The Making of a Monster

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Clark could hear the sound of Chloe's sobs long before he reached the Torch office.

"Chloe?" she turned to him, her eyes were red from crying and her expression was accusatory.

"How could you?" she asked, wiping her tears away.

"How could I, what?" he asked, but he had a nasty suspicion that he already knew.

"I got a letter from Lana today... She said she couldn't live with herself any longer, she had to confess and try to make things right."

"Chloe-"

"No, it's my fault, really." She got up and began tidying random objects in an attempt to to stop herself crying. "I knew what you were like, I knew you'd do this eventually but I ignored my instincts, I told myself that you deserved a chance. God, I am such an idiot. "

"You're not an idiot, Chloe." He took a step towards her but she took two back. "This is my mistake, not yours."

"Yeah, it is. I mean I get that you like sex, I thought that was something we shared but foolishly, I thought it was something we shared only with each other, you know?"

"Chloe-"

"Some random woman would be hard enough to deal with, Clark, but you chose to betray me with my best friend." Her tears began to fall afresh. "How could you?"

The look on her face made Clark's heart break.

"Chloe, I'm sorry. It was a horrible mistake and if I could take it back, I would."

"Well that's the thing about life, Clark, there are no take-backs."

"Chloe, just tell me how I can make this up to you? Please, I'll do anything." Clark's eyes were now shining with unshed tears.

"There's nothing you can do," she said, shaking her head.

"No, I won't believe that."

"Well it doesn't really matter if you believe it or not, it's over either way." She turned towards the office door. "Don't follow me, Clark. I never want to see you again." She left the office and managed to make it to her car before she broke down again. She had no idea how long she cried for but when when her tears finally subsided she was sure she must look frightful. She knew she couldn't let her father see her like this so she pulled out a tissue and dried her eyes.

She still had to lock the office but she could see Clark's car was still here so she decided to wait until he left.

As she waited, she wished she'd brought something to distract her from the pain she felt. She looked around the parking lot and noticed a strange van idling near the entrance. She frowned.

Moments later she saw six black clad men carrying Clark out of the school.

"What the..." she watched as he was loaded into the back of the van. He was unconscious and Chloe saw something green around his neck. Kryptonite.

As the van pulled away, Chloe was still arguing with herself but in the end she knew that Clark would be helpless against kryptonite and she had no choice but to try and help him. She started her car and followed the van at a discrete distance.

When the van turned off into the warehouse district, Chloe turned her lights off before following. As it slowed down, she parked between two other warehouses and opened her trunk.

Usually she had Clark to help her investigate dangerous situations but she hadn't completely lost her skills. She grabbed her lock picks, netbook, tazer and a torch, then after a moments hesitation, added the flash-bang grenade Lois had once given her. She continued to the warehouse on foot. The van was parked beside what looked like a disused warehouse but the high-tech security keypad on the side door belied it's innocent façade. She watched for a few minutes to make sure no one was around, then quickly jogged to the door.