Chlark Fanfic: The Fallen Sky, Chapter 11

[babydee1]

Aloha! :-)

Another long wait for this update...my apologies.   Just one more flashback chapter after this (fingers crossed!), and we'll be back to the present. 

Enjoy!  Or not, 'cause it's sad. :-(  Feedback = Lurve! :-) 

Brilliant banner by the lovely ellashy.  

Title:              The Fallen Sky 
Author:          BabyDee1 
Pairing:          Chlark 
Rating:           PG/NC17 
Warnings:     Major angst up ahead.  Brace yourselves. 
Timeline:      S.8 (Hex-Doomsday & beyond; this chapter exploring Beast) 
Disclaimer:   All characters belong to the CW & DC comics.  
Summary:     Months after walking away from her in Doomsday, Clark returns to Chloe…but finds that she’s a changed woman from the one he left behind. Feedback:      …always welcome. J

Read previous chapter here. 
Read story from the beginning here.

Chapter 11 
A Searing Pain

Clark sailed through the air, crashed through a crystal spire and landed hard on the ground.  He looked up through the falling crystalline fragments and saw Davis advancing on him with a dark gleam in his eye, daring him to a challenge. 

Clark got to his feet whooshed towards the console and inserted the crystal before turning back to face his adversary.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Davis,” he said through clenched teeth as he walked towards him. 

“Don’t worry,” Davis snarled.  “You can’t.” 

They charged at each other simultaneously, the force of their collusion causing the Fortress foundations to shake.  Each gripped the other’s clothing in a battle for supremacy but their evenly matched weight, height and strength made it almost impossible for one to shift the other. 

Davis stared him down with reddening eyes and tightened his hold.  Clark stumbled and almost lost his footing, and the brief lack of concentration gave Davis an edge as he steered them towards the swirling vortex of the portal. 

“If I go,” Davis growled, “…I’m taking you with me.”

“No!”

At the sound of Chloe’s voice, both men turned.  Clark felt Davis’s hold slacken considerably and quickly turned back, surprised to see the redness dimming from his eyes as he sank to his knees.  Clark seized his opportunity and started hauling Davis towards the portal. 

“Clark, I said no!” Chloe yelled, and scrambled towards the portal. 

He frowned in confusion.  “Chloe, what are you doing?”

“I can’t let you do this,” she said shortly, and unceremoniously yanked the crystal out of the console.  Immediately the swirling vortex disappeared and the illumination in the Fortress dimmed. 

Clark started and blinked, unable to grasp what he was seeing.  “Chloe,” he asked again, more slowly, “what are you doing?”

“Stopping you from making a grave mistake,” she said, and to his surprise she walked right past him…and started heading straight for Davis. 

He grabbed her shoulders and stopped her in her tracks, forcing her to look at him. 

“This is the right choice, Chloe,” he said firmly.  “Trust me.”

She shook her head.  “Clark, I know you better than anyone,” she replied determinedly.  “I can’t let you do this.  You would never forgive yourself for giving up on him.” 

***

If she’d slapped him, he couldn’t have been more shocked. 

This wasn’t happening.  It couldn’t be. 

Not Chloe, he thought desperately as she bent and helped Davis get to his feet.  Chloe, the person he trusted most in the world, the woman who meant more to him that anyone…

…was protecting the very person who had been created to kill him.  With a sick feeling of dread, he realised that everything Davis had said earlier was true; Chloe was with him now, of her own choosing. 

He’d suspected there’d been an attraction between her and the former paramedic but he’d chosen not to acknowledge it, assuming it would go away.  When he’d popped in to see Chloe unexpectedly and seen the other man cooking dinner in Chloe’s apartment, he felt like he’d been punched in the gut.  But that was nothing compared to the pain that was coursing through him now as he watched her take Davis’s hand and lead him towards the chamber that would teleport them back to the Kawatche caves. 

If he’d been thinking straight, he would have stopped them; would never have let Chloe take Davis out of his sight.  But the pain of her betrayal was so intense it had him rooted to the spot, unable to move as Chloe cast him one last, pleading look before slotting the octagonal disk into its slot and vanishing from view with Davis in a blinding flash of light. 

He stood there for a full minute in a blank daze before it occurred to him that he really should go after her, considering that she’d just shimmered out of here with a very dangerous serial killer.  He zoomed back to Smallville as fast as his legs would carry him, but when he got to the Talon the scene that he met confirmed his worst fears. 

Chloe’s suitcases and clothes had disappeared, along with her passport and other important documents.  The apartment had been left in disarray, and there was no note or anything that would indicate her whereabouts. 

Clark swallowed, and his knees began to shake as the enormity of the situation sunk in. 

Chloe and Davis were gone.  And from the look of things, they wouldn’t be coming back. 

***

He ran through the five surrounding states in two hours, randomly scanning the streets for anything resembling Chloe Sullivan’s face.  He knew it was no use, but he just couldn’t sit around and do nothing.  Oklahoma, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa…on and on he went, but there was no sign of her. 

Frustration and despair filled him as he continued his fruitless search.  Every second that passed, Davis was taking her further and further away from him, and he felt more helpless with every passing moment. 

After scouring the length and breadth of Missouri, he headed straight for the Isis Foundation.  He wasn’t an expert hacker by any stretch of the imagination, but he’d observed Chloe at work enough times to know how the tracking system worked.  He also knew Chloe would have removed every trace of herself and Davis from the establishment.  But he had to try.  Anything at this point was worth a try. 

He stared at the monitors and examined each and every coordinate, storing them in his photographic memory for physical area searches later.  If he was lucky, one of the locations may just be a safe house stop on Chloe and Davis’s journey… 

Just then footsteps approached and the door to the establishment opened.  He swung around and was about to run into Chloe’s arms when a very sour-faced Oliver Queen strode into the room. 

Hmm.  Not the blond he’d been hoping for. 

He saw the contempt in Oliver’s eyes, and knew the other man blamed him for allowing Davis to escape.  Silently he returned his attention to the computer and continued memorising the coordinates onscreen.

“If you’re looking for Chloe, you’re wasting your time, Clark,” Oliver remarked dryly.  “But I guess that’s what you do best, isn’t it?”

Clark twitched at the direct insult, but refused to dignify it with an answer.  He typed in another location, and was satisfied when several dotted locations popped up on the grid.  

“She’s gone, man. She doesn’t want to be found,” Oliver continued almost mockingly.  “If anyone can make themselves invisible, it’s Chloe.”

“Davis must have done something to her,” Clark muttered, hoping against hope that that was indeed the case.  The alternative didn’t bear thinking about.  “Chloe would never have lied to me if she wasn’t trapped.”

“Either that or she just can’t resist tall, dark and Doomsday,” Oliver smirked, and Clark wanted to punch the scornful smile off the other man’s face. 

“Besides,” he went on, “…he’s not a monster when he’s around her. He’s got real feelings for her.”

“Whatever his feelings are for her, Chloe would never care about him,” Clark insisted, his voice harsh.  

Oliver made a disdainful snort.  “Open your eyes, Clark.  She sent you on a wild goose-chase to Alaska when she was hiding that psycho killer in the basement,” he scoffed.  “She likes him; you can’t always choose who you fall for.”  

Clark’s hands shook on the keyboard, and he clenched his fists to keep them from trembling.  She couldn’t love Davis.  The thought of her in his arms, night after night, whispering his name as he touched her, kissed her…

No.  He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to dispel the awful images from his brain. 

“The Chloe you’re talking about does not exist,” Clark replied flatly.  “She’d never choose Davis over m—over her friends.”

Oliver walked around the desk and stood in front of him, his brown eyes cold. 

“Well, people change, Clark.”  He could hear the unspoken declaration; Chloe’s changed.  “And it’s time you did, too.” 

Clark looked away, but Oliver leaned forward, forcing him to make eye contact.  “You should have killed that thing when you had the chance,” he grated, giving him one last scornful look before turning around and heading for the door.  Clark heard the handle turn, and then the door creaked loudly, and stopped. 

“Clark, I know you want to save everybody,” Oliver said, his voice softening for the first time since he’d walked in.  “But eventually you’re gonna have to make some tough decisions.  It’s what heroes do.”

Clark didn’t answer.  He shut his eyes and waited until he heard the door close that he exhaled and ran a hand through his hair.  His glance fell on the framed photo of himself and Chloe that she kept at Isis; it was the same one that had been on her desk in the Daily Planet, and in their yearbook. 

He remembered the day she’d hounded the school photographer for the hi-resolution image until he’d sent it to her along with a stern warning that if she stalked him again, he was going to press charges.  But she hadn’t cared; she loved that picture and carried it everywhere, even in her wallet.  Clark had always assumed their relationship was founded on trust, and that they could tell each other anything. 

And yet she’d lied to him, and run away with Davis? 

He shook his head.  It just didn’t make sense.  Davis must be blackmailing her, holding something over her head to secure her allegiance…

Just then his phone rang shrilly, and he snatched it up and studied the caller id, hoping to see Chloe’s face.  It was an unknown number, and he activated the call and held the receiver up to his ear. 

“Who is this?” he demanded. 

“Clark, it’s Chloe,” she said in a small voice.  “I just wanted to let you know that I’m okay.”

“Chloe,” he breathed, and almost wept with relief.  “Chloe, where are you?”

There was a slight pause.  Then: “Davis and I are gone, but please don’t try and find us, okay?  We’re fine.”  

His jaw dropped.  Fine?  Was she crazy?

“No.  You may think that you’re safe, but you are not,” he protested, pacing up and down the room in agitation.  “You are not safe with him!”

“He’s not going to harm me, Clark, I’m the one person in the world he wouldn’t hurt,” she said.  “I promise, it’s all gonna be okay.” 

“No, it’s not!” he yelled in anguish.  “You can’t trust him, Chloe, he’s a murderer!  Just…please, tell me where you are, so I can save you…”

“I’m sure everyone’s fitting me for a strait jacket right now, but I do know what I’m doing,” she insisted, her voice sounding strangely calm.  “And I knew that if I told you any sooner, you’d have found a way to stop me, so…”

He closed his eyes and nodded, despair washing through him.  That much was true, and it also proved that his initial suspicions were right; Chloe had cleaned the Isis computer registry of every trace of her existence.  She’d done everything to make sure he wouldn’t be able to follow her.   

“But Clark…” she was saying, “I just wanted you to know that everything I’ve ever done, right or wrong…I did it for you.” 

“For me?” he echoed.  “Chloe, you’ve just shackled yourself to a serial killer.  How in the hell is that supposed to help me?” 

“Well, for starters I don’t have to worry about you getting sucked into the Phantom Zone anymore,” she said, trying to sound light-hearted.  “And…by taking Davis far away from you, the world is rid of the Cornfield Killer.  Unfortunately, it means taking me out of the equation, too, but that’s something I’m prepared to do.”

“Is that really why you’re running away?” he challenged.  “Admit it, Chloe, you have feelings for Davis; that’s why you’re protecting him.” 

He hadn’t meant to blurt it out like that, hadn’t even wanted to entertain the possibility that she might actually be in love with Davis.  But he needed to hear her either confirm or deny it. 

“Clark, I’m protecting you!” she exclaimed.  “I meant what I said, the world can’t afford to lose you.”

“But what about you?” he argued desperately.  “Chloe, I am going to spend every second looking for you, I will find a way to save you!”

“Clark you’re not here to save just one person, you’re here to save all of us,” she pointed out gently.  “The good of the world, remember?”

“And you think sacrificing yourself will help me do that?” he bellowed, then lowered his voice and tried to sound calm.  “Chloe, you’re wrong.  You’re wrong, Chloe.” 

“You know…I must have thrown a million green rocks away, and I have never really saved you,” she whispered tearfully.  “Now I can.” 

Wait a minute; was she saying goodbye?  Panic seized him and he paced wildly, shaking his head like a crazy person. 

“Chloe, listen to me, this is your life that were talking about, don’t do this!” he begged, clutching the phone tightly.  “Please!”    

And then he heard her sobbing, and his own heart nearly gave out there and then. 

“Clark...if there’s one lesson I’ve learned from you,” she whispered, “…it’s that choosing the Greater Good is never a sacrifice.”

“Chloe---”

The line went dead.  Clark stared at the muted phone in shock before yelling in rage and crushing it to dust beneath his fingers. 

“Damn it!”   He smashed his balled fist into the filing cabinets, and the metal twisted and yielded beneath the harsh blow with an ear-splitting crunch.  With an anguished howl, he fell to his knees and let the tears spill freely from his eyes. 

Chloe was gone.  She was in the company of a very dangerous Kryptonian serial killer. 

And he didn’t have the slightest clue how to go about getting her back.   

***

As soon as she disconnected the call, Chloe turned the unit off and took the battery out.  Without that, her whereabouts couldn’t be traced.  And she’d been careful to keep her call to Clark under ninety seconds, so he wouldn’t even be able to form a triangulation. 

Tears were coursing down her cheeks as she stuffed her phone and battery into her purse.  She would never see Clark again, never hear his laughter or see his smile… 

She heard the jangle of the bell on the store door and hastily wiped her eyes with her sleeve as Davis approached, his arms laden with supplies for the trip. 

“Hey,” he said with a smile.

“Hey!” she replied brightly as he put the shopping in the trunk of the truck.  “All set?”

“Almost.  You said that road trips give you a sweet tooth, so…” he held out a chocolate heart wrapped in bright red foil, and she almost burst into tears.

But she managed another tight smile and took the confection from his hands.  “Thank you.”

He glanced at his watch.  “We’d better get moving if we want to hit the border by morning.”

Once they crossed into Mexico, it would be almost impossible for US forces to track them down.  Her life as she knew it was well and truly over. 

But Clark was safe.   And in the cold, lonely days ahead when she would feel like praying for death because she didn’t want to live, she would remember why she had done it all, and hold onto the fact that somewhere out there, he was alive.    

So she turned to the man who had torn her life apart, and simply smiled. 

“Let’s disappear.”

***

To be continued…