Hero
Disclaimer: The characters of "Roswell" belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB, and UPN. Smallville belongs to the CW, and I don’t own that either. Also, the character Black Widow belongs to Marvel. I sure as heck don’t own that.
Category: XO with Smallville
Pairings: Liz and I’m gonna make you guess!
Rating: Mature. Do you like swearing? I know I do.
Summary: Set after Graduation in Roswell, and Pre-Bride in Smallville.
AN: I was going to wait to post this until the new year, but seeing as it’s Christmas, I figured I’d spread some holiday cheer. Merry late Christmas! Tell me what you think!
Prologue
A huddled dark figure crouched in the air vents of First Street Bank, legs straddling a shuttered opening, waiting for the opportune moment. Peering into the opening, the figure smirked as two men dressed with masks and guns barreled through the door. Screams of both men and women were heard and demands started flying left and right.
The capped head of a man with a gun fell directly under the opening. A deep breath in and a kick of the legs, the dark leather clad shape fell from the sky directly on top of the armed man, immobilizing him.
The second man turned in the direction of the disturbance and raised his gun to shoot. Before the bullet could leave the barrel, a small hand raised, sparks of green electricity extending from the hand sending the man into convulsions. The gun dropped immediately from his hand and a thud is heard as he falls to the ground. Turning attention to the previously aggressive attacker lying beneath, a fist flies across his face and his eyes shut. Out cold.
The room lies eerily silent as previously frightened employees and customers slowly rise, staring in shock at the small cloaked figure that has just begun to stand. Black heeled boots lead up to a pair of tucked in tight leather pants, black as well. Further up a blood red top sits snuggly against a petite frame, all enclosed by a tight fitting leather jacket zipped snugly to her frame. Higher still, red lips sit against porcelain skin and long wavy chestnut hair. Nose and eyes were hidden behind a leather mask, protecting the identity of the no more than 5 foot 3 inch woman.
Grabbing both guns she thrust them into the hands of the nearest security guard.
“Call the Police.” A raspy, but feminine voice sounds from a ruby mouth. With that she disappeared as quickly as she had entered.
Another moment of silence before the manager finally spoke. “Is everyone alright?”
Nods of the head confirmed no one had been harmed.
“The Police are on their way. What was that?” one of the tellers sounded.
“Whatever it was, that girl saved us!” A middle aged woman remarked.
But one blonde haired male’s eyes never left the door of which the masked woman had exited.
“Mr. Queen? Are you alright sir?” Oliver Queen’s suited companion spoke.
“Just fine, Thomas.” But who the hell was that girl?
Hero (XO SV, Liz/Oliver Mature) Complete- 05/26/09
Moderators: Anniepoo98, Itzstacie, truelovepooh, Erina, Forum Moderators
-
fourrightchords
- Enthusiastic Roswellian
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2008 1:55 pm
- Location: Look behind you.
Hero (XO SV, Liz/Oliver Mature) Complete- 05/26/09
Last edited by fourrightchords on Wed May 27, 2009 12:40 am, edited 22 times in total.
Love is not a victory march. Its a cold, and its a broken Hallelujah. -Leonard Cohen
-
fourrightchords
- Enthusiastic Roswellian
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2008 1:55 pm
- Location: Look behind you.
Hero (XO SV, Liz/? Mature) Ch1-12/28/08
AN: Oh Gosh, you guys are so wonderful. Tell me what you think of this next part.
Chapter 1
Keys sounded in the lock of a third floor apartment, shortly after the sound of heels clicking on hardwood and the clash of metal on the table.
“Your vision right?” A blonde girl sits on the couch, book in hand.
“Yup.”
More footsteps, then a bedroom door slammed.
“How was your day, Maria? Just fine Liz, thanks for asking.” Book collides with couch as the blonde makes her way to the bedroom door.
“Liz?” the door whirs open. Liz Parker stands in her black trench coat, double breasted, and hanging nearly to the floor. Completely necessary to cover what lies beneath, an outfit that, if recognized, could lead to a world of trouble.
“What’s up, Ria?” Liz opens the door to allow Maria to walk inside.
“You wanna tell me what happened?”
The girl simply shrugs her shoulders. “Same old. Came, saw, kicked ass.”
A large sigh. “Alright chica. Listen…I get your hurting. But you haven’t said more than 5 sentences to me since we got to Metropolis. You get a vision, you leave, you come back and then hole up in your room until you get the next one! This has GOT to stop.”
“I think its time you get out of my room”
“Liz. It’s been two years. And you still can’t even say his name.” Maria crosses her arms in front of her.
“What do you want from me? I didn’t make you come with me! I didn’t drag you along. What do you want me to do? Cry? It won’t make him come back, Maria. Max is DEAD. Nothing will change that.”
“I KNOW that sweetie, but you HAVE to talk about it sometime! I just…I really don’t know what to think, Liz. Max died…you disappear for over a year, and you come back and act like nothing ever happened. Now all we do is move around and you go on these…missions like….I don’t even know. I don’t even feel like I know you anymore, you won’t talk about what happened or where you were all that time you were gone...”
“Just leave me alone, Maria.”
“Fine. Fine. When you’re ready to talk to me, I’ll be here. Like always.”
The smaller girl nods her head before shutting the door.
***********************************
“Alright Smallville, since you’ve have such a hard time catching a break…why don’t I let you tag along on my next story?’ An hour-glass figure perches onto a brown desk.
“What kind of story, Lois?”
“Bank robbery. Let’s walk and talk, Clark, we’ve got witnesses to interview. So I get a call from a source 15 minutes ago, sees two men dressed in all black entering first street bank.” The pair begin their walk toward the elevator.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this worked up over a run of the mill bank robbery.” The elevator dings as the door slides open.
“Sometimes it’s cute, how green you are. There was no robbery. Witnesses claim a small girl falling from the ceiling took out both armed men. Claimed that she disarmed them both within seconds using green electricity that came from her hands.”
“Small girl? How small are we talking?” The doors open yet again to reveal the lobby.
“That, my friend, is what the interviews are for. Let’s move.”
*****************************************
Maria Deluca sits over a bowl of Fruity Pebbles, spoon suspended in mid-air. Her head refusing to rise as she hears the door of her best friend’s room open, along with the patter of bare-feet scampering across.
“I’m sorry. I know you’re trying to help. I appreciate it, really. But I don’t need you to hold my hand. I don’t want to talk about it because there isn’t anything left to talk about. Maria, you don’t have to be here. I—I think it might be best if you weren’t. You’re going to see some things, and I’m going to do some things that you won’t like. I’m not going to be the same girl. Things have changed and my life is not what it was, and I have no choice but to move on. This is how I’m choosing to do so. I can’t talk about it. Any of it. You either accept that, or…I’ve got some money saved. I can get you a bus ticket to wherever Michael is living this week.”
Maria sighs and puts down her spoon. “Liz…you’re my best friend. No matter what. I’m not going anywhere.”
A nod of the head is all the reaction she’ll get.
*******************************************
“—Comes flying in through the ceiling dressed like Catwoman, then this…web of green comes out like she’s a chick Spiderman…”
“Whoa, slow down buddy.” An annoyed Lois Lane pauses her interviewee. “Does this guy honestly expect me to use the term ‘chick Spiderman’?” She whispers to her dark haired companion.
Clark’s eyes fan across the bank, searching for any abnormalities.
“Smallville, are you hearing me? We’ve got to find a more reliable source. Comic-boy over there is probably better off blogging about this in his mother’s basement.”
“I’m gonna look around, see if I can’t get an interview with one of those cops.” Clark slowly starts to walk away.
“Good luck, kid. I tried first thing their lips are as tight as their asses.”
“Well Lois, I guess you just gotta have a certain…finesse.” The blue eyed journalist smiles.
Clark starts his journey around the room, hoping to catch a bit of residue, a hair, a fiber, anything that he can give Chloe to analyze. Two Police men and a Crime scene specialist catch his eye, he concentrates to pick up their conversation.
“…whatever this…thing was, it didn’t leave a trace of evidence behind. We’ve gone over the tapes. The girl looks no more than 18. Should we really be talking about continuing a search on her? She did stop a bank robbery.”
“I’m not allowing the media to put out a story of some masked vigilante taking justice into her own hands. The people need to know that the police should be handling these things, or more people can get hurt. Besides, we’re not just dealing with a girl anymore, We’re dealing with a killer.”
“You mean?”
“Al Torreti was pronounced dead at 10:47am. Cause of death, heart failure. She shocked him into a heart attack. They’re doing the autopsy right now to see if they can’t find any anomol—”
“Clark! You’re not going to find any evidence standing there trying to burn a hole in the floor.”
Clark shook his head and sighed as the investigators started to disperse.
“Thanks for that, Lois. I was actually figuring out where we could get the security tapes.”
“And that is why you’re still writing obits, Smallville. See that nervous, sweaty looking boy in blue over there?” Lois spoke, signaling toward a young police officer standing next to a van. “He’s getting us copies as we speak.” She smirked triumphantly.
“Great Lois. You know I forgot I have to meet with Chloe for coffee in 5, so I’ll catch you later?” Clark said, eyeing the white van with electrical equipment inside.
“Clark, I think Chloe can wait, this is a huge news story, front page stu—“
She turned to find an empty spot where Clark Kent had just seconds ago occupied.
“I really hate when he does that.”
******************************************
Ethan Thompson glanced worriedly around the alley way. Inside the white van he was guarding, one of his fellow officers, a video tech, was copying the surveillance tape of the robbery gone awry that had his superiors scratching their heads. One of the doors open, he glanced in and the tech gave him a thumbs up.
Getting laid sure didn’t take as much work now as it previously had, now all he had to do was say he was a cop and girls were putty in his hands. He’d show that reporter girl that he had some pull, and she’d be his. Girls are suckers for guys with power. All he had to do was get that tape in her hands, take her out for dinner and she’d be swooning in no time.
Grinning to himself he felt a strong wind come and go quickly. Ethan shook his head, and looks inside.
“Hey man, did you feel that?”
“Feel what? The gust? Yeah it knocked my papers everywhere.” The older technician sighed bending over to collect his work. “Yo, Rookie. I wasn’t done with that copy, give it back!”
Ethan looked confused for a moment. “You haven’t given it to me yet, man.”
“Don’t fuck around, Thompson…it was here a second ago, now its not. No one else was here.”
“I swear to God, man. I didn’t touch it. You’re sure its not there?” Ethan climbed inside the van, lifting stacks, and looking around.
“No man…I swear to God, I put it RIGHT there…”
“You lost the tape?” Ethan shouted.
“Shhh! Not so fuckin loud, huh? Listen, it has to be here somewhere. It’s just you and me in the area…help me look!”
Ethan sighed as he spotted the reporter smiling at him expectantly. He was really screwed if he couldn’t find this tape.
Chapter 1
Keys sounded in the lock of a third floor apartment, shortly after the sound of heels clicking on hardwood and the clash of metal on the table.
“Your vision right?” A blonde girl sits on the couch, book in hand.
“Yup.”
More footsteps, then a bedroom door slammed.
“How was your day, Maria? Just fine Liz, thanks for asking.” Book collides with couch as the blonde makes her way to the bedroom door.
“Liz?” the door whirs open. Liz Parker stands in her black trench coat, double breasted, and hanging nearly to the floor. Completely necessary to cover what lies beneath, an outfit that, if recognized, could lead to a world of trouble.
“What’s up, Ria?” Liz opens the door to allow Maria to walk inside.
“You wanna tell me what happened?”
The girl simply shrugs her shoulders. “Same old. Came, saw, kicked ass.”
A large sigh. “Alright chica. Listen…I get your hurting. But you haven’t said more than 5 sentences to me since we got to Metropolis. You get a vision, you leave, you come back and then hole up in your room until you get the next one! This has GOT to stop.”
“I think its time you get out of my room”
“Liz. It’s been two years. And you still can’t even say his name.” Maria crosses her arms in front of her.
“What do you want from me? I didn’t make you come with me! I didn’t drag you along. What do you want me to do? Cry? It won’t make him come back, Maria. Max is DEAD. Nothing will change that.”
“I KNOW that sweetie, but you HAVE to talk about it sometime! I just…I really don’t know what to think, Liz. Max died…you disappear for over a year, and you come back and act like nothing ever happened. Now all we do is move around and you go on these…missions like….I don’t even know. I don’t even feel like I know you anymore, you won’t talk about what happened or where you were all that time you were gone...”
“Just leave me alone, Maria.”
“Fine. Fine. When you’re ready to talk to me, I’ll be here. Like always.”
The smaller girl nods her head before shutting the door.
***********************************
“Alright Smallville, since you’ve have such a hard time catching a break…why don’t I let you tag along on my next story?’ An hour-glass figure perches onto a brown desk.
“What kind of story, Lois?”
“Bank robbery. Let’s walk and talk, Clark, we’ve got witnesses to interview. So I get a call from a source 15 minutes ago, sees two men dressed in all black entering first street bank.” The pair begin their walk toward the elevator.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this worked up over a run of the mill bank robbery.” The elevator dings as the door slides open.
“Sometimes it’s cute, how green you are. There was no robbery. Witnesses claim a small girl falling from the ceiling took out both armed men. Claimed that she disarmed them both within seconds using green electricity that came from her hands.”
“Small girl? How small are we talking?” The doors open yet again to reveal the lobby.
“That, my friend, is what the interviews are for. Let’s move.”
*****************************************
Maria Deluca sits over a bowl of Fruity Pebbles, spoon suspended in mid-air. Her head refusing to rise as she hears the door of her best friend’s room open, along with the patter of bare-feet scampering across.
“I’m sorry. I know you’re trying to help. I appreciate it, really. But I don’t need you to hold my hand. I don’t want to talk about it because there isn’t anything left to talk about. Maria, you don’t have to be here. I—I think it might be best if you weren’t. You’re going to see some things, and I’m going to do some things that you won’t like. I’m not going to be the same girl. Things have changed and my life is not what it was, and I have no choice but to move on. This is how I’m choosing to do so. I can’t talk about it. Any of it. You either accept that, or…I’ve got some money saved. I can get you a bus ticket to wherever Michael is living this week.”
Maria sighs and puts down her spoon. “Liz…you’re my best friend. No matter what. I’m not going anywhere.”
A nod of the head is all the reaction she’ll get.
*******************************************
“—Comes flying in through the ceiling dressed like Catwoman, then this…web of green comes out like she’s a chick Spiderman…”
“Whoa, slow down buddy.” An annoyed Lois Lane pauses her interviewee. “Does this guy honestly expect me to use the term ‘chick Spiderman’?” She whispers to her dark haired companion.
Clark’s eyes fan across the bank, searching for any abnormalities.
“Smallville, are you hearing me? We’ve got to find a more reliable source. Comic-boy over there is probably better off blogging about this in his mother’s basement.”
“I’m gonna look around, see if I can’t get an interview with one of those cops.” Clark slowly starts to walk away.
“Good luck, kid. I tried first thing their lips are as tight as their asses.”
“Well Lois, I guess you just gotta have a certain…finesse.” The blue eyed journalist smiles.
Clark starts his journey around the room, hoping to catch a bit of residue, a hair, a fiber, anything that he can give Chloe to analyze. Two Police men and a Crime scene specialist catch his eye, he concentrates to pick up their conversation.
“…whatever this…thing was, it didn’t leave a trace of evidence behind. We’ve gone over the tapes. The girl looks no more than 18. Should we really be talking about continuing a search on her? She did stop a bank robbery.”
“I’m not allowing the media to put out a story of some masked vigilante taking justice into her own hands. The people need to know that the police should be handling these things, or more people can get hurt. Besides, we’re not just dealing with a girl anymore, We’re dealing with a killer.”
“You mean?”
“Al Torreti was pronounced dead at 10:47am. Cause of death, heart failure. She shocked him into a heart attack. They’re doing the autopsy right now to see if they can’t find any anomol—”
“Clark! You’re not going to find any evidence standing there trying to burn a hole in the floor.”
Clark shook his head and sighed as the investigators started to disperse.
“Thanks for that, Lois. I was actually figuring out where we could get the security tapes.”
“And that is why you’re still writing obits, Smallville. See that nervous, sweaty looking boy in blue over there?” Lois spoke, signaling toward a young police officer standing next to a van. “He’s getting us copies as we speak.” She smirked triumphantly.
“Great Lois. You know I forgot I have to meet with Chloe for coffee in 5, so I’ll catch you later?” Clark said, eyeing the white van with electrical equipment inside.
“Clark, I think Chloe can wait, this is a huge news story, front page stu—“
She turned to find an empty spot where Clark Kent had just seconds ago occupied.
“I really hate when he does that.”
******************************************
Ethan Thompson glanced worriedly around the alley way. Inside the white van he was guarding, one of his fellow officers, a video tech, was copying the surveillance tape of the robbery gone awry that had his superiors scratching their heads. One of the doors open, he glanced in and the tech gave him a thumbs up.
Getting laid sure didn’t take as much work now as it previously had, now all he had to do was say he was a cop and girls were putty in his hands. He’d show that reporter girl that he had some pull, and she’d be his. Girls are suckers for guys with power. All he had to do was get that tape in her hands, take her out for dinner and she’d be swooning in no time.
Grinning to himself he felt a strong wind come and go quickly. Ethan shook his head, and looks inside.
“Hey man, did you feel that?”
“Feel what? The gust? Yeah it knocked my papers everywhere.” The older technician sighed bending over to collect his work. “Yo, Rookie. I wasn’t done with that copy, give it back!”
Ethan looked confused for a moment. “You haven’t given it to me yet, man.”
“Don’t fuck around, Thompson…it was here a second ago, now its not. No one else was here.”
“I swear to God, man. I didn’t touch it. You’re sure its not there?” Ethan climbed inside the van, lifting stacks, and looking around.
“No man…I swear to God, I put it RIGHT there…”
“You lost the tape?” Ethan shouted.
“Shhh! Not so fuckin loud, huh? Listen, it has to be here somewhere. It’s just you and me in the area…help me look!”
Ethan sighed as he spotted the reporter smiling at him expectantly. He was really screwed if he couldn’t find this tape.
Love is not a victory march. Its a cold, and its a broken Hallelujah. -Leonard Cohen
-
fourrightchords
- Enthusiastic Roswellian
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2008 1:55 pm
- Location: Look behind you.
Hero (XO SV, Liz/? Mature) Ch2- 01/01/09
Happy New Year everyone! Hope your 2009 is better than your 2008! Thanks for all the reviews.
Chapter 2
Oliver Queen couldn’t believe his night. He had attended a gala for the Metropolis Museum of Fine Art with a date who he was just about positive was a sure thing. ‘Who wasn’t these days?’ He found himself thinking. Tall, leggy, blonde hair…perfect, for tonight anyways.
Unfortunately, he had overlooked the fact that when he first met her she was drunk as a walrus and invited her anyways.
The girl was definitely a lush. Within two hours she was trashed, falling all over the place, talking excessively loud. Oliver had a reputation to uphold, and although he was well known for being a playboy, this playboy did not date girls who had not made it out of their sorority days. So being the gentleman that he is, he put her, at this point passed out, figure into his car and told his driver to take her home. To her own home, of course.
Which left him without a ride, and no taxi in sight.
Fantastic.
So here he was, Oliver Queen, walking home dressed in an Armani, at two am, and not even a date to show for it.
And wait….did that look like rain?
“Wallet, now.”
A hard piece of metal found its way into Oliver’s back and he froze. The barrel of the gun would leave a mark and Oliver found himself wondering how he had gotten snuck up on.
“Give me your fucking money now! Watch too.” A gruff voice demanded.
“Alright, alright, take it easy.” Oliver peered behind him, trying to get an idea of the size and proportion of the guy.
“Eyes forward you piece of shit. You think I’m stupid or somethi—.”
The clatter of the gun sounded preceded by a large whoosh. Oliver was quick to turn around, but not quick enough to beat the figure that had already round house kicked the mugger into submission. Another kick to the gut, and the burly man was on his knees. With a backhand to the face, he was out cold, and the figure had already begun Zip-tying him to a drain pipe.
Oliver stood in shock as he watched his attacker be overcome by a small shape. The same shape he had seen stopping a heist the day before. He stared with appreciation as her leather clad figure moved catlike around the alley.
She made sure he was secure before turning towards him. “You alright?” Came the same raspy voice from the same ruby lips.
He could only nod his head.
“Call the police. He’s not going anywhere.”
She turned and very quickly began to walk/run in the other direction.
“H-hey wait!” Oliver finally found his voice.
Oliver Queen was never speechless, always with a quick one-liner or savvy comeback. But for some reason that tiny speck of a girl left his mouth dry as the Sahara.
He had to know who she was.
***************************************
“We’ve got to find out who she is!” An exasperated Clark set his head in his hands. “She’s using her abilities recklessly, and the cops are on her tail. If she gets caught…she’ll be put in a place like Black Creek in no time.”
“If she’s a meteor freak like the rest of them, we’ll find her.” Chloe Sullivan spoke, studying the video for the fifteenth time. “Now, you never get a good look at her face, its covered by the mask, anyways. But look here…” Chloe said, zooming in on a frame to the masked figure’s neck. “Her hair moves for just a second, long enough to capture this…a tattoo?”
Clark squints his eyes to get a better look. “Can you make it any clearer?”
“Yeah, hold on.”
Just behind the girls ear was a symbol; two lines swirled together. Just under it, a number; 24.
“What is that? A….web or something?”
“It looks like it, although, not the conventional kind of web….and wait…the knives that are attached to her thigh. Look at the engravings on the sides…I’ve seen those before. Give me a little time, Clark. I’ll have your girl in no time.
“I’m afraid we don’t have a lot of time. If the wrong people get a hold of her…”
***************************************
Liz Parker walked down the street, thick book in hand. It had been a while since she had actually been out as her, and not her alter-ego, and to be completely honest, she didn’t actually like going out anymore. But going out on her own, as her, kept Maria off her back, so she decided to visit the coffee shop down the block and catch up on some reading.
Grabbing a latte from the barista, she sat in a larger chair and pulled out her reading glasses.
**************************************
Oliver Queen sat waiting, sipping at an espresso. Clark was late again, and it was he who had arranged the meeting. Apparently, Mr. Kent didn’t appreciate the fact that Oliver had a business to run. Not to mention Lex Luthor still on the loose and a mysterious woman in black to find.
No, instead Oliver was stuck here, tapping his foot and allowing his eyes to wander about the shop. Stopping on a small studious looking girl, he smiled. No reason he couldn’t have a little fun while awaiting Clark’s arrival.
Oliver had often found that the quiet bookish types were often the most wild in bed. And if not, it would be amusing to watch her blush at the advances of a millionaire.
Quietly, he made his way over and placed himself in the chair next to hers.
“I didn’t figure you for the Chuck Palahniuk type.” He said, eyeing her book.
She responded without even glancing up. “What’d you expect? Twilight?”
“I’m a bigger poetry man, myself. Whitman, Frost, Tennyson…”
The girl had no response for him, only continued to stare, but Oliver was not discouraged.
“I’m Oliver….Queen.” He held his hand out.
She glanced over at him, smirked and nodded her head before turning back to her book, still wordless.
“Oookay…not much of a talker, huh? Well that’s a shame. I’ve been dying to know what a pretty girl like you has got running around in her head. Besides me, of course.” He smiled, hoping to get a laugh.
Finally, she looked up, but only to cock an eye brow in his direction. “You just really throw yourself out there, huh?” She spoke for the first time.
“‘The only way to find true happiness is to risk being completely cut open.’” He said with a smirk, quoting the author she held in her hand.
A slight look of surprise swept her face when a voice interrupted the pair.
“Oliver! Sorry I’m late. I got caught up at the Planet.” Clark came barreling in through the doorway.
“No problem. Here, let’s go out back.” Oliver stood. “You…we’ll continue this conversation later? Eventually, you’ll have to let me get a word in edgewise. Don’t you disappear on me!” He pointed at the girl in the large chair, sighing when she gave him the finger in response.
“Having trouble?” Clark teased.
“I’m in love….” Oliver joked. “So as much as I like our little chats, Kent, what can I do for you?”
The two boys perched themselves in the back alley.
“I need help finding someone. The masked girl in that robbery a couple days back. Chloe and I swiped the security tape, but we’re having a hard time finding an identity…”
“Already on it, Clark. I was in the bank that morning. And…had another run in the other night actually. You think she’s meteor infected?”
“She might be. Chloe’s working on clearing up a picture and tagging some identifying marks. What do you mean another run in?”
Oliver smiles sheepishly. “I—uh…I may have been getting mugged. Anyways she swooped in and saved the day, then ran off with barely a word.”
“You almost got mugged? And she saved you, huh?”
“Shove it, Clark. I was in a tux, Oliver Queen doesn’t dole out the harshness, Green Arrow does.”
Clark only laughed in response.
“Alright enough of that. Why don’t I meet you and Chloe tonight and we’ll figure it out.”
“Sounds great. Thanks, Oliver, I really appreciate it.” Clark clapped his hand on Oliver’s back.
“Now, let’s get back in there. I’ve got a date with that pretty brunette, tonight.” He said as the two began to walk inside.
The brunette girl was still sitting in the same spot, reading the same book, but now, in the chair next to her was a large cognac colored handbag.
Her large handbag.
“Did you miss me?” Oliver’s voice caused her to jump a bit in her seat.
“Tons.” Came her short reply.
“Clark…have a seat, looks like the lady is in need of a refill, I’ll get you one as well.”
The girl went to protest, but as Oliver was already gone, she noted her efforts were futile.
“I’m Clark. Kent.” Clark offered a hand.
She looked up, pausing for a bit to study his face. Finally after a few minutes she smiled a small but genuine smile.
“Hi.”
“Look, Oliver comes on a bit strong, but don’t let him fool you. He’s a good guy. And I’ve never seen him work this hard.”
“I’ll write that down somewhere.” She nodded sarcastically as she pulled her wavy hair into a messy ponytail.
Turning back to her book, she barely noticed as Clark stared at her neck, registering a small tattoo at the base of her ear.
Frowning slightly he turned to her again. “What did you say your name was?”
“I didn—.”
“I leave for a couple minutes and you’ve already got her chatting? What’s your secret, Kent?”
“I was just leaving.” The girl quickly grabbed her purse off the chair and the white cup out of Oliver’s. “Thanks.” She muttered as Clark and Oliver stared after her.
“Well.” Clark nodded. “She was…interesting.”
*****************************************8
Liz’s flat riding boots hit the carpet lined hallway of her apartment building with a soft thud as she jogged through.
Finally arriving at her door, she quickly flung it open surprising Maria who was sitting at the couch with Alex’s old guitar.
“I found him.” She spoke breathlessly while pulling her boots off.
“HIM-him?” Maria said.
“Yeah. Him. Well, I met him actually. Today at the coffee shop. He was there with a friend.”
“What are you going to do?” Maria said, setting the guitar adjacent to her on the couch.
Liz paused for a moment thinking it over. “Wait a bit. Then I’m going to get into character and confront him. If my vision was right I’ve still got about a month or so before anything big goes down.”
“Why not do it tonight and have more time to prepare?” Maria inquired.
“Because.” Liz stripped off the shirt and jeans she was previously wearing and headed to the bathroom. “Because tonight, there’ll be a murder on 134th and 8th, and I have to stop it.”
Sighing Maria leaned back into the couch. “Just remember! YOU’RE NOT BULLETPROOF!”
In case there was any confusion, the quote belongs to Chuck Palahniuk. So...you like?
Chapter 2
Oliver Queen couldn’t believe his night. He had attended a gala for the Metropolis Museum of Fine Art with a date who he was just about positive was a sure thing. ‘Who wasn’t these days?’ He found himself thinking. Tall, leggy, blonde hair…perfect, for tonight anyways.
Unfortunately, he had overlooked the fact that when he first met her she was drunk as a walrus and invited her anyways.
The girl was definitely a lush. Within two hours she was trashed, falling all over the place, talking excessively loud. Oliver had a reputation to uphold, and although he was well known for being a playboy, this playboy did not date girls who had not made it out of their sorority days. So being the gentleman that he is, he put her, at this point passed out, figure into his car and told his driver to take her home. To her own home, of course.
Which left him without a ride, and no taxi in sight.
Fantastic.
So here he was, Oliver Queen, walking home dressed in an Armani, at two am, and not even a date to show for it.
And wait….did that look like rain?
“Wallet, now.”
A hard piece of metal found its way into Oliver’s back and he froze. The barrel of the gun would leave a mark and Oliver found himself wondering how he had gotten snuck up on.
“Give me your fucking money now! Watch too.” A gruff voice demanded.
“Alright, alright, take it easy.” Oliver peered behind him, trying to get an idea of the size and proportion of the guy.
“Eyes forward you piece of shit. You think I’m stupid or somethi—.”
The clatter of the gun sounded preceded by a large whoosh. Oliver was quick to turn around, but not quick enough to beat the figure that had already round house kicked the mugger into submission. Another kick to the gut, and the burly man was on his knees. With a backhand to the face, he was out cold, and the figure had already begun Zip-tying him to a drain pipe.
Oliver stood in shock as he watched his attacker be overcome by a small shape. The same shape he had seen stopping a heist the day before. He stared with appreciation as her leather clad figure moved catlike around the alley.
She made sure he was secure before turning towards him. “You alright?” Came the same raspy voice from the same ruby lips.
He could only nod his head.
“Call the police. He’s not going anywhere.”
She turned and very quickly began to walk/run in the other direction.
“H-hey wait!” Oliver finally found his voice.
Oliver Queen was never speechless, always with a quick one-liner or savvy comeback. But for some reason that tiny speck of a girl left his mouth dry as the Sahara.
He had to know who she was.
***************************************
“We’ve got to find out who she is!” An exasperated Clark set his head in his hands. “She’s using her abilities recklessly, and the cops are on her tail. If she gets caught…she’ll be put in a place like Black Creek in no time.”
“If she’s a meteor freak like the rest of them, we’ll find her.” Chloe Sullivan spoke, studying the video for the fifteenth time. “Now, you never get a good look at her face, its covered by the mask, anyways. But look here…” Chloe said, zooming in on a frame to the masked figure’s neck. “Her hair moves for just a second, long enough to capture this…a tattoo?”
Clark squints his eyes to get a better look. “Can you make it any clearer?”
“Yeah, hold on.”
Just behind the girls ear was a symbol; two lines swirled together. Just under it, a number; 24.
“What is that? A….web or something?”
“It looks like it, although, not the conventional kind of web….and wait…the knives that are attached to her thigh. Look at the engravings on the sides…I’ve seen those before. Give me a little time, Clark. I’ll have your girl in no time.
“I’m afraid we don’t have a lot of time. If the wrong people get a hold of her…”
***************************************
Liz Parker walked down the street, thick book in hand. It had been a while since she had actually been out as her, and not her alter-ego, and to be completely honest, she didn’t actually like going out anymore. But going out on her own, as her, kept Maria off her back, so she decided to visit the coffee shop down the block and catch up on some reading.
Grabbing a latte from the barista, she sat in a larger chair and pulled out her reading glasses.
**************************************
Oliver Queen sat waiting, sipping at an espresso. Clark was late again, and it was he who had arranged the meeting. Apparently, Mr. Kent didn’t appreciate the fact that Oliver had a business to run. Not to mention Lex Luthor still on the loose and a mysterious woman in black to find.
No, instead Oliver was stuck here, tapping his foot and allowing his eyes to wander about the shop. Stopping on a small studious looking girl, he smiled. No reason he couldn’t have a little fun while awaiting Clark’s arrival.
Oliver had often found that the quiet bookish types were often the most wild in bed. And if not, it would be amusing to watch her blush at the advances of a millionaire.
Quietly, he made his way over and placed himself in the chair next to hers.
“I didn’t figure you for the Chuck Palahniuk type.” He said, eyeing her book.
She responded without even glancing up. “What’d you expect? Twilight?”
“I’m a bigger poetry man, myself. Whitman, Frost, Tennyson…”
The girl had no response for him, only continued to stare, but Oliver was not discouraged.
“I’m Oliver….Queen.” He held his hand out.
She glanced over at him, smirked and nodded her head before turning back to her book, still wordless.
“Oookay…not much of a talker, huh? Well that’s a shame. I’ve been dying to know what a pretty girl like you has got running around in her head. Besides me, of course.” He smiled, hoping to get a laugh.
Finally, she looked up, but only to cock an eye brow in his direction. “You just really throw yourself out there, huh?” She spoke for the first time.
“‘The only way to find true happiness is to risk being completely cut open.’” He said with a smirk, quoting the author she held in her hand.
A slight look of surprise swept her face when a voice interrupted the pair.
“Oliver! Sorry I’m late. I got caught up at the Planet.” Clark came barreling in through the doorway.
“No problem. Here, let’s go out back.” Oliver stood. “You…we’ll continue this conversation later? Eventually, you’ll have to let me get a word in edgewise. Don’t you disappear on me!” He pointed at the girl in the large chair, sighing when she gave him the finger in response.
“Having trouble?” Clark teased.
“I’m in love….” Oliver joked. “So as much as I like our little chats, Kent, what can I do for you?”
The two boys perched themselves in the back alley.
“I need help finding someone. The masked girl in that robbery a couple days back. Chloe and I swiped the security tape, but we’re having a hard time finding an identity…”
“Already on it, Clark. I was in the bank that morning. And…had another run in the other night actually. You think she’s meteor infected?”
“She might be. Chloe’s working on clearing up a picture and tagging some identifying marks. What do you mean another run in?”
Oliver smiles sheepishly. “I—uh…I may have been getting mugged. Anyways she swooped in and saved the day, then ran off with barely a word.”
“You almost got mugged? And she saved you, huh?”
“Shove it, Clark. I was in a tux, Oliver Queen doesn’t dole out the harshness, Green Arrow does.”
Clark only laughed in response.
“Alright enough of that. Why don’t I meet you and Chloe tonight and we’ll figure it out.”
“Sounds great. Thanks, Oliver, I really appreciate it.” Clark clapped his hand on Oliver’s back.
“Now, let’s get back in there. I’ve got a date with that pretty brunette, tonight.” He said as the two began to walk inside.
The brunette girl was still sitting in the same spot, reading the same book, but now, in the chair next to her was a large cognac colored handbag.
Her large handbag.
“Did you miss me?” Oliver’s voice caused her to jump a bit in her seat.
“Tons.” Came her short reply.
“Clark…have a seat, looks like the lady is in need of a refill, I’ll get you one as well.”
The girl went to protest, but as Oliver was already gone, she noted her efforts were futile.
“I’m Clark. Kent.” Clark offered a hand.
She looked up, pausing for a bit to study his face. Finally after a few minutes she smiled a small but genuine smile.
“Hi.”
“Look, Oliver comes on a bit strong, but don’t let him fool you. He’s a good guy. And I’ve never seen him work this hard.”
“I’ll write that down somewhere.” She nodded sarcastically as she pulled her wavy hair into a messy ponytail.
Turning back to her book, she barely noticed as Clark stared at her neck, registering a small tattoo at the base of her ear.
Frowning slightly he turned to her again. “What did you say your name was?”
“I didn—.”
“I leave for a couple minutes and you’ve already got her chatting? What’s your secret, Kent?”
“I was just leaving.” The girl quickly grabbed her purse off the chair and the white cup out of Oliver’s. “Thanks.” She muttered as Clark and Oliver stared after her.
“Well.” Clark nodded. “She was…interesting.”
*****************************************8
Liz’s flat riding boots hit the carpet lined hallway of her apartment building with a soft thud as she jogged through.
Finally arriving at her door, she quickly flung it open surprising Maria who was sitting at the couch with Alex’s old guitar.
“I found him.” She spoke breathlessly while pulling her boots off.
“HIM-him?” Maria said.
“Yeah. Him. Well, I met him actually. Today at the coffee shop. He was there with a friend.”
“What are you going to do?” Maria said, setting the guitar adjacent to her on the couch.
Liz paused for a moment thinking it over. “Wait a bit. Then I’m going to get into character and confront him. If my vision was right I’ve still got about a month or so before anything big goes down.”
“Why not do it tonight and have more time to prepare?” Maria inquired.
“Because.” Liz stripped off the shirt and jeans she was previously wearing and headed to the bathroom. “Because tonight, there’ll be a murder on 134th and 8th, and I have to stop it.”
Sighing Maria leaned back into the couch. “Just remember! YOU’RE NOT BULLETPROOF!”
In case there was any confusion, the quote belongs to Chuck Palahniuk. So...you like?
Love is not a victory march. Its a cold, and its a broken Hallelujah. -Leonard Cohen
-
fourrightchords
- Enthusiastic Roswellian
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2008 1:55 pm
- Location: Look behind you.
Re: Hero (XO SV, Liz/? Mature) Ch3- 01/08/09
Have I told you lately...that I love you.
Hah. Here's the next part. Enjoy.
Chapter 3
It was dark out. Dark and cold, colder than it should have been for this time of year. Benjamin Brady was not one for the cold, he had grown up in Phoenix and was used to dry heat. Jumping slightly up and down he huddled deeper into his jacket.
“Come on, Frank. Where the hell are you.”
Francis Delmark, or Frank as he was more commonly known, was a detective for Metropolis P.D. A fit man of no more than 40 he had a wife and kids and was a hard ass with a big temper.
Frank had approached Ben weeks ago and called him out on his involvement with a drug lord named Canyon Trembley. Trembley was the top of the chain and Narcotics had been trying to pin him for years, but Trembley’s use of lackeys….loyal lackeys, had P.D. nearly punching the walls in frustration. So when Frank had came to Benjamin weeks ago and offered him everything but a free pass and money to get out of Metropolis Ben jumped at the opportunity.
It wasn’t that Ben was a disloyal or greedy man, it was the fact that since the age of 22, Ben Brady had had a serious gambling problem; one that forced his wife to leave him and take their daughter, now five years old, with her.
So seriously in debt and with no jobs available, Ben moved to Metropolis for work and was found by Trembley soon after. Trembley would pay Ben’s debt off and in return, Ben would run a few errands for Trembley. A few errands turned into nearly 5 years, and with the debt paid off, Brady wanted out. Trembley wouldn’t hear of it, and Trembley wasn’t going anywhere. At least, not until he delivered the USB drive that held condemning evidence linking Canyon Trembley to some major drug busts, fraud, identity theft and trafficking.
Frank Delmark was Ben’s way out, and his way back to his family and the little girl he’d left behind.
And he was late.
“Sorry I’m late, Benny.” A stout man with buzzed brown hair came rolling around the corner.
“Its fine, Frank. Let’s just get this over with.” Ben glanced around nervously.
“Right. You got it?”
“Course I got it. You got my stuff?”
“Sure do. Your ticket to freedom right in my pocket, friend.” Frank smiled, pulling out a stack of papers and an envelope with money inside. Looking over at Ben, he frowned suddenly when he noticed something on Ben’s jacket.
“Brady…what is that?” He pointed.
“What?” Ben looked down, and froze suddenly when he noticed what Frank was talking about. On his jacket, slightly to the left, a small, clean red dot was glaring at them both.
“Oh shi—.”
A shot rang out, both men dropping to the ground. Seconds later, Frank came to his senses and began to grab at Ben’s chest.
“Ben? Shit! Ben!!!”
“I—I’m…I’m okay…I think I’m okay!” Ben whispered, feeling his own chest just as frantically.
Both men backed away from each other, noticing no blood from either of them. Instead, inches from where Ben stood, a steaming bullet hole laid into the brick of the building by them.
“He missed?” Frank spoke too soon.
Another shot, this time no where near them screamed out, followed by a series of loud grunts and the sounds of fighting.
“Hang on…” Frank ran over to where his car was parked and quickly turned his spotlight over to where the noise was coming from, the top of a building across the street.
A blur of black leather and flying dark hair was all he could see, stumbling back to Ben he squinted to get a better view.
The shooter was putting up slight resistance as the masked girl danced about him, sending in kicks and punches where she could get them in. Pulling two knives from her thigh straps, she sliced him quickly across the face and followed with a hard punch.
Disoriented, the shooter stumbled a bit, giving her an opportunity to bring him to his knees and crash his head into the concrete railing on the building.
He was out cold, and so she turned for a moment to look to the street and assess the situation, her knife catching in the moonlight.
Quickly and without fail, Ben removed his cell phone from his pocket and brought it up to click a picture. Immediately after he had done so, the masked woman ran and jumped from the building, landing safely on the roof of the next one. She did not miss a beat as she did the same for the next one, rooftop jumping her way out of sight.
“What the hell…” Ben spoke reverently.
“Holy shit, man. You alright? Did you get a picture?” Frank asked, quite shook himself.
“Yeah, check it out.”
Staring at them from the screen of his phone, the illuminated form of the masked woman stood, her knife gleaming in the night.
******************************************
“Front page, once again. Soak it in, Clark…that’s what a story looks like.” Lois Lane tossed the paper onto Clark’s desk and it landed with a hefty thud.
Clark eyed the edition and starred in shock as he began reading.
“The Black Widow strikes again…Local Drug Lord arrested and awaiting arraignment?”
The cover picture was blurry at best, but held the figure of the masked girl, dressed head to toe in black leather and toting a short knife, standing proudly atop a building.
“Nice name. You come up with that yourself?” Clark popped an eyebrow up as the itch to get away and straight to Chloe’s crawled up his leg.
“Of course I did,” Lois cried, snatching the paper off Clark’s desk.
He stared at her unbelieving and she relented.
“Fine. Maybe I didn’t. As if you didn’t know. I found Chloe’s research last night still on her laptop, and used that. You’re sneakier than I gave you credit for, Smallville, using my own blood as a resource and not telling me, but I got the scoop on the bust, and snatched the picture and had the story ready for print by morning time. Done and done. You’re quick, not quick enough, though.” She smiled smugly.
“Right. Anyways. I’ve got to get going.” Clark rose and quickly headed for the exit.
“Aww don’t be such a sore loser, Kent!!” Lois called after him.
******************************************
Clark flipped his phone open as soon as he stepped outside the building. Dialing Chloe’s number he waited impatiently for her voice to come over the line.
“Hello?”
“Lois found your research and used it to print a story. The front page is covered with the girl’s picture.”
“Slow down, Clark. What happened?”
“The research you were doing on the meteor girl. Lois found it. There was a drug bust involved last night where some pretty big names were taken down, and a picture was taken of her. It’s all over the front page, Chlo.”
“Okay, calm down. This isn’t terrible. And she may not be one of the meteor infected at all.”
“Does this have anything to do with Black Widow?”
“You should probably just come over, Clark. Oliver’s on his way and I’ll explain when you get here.”
A blur and a step later and Clark had Chloe jumping out of her seat.
“Jesus, Clark.” Chloe breathed, with a hand to her chest.
“Sorry. What do you have?”
“Alright. The tattoo didn’t really turn up anything, we have designs that are close all stemming from…”
“I’m here…sorry I’m late.” Oliver made himself known.
“Right. So we’re talking about her tattoo. The most similar design is something I found off of a website for alien abductions near Roswell, New Mexico…the design’s not exactly the same, but it’s close. Clark you don’t recognize it at all, do you?”
Clark shook his head.
“Okay. So the next thing we had was the engravings on the knife, a spider and below it an hour glass shape.”
“So…” Oliver Queen led on.
“So in the 40’s and 50’s, news stories would pop up with pictures of a woman dressed in Black, wearing a belt with that symbol. She was dubbed the Black Widow, and she was an operative for the KGB….”
“Wait…so we’re dealing with a Russian spy?” Oliver asked.
“Well…I’m not sure. She could just be a copy cat.”
“So…is this girl a good guy or a bad guy?”
“Not sure. The history on the Black Widow never states which side she was on. She had ties to both sides.”
“And anything on her true identity? Any clues?” Oliver inquired.
“Nothing.”
“So this girl is a complete wildcard…who may or may not be a Russian spy. And we have no idea who she is or how to find her?” Clark rubbed the back of his head.
“No…I’ve heard her speak. No accent. She might be working for someone in Russia, but she’s homegrown, that’s for sure. Did they ever figure out who the original one was?”
“Not definitively.” Chloe raced around grabbing papers. “There were a couple theories. But by now, all those people are way passed their commission.”
Oliver stared at the picture on the front of the paper.
“The Black Widow, huh? Let’s see which side you choose.”
*******************************************
A loud banging broke Liz out of a deep sleep.
THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP.
Again, this time accompanied by a voice.
“Elizabeth Parker get your ass outta bed and get out here!”
Groaning, she sat up slowly and stumbled her way out of her room.
Maria sighed angrily as Liz wobbled out of her room and plopped down at the kitchen table. Pacing for a couple more minutes she finally stopped and looked at a confused and sleepy Liz Parker.
“You call this being discreet?” Maria yelled, throwing the morning paper on the table.
Sighing, Liz picked the paper up, only to widen in shock when she read the cover.
“The Black Widow?” She said with surprise.
“Ironic, huh?” Maria half laughed. “You said you would be careful. You said no one would know. Michael is going to FREAK OUT if he sees this!”
Liz’s own leather clad form stared at her from the page. “You can’t even tell it’s me!”
“But they know you’re out there, Liz. You’re getting press! Soon you’re going to have hundreds of Paparazzi following you around and you won’t even be able to go to Starbuck’s and then they’ll take away your children and give them to KEVIN FEDERLINE!” Maria squealed.
“Maria…that’s Britney Spears. She’s a singer, not a….”
“A what? A masked vigilante? An assassin? A crime fighter? What is it exactly that you do?”
“You worry too much.” Liz shakes her head, ignoring Maria’s question. “There’s no way of figuring it out, and if they do, I’ll run. Liz Parker has just as much reason to be in hiding as The Black Widow has.” She rose, turning to go back to her bed and continue sleep until the evening. Tonight was the night she would finally confront Him.
“OH no! You do not get to start referring to yourself in your super hero form.” Maria stalked after her.
*********************************************
The house was dark, he had had a late night at the office. Opening the door, he grinned as his dog ran to meet him.
“Hey, buddy.” He spoke softly.
Scratching behind his ear, he walked further into the kitchen, reaching for the light.
“Word on the street is you’ve been looking for me.” A feminine voice greeted him in the dark.
Quickly he flipped the light switch and was met with the Black Widow, perched lazily upon his countertop.
“What are you doing here?” Clark asked warily.
“Figured I’d save you the trouble and we’d have a face to face. Why are you looking for me?” She jumped from the counter and went to square off with him.
“I thought you were someone else. Who are you, really?”
“Is there something about secret identity that you people don’t understand?” She turned from him then, letting her hair slide away from her for a moment. Long enough for him to see her tattoo.
“You’re the girl from the café…the one Oliver was hitting on!”
Her eyes never changed, instead immediately she bolted for the door. She was fast, but he was faster.
“I’m not trying to hurt you, or expose you. I’m just trying to help.” Clark blocked her exit route. Soon after, he found himself flying toward the ground, teeming from a slight electric shock.
“As you can see I’m not helpless.” She bit out as she reached for the handle.
“Wait!” He rose slowly, as if not to startle her the way you would a wild animal. “How’d you know I was looking for you? How’d you know where to find me?”
“You’re not the only one with investigative skills, Clark Kent. You’re also not the only one looking for someone.” She sighed, taking her hand away from the handle. She had a job to do, she reminded herself.
“You’ve been following me, watching me, haven’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Well I’ve got time. How bout we start with your name.”
She scoffed slightly. “I figured you’d at least be able to understand the meaning of secret.”
“You know my secret?”
“Obviously. Think I missed the little speed display earlier? That and my vision…”
“So you’re psychic, telekinetic too?”
She answered by sighing again, loudly. “You want answers. I get it. I’ll give you some answers, but I won’t tell you everything. Some things are sacred; a girl’s gotta have secrets and all that bullshit. We got a deal?”
“As long as the information you leave out doesn’t hurt anyone. We have a deal.”
“We should sit down. I’m assuming I can take off the mask?” Clark nodded. “Alright. We’ll start at the beginning. My name is Liz. I’m not one of the meteor freaks or whatever you and your blonde friend call them. You probably know by now that you’re not the only alien life walking planet earth…well…I’m not alien either. I was born to two very human very normal parents in a small town called Roswell, New Mexico. My abilities are a direct result of being healed by an alien out of the ’47 crash. It happened when I was 16. I didn’t make the change until I was 18.”
“So you’re not the black widow. You’re not KGB?”
Liz looked taken aback for a moment. “You’ve done more research than I gave you credit for, as did the Daily Planet. I’m not KGB. However, you could say that I am a Black Widow.”
Clark leaned in subconsciously, anxious to hear more.
“When I was 19, I was taken by an organization. Don’t ask me the name, because frankly I still can’t understand a lick of Russian. From what I can gather I was with them for a little over a year, a lot of that year was spent training. That’s where I learned to fight. At the end of my training they offered me a job. Do their bitch work and get paid. Unfortunately I didn’t agree with their agenda. So I got out. Returned to the US and found what was left of my life. When I was there, however, the translator told me of the girls that had been trained before me; Natasha, Yelena, Ana, Roksana. Anyways. The organization was only a small faction of KGB members, most of them scientists and Military men, trying to train the perfect soldiers, the perfect weapon. Perfect Assassin. The girl before me, Roksana, she was killed. So yeah. I guess that makes me The Black Widow. As for what I’m doing here, that has more to do with my other worldly status. I get visions; premonitions, if you will. And you were in one. That’s how I knew about your other worldly status. That, and, you smell different.” Liz shrugged.
“I smell…I’m sorry, what?” Clark asked, feigning offence.
Liz smiled a bit before reattaching her serious face. “No…I mean. Not in a bad way. I can tell the difference between the human and non-human. Just a trait I picked up I guess. Some human’s have abilities that are simply the human race evolving. They put out a slightly different aura if you will than a normal human. Some are altered and they put out something completely different, however still human. You…you put out something completely off kilter, pal. That’s how I knew.”
“Okay, so back to this vision.”
“Well…I use the term vision lightly. It’s mostly…an impression. A sensation, a place, a smell, a feeling. What I’ve gotten so far is some major red flags. It’s you, there’s a lot of evil, terror. Cold and damp…and then black. We’ve got a month.”
Clark stares for a moment, waiting for her to continue with anything more. “That’s it? That’s all you’ve got?”
“That and its big. Bigger than anything that’s ever hit me before. Well, besides the time I fore saw my own death. I know, not much to go on. But now that we’re acquainted, more might come to me.”
“Great.” Clark bit sarcastically. “So I guess this means we’re working together?”
“Yeah. But there are some ground rules. One. No one knows who I am. No one. It’s not exactly safe to be human me either. Two. You don’t push me for any of the identities of my green around the gills friends. Three. We keep personal shit at a strong minimum.”
“Four.” Clark interrupted. “When you’re busy saving the day, you use a little bit of discreetness. And no more killing.”
Liz rolls her eyes. “How the hell was I supposed to know the guy had a heart condition? Maybe if he didn’t live such an at risk life….”
Clark gave her a look that a parent would give while scolding their child.
“I make no promises. This ain’t your grandma’s war, Clark. People will get caught in the crossfire. In this case I’m perfectly capable of deciding when the end stops justifying the means. I’ll try to keep out of the papers, though.”
“Good. I’m sure you don’t need to be told what sort of people are out there and what they would do if they got a hold of you.” Clark frowned grimly.
“So I’m assuming our little rendezvous is over? Here’s how you can reach me.” Liz said handing him a card. “It was nice to meet you, Clark Kent.” She smiled tight lipped, placing her mask back on.
“Nice to meet you too, Liz….” He paused, realizing he didn’t know her last name.
“Parker.” She finished quietly. “My name was Liz Parker.
Hah. Here's the next part. Enjoy.
Chapter 3
It was dark out. Dark and cold, colder than it should have been for this time of year. Benjamin Brady was not one for the cold, he had grown up in Phoenix and was used to dry heat. Jumping slightly up and down he huddled deeper into his jacket.
“Come on, Frank. Where the hell are you.”
Francis Delmark, or Frank as he was more commonly known, was a detective for Metropolis P.D. A fit man of no more than 40 he had a wife and kids and was a hard ass with a big temper.
Frank had approached Ben weeks ago and called him out on his involvement with a drug lord named Canyon Trembley. Trembley was the top of the chain and Narcotics had been trying to pin him for years, but Trembley’s use of lackeys….loyal lackeys, had P.D. nearly punching the walls in frustration. So when Frank had came to Benjamin weeks ago and offered him everything but a free pass and money to get out of Metropolis Ben jumped at the opportunity.
It wasn’t that Ben was a disloyal or greedy man, it was the fact that since the age of 22, Ben Brady had had a serious gambling problem; one that forced his wife to leave him and take their daughter, now five years old, with her.
So seriously in debt and with no jobs available, Ben moved to Metropolis for work and was found by Trembley soon after. Trembley would pay Ben’s debt off and in return, Ben would run a few errands for Trembley. A few errands turned into nearly 5 years, and with the debt paid off, Brady wanted out. Trembley wouldn’t hear of it, and Trembley wasn’t going anywhere. At least, not until he delivered the USB drive that held condemning evidence linking Canyon Trembley to some major drug busts, fraud, identity theft and trafficking.
Frank Delmark was Ben’s way out, and his way back to his family and the little girl he’d left behind.
And he was late.
“Sorry I’m late, Benny.” A stout man with buzzed brown hair came rolling around the corner.
“Its fine, Frank. Let’s just get this over with.” Ben glanced around nervously.
“Right. You got it?”
“Course I got it. You got my stuff?”
“Sure do. Your ticket to freedom right in my pocket, friend.” Frank smiled, pulling out a stack of papers and an envelope with money inside. Looking over at Ben, he frowned suddenly when he noticed something on Ben’s jacket.
“Brady…what is that?” He pointed.
“What?” Ben looked down, and froze suddenly when he noticed what Frank was talking about. On his jacket, slightly to the left, a small, clean red dot was glaring at them both.
“Oh shi—.”
A shot rang out, both men dropping to the ground. Seconds later, Frank came to his senses and began to grab at Ben’s chest.
“Ben? Shit! Ben!!!”
“I—I’m…I’m okay…I think I’m okay!” Ben whispered, feeling his own chest just as frantically.
Both men backed away from each other, noticing no blood from either of them. Instead, inches from where Ben stood, a steaming bullet hole laid into the brick of the building by them.
“He missed?” Frank spoke too soon.
Another shot, this time no where near them screamed out, followed by a series of loud grunts and the sounds of fighting.
“Hang on…” Frank ran over to where his car was parked and quickly turned his spotlight over to where the noise was coming from, the top of a building across the street.
A blur of black leather and flying dark hair was all he could see, stumbling back to Ben he squinted to get a better view.
The shooter was putting up slight resistance as the masked girl danced about him, sending in kicks and punches where she could get them in. Pulling two knives from her thigh straps, she sliced him quickly across the face and followed with a hard punch.
Disoriented, the shooter stumbled a bit, giving her an opportunity to bring him to his knees and crash his head into the concrete railing on the building.
He was out cold, and so she turned for a moment to look to the street and assess the situation, her knife catching in the moonlight.
Quickly and without fail, Ben removed his cell phone from his pocket and brought it up to click a picture. Immediately after he had done so, the masked woman ran and jumped from the building, landing safely on the roof of the next one. She did not miss a beat as she did the same for the next one, rooftop jumping her way out of sight.
“What the hell…” Ben spoke reverently.
“Holy shit, man. You alright? Did you get a picture?” Frank asked, quite shook himself.
“Yeah, check it out.”
Staring at them from the screen of his phone, the illuminated form of the masked woman stood, her knife gleaming in the night.
******************************************
“Front page, once again. Soak it in, Clark…that’s what a story looks like.” Lois Lane tossed the paper onto Clark’s desk and it landed with a hefty thud.
Clark eyed the edition and starred in shock as he began reading.
“The Black Widow strikes again…Local Drug Lord arrested and awaiting arraignment?”
The cover picture was blurry at best, but held the figure of the masked girl, dressed head to toe in black leather and toting a short knife, standing proudly atop a building.
“Nice name. You come up with that yourself?” Clark popped an eyebrow up as the itch to get away and straight to Chloe’s crawled up his leg.
“Of course I did,” Lois cried, snatching the paper off Clark’s desk.
He stared at her unbelieving and she relented.
“Fine. Maybe I didn’t. As if you didn’t know. I found Chloe’s research last night still on her laptop, and used that. You’re sneakier than I gave you credit for, Smallville, using my own blood as a resource and not telling me, but I got the scoop on the bust, and snatched the picture and had the story ready for print by morning time. Done and done. You’re quick, not quick enough, though.” She smiled smugly.
“Right. Anyways. I’ve got to get going.” Clark rose and quickly headed for the exit.
“Aww don’t be such a sore loser, Kent!!” Lois called after him.
******************************************
Clark flipped his phone open as soon as he stepped outside the building. Dialing Chloe’s number he waited impatiently for her voice to come over the line.
“Hello?”
“Lois found your research and used it to print a story. The front page is covered with the girl’s picture.”
“Slow down, Clark. What happened?”
“The research you were doing on the meteor girl. Lois found it. There was a drug bust involved last night where some pretty big names were taken down, and a picture was taken of her. It’s all over the front page, Chlo.”
“Okay, calm down. This isn’t terrible. And she may not be one of the meteor infected at all.”
“Does this have anything to do with Black Widow?”
“You should probably just come over, Clark. Oliver’s on his way and I’ll explain when you get here.”
A blur and a step later and Clark had Chloe jumping out of her seat.
“Jesus, Clark.” Chloe breathed, with a hand to her chest.
“Sorry. What do you have?”
“Alright. The tattoo didn’t really turn up anything, we have designs that are close all stemming from…”
“I’m here…sorry I’m late.” Oliver made himself known.
“Right. So we’re talking about her tattoo. The most similar design is something I found off of a website for alien abductions near Roswell, New Mexico…the design’s not exactly the same, but it’s close. Clark you don’t recognize it at all, do you?”
Clark shook his head.
“Okay. So the next thing we had was the engravings on the knife, a spider and below it an hour glass shape.”
“So…” Oliver Queen led on.
“So in the 40’s and 50’s, news stories would pop up with pictures of a woman dressed in Black, wearing a belt with that symbol. She was dubbed the Black Widow, and she was an operative for the KGB….”
“Wait…so we’re dealing with a Russian spy?” Oliver asked.
“Well…I’m not sure. She could just be a copy cat.”
“So…is this girl a good guy or a bad guy?”
“Not sure. The history on the Black Widow never states which side she was on. She had ties to both sides.”
“And anything on her true identity? Any clues?” Oliver inquired.
“Nothing.”
“So this girl is a complete wildcard…who may or may not be a Russian spy. And we have no idea who she is or how to find her?” Clark rubbed the back of his head.
“No…I’ve heard her speak. No accent. She might be working for someone in Russia, but she’s homegrown, that’s for sure. Did they ever figure out who the original one was?”
“Not definitively.” Chloe raced around grabbing papers. “There were a couple theories. But by now, all those people are way passed their commission.”
Oliver stared at the picture on the front of the paper.
“The Black Widow, huh? Let’s see which side you choose.”
*******************************************
A loud banging broke Liz out of a deep sleep.
THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP.
Again, this time accompanied by a voice.
“Elizabeth Parker get your ass outta bed and get out here!”
Groaning, she sat up slowly and stumbled her way out of her room.
Maria sighed angrily as Liz wobbled out of her room and plopped down at the kitchen table. Pacing for a couple more minutes she finally stopped and looked at a confused and sleepy Liz Parker.
“You call this being discreet?” Maria yelled, throwing the morning paper on the table.
Sighing, Liz picked the paper up, only to widen in shock when she read the cover.
“The Black Widow?” She said with surprise.
“Ironic, huh?” Maria half laughed. “You said you would be careful. You said no one would know. Michael is going to FREAK OUT if he sees this!”
Liz’s own leather clad form stared at her from the page. “You can’t even tell it’s me!”
“But they know you’re out there, Liz. You’re getting press! Soon you’re going to have hundreds of Paparazzi following you around and you won’t even be able to go to Starbuck’s and then they’ll take away your children and give them to KEVIN FEDERLINE!” Maria squealed.
“Maria…that’s Britney Spears. She’s a singer, not a….”
“A what? A masked vigilante? An assassin? A crime fighter? What is it exactly that you do?”
“You worry too much.” Liz shakes her head, ignoring Maria’s question. “There’s no way of figuring it out, and if they do, I’ll run. Liz Parker has just as much reason to be in hiding as The Black Widow has.” She rose, turning to go back to her bed and continue sleep until the evening. Tonight was the night she would finally confront Him.
“OH no! You do not get to start referring to yourself in your super hero form.” Maria stalked after her.
*********************************************
The house was dark, he had had a late night at the office. Opening the door, he grinned as his dog ran to meet him.
“Hey, buddy.” He spoke softly.
Scratching behind his ear, he walked further into the kitchen, reaching for the light.
“Word on the street is you’ve been looking for me.” A feminine voice greeted him in the dark.
Quickly he flipped the light switch and was met with the Black Widow, perched lazily upon his countertop.
“What are you doing here?” Clark asked warily.
“Figured I’d save you the trouble and we’d have a face to face. Why are you looking for me?” She jumped from the counter and went to square off with him.
“I thought you were someone else. Who are you, really?”
“Is there something about secret identity that you people don’t understand?” She turned from him then, letting her hair slide away from her for a moment. Long enough for him to see her tattoo.
“You’re the girl from the café…the one Oliver was hitting on!”
Her eyes never changed, instead immediately she bolted for the door. She was fast, but he was faster.
“I’m not trying to hurt you, or expose you. I’m just trying to help.” Clark blocked her exit route. Soon after, he found himself flying toward the ground, teeming from a slight electric shock.
“As you can see I’m not helpless.” She bit out as she reached for the handle.
“Wait!” He rose slowly, as if not to startle her the way you would a wild animal. “How’d you know I was looking for you? How’d you know where to find me?”
“You’re not the only one with investigative skills, Clark Kent. You’re also not the only one looking for someone.” She sighed, taking her hand away from the handle. She had a job to do, she reminded herself.
“You’ve been following me, watching me, haven’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Well I’ve got time. How bout we start with your name.”
She scoffed slightly. “I figured you’d at least be able to understand the meaning of secret.”
“You know my secret?”
“Obviously. Think I missed the little speed display earlier? That and my vision…”
“So you’re psychic, telekinetic too?”
She answered by sighing again, loudly. “You want answers. I get it. I’ll give you some answers, but I won’t tell you everything. Some things are sacred; a girl’s gotta have secrets and all that bullshit. We got a deal?”
“As long as the information you leave out doesn’t hurt anyone. We have a deal.”
“We should sit down. I’m assuming I can take off the mask?” Clark nodded. “Alright. We’ll start at the beginning. My name is Liz. I’m not one of the meteor freaks or whatever you and your blonde friend call them. You probably know by now that you’re not the only alien life walking planet earth…well…I’m not alien either. I was born to two very human very normal parents in a small town called Roswell, New Mexico. My abilities are a direct result of being healed by an alien out of the ’47 crash. It happened when I was 16. I didn’t make the change until I was 18.”
“So you’re not the black widow. You’re not KGB?”
Liz looked taken aback for a moment. “You’ve done more research than I gave you credit for, as did the Daily Planet. I’m not KGB. However, you could say that I am a Black Widow.”
Clark leaned in subconsciously, anxious to hear more.
“When I was 19, I was taken by an organization. Don’t ask me the name, because frankly I still can’t understand a lick of Russian. From what I can gather I was with them for a little over a year, a lot of that year was spent training. That’s where I learned to fight. At the end of my training they offered me a job. Do their bitch work and get paid. Unfortunately I didn’t agree with their agenda. So I got out. Returned to the US and found what was left of my life. When I was there, however, the translator told me of the girls that had been trained before me; Natasha, Yelena, Ana, Roksana. Anyways. The organization was only a small faction of KGB members, most of them scientists and Military men, trying to train the perfect soldiers, the perfect weapon. Perfect Assassin. The girl before me, Roksana, she was killed. So yeah. I guess that makes me The Black Widow. As for what I’m doing here, that has more to do with my other worldly status. I get visions; premonitions, if you will. And you were in one. That’s how I knew about your other worldly status. That, and, you smell different.” Liz shrugged.
“I smell…I’m sorry, what?” Clark asked, feigning offence.
Liz smiled a bit before reattaching her serious face. “No…I mean. Not in a bad way. I can tell the difference between the human and non-human. Just a trait I picked up I guess. Some human’s have abilities that are simply the human race evolving. They put out a slightly different aura if you will than a normal human. Some are altered and they put out something completely different, however still human. You…you put out something completely off kilter, pal. That’s how I knew.”
“Okay, so back to this vision.”
“Well…I use the term vision lightly. It’s mostly…an impression. A sensation, a place, a smell, a feeling. What I’ve gotten so far is some major red flags. It’s you, there’s a lot of evil, terror. Cold and damp…and then black. We’ve got a month.”
Clark stares for a moment, waiting for her to continue with anything more. “That’s it? That’s all you’ve got?”
“That and its big. Bigger than anything that’s ever hit me before. Well, besides the time I fore saw my own death. I know, not much to go on. But now that we’re acquainted, more might come to me.”
“Great.” Clark bit sarcastically. “So I guess this means we’re working together?”
“Yeah. But there are some ground rules. One. No one knows who I am. No one. It’s not exactly safe to be human me either. Two. You don’t push me for any of the identities of my green around the gills friends. Three. We keep personal shit at a strong minimum.”
“Four.” Clark interrupted. “When you’re busy saving the day, you use a little bit of discreetness. And no more killing.”
Liz rolls her eyes. “How the hell was I supposed to know the guy had a heart condition? Maybe if he didn’t live such an at risk life….”
Clark gave her a look that a parent would give while scolding their child.
“I make no promises. This ain’t your grandma’s war, Clark. People will get caught in the crossfire. In this case I’m perfectly capable of deciding when the end stops justifying the means. I’ll try to keep out of the papers, though.”
“Good. I’m sure you don’t need to be told what sort of people are out there and what they would do if they got a hold of you.” Clark frowned grimly.
“So I’m assuming our little rendezvous is over? Here’s how you can reach me.” Liz said handing him a card. “It was nice to meet you, Clark Kent.” She smiled tight lipped, placing her mask back on.
“Nice to meet you too, Liz….” He paused, realizing he didn’t know her last name.
“Parker.” She finished quietly. “My name was Liz Parker.
Love is not a victory march. Its a cold, and its a broken Hallelujah. -Leonard Cohen
-
fourrightchords
- Enthusiastic Roswellian
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2008 1:55 pm
- Location: Look behind you.
Hero (XO SV, Liz/? Mature) Ch4- 01/11/09
I love your guys' feedback, it always makes my day better.
Sorry, PeytonLeigh, not a Alias crossover. Never really watched the show much when it was on, but everyone's always telling me how good it is. Maybe I'll Netflix it or something.
And as for all you Liz/Ollie fans...keep the faith. Thats all I'm sayin.
This next part is short, but hope you enjoy it. Let me know!
Chapter 4
Two sets of heels clicked across the pavement. The girls walked down the street, both of their arms crossed, and watching as their breath left their body in a fog.
“Thanks for coming with me tonight.” Maria said quietly.
“I promised I would.”
“I know. I’ve been dying to see this movie forever and I know you hate going out, so thanks.”
“You’re welcome. You’re still my best friend, Maria.” Liz spoke, never looking up.
“Yeah I better be.” She warned back. “Listen, so I’ve been thinking abou—.”
Some quick movement and a slight squeal left Liz in a fighting stance, and Maria being held at knife point by a burly man wearing a hat and a 5 o’clock shadow.
“You do what I say and no one gets hurt.” He whispered, dragging Maria further into the alley.
Liz followed cautiously. “Take what ever you want…here’s my purse you can just have it okay?”
Liz and Maria met eyes. Maria nodded with her head, understanding that Liz couldn’t use her powers to get them out of this. Not with her recent debut in the Planet. She would have to find another way to get them out.
“What makes you think I want your fuckin money.” He smiled sleazily. He stopped them at a door and motioned his head toward it. “Inside, bitch.” He told Liz.
Liz paused, knowing that inside meant nothing good, and even less chance of getting out. If they went inside, she would have to kill him. Probably no less than he deserved.
“Are you fucking deaf? I said get the fuck inside or your little blonde friend is gonna find herself without a head!” He screamed, pressing the knife in a little harder, causing Maria to whine a little louder.
This was it, Liz decided. She would have to time it just right. Catch him off guard long enough to—.
A whizzing sound caught Liz off guard and halted all thought.
The man with a knife now found himself pinned to the brick wall and his weapon had clattered to the ground. Liz looked up expecting to see a solid form holding him in place. Instead, she saw the attacker hanging from the wall, held only by a long arrow.
The world seemed to pause for a bit before Maria came to her senses and ran over to where Liz was. The two looked around only to find a shadow blocking the light from the street. A hooded man stalked toward them, holding a bow. The fog in the street seemed to form around him like a scene in a movie. On closer appearance he was dressed in a green leather suit, a large hood covering most of his face, and sunglasses covering his eyes. His strong jaw line was the only thing visible.
He pulled the arrow from the wall, and their attacker fell to the floor only to be picked up again by the hooded man.
“Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?” A deep, synthesized voice barked.
Angrily, he shoved the man’s head in the wall, effectively knocking him out cold. He turned slowly to the girls, who stood starring, unable to look away.
“You girls should really be careful out here.” He spoke authoritatively.
Both girls turned from awe to defiance in a second, but it was Liz who spoke.
“Aren’t you supposed to be off robbing the rich and giving to the poor?”
A lowering and shaking of the head signified that the hooded man was chuckling as he prepared another arrow, this time with a string attached. He set it in his bow and pulled back, releasing with a thwap and pulling to assure security.
Stalking over slowly he paid special attention to the brunette. Running his free hand down her arm, he grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips.
“Every Robin Hood’s gotta save time for a beautiful maiden.”
Kissing Liz’s hand soundly, he released it and flew up into the sky.
“Ope. Someone has a boyfriend.” Maria teased.
Liz stared at her like she had grown a second head. “That cocky asshole? Please.” She quickly grabbed the blonde girls hand and began stalking down the street.
“Oh, but Liz! You could have little super hero babies together. He did just save our lives.”
“No. Absolutely not. The guys a total…..”
Maria froze in her tracks, causing Liz to whiplash back.
“Oh my god. Are you blushing!?”
“What? No! That’s ridicu—.”
“Oh my god you LOVE him! You’re totally blushing!” Maria squealed, ecstatic at the thought.
Liz turned and gave Maria her most serious knock-it-the-fuck-off look. “I. Am. Not. Blushing. Now drop it!”
Maria sealed her lips, barely containing a smile.
“I never realized leather was your type, but I guess it’s a way to go.”
*********************************************
A suited Oliver Queen sat at a conference table surrounded by other men in expensive looking suits. Chatter was heard around the room and Oliver sat looking rather bored.
“Mr. Queen?” His red headed secretary stuck her head in the room. “Call on line 4. Says it’s important.”
“Thanks, Mary. Oliver Queen.” He said firmly into the phone.
“Oliver, its Clark. Look, I’m having a meeting of sorts tonight; The Black Widow will be there. Can you make it?”
“Yeah I think I’m free. How do you know she’ll be there?”
“Let’s just say we had a little talk.”
“You figured out who she is?” Oliver sat up and the other men began to watch him intensively.
“Yeah she’s actually—“
“Ahem.” One of the men cleared his throat.
“Clark, now’s a bad time. I’ll be there. You’re place?”
“Yeah, see you tonight.”
Oliver hung up the phone and looked down the table of all the men facing him. Sighing loudly, he wished silently that Superheroes had a salary.
**********************************************
“That was Clark.” Liz said, hanging up her cell. “Apparently he wants to get together tonight, have a meet and greet of sorts between me and all the other crime fighting forces. He figures we should all know about each other so all resources are available.”
“All the other crime fighting forces? How many are there in this city?”
“Well…sometimes more, sometimes less. Right now he just wants me to meet his blonde friend who I guess is a whiz at computers and really good with research. Kind of the brain of the equation. Her and…our friend from last night. The Green Arrow is what he’s called.”
“Oooo….Archery boy. You gonna let him put his arrows in your quiver?” Maria waggled her eyebrows.
Liz stared at Maria, a slightly disgusted look adorning her face. “No! That’s gross. I’ll go, I’ll meet, I’ll probably be bored. I told Clark I might be able to get more from him vision wise if I’m around him more, so looks like I’m his shadow for a while.”
“Clark…that’s the blue-eyed, brown haired, tub of sexy goodness, right? Who’s he seeing?”
Liz paused and pursed her lips. “Where’s Michael living this month? You’ve really gotta get laid.”
“Hah. Like that overgrown troll knows how to please a woman.”
“Oh Ouch. What he do this time?”
“He…nothing. Let’s get back to your sex life, or lack there of. Just let me live vicariously through you. That’s all I ask.”
“Maria…I don’t have a sex life. And just as well, too. There’s too much I’ve got on my plate to be worried about a boy.”
“Oh bullshit.” Maria scoffed.
“Well what do you want, Maria. What boy on this earth would be okay with dating a part alien part assassin who fights crime at night? Sorry honey, can’t make it to our date, I’ve had a vision about the apocalypse.”
“Which is why you should take advantage of the situation you find yourself in! Two, very available, very handsome, guys who are just as freaky as you! It’s a match made in super freak heaven.”
“No. Clark’s cute…but he’s too much like….and the Green Arrow? I mean, you can’t like someone’s cover! One, he could be a dog under those sunglasses. Two, he…he’s stuck up. And grabby…and he’s….”
“Oh, honey, there’s no way he’s a dog…you saw the same leather clad body I did. And he’s not stuck up, he’s confident. Confident that HE wants to jump YOUR bones.”
“He wants to jump Liz Parker’s bones. Tonight, I’ll be the Black Widow. Which is all well and good. He doesn’t know I’m me, so if he tries any of that rico suave bullshit, I can tell him where to stick it.”
Maria stared strangely at Liz for a moment. “This guy GOT to you! Man alive…I’ve got to give him an award or something. Girl, you saw the guy for like…three seconds and its, Green arrow this, green arrow that.”
“Maria! Haven’t you listened to anything I’ve just said? Me? Green Arrow? NO! Nuh-uh. I. Do. Not. Like. Him.”
“Not that I can blame you girl…that ass in those pants…Whoo! You could crack walnuts.”
Liz suddenly rose to find her purse. Reaching deep in her wallet she pulled a hundred dollar bill out and slapped it on the table.
“There. Now go buy a bus ticket, find Michael. Go get you’re fix, you sex crazed junkie. Tell the oaf I say hi.” She turned on her heel and stalked toward her bedroom, slamming the door effectively. Maria grabbed the note and shoved it hastily into her bra.
“Hmph. And I’m the one who needs to get laid?”
Sorry, PeytonLeigh, not a Alias crossover. Never really watched the show much when it was on, but everyone's always telling me how good it is. Maybe I'll Netflix it or something.
And as for all you Liz/Ollie fans...keep the faith. Thats all I'm sayin.
This next part is short, but hope you enjoy it. Let me know!
Chapter 4
Two sets of heels clicked across the pavement. The girls walked down the street, both of their arms crossed, and watching as their breath left their body in a fog.
“Thanks for coming with me tonight.” Maria said quietly.
“I promised I would.”
“I know. I’ve been dying to see this movie forever and I know you hate going out, so thanks.”
“You’re welcome. You’re still my best friend, Maria.” Liz spoke, never looking up.
“Yeah I better be.” She warned back. “Listen, so I’ve been thinking abou—.”
Some quick movement and a slight squeal left Liz in a fighting stance, and Maria being held at knife point by a burly man wearing a hat and a 5 o’clock shadow.
“You do what I say and no one gets hurt.” He whispered, dragging Maria further into the alley.
Liz followed cautiously. “Take what ever you want…here’s my purse you can just have it okay?”
Liz and Maria met eyes. Maria nodded with her head, understanding that Liz couldn’t use her powers to get them out of this. Not with her recent debut in the Planet. She would have to find another way to get them out.
“What makes you think I want your fuckin money.” He smiled sleazily. He stopped them at a door and motioned his head toward it. “Inside, bitch.” He told Liz.
Liz paused, knowing that inside meant nothing good, and even less chance of getting out. If they went inside, she would have to kill him. Probably no less than he deserved.
“Are you fucking deaf? I said get the fuck inside or your little blonde friend is gonna find herself without a head!” He screamed, pressing the knife in a little harder, causing Maria to whine a little louder.
This was it, Liz decided. She would have to time it just right. Catch him off guard long enough to—.
A whizzing sound caught Liz off guard and halted all thought.
The man with a knife now found himself pinned to the brick wall and his weapon had clattered to the ground. Liz looked up expecting to see a solid form holding him in place. Instead, she saw the attacker hanging from the wall, held only by a long arrow.
The world seemed to pause for a bit before Maria came to her senses and ran over to where Liz was. The two looked around only to find a shadow blocking the light from the street. A hooded man stalked toward them, holding a bow. The fog in the street seemed to form around him like a scene in a movie. On closer appearance he was dressed in a green leather suit, a large hood covering most of his face, and sunglasses covering his eyes. His strong jaw line was the only thing visible.
He pulled the arrow from the wall, and their attacker fell to the floor only to be picked up again by the hooded man.
“Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?” A deep, synthesized voice barked.
Angrily, he shoved the man’s head in the wall, effectively knocking him out cold. He turned slowly to the girls, who stood starring, unable to look away.
“You girls should really be careful out here.” He spoke authoritatively.
Both girls turned from awe to defiance in a second, but it was Liz who spoke.
“Aren’t you supposed to be off robbing the rich and giving to the poor?”
A lowering and shaking of the head signified that the hooded man was chuckling as he prepared another arrow, this time with a string attached. He set it in his bow and pulled back, releasing with a thwap and pulling to assure security.
Stalking over slowly he paid special attention to the brunette. Running his free hand down her arm, he grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips.
“Every Robin Hood’s gotta save time for a beautiful maiden.”
Kissing Liz’s hand soundly, he released it and flew up into the sky.
“Ope. Someone has a boyfriend.” Maria teased.
Liz stared at her like she had grown a second head. “That cocky asshole? Please.” She quickly grabbed the blonde girls hand and began stalking down the street.
“Oh, but Liz! You could have little super hero babies together. He did just save our lives.”
“No. Absolutely not. The guys a total…..”
Maria froze in her tracks, causing Liz to whiplash back.
“Oh my god. Are you blushing!?”
“What? No! That’s ridicu—.”
“Oh my god you LOVE him! You’re totally blushing!” Maria squealed, ecstatic at the thought.
Liz turned and gave Maria her most serious knock-it-the-fuck-off look. “I. Am. Not. Blushing. Now drop it!”
Maria sealed her lips, barely containing a smile.
“I never realized leather was your type, but I guess it’s a way to go.”
*********************************************
A suited Oliver Queen sat at a conference table surrounded by other men in expensive looking suits. Chatter was heard around the room and Oliver sat looking rather bored.
“Mr. Queen?” His red headed secretary stuck her head in the room. “Call on line 4. Says it’s important.”
“Thanks, Mary. Oliver Queen.” He said firmly into the phone.
“Oliver, its Clark. Look, I’m having a meeting of sorts tonight; The Black Widow will be there. Can you make it?”
“Yeah I think I’m free. How do you know she’ll be there?”
“Let’s just say we had a little talk.”
“You figured out who she is?” Oliver sat up and the other men began to watch him intensively.
“Yeah she’s actually—“
“Ahem.” One of the men cleared his throat.
“Clark, now’s a bad time. I’ll be there. You’re place?”
“Yeah, see you tonight.”
Oliver hung up the phone and looked down the table of all the men facing him. Sighing loudly, he wished silently that Superheroes had a salary.
**********************************************
“That was Clark.” Liz said, hanging up her cell. “Apparently he wants to get together tonight, have a meet and greet of sorts between me and all the other crime fighting forces. He figures we should all know about each other so all resources are available.”
“All the other crime fighting forces? How many are there in this city?”
“Well…sometimes more, sometimes less. Right now he just wants me to meet his blonde friend who I guess is a whiz at computers and really good with research. Kind of the brain of the equation. Her and…our friend from last night. The Green Arrow is what he’s called.”
“Oooo….Archery boy. You gonna let him put his arrows in your quiver?” Maria waggled her eyebrows.
Liz stared at Maria, a slightly disgusted look adorning her face. “No! That’s gross. I’ll go, I’ll meet, I’ll probably be bored. I told Clark I might be able to get more from him vision wise if I’m around him more, so looks like I’m his shadow for a while.”
“Clark…that’s the blue-eyed, brown haired, tub of sexy goodness, right? Who’s he seeing?”
Liz paused and pursed her lips. “Where’s Michael living this month? You’ve really gotta get laid.”
“Hah. Like that overgrown troll knows how to please a woman.”
“Oh Ouch. What he do this time?”
“He…nothing. Let’s get back to your sex life, or lack there of. Just let me live vicariously through you. That’s all I ask.”
“Maria…I don’t have a sex life. And just as well, too. There’s too much I’ve got on my plate to be worried about a boy.”
“Oh bullshit.” Maria scoffed.
“Well what do you want, Maria. What boy on this earth would be okay with dating a part alien part assassin who fights crime at night? Sorry honey, can’t make it to our date, I’ve had a vision about the apocalypse.”
“Which is why you should take advantage of the situation you find yourself in! Two, very available, very handsome, guys who are just as freaky as you! It’s a match made in super freak heaven.”
“No. Clark’s cute…but he’s too much like….and the Green Arrow? I mean, you can’t like someone’s cover! One, he could be a dog under those sunglasses. Two, he…he’s stuck up. And grabby…and he’s….”
“Oh, honey, there’s no way he’s a dog…you saw the same leather clad body I did. And he’s not stuck up, he’s confident. Confident that HE wants to jump YOUR bones.”
“He wants to jump Liz Parker’s bones. Tonight, I’ll be the Black Widow. Which is all well and good. He doesn’t know I’m me, so if he tries any of that rico suave bullshit, I can tell him where to stick it.”
Maria stared strangely at Liz for a moment. “This guy GOT to you! Man alive…I’ve got to give him an award or something. Girl, you saw the guy for like…three seconds and its, Green arrow this, green arrow that.”
“Maria! Haven’t you listened to anything I’ve just said? Me? Green Arrow? NO! Nuh-uh. I. Do. Not. Like. Him.”
“Not that I can blame you girl…that ass in those pants…Whoo! You could crack walnuts.”
Liz suddenly rose to find her purse. Reaching deep in her wallet she pulled a hundred dollar bill out and slapped it on the table.
“There. Now go buy a bus ticket, find Michael. Go get you’re fix, you sex crazed junkie. Tell the oaf I say hi.” She turned on her heel and stalked toward her bedroom, slamming the door effectively. Maria grabbed the note and shoved it hastily into her bra.
“Hmph. And I’m the one who needs to get laid?”
Love is not a victory march. Its a cold, and its a broken Hallelujah. -Leonard Cohen
-
fourrightchords
- Enthusiastic Roswellian
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2008 1:55 pm
- Location: Look behind you.
Re: Hero (XO SV, Liz/? Mature) Ch5- 01/17/09
Glad you all enjoyed the last part! Here's the next one. Let me know if you likey.
Chapter 5
Clark and Chloe sat talking in the barn waiting for Oliver and Liz to arrive casually chatting about nothing in general. Five minutes after the designated time of arrival they heard the familiar sound of Oliver’s car pulling toward the barn.
The door slammed shut and Oliver made himself known seconds later.
“I know I’ve said this to you before, Clark. We really gotta get you a place closer to the city.”
Clark smiled. “Thanks for making the drive, Oliver. This should be pretty quick, we’re just waiting on…”
A pair of black stems came shooting through the barn window, followed by the body of the Black Widow.
“Present and accounted for.” She said landing with a thump.
They all stared at her for a moment before she broke their silence.
“So sue me, I was listening in.”
Clark cured his slack jawed-ness the quickest “We’re just glad you could make it. This is Chloe, my best friend, and this is Oliver Queen.” Clark introduced.
“Right. We’ve met.” Liz rolled her eyes referring to all three times she had seen him. “What about that Green Arrow guy or whatever.”
“I uh…” Oliver smiled sheepishly. “That would be me.”
Liz cocked her head. “Didn’t I save your ass…twice?”
Both Chloe and Clark had to quickly stifle their laughter.
“Well…technically….yes…but…I—look don’t you think its time to remove the mask? We’ve let you in on our little secret.” He stammered.
She went to object but before she could Clark interrupted.
“No one here will say anything. You can trust us.” He assured her.
“My lips are sealed.” Chloe waved.
Sighing, Liz slowly un-clipped her mask and shook her hair out.
“My name is Liz.” She stated.
“Oh.” Oliver claimed, pleasantly surprised. “Well if you aren’t just the pot calling the kettle black.”
“Yuck it up, Peter Pan.”
“Okay…” Chloe intervened. “So Clark has generally updated us on the situation, from what I understand your visions result mainly from interaction.”
“Sometimes. They’re often stronger when I’m around the person, but sometimes they can be completely out of the blue, someone I’ve never seen or met or touched. These ones are usually the most dangerous.”
“Can you give us an example?” Oliver asked, honestly intrigued.
Liz thought for a moment before answering. “The first robbery I stopped in this town, I had passed one of the men in the supermarket. We brushed arms and I got the flash, the entire plan…where, what time, everything he knew. The guy I saved from the sniper? The one that was a police informant, I hadn’t ever met him. The vision came to me on my morning run, and I had no idea what to expect, who to look for. All I got was the street names and the impression that someone was going to die.”
“So, you don’t get most visions unless you have contact with someone, but if you do get a vision off handedly they’re pretty important? Have you tried anything to enhance or trigger them?” Chloe offered.
“Meditation sometimes clears some things up. Contact seems to work the best. There isn’t really anything I can do to trigger it, they find me when they find me” Liz shrugged nonchalantly.
“So…what do I do to help?” Clark wondered.
“Nothing really. I guess we’ll just have to play the waiting game. Find an excuse for me to be here until things get clearer.”
“She could move in the house?” Chloe interjected.
“What would Lois think?”
“Is Lois your girlfriend?” Liz jumped a bit as the three occupants suddenly turned to face her, each with different, unreadable looks on their face.
“No.” they each said.
“Wait,” Oliver started. “I have a question. You said physical contact triggers visions. Would a vision be triggered indefinitely if you and Clark were to…you know?” Oliver waggled his eyebrows.
Clark turned five shades of red and cleared his throat.
“Why?” Liz bit. “Would you want to join in? Maybe video tape?”
Everybody in the room fell completely silent.
“Oh Jesus, I was just kidding. Lighten up.” Liz rolled her eyes before plopping herself onto the couch. “In theory, yes. But there’s no way I would ever test that theory with anyone in this room.” She said pointedly. “Unless you got me really drunk first.”
Oliver smirked. “No-ted.”
“We will have to figure out some sort of game plan.” Liz said “Not that I care what people think, but it will kind of disrupt your normal life if some random girl keeps touching you all the time.”
This statement caused Oliver to snicker and Clark to blush.
“Well…you could pretend to be dating?” Chloe stifled a laugh again when Clark turned redder and Oliver frowned.
“I guess…that could…I mean if you don’t mind.” Clark stammered.
“Yeah I’m game I guess. But if we kiss…” Liz warned “No tongue.”
Clark held his hands up in surrender.
“Alright. I take it there’s no homework? Fake boyfriend, lunch tomorrow? Great. Come on, Robin Hood. Drive me to my car.”
Liz rose from the couch and placed her mask back on her face and grabbed Oliver by the arm, leading him out of the barn. Oliver raised his eyebrows and then gave a quick wave to Clark and Chloe.
“This is going to be really entertaining.” Chloe said, laughing.
“Chlo…someone could potentially die here, it’s not like we’re going to enjoy pretending to date.”
“I know that, Clark. But I think that girl is going to give Oliver a heart attack.”
“You think he likes her?”
“Oh yeah. He likes her. And you’re ‘dating’ her. I think Oliver will be finding lots of reasons to be around for the next couple weeks.”
*************************************************
It had been two weeks since the meeting in the barn. Liz had been spending more and more time with Clark’s group, including a couple run-ins with Lois that were full of sarcastic remarks and a couple snide comments. Oliver had, as Chloe predicted, been hanging around more often.
The city of Metropolis had found a new crime fighting duo in the Green Arrow and the Black Widow, and although no pictures had surfaced, they were all the town could talk about.
Maria had gone, as per Liz’s request, to find Michael, promising to be back in a few weeks. Liz had prompted her to go, seeing as Liz would be busy with her ‘charge’ in the form of a fake boyfriend. However, no matter how much hand holding or connecting Liz tried, no visions pertaining to the previous one she had had arisen when she and Clark would touch.
One late night after Liz and Oliver had gotten back from a recon mission, they met the other members of their small group for drinks.
Lois, Chloe, Jimmy, and Clark were already there, waiting.
“Don’t you think it’s a little weird you’re girlfriend is showing up with Oliver instead of you?” Lois pointed out.
“No.” Clark responded nonchalantly. “They work together, so it’s more convenient for her to just catch a ride.”
Oliver had given Liz a job in his research facility as a cover only to find that Liz more than knew what she was doing after a quick refresher on her first day.
“Hey everyone.” Liz said, allowing Clark to awkwardly kiss her on the cheek.
They took a seat around the tables that had been set together at the lounge.
“Clark, dance?” Liz spoke, wanting to get Clark away so she could talk to him.
Liz thought back to the conversation Oliver and she had had in the car.
“So you and Clark have been at this for what? Two weeks now?” Oliver asked, shifting his car into the next gear.
“Yeah, why?” Liz said, bored.
“Well…you said about a month. That means two weeks left and still no vision.”
“Your point?” Liz asked annoyed.
“I’m just thinking. You sure you’re not just enjoying being the arm candy of Clark Kent? Is it really just a job for you?”
Liz scoffed. “Yeah. It is. Like I’d expect you to understand a platonic work relationship.”
“I’m just saying.”
“Look…” Liz said quickly. “Clark, he’s a great guy. But he’s…”
“He’s what?”
There was a long uncomfortable pause in the car before Liz spoke so quietly, Oliver had to turn the radio completely off to hear her.
“I was married once.”
“Married!” he said shocked. “Aren’t you like, 22?”
“Twenty three, just barely. We got married when we were eighteen. He was my high school sweetheart, I guess you could say.”
“So that didn’t last, I guess.”
“He was killed a year after we got married.”
“Oh…my god. I’m so sorry, Liz.”
“Don’t. Anyways…There are so many similarities between Clark and Max that sometimes it scares me. So it would make sense if I were to fall in love with Clark…but…”
“But?” Oliver said, hopeful of her response.
“But…he’s not Max. I mean, Max wasn’t perfect…don’t get me wrong, I loved my husband very much.” She paused for a moment. “but he used to piss me off so much.”
Oliver broke out in laughter and Liz found herself chuckling a bit along with him.
“Sorry…I didn’t mean to…” Oliver apologized.
“Its okay. He…God we used to get on each others nerves. And it wasn’t cute newlywed fighting about shit like, why’d you leave the seat up. We’d get into it, and the thing is he knew just where to hit, and so did I. He was neurotic, paranoid, he always felt like the world was on his shoulders and never let anyone else help. He was oddly naive at times but always wanted to be in control, always thought he knew best. He said he wanted to help people but never wanted to risk himself.”
“Yeah that sounds like our boy.” Oliver smiled.
“Anyways…it was the worst right before he…died. I…sometimes I think we wouldn’t have made it. I know I’m like, an awful person for saying that.” She said, shying into herself.
“It doesn’t make you a horrible person.” Oliver said, placing a comforting hand on her knee. “It makes you honest. Sometimes it’s just not meant to be. You didn’t have anything to do with him dying.”
Liz’s eyes glazed over when Oliver placed his hand on her knee. Flashing across her eyes were visions of Oliver’s life. Two people she could only assume were Oliver’s parents, Oliver in a jungle looking at a red headed woman, Lois Lane walking out of Oliver’s apartment. Her in the bank, fighting the two robbers.
She jerked her knee away quickly and shook her head to rid herself of her flash induced haze.
“Yeah well.” Liz said firmly, “There is no me and Clark. There is no me and anyone. There can’t be. Ever.”
Oliver wanted to say something else, something to convince her of otherwise, but stopped as he could just about literally see her walls pop back up. The girl was anything if not guarded.
Clark wasn’t a dancer, but he saw the look in Liz’s eyes telling him he didn’t have a choice.
“Yeah. Sure.” He said, rising from his chair and leading Liz by the small of her back to where other couples were softly swaying to the music. “What’s up?” he asked, pulling her towards him.
“Well. We’ve got two weeks, and as much as I think you’re a great guy, I don’t really think this whole dating thing is working for us.”
“Yeah. It’s a bit weird, isn’t it. Not that you’re not great.”
“Clark, don’t worry about me. I know better than to have feelings for someone who clearly has them for someone else.” Liz smiled.
Clark rolled his eyes. “There’s nothing going on with Lois and I.”
“Who said anything about Lois.” Liz said. “I was talking about the other girl.”
“What other…Lana?” Clark asked, still red from being caught.
“Yeah, brown hair, pretty eyes? You’re not over her yet.”
“I—what?”
“Lana. You still love her. You might always love her. But if you do feel things for Lois, you need to get that situation cleared up before Lois is in to deep.” She signaled toward Lois, who turned away quickly having been caught watching the couple dance together.
“Right.”
“Anyways. As much fun as this has been, we’re going to need to take more drastic measures I guess.” Liz sighed.
“What do you mea—.”
Clark was silenced with Liz’s lips crashing upon his. She had to stand clear on her tip toes to reach him, but she held his head firmly in place.
He wrapped his arms around her torso to keep her supported, and even though his face held surprise, he made no move to pull away.
Back at the table, Lois had been conversing with Jimmy about work, when Oliver brought up Clark and Liz.
“Well. I don’t know. I think she’s using him to get something. What she could get from Smallville, I don’t know. But they act more like brother and sister than people who are dating. They even look weirdly alike. I give it a week, has anyone even seen them kiss yet? There’s no passion in their relationship…” Lois said, obviously irked.
“Uh…I don’t know about that.” Jimmy said laughing as he directed everyone’s attention to the dance floor where Liz and Clark were currently lip locked.
All members of the table were rendered instantly speechless.
Liz pulled away gasping. Clark blinking a couple times to rid himself of the shock.
“Well…” he said. “That was…weird.”
“Yeah its official. I felt nothing.” Liz said honestly.
“Me either.” Clark smiled.
“But luckily, we don’t have to do that anymore. I got what we needed. Let’s go, we’ve got things to do.” She said, grabbing him by the arm and leading him back to the table only to grab her purse and coat.
“Love to stay, but I’m gonna have Clark drive me home. Got an early day at the office. See you guys!” She and Clark hastily made their way away from the table, Clark nervously waving goodbye.
The occupants of the table were still unable to form words.
“You know.” Clark spoke as he opened his truck passenger door to allow Liz inside. “For nothing happening between the two of us, you sure just made it look like something was going on.”
“Yeah.” Liz smiled. “What can I say, I love watching Lois turn red.”
Clark only shook his head. “Where to?”
“Oliver’s” Liz answered. “It’s closest.” She shrugged as Clark shot her a look.
Chapter 5
Clark and Chloe sat talking in the barn waiting for Oliver and Liz to arrive casually chatting about nothing in general. Five minutes after the designated time of arrival they heard the familiar sound of Oliver’s car pulling toward the barn.
The door slammed shut and Oliver made himself known seconds later.
“I know I’ve said this to you before, Clark. We really gotta get you a place closer to the city.”
Clark smiled. “Thanks for making the drive, Oliver. This should be pretty quick, we’re just waiting on…”
A pair of black stems came shooting through the barn window, followed by the body of the Black Widow.
“Present and accounted for.” She said landing with a thump.
They all stared at her for a moment before she broke their silence.
“So sue me, I was listening in.”
Clark cured his slack jawed-ness the quickest “We’re just glad you could make it. This is Chloe, my best friend, and this is Oliver Queen.” Clark introduced.
“Right. We’ve met.” Liz rolled her eyes referring to all three times she had seen him. “What about that Green Arrow guy or whatever.”
“I uh…” Oliver smiled sheepishly. “That would be me.”
Liz cocked her head. “Didn’t I save your ass…twice?”
Both Chloe and Clark had to quickly stifle their laughter.
“Well…technically….yes…but…I—look don’t you think its time to remove the mask? We’ve let you in on our little secret.” He stammered.
She went to object but before she could Clark interrupted.
“No one here will say anything. You can trust us.” He assured her.
“My lips are sealed.” Chloe waved.
Sighing, Liz slowly un-clipped her mask and shook her hair out.
“My name is Liz.” She stated.
“Oh.” Oliver claimed, pleasantly surprised. “Well if you aren’t just the pot calling the kettle black.”
“Yuck it up, Peter Pan.”
“Okay…” Chloe intervened. “So Clark has generally updated us on the situation, from what I understand your visions result mainly from interaction.”
“Sometimes. They’re often stronger when I’m around the person, but sometimes they can be completely out of the blue, someone I’ve never seen or met or touched. These ones are usually the most dangerous.”
“Can you give us an example?” Oliver asked, honestly intrigued.
Liz thought for a moment before answering. “The first robbery I stopped in this town, I had passed one of the men in the supermarket. We brushed arms and I got the flash, the entire plan…where, what time, everything he knew. The guy I saved from the sniper? The one that was a police informant, I hadn’t ever met him. The vision came to me on my morning run, and I had no idea what to expect, who to look for. All I got was the street names and the impression that someone was going to die.”
“So, you don’t get most visions unless you have contact with someone, but if you do get a vision off handedly they’re pretty important? Have you tried anything to enhance or trigger them?” Chloe offered.
“Meditation sometimes clears some things up. Contact seems to work the best. There isn’t really anything I can do to trigger it, they find me when they find me” Liz shrugged nonchalantly.
“So…what do I do to help?” Clark wondered.
“Nothing really. I guess we’ll just have to play the waiting game. Find an excuse for me to be here until things get clearer.”
“She could move in the house?” Chloe interjected.
“What would Lois think?”
“Is Lois your girlfriend?” Liz jumped a bit as the three occupants suddenly turned to face her, each with different, unreadable looks on their face.
“No.” they each said.
“Wait,” Oliver started. “I have a question. You said physical contact triggers visions. Would a vision be triggered indefinitely if you and Clark were to…you know?” Oliver waggled his eyebrows.
Clark turned five shades of red and cleared his throat.
“Why?” Liz bit. “Would you want to join in? Maybe video tape?”
Everybody in the room fell completely silent.
“Oh Jesus, I was just kidding. Lighten up.” Liz rolled her eyes before plopping herself onto the couch. “In theory, yes. But there’s no way I would ever test that theory with anyone in this room.” She said pointedly. “Unless you got me really drunk first.”
Oliver smirked. “No-ted.”
“We will have to figure out some sort of game plan.” Liz said “Not that I care what people think, but it will kind of disrupt your normal life if some random girl keeps touching you all the time.”
This statement caused Oliver to snicker and Clark to blush.
“Well…you could pretend to be dating?” Chloe stifled a laugh again when Clark turned redder and Oliver frowned.
“I guess…that could…I mean if you don’t mind.” Clark stammered.
“Yeah I’m game I guess. But if we kiss…” Liz warned “No tongue.”
Clark held his hands up in surrender.
“Alright. I take it there’s no homework? Fake boyfriend, lunch tomorrow? Great. Come on, Robin Hood. Drive me to my car.”
Liz rose from the couch and placed her mask back on her face and grabbed Oliver by the arm, leading him out of the barn. Oliver raised his eyebrows and then gave a quick wave to Clark and Chloe.
“This is going to be really entertaining.” Chloe said, laughing.
“Chlo…someone could potentially die here, it’s not like we’re going to enjoy pretending to date.”
“I know that, Clark. But I think that girl is going to give Oliver a heart attack.”
“You think he likes her?”
“Oh yeah. He likes her. And you’re ‘dating’ her. I think Oliver will be finding lots of reasons to be around for the next couple weeks.”
*************************************************
It had been two weeks since the meeting in the barn. Liz had been spending more and more time with Clark’s group, including a couple run-ins with Lois that were full of sarcastic remarks and a couple snide comments. Oliver had, as Chloe predicted, been hanging around more often.
The city of Metropolis had found a new crime fighting duo in the Green Arrow and the Black Widow, and although no pictures had surfaced, they were all the town could talk about.
Maria had gone, as per Liz’s request, to find Michael, promising to be back in a few weeks. Liz had prompted her to go, seeing as Liz would be busy with her ‘charge’ in the form of a fake boyfriend. However, no matter how much hand holding or connecting Liz tried, no visions pertaining to the previous one she had had arisen when she and Clark would touch.
One late night after Liz and Oliver had gotten back from a recon mission, they met the other members of their small group for drinks.
Lois, Chloe, Jimmy, and Clark were already there, waiting.
“Don’t you think it’s a little weird you’re girlfriend is showing up with Oliver instead of you?” Lois pointed out.
“No.” Clark responded nonchalantly. “They work together, so it’s more convenient for her to just catch a ride.”
Oliver had given Liz a job in his research facility as a cover only to find that Liz more than knew what she was doing after a quick refresher on her first day.
“Hey everyone.” Liz said, allowing Clark to awkwardly kiss her on the cheek.
They took a seat around the tables that had been set together at the lounge.
“Clark, dance?” Liz spoke, wanting to get Clark away so she could talk to him.
Liz thought back to the conversation Oliver and she had had in the car.
“So you and Clark have been at this for what? Two weeks now?” Oliver asked, shifting his car into the next gear.
“Yeah, why?” Liz said, bored.
“Well…you said about a month. That means two weeks left and still no vision.”
“Your point?” Liz asked annoyed.
“I’m just thinking. You sure you’re not just enjoying being the arm candy of Clark Kent? Is it really just a job for you?”
Liz scoffed. “Yeah. It is. Like I’d expect you to understand a platonic work relationship.”
“I’m just saying.”
“Look…” Liz said quickly. “Clark, he’s a great guy. But he’s…”
“He’s what?”
There was a long uncomfortable pause in the car before Liz spoke so quietly, Oliver had to turn the radio completely off to hear her.
“I was married once.”
“Married!” he said shocked. “Aren’t you like, 22?”
“Twenty three, just barely. We got married when we were eighteen. He was my high school sweetheart, I guess you could say.”
“So that didn’t last, I guess.”
“He was killed a year after we got married.”
“Oh…my god. I’m so sorry, Liz.”
“Don’t. Anyways…There are so many similarities between Clark and Max that sometimes it scares me. So it would make sense if I were to fall in love with Clark…but…”
“But?” Oliver said, hopeful of her response.
“But…he’s not Max. I mean, Max wasn’t perfect…don’t get me wrong, I loved my husband very much.” She paused for a moment. “but he used to piss me off so much.”
Oliver broke out in laughter and Liz found herself chuckling a bit along with him.
“Sorry…I didn’t mean to…” Oliver apologized.
“Its okay. He…God we used to get on each others nerves. And it wasn’t cute newlywed fighting about shit like, why’d you leave the seat up. We’d get into it, and the thing is he knew just where to hit, and so did I. He was neurotic, paranoid, he always felt like the world was on his shoulders and never let anyone else help. He was oddly naive at times but always wanted to be in control, always thought he knew best. He said he wanted to help people but never wanted to risk himself.”
“Yeah that sounds like our boy.” Oliver smiled.
“Anyways…it was the worst right before he…died. I…sometimes I think we wouldn’t have made it. I know I’m like, an awful person for saying that.” She said, shying into herself.
“It doesn’t make you a horrible person.” Oliver said, placing a comforting hand on her knee. “It makes you honest. Sometimes it’s just not meant to be. You didn’t have anything to do with him dying.”
Liz’s eyes glazed over when Oliver placed his hand on her knee. Flashing across her eyes were visions of Oliver’s life. Two people she could only assume were Oliver’s parents, Oliver in a jungle looking at a red headed woman, Lois Lane walking out of Oliver’s apartment. Her in the bank, fighting the two robbers.
She jerked her knee away quickly and shook her head to rid herself of her flash induced haze.
“Yeah well.” Liz said firmly, “There is no me and Clark. There is no me and anyone. There can’t be. Ever.”
Oliver wanted to say something else, something to convince her of otherwise, but stopped as he could just about literally see her walls pop back up. The girl was anything if not guarded.
Clark wasn’t a dancer, but he saw the look in Liz’s eyes telling him he didn’t have a choice.
“Yeah. Sure.” He said, rising from his chair and leading Liz by the small of her back to where other couples were softly swaying to the music. “What’s up?” he asked, pulling her towards him.
“Well. We’ve got two weeks, and as much as I think you’re a great guy, I don’t really think this whole dating thing is working for us.”
“Yeah. It’s a bit weird, isn’t it. Not that you’re not great.”
“Clark, don’t worry about me. I know better than to have feelings for someone who clearly has them for someone else.” Liz smiled.
Clark rolled his eyes. “There’s nothing going on with Lois and I.”
“Who said anything about Lois.” Liz said. “I was talking about the other girl.”
“What other…Lana?” Clark asked, still red from being caught.
“Yeah, brown hair, pretty eyes? You’re not over her yet.”
“I—what?”
“Lana. You still love her. You might always love her. But if you do feel things for Lois, you need to get that situation cleared up before Lois is in to deep.” She signaled toward Lois, who turned away quickly having been caught watching the couple dance together.
“Right.”
“Anyways. As much fun as this has been, we’re going to need to take more drastic measures I guess.” Liz sighed.
“What do you mea—.”
Clark was silenced with Liz’s lips crashing upon his. She had to stand clear on her tip toes to reach him, but she held his head firmly in place.
He wrapped his arms around her torso to keep her supported, and even though his face held surprise, he made no move to pull away.
Back at the table, Lois had been conversing with Jimmy about work, when Oliver brought up Clark and Liz.
“Well. I don’t know. I think she’s using him to get something. What she could get from Smallville, I don’t know. But they act more like brother and sister than people who are dating. They even look weirdly alike. I give it a week, has anyone even seen them kiss yet? There’s no passion in their relationship…” Lois said, obviously irked.
“Uh…I don’t know about that.” Jimmy said laughing as he directed everyone’s attention to the dance floor where Liz and Clark were currently lip locked.
All members of the table were rendered instantly speechless.
Liz pulled away gasping. Clark blinking a couple times to rid himself of the shock.
“Well…” he said. “That was…weird.”
“Yeah its official. I felt nothing.” Liz said honestly.
“Me either.” Clark smiled.
“But luckily, we don’t have to do that anymore. I got what we needed. Let’s go, we’ve got things to do.” She said, grabbing him by the arm and leading him back to the table only to grab her purse and coat.
“Love to stay, but I’m gonna have Clark drive me home. Got an early day at the office. See you guys!” She and Clark hastily made their way away from the table, Clark nervously waving goodbye.
The occupants of the table were still unable to form words.
“You know.” Clark spoke as he opened his truck passenger door to allow Liz inside. “For nothing happening between the two of us, you sure just made it look like something was going on.”
“Yeah.” Liz smiled. “What can I say, I love watching Lois turn red.”
Clark only shook his head. “Where to?”
“Oliver’s” Liz answered. “It’s closest.” She shrugged as Clark shot her a look.
Love is not a victory march. Its a cold, and its a broken Hallelujah. -Leonard Cohen
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fourrightchords
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Re: Hero (XO SV, Liz/? Mature) Ch6- 01/24/09
Thank you guys so much for all the wonderful feedback! Here's the next part, lemme know.
Chapter 6
“I never knew CK had it in him!” Jimmy said, almost too pleased at the situation.
“Yeah…they uh…sure seem to be into each other.” Oliver said, fidgeting in his chair uncomfortably.
“That was a little inappropriate.” Lois spoke.
Oliver’s phone began buzzing on the table. He picked it up to see that he had a new text message from Liz.
*Meet us at your place. It worked. Got vision*
“So…yeah. I’ve got work early tomorrow, too. I’m gonna get going.” He said, nodding at Chloe who quickly caught on to what was happening.
“Goodnight.”
They all waved him out.
Oliver sped the entire way back to his loft, meeting Clark and Liz at the corner of his street.
As soon as he let them both into his place Liz went straight for the nearest piece of paper and pen and began frantically writing.
Both men looked at each other, not sure what they should be doing to help.
“Meteor shower…eradicate the threats…” She mumbled to herself.
“Uh…Liz?” Oliver said warily.
She shot her head up. “Now I know why I’m here.”
“Okay, talk us through some of this…you’re not making sense, Liz what was your vision about.” Clark held her by the shoulders hoping to center her.
She shook her head clear of the cobwebs and sighed.
“There’s a lot about me, you don’t know. A lot I left out because it didn’t pertain to our situation, or at least I thought it didn’t. You both should sit.”
The boys both sat as if on command.
“The alien that healed me and made me different…he was my husband. Well, he wasn’t when he changed me, but…that doesn’t matter. The man that killed him…and I use the term man loosely…was coincidentally the same alien who killed him in his past life. Khivar.”
Oliver and Clark looked at each other, terribly confused.
“You were married?” Clark asked.
“Long story, man.” Oliver spoke up, shrugging as Clark gave him a shocked look as well.
“In my husbands first life…he was the king of his planet. It was called Antar. He and his wife and sister and best friend. There was another man who was trying to take over that planet named Khivar. He and Vilondra, the king’s sister, were in love. Khivar ended up killing all four of them, but what he didn’t know was that the king’s mother implanted the royals’ essences into pods to be sent to earth. Hence the 1947 crash. The four came out as 6 year old children, no idea who they were or where they came from. They had seemingly normal lives until I was shot at 16. We were all 19, on the run from the FBI when Khivar found us. He killed Max, my husband, and then left before we could retaliate. But even when he was here to kill Max, he was possessing someone.”
“So what does this have to do with me?” Clark wondered.
“When he killed Max we all thought it was revenge. Or maybe to get rid of the threat of Max returning to reclaim the throne. We were all wrong. I had completely forgotten this, but Max’s planet, his former kingdom, its war ridden. It’s suffering, and dying. The planet is no longer inhabitable. Khivar wants to take over this planet. Move all his people here. But first, he has to eradicate all the threats to his existence. Kill off all those who would stand in his way. Make the planet weak before moving in.”
“And that would begin with our own resident Alien.” Oliver realized.
“That’s not all. Everyone…and anyone who poses a threat. That means you too, Oliver. And me…and…I saw someone else…tall guy, blonde hair, well built, handsome, in water?”
Both boys looked to each other again.
“AC. Shit.” Oliver ran out of the room to grab his cell.
Liz sat on the couch and grabbed her head. “There were more…people I can’t recognize…I’ll need paper, and maybe I can sketch them.”
Clark grabbed more paper and Liz immediately got to work, drawing crude lines, allowing her memory to move her hand.
“That’s Victor. OLIVER! CALL VICTOR TOO!” Clark shouted.
Liz tore away the sheet and started a new drawing.
“I called them both, they’re fine, but on the lookout. How does he know about all these people?”
“I’m guessing…” Liz said, not looking up from her sketching, “That you are familiar with these people?”
Clark nodded his head.
“I would assume one look into Clark Kent’s history would give him all the information he needed. Arggghhh!!” Liz shouted throwing the paper. “There are too many of them. Too many faces…the features are starting to blur together, I can’t draw them all. I’m sorry.”
“Okay, its okay.” Oliver said, soothing her by pulling her to him. “This Khivar guy, he’s got to have a weakness, right? How do we hurt him?”
“Uh…well.” Liz said, wheels visibly turning. “When he came before he was possessing someone, but that takes energy and we can’t kill him because then we’d be killing the person inside. The vision, though. It was HIM. I felt it. He’s coming here. And that means he’s going to need a husk.”
“A what?”
“Alien’s from their planet can’t survive in our atmosphere, not for long anyways. The ones that are here that weren’t in the original crash used husks, a human shell. We call them skins because they shed their skin like snakes.”
“Gross.” Oliver scrunched his face. “Wait…if they can’t survive in our atmosphere, how are they all going to inhabit our planet?”
“ Husk’s for all? There’s a town in Arizona that they were all from. The entire town. They were making the husk’s in these…tube like…things. Husk’s last 50 years, to my understanding. They could be bringing them over or growing them as we speak. Look, there’s a sweet spot. A…button of sorts on their lower back. Hit it hard enough, the shell breaks, Dead Alien.”
“So we find this guy, hit him on the lower back, he turns back to dust, the world is safe again?” Clark asked, hoping it was that easy.
“No. No. Not that simple. Khivar…he’s strong. He won’t let anyone close enough for them to touch him. He can…he can make you see things that aren’t there, make you do things you don’t want to. He can rape you of all the information you have in your head. He can kill you in a second. Even with our powers, all of us couldn’t take him. Our only hope would be to neutralize him…” Liz said, a look of realization crossing her face. “That’s it! I need a computer, I have to look something up. A phone, too. I need a phone.” Liz jumped from her seat.
“Okay, hold on, explain, Vision girl.” Oliver grabbed her by the arm and sat her back down.
“Sorry. It’s a…device. When turned on it neutralizes alien powers. If we can knock out his powers we’ll be on an even playing field, maybe even have the advantage. The last person to own it was a man named Brody Davis. He’s a billionaire in Roswell, New Mexico.” Liz started drawing. “This is what it looks like.”
Clark took the drawing from her hands. “I’ll have Chloe look into it.”
“Wait, so if your powers stem from these Aliens, wouldn’t it take your powers too?” Oliver asked, concerned.
“Yeah, but maybe not Clark’s. And besides, I still have my training.”
“No. If we get this device, you should stay away. This guy already knows you, already has plenty of reasons to want to hurt you. If the device doesn’t affect Clark, we’re going in the two of us.”
“This isn’t a boy’s club thing, Oliver. He killed my husband.” Liz spoke angrily. “I’m taking him down and making sure he stays down. End of discussion.”
“I talked to Chloe.” Clark spoke, entering the room again. “I faxed the sketch, she’s looking into it now. She said it might take all night, so I’m gonna go over and help. You guys should probably crash and we’ll meet in the morning.”
Oliver looked over to Liz who looked visibly exhausted. “Why don’t you crash here tonight, we can go over together. Lucky for you I’m the boss, and I’m giving you the day off.”
Liz yawned “Yeah…I guess that’s a good idea. We’ll be over first thing.”
Clark nodded before leaving the apartment.
Oliver disappeared, returning with a shirt and shorts for Liz to borrow. She smiled gratefully and changed in the bathroom.
“I’ll take the couch, you can have my bed.” Oliver stated when she came out.
“Don’t be stupid, Oliver. We’re both adults. Unless you can’t control yourself.” Liz snickered as the two walked into Oliver’s room.
“Oh, I can handle myself just fine.” He said, pulling his shirt over his head.
His pants followed after, leaving him in only his boxers. Liz’s mouth hung open and she stared hard, quickly looking away when she noticed she’d been caught.
“Can you?” Oliver smirked cockily, diving into the covers.
“Oh shut it.” Liz said, hitting him softly before climbing in the other side.
Oliver killed the lights and the two lie there for a couple minutes, not touching, not moving.
“This guy…he really freaks you out, doesn’t he.” Oliver asked into the darkness.
“Yeah. He does.” Liz’s muffled voice came from the pillow next to his.
“It’ll be okay. We’ll all get through it together.”
*******************************************
Oliver breathed in deep, fighting consciousness. He willed himself to return to the dream he was just having, when he remembered the sleeping girl beside him. Opening his eyes, he squinted as the sun hit through the open spot in the shades. Reaching for the remote by his bed side, he pushed a button and the shades closed completely.
“Mmnngh. Do you honestly have a remote control for your blinds?” Liz spoke with a sleep laced voice.
Oliver simply laughed. “Of course. I also pay a guy to wipe my ass and chew my food. Not in that order, of course.”
Liz’s laughter seemed to illuminate the room. “What time is it?” She asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Looking over at Oliver she noticed he had yet to completely open his eyes. Instead, his bed headed hair lay in every which way and his expression resembled that of a young boy. She smiled at how innocent and sweet he looked.
He finally opened his eyes to glance over at the clock. “Its five till ten.”
“Shit Oliver.” She jumped from the bed. “We need to get over to Chloe’s.”
He waved for her to sit. “I already called them, earlier. They’re gonna be here in half an hour.”
“Oh. I guess I’ll go make coffee or something.”
Oliver nodded, eyes still shut. Slightly opening one his breath caught as he watched Liz pull his shorts and shirt off, leaving her in lacy boy shorts and a matching bra. Her back was to him, and he stifled a disappointed groan as she covered herself with jeans and a camisole.
“Do you have another shirt I can borrow?” she asked throwing the used clothes into his laundry hamper.
“Uh…yeah…second drawer in the dresser.”
She pulled out the first tee shirt she saw that was mostly black. “Hmm. Didn’t figure you as a Van Halen fan. I figured you for more of a Chet Baker type.” She said, holding up the vintage band tee.
“Yeah, my dad was secretly a Van Halen nut back in the day, I guess I got it from him. Jazz is alright too. You could say I’m eclectic.”
“Gotcha.”
Clark and Chloe arrived right on time, opening the door to an ever chipper Oliver Queen.
‘So what’s the deal?”
Chloe looked to Clark before turning to the two of them. “You want the bad news, or the worse news?”
Liz and Oliver both frowned with worry. “The bad news?” Liz asked.
“Bad news is, Brody Davis did have the device, but he sold it three weeks ago. The worse news is…he sold it to LuthorCorp. Which means that Tess Mercer has it.” Clark explained.
Oliver groaned and Liz only scoffed. “Of course her name is Tess. She’s blonde, isn’t she? I’ll bet she’s blonde. Who is Tess Mercer anyway?”
“Tess Mercer is acting CEO of LuthorCorp while Lex is missing. She’s been relentless about Meteor freaks. And uh…Oliver here has a bit of history with her. And no, last time I checked, she’s not blonde.” Chloe said, answering Liz’s question and then dodging the daggers Oliver shot with his eyes.
“Oh does he? Well that’ll make it easy to get in and get out then wont it.” Liz smiled.
“Oh, I don’t know if I should…”Oliver said, avoiding eye contact.
“Come on, it’ll be fun! And besides, it could be dangerous for a little girl like me.” Liz’s voice dripped with sarcasm, egging Oliver on.
“Fine. I’ll go.”
“The device was delivered straight to the Luthor’s mansion. You’ll find it there, somewhere.”
“Just be careful. Who knows what Tess would do if she got her hands on you.” Clark said directly to Liz.
“Shove her in a plastic box, I’m sure.” Chloe said, bitterly.
*******************************************
They had decided on going in that night and made it clear Clark didn’t need to be apart of it, seeing as he was a direct employee of Tess Mercer herself. Day turned to night, and the two got suited up and headed out while Chloe and Clark entertained themselves in Oliver’s loft awaiting their return.
Ten minutes after the rendezvous time, they heard shouting coming up the elevator.
“Is that?”
A pissed off Liz entered the room with a red faced Oliver hot on her trail.
“My point is you can’t just go and do shit like that!” he shouted at her.
“And MY point is that you don’t EVER get in my way again!” she yelled right back.
“Whoa! What the hell happened?” Clark said, coming between the two. “Did you guys get it?”
“Yes. We got it.” Liz said, handing the triangular shaped device over.
“But then itsy-bitsy spider over here got into some files from Black Creek, saw some footage of the research and went ape shit!”
“I did not go ape shit.”
“She tried to kill Tess!”
“Yeah well, I woulda done it too if this Jolly Green Giant didn’t get in my way! You could have been killed you know. You’re lucky I have control.”
“Oh Control? Is that what you call almost killing the CEO of a major company?”
“Yes. People like her—.”
“People like her? You don’t even know her! She’s not without redemption, and who the hell are you to be judge jury and executioner?” Oliver shouted stepping past Clark and into Liz’s face.
“What just because you’ve fucked the girl a couple times, that gives her a pass to torture other human beings?”
“Arghh! There is no arguing with you, is there? It’s your way or the highway, huh?”
“I don’t expect you to understand, Oliver.” Liz bit out.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means, if the people find out you’re really Green Arrow, what? You maybe get some prison time and then you’re branded as a hero, a rich guy fighting for human good. If someone like me or Clark gets caught? We’re cut open faster than you can say 20 CC’s of morphine.”
“If you are trying to imply that I don’t risk just as much as you do…”
“They don’t ask you what you can do.” Liz stared defiantly. “They don’t care what you have to say, because they know they’ll figure it all out anyways. It’s not a check up, they don’t take your blood pressure, ask you to run on a treadmill and breathe into a hose. They break you.” Liz’s voice wavered as her eyes filled with tears. “They break you down until you don’t remember who you are anymore, and they don’t stop. You wake up every morning and pray that you don’t remember what your life was like before so you don’t know what you’re missing. And then, if they don’t like your answers? They’ll just do it all over again. And it’s not for the good of mankind or even for learning. It’s for their own selfish fucking agenda. That’s what people like her do.”
She pushed her way passed a speechless Oliver and went out onto the balcony. Three sets of eyes stared after her, every single one with concern.
“I’m gonna go out there, maybe we should do this tomorrow.” Oliver said.
Clark and Chloe nodded before starting toward the door. Chloe stopped and put her hand on Oliver’s arm, giving him silent support. Having been there herself, she knew a bit what the girl was feeling.
The glass slid with a slight squeak but Liz made no move to acknowledge it. Oliver watched her cautiously before simply coming up beside her while she leaned, looking out over the ledge. They stood silent for a few moments, armed wrapped around themselves, protecting them from the night air.
“The first couple months I don’t remember a lot of. Mostly because I was drugged,” She began speaking. “But I remember being strapped into a gurney in a white room. Sometimes I would wake up and there would be doctors standing over me covered in my blood. I would try to scream because it hurt so bad, but nothing would come out of my throat. One day I woke up in a Blue room. There was a bed, a bathroom, and a mirror. A man entered and told me I had a choice. Either I would cooperate and do just as he said, or we could do things the hard way. I told him to fuck off and he beat the shit out of me. The next day he came back and offered me the same deal and I told him to fuck off again. Same thing. Finally after two weeks I took the easy way.”
Oliver looked in shock over to Liz, wondering how someone so small could’ve held out for so long. She continued to stare straight ahead.
“They told me they had been watching me. Ever since I had gotten shot. They’d been witnessing what was going on in my life and studying, waiting. When Max died they took it as a sign and moved in. They would train me. I would have the best of everything and I would be the best at everything. I was their alien amped up little tool, potentially the best of the Black Widows. They told me I would train with little knowledge of what the missions were. I would do as I was told or I would be punished, so I did. I played the perfect little soldier, I learned, and I waited. Then one day I was told there was no more to learn. That I was ready. They put me in a room, gave me an outfit and my weapons and told me what I was to accomplish. I said no. They started to move in.
I killed every person in that goddamn room and I didn’t give a shit about it. I ran as fast as I could, killing those who got in my way without batting an eyelash. I finally found myself outside and realized I was on an island. So I jumped of a cliff into the water. They think I’m dead. They think I went crazy and killed myself. I swam until I was picked up and made my way back to the states. I wanted to look for my family but I had no idea who my family was. Maria found me, brought me back to the others. That’s when my memory started returning. But I was different. And they all knew it. Kyle and Michael were terrified to talk to me. Isabel looked at me with disgust and Maria would just pity me. So I left. Maria followed and we went across the country, helping people who needed it. That’s how I got here. That’s why it was so easy for me to want to kill Tess. I wasn’t always this monster, you should know. But this is who they made me, and I’ve got to figure out how to live with it.”
She turned to leave but his hand gently on her arm stopped her.
“Its okay, you know. And you’re not a monster.” He assured her.
She rolled her eyes but he only tightened his grip.
“I mean it. They’re the monsters. I’ve never in my life met someone that could go through what you did and still have the desire to help the human race. You’re not a monster. You’re just strong. But…you don’t have to be strong all the time. And not everyone is going to let you down. I mean, I know its hard, to trust people again when it feels like everyone you love will only ever leave you, even if you’re the one leaving them. But sometimes, people surprise you. You should let yourself be surprised Liz.”
She only nodded her head and allowed him to pull her in close.
“Lets get to bed, huh? We’ve had a long day.”
“Yeah…Could you just please…just don’t say anything to Clark and them, okay? Maria doesn’t even know…so…”
“Yeah…okay, but you should…” he stopped when he saw the serious look on her face. “Okay. Let’s get some sleep.”
Those would be the last words exchanged that night, as the two slowly returned inside and quietly got ready for bed. Giving Liz a new pair of make shift pajama’s Oliver climbed in with pajama pants and no shirt to be found. Liz tugged the large shirt over her head and climbed in after him.
Neither of them had a sarcastic remark to make, Liz simply let Oliver pull her to him. She settled in, her head resting on his chest, listening to his heart thump.
He turned the TV on, straight to the food network and the two drifted off to the noise.
Chapter 6
“I never knew CK had it in him!” Jimmy said, almost too pleased at the situation.
“Yeah…they uh…sure seem to be into each other.” Oliver said, fidgeting in his chair uncomfortably.
“That was a little inappropriate.” Lois spoke.
Oliver’s phone began buzzing on the table. He picked it up to see that he had a new text message from Liz.
*Meet us at your place. It worked. Got vision*
“So…yeah. I’ve got work early tomorrow, too. I’m gonna get going.” He said, nodding at Chloe who quickly caught on to what was happening.
“Goodnight.”
They all waved him out.
Oliver sped the entire way back to his loft, meeting Clark and Liz at the corner of his street.
As soon as he let them both into his place Liz went straight for the nearest piece of paper and pen and began frantically writing.
Both men looked at each other, not sure what they should be doing to help.
“Meteor shower…eradicate the threats…” She mumbled to herself.
“Uh…Liz?” Oliver said warily.
She shot her head up. “Now I know why I’m here.”
“Okay, talk us through some of this…you’re not making sense, Liz what was your vision about.” Clark held her by the shoulders hoping to center her.
She shook her head clear of the cobwebs and sighed.
“There’s a lot about me, you don’t know. A lot I left out because it didn’t pertain to our situation, or at least I thought it didn’t. You both should sit.”
The boys both sat as if on command.
“The alien that healed me and made me different…he was my husband. Well, he wasn’t when he changed me, but…that doesn’t matter. The man that killed him…and I use the term man loosely…was coincidentally the same alien who killed him in his past life. Khivar.”
Oliver and Clark looked at each other, terribly confused.
“You were married?” Clark asked.
“Long story, man.” Oliver spoke up, shrugging as Clark gave him a shocked look as well.
“In my husbands first life…he was the king of his planet. It was called Antar. He and his wife and sister and best friend. There was another man who was trying to take over that planet named Khivar. He and Vilondra, the king’s sister, were in love. Khivar ended up killing all four of them, but what he didn’t know was that the king’s mother implanted the royals’ essences into pods to be sent to earth. Hence the 1947 crash. The four came out as 6 year old children, no idea who they were or where they came from. They had seemingly normal lives until I was shot at 16. We were all 19, on the run from the FBI when Khivar found us. He killed Max, my husband, and then left before we could retaliate. But even when he was here to kill Max, he was possessing someone.”
“So what does this have to do with me?” Clark wondered.
“When he killed Max we all thought it was revenge. Or maybe to get rid of the threat of Max returning to reclaim the throne. We were all wrong. I had completely forgotten this, but Max’s planet, his former kingdom, its war ridden. It’s suffering, and dying. The planet is no longer inhabitable. Khivar wants to take over this planet. Move all his people here. But first, he has to eradicate all the threats to his existence. Kill off all those who would stand in his way. Make the planet weak before moving in.”
“And that would begin with our own resident Alien.” Oliver realized.
“That’s not all. Everyone…and anyone who poses a threat. That means you too, Oliver. And me…and…I saw someone else…tall guy, blonde hair, well built, handsome, in water?”
Both boys looked to each other again.
“AC. Shit.” Oliver ran out of the room to grab his cell.
Liz sat on the couch and grabbed her head. “There were more…people I can’t recognize…I’ll need paper, and maybe I can sketch them.”
Clark grabbed more paper and Liz immediately got to work, drawing crude lines, allowing her memory to move her hand.
“That’s Victor. OLIVER! CALL VICTOR TOO!” Clark shouted.
Liz tore away the sheet and started a new drawing.
“I called them both, they’re fine, but on the lookout. How does he know about all these people?”
“I’m guessing…” Liz said, not looking up from her sketching, “That you are familiar with these people?”
Clark nodded his head.
“I would assume one look into Clark Kent’s history would give him all the information he needed. Arggghhh!!” Liz shouted throwing the paper. “There are too many of them. Too many faces…the features are starting to blur together, I can’t draw them all. I’m sorry.”
“Okay, its okay.” Oliver said, soothing her by pulling her to him. “This Khivar guy, he’s got to have a weakness, right? How do we hurt him?”
“Uh…well.” Liz said, wheels visibly turning. “When he came before he was possessing someone, but that takes energy and we can’t kill him because then we’d be killing the person inside. The vision, though. It was HIM. I felt it. He’s coming here. And that means he’s going to need a husk.”
“A what?”
“Alien’s from their planet can’t survive in our atmosphere, not for long anyways. The ones that are here that weren’t in the original crash used husks, a human shell. We call them skins because they shed their skin like snakes.”
“Gross.” Oliver scrunched his face. “Wait…if they can’t survive in our atmosphere, how are they all going to inhabit our planet?”
“ Husk’s for all? There’s a town in Arizona that they were all from. The entire town. They were making the husk’s in these…tube like…things. Husk’s last 50 years, to my understanding. They could be bringing them over or growing them as we speak. Look, there’s a sweet spot. A…button of sorts on their lower back. Hit it hard enough, the shell breaks, Dead Alien.”
“So we find this guy, hit him on the lower back, he turns back to dust, the world is safe again?” Clark asked, hoping it was that easy.
“No. No. Not that simple. Khivar…he’s strong. He won’t let anyone close enough for them to touch him. He can…he can make you see things that aren’t there, make you do things you don’t want to. He can rape you of all the information you have in your head. He can kill you in a second. Even with our powers, all of us couldn’t take him. Our only hope would be to neutralize him…” Liz said, a look of realization crossing her face. “That’s it! I need a computer, I have to look something up. A phone, too. I need a phone.” Liz jumped from her seat.
“Okay, hold on, explain, Vision girl.” Oliver grabbed her by the arm and sat her back down.
“Sorry. It’s a…device. When turned on it neutralizes alien powers. If we can knock out his powers we’ll be on an even playing field, maybe even have the advantage. The last person to own it was a man named Brody Davis. He’s a billionaire in Roswell, New Mexico.” Liz started drawing. “This is what it looks like.”
Clark took the drawing from her hands. “I’ll have Chloe look into it.”
“Wait, so if your powers stem from these Aliens, wouldn’t it take your powers too?” Oliver asked, concerned.
“Yeah, but maybe not Clark’s. And besides, I still have my training.”
“No. If we get this device, you should stay away. This guy already knows you, already has plenty of reasons to want to hurt you. If the device doesn’t affect Clark, we’re going in the two of us.”
“This isn’t a boy’s club thing, Oliver. He killed my husband.” Liz spoke angrily. “I’m taking him down and making sure he stays down. End of discussion.”
“I talked to Chloe.” Clark spoke, entering the room again. “I faxed the sketch, she’s looking into it now. She said it might take all night, so I’m gonna go over and help. You guys should probably crash and we’ll meet in the morning.”
Oliver looked over to Liz who looked visibly exhausted. “Why don’t you crash here tonight, we can go over together. Lucky for you I’m the boss, and I’m giving you the day off.”
Liz yawned “Yeah…I guess that’s a good idea. We’ll be over first thing.”
Clark nodded before leaving the apartment.
Oliver disappeared, returning with a shirt and shorts for Liz to borrow. She smiled gratefully and changed in the bathroom.
“I’ll take the couch, you can have my bed.” Oliver stated when she came out.
“Don’t be stupid, Oliver. We’re both adults. Unless you can’t control yourself.” Liz snickered as the two walked into Oliver’s room.
“Oh, I can handle myself just fine.” He said, pulling his shirt over his head.
His pants followed after, leaving him in only his boxers. Liz’s mouth hung open and she stared hard, quickly looking away when she noticed she’d been caught.
“Can you?” Oliver smirked cockily, diving into the covers.
“Oh shut it.” Liz said, hitting him softly before climbing in the other side.
Oliver killed the lights and the two lie there for a couple minutes, not touching, not moving.
“This guy…he really freaks you out, doesn’t he.” Oliver asked into the darkness.
“Yeah. He does.” Liz’s muffled voice came from the pillow next to his.
“It’ll be okay. We’ll all get through it together.”
*******************************************
Oliver breathed in deep, fighting consciousness. He willed himself to return to the dream he was just having, when he remembered the sleeping girl beside him. Opening his eyes, he squinted as the sun hit through the open spot in the shades. Reaching for the remote by his bed side, he pushed a button and the shades closed completely.
“Mmnngh. Do you honestly have a remote control for your blinds?” Liz spoke with a sleep laced voice.
Oliver simply laughed. “Of course. I also pay a guy to wipe my ass and chew my food. Not in that order, of course.”
Liz’s laughter seemed to illuminate the room. “What time is it?” She asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Looking over at Oliver she noticed he had yet to completely open his eyes. Instead, his bed headed hair lay in every which way and his expression resembled that of a young boy. She smiled at how innocent and sweet he looked.
He finally opened his eyes to glance over at the clock. “Its five till ten.”
“Shit Oliver.” She jumped from the bed. “We need to get over to Chloe’s.”
He waved for her to sit. “I already called them, earlier. They’re gonna be here in half an hour.”
“Oh. I guess I’ll go make coffee or something.”
Oliver nodded, eyes still shut. Slightly opening one his breath caught as he watched Liz pull his shorts and shirt off, leaving her in lacy boy shorts and a matching bra. Her back was to him, and he stifled a disappointed groan as she covered herself with jeans and a camisole.
“Do you have another shirt I can borrow?” she asked throwing the used clothes into his laundry hamper.
“Uh…yeah…second drawer in the dresser.”
She pulled out the first tee shirt she saw that was mostly black. “Hmm. Didn’t figure you as a Van Halen fan. I figured you for more of a Chet Baker type.” She said, holding up the vintage band tee.
“Yeah, my dad was secretly a Van Halen nut back in the day, I guess I got it from him. Jazz is alright too. You could say I’m eclectic.”
“Gotcha.”
Clark and Chloe arrived right on time, opening the door to an ever chipper Oliver Queen.
‘So what’s the deal?”
Chloe looked to Clark before turning to the two of them. “You want the bad news, or the worse news?”
Liz and Oliver both frowned with worry. “The bad news?” Liz asked.
“Bad news is, Brody Davis did have the device, but he sold it three weeks ago. The worse news is…he sold it to LuthorCorp. Which means that Tess Mercer has it.” Clark explained.
Oliver groaned and Liz only scoffed. “Of course her name is Tess. She’s blonde, isn’t she? I’ll bet she’s blonde. Who is Tess Mercer anyway?”
“Tess Mercer is acting CEO of LuthorCorp while Lex is missing. She’s been relentless about Meteor freaks. And uh…Oliver here has a bit of history with her. And no, last time I checked, she’s not blonde.” Chloe said, answering Liz’s question and then dodging the daggers Oliver shot with his eyes.
“Oh does he? Well that’ll make it easy to get in and get out then wont it.” Liz smiled.
“Oh, I don’t know if I should…”Oliver said, avoiding eye contact.
“Come on, it’ll be fun! And besides, it could be dangerous for a little girl like me.” Liz’s voice dripped with sarcasm, egging Oliver on.
“Fine. I’ll go.”
“The device was delivered straight to the Luthor’s mansion. You’ll find it there, somewhere.”
“Just be careful. Who knows what Tess would do if she got her hands on you.” Clark said directly to Liz.
“Shove her in a plastic box, I’m sure.” Chloe said, bitterly.
*******************************************
They had decided on going in that night and made it clear Clark didn’t need to be apart of it, seeing as he was a direct employee of Tess Mercer herself. Day turned to night, and the two got suited up and headed out while Chloe and Clark entertained themselves in Oliver’s loft awaiting their return.
Ten minutes after the rendezvous time, they heard shouting coming up the elevator.
“Is that?”
A pissed off Liz entered the room with a red faced Oliver hot on her trail.
“My point is you can’t just go and do shit like that!” he shouted at her.
“And MY point is that you don’t EVER get in my way again!” she yelled right back.
“Whoa! What the hell happened?” Clark said, coming between the two. “Did you guys get it?”
“Yes. We got it.” Liz said, handing the triangular shaped device over.
“But then itsy-bitsy spider over here got into some files from Black Creek, saw some footage of the research and went ape shit!”
“I did not go ape shit.”
“She tried to kill Tess!”
“Yeah well, I woulda done it too if this Jolly Green Giant didn’t get in my way! You could have been killed you know. You’re lucky I have control.”
“Oh Control? Is that what you call almost killing the CEO of a major company?”
“Yes. People like her—.”
“People like her? You don’t even know her! She’s not without redemption, and who the hell are you to be judge jury and executioner?” Oliver shouted stepping past Clark and into Liz’s face.
“What just because you’ve fucked the girl a couple times, that gives her a pass to torture other human beings?”
“Arghh! There is no arguing with you, is there? It’s your way or the highway, huh?”
“I don’t expect you to understand, Oliver.” Liz bit out.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means, if the people find out you’re really Green Arrow, what? You maybe get some prison time and then you’re branded as a hero, a rich guy fighting for human good. If someone like me or Clark gets caught? We’re cut open faster than you can say 20 CC’s of morphine.”
“If you are trying to imply that I don’t risk just as much as you do…”
“They don’t ask you what you can do.” Liz stared defiantly. “They don’t care what you have to say, because they know they’ll figure it all out anyways. It’s not a check up, they don’t take your blood pressure, ask you to run on a treadmill and breathe into a hose. They break you.” Liz’s voice wavered as her eyes filled with tears. “They break you down until you don’t remember who you are anymore, and they don’t stop. You wake up every morning and pray that you don’t remember what your life was like before so you don’t know what you’re missing. And then, if they don’t like your answers? They’ll just do it all over again. And it’s not for the good of mankind or even for learning. It’s for their own selfish fucking agenda. That’s what people like her do.”
She pushed her way passed a speechless Oliver and went out onto the balcony. Three sets of eyes stared after her, every single one with concern.
“I’m gonna go out there, maybe we should do this tomorrow.” Oliver said.
Clark and Chloe nodded before starting toward the door. Chloe stopped and put her hand on Oliver’s arm, giving him silent support. Having been there herself, she knew a bit what the girl was feeling.
The glass slid with a slight squeak but Liz made no move to acknowledge it. Oliver watched her cautiously before simply coming up beside her while she leaned, looking out over the ledge. They stood silent for a few moments, armed wrapped around themselves, protecting them from the night air.
“The first couple months I don’t remember a lot of. Mostly because I was drugged,” She began speaking. “But I remember being strapped into a gurney in a white room. Sometimes I would wake up and there would be doctors standing over me covered in my blood. I would try to scream because it hurt so bad, but nothing would come out of my throat. One day I woke up in a Blue room. There was a bed, a bathroom, and a mirror. A man entered and told me I had a choice. Either I would cooperate and do just as he said, or we could do things the hard way. I told him to fuck off and he beat the shit out of me. The next day he came back and offered me the same deal and I told him to fuck off again. Same thing. Finally after two weeks I took the easy way.”
Oliver looked in shock over to Liz, wondering how someone so small could’ve held out for so long. She continued to stare straight ahead.
“They told me they had been watching me. Ever since I had gotten shot. They’d been witnessing what was going on in my life and studying, waiting. When Max died they took it as a sign and moved in. They would train me. I would have the best of everything and I would be the best at everything. I was their alien amped up little tool, potentially the best of the Black Widows. They told me I would train with little knowledge of what the missions were. I would do as I was told or I would be punished, so I did. I played the perfect little soldier, I learned, and I waited. Then one day I was told there was no more to learn. That I was ready. They put me in a room, gave me an outfit and my weapons and told me what I was to accomplish. I said no. They started to move in.
I killed every person in that goddamn room and I didn’t give a shit about it. I ran as fast as I could, killing those who got in my way without batting an eyelash. I finally found myself outside and realized I was on an island. So I jumped of a cliff into the water. They think I’m dead. They think I went crazy and killed myself. I swam until I was picked up and made my way back to the states. I wanted to look for my family but I had no idea who my family was. Maria found me, brought me back to the others. That’s when my memory started returning. But I was different. And they all knew it. Kyle and Michael were terrified to talk to me. Isabel looked at me with disgust and Maria would just pity me. So I left. Maria followed and we went across the country, helping people who needed it. That’s how I got here. That’s why it was so easy for me to want to kill Tess. I wasn’t always this monster, you should know. But this is who they made me, and I’ve got to figure out how to live with it.”
She turned to leave but his hand gently on her arm stopped her.
“Its okay, you know. And you’re not a monster.” He assured her.
She rolled her eyes but he only tightened his grip.
“I mean it. They’re the monsters. I’ve never in my life met someone that could go through what you did and still have the desire to help the human race. You’re not a monster. You’re just strong. But…you don’t have to be strong all the time. And not everyone is going to let you down. I mean, I know its hard, to trust people again when it feels like everyone you love will only ever leave you, even if you’re the one leaving them. But sometimes, people surprise you. You should let yourself be surprised Liz.”
She only nodded her head and allowed him to pull her in close.
“Lets get to bed, huh? We’ve had a long day.”
“Yeah…Could you just please…just don’t say anything to Clark and them, okay? Maria doesn’t even know…so…”
“Yeah…okay, but you should…” he stopped when he saw the serious look on her face. “Okay. Let’s get some sleep.”
Those would be the last words exchanged that night, as the two slowly returned inside and quietly got ready for bed. Giving Liz a new pair of make shift pajama’s Oliver climbed in with pajama pants and no shirt to be found. Liz tugged the large shirt over her head and climbed in after him.
Neither of them had a sarcastic remark to make, Liz simply let Oliver pull her to him. She settled in, her head resting on his chest, listening to his heart thump.
He turned the TV on, straight to the food network and the two drifted off to the noise.
Love is not a victory march. Its a cold, and its a broken Hallelujah. -Leonard Cohen
-
fourrightchords
- Enthusiastic Roswellian
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2008 1:55 pm
- Location: Look behind you.
Hero (XO SV, Liz/? Mature) Ch7- 01/31/09
Thank you guys so so much for all the feedback! Not much to say about this next part, except, Ollie and Liz fans, you wont be dissapointed.
Chapter 7
The next week was spent preparing for Khivar’s invasion. There were signs in Liz’s vision that they all had to look out for.
The first was a meteor shower, one that remained in the sky and didn’t hit so close to home. The second was an earthquake over in California. Then after that, he would come after Clark most likely at the farm.
They had all gathered there, keeping the invasion talk to a minimum as Jimmy and Lois were both there. AC, Victor and Dinah had shown up the day before, Bart was finishing a job for Oliver and would be there early in the morning, or as fast as he could flash over.
Maria would return from Michael's any minute, and with some encouragement, Liz decided to tell her everything that had happened. She was given directions to the farm and was told to meet them all there.
The rest of the group was getting ready to barbeque, everyone in high spirits considering the impending doom.
They had told the others, meaning Jimmy and Lois, that Clark and Liz were no longer dating and that it was a mutual and amicable split. Which left Oliver rarely leaving Liz’s side and doing all he could to charm her.
A noise from the driveway signaled the arrival of one Maria Deluca.
“Hey I think your friend is here, does she drive a red jetta?” Jimmy yelled from the living room.
“Uh…not since high school!” Liz shouted from the kitchen. Sure enough, there was Maria hastily getting out of a Red Jetta.
“Where the hell did you get that thing!” Liz shouted, coming out onto the porch.
“Can you believe this was the only car they had at the rental place that wasn’t a tractor? I mean I know we’re on a farm, but girl, I cannot be seen driving a piece of farm equipment.” Maria asked, removing her large sunglasses. “Hi sugar.” She smiled.
“Hi, Ria. Come on in.” Liz grabbed her by the arm and led her inside. “So how’s Michael?”
“Ugh. Same old badly groomed doofus. He complains when I want to be in a relationship, but when all I want is sex he complains about that too! Isn’t that supposed to be like…a guys dream or something?” Maria stopped herself when she realized she’d been talking about her sex life in front of strangers, very handsome strangers at that.
“Well hello…” She said slyly, eyeing AC.
“Hi, I’m Arthur, but everyone calls me AC.” AC approached first, grabbing Maria’s hand and laying a gentle kiss on it.
“Aren’t you a charmer?” Maria giggled blushing profusely.
“Okay, okay, easy lover boy” Liz said, grabbing Maria’s hand back. “You can flirt shamelessly later. Maria, This is Clark, Chloe’s the blonde, her fiancé Jimmy, Lois, Victor, Dinah, and Oliver, and you’ve already met AC. Everyone, this is Maria. Make yourself comfortable, they’ve all elected that I cook today because apparently we used to work at a restaurant?” Liz said sarcastically disappearing into the kitchen.
“Did we? Oh I guess that’s right.” Maria quipped back.
“I’ll go help” Oliver said, excusing himself.
“Oh…look at that…like a little puppy. That’s sweet.” Lois teased.
“Well, Liz does tend to inspire that quality in men.” Maria laughed, thanking AC for the drink he had grabbed for her.
“Really? Do tell?” Chloe asked interested.
“Her high school boyfriend, he used to follow her around relentlessly. Even when they were broken up he was still just yipping away at her heels. I mean, the guy was a good guy but he was just smitten.”
“Well it must be magic then because Oliver never chases. Women usually fall out of the sky and just land on his doorstep.” Jimmy laughed.
“So Maria, what do you do?” Clark asked.
“Um, I’m a musician, currently between jobs as most musician’s are, but a musician nonetheless.” Maria smiled.
Laughter was heard from the kitchen causing Maria to perk at the sound.
“What was that?” Maria frowned.
“Guess Oliver said something funny?” Lois shrugged.
“No…was that Liz laughing? Liz NEVER laughs….at anything!” Maria spoke shocked.
“Really? Come on, are you sure that’s not exaggerating a bit? She laughs…” Clark assured.
“Nope. Not in the last couple months she hasn’t. I’m beginning to like this Oliver guy if he can get my stonewall best friend to crack a smile.”
“Hey guys grab a beer and come out; I’m putting the steaks on now.” Liz smiled from the doorway holding a tray with enough meat to feed an army.
After dinner Chloe, Jimmy and Lois took off for home giving the rest of the crew chance to talk freely about what was going on.
“So let me get this straight.” Victor waved his arms to accentuate his point. “You, little miss I-maybe-weigh-a-hundred-pounds took down someone that was twice your size, all the while saving Oliver I-shit-gold-bricks Queen?”
“Dude…you let someone mug you?” AC laughed along with the rest of the group.
Liz simply nodded her head and took another sip of her beer.
“Hey…You know, I coulda taken down the guy myself. She just jumped in before I could act. The guy was NOT going to get anything of mine.” Oliver defended.
“Besides your pride?” Maria teased.
“You were gonna jump in, were you?” Liz said, mirth sounding in her voice. “When was that? When I was walking away and you were stuttering like a freezing child? Or when I was hog tying the guy and you were doing nothing except converting oxygen to carbon dioxide?”
“Actually at that point I was too busy staring at your ass.” Oliver laughed when Liz shoved him in response.
“Okay, okay, in all honesty, the guy did save both me and Liz in that alley.” Maria held her glass up to Oliver who did the same with his.
“Really…” AC leaned in. “You look like a girl who can handle herself.”
“Oh I can definitely handle myself, alright.” Maria replied huskily.
“Oh my god, would you just have sex already?! That is disgusting.” Liz cringed.
“I think I might…yeah I think I might puke…” Oliver faked, holding his stomach in dramatic effect.
Victor held his stomach and did the same.
AC rolled his eyes. “At least we know who the mature ones are…right Clark?”
All eyes turned to Clark. He nodded seriously, then began clutching his stomach and frowning. Fake gagging noises soon followed and everyone save Maria and AC only laughed more.
AC narrowed his eyes at a giggling Liz Parker. “What are you laughing at, Charlotte? You in need of some good old fashioned hero lovin’ too? Cause I’m sure—.”
“Can it Nemo.” Liz chucked a throw pillow from the couch. “If I wanted to get crabs I would go to the coast.”
A resounding holler erupted from the rest of the peanut gallery, laughing at AC’s shocked, but slightly amused face. She had burned him.
“Okay.” Maria said, grabbing everyone’s beers as she stood. “That’s it. You’ve all been cut off.”
Moans of disappointment were all that could be heard.
***********************************************
A night that seemed like it would be as any other had ended with two dirt and soot covered bodies screaming at each other in a condo apartment.
Oliver had gotten a call from Liz earlier in the evening stating that there would be a fire at the new apartments by the theater on Main St later that night.
‘Why don’t we just stop it altogether?’ Oliver had asked.
‘Oh, wow, why didn’t I think of that,’ Liz sarcastically stated. ‘Uh maybe because I don’t see the entire future and have no idea how it starts, but what I do know, is that it happens in an hour. Are you game, or what?’
Oliver agreed and they had met two blocks away. Seeing the smoke begin to billow out of the building, they said little to each other before jumping into action.
“You ready, G?” Liz said, using her abbreviation for Green Arrow.
“Born ready, B.” Oliver replied, using his own for her.
It was dark out by this time, but the black smoke that plowed out of every opening in the building made the sky an even murkier color. The wind blew slightly and it was dry, a deadly combination. Oliver grabbed the nearest pedestrian and instructed him to call 911 and start spraying down other buildings surrounding the blazing inferno in front of him.
Oliver had to catch up to Liz, knowing that she already knew where to find the woman and her child.
The smoke burned at Oliver’s eyes. He tried to hold his breath as much as possible, but found that it only made him inhale deeper. Liz was doing no better but it didn’t matter to either of the two as they ran through the building, careful of their footing.
The mother and her small child, a boy of no more than three were found standing by a window, surrounded by a wall of heat and searing flame. Holding her hand up, Liz extinguished a small path in the wall, grabbing at the petrified two. Quickly taking action, Oliver swept the woman up into his arms while Liz held the boy to her chest.
After what seemed like hundreds of hall ways and stair cases, and hell literally nipping at their heels, they found themselves breathing the cool night air once again. Passing the worn looking pair over to emergency workers, Liz and Oliver looked to each other, breathing a collective sigh of relief.
“There was someone else in there.” Liz said, turning toward the building. “I saw her in the hallway. Third floor, a little blonde girl. Scared stiff I think. I’m going back in.”
“Yeah, let’s hurry.” Oliver nodded.
“No. You’re staying here. Its too dangerous, and I have the powers, you don’t.”
“Wha—.” Oliver stared incredulously. “That makes no sense.”
“Please Oliver.” Liz begged, flashing her best puppy dog look. “Just please listen to me. Stay here, alright?”
She didn’t wait for him to answer before running back into the building alone. Oliver growled, frustrated that he was stuck waiting while the not-so-damsel ran into danger. He respected her wishes and waited. Five minutes…six, seven.
“That’s it.” He exclaimed running back toward the entrance. A fireman tried to stop him, freezing slightly at the sight of a leather clad archer running around in public. But Oliver simply pushed him out of the way and ran directly into the fire.
“Hello!” he shouted into the cloud of darkness. “B!? Where are you!?”
Oliver ran low to the ground, hoping to escape most of the offending air. His eyes watered a bit like they would at a bonfire and he brought his gloved hand up to clear them. Opening them again, his eyes passed over a shadowed figure crouched on the ground.
“B!” He cried, running straight over. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” She coughed. “I ca—I can’t concentrate…too much smoke. We have to help the—.” She hacked more and more, gagging the smoke out of her lungs.
“B, I’ve been all over this floor, no one’s here. Someone must’ve already gotten her. We gotta go.” Oliver hoisted her to a standing position before the two stumbled back down the hall and out to the closest window. Eyeing a thick wood beam on the roof of the next building, Oliver took aim with his bow and shot an arrow right through the middle of it. Making sure the rope attached was secure, he grabbed Liz by the waist and the arrow began to slowly, but surely pull them up to safety.
The pair stumbled in silence back to Liz’s apartment where they found a note from Maria. Oliver was the one to read it.
“’Liz, went out with AC, don’t wait up.’ –Maria. Well, guess those two hit it off.” Oliver turned to Liz and frowned when she saw how she was looking at him. “What?”
“What the hell were you thinking coming in after me like that?” Liz snapped.
“Uh…I’m sorry, what?” he asked confused.
“I told you to stay outside. What the hell were you thinking! You could’ve gotten yourself killed!”
“You know, a simple ‘thank you’ would suffice.”
“Oliver. This isn’t funny. What if you had gotten hurt? I couldn’t carry your ass out along with someone else’s!”
“I’m sorry, but my recollection shows me carrying YOUR ass out. And there was no little girl, Liz.”
“Yeah but—.”
“Yeah but nothing! God! You are really something, aren’t you. Why wont you let me help you? You think you’re better than me or—.”
“No that isn’t it!”
“Then WHAT? You have some sort of Death wish or something? Well I’m not going help you out with that. I’m sorry, Liz. I’m sorry you’ve been hurt. But guess what? You’re still alive and being alive means you have to go through some pretty tough shit. So you can either deal with it or you can just crawl under a rock but this psychotic in between shit really isn’t working out.”
“Its that easy, huh? I’m sorry I didn’t realize it would be so easy to just move past it and live my life. WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK I’VE BEEN TRYING TO DO?”
“I don’t know but whatever it is? It’s not working out for you. You think its easy for me? You think I don’t know what its like to lose people I love? Or have to watch them walk away? God…there are times when you are just so frustrating and closed off and shut down…but there are times Liz, when you let who you really are through. And that person is funny, and smart, and beautiful, and passionate, and I really could…”
Oliver paused for a moment as they both visibly loosened.
“What do you want me to say, Oliver? God, there was never a problem until you. I was perfectly happy with what I was doing and who I was and living my own life, and now I have to be more and I have to be ‘open’ because you say so? Screw you! I get that you’ve got that rich boy only child persona but that doesn’t mean you can snap your fingers and get whatever you want.” She turned from him for a moment, crossing her arms and huffing like a pouting child.
“It doesn’t?” Oliver smiled.
“Ugh!” Liz turned to face him again. “You are the most cocky, frustrating man I’ve ever—.”
She was effectively silenced with his lips on hers. He held her one hand on her lower back, the other on her neck and kissed hard, as if trying to erase all thought of anything else.
Liz hung in shock as she tried to register what was happening. She knew she should push him away. She knew that nothing good could come of this, that those that played with her would only ever get burned. But Oliver was fire like her and so her hands found themselves reaching toward him and gripping at his sides. Stepping into him further, she pushed her lips to his just as hard.
He smiled into her kiss, announcing his victory. She nipped at his lip, letting him know that he had not yet won. Casually she slipped her arms around his neck and groaned when he moved his mouth from hers down to her neck. His hands found their way to her backside, causing her to squeal as he lifted her up and to him, her legs reactively wrapping around his waist.
Slowly the pair found their way to Liz’s room. Shutting the door behind them with a kick of his foot, Oliver laid Liz gently on her bed. Still soot covered and dirty, he paused for a moment, hovering over her studying her face with his hand. She did the same to him, heart beating faster and butterfly’s fluttering as his eyes searched for permission. She smiled at him subtly and he lowered himself to her again.
Then, for a moment in time, there was nothing else. No impending alien attack, no secret organizations or FBI, no world to save or people to help. Just two people, who above all else, had only wanted to heal each other.
Chapter 7
The next week was spent preparing for Khivar’s invasion. There were signs in Liz’s vision that they all had to look out for.
The first was a meteor shower, one that remained in the sky and didn’t hit so close to home. The second was an earthquake over in California. Then after that, he would come after Clark most likely at the farm.
They had all gathered there, keeping the invasion talk to a minimum as Jimmy and Lois were both there. AC, Victor and Dinah had shown up the day before, Bart was finishing a job for Oliver and would be there early in the morning, or as fast as he could flash over.
Maria would return from Michael's any minute, and with some encouragement, Liz decided to tell her everything that had happened. She was given directions to the farm and was told to meet them all there.
The rest of the group was getting ready to barbeque, everyone in high spirits considering the impending doom.
They had told the others, meaning Jimmy and Lois, that Clark and Liz were no longer dating and that it was a mutual and amicable split. Which left Oliver rarely leaving Liz’s side and doing all he could to charm her.
A noise from the driveway signaled the arrival of one Maria Deluca.
“Hey I think your friend is here, does she drive a red jetta?” Jimmy yelled from the living room.
“Uh…not since high school!” Liz shouted from the kitchen. Sure enough, there was Maria hastily getting out of a Red Jetta.
“Where the hell did you get that thing!” Liz shouted, coming out onto the porch.
“Can you believe this was the only car they had at the rental place that wasn’t a tractor? I mean I know we’re on a farm, but girl, I cannot be seen driving a piece of farm equipment.” Maria asked, removing her large sunglasses. “Hi sugar.” She smiled.
“Hi, Ria. Come on in.” Liz grabbed her by the arm and led her inside. “So how’s Michael?”
“Ugh. Same old badly groomed doofus. He complains when I want to be in a relationship, but when all I want is sex he complains about that too! Isn’t that supposed to be like…a guys dream or something?” Maria stopped herself when she realized she’d been talking about her sex life in front of strangers, very handsome strangers at that.
“Well hello…” She said slyly, eyeing AC.
“Hi, I’m Arthur, but everyone calls me AC.” AC approached first, grabbing Maria’s hand and laying a gentle kiss on it.
“Aren’t you a charmer?” Maria giggled blushing profusely.
“Okay, okay, easy lover boy” Liz said, grabbing Maria’s hand back. “You can flirt shamelessly later. Maria, This is Clark, Chloe’s the blonde, her fiancé Jimmy, Lois, Victor, Dinah, and Oliver, and you’ve already met AC. Everyone, this is Maria. Make yourself comfortable, they’ve all elected that I cook today because apparently we used to work at a restaurant?” Liz said sarcastically disappearing into the kitchen.
“Did we? Oh I guess that’s right.” Maria quipped back.
“I’ll go help” Oliver said, excusing himself.
“Oh…look at that…like a little puppy. That’s sweet.” Lois teased.
“Well, Liz does tend to inspire that quality in men.” Maria laughed, thanking AC for the drink he had grabbed for her.
“Really? Do tell?” Chloe asked interested.
“Her high school boyfriend, he used to follow her around relentlessly. Even when they were broken up he was still just yipping away at her heels. I mean, the guy was a good guy but he was just smitten.”
“Well it must be magic then because Oliver never chases. Women usually fall out of the sky and just land on his doorstep.” Jimmy laughed.
“So Maria, what do you do?” Clark asked.
“Um, I’m a musician, currently between jobs as most musician’s are, but a musician nonetheless.” Maria smiled.
Laughter was heard from the kitchen causing Maria to perk at the sound.
“What was that?” Maria frowned.
“Guess Oliver said something funny?” Lois shrugged.
“No…was that Liz laughing? Liz NEVER laughs….at anything!” Maria spoke shocked.
“Really? Come on, are you sure that’s not exaggerating a bit? She laughs…” Clark assured.
“Nope. Not in the last couple months she hasn’t. I’m beginning to like this Oliver guy if he can get my stonewall best friend to crack a smile.”
“Hey guys grab a beer and come out; I’m putting the steaks on now.” Liz smiled from the doorway holding a tray with enough meat to feed an army.
After dinner Chloe, Jimmy and Lois took off for home giving the rest of the crew chance to talk freely about what was going on.
“So let me get this straight.” Victor waved his arms to accentuate his point. “You, little miss I-maybe-weigh-a-hundred-pounds took down someone that was twice your size, all the while saving Oliver I-shit-gold-bricks Queen?”
“Dude…you let someone mug you?” AC laughed along with the rest of the group.
Liz simply nodded her head and took another sip of her beer.
“Hey…You know, I coulda taken down the guy myself. She just jumped in before I could act. The guy was NOT going to get anything of mine.” Oliver defended.
“Besides your pride?” Maria teased.
“You were gonna jump in, were you?” Liz said, mirth sounding in her voice. “When was that? When I was walking away and you were stuttering like a freezing child? Or when I was hog tying the guy and you were doing nothing except converting oxygen to carbon dioxide?”
“Actually at that point I was too busy staring at your ass.” Oliver laughed when Liz shoved him in response.
“Okay, okay, in all honesty, the guy did save both me and Liz in that alley.” Maria held her glass up to Oliver who did the same with his.
“Really…” AC leaned in. “You look like a girl who can handle herself.”
“Oh I can definitely handle myself, alright.” Maria replied huskily.
“Oh my god, would you just have sex already?! That is disgusting.” Liz cringed.
“I think I might…yeah I think I might puke…” Oliver faked, holding his stomach in dramatic effect.
Victor held his stomach and did the same.
AC rolled his eyes. “At least we know who the mature ones are…right Clark?”
All eyes turned to Clark. He nodded seriously, then began clutching his stomach and frowning. Fake gagging noises soon followed and everyone save Maria and AC only laughed more.
AC narrowed his eyes at a giggling Liz Parker. “What are you laughing at, Charlotte? You in need of some good old fashioned hero lovin’ too? Cause I’m sure—.”
“Can it Nemo.” Liz chucked a throw pillow from the couch. “If I wanted to get crabs I would go to the coast.”
A resounding holler erupted from the rest of the peanut gallery, laughing at AC’s shocked, but slightly amused face. She had burned him.
“Okay.” Maria said, grabbing everyone’s beers as she stood. “That’s it. You’ve all been cut off.”
Moans of disappointment were all that could be heard.
***********************************************
A night that seemed like it would be as any other had ended with two dirt and soot covered bodies screaming at each other in a condo apartment.
Oliver had gotten a call from Liz earlier in the evening stating that there would be a fire at the new apartments by the theater on Main St later that night.
‘Why don’t we just stop it altogether?’ Oliver had asked.
‘Oh, wow, why didn’t I think of that,’ Liz sarcastically stated. ‘Uh maybe because I don’t see the entire future and have no idea how it starts, but what I do know, is that it happens in an hour. Are you game, or what?’
Oliver agreed and they had met two blocks away. Seeing the smoke begin to billow out of the building, they said little to each other before jumping into action.
“You ready, G?” Liz said, using her abbreviation for Green Arrow.
“Born ready, B.” Oliver replied, using his own for her.
It was dark out by this time, but the black smoke that plowed out of every opening in the building made the sky an even murkier color. The wind blew slightly and it was dry, a deadly combination. Oliver grabbed the nearest pedestrian and instructed him to call 911 and start spraying down other buildings surrounding the blazing inferno in front of him.
Oliver had to catch up to Liz, knowing that she already knew where to find the woman and her child.
The smoke burned at Oliver’s eyes. He tried to hold his breath as much as possible, but found that it only made him inhale deeper. Liz was doing no better but it didn’t matter to either of the two as they ran through the building, careful of their footing.
The mother and her small child, a boy of no more than three were found standing by a window, surrounded by a wall of heat and searing flame. Holding her hand up, Liz extinguished a small path in the wall, grabbing at the petrified two. Quickly taking action, Oliver swept the woman up into his arms while Liz held the boy to her chest.
After what seemed like hundreds of hall ways and stair cases, and hell literally nipping at their heels, they found themselves breathing the cool night air once again. Passing the worn looking pair over to emergency workers, Liz and Oliver looked to each other, breathing a collective sigh of relief.
“There was someone else in there.” Liz said, turning toward the building. “I saw her in the hallway. Third floor, a little blonde girl. Scared stiff I think. I’m going back in.”
“Yeah, let’s hurry.” Oliver nodded.
“No. You’re staying here. Its too dangerous, and I have the powers, you don’t.”
“Wha—.” Oliver stared incredulously. “That makes no sense.”
“Please Oliver.” Liz begged, flashing her best puppy dog look. “Just please listen to me. Stay here, alright?”
She didn’t wait for him to answer before running back into the building alone. Oliver growled, frustrated that he was stuck waiting while the not-so-damsel ran into danger. He respected her wishes and waited. Five minutes…six, seven.
“That’s it.” He exclaimed running back toward the entrance. A fireman tried to stop him, freezing slightly at the sight of a leather clad archer running around in public. But Oliver simply pushed him out of the way and ran directly into the fire.
“Hello!” he shouted into the cloud of darkness. “B!? Where are you!?”
Oliver ran low to the ground, hoping to escape most of the offending air. His eyes watered a bit like they would at a bonfire and he brought his gloved hand up to clear them. Opening them again, his eyes passed over a shadowed figure crouched on the ground.
“B!” He cried, running straight over. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” She coughed. “I ca—I can’t concentrate…too much smoke. We have to help the—.” She hacked more and more, gagging the smoke out of her lungs.
“B, I’ve been all over this floor, no one’s here. Someone must’ve already gotten her. We gotta go.” Oliver hoisted her to a standing position before the two stumbled back down the hall and out to the closest window. Eyeing a thick wood beam on the roof of the next building, Oliver took aim with his bow and shot an arrow right through the middle of it. Making sure the rope attached was secure, he grabbed Liz by the waist and the arrow began to slowly, but surely pull them up to safety.
The pair stumbled in silence back to Liz’s apartment where they found a note from Maria. Oliver was the one to read it.
“’Liz, went out with AC, don’t wait up.’ –Maria. Well, guess those two hit it off.” Oliver turned to Liz and frowned when she saw how she was looking at him. “What?”
“What the hell were you thinking coming in after me like that?” Liz snapped.
“Uh…I’m sorry, what?” he asked confused.
“I told you to stay outside. What the hell were you thinking! You could’ve gotten yourself killed!”
“You know, a simple ‘thank you’ would suffice.”
“Oliver. This isn’t funny. What if you had gotten hurt? I couldn’t carry your ass out along with someone else’s!”
“I’m sorry, but my recollection shows me carrying YOUR ass out. And there was no little girl, Liz.”
“Yeah but—.”
“Yeah but nothing! God! You are really something, aren’t you. Why wont you let me help you? You think you’re better than me or—.”
“No that isn’t it!”
“Then WHAT? You have some sort of Death wish or something? Well I’m not going help you out with that. I’m sorry, Liz. I’m sorry you’ve been hurt. But guess what? You’re still alive and being alive means you have to go through some pretty tough shit. So you can either deal with it or you can just crawl under a rock but this psychotic in between shit really isn’t working out.”
“Its that easy, huh? I’m sorry I didn’t realize it would be so easy to just move past it and live my life. WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK I’VE BEEN TRYING TO DO?”
“I don’t know but whatever it is? It’s not working out for you. You think its easy for me? You think I don’t know what its like to lose people I love? Or have to watch them walk away? God…there are times when you are just so frustrating and closed off and shut down…but there are times Liz, when you let who you really are through. And that person is funny, and smart, and beautiful, and passionate, and I really could…”
Oliver paused for a moment as they both visibly loosened.
“What do you want me to say, Oliver? God, there was never a problem until you. I was perfectly happy with what I was doing and who I was and living my own life, and now I have to be more and I have to be ‘open’ because you say so? Screw you! I get that you’ve got that rich boy only child persona but that doesn’t mean you can snap your fingers and get whatever you want.” She turned from him for a moment, crossing her arms and huffing like a pouting child.
“It doesn’t?” Oliver smiled.
“Ugh!” Liz turned to face him again. “You are the most cocky, frustrating man I’ve ever—.”
She was effectively silenced with his lips on hers. He held her one hand on her lower back, the other on her neck and kissed hard, as if trying to erase all thought of anything else.
Liz hung in shock as she tried to register what was happening. She knew she should push him away. She knew that nothing good could come of this, that those that played with her would only ever get burned. But Oliver was fire like her and so her hands found themselves reaching toward him and gripping at his sides. Stepping into him further, she pushed her lips to his just as hard.
He smiled into her kiss, announcing his victory. She nipped at his lip, letting him know that he had not yet won. Casually she slipped her arms around his neck and groaned when he moved his mouth from hers down to her neck. His hands found their way to her backside, causing her to squeal as he lifted her up and to him, her legs reactively wrapping around his waist.
Slowly the pair found their way to Liz’s room. Shutting the door behind them with a kick of his foot, Oliver laid Liz gently on her bed. Still soot covered and dirty, he paused for a moment, hovering over her studying her face with his hand. She did the same to him, heart beating faster and butterfly’s fluttering as his eyes searched for permission. She smiled at him subtly and he lowered himself to her again.
Then, for a moment in time, there was nothing else. No impending alien attack, no secret organizations or FBI, no world to save or people to help. Just two people, who above all else, had only wanted to heal each other.
Love is not a victory march. Its a cold, and its a broken Hallelujah. -Leonard Cohen
-
fourrightchords
- Enthusiastic Roswellian
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2008 1:55 pm
- Location: Look behind you.
Hero (XO SV, Liz/? Mature) Ch8- 02/06/09
Hey party people. Thanks once again for all the feedback, glad you enjoyed the last part. This ones kinda short....sorry...the next one after this is longer, I promise. Anyway. Enjoy!
Chapter 8
It was raining when Liz woke up. The patter of water against her window drove her out of a deep sleep. She was having the dream, again. The same dream she’d been having since she got out of the Organization. The same dream that caused Isabel to practically run away from her after trying to dream walk her, the same one that made her wake up screaming and crying some nights. Today, however, she thanked her lucky stars that she didn’t do either of those things.
Oliver lay sleeping next to her, his arm wrapped snuggly around her waist. Careful not to wake him, she turned slowly around so that they were face to face. His long eyelashes fluttered slightly in his sleep, his mouth slightly open. She would tease him for drooling later, but she knew that she was a snorer, so maybe she might cut him some slack. The sound of his even breathing and the rain soon erased any memory of ill dreams as she snuggled her face deeper into his chest willing herself back to sleep.
“I half expected you to have fled by now.” A groggy voice sounded, making Oliver’s chest rumble.
She smiled into him. “I kinda live here.”
“So you do.”
“How long have you been awake?”
“Not long.” He assured, squeezing her further into him.
“Did you sleep good?” She wondered.
“Mmm.” He answered nodding his head. “I slept real good. You?”
“Yeah” she smiled. “I had a great pillow.”
He quietly chuckled, finally opening his eyes. “Hi.”
“Hi.” She responded.
It was polar opposite from how they were mere hours ago. The night before which was fierce passion, urgency, and fire, now there were lazy touches and slow kisses. Before there was yelling and fighting and sheer frustration, now, contentedly, the pair lay as if the world could pass them by.
“We need to talk about stuff…this really isn’t the best time to be doing this…” Liz sounded unsure of her own notion.
“Yeah. But for now, can’t we just pretend?” he pleaded.
“Pretend what?”
“Pretend we don’t care. That we have all the time in the world and nothing’s holding us down.” He rotated himself on top of her and began slowly laying sweet kisses anywhere he found skin.
“Eventually we’ll have to rejoin the world.” She teased.
“Yeah. But right now, the world can wait.”
She only nodded as he descended on her again.
***********************************************
The sizzle of bacon met Maria and AC as they walked laughing into Maria and Liz’s shared condo. Greeting them was a shirtless Oliver, flipping pancakes and smiling.
“Breakfast?” He grinned widely.
“Uh, Oliver?” Maria spoke, almost too pleased with the situation. “Its 6pm.”
“What, it has to be morning to enjoy pancakes? Sit. Eat.”
Maria cocked an eyebrow in his direction.
“Okay so it’s the only thing I can make, sue me.”
AC jogged over, grabbing a piece of bacon cooling on a plate. “Atta boy, Queen. Maria, you owe me 20 bucks. I told you before the attack.”
Maria rolled her eyes.
“Can it, Arthur.” Oliver pointed his spatula at the grinning man.
“Hey Ollie?” Liz’s voice floated through the air, she skirted in, towel running through her wet hair, another wrapped around her body. “Oh Jesus.” As quickly as she had come she turned back around and shut her door behind her.
The pair began to laugh and Oliver quickly scolded them. After a couple more minutes a dressed Liz reappeared from her bedroom.
“Come. Sit. Eat:” Oliver stated, his mouth half full of syrup and pancake.
Liz took her spot and the four began to dive into their plates. Maria, with laughing eyes that matched AC’s, was the first to break the silence.
“So do you guys just love each other yet, or what?”
“…I mean, we just want to be invited to the wedding, is all” AC added, finding himself quite hilarious.
Sighing and shaking his head, Oliver shrugged to Liz. Liz put down her fork and swallowed. “Uh….didn’t you guys just get home? Where’d you sleep last night, Maria?”
A guilty expression befell her face. “I—Uh…Eat your freaking breakfast, Parker.”
“That’s almost 24 hours, guys. AC, tell me, what can one DO in twenty four hours with a person of the opposite sex….hmm…” Oliver said, pretending to scratch his head.
AC and Maria were saved by the vibrating of Liz’s cell on her table.
“Chloe? What’s up?”
“Turn on channel 5, hurry!” Chloe’s voice came through the other line.
Liz rose from the table and grabbed the remote. Flipping the channel to 5 the room fell quiet as the anchorman read his story.
“…Tonight make sure you’ve got a clear view of that sky, a meteor shower is due at 9:48 and should be visible with a pair of binoculars or a light telescope…”
“Got it.” Liz spoke motioning for everyone in the room to get ready. “We’ll be at Clark’s as soon as possible.”
Clicking her phone shut, she looked at all the curious, apprehensive faces.
“Let’s go. It’s time.”
Chapter 8
It was raining when Liz woke up. The patter of water against her window drove her out of a deep sleep. She was having the dream, again. The same dream she’d been having since she got out of the Organization. The same dream that caused Isabel to practically run away from her after trying to dream walk her, the same one that made her wake up screaming and crying some nights. Today, however, she thanked her lucky stars that she didn’t do either of those things.
Oliver lay sleeping next to her, his arm wrapped snuggly around her waist. Careful not to wake him, she turned slowly around so that they were face to face. His long eyelashes fluttered slightly in his sleep, his mouth slightly open. She would tease him for drooling later, but she knew that she was a snorer, so maybe she might cut him some slack. The sound of his even breathing and the rain soon erased any memory of ill dreams as she snuggled her face deeper into his chest willing herself back to sleep.
“I half expected you to have fled by now.” A groggy voice sounded, making Oliver’s chest rumble.
She smiled into him. “I kinda live here.”
“So you do.”
“How long have you been awake?”
“Not long.” He assured, squeezing her further into him.
“Did you sleep good?” She wondered.
“Mmm.” He answered nodding his head. “I slept real good. You?”
“Yeah” she smiled. “I had a great pillow.”
He quietly chuckled, finally opening his eyes. “Hi.”
“Hi.” She responded.
It was polar opposite from how they were mere hours ago. The night before which was fierce passion, urgency, and fire, now there were lazy touches and slow kisses. Before there was yelling and fighting and sheer frustration, now, contentedly, the pair lay as if the world could pass them by.
“We need to talk about stuff…this really isn’t the best time to be doing this…” Liz sounded unsure of her own notion.
“Yeah. But for now, can’t we just pretend?” he pleaded.
“Pretend what?”
“Pretend we don’t care. That we have all the time in the world and nothing’s holding us down.” He rotated himself on top of her and began slowly laying sweet kisses anywhere he found skin.
“Eventually we’ll have to rejoin the world.” She teased.
“Yeah. But right now, the world can wait.”
She only nodded as he descended on her again.
***********************************************
The sizzle of bacon met Maria and AC as they walked laughing into Maria and Liz’s shared condo. Greeting them was a shirtless Oliver, flipping pancakes and smiling.
“Breakfast?” He grinned widely.
“Uh, Oliver?” Maria spoke, almost too pleased with the situation. “Its 6pm.”
“What, it has to be morning to enjoy pancakes? Sit. Eat.”
Maria cocked an eyebrow in his direction.
“Okay so it’s the only thing I can make, sue me.”
AC jogged over, grabbing a piece of bacon cooling on a plate. “Atta boy, Queen. Maria, you owe me 20 bucks. I told you before the attack.”
Maria rolled her eyes.
“Can it, Arthur.” Oliver pointed his spatula at the grinning man.
“Hey Ollie?” Liz’s voice floated through the air, she skirted in, towel running through her wet hair, another wrapped around her body. “Oh Jesus.” As quickly as she had come she turned back around and shut her door behind her.
The pair began to laugh and Oliver quickly scolded them. After a couple more minutes a dressed Liz reappeared from her bedroom.
“Come. Sit. Eat:” Oliver stated, his mouth half full of syrup and pancake.
Liz took her spot and the four began to dive into their plates. Maria, with laughing eyes that matched AC’s, was the first to break the silence.
“So do you guys just love each other yet, or what?”
“…I mean, we just want to be invited to the wedding, is all” AC added, finding himself quite hilarious.
Sighing and shaking his head, Oliver shrugged to Liz. Liz put down her fork and swallowed. “Uh….didn’t you guys just get home? Where’d you sleep last night, Maria?”
A guilty expression befell her face. “I—Uh…Eat your freaking breakfast, Parker.”
“That’s almost 24 hours, guys. AC, tell me, what can one DO in twenty four hours with a person of the opposite sex….hmm…” Oliver said, pretending to scratch his head.
AC and Maria were saved by the vibrating of Liz’s cell on her table.
“Chloe? What’s up?”
“Turn on channel 5, hurry!” Chloe’s voice came through the other line.
Liz rose from the table and grabbed the remote. Flipping the channel to 5 the room fell quiet as the anchorman read his story.
“…Tonight make sure you’ve got a clear view of that sky, a meteor shower is due at 9:48 and should be visible with a pair of binoculars or a light telescope…”
“Got it.” Liz spoke motioning for everyone in the room to get ready. “We’ll be at Clark’s as soon as possible.”
Clicking her phone shut, she looked at all the curious, apprehensive faces.
“Let’s go. It’s time.”
Love is not a victory march. Its a cold, and its a broken Hallelujah. -Leonard Cohen
-
fourrightchords
- Enthusiastic Roswellian
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2008 1:55 pm
- Location: Look behind you.
Re: Hero (XO SV, Liz/? Mature) Ch9- 02/14/09
I would tell you all Happy Valentines, but this year I've decided to celebrate my own holiday. I'm calling it...Singles Appreciation Day. (Yes I'm aware that its S.A.D. for short. 
) Ps. No idea if there is a name for Liz/Ollie. If there is, let me know.
Chapter 9
A Base camp of sorts had been set up at the Kent Farmhouse in preparation for what was to come. The group figured collectively that with everyone in one central location it would be harder for their enemies to catch any of them alone. Couches were made into beds and air mattresses were set up where ever there was clear floor.
Now they waited.
Maria had insisted upon coming along, at least until there was any imperative danger. After that she would stay far away, checking in every hour by way of text. For now, she was seated Indian-style on the floor, laughing at Bart who had taken to hitting on her, as Chloe was staying at her own home.
Dinah was taking a nap in the guest room which she immediately snagged upon arrival, and the rest of the boys were gathered in the kitchen talking strategy. Liz’s eyes met Oliver’s for a quick moment before she turned away. She hadn’t spoken much to anyone since leaving the apartment, especially not Ollie. Slowly she began to walk outside, the sun mostly set, leaving a medium blue tint to everything.
“So you’ve been avoiding me.” Oliver’s voice startled her.
“What? No I haven’t.” She denied.
“Yes you have.” Oliver nodded. “Since we left your place. Not a word, a glance, nothing. So what is it?”
“Ollie…”
“Don’t you Ollie me. Talk to me.”
“Look, I had a lot of fun last night…and today…but…”
Oliver threw his head back and almost laughed at the situation. Shaking his head he turned toward the door.
Liz’s voice stopped him.
“You don’t want to get involved with me, Oliver. I’m…I’m just …” She said, falling into the nearest bench.
“Fucked up? Yeah.” He agreed. “But guess what? So am I. And so is everyone else in that room. So if you’re making excuses, I’d look for a better one.”
“I’m not trying to make excuses…”
“Is this about the dreams you have?”
Her head shot up in surprise and met his eyes.
“Cause I do hear you. Who’s Anastasia? Is she the blonde haired girl?” He crossed his arms waiting for an answer.
“I…I—.” She stuttered.
“I went over all the reports from that fire, Liz. There was no girl matching that description living in that building. In fact, aside from the Mother and Son we saved, the majority of tenants are college kids and senior citizens.”
“I can’t…”
“Yeah. I figured. Well. When you can, you know where I’ll be.” Oliver said sadly, as he returned inside.
Liz sat in silence for a moment or two, wrapping her own arms around herself as the air got colder. A familiar voice interrupted her silent thought.
“Lizzie?” Maria’s head popped out from the door frame. “Oliver said you had something to tell me?”
She sighed to herself and patted the spot on the bench next to her. If Oliver was right about anything, it was that it was time. It was time that Maria knew the truth.
*******************************************
It was hours before Maria had let Liz get through the entire story, void of some of the more gruesome details. Maria had felt badly for her friend, and had tried to find a way to shoulder some of the blame, but Liz gave her no reason to. What had happened, happened, and there were no re-do’s or erasing it. Both girls left the conversation with a better understanding of one another and Liz found herself wondering what she had been so scared of.
Most everyone had gone to bed, but Liz remained in her thoughts, sipping a cup of hot tea. She watched as stars seemed to fall across the sky, some quickly and some slowly. It would have been a beautiful thing if it didn’t signify the approaching danger.
She was in the same spot as he had left her in. Neither of them made a sound as he came to sit next to her, staring out into the darkness.
“I realized today that you’ve told me a lot about yourself that not a lot of other people get to know. I realized that you are trying, and it’s not easy. You should know some things about me. My parents died when I was young, but they were leaving me way before then. Every person I’ve ever loved has in some way or another walked away from me, and it scares me that everyone I will ever know will do the same. So I push people to get them to either leave before I’m attached or so that I have an excuse not to stick around. I drown myself in my cause because it’s the only thing that will be constant. There will always be bad in the world, but as long as I’m fighting it I don’t have to think about the people that have left me. It’s my distraction and that’s why it means so much. As long as there are bad things happening the world, something needs me, and that’s really all I’ve ever wanted.”
He finished by standing, signifying that he had said what he needed to and now would retire inside.
She stopped him with a hand on his wrist.
“If I tell you this…you’ll hate me. Everyone will.” She spoke, convinced of herself.
“You don’t know that.”
She closed her eyes for a moment, a lifetime of images playing across her mind. Platinum hair and ice blue eyes burned into her skull.
“I lied to you, about how I left the organization.”
He sat next to her again, intrigued by her confession.
“I…I did jump of the cliff. And I did kill everyone in the room…but…” She pursed her lips, wondering where the beginning really was. “You’ve seen my tattoo, right?” She said, lifting her hair to reveal it again. “The organization’s idea of a joke. The other girls had them in the same spot, but just the number.”
Oliver looked at her strangely.
“I mean, I was their prodigy. They were trying to create the perfect soldier and I wasn’t the only one. They made it sound all too easy to snatch girls out of orphanages and train them from a young age. So many before me had failed. We were reminded of the success rate every time we noticed a new girl with a new number. Another number for one they had to replace. They were so sure I would work. So they mixed their symbol, the web of a spider with a necklace my husband gave me in high school with an alien symbol on it and tattooed it along with my number on my neck.
‘Stasia was number 19. She was younger than me but had been in the program longer than I. She was the only one who could speak English. She was 10 years old and she was my best friend in there.
When I killed all those people in that room something occurred to me. They weren’t going to stop. It wouldn’t end with me. I’d leave and there’d be someone else to replace that which I took by morning time. And that’s when I realized they’d come after me. After all, I had seen things and done things that were inexcusable. I was a threat and I would have had to be eliminated. I started thinking about my family. They’d come after them for sure, and I couldn’t bear to bring that on them. I was so tired…I just wanted to live my life without having to look behind my back every five seconds.
So instead of just running away…I set the entire place on self destruct. The place exploded 5 minutes after I walked out. That’s what sent me into the water.
I didn’t even warn them. In a strange way…they were my sisters, my family. Upward of 30 girls and I killed them all. They didn’t do anything except being at the wrong place at the wrong time. ‘Stasia is dead and it’s my fault. I killed her. I killed them all.”
Oliver scoured his brain for something to say, anything, but he found nothing.
“That’s why. I didn’t just kill the bad guys. I ran from that place not giving a shit about anyone else in the world. No matter how many people I save…nothing will erase what I did. I’ve got to live with this for the rest of my life and it isn’t fair for me to bring this on someone else too.” She rose from the bench, taking her blanket with her. Scurrying quickly inside Liz found herself in the room she had snagged at the Kent house.
Oliver sat, frozen in place. He knew he shouldn’t have let her go like that, but what do you say? What would have been the right thing to say when he wasn’t even sure what to make of the situation? The girl had baggage. He had known that from the first time he met her. But he could have never imagined this.
What she did went against a moral code that he knew both of them possessed, but Oliver wasn’t sure that he could judge her. Putting himself in her shoes, would he have been able to do things differently?
All he knew is that she had just laid something really heavy on him and in the moment where he should have been there, reassuring her in some way that she wasn’t this evil person, he instead stood still, and did nothing.
He had let her walk away. And for the life of him, Oliver didn’t know if he had the strength to go after her.
************************************************
Morning came quickly and quietly. The news was turned on first thing and as the group slowly rose from slumber they scattered about the house, doing mindless things.
It wasn’t until noon that CNN had breaking news amiss the constant talk of economic strategy and recession bail-outs. An earthquake just south of San Francisco, a 2.5, had hit mere hours before. The occupants of the house had simply stared at one another, waiting for something to happen.
Liz made the first move, telling Maria to get in her car and drive quickly to Chloe’s, and not to stop for anything. The blonde girl clung to the smaller girl for a moment and promises were made to be careful and to call.
The other’s looked at Liz expectantly, as they all began to gear up.
“So…not to be impatient or anything but, what’s the next sign?” Dinah said, pulling her wig off her head.
“I don’t know.” Liz spoke, pulling both her knives out of their holsters.
“You don’t know? Impending doom and Alien invasion and you don’t know?” Bart exclaimed.
“No I don’t. That was all I got. Something’s off though…something…I don’t know…I’
m sorry.” She said, honestly.
“What do you mean something’s off?” Victor asked.
“The air around us…it’s…charged or something. Look, all I knew is that Khivar would come after Clark first. He doesn’t know about me. He knows nothing about you all except that you’re threats that will eventually need to be eliminated. We have the element of surprise here. He doesn’t know that we’ve banded together and he doesn’t know that we have this.” She claimed, holding the pyramid in the air. Her phone began playing its familiar ring and she reached to pick it up.
“Hello?”
“Be on the look out, something weird is going on.” Michael’s voice warned from the other end.
“Michael…what do you know?”
“Just that me and Iz woke up this morning after having the same dream about…you know who. All three of us feel like something is coming.”
“Something is coming, Michael. Khivar. In all his husk-wearing glory.” She dreaded his response.
“Wha—How do you know? Where’s Maria?”
“Maria is safe. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. He’s coming here to try and take over. It’s a long story, but we’ve got it covered.”
“WE? Who the hell is WE Parker? Why the fuck have you been keeping this from us? Where are you, we’re coming right now.”
“No, its better if you stay away. I’m going to neutralize all our powers, Michael. You wouldn’t be able to help you’d just be in more danger. Maria’s away and safe and I’ll call you when it’s all over. Be on the look out and be safe, okay? Bye.”
She didn’t stop to listen to his shouting, simply hung up the phone. Slowly she looked toward the group.
“Whatever is happening is going to happen soon.” She whispered.
“Well, I’m not just going to sit here like a duck, waiting. We have to do something! How did you trigger your vision the first time?” Dinah asked.
Clark and Liz looked to each other guiltily. “No. Sorry, Clark. Not gonna happen.”
“We’re on the same page there, Parker.”
The rest of the group, save Oliver looked confused as to what was going on.
“What about the meditation?” Oliver offered. “You said sometimes that clears things up?”
Liz nodded her head. “I could try. See if anything else comes to me or if I can’t reach out and get a location on one of them.”
The group nodded, satisfied that something would be done and then went about their preparations. Liz sat cross legged on the couch, hands on her knees. Oliver and Clark sat on either side of her, not sure what to wait for.
She inhaled slowly and then exhaled. Repeating the process she shut her eyes and felt her mind go blank.
The world around her faded away and she felt as if she were floating. She replayed the vision like a scene in a movie over and over again in her mind, finding herself frustrated when nothing new popped into the equation. Pushing the vision away for a moment, she began to search the area for any clues as to where Khivar was.
It was a dangerous move, she knew it. When you put yourself out there in the way she was doing, you leave yourself wide open. As far as she knew from her vision Khivar hadn’t planned on dealing with her for a while yet. There was a chance he could sense her and then after that she was fair game.
She scanned out for anything that was abnormal. Feeling a slight twinge in the back of her mind, she felt her breath leave her as she was pulled out of her calm state. The scene was blurry. She knew she was still in her mind, but now there was a fog about her, as she found herself in a room that looked like a normal living room, one that she had not created. She was not alone.
“You know, I underestimated you greatly.” A deep voice greeted her and she was on guard instantly. “Your powers at least. It seems as though our great, late king gave you a little more than he let on.”
“Show yourself, Khivar.” She bit out, waving her hand to clear the fog.
“Oh that’s not nice…” A tall man appeared out of the clearing fog. “I was going for a bit of affect and now you ruined my fun.”
He was attractive. Devastatingly so. If she didn’t hate this man with everything she had in her she would’ve found herself giving him a second glance as she passed him on the street. Sandy brown hair and perfect cheek bones, wide brown eyes and a shining smile. They always had said that Lucifer was a beautiful angel, before he fell.
He noticed her perusal of his body. “Like the new suit? The old one was okay, I guess. Had a problem with that pesky human inhabiting the inside. This one’s all mine. Mine to do as I please for 50 years at least, and even then, I’m sure the new one will be ready.”
“What the hell do you want Khivar? To destroy my planet like you did Max’s?”
“Let’s not be confused as to who destroyed what, little girl. Your precious Zan killed his planet all on his own. I’ve been merely trying to save what was left. Now that that’s impossible, I think it fitting to take residence in the place our former ruler called home.”
“Why us? You’re kind can’t even survive here…how are you even going to be able to live?”
“Oh I think you already know the answer to that question. You know, it’s a daunting task I find myself with. Kal-el is strong, his people were smart. Our people do not yet know the extent of a Kryptonian’s powers, only that Kal-el’s father provided him with a strong power source than can change the entire world in the blink of an eye. I was dreading having to fight Kal-el over it. But…now that I know you’re going to be there, it makes it a little more fun. Really, honey.” He leaned in close and she felt his breath on her neck. “Do you really think the two of you can take me on?”
“Why don’t you come find out?” She wanted nothing more than to lunge at him but found herself frozen in place.
He only laughed. “Zan chose quite a wife in you, darling. Too bad I’ll have to kill you. And you’re new friend. What is he known as here? Clark, is it? Well. I’ll enjoy watching him come apart in my hands as I did your husband. I think I’ll take him quietly, in that little farm house he loves so much. First your continent, then Europe, I think. The rest of the world will fall after that. Presto change-o. New kingdom for me. This time I’ll keep you awake, hmm? When I kill Clark. You were out cold when I killed your darling Maxwell.” He smiled to himself.
“Oh, how he cried and begged. ‘Please don’t hurt her, leave her alone!’.” Khivar mimicked.
He laughed as Liz struggled against her invisible bonds.
“I’ll be the one to kill you Khivar. You got me, you sonofabitch?” She bit out.
He smiled and shook his head. “Promises, promises. We will see each other soon enough. Now…” He turned and brought his hands to her head. “Let’s see what you’ve got in store for me.”
She screamed and felt everything explode in her mind.
The entire Kent house sprang into action as Liz screamed out in her meditative state. She collapsed to the ground, Oliver and Clark both reaching for her, pulling her back up. When she rose she was covered in sweat, a small trickle of blood dripping from her nose.
“Liz! Are you okay?” Oliver felt her face, concerned.
“I didn’t let him see, I didn’t let him see…” She cried out.
“See what?” AC’s nervous voice asked from behind the couch.
Oliver cradled her to his body. “Hey, shh its okay I’ve got you…what happened? What did you see?”
Her tired eyes rose slowly to meet his. She managed to make out two words before her world went black again.
“He’s coming.”
) Ps. No idea if there is a name for Liz/Ollie. If there is, let me know. Chapter 9
A Base camp of sorts had been set up at the Kent Farmhouse in preparation for what was to come. The group figured collectively that with everyone in one central location it would be harder for their enemies to catch any of them alone. Couches were made into beds and air mattresses were set up where ever there was clear floor.
Now they waited.
Maria had insisted upon coming along, at least until there was any imperative danger. After that she would stay far away, checking in every hour by way of text. For now, she was seated Indian-style on the floor, laughing at Bart who had taken to hitting on her, as Chloe was staying at her own home.
Dinah was taking a nap in the guest room which she immediately snagged upon arrival, and the rest of the boys were gathered in the kitchen talking strategy. Liz’s eyes met Oliver’s for a quick moment before she turned away. She hadn’t spoken much to anyone since leaving the apartment, especially not Ollie. Slowly she began to walk outside, the sun mostly set, leaving a medium blue tint to everything.
“So you’ve been avoiding me.” Oliver’s voice startled her.
“What? No I haven’t.” She denied.
“Yes you have.” Oliver nodded. “Since we left your place. Not a word, a glance, nothing. So what is it?”
“Ollie…”
“Don’t you Ollie me. Talk to me.”
“Look, I had a lot of fun last night…and today…but…”
Oliver threw his head back and almost laughed at the situation. Shaking his head he turned toward the door.
Liz’s voice stopped him.
“You don’t want to get involved with me, Oliver. I’m…I’m just …” She said, falling into the nearest bench.
“Fucked up? Yeah.” He agreed. “But guess what? So am I. And so is everyone else in that room. So if you’re making excuses, I’d look for a better one.”
“I’m not trying to make excuses…”
“Is this about the dreams you have?”
Her head shot up in surprise and met his eyes.
“Cause I do hear you. Who’s Anastasia? Is she the blonde haired girl?” He crossed his arms waiting for an answer.
“I…I—.” She stuttered.
“I went over all the reports from that fire, Liz. There was no girl matching that description living in that building. In fact, aside from the Mother and Son we saved, the majority of tenants are college kids and senior citizens.”
“I can’t…”
“Yeah. I figured. Well. When you can, you know where I’ll be.” Oliver said sadly, as he returned inside.
Liz sat in silence for a moment or two, wrapping her own arms around herself as the air got colder. A familiar voice interrupted her silent thought.
“Lizzie?” Maria’s head popped out from the door frame. “Oliver said you had something to tell me?”
She sighed to herself and patted the spot on the bench next to her. If Oliver was right about anything, it was that it was time. It was time that Maria knew the truth.
*******************************************
It was hours before Maria had let Liz get through the entire story, void of some of the more gruesome details. Maria had felt badly for her friend, and had tried to find a way to shoulder some of the blame, but Liz gave her no reason to. What had happened, happened, and there were no re-do’s or erasing it. Both girls left the conversation with a better understanding of one another and Liz found herself wondering what she had been so scared of.
Most everyone had gone to bed, but Liz remained in her thoughts, sipping a cup of hot tea. She watched as stars seemed to fall across the sky, some quickly and some slowly. It would have been a beautiful thing if it didn’t signify the approaching danger.
She was in the same spot as he had left her in. Neither of them made a sound as he came to sit next to her, staring out into the darkness.
“I realized today that you’ve told me a lot about yourself that not a lot of other people get to know. I realized that you are trying, and it’s not easy. You should know some things about me. My parents died when I was young, but they were leaving me way before then. Every person I’ve ever loved has in some way or another walked away from me, and it scares me that everyone I will ever know will do the same. So I push people to get them to either leave before I’m attached or so that I have an excuse not to stick around. I drown myself in my cause because it’s the only thing that will be constant. There will always be bad in the world, but as long as I’m fighting it I don’t have to think about the people that have left me. It’s my distraction and that’s why it means so much. As long as there are bad things happening the world, something needs me, and that’s really all I’ve ever wanted.”
He finished by standing, signifying that he had said what he needed to and now would retire inside.
She stopped him with a hand on his wrist.
“If I tell you this…you’ll hate me. Everyone will.” She spoke, convinced of herself.
“You don’t know that.”
She closed her eyes for a moment, a lifetime of images playing across her mind. Platinum hair and ice blue eyes burned into her skull.
“I lied to you, about how I left the organization.”
He sat next to her again, intrigued by her confession.
“I…I did jump of the cliff. And I did kill everyone in the room…but…” She pursed her lips, wondering where the beginning really was. “You’ve seen my tattoo, right?” She said, lifting her hair to reveal it again. “The organization’s idea of a joke. The other girls had them in the same spot, but just the number.”
Oliver looked at her strangely.
“I mean, I was their prodigy. They were trying to create the perfect soldier and I wasn’t the only one. They made it sound all too easy to snatch girls out of orphanages and train them from a young age. So many before me had failed. We were reminded of the success rate every time we noticed a new girl with a new number. Another number for one they had to replace. They were so sure I would work. So they mixed their symbol, the web of a spider with a necklace my husband gave me in high school with an alien symbol on it and tattooed it along with my number on my neck.
‘Stasia was number 19. She was younger than me but had been in the program longer than I. She was the only one who could speak English. She was 10 years old and she was my best friend in there.
When I killed all those people in that room something occurred to me. They weren’t going to stop. It wouldn’t end with me. I’d leave and there’d be someone else to replace that which I took by morning time. And that’s when I realized they’d come after me. After all, I had seen things and done things that were inexcusable. I was a threat and I would have had to be eliminated. I started thinking about my family. They’d come after them for sure, and I couldn’t bear to bring that on them. I was so tired…I just wanted to live my life without having to look behind my back every five seconds.
So instead of just running away…I set the entire place on self destruct. The place exploded 5 minutes after I walked out. That’s what sent me into the water.
I didn’t even warn them. In a strange way…they were my sisters, my family. Upward of 30 girls and I killed them all. They didn’t do anything except being at the wrong place at the wrong time. ‘Stasia is dead and it’s my fault. I killed her. I killed them all.”
Oliver scoured his brain for something to say, anything, but he found nothing.
“That’s why. I didn’t just kill the bad guys. I ran from that place not giving a shit about anyone else in the world. No matter how many people I save…nothing will erase what I did. I’ve got to live with this for the rest of my life and it isn’t fair for me to bring this on someone else too.” She rose from the bench, taking her blanket with her. Scurrying quickly inside Liz found herself in the room she had snagged at the Kent house.
Oliver sat, frozen in place. He knew he shouldn’t have let her go like that, but what do you say? What would have been the right thing to say when he wasn’t even sure what to make of the situation? The girl had baggage. He had known that from the first time he met her. But he could have never imagined this.
What she did went against a moral code that he knew both of them possessed, but Oliver wasn’t sure that he could judge her. Putting himself in her shoes, would he have been able to do things differently?
All he knew is that she had just laid something really heavy on him and in the moment where he should have been there, reassuring her in some way that she wasn’t this evil person, he instead stood still, and did nothing.
He had let her walk away. And for the life of him, Oliver didn’t know if he had the strength to go after her.
************************************************
Morning came quickly and quietly. The news was turned on first thing and as the group slowly rose from slumber they scattered about the house, doing mindless things.
It wasn’t until noon that CNN had breaking news amiss the constant talk of economic strategy and recession bail-outs. An earthquake just south of San Francisco, a 2.5, had hit mere hours before. The occupants of the house had simply stared at one another, waiting for something to happen.
Liz made the first move, telling Maria to get in her car and drive quickly to Chloe’s, and not to stop for anything. The blonde girl clung to the smaller girl for a moment and promises were made to be careful and to call.
The other’s looked at Liz expectantly, as they all began to gear up.
“So…not to be impatient or anything but, what’s the next sign?” Dinah said, pulling her wig off her head.
“I don’t know.” Liz spoke, pulling both her knives out of their holsters.
“You don’t know? Impending doom and Alien invasion and you don’t know?” Bart exclaimed.
“No I don’t. That was all I got. Something’s off though…something…I don’t know…I’
m sorry.” She said, honestly.
“What do you mean something’s off?” Victor asked.
“The air around us…it’s…charged or something. Look, all I knew is that Khivar would come after Clark first. He doesn’t know about me. He knows nothing about you all except that you’re threats that will eventually need to be eliminated. We have the element of surprise here. He doesn’t know that we’ve banded together and he doesn’t know that we have this.” She claimed, holding the pyramid in the air. Her phone began playing its familiar ring and she reached to pick it up.
“Hello?”
“Be on the look out, something weird is going on.” Michael’s voice warned from the other end.
“Michael…what do you know?”
“Just that me and Iz woke up this morning after having the same dream about…you know who. All three of us feel like something is coming.”
“Something is coming, Michael. Khivar. In all his husk-wearing glory.” She dreaded his response.
“Wha—How do you know? Where’s Maria?”
“Maria is safe. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. He’s coming here to try and take over. It’s a long story, but we’ve got it covered.”
“WE? Who the hell is WE Parker? Why the fuck have you been keeping this from us? Where are you, we’re coming right now.”
“No, its better if you stay away. I’m going to neutralize all our powers, Michael. You wouldn’t be able to help you’d just be in more danger. Maria’s away and safe and I’ll call you when it’s all over. Be on the look out and be safe, okay? Bye.”
She didn’t stop to listen to his shouting, simply hung up the phone. Slowly she looked toward the group.
“Whatever is happening is going to happen soon.” She whispered.
“Well, I’m not just going to sit here like a duck, waiting. We have to do something! How did you trigger your vision the first time?” Dinah asked.
Clark and Liz looked to each other guiltily. “No. Sorry, Clark. Not gonna happen.”
“We’re on the same page there, Parker.”
The rest of the group, save Oliver looked confused as to what was going on.
“What about the meditation?” Oliver offered. “You said sometimes that clears things up?”
Liz nodded her head. “I could try. See if anything else comes to me or if I can’t reach out and get a location on one of them.”
The group nodded, satisfied that something would be done and then went about their preparations. Liz sat cross legged on the couch, hands on her knees. Oliver and Clark sat on either side of her, not sure what to wait for.
She inhaled slowly and then exhaled. Repeating the process she shut her eyes and felt her mind go blank.
The world around her faded away and she felt as if she were floating. She replayed the vision like a scene in a movie over and over again in her mind, finding herself frustrated when nothing new popped into the equation. Pushing the vision away for a moment, she began to search the area for any clues as to where Khivar was.
It was a dangerous move, she knew it. When you put yourself out there in the way she was doing, you leave yourself wide open. As far as she knew from her vision Khivar hadn’t planned on dealing with her for a while yet. There was a chance he could sense her and then after that she was fair game.
She scanned out for anything that was abnormal. Feeling a slight twinge in the back of her mind, she felt her breath leave her as she was pulled out of her calm state. The scene was blurry. She knew she was still in her mind, but now there was a fog about her, as she found herself in a room that looked like a normal living room, one that she had not created. She was not alone.
“You know, I underestimated you greatly.” A deep voice greeted her and she was on guard instantly. “Your powers at least. It seems as though our great, late king gave you a little more than he let on.”
“Show yourself, Khivar.” She bit out, waving her hand to clear the fog.
“Oh that’s not nice…” A tall man appeared out of the clearing fog. “I was going for a bit of affect and now you ruined my fun.”
He was attractive. Devastatingly so. If she didn’t hate this man with everything she had in her she would’ve found herself giving him a second glance as she passed him on the street. Sandy brown hair and perfect cheek bones, wide brown eyes and a shining smile. They always had said that Lucifer was a beautiful angel, before he fell.
He noticed her perusal of his body. “Like the new suit? The old one was okay, I guess. Had a problem with that pesky human inhabiting the inside. This one’s all mine. Mine to do as I please for 50 years at least, and even then, I’m sure the new one will be ready.”
“What the hell do you want Khivar? To destroy my planet like you did Max’s?”
“Let’s not be confused as to who destroyed what, little girl. Your precious Zan killed his planet all on his own. I’ve been merely trying to save what was left. Now that that’s impossible, I think it fitting to take residence in the place our former ruler called home.”
“Why us? You’re kind can’t even survive here…how are you even going to be able to live?”
“Oh I think you already know the answer to that question. You know, it’s a daunting task I find myself with. Kal-el is strong, his people were smart. Our people do not yet know the extent of a Kryptonian’s powers, only that Kal-el’s father provided him with a strong power source than can change the entire world in the blink of an eye. I was dreading having to fight Kal-el over it. But…now that I know you’re going to be there, it makes it a little more fun. Really, honey.” He leaned in close and she felt his breath on her neck. “Do you really think the two of you can take me on?”
“Why don’t you come find out?” She wanted nothing more than to lunge at him but found herself frozen in place.
He only laughed. “Zan chose quite a wife in you, darling. Too bad I’ll have to kill you. And you’re new friend. What is he known as here? Clark, is it? Well. I’ll enjoy watching him come apart in my hands as I did your husband. I think I’ll take him quietly, in that little farm house he loves so much. First your continent, then Europe, I think. The rest of the world will fall after that. Presto change-o. New kingdom for me. This time I’ll keep you awake, hmm? When I kill Clark. You were out cold when I killed your darling Maxwell.” He smiled to himself.
“Oh, how he cried and begged. ‘Please don’t hurt her, leave her alone!’.” Khivar mimicked.
He laughed as Liz struggled against her invisible bonds.
“I’ll be the one to kill you Khivar. You got me, you sonofabitch?” She bit out.
He smiled and shook his head. “Promises, promises. We will see each other soon enough. Now…” He turned and brought his hands to her head. “Let’s see what you’ve got in store for me.”
She screamed and felt everything explode in her mind.
The entire Kent house sprang into action as Liz screamed out in her meditative state. She collapsed to the ground, Oliver and Clark both reaching for her, pulling her back up. When she rose she was covered in sweat, a small trickle of blood dripping from her nose.
“Liz! Are you okay?” Oliver felt her face, concerned.
“I didn’t let him see, I didn’t let him see…” She cried out.
“See what?” AC’s nervous voice asked from behind the couch.
Oliver cradled her to his body. “Hey, shh its okay I’ve got you…what happened? What did you see?”
Her tired eyes rose slowly to meet his. She managed to make out two words before her world went black again.
“He’s coming.”
Love is not a victory march. Its a cold, and its a broken Hallelujah. -Leonard Cohen