The Loyal Opposition, Part 4 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, check out this gorgeous 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
She was led through the halls without shackles. A sign the hocus-pocus had had an effect, or confirmation they didn't think she was dangerous? She was calm enough now to accept either possibility. Both worked to her advantage. She might never lose the palsy and step into the waiting car, but she would still get away with it.
Just keep telling yourself that, Sullivan.
The alien -- and there was no other way to put it, the terms of Kal-El's "truce" had made it abundantly clear all humanoids were not created equal -- who walked ahead of her and her keeper came to the library doors and turned. He jerked his head and the human guard -- she'd never asked his name and he'd never given it; in her head she called him Percy -- took up a position to the left. The Kryptonian opened the right door and jerked his head again -- at her, she thought. Probably she was supposed to follow him in. Inside, he moved to the pool table and turned, facing the fireplace. There were no further jerks of the head; he'd evidently said all he needed to say. In the interest of appearing cowed, she walked over and stood next to him. The table was slightly dusty, which gave her an odd sense of satisfaction. The thought of aliens shooting pool on Lex's table was obscene.
Chloe didn't know how long they stood there; her sense of time had been scrambled the last few days. At just the point she started to feel antsy with the anticipation the guard actually spoke. "Kneel," he told her, and when she finished jumping she did. Heart hammering in her throat, she focused on the painful press of her kneecaps. Like the hard anger of her first interview it was clarifying, bringing all the screaming mental panic to one single point. In a moment, she heard the terrace door open and Clar -Kal-El 's footsteps behind her.
"We have her," he announced, coming to face her. "Your information was incomplete, however."
This is when she was supposed to start improvising, she guessed.
"I told you everything I know."
"You didn't tell me Lana no longer had her powers."
Well. Fuck. They would all need to start improvising now.
She focused on the knees, kept her mind on the pain to keep her heart-rate down. Kal-El could not hear it, but the other one could.
"I didn't know." Which was the most honest thing she'd said in nearly a week now. What the hell had happened?
"But you knew where she was likely to be."
"I knew where she had based herself, we've been in contact, but I haven't seen her in months."
"When was the last time you did see her?"
When they question you, and they will, begin by telling them what they already know, Lex had said. She thought of the last mission she'd shared with Lana and shivered. One of the aliens had nearly apprehended her; without the one-two punch of the Krypto-suit and the Lana-fu Chloe would not be kneeling before him today.
"The day at the Watchtower," she said.
"When you attempted to intercept our signal."
When they had intercepted the signal, but she nodded. Not that they had been able to decompile much of the code, but if this didn't work -- No. This would work. Whatever this was.
"Your attempt was foolish. Even if you had succeeded, you cannot read Kryptonian." He smiled a little, and again Chloe had the eerie sensation she was looking at Jonathan.
One more thing she certainly did not need to lie about.
She nodded again. "We overreached. It was misguided of us."
"That was the last time you physically saw Lana?"
"Yes." She stared at him with what she hoped was an imploring expression.Would he believe her? She couldn't afford to tell him anything more. Madelyn had said that after awhile he would want to believe. The problem with Madelyn's little trick, though, was that it could only work on one person at a time. Chloe had no idea what the Krypto-cop at her side thought of all this. She could only hope he was stupid enough not to hear her lie.
"We'll see if your story can be corroborated. Let them in," he told the guard, then straightened and turned to the hallway doors. He looked resolute and determined, even regal in that pose. Of course kings were probably too primitive by Kryptonian standards, Chloe thought; no doubt the Science Council preferred the term "dictator in perpetuity". The guard opened the doors and a bedraggled Tess marched in, followed by a gaggle of human quislings, a tall alien woman and, crouched over a pair of lead shackles -- Lana Lang.