Chlark Fanfic: Agenda, Chapter 31

[babydee1]

Runner by go_clo. 

Title:              Agenda
Author:          babydee1
Pairing:          Chlark
Rating:           NC-17 (mostly PG-13)
Warnings:     None 
Timeline:      Futurefic; follows Season 8’s Injustice & Failsday Doomsday 
Disclaimer:   All known characters belong to the CW & DC comics. 
Summary:     More than a decade after the Doomsday Rampage, Clark makes a shocking discovery that changes his life forever. 
Feedback:      …makes me squee. :-) 
 
Written for the 2011 smallvillebbang  long Fanfic challenge.  Many thanks to twinsarein  for all her tireless organisation and support!
 
Beta’ed by legendarytobes  & The Fallen Sky at KSite.
Art by sylvanelfmistre  & go_clo.
 
 
Read previous chapter here.
Read story from the beginning here.
 
Chapter 31
 
 
The caves hadn’t changed much in fourteen years. 
 
Chloe exited her car and headed into the hollow, cavernous darkness, using her flashlight to find her way.  Before long she got to the section of the specific chamber she was after, and slotted the octagonal disc into the enclave in the wall.  There was a blinding flash of light, and within seconds she was transported to the Arctic.
 
“To what do I owe this visit, Chloe Kal-El?” Jor-El asked as soon as she approached the Fortress console.  “I am well aware of your apathy towards me and this Fortress.” 
 
“It was you, wasn’t it?” she accused without a greeting as she strode purposefully forward.  “You told Gabriella to ask me about my father!   What exactly is your angle here?” 
 
“I may have suggested that it would be beneficial for her to discover as much as she can of her origins,” he replied in that annoyingly resonant voice of his. 
 
“We’re saying the same thing,” she said tightly.  “And I don’t appreciate you interfering in my family’s business.” 
 
“With all due respect, Chloe Kal-El, I am your family now; ergo, your business is my business,” he responded, his logic making her scowl in irritation. 
 
“Stop filling my daughter’s head with pipe dreams,” she said harshly, jabbing her finger in the air to emphasise each word. 
 
“Your daughter comes here of her own volition,” he replied.  “I have never coerced or influenced her in any way.” 
 
“Bullshit!” she snorted.  “You want her to fulfil her Kryptonian destiny, I know what you’re like!”
 
“Kyana chooses her own destiny, I have been very precise about that.” 
 
“Like she chose the name you foisted on her?” she shot back. 
 
“I offered her a named which reflects her status as a symbol of hope of both our worlds,” he said.  “Just as you gave her a name which reminds you of your father.  Why then does it surprise you that she asks you of him?” 
 
Chloe flinched and folded her arms stubbornly.  The AI didn’t fight fair. 
 
“Don’t give her false hope,” she finally pleaded.  “That’s all I ask.  Gabby’s happy now; she has me, her father and her grandmother.  Heck, she even has you.  But for the love of God, don’t send her to on a quest to find my father.  Some people just weren’t cut out to be parents, and clearly he’s one of them.” 
 
“If Kyana wishes to find her grandfather, there’s nothing either of us can do to prevent it,” he said.  “As for your assessment of his parenthood, you can only make judgement if you have heard from his own mouth that he takes no pride in his family, nor has a desire for one.” 
 
“I tried, Jor-El, I reached out to him years ago when Gabby was born,” she insisted.  “He told me exactly what he thought of us and that was enough for me.”
 
The AI smiled.  “Time changes a man,” he responded quietly.  “Time even changes a computer-generated artificially intelligent representation of a man.  After all, am I the same entity that you encountered all those years ago?” 
 
Chloe lifted one shoulder in a listless shrug.  “Well, you’re as obtuse and unrelentingly annoying as you always were,” she mumbled sullenly. 
 
“Yet there is a distinct difference in my approach to parenting, is there not?” he said, and she could have sworn his eyes twinkled. 
 
She shrugged again.  “I guess,” she admitted quietly, listlessly toeing the floor with one foot. 
 
“If Kyana can give me a chance after everything I did to you, should she not accord the same discretion to her other grandfather?” he asked softly. 
 
Chloe sighed and pursed her lips.  There was no point arguing with this stupid computer; she was never going to win.
 
“You knew that I was pregnant with Clark’s child,” she said, abruptly changing the topic.  “Why didn’t you tell him he was going to be a father?”
 
“Because the time was not right,” was the simple, straightforward reply.  “If he had known of his child, he would not have completed his training, and the planet you now live on would be history.  But you knew how to contact him; why did you withhold his daughter from him?” 
 
Chloe gave a deep sigh.  “For the same reasons you did, and a whole lot more,” she admitted.  “But seeing them together now, I can’t help thinking that I made a huge mistake.” 
 
The AI shimmered and stepped out of the holographic chamber and walked towards the crystal console.  Once there, he rearranged some crystals and inserted them into the appropriate slots, and then beckoned to her. 
 
“Come, Chloe Kal-El,” he said.  “I wish to show you historical records of the certain happenings on earth on various days over the last fourteen years.” 
 
“What am I looking at?” she asked.   “Or rather, when am I looking at?” 
 
Jor-El tapped the screen in front of him, and a date stamp appeared in the corner of the generated image. 
 
“September the 25th,” she mused aloud.  “I was about four, maybe five months pregnant then.  What’s so special about that date?” 
 
“Observe the hologram,” he instructed, and she crossed her arms and did as asked.  Suddenly she was visually transported to within the hologram, so that she was almost a part of the four-dimensional environment.  It was as real as if she’d actually been there; she could practically reach out and touch her surroundings. 
 
Her eyes widened when she found herself inside the Luthor mansion library, and she gasped when she saw that it was full of scored and scores of badly-dressed strangers. 
 
“What’s going on?” she asked as she saw Tess Mercer being slapped around the face by one of them. “Let me guess: aliens?”
 
“The people you see are all Kandorians,” he replied, and one of her eyebrows went up in silent query. 
 
“Kryptonians that were preserved in a miniaturised state to preserve our planet when the threat of extinction became real,” he further explained. 
 
She nodded.  “Who’s the bastard bitchslapping the defenceless female?” 
 
“The person leading them is Major Zod---”
 
“Wait a minute: that’s Zod?” she gaped.  “But how?  We’ve already defeated him – twice!” 
 
“You defeated General Zod, but this is a variant of him; a clone that was drawn from him when he was still rising the ranks,” Jor-El said.  “He was an ally at the time, and was one of those fortunate enough to be selected for the Kandor project.” 
 
“And they were all on Earth?” she whispered, covering her mouth with her hand and wincing as Tess was lifted by the throat, dangled three feet off the floor and roughly punched in the face. 
 
“Tess Mercer had the bottle containing the clones in her possession, but she had no idea of the threat they presented,” he said solemnly as Tess promptly lost consciousness and was unceremoniously tossed in a corner.  “She released them on the day your friend was buried.”
 
“That was the day Clark left,” she said, staring around the library in horror.  “How did I not know about this?” 
 
Just then a grayish blur sped around the room, and one by one all the Kandorians shrieked and appeared to disintegrate in silvery spires. 
 
Jor-El smiled.  “That’s how.”
 
Chloe stared as the Blur – undoubtedly Clark – sped around the entire mansion until all the Kandorians were swept up in the centre like a spinning silver tornado and then funnelled back into the bottle from whence they came.  As soon as the genies were all back in, Clark stopped and corked the bottle, and then stood up. 
 
And she got a really good look at him.  “Oh my God,” she breathed as she saw the empty, hollow look in his eyes.  “He looks terrible.”  
 
“His training was intense, and it took its toll on him,” Jor-El said beside her.  “And…he was yearning for his mate.” 
 
I spent ten years trying to forget you, and failing completely, she remembered him saying.  I ached for you everyday, but the more I yearned for you, the more I reminded myself that I needed to stay away from you…but you were always on my mind.  Always. 
 
So it had been true; he had been longing for her.
 
Chloe swallowed and tears sprang to her eyes as she saw him lift a limp Tess off the ground and lay her carefully down on one of the sofas before whooshing out with the bottled City of Kandor. 
 
“What would have happened if Clark hadn’t intervened?” she asked hesitantly. 
 
“The clones had no abilities under a yellow sun, so Zod would have enslaved humanity by converting the sun’s rays into the same as those emitted by the red Kryptonian sun,” he explained.  
 
“And Clark would have been powerless,” she deduced. 
 
Jor-El nodded.  “Exactly.  To borrow an earth term, it wouldn’t have been pretty.” 
 
Visions of Nazi concentration camps filled her mind and she shut her eyes against the potential horror that could have been their future.  “He saved us all,” she whispered.  
 
“He did indeed,” was his reply.  “He didn’t want to keep the bottled City anywhere on earth where they might be disturbed and re-released, so he sent them to another plane of existence where they could start a new civilisation on another unpopulated planet; only the portal let through a whole new evil, a threat far greater than Zod.” 
 
Chloe rolled her eyes.  “Who was it this time?”
 
“A non-corporeal entity named Darkseid, of the planet Apokolips,” he replied.  “He targets the mind of a man, and those who resist are killed instantly and painfully.”
 
She paled, feeling a chill that had nothing to do with the Arctic environment.  “My God.”     
 
“Now, this is the morning Clark defeated Darkseid and saved the earth yet again,” he said, whirling them into another hologram.  “You may want to take specific note of the date of this event.” 
 
Chloe cast a non-committal glance towards the datestamp and was already returning her gaze to the holographic projection when the figures she’d seen suddenly registered in her mind.  Her eyes instantly swung back to the numeric date representation and her eyes widened until they nearly popped out of her head.
 
01.01.2010.
 
“Oh, my God, that’s Gabriella’s birthday!” she exclaimed.   
 
Jor-El didn’t reply.  Chloe swallowed and watched as the freak storm that had somehow covered the entire Northern Hemisphere on that bleak morning gathered speed and strength. 
 
Out of the corner of her eye Clark appeared and gazed at the sky with grim determination.  Unlike in the previous hologram where he’d been clad in stark black from head to toe, he was back in his signature colours – in his Superman outfit. 
 
“He had never donned his assigned apparel before that day,” Jor-El said quietly beside her.  “Somehow he found the inner strength to fully embrace his destiny.”
 
She stood beside him in the 4-D projection and saw him take a deep breath and close his eyes, his fists clenched in fierce concentration as he contemplated the task ahead.
 
“You can do it, Clark,” she whispered, knowing fully well he couldn’t hear her and that she was looking at a recording of the past; but she could see the last lingering shreds of doubt in his expression, and she was never one to let him lose faith in himself. 
 
“I believe in you,” she whispered, staring at him as the wind ruffled his hair, his eyes still firmly closed. 
 
A knowing smile crossed his lips and he lifted his eyelids and squared his shoulders in determination.  Over the horizon the first hint of light began to infiltrate the darkness as the sun slowly began to creep into the sky. 
 
“Go on, Clark,” she said in a shaky voice.  “Up, up and away.” 
 
And then the strangest thing happened.   A sudden peace seemed to steal over him, and he spoke out loud for the first time.
 
“This is for you, Chloe,” he whispered, making her gasp as she heard him speak her name.  And then he bent his knees…
 
Beneath her feet she seemed to feel the earth trembling as he summoned the strength, speed and self-belief he would need to accomplish his greatest feat.  The first ray of sunshine pierced the sky and illuminated the wintry landscape with the promise of dawn.  And in that instant, Clark shot up into the air, seemingly taking her with him. 
 
***
 
Chapter 32…

Comments

[iluvaqt.livejournal.com]

I don't know why I do it but when I watch movies or read books I can become fully immersed in the story. And I was with Chloe as she lived those moments in Clark's history without her and when she saw him ready to take on that planet, I could identify with her vocally urging him on even though subconsciously she knew it was in the past. I'm so glad that Jor-El showed her that. Then again I think he knew she needed to see it and what it would mean ;) he is the AI of a genius after all. Well written

[babydee1.livejournal.com]

"I don't know why I do it but when I watch movies or read books I can become fully immersed in the story. "

An admirable trait, to be sure. :-)

" And I was with Chloe as she lived those moments in Clark's history without her and when she saw him ready to take on that planet, I could identify with her vocally urging him on even though subconsciously she knew it was in the past. I'm so glad that Jor-El showed her that. Then again I think he knew she needed to see it and what it would mean ;) he is the AI of a genius after all."

And he's a Good Guy now. And with Chloe second-guessing her decision to keep Gabriella a secret, she needed to know that she'd ultimately made the right decision, no matter how difficult it had been. :-)

"Well written"

Thank you, Kimmy! So glad you liked it. *huggles*

[jacques21.livejournal.com]

I'm actually glad that Chloe went to the Fortress and had this talk with Jor-El. Without this long awaited confrontation Chloe would have never had seen Clark take flight, because of her, at such a pivotal moment or the hero he became because of the choices, right or wrong, she made.

I'm glad that Jor-El has Chloe thinking about contacting her father because I don't think she can truly move forward and close the door with that part of her life until she does.

[mari2anne.livejournal.com]

I completely agree; she does need to make some kind of peace with her father... I hope that she does. It would mean so much for Gabby.

Great visit to the Fortress! Now Chloe can relax a little, knowing that Gabby won't be in danger when she visits.

[babydee1.livejournal.com]

"I completely agree; she does need to make some kind of peace with her father... I hope that she does. It would mean so much for Gabby."

We'll see. I deliberately left that angle open-ended, as I didn't have time to deal with it in this story and I fully intend to bring Gabe Sullivan back at some point. :-)

"Great visit to the Fortress! Now Chloe can relax a little, knowing that Gabby won't be in danger when she visits."

One less thing to worry about! :-D

Thanks for commenting, Mari! *huggles*

[babydee1.livejournal.com]

"I'm actually glad that Chloe went to the Fortress and had this talk with Jor-El. Without this long awaited confrontation Chloe would have never had seen Clark take flight, because of her, at such a pivotal moment or the hero he became because of the choices, right or wrong, she made."

Agreed. As upset as Clark is about having been cut out of the early years of his daughter's life, the truth is that the world would never have had a chance if he'd known. Chloe needed to know that she really did the best she could, and because of her difficult decision she helped give humanity a chance. :-)

"I'm glad that Jor-El has Chloe thinking about contacting her father because I don't think she can truly move forward and close the door with that part of her life until she does."

I'm hoping to revisit this in a follow-on fic when time permits. I don't like how Gabe Sullivan just disappeared off the face of the earth, never to return. :-)

Thanks for your lovely comments, Shonnia! Sorry this is coming so late. :-)

[bkwurm1.livejournal.com]

Chloe will never stop second guessing her choice not to tell Clark about Gabby but this will help her to find peace easier about what can no longer be changed. Chloe urging Clark on before his battle with Darkseide was beautiful and I like to think that maybe she was doing more than just watching a recording.

[babydee1.livejournal.com]

"Chloe will never stop second guessing her choice not to tell Clark about Gabby but this will help her to find peace easier about what can no longer be changed."

True. They're all alive, they're together, and they're happy. That's the most important thing. :-)

"Chloe urging Clark on before his battle with Darkseide was beautiful and I like to think that maybe she was doing more than just watching a recording."

Glad you liked it, Mel! :-D

[babydee1.livejournal.com]

Glad you like, Mel! Of course, the past can't be changed, but at least now she can see that she made the best possible decision she could have made, given the circumstances.

Sorry for the very late reply! *hugs*

[voidknightsc.livejournal.com]

I loved the parallel with "Hex".

The others basically said everything I wanted to.

[babydee1.livejournal.com]

Thanks, voidknight! Glad you picked up on the Hex parallel. :-)