, taking the remote, “Thank you for everything Phoenix.”
Watching him flick the switch she nodded, “You’re welcome Archer.” She whispered before turning to face the building. The building was engulfed in flames. It only took three seconds before the four towers that acted as the support system started to wobble and collapse. Then that was it, the towers fell and the rest of the building began to crumple.
It was... over.
4th of November 2012
Sitting by the bedside Chloe smiled. It was over. They had won and she couldn’t help but feel glad. She was looking forward to having a normal life. Normal: now there was a watch word. Of course she didn’t want it to stay that way forever but she needed a break for now. Some time. There were still old scars to be healed, scars relating to Clark and Jimmy respectively. She wasn’t ready to go back to Metropolis either.
Her detour home was for one purpose: to visit her mom.
She had missed being able to see her but since she was housed in one of Oliver’s labs in Star City. Chloe had known that there was no way to visit her without Oliver knowing. Now it didn’t matter. The Justice League knew where she was heading, that if they were desperate they could contact her to help. They even had her new number. Of course she wasn’t sure that she had their trust again but it was a step in the right direction.
Taking the seat by her mother’s bed Chloe took her hand running her other down her arm, before apologising. She hadn’t meant to leave for so long but it was what she needed. So she apologised before starting to talk, telling her all about the last couple of years.
As she neared the end of her tale, telling her about Checkmate, Chloe was surprised when there was a knock at the door. Turning her surprised grew when she saw Oliver.
“What are you doing here?”
Oliver smiled, “I come and visit whenever I’m in town. Just so she knows she’s not alone.”
“Well thank you,” Chloe said, moving her chair to the side, “You should join us.”
“I’d like that.”
The End
Author name: isdon_isgood9
Genre: Gen
Pairing and/or characters: Chloe Sullivan, J’onn Johnz, Martha Kent, Oliver Queen, Victor Stone, Bart Allen, Tess Mercer, Waller/The White Queen, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Carter Hall, Kent Nelson, Courtney Whitmore
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I in no way own Smallville. Please don’t sue, I’m a poor uni student.
Word count: 11,510
Warnings: Spoilers for Roulette, Checkmate, Absolute Justice
Summary: After the devastating events of Doomsday Chloe doesn’t feel like she can continue on with the life she has been living. She restores Oliver to his status as the Green Arrow and then leaves, hoping to come to terms with what had happened. Little did she know that she would discover a path that would make her into the hero she always dreamed to be.
Link to fic:
Part one, Part Two
September 28th 2012
Smiling at J’onn when he entered the hotel room Chloe couldn’t help but sigh. She was still trying to deal with all the emotions from the day. Seeing Oliver was really messing up her mind, considering the sad tint that his eyes had. It also confused her. According to J’onn the League didn’t know about the Justice Society of America, so what could he have been doing there.
“I don’t know,” J’onn replied, “But it is defiantly something we should look into.”
“How many times do I have to tell you that reading minds is only fun for you?”
“Well if you said what was on your mind I’d stop reading it.”
Chloe turned to face the man, “Well J’onn, explain to me how Oliver could be at the museum when I was leaving? It doesn’t make sense. Why would he be there?”
“I do not know but I intend to find out as soon as possible,” J’onn replied, “I’ll go to the League tonight while you plan for tomorrow’s mission. We still have to get the Book of Rao back.”
Chloe nodded, “Maybe this will all make sense soon.”
“I hope so but no matter what, we complete our mission.”
Chloe nodded, “We’ll always complete our mission.”
December 4th 2010
Typing away Chloe couldn’t believe how fast everything was moving. It had been just over a week since the trio had discussed their plans to protect Clark from Checkmate. It was a solid plan but it felt weird, knowing that she would have to step into the role of the hero. She had never thought of doing anything like that before. She was always the sidekick. The one who sat behind the computer and helped the only way she knew how, by using her brain. It was insane to think that she could be the hero but here she was, proving it every day.
The team was still small, only really her and J’onn, Martha barely counted. While the older woman worked with them, financed them, she wasn’t as hands on as she could have been. Compared to the way that Oliver had been with the Justice League Martha was barely there. She was a name on their pieces of paper. Nothing more, nothing less. She wanted to help but there wasn’t much she could do whilst staying out of the lime light. Not that they had really entered it yet.
There was time for the lime light later. Right now they needed to establish themselves. She needed to train and they all needed to stay as far off Checkmate’s radar as possible. It would be hard later on when the rest of the world would catch up with them but for now it didn’t matter. There three man team wouldn’t cause too much trouble. If she was able to recruit the girl she thought was a great match for the group they would probably have all the members they needed, especially if they stuck with the idea of using the Justice League and Society when they actually brought down Checkmate.
The woman was young, blond and possessed the ability to turn herself, and anyone touching her, invisible. It would be a useful power when they were trying to get into Checkmate’s headquarters, if she found them.
Chloe wasn’t too worried about recruiting the woman at the moment, she wasn’t sure if the three of them were ready for another member and she hadn’t brought the woman up too her two team mates, but she needed to keep an eye on her. If Oliver or anyone from the Justice League discovered the woman she wanted to know about it. She wasn’t going to let the team snag her from under her nose.
Finding the information that she needed she printed it so that it could be packed away for safe keeping before turning to her next search. There were a million things that she needed to know before things could take shape. The plan was still in its tentative stage but they were slowly making head way, especially with the way the information that J’onn brought in every day. The more information they had the easier it was to make the plan more realistic, more accessible, and more likely to hold the ability to convince the right people to join in the good fight with them.
It would take time, more than a year, before the plan would be able to take effect but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that Checkmate went down. Everyone understood that.
September 29th 2012
Searching through the safe Chloe hoped that she would be able to find what she was looking for before Tess came into her bedroom. The team had known that it was a risky move, coming in while Tess was at home, but they had little choice. If they’re plan was going to succeed they would need to take the Book of Rao back before infiltrating Checkmate. They had to ensure that the book didn’t fall into the wrong hands, after all that could be fatal for their cause and they knew it. It was sad to think that a government organisation would take such drastic measure, as if they didn’t actually trust that the superheroes of the world would be able to make the choice to help fight off the alien invasion by themselves. Of course if they were still the heroes that she one knew than they would have been trying to find ways to take out Major Zod and his team since they had found out about them. It would make sense, the only one who wouldn’t want to stop the aliens would be Clark, but then again he was always trying to find ways to connect with his Kryptonian heritage and Chloe couldn’t fault him for that.
Smiling when she finally saw the book she picked it up, heading for the door as J’onn’s voice came through her com, “Phoenix, we’ve got a problem. Tess and Arrow are on an intercept course for your room.”
Gasping Chloe turned to face the door before whispering to J’onn, “Put me through to Iris and come and get me. I’ll have to jump from the bedroom window to leave undetected.”
“I’m on my way,” J’onn replied.
Nodding Chloe circled the bed, heading for the window that she knew she would be able to open just as the bedroom door was swung open. The pair entered the room arguing, too caught up in their rage to notice Chloe until she jumped onto the cabinet to access the window. Hearing their stunned gasps she kicked the window open before turning to face them.
“You,” they both gasped at the same time.
“What are you doing here?” Tess demanded, taking a step towards Chloe.
Shaking her head Chloe smiled, “I’m taking back something that doesn’t belong to you.” Watching as Tess glanced down at the disk in her hand, Chloe raised it so that the other woman could see the book. Hearing her gasp Chloe shook her head, “You didn’t really think that you could keep something that doesn’t belong to you?”
“And what are you going to do with it?” Tess growled taking another step forward and pulling a knife off the table.
Smiling Chloe shrugged, “I intend to return it to its rightful owner so that it can be used how it was intended to be used. What were you planning to do with it?”
“I was planning to make it into a self sufficient energy source,” Tess whispered, “I was going to save the world.”
“It doesn’t work that way Tess. You can’t just manipulate it because you want to and you can’t use alien technology to enhance Earth. We must find our own way to evolve, to learn to take care of the Earth.” Chloe replied with another shrug, “And do you really think that Zod would let you use the book that way. Cause I seriously doubt it?”
“How do you know about Zod?” Oliver demanded, making the first noise of the evening.
“I know a lot of things.”
“Well than you better get to know this,” Tess screamed, throwing the knife across the room. Seeing it being hurtled across the room at her she jumped out the window, feeling J’onn’s arms catch her. Smiling at his twinkling red eyes she allowed for him to transport them back to the hotel.
Waiting until they were safely on the ground she turned to J’onn and said, “You were cutting it kind of close there.”
“Well Iris said that you weren’t in position yet, I figured that you were obviously engaged in small talk with Tess and that I should wait until you were out the window before I swooped in and saved you.”
“Well thanks but I wish you had been there sooner,” Chloe said with a sigh, throwing back her hood and holding up her hair, “But that knife got my pretty hair and my hood.”
Smiling at her J’onn shrugged, “I’m very sorry for that but this should make you think about tying your hair up more often than. It would stop situations like this.”
“Funny,” Chloe replied with a roll of her eyes, “Now are you going to tell the Red Queen we have the book or should I?”
“You do it. After all it did cost you some hair.”
September 30th 2012
Walking up the pathway Chloe felt more confident this time. She was sure that with J’onn around she would be able to convince the Justice Society that this was the right course of action. It was time for them to stop hiding from who they were and forgive society for what they had done to them. She knew that it could only help for J’onn to be there, they had worked with him, restored his powers. She just had to hope that Nelson was around to greet them.
Following J’onn through the doorway that he had unlocked with his abilities she waited at the bottom of the stairs as J’onn called out for someone to come to them. Smiling when she saw a man in the corner, clutching a bag, she walked towards him, hoping not to scare him off. Moving cautiously she crouched a little way away, letting her smile grow further to seem friendlier.
“Hi,” she whispered, “I’m Chloe. Are you Nelson?”
“Why does it matter? Nothing matters? It’s all jumbled.”
Shaking her head Chloe couldn’t believe what she was seeing. With every word the man seemed to curl more and more around the bag, clutching it tighter into his chest. Clearly he was attached to the bag, not wanting to let it go. Before she could ask any further questions Carter was bellowing at her from the staircase to leave Nelson alone.
Standing she walked over to the man, and the girl from yesterday who followed him down the stairs. “It’s good to see you again Carter.” She whispered, “Though I think it’s time that you stop yelling.”
“I agree,” J’onn said with a nod, “Anger will not get us anywhere.”
“Why are you here J’onn? We haven’t seen you since the Icicle debacle,” Courtney whispered.
“Cause we need your help and you wouldn’t listen to me,” Chloe replied.
J’onn nodded, “We could really use you help. Maybe we should go upstairs before we discuss this further.”
Nodding Carter turned, placing a hand on Courtney’s arm before leading them upstairs. It was obviously that the relationship between them held a lot of affection. It was almost as if they had a father and daughter relationship. When they were in the room Chloe couldn’t believe what she was seeing. It was more of a museum up here than it was downstairs. Artefacts where strategically placed in cabinets. Leaning down she read the label for every one of them, recognising most of them from her research. The artefacts obviously meant something to each hero, the lantern and ring for Green Lantern, the mask from Wildcat’s uniform. It gave a touch of personality.
Though if she was being truthful with herself she knew that she was only bidding her time, allowing for J’onn to have his say but when Carter said, “It’s ridiculous. There’s nothing that can be done. They are too powerful, they’re ties run too deep and there is nothing that the under dogs can do about it. It’s time for you to understand that.” Chloe stood and walked over to the table. Slamming her fists into it Chloe looked up at Carter, “It’s time for them to fall Carter. If you don’t like Checkmate then help us bring him down.”
Carter shook his head, unsure of how to react. Sighing he walked over to the case that held the helmet of his true love. Running a hand over the glass he looked in, wondering what she would say to his reaction now. She always knew him and she would tell him that he was being a coward, it was time to take vengeance for the society that they had created and it was time that they did it for all. Closing his eyes he allowed his thoughts to linger on her for a second longer before turning back to Chloe.
“Carter, it time we stand and fight for what we’ve worked for, what you and JSA used to work for. The battle has been long but we’ll stand up tonight, champions. What do you say?” Chloe asked, arms crossed in front of her.
Carter nodded, “Go get the rest of your operatives, I’ll gather what I can of the JSA and I’ll meet you across the street from the new punk superheroes.”
“One of these days Carter you’ll have to realise that they are going to make a difference. Tonight it’s time to let everything go. Who knows, maybe the new team will listen when you give advice.”
Laughing Carter shook his head, “Go. I’ll meet you there.”
Smiling Chloe left leaving Carter alone to his thoughts as he return to staring at his wife’s helmet for a while.
********
Pulling on her belt Chloe looked up in the mirror. At times it felt like she was a different person. It was odd, the red hair, at first it she hadn’t liked it much. When she had first dyed it she had decided to only keep it like that for as long as necessary but by the time she knew for sure that the others had stopped looking for her she had grown to love it, and the long hair she had grown to go with it, so she kept it. Pulling it back into a ponytail she smiled at the way she looked. She couldn’t wait to show the league what she had become, although she knew there would be a lot of hard memories that would come with the day. She hadn’t been in Watchtower since she had left, she hadn’t wanted to be, and although J’onn assured her that her access codes still worked she hoped that the flashbacks wouldn’t come. She hadn’t told anyone that she had constant nightmares while she was staying there, she didn’t think that there was a need.
Sighing she shook her head, trying to shake all those thoughts away. They wouldn’t help now, she knew that. Straightening her skirt she picked up the belt and put it place. She emptied it after each use, putting it back in its place in the case. It seemed as though she had picked up Oliver’s weird habitat of obsessively putting her gear back into the right place. It didn’t bother her that much, it could be worse in her mind. She could have picked up his fascination for green or getting up ridiculously early or, heaven forbid, substituted coffee for tea. It was insane pick up a habit from a person who was barely her friend but she liked that she did.
“Stop thinking so hard,” J’onn said from behind her.
Smiling she shook her head and turned to face him. It felt weird standing there in only her skirt, belt and bra but she knew J’onn had no interest in her. It was an odd relationship they had. Before he had just been Clark’s mentor, sent by his father to save him from himself but now he was her friend. He was one of her best friends.
“I can’t help it. What if this doesn’t work? We’ve put so much into it. This has to work,” Chloe whispered.
“It will, because it’s your plan. Trust in yourself Chloe. You have the Justice Societies support and you have my support. You have the Red Queen’s support and everyone in the organisation is rooting for you. Now you just need to have faith in yourself.”
Smiling she walked over and hugged J’onn, “Thank you. I’m glad you’re here, in the foxhole, with me. I don’t think I’d want anyone else to be here with me.”
“That’s great to know Chloe. I wouldn’t want to be with anyone else either,” J’onn whispered, squeezing her tight before letting go. “Now how about we finish suiting up then you can go talk to the League and I’ll bring the Society to us. We’ll convince the League and then we’ll do what we’ve been working to do for years. We’ll take down Checkmate.”
Smiling she nodded, “Well let’s get to work then.”
**************
Watching as the group moved around below her Chloe sat in the closest chair, placing her feet silently on the desk. She would have to take a different approach with the League than what she did with the JSA. She only had one chance with them. So instead of charging in she waited and watched as Victor helped Dinah try to hack into Checkmate’s headquarters, Tess was handcuffed to a chair and Clark rushed around like a mad man. Oliver threw around orders before sitting quietly on the couch, as if he knew he was only getting in the way. She studied him for a bit, shocked to see that sadness that crept into the corner of he’s eyes. She hadn’t noticed the enormity of that sadness until now and J’onn hadn’t mentioned it.
Smiling when she saw Lois walk in she was surprised with the way that the boys reacted to her presence. Everyone but Dinah, Tess and Oliver seemed to calm down a couple of notches. It was weird the way she walked around. But then maybe it was the fact that Lois was the first one to look at her in an hour and a half. It was kind of ironic the way that had worked out.
“Um... guys?” Lois said, motioning to where Chloe was sitting, “Did you know that someone else was sitting up there?”
Chloe’s smile changed to a smirk as every eye in the room looked. It was interesting. A group of superheroes didn’t notice she was there but trust her cousin to be there for two seconds and know that something was off. Standing she moved slowly over to the railing so that the team could see her properly. Hearing Tess and Oliver gasp her smirk grew.
“You should really change the security around here. I didn’t even need J’onn’s help to get in.”
Oliver stood and took a few steps forward, “You’re the girl who rescued me.”
“And stole the book from me,” Tess whispered.
“I have many talents,” Chloe said with a shrug.
“What I want to know is how you got in here?” Dinah demanded, “This is a secure location.”
“No it was a secure location,” Chloe replied with a shrug, “But when you created the system and it hasn’t been changed in three years it’s very easy to get in.”
Pulling the hood off her head, flipping off her voice distorter and placing her glasses on the desk she waited for the shock gasps to come. As they did she smiled down at them and continued, “Now’s not the time for explanations. I need your help. Checkmate needs to be taken down and it needs to happen tonight.”
“Why us? Why now Chloe? You should have come to us before you left.” Bart asked, confusing filling his eyes.
Chloe laughed hollowly, her eyes hardening over, “So what? You all get to fall apart but when my husband dies I’m just expected to get up and push on. No! That’s not expectable! I deserve that right as much any of you, even more. And contrary to what Emil thought making this place into a Watchtower didn’t make me feel any better about the fact my husband died in my hands because of my bad decisions.”
“He didn’t mean it like that Chlo,” Lois whispered.
“It doesn’t matter now,” J’onn said, startling them all.
Chloe looked back at him, tears at the edge of her eyes. Smiling as he rubbed a hand over her eyes she looked at Iris, Carter, Courtney and Doctor Fate, smiling at them too.
”You’re alright Chloe. Your safe,” J’onn communicated to her through telepathy.
Nodding she turned back to the others, “It doesn’t matter. The reasons can’t matter at the moment. We need your help. We’re invading Checkmate’s headquarters, taking them down once and for all tonight but we need your help.”
“We don’t have the man power to do it alone,” J’onn said.
“So what the Red Queen can take over,” Tess snarled, “Waller won’t let that happen.”
“There nothing to fear from Red Queen or what she stands for,” J’onn replied.
“He’s right,” Chloe whispered, turning to the league, “Trust what you know about J’onn and me. Do you really think we would work for someone who just wanted to control the world?”
“Not in a million years,” Lois said with a nod of certainty.
Smiling at her cousin’s conviction Chloe continued, “Anyway, the Red Queen is someone you all trust?”
“Who?,” Clark demanded.
“We share a common goal,” Chloe continued, ignoring Clark’s question.
“And what would that be?” Olive whispered, making eye contact with Chloe for the first time.
Holding Oliver’s eye contact she smiled, “To allow and trust the traveller to make the right decisions and extend that curtsey to anyone who may follow his in his footsteps, because we know they are righteous.”
Clark’s eyes widened as he realised who she was talking about, “But why were you recruited?”
“Cause you and Chloe have been friends for a very long time and I knew I would be able to trust her with our mission. I knew she would be able to uphold everything we stand for and she did a marvellous job,” Martha answered from the doorway.
Watching as the League tried not to choke on their tongue’s Chloe tried to stifle a laughing. Glancing back at J’onn and Iris she wasn’t surprised to see that he wasn’t reacting at all. The three remaining members of the Justice Society where wearing the same expressions as the League however. Obviously they were as shocked as the League but that was the beauty of their operation. Who would expect a senator to be running operation like this?
Smiling Chloe continued, “We all share the same drive. The Justice Society of America was dismantled by the Checkmate and that’s what they are going to do to League if we don’t stop them.”
Tess rolled her eyes, “You can’t believe.”
“No they can’t believe you Tess or do they not know that you’re a checkmate agent?” Chloe replied, raising an eyebrow at her.
Startled Tess opened her mouth to respond only to close it again, as if knowing she wasn’t going to win against Chloe.
“It doesn’t matter now Tess. At the end of the day Checkmate will be done with and you’ll be free,” Chloe replied, “Or did you think that we didn’t know that Checkmate has a price on your head.” Watching Tess’s shock she couldn’t help but feel amused, “Don’t worry,” she continued, speaking solely to the red head, “We have a plan.”
*******
Crouching on the ground, Oliver and Clark on either side of her, Chloe took several deep breaths, the voice of her taekwondo instructor running through her head. Finding her centre was easy, keeping it whilst Clark was glaring at her and Oliver was looking confused was difficult. She needed to remain grounded, centred; otherwise she wouldn’t be able to complete her job.
“Can you just answer me one question,” Clark whispered.
“Not right now I can’t,” Chloe scoffed.
“I just need to understand why,” Clark pleaded, trying to give her his puppy dog eyes.
Rolling her own eyes she was glad when J’onn came through her ear, telling her that it was time to get into place.
Moving swiftly she didn’t even check that the boys were getting into place beside her before placing her tablet into the security system box. Watching the system load she quickly entered the program into the system hoping that the boys behind her would stop staring. She knew this was hard for them, her coming back in the hero role as well as everything else but now was not the time to be discussing it. It would only distract from the mission and there was no need for anyone to get hurt just because Clark’s curiosity couldn’t wait the few hours it would take to bring down Checkmate.
Keying into the system she saw that Iris was already in from her vantage point. Clicking her com she said, “Manhunter why aren’t you in the system yet? You’re the only one we’re waiting for?”
“I’m working on it Phoenix, give me two minutes.”
“I can give you one but that’s it. We can’t let them know that we’re in the system.”
“I’m on it tower,” Victor responded in her ear as he obviously pushed J’onn aside.
“One its Phoenix and two I should have just let you do it from the start. It would have saved this hassle.”
“It certainly would have,” Victor replied, “I’m in.”
Chloe nodded, “Do you know what to do now?”
“Manhunter is filling me as we speak.”
“Great, we’ll go on three then, by my count, ok?” Hearing the affirmatives she started counting down. On three they all hit the switches on their tablets, the screen coming to life as it upload the information from the system and brought up the codes to let them in.
During her research Chloe had learnt that Checkmate kept three main entrances, each entrance had its own code which changed daily, hourly when there was an emergency. Once the main wall had been breached they would need the next set of numbers, all prime digits, to get through the next set of doors. The hidden trick was that all three main doors had to be accessed at the same time, correct codes inputted, before moving onto the next set that also needed to be inputted simultaneously. If even one digit was out of place the building’s alarms would activate and a swarm of guards would descend on all three locations. As far as she could tell no one had ever made it out alive after entering a wrong number.
Setting it up so she could count down again she turned to check that Oliver and Clark were following. Satisfied when she saw that they were, and that Oliver was somehow keeping a hand over Clark’s mouth, she focused on the task in hand. It would only take one mistake and this whole operation would be done for. Years of planning would go down the drain for nothing. It was more than that though. This was her getting to be the hero, not some sidekick who sat on the sidelines, and sure when this was over she never planned to play either role again but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t enjoy this, that she couldn’t, for once, love being the hero, the one who would save them all.
As the next door opened she couldn’t help but squish what she was feeling, pushing her emotions aside for the greater good. She didn’t know what it was to be a hero when Jimmy was around, maybe she would have known how to save him had she known better but she didn’t and all that mattered was ensuring that everyone got out alive.
“Ok,” she said through her com as the three of them walked though the opened door, “We all know our parts in this. Let’s bring down Checkmate.” Tapping off her com as radio silence was initiated she smiled at the boys behind her before turning to Clark, “Off you go. Archer and I will meet you where we’re supposed to.”
Watching as Clark left she rolled her eyes, knowing that he wasn’t happy about this part of the plan. It wasn’t sinking in yet that she could take care of herself. That she didn’t need a hero to save her because now she was a hero. Motioning to Oliver they headed down their corridor, moving cautiously, both aware of their vulnerabilities. She was glad that Oliver understood that she didn’t need his protection. It seemed to sink in for almost everyone in the Justice League and even in the Justice Society. The only person who didn’t seem to get it was Clark and it was becoming clear that he could only ever see her in the damsel in distress role.
It was something that he was going to have to get used to though. If it was up to her she would never go back to being a damsel in distress.
Raising her crossbow at a sound she knew she had to get her head into the game soon otherwise it could be disastrous. The other two parts of the plan couldn’t go off without a hitch unless she was able to pull of her part. With Clark killing the backup generator all as she and Oliver headed to the main power grid she knew that J’onn and Iris would be heading to their locations: J’onn to take out the White Queen and destroy all her resources, and Iris to dismantle the backup system whilst sending a message to all the White Queen’s agents, don’t come back... ever. If all three part of the plan were executed properly they building would be evacuated and blown sky high, leaving no trace of what it existed for.
Rounding the corner that would take them to the main power grid they crept along, taking their time so that they didn’t have a misstep along the way. They couldn’t afford one at the moment. The whole operation was timed to the second. Slipping into the room she smiled as Oliver fired off two of his tazor arrows without warning, knocking out the agents in the room before they had a chance to alert anyone their presence. Moving to the main console she set up her second tablet to run the algorithm.
Motioning to Oliver she whispered, “Flick the green switch on the third console over. It should allow me greater access to the system.”
Nodding Oliver moved over the console she had motioned to before whispering, “So why did you change your call sign?”
“Can we not do this now?” Chloe hissed, “Hit the red button on the second console.”
“I don’t see why we can’t discuss it now,” Oliver replied with a shrug, his hand pressing the button.
“Maybe because this is a delicate process,” Chloe responded as a gust blew through the room. Ignoring Clark she kept giving Oliver directions until the power went out. Counting to three she held her breath, hoping that the backup generator wouldn’t kick in. When it didn’t she took a deep breath before taking out her phone and turning on all the coms in the area before saying into her own, “The power is out. We’re moving onto out next step.”
“We understand,” the voices of J’onn and Iris ran through her ear, “Restarting radio silence.”
Nodding Chloe flicked her own com off again before turning to Oliver, “I changed my call sign because I thought that where I failed as Tower I might succeed as Phoenix, rising from the ashes of the death that surrounded that call sign. It made sense to me and I don’t regret changing it just because you and the League can’t get used to it.”
Oliver nodded, “That makes sense. Of course we’ll get use to it. We just need more than three hours.”
“Well that’s all I can give you,” Chloe replied with a shrug, “Now we need to move. Be prepared to evacuate any agents that may be coming our way.”
Clark nodded, keeping his mouth shut for once, which made Chloe happy. She didn’t really want to deal with him talking anymore than he apparently wanted to talk. It was a relief not to hear his opinion on everything and that’s probably what she enjoyed the most about Washington. While people, Martha in particular, offered their opinions they never pushed them on anyone else. They could always see the other side of things.
Slipping down the corridor she began to plant charges as both J’onn and, five minutes later, Iris checked in to let her know that the other parts of the plan had fallen into place. Checkmate’s entire database and backups had been destroyed, the White Queen had been neutralised and they were evacuating everyone from the building. The charges were being laid and everyone was getting ready to leave. All that was left was to set the charge. It was odd to think that almost two years worth of work came down to this. This moment when everything would explode and Checkmate would be no more. They couldn’t have been inside the facility for more than two hours but they were ready to blow it to shreds. That was the flaw in Checkmate’s system though. It was supposed to keep out the unwanted people but once they were in they could have free access to any area that they wanted as long as they had access cards, and those were really easy to duplicate.
Leaving the building a few steps behind Oliver they ran for the hill. They would stop there, blow the charges, and watch the building collapse before moving to join the others. It didn’t take them long to get into place. The hill wasn’t that big after all. Calling through the com to ensure that everyone else was out she pulled out the remote and held it out to Oliver, “I think you have earned the right to blow the place.”
“Well, thanks,” he said with a faint smile, taking the remote, “Thank you for everything Phoenix.”
Watching him flick the switch she nodded, “You’re welcome Archer.” She whispered before turning to face the building. The building was engulfed in flames. It only took three seconds before the four towers that acted as the support system started to wobble and collapse. Then that was it, the towers fell and the rest of the building began to crumple.
It was... over.
4th of November 2012
Sitting by the bedside Chloe smiled. It was over. They had won and she couldn’t help but feel glad. She was looking forward to having a normal life. Normal: now there was a watch word. Of course she didn’t want it to stay that way forever but she needed a break for now. Some time. There were still old scars to be healed, scars relating to Clark and Jimmy respectively. She wasn’t ready to go back to Metropolis either.
Her detour home was for one purpose: to visit her mom.
She had missed being able to see her but since she was housed in one of Oliver’s labs in Star City. Chloe had known that there was no way to visit her without Oliver knowing. Now it didn’t matter. The Justice League knew where she was heading, that if they were desperate they could contact her to help. They even had her new number. Of course she wasn’t sure that she had their trust again but it was a step in the right direction.
Taking the seat by her mother’s bed Chloe took her hand running her other down her arm, before apologising. She hadn’t meant to leave for so long but it was what she needed. So she apologised before starting to talk, telling her all about the last couple of years.
As she neared the end of her tale, telling her about Checkmate, Chloe was surprised when there was a knock at the door. Turning her surprised grew when she saw Oliver.
“What are you doing here?”
Oliver smiled, “I come and visit whenever I’m in town. Just so she knows she’s not alone.”
“Well thank you,” Chloe said, moving her chair to the side, “You should join us.”
“I’d like that.”
The End