Decade: Reunion (1.0)
Title: Decade: Reunion
Author: FlyingHigh / latetothpartyhp
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama / Adventure
Pairings: Chloe/Clark, Tess/Oliver
Spoilers: through Salvation, and selectively from Lazarus
Warnings: Because of when this fic starts there will be some collateral Clois and Chlollie to begin with. There was also be strong language, some violence and some mentions of sexuality. Please be sure to check individual chapters for ratings and warning changes.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, and I am receiving no money for this story. I also make no claim to anything written by T.S. Eliot, Emily Dickinson or William Shakespeare.
Summary: The last ten years have all led up to this.
Author's Note: This fic was written for selene2 , who won the bid for my services in the legendary_women auction - I hope you enjoy it! Many, many thanks to iluvaqt for beta-reading this.
Prologue / Reunion 1.0 / Reunion 1.1 / Reunion 1.2 / Reunion 1.3
J'onn was at the Watchtower before his voicemail even picked up.
“I got a call from a friend of mine on the force,” he said by way of explanation. “By the time I got to the station house you’d already been and gone. How is she?”
“She’s ... not good. She’s over there.”
J'onn gave him a concerned look, squeezing his shoulder. “I suggest getting to the bathroom. Ms. Mercer does not strike me as the type of woman who enjoys scraping vomit out of her keyboards.”
It was only as J'onn said this that Clark recognized the twisted, heavy feeling in his gut.
“You know, I don’t fe--- “
“Go!”
He went, speeding to the toilet, lifting the seat and then staring at it in confusion. He wasn’t sure how this was supposed to work; the few times before when it had happened it had just ... happened. He was wondering if he was supposed to stick his finger down his throat, if that would help, when, blessedly, his belly convulsed and last night’s General Tsao’s chicken greeted the world again. And again. And again. He was on his knees pushing up bitter acid and staring into the bowl when he felt J'onn’s hand on his shoulder again.
“Kal-El, this is not a problem you need to bear alone.”
“That’s why I called you,” he said. Maybe if he pushed himself up against the toilet he’d be able to stand, he thought. Gripping the sides, he bent one shaky leg forward, then the other. “I tried calling Oliver but he’s not picking up. I don’t know what to do. She’s just sitting there. Have you ever seen her just sit? Ever?”
“Has she been responsive at all? Made any kind of sign that she recognizes you?”
He straightened his legs and waist but found himself clutching the vanity as soon as he was upright. He couldn’t remember feeling this unstable unless there was kryptonite around. He scanned J'onn but found none, which was both a relief and a worry. What was happening to him? “No,” he answered. “She just sits.” Maybe he should sit too. He bent his legs and landed, hard, on the toilet seat. Luckily his powers seemed to be neutralized, because the toilet held. “I need you to look at her mind. Find out what happened to her, why she’s like this, who did this --“
For no reason, his stomach flopped again and J'onn’s hand was pushing his head between his knees.
“I’ll do what I can,” J'onn answered. “It may not be easy. If she has put on the Helmet of Fate, it may not be possible to learn what happened. Her mind may be shattered.”
“No!” He found himself standing again. Clutching his stomach and swaying a little from the loss of blood to his head, but standing. “She’s going to be okay.”
J'onn gave him a sympathetic look that for some reason pissed him off. “Kal-El, sit.” The other man pushed down on his shoulder and Clark felt his butt hit the seat again. “Believe me when I say I share your grief at that idea. I will learn what I can, but what I will learn, will probably not be what I want to learn.”
Clark let that sink in for a moment. He knew that. What he wanted and what happened were almost always two different things, and no more so than in the last few months with Chloe missing. That didn’t mean he had to like it. “You know about Chloe’s mom,” he said at last.
“I know she is not well.” The telepath looked uncomfortable, although why he would Clark couldn’t imagine.
“Chloe’s greatest fear was that she would end up crazy like her mother,” Clark told him. “We can’t let that happen. There has to be some kind of antidote, or treatment, or -- “
“Then you should call Emil. If there’s an organic component to this he would be the man to find it, and if she has been affected by ‘magic’ then we should also call Ms. Mercer; she’ll be able to get in touch with Zatanna.”
Clark nodded and stood. “She’ll probably have some idea where Oliver is too.” Oliver should be here, to see her. She was in danger of losing her mind because of him.
“You should talk to her cousin, as well.”
“Lois?”
“Is her other cousin in town?”
“I doubt it, but Lois just got back from India herself last night. She’s probably asleep.”
“From the few times I’ve met her, I’d think she’d be more upset if you didn’t wake her.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Clark just had no idea what he would tell her.
“Kal-El?”
“Hm?”
“I can’t help but notice you’re still here.”
“I’m trying to think.”
J’onn raised a brow.
“I can’t bring Lois here, but I’m not sure where to bring Chloe. And Lois is going to want to take her to the hospital.”
“I’ll have Emil meet us there.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
J’onn sighed. “Have you considered that Lois might be in a better position to help if she understood the nature of the problem?”
Clark frowned. J’onn could -- did -- know what he was thinking, but he was seldom so direct. Generally the telepath considered commenting on the unspoken thoughts of others rude. “We don’t know the nature of the problem. I don’t want to worry her when we don’t have any answers. Emil should take a look at her first, and then I’ve got to find a place for her to stay.”
“I’m sure Oliver won’t mind if you take her to the Clocktower.”
He considered. In a way it was tempting: it would be a way of establishing Oliver’s responsibility for what had happened. It would also be a way for Oliver to take over her care, which, with the number of commitments the other man had, Clark did not see ending well. “I’d hate for Oliver to come home to that kind of surprise.”
“Then bring her to the farm. She’ll be close to both you and Lois that way.”
That made sense, Clark thought. The farm was private, and even if someone should come by people in Smallville had gotten used to minding their own business. He’d have to run to D.C., let his mother know, but the next recess wasn’t for a while and if worse came to worse she could stay with Perry.
“That’s a good idea,” he said.
********************************************
Clark drove back to Metropolis in the morning. He’d need the truck for Lois on the return trip, and it gave him time to think. He’d tucked Chloe into bed before leaving and told her to sleep, after which she’d immediately closed her eyes and began drawing the deep, even breaths of the unconscious. She’d done everything he told her to do like that, immediately and without hesitation. They were the only things she did do, and so far no one could tell him why.
Emil had drawn some blood and scheduled an MRI, but had found no external physical injury. After a quick scan himself, Clark had been able to assure him there were no foreign objects embedded in her, and in return Emil had told him they would have to wait until the labs on her blood came back and the MRI could be performed. J’onn’s examination had been just as unenlightening.
“I’ve never sensed anything like this before,” he’d said.
“Like what?”
“Since I’ve never encountered it before I’m not sure how to describe it. It’s like trying to find something in a room that’s already been tossed, but I’m not sure if the room was tossed or if it did toss.”
“I don’t follow you.”
“Did you see Toy Story 3?”
“Did you?”
“Best movie of the summer, and proof that sequels don’t have to stink,” J’onn stopped. Maybe he’d sensed the overwhelming disbelief Clark was experiencing. “Well, you know the toys can walk and talk,” he’d continued, “but when people enter the room they’re in they have to pretend to be inanimate? In Toy Story 3, the toys are at a nursery school where the children are untidy and so when the humans enter the room they have to quickly make a mess of themselves in order not to draw suspicion.”
“So, you’re saying that Chloe’s mind is like a daycare full of toys that have left themselves lying around?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. When I look into her mind it feels as if there’s something happening, in the periphery, but when I look to see what it is, it stops.”
“Well, how do you get things to stay where they’re supposed to be?”
“I don’t know Kal-El. Like I said earlier, it’s possible someone else may have already tried.”
“Another telepath?”
The detective shrugged. “Possibly. She may on some unconscious level be defending herself. Or she could be reacting to the stress of her captivity, or maybe this is just what the Helmet does to people it doesn’t like.Whatever it is, at this point I’d want to hear what Emil and Zatanna have to say before I continue poking around in there. I don’t want to make things worse.”
Zatanna, however, was in London at some kind of “yoga retreat” according to Tess, and A.C. was in the Gulf and refused to leave to go get her, so analysis of a possible curse would have to wait until she returned.
“What about Bart?” he’d asked.
“He’s with Oliver,” she’d answered.
“Well where’s Oliver? He needs to know about this too.”
“He’s out of town.”
“Out of town where?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t think it would be a good idea to tell you that right now.”
“Tess, Chloe’s back! She’s returned, and she needs help! She needs Oliver.”
“I understand that, and I have contacted him, and I am sure he wouldn’t mind you knowing where he is. The good people at Verizon Wireless are another matter.”
He’d hung up then. She’d been harping about his phone constantly in the last month. She wanted him to use only secure lines, ones that she’d given him, but after everything she’d done he’d rather trust his cellular service provider. She’d forced him into battle with Doomsday and helped Zod build a couple of skyscrapers designed to help him take over the planet. All Verizon had done was lock him into a two-year contract.
Plus by that point he’d exited from 83 unto I-70. He had half an hour to plan out what he was going to say to Lois. He’d have to get her out of there discreetly. Lois hadn’t made much of a secret about her search for Chloe and while there weren’t many people left at the Planet who remembered her, he didn’t need word getting around. Better they kept placing bets on what Lois’ next theory would be (“Lex Luthor Was Behind It Despite Being Dead” was popular, but there were also several markers on “Vengeful Meteor Freak” and “Kidnapped by Aliens and/or Intergang”). But once they were out of the basement -- then what? He couldn’t just blurt out: “Lois, Chloe’s back and I didn’t tell you immediately because I didn’t want to wake you up”? He had a two-hour drive to the farm with her. Maybe he could wait until they’d gotten back... but then he’d have to find some way to justify the trip there. Straightforward was probably best.
Of course, a lot would depend on the mood she was in. A lot. He should just take his cue from her. If she’d learned anything new about the “tagged” monuments, she’d be positive and energetic, but eager to work and not necessarily receptive to playing hookey. If her investigation hadn’t uncovered anything she’d likely be ... not as positive, but possibly willing to bail before Stern called her to his office to bitch about her expenses.
He crossed his fingers and hoped her trip had been a bust.
Author: FlyingHigh / latetothpartyhp
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama / Adventure
Pairings: Chloe/Clark, Tess/Oliver
Spoilers: through Salvation, and selectively from Lazarus
Warnings: Because of when this fic starts there will be some collateral Clois and Chlollie to begin with. There was also be strong language, some violence and some mentions of sexuality. Please be sure to check individual chapters for ratings and warning changes.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, and I am receiving no money for this story. I also make no claim to anything written by T.S. Eliot, Emily Dickinson or William Shakespeare.
Summary: The last ten years have all led up to this.
Author's Note: This fic was written for selene2 , who won the bid for my services in the legendary_women auction - I hope you enjoy it! Many, many thanks to iluvaqt for beta-reading this.
Prologue / Reunion 1.0 / Reunion 1.1 / Reunion 1.2 / Reunion 1.3
J'onn was at the Watchtower before his voicemail even picked up.
“I got a call from a friend of mine on the force,” he said by way of explanation. “By the time I got to the station house you’d already been and gone. How is she?”
“She’s ... not good. She’s over there.”
J'onn gave him a concerned look, squeezing his shoulder. “I suggest getting to the bathroom. Ms. Mercer does not strike me as the type of woman who enjoys scraping vomit out of her keyboards.”
It was only as J'onn said this that Clark recognized the twisted, heavy feeling in his gut.
“You know, I don’t fe--- “
“Go!”
He went, speeding to the toilet, lifting the seat and then staring at it in confusion. He wasn’t sure how this was supposed to work; the few times before when it had happened it had just ... happened. He was wondering if he was supposed to stick his finger down his throat, if that would help, when, blessedly, his belly convulsed and last night’s General Tsao’s chicken greeted the world again. And again. And again. He was on his knees pushing up bitter acid and staring into the bowl when he felt J'onn’s hand on his shoulder again.
“Kal-El, this is not a problem you need to bear alone.”
“That’s why I called you,” he said. Maybe if he pushed himself up against the toilet he’d be able to stand, he thought. Gripping the sides, he bent one shaky leg forward, then the other. “I tried calling Oliver but he’s not picking up. I don’t know what to do. She’s just sitting there. Have you ever seen her just sit? Ever?”
“Has she been responsive at all? Made any kind of sign that she recognizes you?”
He straightened his legs and waist but found himself clutching the vanity as soon as he was upright. He couldn’t remember feeling this unstable unless there was kryptonite around. He scanned J'onn but found none, which was both a relief and a worry. What was happening to him? “No,” he answered. “She just sits.” Maybe he should sit too. He bent his legs and landed, hard, on the toilet seat. Luckily his powers seemed to be neutralized, because the toilet held. “I need you to look at her mind. Find out what happened to her, why she’s like this, who did this --“
For no reason, his stomach flopped again and J'onn’s hand was pushing his head between his knees.
“I’ll do what I can,” J'onn answered. “It may not be easy. If she has put on the Helmet of Fate, it may not be possible to learn what happened. Her mind may be shattered.”
“No!” He found himself standing again. Clutching his stomach and swaying a little from the loss of blood to his head, but standing. “She’s going to be okay.”
J'onn gave him a sympathetic look that for some reason pissed him off. “Kal-El, sit.” The other man pushed down on his shoulder and Clark felt his butt hit the seat again. “Believe me when I say I share your grief at that idea. I will learn what I can, but what I will learn, will probably not be what I want to learn.”
Clark let that sink in for a moment. He knew that. What he wanted and what happened were almost always two different things, and no more so than in the last few months with Chloe missing. That didn’t mean he had to like it. “You know about Chloe’s mom,” he said at last.
“I know she is not well.” The telepath looked uncomfortable, although why he would Clark couldn’t imagine.
“Chloe’s greatest fear was that she would end up crazy like her mother,” Clark told him. “We can’t let that happen. There has to be some kind of antidote, or treatment, or -- “
“Then you should call Emil. If there’s an organic component to this he would be the man to find it, and if she has been affected by ‘magic’ then we should also call Ms. Mercer; she’ll be able to get in touch with Zatanna.”
Clark nodded and stood. “She’ll probably have some idea where Oliver is too.” Oliver should be here, to see her. She was in danger of losing her mind because of him.
“You should talk to her cousin, as well.”
“Lois?”
“Is her other cousin in town?”
“I doubt it, but Lois just got back from India herself last night. She’s probably asleep.”
“From the few times I’ve met her, I’d think she’d be more upset if you didn’t wake her.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Clark just had no idea what he would tell her.
“Kal-El?”
“Hm?”
“I can’t help but notice you’re still here.”
“I’m trying to think.”
J’onn raised a brow.
“I can’t bring Lois here, but I’m not sure where to bring Chloe. And Lois is going to want to take her to the hospital.”
“I’ll have Emil meet us there.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
J’onn sighed. “Have you considered that Lois might be in a better position to help if she understood the nature of the problem?”
Clark frowned. J’onn could -- did -- know what he was thinking, but he was seldom so direct. Generally the telepath considered commenting on the unspoken thoughts of others rude. “We don’t know the nature of the problem. I don’t want to worry her when we don’t have any answers. Emil should take a look at her first, and then I’ve got to find a place for her to stay.”
“I’m sure Oliver won’t mind if you take her to the Clocktower.”
He considered. In a way it was tempting: it would be a way of establishing Oliver’s responsibility for what had happened. It would also be a way for Oliver to take over her care, which, with the number of commitments the other man had, Clark did not see ending well. “I’d hate for Oliver to come home to that kind of surprise.”
“Then bring her to the farm. She’ll be close to both you and Lois that way.”
That made sense, Clark thought. The farm was private, and even if someone should come by people in Smallville had gotten used to minding their own business. He’d have to run to D.C., let his mother know, but the next recess wasn’t for a while and if worse came to worse she could stay with Perry.
“That’s a good idea,” he said.
********************************************
Clark drove back to Metropolis in the morning. He’d need the truck for Lois on the return trip, and it gave him time to think. He’d tucked Chloe into bed before leaving and told her to sleep, after which she’d immediately closed her eyes and began drawing the deep, even breaths of the unconscious. She’d done everything he told her to do like that, immediately and without hesitation. They were the only things she did do, and so far no one could tell him why.
Emil had drawn some blood and scheduled an MRI, but had found no external physical injury. After a quick scan himself, Clark had been able to assure him there were no foreign objects embedded in her, and in return Emil had told him they would have to wait until the labs on her blood came back and the MRI could be performed. J’onn’s examination had been just as unenlightening.
“I’ve never sensed anything like this before,” he’d said.
“Like what?”
“Since I’ve never encountered it before I’m not sure how to describe it. It’s like trying to find something in a room that’s already been tossed, but I’m not sure if the room was tossed or if it did toss.”
“I don’t follow you.”
“Did you see Toy Story 3?”
“Did you?”
“Best movie of the summer, and proof that sequels don’t have to stink,” J’onn stopped. Maybe he’d sensed the overwhelming disbelief Clark was experiencing. “Well, you know the toys can walk and talk,” he’d continued, “but when people enter the room they’re in they have to pretend to be inanimate? In Toy Story 3, the toys are at a nursery school where the children are untidy and so when the humans enter the room they have to quickly make a mess of themselves in order not to draw suspicion.”
“So, you’re saying that Chloe’s mind is like a daycare full of toys that have left themselves lying around?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. When I look into her mind it feels as if there’s something happening, in the periphery, but when I look to see what it is, it stops.”
“Well, how do you get things to stay where they’re supposed to be?”
“I don’t know Kal-El. Like I said earlier, it’s possible someone else may have already tried.”
“Another telepath?”
The detective shrugged. “Possibly. She may on some unconscious level be defending herself. Or she could be reacting to the stress of her captivity, or maybe this is just what the Helmet does to people it doesn’t like.Whatever it is, at this point I’d want to hear what Emil and Zatanna have to say before I continue poking around in there. I don’t want to make things worse.”
Zatanna, however, was in London at some kind of “yoga retreat” according to Tess, and A.C. was in the Gulf and refused to leave to go get her, so analysis of a possible curse would have to wait until she returned.
“What about Bart?” he’d asked.
“He’s with Oliver,” she’d answered.
“Well where’s Oliver? He needs to know about this too.”
“He’s out of town.”
“Out of town where?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t think it would be a good idea to tell you that right now.”
“Tess, Chloe’s back! She’s returned, and she needs help! She needs Oliver.”
“I understand that, and I have contacted him, and I am sure he wouldn’t mind you knowing where he is. The good people at Verizon Wireless are another matter.”
He’d hung up then. She’d been harping about his phone constantly in the last month. She wanted him to use only secure lines, ones that she’d given him, but after everything she’d done he’d rather trust his cellular service provider. She’d forced him into battle with Doomsday and helped Zod build a couple of skyscrapers designed to help him take over the planet. All Verizon had done was lock him into a two-year contract.
Plus by that point he’d exited from 83 unto I-70. He had half an hour to plan out what he was going to say to Lois. He’d have to get her out of there discreetly. Lois hadn’t made much of a secret about her search for Chloe and while there weren’t many people left at the Planet who remembered her, he didn’t need word getting around. Better they kept placing bets on what Lois’ next theory would be (“Lex Luthor Was Behind It Despite Being Dead” was popular, but there were also several markers on “Vengeful Meteor Freak” and “Kidnapped by Aliens and/or Intergang”). But once they were out of the basement -- then what? He couldn’t just blurt out: “Lois, Chloe’s back and I didn’t tell you immediately because I didn’t want to wake you up”? He had a two-hour drive to the farm with her. Maybe he could wait until they’d gotten back... but then he’d have to find some way to justify the trip there. Straightforward was probably best.
Of course, a lot would depend on the mood she was in. A lot. He should just take his cue from her. If she’d learned anything new about the “tagged” monuments, she’d be positive and energetic, but eager to work and not necessarily receptive to playing hookey. If her investigation hadn’t uncovered anything she’d likely be ... not as positive, but possibly willing to bail before Stern called her to his office to bitch about her expenses.
He crossed his fingers and hoped her trip had been a bust.