Déjà Vu
Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Lightening flashed in Chloe’s brain, images appearing and disappearing at random. She thought she heard voices from far away, echoing in her mind.
“Raise the amplitude, I’m not getting an accurate reading.”
She cried out in pain, whether aloud or in her mind, she couldn’t tell. It was all some horrible nightmare. More images fast-forwarding through her brain, faces, events, places. Oliver, Clark, Lois, Lana, but their faces were distorted grotesquely, and their hands reached for her menacingly. She was prom queen, graduation, the second meteor shower, the Daily Planet, Queen Tower, the Kent farm, the Talon, but they were all twisted, and shrouded in eerie darkness.
“Raise it higher!”
“But doctor…”
“Do it!”
Chloe screamed in terror. Excruciating pain unlike anything she’d ever felt before coursed through her entire being, emotional, mental, physical all surging through her at once, horrendous pain and incredible fright, and grief so deep it seemed to reach into her soul, and tear her apart.
“Something’s happening doctor!”
“Oh my God!
“It’s radiating from her entire body!”
“Shield your eyes from the light!”
“What the hell is happening!?”
“Shut it down, shut it down!”
Sparks popped and flew from expensive equipment, then bursting and erupting into flames. And then it ended abruptly. She felt nothing, and she was weightless, floating, suspended, lost.
When Chloe awoke, she was dizzy and nauseous. Wires were attached to her everywhere, she was hooked up to several monitors; it felt as though a freight train had been driven through her skull, and she found herself strapped to the bed. She felt drained, hollow, lifeless.
Dr. Benson entered the room. “I think that went well, don’t you?” he smirked.
“Who are you?” she demanded weakly, barely able to lift her head. “Why am I in a hospital?”
“My name is Dr. Benson. I specialize in the treatment of meteor-infected victims.”
“I’m not meteor-infected.” Chloe said faintly.
“Oh come now, Ms. Sullivan, please. We both know that you are, and that you possess a unique healing ability.”
Chloe looked up at him in disbelief, fighting through the cobwebs in her brain. “No. You’re wrong, I’m not. It’s not… possible.”
The doctor took a moment to scrutinize her, wondering. “Tell me Ms. Sullivan, what did you do yesterday?”
Her brows furrowed in concentration. “Yesterday?” Chloe shifted tiredly against the pillow, agonizing over the question for long moments. “I-I don’t remember.” She shook her head as though trying to clear it, she blinked several times in rapid succession. “What day is today?”
“It’s Tuesday.”
“I don’t know, went to work I guess.”
“At the ISIS Foundation.” The doctor took note of her listlessness and apparent confusion.
“The ISIS Foundation? I’ve never heard of it. At the Daily Planet. I’m an intern there.”
“Excuse me, Ms. Sullivan. I’ll be back in a moment.”
“No! I have to get out of here. I want to go home. There’s been some mistake, I shouldn’t be here. Where’s Lois, and… and Clark? Are they here?”
He patted her hand, smiling indulgently. “All of your questions will be answered soon, dear. Very soon.” Dr. Benson then left the room.
Chloe didn’t have the strength to struggle against the bonds. Her head pounded, her brain foggy. She couldn’t remember how she’d ended up in a hospital, and fought to grasp for any memory, but she couldn’t remember what she’d done recently or where she’d been. She suddenly felt more drained and exhausted than before, and her eyelids drooped.
* * * * *
Lex stood anxiously out in the hallway, his anger rising as he waited for the doctor to exit Chloe’s room. Something went horribly wrong during the experiment, and he wanted answers. As soon as the door closed, Lex strode toward him. “I want to know exactly what happened during the procedure, doctor.”
“I don’t know, Mr. Luthor,” Dr. Benson said, pushing his glasses up with a forefinger. “But, I have a theory, and I’m afraid you’re not going to like it.”
“Try me.”
The doctor cleared his throat. “First of all, our equipment has been damaged beyond repair. It may take weeks to get everything in working order once again. Secondly, it is my belief, that when we tried to increase our efforts to access brain functioning, and possibly her ability, her body went into overdrive so to speak, in order to protect her from any outside invasion.”
“And? What does that mean?”
“It appears that her body will fight off any attempt we make, not just physically but mentally as well. Ms. Sullivan seems to have lost portions of her memory, possibly a defense mechanism brought on by our experiment, her ability’s way of protecting her.”
“She’s fooling you doctor, I know Chloe. And even if she’s lost her memory, she still possesses a very valuable ability.”
“True, but what if she doesn’t remember how to utilize her power? If she’s unaware that she has it, and doesn’t recall how to use it, she’s not as valuable, now is she?”
Lex strode purposefully toward the room where Chloe was kept. “Well there’s one way to find out, now isn’t there?”
“Mr. Luthor.” Lex paused, his hand on the doorknob, waiting for the doctor to continue. “Allow me to perform more tests of her ability and her memory. She’s not quite coherent. Let’s give it a day or so and see if she remembers anything, or can call upon her ability.”
Lex hesitated.
“Believe me, Mr. Luthor. I want to harness her powers just as much as you do, and I’m not afraid to do so by any means necessary, but she’s not of much use to us at the moment.”
“Two days. That’s all you have,” Lex warned and then turned away.
* * * * *
“Dude, you need to shave. The whole beard and moustache thing is just not you. I dunno, something about it just doesn’t scream billionaire crime fighter to me. Next thing you know, you’ll be smoking a pipe, wearing turtleneck sweaters and spouting off about the role of anthropomorphic gods in Homer’s Iliad.”
He looked up from his computer as Bart entered the penthouse. Oliver had been engrossed in searching for what they believed to be another facility owned by Luthorcorp. They’d speculated that perhaps it was where Chloe was being kept, but they could find no information about its location. He ran a hand over his face, fingers absently stroking the short facial hair growth, staring out through the large windows of the penthouse that overlooked Metropolis. He couldn’t help but wonder what Chloe would think of his newly forming beard. She’d always said his scruffy stubble was sexy, but he hadn’t thought to shave at all since her disappearance over a week ago and now it was a bit beyond scruff. She probably wouldn’t like it, since it would hide the dimple in his chin that she seemed to love so much, and took the occasional stealthy opportunity to lick or kiss when he wasn’t paying attention. He pretended that it annoyed him to no end, but in truth he didn’t mind when she did it, and he’d give anything right now to have her here, and let her lick and nibble and kiss his dimple to her heart’s content.
A heaviness centered in his chest as his thoughts wandered. He’d been doing that a lot. Wondering what she’d do, or think, or say at any given moment. Wishing he could tell her something, wanting to call her, ask her about something. God he missed her so much, and every day that passed was another day further from her, another day without her. He must have relived the last moments he was with her over and over in his mind a thousand times. The movie they never watched, her laughter as he carried her to his room over his shoulder, her whispered words as he made love to her. She was somewhere, waiting for him, and they’d found nothing. She’d disappeared without a trace, and every day that he didn’t find her, he was letting her down…
“Ollie.” Bart noted the pained faraway expression on his boss’s face. In truth he was worried. Oliver looked haggard and worn. He wasn’t sleeping or eating much, spending most of his time on patrols looking for any clue as to Chloe’s whereabouts, or having Victor decode encrypted information, and then spending hours poring through it searching for any hint of where she may have been taken. But now he might have a lead, something to give his boss hope. “Ollie.”
“Uh… Yeah, I’ll shave later,” he shrugged, as he came back from wherever he was. “You’ve read Homer?”
Bart waved it off, “Long time ago, in like two minutes, but no. Listen. I said I heard something today. Might be a lead.” Bart sat down, a glass of orange juice in his hand.
Oliver hadn’t even noticed he’d gone into the kitchen, but now Bart had his undivided attention. “What did you hear?”
“I was just hanging out, you know like I do sometimes. Some dudes, about my age, talking. One guy saying some friend of a friend of his made a thousand bucks, letting someone slash his arm, and then going to see a lady that healed him instantly.”
Oliver rose from his seat. “When did you hear this?”
“Just now. I came here right afterward.”
“You think you can find this guy?”
“I’m already on it. Got my feelers out there.”
“Good work, Bart. Sure you can trust these guys?”
A sly grin appeared on Bart’s face, as he set down his juice. “If they want these back, they’ll come through.” He pulled out several wallets, some of them stuffed with cash.
Oliver gave him a look of admonishment, yet couldn’t help but grin.
“I still got the touch,” Bart sang, proud of his talents, as he gazed admiringly at his recent acquisitions.
“Just don’t get your ass kicked.”
“No worries boss. They’ll find this guy for us, just wait.”
Sure enough, Bart’s friends came through. And later that night Impulse and the Green Arrow paid the unsuspecting Kyle a visit. They’d dragged him into a secluded alley, and they’d gotten him to confess, with a little encouragement of course, that he’d been approached by a rich bald guy. Heck, he needed the money for his band since the equipment they were using was old. The rich dude only wanted him to go into ISIS and talk to the woman there who ran the place. She was a hot little blonde, nice curvy body with a great ass that he wouldn’t mind tapping, okay the big guy in green didn’t seem to like that comment and tightened his grip on Kyle’s throat till he choked for breath, lifting him right off his feet, and flattening him against the brick wall.
The bald guy said he’d cut him, but that the woman would heal him, and if she couldn’t, he’d double the money and pay for stitches. Sure enough though, she touched his arm, and it was the most incredible thing he’d ever seen. His wound was gone completely like it was never there. He left and showed his arm to the dude in the limo and that was it. Kyle begged for the large green dude to let him go, and only after the smaller guy in red convinced him, he loosened his grip. He thought green leather guy would kill him, and Kyle was relieved when he finally released him.
“Let me have this one, boss,” the guy in red said. And then Kyle was spun around until he couldn’t see straight or even stand upright, and then the red dude’s fist connected with his face, and Kyle was left in the alley in a heap along with the rest of the garbage.
* * * * *
Lex would come to visit her every day. He’d bring flowers or books, or coffee for her. She didn’t trust him completely, but as of right now, it appeared he was her only friend. Who’d have thought that would ever happen? It hurt deeply that neither Clark nor Lois had come to see her. Chloe was depressed and antsy, needing to get out of this place. She was tired of the tests, and things they’d ask her to do or to remember. She wanted to go home, but she wasn’t certain now where home was.
She’d been in an accident, Lex had told her, and she’d been unconscious for a long time. When she awoke physical wounds had healed, but she’d lost portions of her memory, and Lex had been filling her in, answering every question she fired at him patiently, trying to help her regain what she’d lost. Some things were difficult to accept, and she wasn’t certain she believed everything he told her, but the absence of people she thought were her loved ones cut her to the core. She didn’t think Lex was being entirely truthful, but since she couldn’t trust her own mind to recall much, Chloe spent most of her days floundering in confusion, not knowing what to think or believe, or who to trust. If there was one person in the world she could trust it was Clark, but apparently now even he’d abandoned her.
She’d gotten fired from the Daily Planet over a year ago, and how she’d not remember something like that she couldn’t fathom. She couldn’t think of one possible thing she’d have done to lose her job, and Lex simply told her that there was new management, and they’d made lots of personnel changes. Then he told her that Clark had taken on a job there and now was working alongside Lois, showing her a recent edition of the paper containing a small article on page eighty-four with Clark’s byline as proof. Clark hadn’t even finished college, yet somehow he was at the Planet, probably at her desk right now. It boggled the mind further. She spent her nights crying in frustration over the loss of memories, and the concept of time, the loss of friends, the loss of her old life, and she sank further into despair with every passing day.
“Hey.”
Lex’s soft voice roused her from her reverie, as he entered the room, bearing a large Styrofoam cup of coffee for her. Chloe set down the book she wasn’t reading anyway. “Hey.”
She wasn’t looking well. Dark circles under her eyes, her skin pale and thin, stretched over the bones of her face. Lex had finally come to believe that she indeed had amnesia, and had been spending time with her daily. Her ability had not reappeared however, and this concerned him. But all was not lost, and another idea grew from the unfortunate side effects of the original experiments. Chloe was an intelligent woman, she’d always been a worthy adversary, one to be admired, albeit begrudgingly. It occurred to him that she’d make a worthy ally as well, and so he’d set about manipulating her surroundings, visiting her every day to gain her trust, convincing her that he was probably just about the only friend she had left. He didn’t think she trusted him fully, but it was time to take the next step.
“I’ve got some good news,” he said, handing her the cup.
“What’s that?”
“Doc says you get out today.”
She brightened considerably at this. “Really?” She smiled. “I need to find Clark.”
“Chloe,” Lex began gently. “That’s probably not a good idea.”
“Why not, I’m going to ream him a new one for not even coming to visit me.”
“Remember when I told you that things were different between the two of you?”
“Yes, but Clark’s my friend, he always will be.”
“Things have changed Chloe.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“He never forgave you for working against him with my father, or working with me, helping me get my father imprisoned.”
Chloe’s face changed, turning into a mask of confusion. “But…but he did. I know he did. He forgave me.”
“No Chloe. He didn’t, and now he and Lois are spending a lot of time together, they’ve forgotten about you, you’ve been gone a long time. We’ve gone over this before, and I know you don’t want to believe it, but it’s true.”
Tears sprang to her eyes. “No! I don’t believe that. They love me, they wouldn’t just abandon me!”
“Look.” Lex handed her some photographs, digital date stamped on them from two days ago.
Tears clouded her vision, and she wiped at her eyes hastily, viewing the images. It was Lois and Clark and they were in front of the Daily Planet building, laughing and joking and wearing flirtatious expressions. One photograph had Clark’s arm placed casually around Lois’s shoulder. It could have been a friendly gesture and nothing more, but Chloe imagined something else was happening there.
“I know this is hard for you Chloe, and I know you don’t trust me. I’m not going to ask for your trust, but I’m offering you my friendship, and I want to help you get back on your feet again, help you get your life back. You did help me once after all.”
Chloe sniffled, brushing the tears away from her eyes. She didn’t speak.
Lex continued, his tone calm, his voice smooth. “You are welcome to stay at the mansion, continue treatments until you regain your memory, then you are free to go and do whatever you please.”
“What’s the catch?” she sniffed, her breath stuttering as her tears subsided.
Lex smiled indulgently. “No catch. Maybe just help me out with some Luthorcorp business, put your research skills to work. It’ll help you get back into the swing of things, and give you something to do while we work on getting your memories back.”
Chloe didn’t know what to do. Confusion seemed to be her normal state of mind. But the prospect of getting out of the hospital, and doing some real work was tempting, and she was out of options now apparently. Maybe she’d try to contact Clark at some point, find out what happened, but all the evidence pointed to the fact that she’d lost touch with him. Some part of her didn’t believe it, but what else was there to think?
She lifted tear-glazed eyes to Lex who waited expectantly for her answer. “Okay,” she whispered.
End Chapter 4
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