Stolen Future Chapter 17/20
Title: Stolen Future
Author: Märk Owen
Pairing: Chloe/Oliver
Rating: Strong R for language and violence
Warnings: Graphic executions as well as depressive and emotional themes
Timeline: AU Season 6 (Zod and beyond)
Disclaimer: Any Smallville or DC Comics related things in this story are the property of their own owners. The only thing that belongs to me here is the storyline, nothing else is mine.
Summary: In this universe, Darkseid made a pact with Zod who adopted Kal-El. He will kidnap the JLA before its creation, leaving Earth powerless. Will Chloe and Oliver ever meet? Will the JLA even form? What will happen to Earth?
Previous chapters: Prologue | 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
Chapter 17: Unpunished
The sirens rang again over the city as once more, Zod's men had to fight against the resistance. They were powerful but the ex-prisoners had much more people among their lines and they kept recruiting more and more with each break out attack.
It all started with the humans and their plans were going well but it was just the beginning. Zod's reign had taken a blow but the kandorian army wasn't going to let their actions go unpunished. Soon, it would be time for them to face the wrath of Zod.
Zod, the man who had the power of life and death over the planet, was currently standing in the middle of the ruins of his mansion. The house that had once harbored his family was now destroyed. His son was gone and his wife, Faora, was missing.
Not that it was any of his concerns, Faora had always been a free electron in his world and even if she died, it was only going to make one loss that would be replaced.
"General?"
Zod turned around to meet a team of his closest soldiers. They were bringing him the guards who were responsible of an event that drove him mad.
"We've found them, sir." The man said respectfully as he eyed the two men brought in by his soldiers.
"Thank you, captain." Zod nodded at him as he approached the squad. "How are the guys doing on the front?"
"We've successfully aborted one hostile attempt to liberate prisoners one hour ago but they've come back with twice more men," The soldier responded. "We're losing the advantage."
Zod sighed and nodded. He looked over at the two frightened men in front of him before glancing back at the officer. "Tell your men to prepare the communication screens. I have an announcement to make."
"Yes sir!"
Chloe was tipping on one of the powerful computers the resistance had stolen to the Kandorians when the doors of the main hall flew open. Her head jerked up and she grinned brightly when she saw AC standing there, looking well and alive.
"You're up, at last!" she greeted him lightly as she got up and hugged him.
Arthur didn't hesitate to reciprocate the hug as he spoke up. "Been awake for a few hours already but I wanted to get all my strength back before I set foot again on the land." he grinned.
"Well, I'm glad you're feeling better." she smiled back as she walked away and back on her seat.
"Chloe, I've got some messag..." Oliver said as he walked in quick strides inside the room but stopped when he spotted the blond man in the room. "AC! Hey!" he said, surprised but delighted as he got into a handshake with the prince of the seven seas. "Welcome back!"
"Thanks dude!" AC returned the gesture happily. "I guess things got fun when I was out. I always had a pretty bad timing." he sighed dramatically.
Oliver chuckled and shook his head. "Yeah, well..." he began as he walked back towards Chloe and bent a little. "Hey you," he whispered amorously as he kissed her lips quickly before glancing back at his friend. "things turned pretty bad actually." he grimaced.
AC shook his head at the fact that Chloe and Oliver had managed to forget about his presence for a minute before Oliver's words registered in his brain. He looked between the two of them and took in their grim expressions. He raised an eyebrow.
"That much?"
"Actually we got the kryptonian version of Ken and Barbie playing David Copperfield on us right before J'onn J'onzz and Kal swooped in and saved the day." Chloe announced, making grand gestures for emphasis.
AC's jaw dropped open and words failed him for a moment. "Run that by me again?" he deadpanned.
Oliver smirked. "Well that's the Sullivan's edited version, you know how she is!" he added as he rolled his eyes, a soft smile on his lips. "Aw!" he whined when Chloe smacked his arm playfully.
She glared at him for a second before looking back at her other friend. "The truth is that J'onn has managed to make Kal change sides. Or rather he thinks he has." she commented with a bitter tone. "I'm not convinced."
"Yeah, neither am I..." Oliver agreed.
AC's eyes widened. "You mean Kal has saved you and is now playing war against his own father?" he asked incredulously.
"Let's just say it's a long story..." The archer pursed his lips.
AC nodded. "Fair enough." he looked uncomfortable for a moment, shifting on his feet as he didn't how to say what was on his mind. Eventually, he sighed and decided to blurt it out. "How about... Bruce?"
Sadness crossed both of their faces for a second. Oliver swallowed thickly and answered when he felt Chloe's hand slipping in his. "He wasn't there..." he whispered, his eyes hurt and sad. "After you passed out we didn't have a chance to look for him, we had to get out or we'd have gotten caught."
AC closed his eyes for a second, feeling stupid for reminding them of their pain. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault, AC." Chloe reassured him gently. "We're not going to let him down but right now we've drained down our resources."
The surfer sighed and put a hand on Oliver's shoulder. "We'll see him soon, I'm sure of that." he said confidently as he looked into the other man's eyes. Oliver nodded but said nothing else so AC thought it was his cue. "I gotta go working out a bit, we wouldn't want my irresistible body getting too crampy, right?" he tried for a joke, hoping to improve Chloe and Oliver's mood.
Chloe snorted. "Right, now go away and try to impress other women!"
AC laughed and left the room.
Chloe turned her chair around to face Oliver. "You alright?" she asked in concern as she held his hand a little tighter.
"Yeah..." Oliver responded but Chloe gave him an unimpressed look. He rolled his eyes. "I'm fine Chlo! Don't worry about me!"
"That's easy to say," she shook her head but smiled. He bent down and their lips met in a sweet kiss. "So, what did you want to tell me?"
"Oh, uh I got a message from Naohek telling me that a team from another city had a nasty run-in with Zod's guys during an attack and they're heading there because going back to their place is too dangerous at the moment." Oliver explained.
Chloe nodded. "Okay, I'm gonna call Tess and we'll prepare ourselves to greet them." she said. Her attention was caught when the computer beeped.
She turned towards the screen and furrowed her brows, typing furiously on the keyboard. "The system caught an open communication from Kandor." She looked at his face for a second, seeing confusion on his face. She typed in a few more keys and suddenly a video feed showed up on the screen. Zod was shown with two men tied up and on their knees right behind him. He seemed to be making a speech.
"Can you get the sound?" Oliver asked as he looked attentively at the screen.
"Yeah..." she replied distractedly as she typed again. "I'll put it on the main screen, you better call the others." she looked at him.
He caught her eyes and nodded. The next second, he took off in the direction of the bedrooms. "Guys!" he knocked on every door. "There's something you need to see right now!"
One door opened and a semi-asleep Tess followed by Hal got out of their room. "What's going on?" she asked groggily.
"Come on!" Oliver said as the others joined them. "This is important."
They arrived in the main hall where Chloe was already standing arms wrapped around herself in front of the screen on the wall. A video of Zod standing on a tall tower making a speech was playing.
Oliver approached her, wrapped an arm around her waist and dragged her closer to his body, she clung to him. "It's a live video feed." she said as her eyes stayed glued to the screen.
From the corner of the eye, Oliver saw J'onn followed by Kal-El joining them. He gave the latter a dark look and tightened his arm around Chloe. The other man had the decency to look away and look uncomfortable. Soon, Zod's words coming from the screen caught their attention.
"... getting into dark times. Indeed, companions, our great nation is put at risk by power-driven and irresponsible terrorists. Kandor is they prey of incessant strikes from the enemy and that's an entire army preparing in the dark, awaiting for an opening to give us the final blow. Kandorians, I'm telling you! Me alive, you will never see the day our realm falls. Our opponents are powerful but so are we! If you allow me, my friends, to reunite our great army, the enemy will realize he has no chance against us!"
The crowd of people Zod had dominion over was shown on the screen. The place in front of Zod's stage was filled with people at the point it was black on the screen. At his words, the crowd erupted in war and victory cries, making the humans shiver.
Zod held up his hands to motion to his people to let him talk.
"Have I ever been the tyrant they're making me out to be? Did I ever let you down? Unprotected, left on your own?"
The crowd responded by a common 'no!' that left Zod grinning, satisfied.
"People of Kandor! This is your choice! Your choice!" he declared solemnly. "Do you want me to let these hostile people turn us into their slaves? Or do you want me to lead our brave army to the war against the enemy?"
The spectators reacted strongly and loud cries of 'War! War! War! War!' were chanted for several minutes. When Zod had enough, he held up his hand again.
"Unfortunately, the enemy is not always where we think he is... See, dear Kandorians, this morning I was told that one of the most dangerous figures of the so called 'Resistance' escaped from us with the help of two of my men who turned on us!" The crowd booed, Zod turned around and motioned to his guards.. The soldiers dragged the two prisoners closer to the edge of the tower they were standing on. They wrapped a rope around each of their necks before walking back behind Zod.
"These two men are the traitors who helped Bruce Wayne run away from us!"
In Alluria, the human's hearts skipped a beat at his words. Surprise filling their expressions as their hopes for Bruce rose shyly, not quite daring to believe what they heard.
"What should be their punishment? Life or ... death?" The kandorians didn't hesitate even for a second their lust for blood had been unsatisfied for months since the fights in the arena had been suspended because of the human's evasion. 'Death! Death! Death!'
The sentenced men on the screen shook violently with fear as they both screamed for mercy but it was no use. Zod gave the signal and two soldiers stabbed blue kryptonite daggers in their backs before pushing them over the edge.
They fell with terrified cries that made the humans' skins crawl. Soon, the ropes got tight and stopped their fall, strangling them. They watched helplessly as the two men fought vainly in agony against the rope. But it wasn't over, a few moments later the two of them were shot with sprays of kryptonite bullets beyond recognition.
The ropes were cut and the dead bodies hit the ground. The crowd went hysterical and ran for them, people were fighting over their corpses as if they were trophies.
"This is a direct message to the resistance..." Zod's face appeared in close up. "You're next!" His people cheered again and the screen went black.
The video feed was cut from Kandor's end and the large screen showed no more than just an automatic message 'searching for video feed', there was nothing to see. Yet, the group stood there in silence; rooted at their spot by the horror of what they'd just seen.
They felt as if the silence lasted for hours while it was only a few minutes since Zod's face left the screen. It went on until the point it became sickeningly unbearable. They had nothing to say.
Their hopes had risen until the point they came to believe they could eventually take Zod down and give everyone a chance to go back home, where they belonged. Now, after seeing this display of power, violence and cruelty, they weren't so confident in their ability to reverse the odds of this world.
They believed strongly in their own power and until today most of their attacks in Kandor had gone nicely. Now they realized that Zod had led them to believe he wasn't as strong as they first thought. They knew that from now on, he was going to strike back at them and it wouldn't be pretty.
However, maybe everything wasn't lost. Zod had announced Bruce had escaped. Escaped! Was it true? They didn't know, how could they? It could be another trick but if it were true, if there was only a small possibility that it was real, then they would get the chance to see their friend again. Maybe Bruce Wayne wasn't meant to die here on Sedna.
Kal-El was just as horrified as his new-found allies, it was like he saw, really saw, for the first time the real Zod and through him, he saw who he had been himself. A monster. Disgust crept over him, he felt sick for what he had seen and for what he had done not so long ago. If J'onn hadn't taken him away he would have become like Zod. He didn't know exactly how his Martian friend had done it but he was grateful. At this very moment, Kal-El promised to himself he was never going to allow himself to become like Zod. That would mean following the rules, second-guessing himself from time to time and accept that there were people in need at every corner of the galaxy and that these people weren't weak, just unfortunate but at least he would be a better man.
The young alien shifted on his feet and swallowed heavily as he tried to find the best words he was going to say. He struggled with himself for a moment but caught J'onn's gaze who nodded at him as if he knew what was going on inside his head. Eventually, he cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention to him. He felt the urge to look down as he met the gazes of people he'd once enjoyed torturing. "He's trying to scare you," he began slowly feeling strange at their surprised expressions. "I know him, he's getting desperate because you're stronger than he thought you were and he's beginning to realize you can take him down..." he paused to take a long breath to calm his nervousness. "He's afraid and he refuges himself in his own violence. I know it because that's what I'd do, he trained me to be like him."
"Oh, trust me, we know it!" Hal snapped. "Perhaps better than anyone we know who you were!"
Kal-El looked down in shame and he wished he could undo his past actions. When he looked up again, there were tears in his eyes. He forced himself to look into each of their faces before he said the words he knew they deserved to hear. "I'm sorry..." he whispered sadly. He opened his mouth to say more but a loud horn sounded outside, pulling everyone in the room out of their silence.
"It's the guys from Arvanneth coming back." Chloe murmured.
That pulled the humans out of their state of surprise and half-shock caused by Kal-El's words. Silently, they fell into motion and one by one left the room in the direction of the double doors to meet outside the men and women who would probably need them. When Chloe and Oliver began to leave, Kal-El called after them. "Wait!"
The both of them tensed and turned around to see him approaching them hesitantly. Kal-El moistened his dry mouth several times. "Can I... Can I help?" he asked for the first time in his life, wanting to do something good for a change.
The two blonds looked surprised and exchanged a glance for a second before looking back at him, they nodded slowly but didn't say anything else as they left.
Kal-El stood still at his spot watching them go, he sighed deeply as he realized it was only the first step towards forgiveness and reconciliation.
"I'm proud of you Kal-El" J'onn said behind him. "It wasn't easy and there is still a long way to go before you get the privilege to earn their trust but that's only the beginning. You're on the good path at last." He put a hand on his shoulder and motioned for him to come with him. "Let's help downstairs." he said.
"Do you think he really changed?" Oliver asked as he cleaned the wounds of one man. "You alright?" he asked him.
"Yeah, thanks." the man nodded.
"I'm beginning to think he has." Chloe answered as she glanced at Kal-El who was busy helping people get out of the truck. "Look at him." she said. "He gave up his powers and followed us here and right now he's helping. That's not something a spy would do." she pointed out. "And there is something about him that isn't here anymore, he looks less confident, less cold, there isn't that dangerous glint in his eyes anymore."
Oliver looked over at the man in question and sighed. "I know, I realize that too but don't expect me to get all buddy-buddy with him." he told her while scowling at him.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to forgive him either." Chloe agreed and they both looked at each other, smiling softly. "Right now we've got other preoccupations than him. We've also got to send Bart do a tour of all our bases to see if Bruce is at one of them." she said as she looked back at the wounded man she was taking care of. "Don't move and relax." she told the alien gently.
Oliver looked with worry as a bright light emanated from her hands and covered the wound on the man's stomach. Soon, the blood was disappearing with the injury and she was barely refraining a hiss of pain. The wounded man looked amazed as he touched his now repaired skin. "Wow." he exclaimed.
Chloe smiled as she already felt the pain subsiding. She looked over at her boyfriend's tormented gaze and smiled softly at him. "I'm okay." she touched his arm reassuringly. He nodded and kissed her slowly, drawing it out for a moment.
"I'm glad." he said as he dropped another kiss to her lips. "I love you." he whispered to her.
Her chest warmed at his words and she smiled genuinely. "I love you too." she responded as he dropped his forehead on hers, she closed her eyes and forgot about everyone except Oliver for a moment.
They were broken out of their loving daze when shouts were heard. They opened their eyes and saw a woman who was among the people in the truck yelling and shoving at Kal-El who stood there just taking every blow as if he deserved it.
"You monster!" the hysterical woman punched him with all the force she could muster, making him fall to his knees.
"I'm sorry," Kal-El's words were a broken whisper as the tears flowed down his cheeks.
"She was your daughter, your daughter!" she kept yelling, unseeing of the group of people amassing around them. "You let her die!" there was a strain in her voice that expressed all the pain she felt.
"Oh god!" Kal-El hid his face behind his hands and sobbed, unable to face the wrath of the woman he hurt so much in the past.
"You don't deserve to live!" Her body began to sway because of her strong emotions but she managed to grab a sharp object from the ground and point it in his direction. The young kryptonian saw it but didn't move away, on the contrary, he opened his arms purposefully encouraging her to kill him.
After all that would only be justice, he thought as he felt the blade poking at his neck and saw her face contorted with pain that was a result of his actions. Do it, he said in his mind, spare the pain I might cause to other people in the future. Do it, I deserve it!
"Whoa there!" A voice broke the silence and soon Kal-El felt the sharp blade being removed from his neck, only leaving a trail of blood dripping from the spot of his skin that was damaged in the process. He opened his eyes to see the woman who had his life between her hands only seconds ago, sobbing her eyes out in the arms of Tess while Hal stood close, the sharpened rock still in his hand.
Kal-El stood up slowly, his heart clenched painfully at the sight. "I..." he breathed shakily. "I'm sorry." he felt stupid for being unable to say anything else but he meant it and he wished now more than ever that he could undo the past. Ashamed of himself, he tried to ignore as much as he could the angry looks he was getting from the people around him as he pushed through the crowd and got away from them under the tormented look of J'onn J'onzz.
Hal watched him go for a moment before he turned to see the woman still in Tess's arms crying until her strength gave out. He met Tess's eyes and gently nodded towards the hotel where he knew there would be spare rooms for her to get the female alien in.
Tess nodded back and helped the woman walk in the building as Hal sighed deeply and joined Chloe and Oliver who had seen the scene from a distance.
"What was that?" Oliver asked first when Hal came to their level.
"From what I gathered..." Hal shook his head in disbelief. "The woman had been one of Kal's..." he looked over at Chloe and rethought of his words. "victims." he finished. "She got pregnant and gave birth to his child in the prisons where the little girl died sometime later." He closed his eyes for a second as he tried to imagine the kind of pain t must have been for her.
Chloe gasped and Oliver's arms were wrapped around her protectively. He knew Kal-El had been twisted but this, was beyond cruelty, it was pure barbarity. And the fact that it could have happened to Chloe made his stomach clench painfully. He held her a little tighter to remind himself that she was there safe and sound.
Chloe looked up from his chest a few moments later, her eyes shining with unshed tears because she realized that her encounter with Kal could have gone a lot worse and this woman hadn't had her luck.
"Hal," she spoke. "Give her the most comfortable room we have on the second floor, please." she paused and swallowed thickly to keep her emotions in check. "I don't want her anywhere near him, make sure she's got someone with her all the time, a woman preferably." she added as she made a mental note to check on the woman herself to see if she can do anything to make things better for her.
"Definitely," Oliver agreed. "I can only hope Kal is seriously suggesting committing suicide right now." he said heatedly as his emotions went for the woman in pain and had nothing but hatred for the man who once was Zod's heir.
"I'll do that." Hal replied, he gave Chloe a concerned look for a second but was reassured when she nodded at him, signaling she was fine. He looked over at Oliver who nodded at him and left, tossing the rock in his hand away while he walked in the direction of their main building.
The second they were alone, Oliver turned towards Chloe and searched her eyes. "You okay?" he whispered almost urgently.
Chloe smiled softly through her tears at his evident concern for her. "I'm guess I just realized how incredibly lucky I was." she murmured back as she looked deep into his eyes. "I feel terrible for her. I mean I get it, it could have been me but it wasn't and it's killing me that there's nothing I can do for her right now, I..." she paused and blew out a shaky breath when she realized she was babbling. She saw Oliver getting even more worried and sighed. "I just wish we could have done something to stop it from happening." she finished as she played with his scarf.
Oliver put a finger under her chin to make her look up at him. "We can't change the past but we'll do everything we can to make sure it doesn't happen ever again." he assured her. "You've got me, right? We're a team we'll do it together. Nothing will happen to you or anyone else for that matter." he promised sincerely.
Chloe's face softened at his words and she dropped her head on his chest, just wanting to feel him holding her because no matter which world they lived in or the danger hovering over them, it was the only place she felt truly safe.
The two lovers were so focused on each other as they hugged that they didn't see the being watching them from afar. His eyes scanning everything happening in the city from the people working on future plans in the buildings, to the ones working out and preparing their weapons. Eventually, he focused back on the couple and evaluated their importance to the resistance.
His advanced knowledge was put in use for a few second before a fully worked out plan appeared in his mind. He smirked and watched the two humans for a few more seconds a they kissed lovingly before he took off in the air and flew away all the while thinking the same thing:
The resistance would soon discover why his enemies feared him so much, the time would come.
The Brainiac was going to take his time.
Here it is chapter 17! I tried to play with your emotions as best as I could and it's a difficult work but I can only know if I did good or not if I get feedback! Thanks for reading.
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