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babydee1
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peachmacaroons
Runner by go_clo
Title: Disintegration
Author: babydee1
Pairing: Chlollie
Rating: NC-17 (this chapter PG-13 for language)
Warnings: Episode references to 8.09 (Abyss), re-writes for 8.10 (Bride)
Timeline: Season 8 episodes, from Odyssey - Doomsday
Disclaimer: All characters belong to the CW & DC comics.
Summary: Chloe and Ollie’s relationship gets fractured through a series of miscommunications and interferences. Fourth Book in the Chlollie series, sequel to Slingshot, Trajectory and Misdirection.
Feedback: …in spades. :-)
Read previous chapter here.
Read story from the beginning here.
Chapter 27
Oliver’s hands curled into tight fists at his sides.
“You did what?” he growled menacingly, taking a deliberate step towards Clark.
“It was the right thing to do; I didn’t want her—”
“You did what?” he yelled, enraged. “What kind of dipshit decision was that? What the fuck—?”
“I did what I had to do!” Clark yelled back. “You said it yourself, she was getting too invested in all my issues, and this was the only way I could think of to protect her. I thought you’d approve!”
“I meant talk to her, you idiot, not turn her brain into a Swiss cheese!” he roared. “Fuck, she’s forgotten almost everything about herself for the last ten years!”
“No, I only told Jor-El to take away her knowledge of my secret,” Clark argued.
“Right,” Oliver jeered. “And did you completely forget that your secret is tied in with my secret, and the secret of everyone else in the League?”
Clark swallowed and stared at the ground. “I didn’t realise the effects would be so far reaching,” he mumbled.
“You didn’t think at all,” Oliver remarked. “You can’t cherry-pick memories, Clark, they’re like dominoes. Move the wrong one, and the entire pile comes crashing down. God…” He dug his hands into his hair and paced wildly. “This is a nightmare.”
“But she’s fine,” Clark insisted. “You saw her, didn’t you? She’s happy.”
“She’s ignorant,” Oliver grated. “She knows nothing about who she is, or what she’s done. She has no idea she’s saved the world several times over. She probably doesn’t even really know who she’s marrying, has no idea who…” who I am, he finished silently. What we’ve shared…
Tears stung his eyes at the memory of her in his arms, calling his name in breathless little sighs, and he shook his head.
“You lobotomised her,” he said harshly. “With friends like you, it’s a miracle she’s even still alive.”
“She was already lost, Oliver,” Clark said quietly. “Brainiac had already taken everything away; she had nothing to lose. All I ever wanted was for her to be happy.”
“And you figured half a brain was better than none, or a whole one,” he said. “You made a selfish decision, Clark. How the hell can you live with yourself?”
Clark gulped. “What are you going to do?” he asked.
“What can I do?” he retorted. “There’s no way to fix what you’ve done to her, Clark, no way at all. I can’t exactly kidnap her on her freakin’ wedding day and try to convince her she’s someone else completely. How could even you let her get married without her knowing who she is, let alone her fiancé?”
“She seems to remember him just fine,” he pointed out.
“You have no idea what’s going on in her head any more than she does,” Oliver shot back. “You fucked up big time, Clark. At least have the guts to admit it.”
He yanked open the door and stormed down the stairs.
“Where are you going?” Clark asked behind him.
“In case you’ve forgotten, there’s a criminal megalomaniac out there that needs bringing to justice, and a world that needs saving,” he tossed over his shoulder. “And since you can’t be relied on to do either, every second I spend here is a fucking waste, just like Chloe’s mind.”
“Oliver…” Clark sighed and trailed off as Oliver opened the front door and stepped out. “I honestly thought it was the best possible decision.”
“You honestly should not think at all, Clark,” he said scathingly. “Because when you do, people get hurt.”
He turned to go, but paused and fixed the younger man with a vile stare. “How dare you call yourself her friend?”
Clark didn’t answer. Oliver got into his car and slammed the door, then checked his cell for messages. Sure enough, Dinah had left several messages with coordinates of Lex’s exact location.
His attention immediately shifted to the job at hand, and he turned the ignition and floored the gas pedal, screeching out of the farmstead. Maybe all hope wasn’t lost; the ceremony wasn’t until later that evening. There was always the possibility that he could make it back to Smallville before the vows were exchanged; and even if he was too late to stop them being said, he had a lawyer on speed-dial who could contest validity of the marriage. He was also on first-name basis with a judge who could order an injunction preventing consummation of the marriage pending the results of a complete psychological evaluation of one of the parties, and get a recommendation for annulment.
His lips lifted in a wry smile as he tried to imagine the look on Chloe’s face if he waltzed in and hijacked her from her own wedding. She’d probably think he was completely mad, especially after their encounter this morning, but there was no way he was letting her get married or stay married to Jimmy Olsen when she didn’t have the full facts of her life.
Smiling, he floored the gas pedal and headed for the airport. Lex was in Havana, and Oliver was looking forward to ending his reign of terror. The sooner he got there and dealt with him, the sooner he could come back and sort out Clark’s mess.
***
Unfortunately, all planes out of Metropolis Airport were grounded for an hour due to an adverse weather warning. By the time they got off the ground, the coordinates they were tracking had migrated in a south-westerly direction to a town named Alquízar.
Lex was on the move again.
“Go as fast as you can,” he growled to his pilot. Now that Lex was within touching distance, the compulsive urge to have the other man within his grasp was almost palpable. Why it was so vitally important to him, he couldn’t quite understand: he just knew that Lex had to die for every horrid thing he’d ever done, and it had to be by his hand. In that respect, it was probably better that Clark didn’t accompany them, because if Clark had insisted on bringing Lex in alive, he’d probably have ended up with another kryptonite arrow in his chest.
They touched down in a small airstrip in Alquízar twenty minutes later, and Oliver located Lex’s hideout twelve minutes after that; a run-down, shabby-looking warehouse, at least from the exterior. Within was a completely different story. The facility appeared well-kept but deserted, and Oliver began to worry that perhaps he’d missed his old enemy once again.
He took an arrow out of his quiver and nocked it to the bow, stalking the halls quietly. When he got to the end of a long corridor, he turned and saw an unmistakably bald silhouette standing by the window.
He didn’t hesitate. With a speed even he didn’t know he possessed, he raised his bow and released the arrow, and the weapon sailed through the air and embedded itself straight through Lex’s head. The figure fell stiffly to the ground, and Oliver ran down the corridor towards it, half-expecting a legion of henchmen to jump out and apprehend him.
But no-one did, and he strode into the room and stared at the figure on the floor.
A mannequin lay there, with an arrow through its unseeing eye.
Rage bubbled up within him, and he reached down and pulled off a note that was pinned to the mannequin’s suit.
Sorry I missed you.
“Damn it!” he yelled, scrunching up the note in his palm and kicking the dummy on the floor. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!!!”
He turned and ran down the corridor, pulling out his communicator as he did so.
“Victor, there’s nothing here,” he barked as soon as the other man came online. “At least, nothing but a mannequin with a message.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll explain later. Do you have any further leads?”
“I’m sorry man, the trail’s gone cold. But I’m shocked there’s nothing where you are; less than an hour ago, there was definitely electronic activity going on there and an exchange of information at a massive rate.”
“He knows we’re onto him,” Oliver said grimly. “This has all been an elaborate wild goose chase.”
“What do you want to do?” Victor asked.
Oliver sighed. “Nothing,” he replied. “At least, not right now. Mission is officially aborted; I have another pressing matter to attend to.”
“Anything I can help you with?” Vic offered.
“Not this time, but thanks,” he replied as he climbed into his plane. “This one’s personal.”
***
The journey back was quick, and as soon as he touched down on the ground, Oliver was in his fast car and heading towards Smallville. He glanced at the clock on the dashboard; 7pm. The ceremony must be in full swing by now. Which reminded him: he needed to call his attorney and brief him on Chloe’s situation, then see what they could do about getting that injunction pending a full psyche evaluation on her brain.
Just then, his cell rang. Oliver glanced at the caller display and bared his teeth in a feral growl when he saw that it was Clark who was calling. His first instinct was to ignore, but curiosity got the better of him and he pushed the speaker button on the device.
“What?” Oliver snarled.
“Oliver, you need to get back here, and get here fast,” Clark said, his voice thready and weak. In the background he could hear people groaning and screaming, and all his scorn immediately dissipated.
“Clark?” he asked. “Clark, what’s happened? Are you hurt?”
“There’s…there’s been an attack at the Farm,” he replied shakily. “Jimmy’s been hurt, there are bodies everywhere…”
Oliver felt his blood run cold. “Is Chloe okay?” he asked, his hands shaking on the wheel.
“Chloe…” Clark said, sounding disoriented. “Oh, God…”
“Clark!” he demanded. “Clark, where’s Chloe?”
“She’s…” he paused again, almost driving Oliver to the brink of insanity.
“Clark, talk to me!” he roared. “Where’s Chloe? Is she safe?”
“He took her,” Clark sobbed. “That monster…”
His heart chilled. “What monster?”
“Just get here as soon as you can,” he said, weakly.
“Who took her?” Oliver yelled, but the phone was disconnected.
“Damn it!” His foot hit the gas pedal and pressed it down to the floor, and the Ferarri zoomed off towards Smallville.
***
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no subject
Date: 2012-12-17 01:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-17 02:16 pm (UTC)Glad you like, babes. Lots more chapters coming through the course of today (and probably tomorrow!)
no subject
Date: 2012-12-17 02:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-17 02:19 pm (UTC)It didn't happen in the show, and since I'm not radically changing anything that took place, I'd say the answer to that is no; Oliver won't be kidnapping her on her wedding day. But it's nice to know that he at least thought about it. :-P
"any chance they have some respite these two soon? please tell me something :)"
Patience, child. Patience! :-D
So glad you like it. *hugs*
no subject
Date: 2012-12-17 05:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-17 08:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-18 12:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-18 12:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-31 07:16 am (UTC)but even he won't i also love the idea of get the wedding canceled :) yeah go Ollie :)
i really hate Clark with his stupid decision about Chloe :(
i have to tell you Dee, your version of SV is the best ;)
congrats !!! and thanks again for sharing :)