Twist of Fate 12/?

[luminare91]

Title: Twist of Fate
Summary: Oliver finds himself at Smallville High were he meets Chloe and discovers the world of Meta-humans. But will his newfound happiness be threatened by the presence of an old enemy?
Rating: PG-13 (Mostly for mild language and violence in later chapters, I don't see it going any further, but if it does, the rating will change accordingly)
Warning: This is mostly AU. I plan to work in as much from the series as I can, but the timeline is completely mine and character ages have been changed as I see fit. Oliver's only a year older than Chloe in this. She already knows about Clark's powers. And Lois is living with Chloe.
Relationships: Chlollie, Clois (just a teeny, tiny bit)
Previous Chapters: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11

Banner by 552158 

 

Chapter 12

It had been almost a month since Lex had mentioned his desire to see Oliver suffer. But Veronica hadn’t forgotten. No, she’d studied her enemy, looking for the one thing that would make Chloe leave Oliver and break his heart in the process.
   
Veronica had quickly discovered that, despite her earlier insecurities, spreading rumors of Oliver’s supposed infidelity when he was in Star City or reminding her of the other women he’d dated, wasn’t going to be enough to make Chloe leave him. Oliver had done an excellent job of proving himself. No matter. It had only taken a few short weeks to figure out what Chloe’s Achilles heel was when it came to their relationship.
   
It had been a stroke of luck really. Oliver had gotten hurt after being attacked by one of the many special people that seemed to live in Smallville. He’d been in the hospital for several hours getting cuts and bruises tended to, before it was decided that he would remain overnight for observation. It hadn’t been that bad really. But Chloe had fretted over him like some old mother hen. Curious, Veronica had done a little eavesdropping.
   
Chloe was sitting beside Oliver’s bed. He was asleep and Chloe was close to being the same. But every time her head dropped, falling from her hand, she started, and sat up with a jerk, determined to stay awake. The sixth time it happened, she started so violently the chair shifted slightly, squeaking against the tiles, waking Oliver.
   
He sighed at the sight of his girlfriend. “Go home, Chloe,” he said gently. “I’m fine. The maniac is in Belle Reeve and you look exhausted.”
   
“I’m not leaving.” Chloe stifled a yawn as she spoke.
   
“Seriously, as awesome as it is that you’d sit by my bedside you need to get some sleep and we both know you won’t get any in that chair.”
   
“I’ll be fine,” Chloe said stubbornly.
   
Oliver pursed his lips and pushed himself up, grunting slightly as the movement pulled at his bruised ribs.
   
“You shouldn’t be doing that,” Chloe admonished.
   
“Just like you shouldn’t be worrying so much,” Oliver snapped. “Or blaming yourself. We have this conversation every time I get hurt. I knew what I was getting into when we started going out. And don’t forget, I’m the one that volunteered to help you and Clark track down the freaks.”
   
“Because you wanted to be part of my life,” she interjected miserably. “And of the two of us, I’m the one that attracts the homicidal weirdos. The only reason you got hurt is because you were trying to help me.”
   
“Chloe, I made that choice.” He reached over and took her hand. “It’s not your fault. If you want to blame anyone, blame the guy that threw me into a wall, again. Living is Smallville is dangerous and you know that. Being around you doesn’t change that.”
   
“Yeah, but--”
   
“I don’t want to hear it! Chloe, because of you, I’m not out there being an idiot, doing stupid stuff just to feel something. I’m not out there picking fights and throwing my life away. I got hurt more often when I was still at Excelsior. Believe me, you’re keeping me out of trouble.”
   
She scowled at him. “Says the man in a hospital bed.”
   
“Chloe,” he groaned. “It’s not that bad. They only reason they’re keeping me is because I might have a concussion and because you were freaking out. If you hadn’t forced Clark to bring me here, we could be at my place, watching a movie and having a quiet evening together.”
   
“I’d rather spend the night uncomfortable and know that you will make up in the morning, than cuddle on the couch and find out that you did have a concussion and something happened during night.”
   
“You are paranoid,” Oliver chuckled. “But it’s one of the many things that I like about you, so I’m not really complaining. But if you don’t stop blaming yourself for all of this,” he gestured at himself and the bruises that were visible on his arms, “I’m not going to speak to you for a week.”
   
Chloe sighed. She knew she was being ridiculous, but she couldn’t help feel guilty. Mustering a small smile, she nodded. “All right.”
   
“Good,” Oliver said. He patted the bed beside him. “Now get up here. I’m injured and my girlfriend is too far away.”
   

Giggling lightly, Chloe sat on the bed beside him and gently laid down beside him, resting her head on his shoulder, careful of the many bruises he’d received. Oliver huffed in annoyance at the good two inches between their bodies and pulled her closer, so that they were pressed together. Chloe raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything.
   
Outside, Veronica smirked viciously. So that was her weakness. Veronica had always known that Chloe had an uncanny ability to get involved in the strange things that happened in Smallville and that she was fiercely protective of her friends. It only mades sense that when Oliver got caught in the cross fire, she would feel guilty. That was definitely something Veronica could use. And she had just the plan.

--------------------------------------------------------
  
Sighing heavily, Chloe trudged down the steps of Smallville High. It was late on the Friday before Spring Break. Everyone else had been gone the absolute instant the bell rang. But not her. Mysterious fires had been creeping up around Smallville for the past couple of weeks, ever since Oliver had gotten out of the hospital the last time they’d dealt with a meteor freak. They weren’t anything to worry about for the most part. No one had gotten hurt and very little damage had been done to property and crops. The weather had been unseasonably dry and hot. Everyone seemed to think that the fires were just accidents.
   
The only problem was, Chloe was not everyone. Something was off. She just knew it in the pit of her stomach. It was the same feeling she got whenever she was on the trail of a meteor freak. When she’d confronted Clark a week ago, he’d agreed and so they two of them had been looking into it. Oliver was usually the one that helped her with the research while Clark went and tracked down leads since he was the indestructible one of the group, but with Ollie back in Star City for an early Spring Break, learning how to run his company, Clark had been forced to take a less active roll until they found something. He was currently investigating what they thought might be the sight of the next fire, which left Chloe to haul all of the research to her car and get it to his loft.
   
She dumped the stack of papers and files in the back seat of her car and slid into the driver’s seat. She was exhausted. That last cup of coffee was definitely wearing off. She was going to have to stop by the Talon and stock up for the night. They were no closer to figuring out what was going on than when they had started a week ago and it was driving her crazy.
   
As she pulled out of the school parking lot, her phone went off. Sighing, she dug it out of her purse and answered it without bothering to check the caller ID.
   
“Chloe Sullivan,” she said tiredly, trying to keep the exhaustion and annoyance out of her voice.
   
“Well that’s certainly not the greeting I was expecting.”
   
At the sound of Oliver’s voice, Chloe felt all the tension and frustration begin to leak out of her body. “Sorry. It’s been a really long day.”
   
“The fires still giving you trouble?” he asked. Even though he was out of town, Chloe and Clark had been careful to keep him in the loop. He got annoyed when they didn’t.
   
“Yep,” she groused. “There’s no discernible pattern, there are no connections at all between the times, the locations, anything. The fires are completely random. I’m beginning to think that maybe the police are right and they are just freak accidents.”
   
Oliver laughed once. “Yeah right. You don’t really believe that. You’re just frustrated.”
   
“You know me way too well.”
   
“Is that really a bad thing?”
   
“Depends on your point of view.” She smirked slightly, imagining the indignant look that was sure to be on his face.
   
“What about from a girlfriend-boyfriend point of view?”
   
“Well, in that case, it’s probably a really good thing you know me so well. I’d be worried if you were dating someone you barely know.”
   
“I find myself compelled to point out that when we started going out, I barely knew you,” Oliver said, sounding just the slightest bit smug. “But I have since remedied that. And just to prove how well I know you, oh girlfriend of mine, I picked up your favorite coffee.”
   
Chloe raised an eyebrow. “How does that help me since said coffee is currently in Star City with my absent boyfriend?”
   
“Because the coffee is actually in Clark’s barn with your not-so-absent boyfriend.”
   
She nearly dropped the phone. “You’re back!”
   

“Yep.” Now she knew he was smirking arrogantly (in that annoying and sexy as hell way he always did when pulled the wool over her eyes.) “Have been for about an hour. Clark told me you were at the Torch researching. I figured you’d be heading over here soon and that you’d need a caffeine fix.”
   
“Why didn’t you come up to the Torch?”
   
“Excuse me if I didn’t want to spend the night making up for lost time with my girlfriend while in the school newspaper,” he scoffed.
   
“So you want to make up for lost time in Clark’s loft?”
   
There was a slight pause. Then the speaker crackled explosively as Oliver sighed. “Damn it. I didn’t think of that. Is it too late to meet you at my place?”
   
“I just pulled into the Kent’s driveway, so I’d go with yeah.” Chloe parked and pulled the keys out of the ignition. “Come give me a hand with these papers and then we can have a proper reunion before Clark get’s back.”
   
No answer. Chloe pulled the phone away from her ear. The call had been ended. It was possible that the call had been dropped. Service wasn’t exactly reliable on the farm. Then Oliver appeared at the back door and she realized that he’d hung up to come meet her.
   
“Way ahead of you,” he said with a grin, hauling the massive stack of papers into his arms. “What did you do? Print out the entire library of Congress?”
   
“Just the section of spontaneous combustion and pyro-kinesis.”
   
He looked down at her over the papers, raising an eyebrow. “Pyro-what?”
   
“The ability to control fire with your thoughts.”
   
“Right. Hey do you think make a Meteor Freaks for Dummies manual?”
   
Chloe laughed. “I doubt it, but maybe we can write one.”
   
Dropping the papers on Clark’s already cluttered desk, Oliver turned to face his girlfriend. Two weeks in Star City listening to a bunch of guys argue over a contract had nearly driven him insane. He understood the necessity of learning how this company worked, especially since he was going to have to run it after high school, but that didn’t change how boring it was. Or the fact that it was so obvious that the majority of the board didn’t think he was capable of running the company. Which honestly just made him want to prove them wrong, but it didn’t make it any easier to sit there and listen to them. There had been a reason he’d called Chloe very night. Now that she was standing in front of him again, Oliver found himself wondering what he’d done to deserve someone like Chloe. He’d been throwing his life away before, he’d been numb and empty. He didn’t feel that way anymore and it was because of her. He doubted that she would ever realize just what she had done for him.
   
Chloe was completely unaware of the speculative and adoring look Oliver was sending her way. She was bent over some of the papers that Clark had left spread out across the couch. He’d mentioned before super-speeding away that he had a few things back at the farm that might be useful.
   
Arms wrapped around Chloe’s waist from behind and she felt herself pulled back against Oliver’s chest. He pressed his lips to the crook of her neck. Her head lolled to the side automatically.
   
“Do you have any idea how much I missed you?” he murmured against her skin.
   
Chloe smirked. “I think I can guess. Lois and Clark have been driving me crazy!”
   
“Those two still denying the obvious?”
   
“Definitely.”
   
He pulled her around so that they were facing each other. “Personally, I would rather be stuck in a room while the sexual tension between those two increases than stuck in a boardroom with a bunch of stuck men who think I don’t know my head from my ass.”
   
“But you wouldn’t if it weren’t for me,” Chloe said, her smirk growing more pronounced.
   
Instead of snarking back, Oliver smiled softly, sliding a hand into her hair. He leaned down slowly and gently pressed his lips to hers in a soft, but searing kiss that lit her entire body on fire. “You’re not wrong,” he whispered, pulling back.
   
“How sweet. Look at the little lovebirds.”
   
Starting, Oliver and Chloe turned to the source of the interruption, he automatically pushing her slightly behind him for protection.
   
Veronica Morgan stood at the top of the stairs. Her arms were crossed and her hips was cocked. Her usually perfectly curled hair was pulled back in a severe ponytail and she was dressed all in black with an electric blue sash about her waist.
   
“You get lost on the way to a costume party?” Oliver growled.
   
A twisted smile pulled at Veronica’s lips. “No. I’m exactly where I meant to be. Though I must say, I thought I’d find him here alone.”
   
Oliver bristled at her comment and only the restraining hand Chloe laid on his arm kept him from advancing on the other girl.
   
“Not that it changes anything,” Veronica continued, ignoring the glare of almost feral anger he sent her direction. “This just makes it interesting. Like I said, this is where I was hoping to end up tonight.”
   
“Then you must be confused,” Chloe snapped, hoping that she was imagining the innuendo in the vicious words she’d just heard. “You’re not welcome here. I suggest you leave the way you came.”
   
Veronica idly raised a hand as though inspecting her nails. “But I’m not ready to leave yet. I have such big plans for you two and I’ve been waiting so long to play. You’re not going to deny me that, are you?”
   
Her eyes flashed. Before either of them could reply, Veronica extended her hand. Crackling arcs of glimmering electricity gathered around her finger tips.
   
“What the hell?” Oliver hissed.
   
A bolt of electricity shot across the barn, hitting him square in the chest. He was thrown back, taking Chloe with him. She cried out when her back hit the railing of the loft. Oliver fell to the ground, convulsing in pain.
   
Veronica laughed. “Well that was fun. Let’s do it again.”
   
Once more, she pointed her hand at Oliver. A net of electrical energy wrapped around him, lifting him from the floor. The smell of burning hair and fabric filled the barn. Chloe struggled to her feet, but pain shot across her back. With an almost lazy movement, Veronica moved the net and Oliver, dropping him over the edge of the loft. He fell onto a pile of boards and pipes that Kents kept for repairs.
   
At the sound of the loud crash, Veronica laughed maniacally. Chloe took advantage of her distraction and threw one of Clark’s heavy books on the Kawatche caves at her head. The projectile hit its mark and the other girl hit the ground hard, unconscious. Ignoring the pain still knifing through her back, Chloe raced past her, down the stairs, shouting as did.
   
“CLARK!”
   
Oliver wasn’t moving. A line of blood trickled down the side of his head. He was half buried under debris. Frantically, she pushed as much off of him as she could, until she reached a particularly large post that was used to repair the fences. If she hadn’t been hurt, she might have had a chance, but not in her current state. Frantically, she pressed a hand to the side of Oliver’s face and grasped his shoulder, shaking him gently.
   
“Come on,” she whispered. “Wake up. Before she does!”
   
A quiet groan escaped his lips and he opened his eyes, looking up at her blearily.
   
“Are you all right? Can you move?” Chloe asked frantically.
   
Grimacing, Oliver nodded. “I feel like I’ve been stuck in an oven and run over by a horse, but I’ll live. My legs are pinned.”
   
“I couldn’t move the beam.”
   
Shifting slightly, Oliver managed to get his hands beneath the beam and pushed. It moved only barely. Pausing to catch his breath, he tried again. Without warning, the beam slid and the boards Chloe had managed to shift of the way fell on top of them.

“Chloe!” Oliver shouted.   

She groaned. “I’m fine. But I’m pinned.”
   
“Me too,” he grunted. He pushed futilely at the debris. “It’s no use. With everything else on top of it, I can’t lift that beam.”
   
“Now what?” Chloe asked, trying to keep the fear from her voice.
   
Oliver’s hand found hers and he moved himself as close to her as he could with his leg pinned, trying to offer her some form of comfort. “Did you call Clark?”
   
She nodded. “But I’m not sure if her heard me. He’s on the other side of Smallville and we haven’t exactly done the whole can you hear me now thing. I have no idea how sensitive his hearing is.” She sighed and looked away from Oliver. “This is all my fault.”
   
“You telling me you put a hit out on me?” Oliver joked. When the glum expression didn’t leave her face he sobered up. “All right that was a bad joke. But how is this your fault or are you once again blaming yourself for the meteor freak attack.”
   
Her silence was all the answer he needed.
   
“Dammit Chloe,” he hissed, startling her with his anger. “Stop blaming yourself for all of this. Veronica probably would have done this if I’d ended up in a serious relationship with anyone other than her. It’s not your fault. And it’s not your fault that this,” he glanced up at the boards pinning them to the ground, “happened.”
   
“Oliver she played us,” Chloe said tiredly. “She started the fires knowing that we’d  look into it. She watched us and figured out when we’d be vulnerable. And she wasn’t even after me. She was after you.”
   
“Bravo,” Veronica sneered.
   
Chloe turned as best she could with a heavy bar across her chest and saw Veronica, a livid bruise painting her forehead. Beside her, Chloe could feel Oliver struggling against the weight that pinned him down, desperate to do something to fight the homicidal maniac that was trying to kill them.
   
“Don’t bother,” Veronica hissed, raising her hand as her eyes glowed more brightly than before. “Even if you did manage to get free, my next shot would be enough to burn you to a crisp.”
   
Oliver stilled, but Chloe could feel the rage emanating from him in waves. 
   

The light in Veronica’s eyes dimmed slightly, but she didn’t lower her hand and her gazed fixed on Chloe. “I’m impressed that you caught onto my scheme so quickly. I thought I’d have to actually do some real damage, maybe even hurt someone to get your attention. Maybe I’m not the only one here who’s been exposed to the meteor rocks,” she sneered. “Are you sure you aren’t psychic?”
   
Chloe tensed at the accusation, but said nothing. She was not a meteor freak, she couldn’t be, not if it meant going loony like every other person she’d meant.
   
“All I wanted was to torture Oliver a little bit,” Veronica said, sighing dramatically. “I saw how guilty it made you when he got hurt a few weeks ago, before he left for Star City. I knew that if he got hurt again because of your snooping, that you’d feel guilty enough to walk away. he was supposed to be unconscious so that he couldn’t talk you out of it. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.”   

“You seriously did all of this to break us up?” Oliver growled. “What the hell do you have to accomplish by that?”

It was the wrong thing to say. Snarling angrily, Veronica advanced on them, electricity arcing across her entire body. “So that you would feel the same pain, the same loss you have inflicted on others!”

Despite the situation, Oliver looked confused. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You don’t even know,” she sneered. “How pathetic. Not that it matters. You’ll feel that loss yet.”
   
Though he didn’t now what exactly she was referring to, Oliver could see enough to guess what she was intending. “If you lay a hand on Chloe...” he hissed.
   
“I don’t plan to.”
   
Chloe and Oliver both stilled at the venom in her voice. Veronica’s hands glowed and ropes of electricity wrapped around Chloe’s torso. With a jerk, she was pulled out from beneath the debris that had been pinning her to the ground. She cried out in pain. Oliver attempted to pull himself out along side her, but the pile of wood and pipes shifted, pinning him to the floor even more securely than before.
   
“Let her go!” he shouted.
   
“I don’t think so,” Veronica hissed, dangling Chloe above the floor by a tendril of electricity. “If I were you, I’d say goodbye now, because you’ll never see her again.”
   
Chloe’s eyes widened with fear. She attempted to speak, but a shock ran through her body, stealing her of the ability.
   
“NO!” Oliver shouted as her body went limp.
   
“Too bad,” Veronica sighed. “I guess you just weren’t fast enough. Goodbye, Oliver.”
   
The weight of the debris was painfully crushing his leg, but he still struggled desperately trying to get to Chloe. It was useless. All he could do was watch as Veronica dragged her out of the barn and out of sight.
   
Pushing once more at the boards, Oliver took a deep breath and shouted for Clark.

Author's Note: So I'm leaving it up to you. Next chapter, we'll hear from Oliver, Chloe, and Lex. Who do you want to start with? Now the chapter is already written. But I'm not putting it up until I get some answers. So please read and review!


Chapter 13