The Loyal Opposition, Part 16
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.
Author's Note for Part 16: Wow. It's been awhile. However, getting this amazingly cool new banner by go_clo inspired me to get my butt in gear to wrap this up, and wrap it up I shall. I may not purchase, wrap, bake, or send anything this December, but this fic will get done!
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
"It's an Erzebirge Ark, an old one. I think Lillian must have kept it in the nursery. I found it in storage, in a box marked 'Julian'." Tess fingered a wooden dromedary and Chloe's stomach turned. However Madelyn was transmitting her information, she prayed that did not make it through. "I always loved that story. In the end, everyone gets a new beginning."
"And a promise," Chloe blurted. Tess gave her a quizzical look. "The rainbow? The sign that God would never again destroy the Earth?" Careful, Sullivan. Keep the irony out of your voice, would ya?
Tess did not seem to have heard it, though. Instead she gave Chloe a sad smile. "No. He left that for us to do, didn't he?"
Jesus. How did one un-ironically answer a question like that? "I ... guess?"
If Tess had heard her choked inflection, she chose to ignore it. "We all have a purpose in life, although most of us never realize what that purpose is," she said. "I was lucky enough to be shown mine at a very young age. I didn't waste the time most people do. Like you did." She moved to the table where she had sat the day before and trailed her fingers over the vase there that was surely, if beauty was truth and truth beauty, the biggest lie ever told. She turned and sat, but did not invite Chloe to do so. "You do know what your purpose is, don't you?"
"To serve the House of El." Chloe hoped the slight rise in her voice at the end of that sentence signaled enthusiasm rather than uncertainty. Hadn't they covered this territory already?
"Of course it is," Tess said. "But how would you serve the House of El?"
"In any way I'm ordered." Not really, she told herself. Just until the House of El no longer tyrannized the earth. After last night she thought it was important she draw a clear mental line between who she was and ... what she had to do. Just in case.
"And in any way you haven't been?" Tess asked.
Chloe paused for a second, uncertain. In this place she was pretty sure the answer to that depended on who was giving the orders. "Have I done something wrong?" she asked.
"Do you think you've done something wrong?"
Oh, this is bullshit, Chloe thought. She had the freaking tattoo on her back. The time for word games was over. "No, I don't. But obviously I'm new here, so if there's an employee handbook I'd like the chance to read it before I'm dressed down for breaking a rule I didn't know existed."
"No." Tess shook her head. "You're not new here at all." She leaned back in her chair and stared at Chloe a few seconds before continuing. "I am told Kal-El spend the night in your room."
Ah. Now it was making sense. "I guess so. He left before I woke up."
"Really. Did he wear you out with lots of old school stories and 'remember when'?"
Chloe tried not to show her surprise. Wouldn't Tess know? Shouldn't her personal squad of super-powered Peeping Toms be able to tell her? She had assumed ...
Never assume, Lex had said.
Right, she'd told him. Because when you assume, you make an ass out --
If you finish that statement I will have Nadia break your neck right now.
And here I thought we were starting to be friends.
Which is why it would make me very sad to order your death. Don't think it wouldn't.
Ok, she thought. I won't assume and I won't use stupid cliches. But seriously -- "Do you really need to ask me that?" she blurted.
Arching a brow, Tess barked a tired little laugh. "Privacy is respected here. Kal-El's privacy is at least."
Which meant, possibly, that Tess' wasn't? Chloe stored that question away for later. In the here-and-now what mattered was that Tess was possibly in want of information: What had Chloe gotten up to last night? Was Chloe even now incubating the long-desired Bridge-Between-the-Species Baby? She wasn't, unless Clark had re-engineered himself to contribute DNA through saliva, and if she wanted to live a little longer she should probably tell Tess that. Still, there was no reason to tell her everything. "We didn't have sex. If that's some other hazing rite around here I'm afraid it got skipped."
Tess rolled her eyes and relaxed almost imperceptibly. "Don't worry, you're still in the club," she said. "He doesn't usually involve himself with the new recruits at all. You're obviously a special case."
"That's what all my teachers told me."
"I'll bet they did." For a second she looked hesitant, then adopted a face of concern. "He didn't say or do anything that struck you as unusual, did he? Anything you might consider worrisome?"
Only every word that spilled from his mouth, Chloe thought. "Not any more so than usual," she answered.
Tess nodded. "So he didn't mention anything odd he planned to do?"
Other than the obvious? No. "He talked about wanting to increase food production using super-heated Kryptonite." Maybe it was the pride of knowing she had what Tess wanted, maybe it was the sheer stupidity of that scenario, but she leaned forward and added, "Please tell me you're not going to let him go through with that. You've got to know what a spectacularly idiotic idea it would be to expose your people to Black K."
"Oh, you needn't worry yourself over that," Tess continued, leaning forward herself. Chloe felt her jaw tighten and forced herself to relax. "What you do need to worry about is your immediate future. As in today. Did Kal-El say anything to you about his plans for today?"
Wait - what? "You're telling me you don't know? Don't you have a schedule for him? Broadcasts, ribbon cuttings, baby kissings?"
Shut it, said Tess' hard gaze. "Usually. This morning it appears he has decided to improvise," said Tess' voice. "I'm sure you can imagine why this would be a matter for concern."
"Yes, I can see where it would be." This was worrisome, and not just for Tess. If he didn't reappear soon, that meant trouble with a capital "T" for her. As a recently recanted rebel, Chloe would have been suspect number one in this situation even if Kal-El hadn't decided to pay a call the night before. On the other hand, she had been under constant visual surveillance the entire time she'd been in the mansion. What could she have possibly done? Other than have a single unmonitored conversation with the planetary pooh-bah.
Which, she realized, gave her just the tiniest feeling of triumph. Not that she could be sure where the idiot had run off to, but the fact that Tess couldn't either was enormously satisfying. She didn't know when she'd entered into a competition with the spider across from her, but she had, and any disadvantage to Tess was a point for her. "He didn't mention specifics," she said with a smile. It would still be helpful to appear helpful. "It was all very general. He talked a lot about Lana." Heh. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
"Did he?" Tess asked, looking as unhappy as she sounded.
"At some length," Chloe said. Her smile broadened. It was cruel, really, considering Tess' earlier reaction, but for some reason she couldn't help herself. "You know how desperately he was in love with her."