Chlark Fanfic: Crisis, Chapter 25
Jan. 20th, 2012 01:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
babydee1(...in which Chloe's actions have devastating consequences...)
It's been over four months since this story last had an update. My sincere apologies for the wait - but in my defence, I did provide you with lots of Chlarky goodness in the interim! ;-) And I'm back now, with one of my Trademark Evil Cliffies. :-P
Enjoy. Or not. :-\ Please heed the warnings, as it may be triggering for some.
Also, LJ? Fix your formatting. I do not relish having to go back in and re-space every. single. line. It's time-wasting, frustrating...and it's getting on my last nerve! *growls* [/end mini-rant]
Title: Crisis
Author: BabyDee
Pairing: Chlark/Kaloe
Rating: NC-17 (this chapter PG-13)
Warnings: Drowning, Angst
Timeline: Season 2-3 (Exodus – Exile; Clark’s RedK Summer & beyond)
Disclaimer: All characters belong to the CW & DC comics
Summary: A violent encounter between Chloe and Clark threatens to destroy their friendship forever.
Feedback: …is love. :-)
Read previous chapter here.
Read story from the beginning here.
Chapter 25
Chloe stared in dismay as seven men with Luthorcorp nametags waltzed into the Torch. Her expression turned to one of horror as one by one they unplugged all the CPUs and started to gather them all up.
“Wait – what are you doing?” she cried, flinging herself on top of her personal unit. “You can’t take these!”
“These computers are Luthorcorp property and can be removed from the premises at anytime,” the courier said dryly, picking his teeth with an idle expression on his face.
“But they were donated!” she argued as one of the movers unplugged her computer from the other side of the table.
“Check the fine print,” he sneered, shoving a sheaf of papers at her. “You’ll see that they were in fact ‘…on loan for an unspecified period to be determined by the Provider, whereupon which he may take possession of the units at any time’.”
Chloe stared dumbfounded at her own scrawled signature at the bottom of the contract she’d signed months ago, next to which was Lionel’s signature. Just seeing his handwriting made her skin crawl and her hands clench into tight fists.
The movers continued their work, yanking plugs out of sockets and disconnecting printers and scanners, not stopping until the last computer was loaded up onto a trolley with all the other office machines.
Within minutes the Torch was stripped bare. Chloe trembled, her heart crying out in agony as her last remaining hope was snatched away from her.
“Please,” she begged, grabbing the courier’s arm. “Please, don’t do this.”
He shrugged and ticked items off an inventory list. “Just following orders, kid.”
“No, you don’t understand…this is all I have left,” she pleaded in anguish. “If you take them, I’ll have nothing. Nothing. Please, I’m begging you…”
At her obvious distress the young man swallowed and his eyes clouded over with sympathy.
“Look, I don’t know what you did to piss the big man off, and I really wish I could help…but this is out of my hands,” he said gently. “Why don’t you just give him what he wants? I’m sure he’ll reconsider if you said you had a change of heart. Here – you can use the phone.”
And just when she’d thought the temptation was over, there it was again, in the form of the young man holding out a cell. Relief; sweet release from the madness at the touch of a button…
No.
She shook her head and covered her face as tears rolled down her cheeks. “I can’t,” she sobbed. “I just can’t.”
The courier shook his head. “Then I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do.”
“No…” she stared in hopeless misery as the brightly-coloured monitors and CPUs were carted away, leaving her beloved Torch Office an empty shell. Chloe’s legs wobbled and she slid to the floor, unable to do anything but stare at nothing in particular with blank, vacant eyes.
It was all gone. Life as she knew it was over. She had no friends, her father was out of work and unemployable…and barring a miracle they were likely to be turfed out onto the street as early as next week. The Torch had been her only remaining comfort; the last great love of her life, the only thing keeping her connected to sanity – and Lionel had taken that away from her, too.
She had nothing left. Nothing.
Her heart sank until it felt like her soul had been sucked clean out of her. Distantly she could feel a hollow, gnawing pain in her chest, but she was too numb with shock to acknowledge it or even cry.
Slowly she lifted her head and stared blankly out of the window, not moving or blinking until a familiar voice filtered through her subconscious. Clark; probably just returning from the Farm for the evening swim session in half an hour. She couldn't hear what he was saying, but he was talking animatedly on the phone to some unknown person as he walked along the road. Suddenly he stopped in his tracks, and his face lit up in a broad grin.
Chloe felt as if someone had just sucked the last sliver of light out of her soul.
He was smiling. Her life had just been shattered into a million pieces and he was smiling, laughing even, whereas she had never been in more pain in her life…
Except for the day that he’d raped her.
That was the day her pain had started. Clark’s horrific attack on her had sparked a chain reaction of catastrophes that had chipped away at her very existence until there was now nothing left but an empty shell...
And he was smiling.
The ache in her chest bubbled and escalated into rage; cold, white-hot, ruthless rage. He had hurt her, destroyed her. He didn’t deserve to be happy. He had stolen her smiles, her laughter…
Her last sliver of sanity began to rapidly unravel. Slowly she got to her feet and went to the corner cupboard and reached inside, her hands wrapping tightly around one of the large chunks of Kryptonite she now kept in her possession.
The walk down the corridor was brisk; she didn’t stop to acknowledge anyone or anything on her way. She kept going until she got to the gymnasium and beyond, finally slipping through the connecting door which housed the indoor swimming pool.
She didn’t hesitate. With all her might she flung the chunk of kryptonite into the still water. The rock broke the surface with a soft splash, leaving sizeable ripples radiating outward as it sank and settled at the bottom of the pool.
She felt strangely detached, tilting her head as she stared at the seemingly innocent rock sitting in the centre of the swimming pool. Her brow furrowed in a frown. Clark was a creature of habit; he always swam in the last lane on the left. With any luck, the fact that the rock was confined to the body of water meant that its effects could be felt with equal intensity from one side to the other.
Chloe stared at the water for several seconds, until the ripples slowly faded and the surface was still. Then she left to get ready for swim class.
***
It was the best news he’d heard all year.
Clark grinned as he put his backpack down on the bench and unbuttoned his shirt in the boy’s locker room. He had gone home after school for an early dinner and to complete his chores before speeding back to school for the evening swim session. He had just gotten to school grounds when he realised he’d forgotten to give Lex his daily chaser call. Quickly he’d dug his cell out of his pocket and started dialling Lex’s number when his had cell buzzed, with Lex’s name illuminating the display.
“I thought I’d get in there first and give you the good news myself, before you start stalking me again,” Lex said cheerily as soon as Clark answered.
Clark stopped in his tracks and clutched the phone as tight as he dared. “Good news?” he echoed. “Does – does that mean…?”
“Gabe Sullivan’s last interview was successful,” he confirmed. “He’s been offered the Plant Manager’s position at a top ranking industrial firm.”
Clark’s heart leapt with joy. “Are you sure?” he asked, not daring to hope. “Absolutely sure?”
“One hundred percent,” Lex replied. “Gabe’s yet to formally accept the job, but I don’t see him turning it down, do you?”
“Oh my God, that’s great!” Clark exclaimed, breaking into a huge grin. “Lex, I…wow, thank you so much! If you were here right now, I would kiss you, I kid you not!”
“Hey now, don’t go making promises you can’t keep, Clark,” Lex replied with an amused chuckle.
“I’m serious,” Clark responded. “I swear on my socks. Really, you can’t imagine how tough it’s been for the Sullivans these last few months.”
“I have a fair idea,” he replied wryly. “Listen, Clark – keep it to yourself for now, okay? As I said, Gabe hasn’t even been told yet, much less signed on the dotted line, but considering how hard you pushed me to be of some assistance to him, I thought you deserved to know.”
“Understood,” he said, clutching his bag and breaking into another huge smile. “Chloe’s going to be so happy. Thank you, Lex. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“Hey, all I did was make the introduction,” Lex replied. “Gabe’s a good worker who didn’t deserve to get fired. He earned that job all on his own.”
Clark nodded in agreement. “And…and the salary?”
“Better than anything my father ever paid him.”
“Thank goodness,” Clark breathed. “Listen – Lex, I have to get to swim class now, but thank you---”
“Just get to the pool before you’re late,” Lex laughed. “You’ve already thanked me a million times, Clark. Later.”
“Later.” He shut the phone off and all but skipped to the boys’ locker room, where he was now getting changed.
Gabe Sullivan’s new job was a huge weight off his mind. Of course, it would do nothing to change things between himself and Chloe, but at least she wouldn’t have to worry about losing the roof over her head in addition to everything else she was having to deal with.
He finished changing, secured his items in his locker and picked up a towel before joining the back of the queue heading for the pool. The senior lifeguard on duty lined them up and barked out the usual orders like a drill sergeant, but Clark could barely hear him, so focused he was on his happy news.
He glanced at Chloe on the queue on the opposite side, and sighed. She was always careful to keep some distance between them, and had been on the opposite side of him for every swim class they’d had since his return from Metropolis. Her expression was distant, and he wished he could share his happy news with her to at least alleviate some of her gloom. But Lex was right; it was better for her to hear the good news from her father.
The queue moved along slowly as his classmates entered the lanes in rows of six and swam two lengths each before exiting the pool on the other side. As soon as Chloe’s group had hauled themselves out of the water, Clark’s row lined up and took their places on the podiums. He’d been so preoccupied he’d forgotten to take his usual lane on the far left, but figured vaguely that there was no harm swimming in the centre for a change.
“Okay everyone - the usual two lengths, you know the drill,” instructed the lifeguard, popping his whistle in his mouth. “Ready…set…”
The shrill sound of the whistle pierced the air and Clark dived in with the rest of his classmates.
He knew there was a problem as soon as his body hit the water. His skin stung and burned on impact, as if he’d jumped head-first into a vat of acid. Frantic with shock he immediately tried to swim back to the podium, but to his intense dismay he found himself completely immobilised, unable to move a muscle.
Fear and terror seized his heart as he sank quickly to the bottom of the pool. He opened his mouth to scream, and the air that had been in his lungs rose to the surface in innocent, slow moving bubbles. Pain seared through his veins in escalating currents and pooled in his brain, stripping him of the use any of his senses but the ones that transmitted pain.
He was drowning. He tried to seal off his lungs by holding his breath, but by now he had lost all control of his nervous system. Water rushed into his mouth and nose, going straight into his lungs and driving the pain even higher. The churning water thundered in his ears as his classmates swam past him, oblivious to his panic and distress.
Desperately he made one last attempt to move, but the messages his brain sent to his limbs went unanswered. Water quickly filled his lungs, swelling them to capacity until his heart threatened to explode into a painful, bloody mess in his chest. He lay there at the bottom of the pool; helpless, terrified, paralysed with pain and panic as his life steadily ebbed out of him.
There was no way he was going to survive this. He could feel death approaching, swiftly yet slowly – and all too painfully.
The last image his brain registered as his eyelids drifted shut was an eerie, wobbly green glow in the water around him.
Then everything went black.
***
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-01-20 02:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-20 12:25 pm (UTC)Thanks for commenting, sweetie! :)
no subject
Date: 2012-01-20 09:46 am (UTC)And this chapter: poor Chloe, everything for her just fall apart...
So i totally understand her when she hit that kryptonite to poll... And now i wondered if she will again help Clark when he is drowning...
And i can't wait for her to find out taht her father have a job...
Thanks again, you are just amazing...
no subject
Date: 2012-01-20 01:11 pm (UTC)*hugs*
no subject
Date: 2012-01-20 10:34 pm (UTC)Aw, thank you so much! I always feel like I can't get the updates out fast enough. :\
"And this chapter: poor Chloe, everything for her just fall apart..."
Her last bit of sanity just snapped. It ain't gonna be pretty. :-(
"So i totally understand her when she hit that kryptonite to poll... And now i wondered if she will again help Clark when he is drowning..."
You'll have to wait to find out, I'm afraid...sorry!
"And i can't wait for her to find out taht her father have a job..."
We'll see how that goes. :-)
"Thanks again, you are just amazing..."
Ditto, babes! *hugs*
no subject
Date: 2012-01-20 10:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-20 11:53 am (UTC)Now you know why I stayed away from it for so long; it's just as difficult to write! :( But you'll be relieved to hear that this really is rock-bottom for Chloe, and the only way to go is up.
Doing what she did to Clark is wrong, but she's in a severely compromised emotional state, and with the loss of her beloved Torch, the only thing holding her together, the last straw just snapped. She's not thinking straight, and she needs to deal with all her issues soon - or risk losing herself completely.
Thanks for your comments, Kimmy!
no subject
Date: 2012-01-20 12:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-20 01:03 pm (UTC)I will, I promise. This literally is rock bottom, so things are going to take a turn for the better very soon - for both of them! :)
thank you. thank you. thank you for this update.....
Date: 2012-01-20 04:45 pm (UTC)I don't know who I feel worse for!
Talk about ill-timing!
Clark got that good news just as Chloe was watching the worst (well, second-worst) thing to happen in her life unfold in front of her! Of course, it will hurt her even more when the consequences of her reaction of revenge sink in. I can only imagine how devasted she will feel when she comes to grips with the person she has become because of Clark's attack. I hope this will cause her to finally get some help....
after she helps Clark back from this ... death?
... er, please rescue me too... soon, from the edge of this cliff...
:)
Re: thank you. thank you. thank you for this update.....
Date: 2012-01-20 10:42 pm (UTC)"OMG!!!
I don't know who I feel worse for!"
It's a toss-up, isn't it? :-\
"Talk about ill-timing!
Clark got that good news just as Chloe was watching the worst (well, second-worst) thing to happen in her life unfold in front of her!"
Isn't it always the way with these two? *sigh* :-(
"Of course, it will hurt her even more when the consequences of her reaction of revenge sink in. I can only imagine how devasted she will feel when she comes to grips with the person she has become because of Clark's attack. I hope this will cause her to finally get some help...."
Let's hope so, babes. Let's hope so...
"...after she helps Clark back from this ... death?"
Er...well, we'll see...*looks innocently skyward*
"... er, please rescue me too... soon, from the edge of this cliff...
:)"
I'll do my best to get the next chapter up before the end of next week. Thank for your awesome comments, Mari! :-)
no subject
Date: 2012-01-20 08:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-20 10:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-20 11:15 pm (UTC)Oh wow if Chloe finds out the real reason Clark was smiling, just after she tried(?) to kill him, I think it's really going to push her over that line of darkness she's been straddling lately.
I seriously hope someone gets to Clark on time.
Can't wait for more.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-21 12:28 am (UTC)I'm sorry! It does have that effect on one, doesn't it? :-\
"Oh wow if Chloe finds out the real reason Clark was smiling, just after she tried(?) to kill him, I think it's really going to push her over that line of darkness she's been straddling lately."
We'll see how that all goes down... *whistles innocently* ;-)
"I seriously hope someone gets to Clark on time."
So do I, babes, so do I. :-(
"Can't wait for more."
Workin' on it! :-) *hugs*
no subject
Date: 2012-01-21 09:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-21 11:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-22 03:09 pm (UTC)Her last sliver of sanity began to rapidly unravel.
Chloe had been holding it together pretty admirably, but sooner or later she was going to fall apart from all of the physical and mental trauma.
Continued excellent work on this fic.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-22 06:30 pm (UTC)It happens. But you're here now, YAY! :-D
"Chloe had been holding it together pretty admirably, but sooner or later she was going to fall apart from all of the physical and mental trauma."
Given the lack of counselling or any other outlet for her pain and suffering, it was only a matter of time. :-\
"Continued excellent work on this fic."
Thanks, honey! Glad you like. :-)
no subject
Date: 2012-01-23 05:14 am (UTC)My first reaction was to burst out into laughter.
Something about how Clark would have been the greatest Superhero, only he drowned in the pool in high school.
I need help. I know. Chloe has gone off the deep end, and Clark's drowning in it. They're in pretty bad shape.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-25 10:36 pm (UTC)My first reaction was to burst out into laughter.
Something about how Clark would have been the greatest Superhero, only he drowned in the pool in high school."
Mariko!!! Honestly...! *shakes head* :-D
"I need help. I know. Chloe has gone off the deep end, and Clark's drowning in it."
Ooh, nice play on words there - I like it! :-P
"They're in pretty bad shape."
Indeed. Let's see how it all unfolds, shall we?
Thanks for commenting, babes! *hugs*
no subject
Date: 2012-01-25 09:42 pm (UTC)You and your cliffs... I swear. This is getting better and better with every chapter! Now, off to read the next ;)
no subject
Date: 2012-01-25 10:37 pm (UTC)So glad you like it so far! :-P
no subject
Date: 2015-06-03 10:43 pm (UTC):O
no subject
Date: 2015-06-04 05:37 pm (UTC)Poor Clark, as well.