The Loyal Opposition, Part 9 of ???
Title: The Loyal Opposition
Author: latetothpartyhp
Rating: PG-13
Genre: drama
Spoilers: through Pandora
Pairings: ETA: I envisioned this as mainly a Chlark confrontation, but what emerged in addition to that were some hints of Chlex friendship, mutual Chless manipulation, and some (mostly) off-screen Clana. There's also a Lexana fight for anyone who's interested. And Cless! We have added Cless!
Warnings: some violence & language - ETA: Character deaths in store.
Summary / Author's Note: Chloe's on a mission for the resistance. Could be a Supernatural crossover if you squint real hard. Also, please check out the amazing banner by go_clo!
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10 / Part 11 / Part 12 / Part 13 / / Part 14 / Part 15 / Part 16
Despite a head throbbing with them, she didn't ask any more questions, and Tess didn't tell her any more carefully chosen nuggets of truth. Or vice versa. Instead she gritted her teeth and let Tess massage her hand and cried with as little motion as she could. When it was over, Rangi settled a piece of plastic wrap on her back, saying cheerfully: "You're bound to the House of El now, you and your children and you're children's children."
She sat up, dripping with tears and snot, and had to press her lips together at the scrape of her shirt along her back. Tess handed her a box of tissues and gave her a proud little smile. Chloe smiled and tried to look as enthusiastic as they were about the situation.
"You keep that on tonight," Rangi continued. "Take a shower in the morning, let 'er come off then. But don't bathe, not for a coupla weeks, and don't pick at it. Don't let anyone else pick at it either."
Ewwwwwww. He chuckled at her face. "Yeah, they got some weird ones in the barracks; don't let 'em get to you. And put this on a coupla times a day, just a thin layer 'til it starts scabbing up." He handed her a tube of A&D Cream. "You notice any bleeding or pus, you get to the Infirmary." His dark eyes looked genuinely concerned.
She nodded and blew her nose. She was going to start crying again, and that she did not want. She did not need concern, especially warm, upbeat, attentive concern. The man was reminding her of Pete. Not a relationship dynamic she wanted to foster at the moment. Or ever. Not when her children and her children's children were bound to the House of El forever.
Tess, God bless her, laid an arm on her shoulder. "We should get you to your quarters."
"I would like that." She would. She was much less intrigued now than she'd been before her shower. Probably because Madelyn was still on vacation. The giant throbbing scar on her back might have something to do with that too. She once again followed Tess out the door.
"We've got some space for you in the guest rooms," Tess said. "Unfortunately it's not permanent, but I'm sure we'll find something to your liking going forward."
Chloe smiled back vaguely, not sure if ignoring the inneundo or acknowledging it was the better plan. "I understand. I gotta go where I'm told now."
Tess looked pleased. "Where you gotta go for tonight is here," she said, opening an anonymous door.
"Looks comfortable. Thank you." They stood there for a moment in the entrance. Protocol probably demanded that she not shut the door on her new boss, but Tess did not appear anxious to leave. It occurred to her that maybe the move to the new room had merely been for discretion's sake. Oh she hoped not. Not now. She swayed with tired itchiness while Tess reached up and smoothed her hair, her expression thoughtful. "You look tired. I'll let you rest. You've got a big day tomorrow,"
Chloe sighed as delicately as she could. "Yes ma'am. Right away."
"Then... good night." She waited for Tess to turn and walk away before sagging against the closed door. Whatever was going to happen, please let it happen soon. Unlike Lex, she hadn't been raised to walk the mine-fields of other people's minds.
She laid herself down on the bed, on one side, then the other, trying to find a position that didn't stretch the skin on her back. After a few unsuccessful minutes of that a girl in camo came in with a tray that featured actual bread and what looked like scrambled eggs. From a powder, she guessed, like that god-awful formalde-food they'd tried to feed her at camp when she was a kid and didn't know how damn lucky she was to be able to turn her nose up at it. She smell made her stomach rumble. That might have been embarrassing, if the girl in camo had acknowledged her in any way. Maybe Tess had ommandeered the last of the precious, delicious egg-powder on her behalf and she'd have to unleash the power of Madelyn on the rest of the security staff to keep them from banding against her. That would be fun, if Madelyn ever decided to re-surface.
It must be nice, she thought, to just ignore what you didn't want to feel. She'd tried that for a while. Years. Never seemed to quite work out for her. Of course, she didn't have the option of riding around in someone else's body. Yet. Never say never, Sullivan. But in the glorious, ever-present now, brows furrowed against the pain, she was completely depedent on the spirit riding around in hers and it would be really fucking helpful to know if said spirit had been paying attention or not. Had she understood that Tess wanted Chloe to use the Fortress' Console on her behalf, or did Chloe have to spell it out for her? And how exactly would she do that if she did? It wasn't as if there was much scintillating dialogue in their relationship.
But if she could sense what Chloe sensed, Madelyn should be able to hear what she heard. She should be able to hear Chloe speak. Did she dare just start talking to herself? Maybe not. Tess had picked out the room; it could be bugged. Could be? She licked the last of the fake-egg grease off her fingers and giggled. The mansion was chock-full of strutting, searing humanoid listening devices. She supposed she could write it down: TESS WANTS TO CONTROL THE FORTRESS OF KNOWLEDGE. SEND HELP AND ACETAMINOPHEN. And then what would she do? Eat the paper? Besides which, she didn't know if the witch could read. There could have been some more thought put into this plan. What had been going through Lex's mind? Jesus her back burned. It was all so. Fucking. Frustrating. She buried her face in her pillow and screamed.
"Does this mean you're awake?'
She jumped. Dammit. Someone had heard and come and --
Kal-El.
Kal-El had come.