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seriousficTitle: The Villain Of The Story
Fandom: Smallville
Rating: R
Word Count: 3,390
Author’s Note: Betaed by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
vagrantdream.
Characters/Pairings: Chloe/Davis, Lois, Clark, Lex, Eric Summers
Last Part: Chapter 10
Next Part: Chapter 12
Summary: Davis is free of Doomsday. That doesn’t mean he’s free.
Chloe gave Davis one last pat to the small of the back before gently pushing him off her. He was fidgeting like mad, his lips twitching toward a disbelieving smile, looking like he was trying to keep from bursting into song. He kept his hands on his knees, fingers dancing against his jeans. Chloe had only seen him get this excited a few times. Never about her, of course.
“What’s going on? Seriously, what’s going on? You owe me an explanation. First you say you can’t even be my friend, now you want to take me to the prom? Your mood swings are enough to give a girl whiplash. What the hell’s changed?”
“Everything.” Davis babbled like a little kid with a sugar rush. “I know you deserve the truth, and I know I’m sending some major mixed messages here, but that’s my fault. I’ve been… distracted lately. I’d love to tell you about it, I really would, I want to, it’s just that I can’t talk about it right now. I honestly can’t.“
”Why not?” Chloe demanded.
Davis coughed, forced himself to slow down. Some secret sadness tugged at his expression, pinching his lips together. He scrubbed it from his face. “It’s complicated. But I swear to you, I’ll tell you everything, and soon. But right now… not right now… it’s over, it’s done with, that’s all that matters. You’re the best friend anyone could ever ask for.”
Outside, it had finally begun to rain, casting the cloudy day fully into a hazy twilight. Headlights scythed through it, passing the bus to flash on its passengers. Davis was a point of Zen calm, nirvana, and despite it all, Chloe was happy to see her friend at peace.
The bus rumbled to a stop and the students made a run back into the school. Chloe hugged her messenger bag under her like a baby in a war zone. When she looked back, she saw Davis getting off the bus in measured steps. The rain plastered his hair to his forehead and trickled down his face and he just stood there, letting it wash over him. Euphoric.
***
Clark came into Lex’s office quite unlike himself. He wore jeans and a red jacket over a blue T-shirt for one thing, pretty miserable even by lounging standards. He’d been dressing down for Lois too much. He was anxious as well. Clark paced a few times over to and away from Lex’s desk, to his older brother’s labored amusement, before finally slumping down in one of the chairs in front of the desk. The message his body language sent was horrid; he was virtually prostrating himself before Lex by Luthor standards. But Clark sat there with his eyes closed, calm finally settling into his body.
”Lex, you’re my brother and I love you.”
“What’s this about?” Lex asked, hands folded like he was greeting a slacking employee.
Clark grinned a little at his brother’s cynicism. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you, something I should’ve shared with you a long time ago. And, I’m going to do it. I’m going to tell you. You deserve to know and you’re going to know.”
“So tell me,” Lex said, closing his laptop and he settling back into his chair. This promised to be interesting.
Clark opened his mouth, thought better of it, looked off to the side. “Better if I show you.” He abandoned the chair for the sword rack by the window, picking up one of Lex’s katanas and unsheathing it. Lex buttoned down tightly on his protests, just crossing his arms like he had thought of something suitably nasty to do to Clark if his time was being wasted.
Clark held up the katana, then reversed it so it pointed at himself. Lex’s eyes opened wide as he realized Clark’s intentions. He sprung out of his chair, mouth open to shout—a noise that never came, as Clark drove the sword into his chest with a crash of metal. Shards of the blade peppered the floor at his feet as Clark withdrew the hilt.
Lex worked his mouth closed, his eyes still unable to keep from darting between Clark, the hilt, the broken sword. “Clark… that was an antique…” he managed.
Clark set it down. “We have a lot to talk about.”
***
Popcorn popped on the stovetop. It was Tuesday. Usually, Chloe would be watching Buffy. Usually, she’d be watching it with Davis. But she wasn’t really in the mood for moral ambiguity and existential angst that evening, so she’d let Lois talk her into watching Ugly Betty. Apparently, Lois lived on Ugly Betty. Chloe didn’t care, so long as it didn’t require a lot of thought or pessimism. She’d just finished repeating Davis’s behavior to Lois, who sat with her thumb on the mute button like Chloe had taken up beatboxing in the middle of a family reunion.
“Weird, right? Maybe he was on drugs. And now he’s gone to a Scientology center and gotten his Thetans zapped so he thinks he’s cured, but really he’s just counting down to a relapse.” Chloe hurriedly took the popcorn off the stove. She hated when people let her rattle on like that. Davis probably would’ve stopped her with a little defusing quip.
Lois spoke: “So we’re entertaining the possibility he’s joined a cult now?”
“Why, what do you think happened?”
“Obviously, he uncovered the truth about his murdered birth parents, went on a quest to avenge their deaths, and now that it’s over he can settle down with you.”
Chloe sat down beside her, popcorn salted and in a bowl. “Anyone ever tell you that you have a writer’s gift for imagination, Lois?”
“All the time.” Lois shoved a handful of popcorn into her mouth. “I know how these things work. He probably cheated on you with a skanky ninja chick, that’s why he looks so guilty all the time.”
Chloe found herself lost in examination of a popcorn kernel. “Davis didn’t hook up with a ninja, okay?”
“Okay. Putting the mystery that is Davis Kent in the cold case file for the moment, are you going to give him a second chance?”
“I probably shouldn’t, I know… I mean, he pulls this shit literally in the same hour, I can’t live with that drama in my life… but Davis, the old Davis I mean… he wouldn’t say it was over unless he meant it. What’s really weird is how… okay I am with him not in my life. We used to be inseparable, we even used to do this together, but now we’re on different continents and it’s okay. I’m really okay with that. Maybe I’m not really in love with him.”
Lois patted Chloe in a big-sisterly way. “Love takes time, Chloe. It’s not sea monkeys. He used to carry your books for you. You danced with him at Earl Jenkins’ wedding.”
”He stepped on my toes,” Chloe said, a little smile sneaking onto her face.
“So the question you have to ask yourself is… is he worth it?”
“It’s not like I have a lot of options.”
“Well, there’s a ringing endorsement.”
“Is the show on yet?”
Lois smiled and un-muted the TV.
The doorbell rang.
“Speak of the devil,” Lois groused, muting the TV.
“I’ll get it!” Chloe shoved the popcorn bowl into Lois’s arms and hopped the back of the couch, brushing her hands off on her jeans and taking out her retainers before answering it. “Justin Gaines? What are you doing out of the hospital?”
Justin smiled at her, offering a bouquet of flowers with hands still wrapped in thick bandages. “Well, it’s not an invitation to the slumber party, but I’ll take what I can get.”
“Of course I’m happy to see you!” Chloe gave him a hug. “I just thought you were still recovering from the crash.”
“I kinda am… not so tight?”
“Sorry.” Chloe backed up. Took the flowers. “They’re lovely.”
“They didn’t have any that were also smart and talented, but I think those fit you well enough already.” Justin’s cheery smile never wavered. “I got your e-mail. I thought you might like a friend. And if you also need someone to have comfort sex with, that’s good too.”
Chloe smelled the flowers. “Rain check?”
“Sure. Just give it time. I’ll grow on you like a wart.”
Lois stared forlornly at the TV. “I am never going to get to watch this.”
***
The Summers household was about as ritzy as a place in Smallville could get. Manicured lawn, white picket fence, Porsche in the driveway. Davis had heard Mr. Summers had been a professor at Metropolis University, until his health had forced him to take a ‘low-stress’ position teaching public school. Davis didn’t think ‘low-stress’ was in Mr. Summers’ vocabulary.
He knocked on the door. Mrs. Summers answered. She wore a housedress and pearls and her face was a battleground, with Botox the latest weapon deployed against the hated enemy, time. “Hello, are you here about the car?”
“No, I’m here to talk to Eric.”
“Oh.” Ctrl-Alt-Delete, reboot. “Eric is grounded. He was a very bad boy on his class field trip.”
“I’m here to help him on a class project.”
“What class?”
“For God’s sake, let the boy in, Vivian!” Mr. Summers shouted from inside. “We all know Eric could use the help!”
Vivian stepped aside. Davis, equally abashed, walked in. The house was clean enough to be preserved as a museum exhibit at any moment, one of those places where you got the feeling they vacuumed as soon as you left.
“He’s upstairs,” Vivian said.
Davis nodded gratefully and went up. The door to Eric’s room had the accoutrements of a young boy who’d never taken them down. Police tape, stop signs, ‘keep out.’ The artificial yellow was the one real color in the muted house. Taking the hint, Davis knocked on the door.
“It’s open,” Eric said, disgruntled.
Davis walked in. Eric was sitting on a beanbag chair, controller in his hands, playing Final Fantasy. “Oh, hey Davis.” He held up his controller. “Only allowed to play Teen games.”
Davis closed the door behind him. “Eric, we need to talk.”
Eric paused the game. “The powers, right?”
“You’ve kept them secret, right?”
“My dad doesn’t have me strapped to a lab table, does he?”
“Good. You have to keep control of them; otherwise they’ll be in control of you.”
“I can handle it. Grew up in this house, didn’t I?”
“There’s something else.” Davis sat cross-legged on the floor. “There’s a reason you have these powers.”
“Like I’m not entitled to them after growing up with der Fuhrer for a dad?”
Davis looked at him uncomfortably. “No, you’re not. Haven’t you ever read Spider-Man? With great power comes great responsibility.”
“And what’s your great responsibility?”
Davis got up and pulled Eric to the window. “There are thousands of people out there. Some of them are corrupted. They have powers like us, like you, only they use them for evil. I think… they’re demons.”
“So what do I do?”
“You stop them. I’ve slain about a dozen. Now it’s your turn.”
Eric shook his head. In a few short sentences, Davis had stripped him of his newfound bravado. He wouldn’t forget that. “I can’t do it. I can’t kill anyone!”
“I thought like that too. I learned.” Davis patted Eric’s shoulder, very gently. “They’re not people, they’re demons. You just have to keep that in mind.”
Eric looked at him, slowly, eyes alight. “How many people have you killed?”
The number sprang to Davis’s mind, but more than that he felt shame, suffocating him. He finally said. “Too many.”
Eric laughed, like it was a joke, but stopped when he realized Davis didn’t think it was funny.
“I’ll do my best.” Eric stared out the window, wondering what those white picket fences were hiding. “Davis, will you help me?”
“Of course.” Responsibility passed. He thought of Chloe, eating popcorn, watching Buffy. “If the Apocalypse comes, beep me.”
***
Davis didn’t quite understand the appeal of pool. Lex liked it, but Lex could have any game, any vice. Why pool? Was it just the simplicity of it or did Lex like feeling like a common man?
Davis looked at Lex, with his sleeves rolled up and his shirt untucked, and reminded himself there was nothing wrong with being a common man.
“So, have you slept with Chloe?”
Davis blanked. “Wha?”
Lex lined up his shot. “Davis, you’re glowing.”
Davis actually looked down before remembering things like that didn’t happen to him anymore. “No, I just… had a good day.”
“So our intrepid reporter still has Justin Gaines affixed to her?”
“How do you know about that?”
“Lois Lane. The woman’s an incurable gossip. Heaven help us if she ever has to keep a secret of any importance.”
“She doesn’t love him,” Davis said, driving his cue into billiard chalk.
“Keep that in mind. And remember that just because there’s a goalie, doesn’t mean you can’t…” Lex sunk a shot, “score.”
“One of Clark’s quotables?”
“He has his moments,” Lex confessed. “Sometimes, I wish I could adapt to the life of a corporate raider as easily as he has. He truly is his father’s son.”
The lights went out in a crash of thunder. Davis sighed. “Lex, you’ve really got to do something about your flair for the dramatic.”
“Don’t worry, the back-up generator should be coming online any second.” It didn’t. Lex hung up his cue. “Okay, worry.”
He swept to his desk, and even though the Red had left him, Davis could still sense the distress Lex was bottling up. The hostage crisis, Palmer, Helen’s betrayal – Lex had been through a lot. Davis wondered how good a friend he’d been to him. Then he saw Lex pulling a pistol out of a drawer.
“Whoa, Lex, it’s just the storm.”
“One thing I’ve learned in Smallville is to never take anything at face value.” He tossed Davis a flashlight. “Let’s see about that back-up.”
***
Davis had always liked the dark before. It was cool and welcoming. The light blinded you. It defined you. In the dark, you could be anything. Some of his fondest memories were nights with Chloe, escaping the oppressive summer heat, watching the stars and wondering what their stories were.
But without the Red, the dark threatened. His flashlight was an ineffectual weapon against it. He stuck close to Lex.
Something pinged. Some leftover habit from the Red, triggered. There was an intruder. “Something’s wrong,” Davis said. “Wait here.”
“I’m going to the generator, Davis.”
Davis had already turned back. “Better hurry.”
Lex’s office didn’t seem chic in the dark. It traveled back in time to its medieval roots. Davis kept an eye out for ghosts and goblins.
There, behind the massive painting of St. George came a sound like rats in the wall, only louder. Davis pulled on the painting to find it was mounted on a hinge that swung open to reveal a vault door.
A man stepped through it, Davis backpedaled. The man was all in black except for a glowing green tattoo. It faded.
“Thief!” Davis cried, for lack of anything better to say, and swung at him. His punch passed right through.
The robber laughed and punched back. Davis went down. Two more men with green tattoos stepped out of the vault. They carried heavy-looking duffel bags. The lights came back on, stabbing Davis’s eyes.
They ran, literally passing through Lex when he stepped into the doorway. He watched them go, unreadable, then looked back into his office. “Davis!”
***
Davis pushed the icepack away. The EMT gave him a look and put it back against his black eye. Davis clenched his teeth. It was so… irritating to have this little ache linger with him, causing him more pain in the long run than being stabbed, or a dozen other things he’d lived through. But then, he wasn’t that man anymore. He didn’t have the Red.
“I want to assure you, these men will be found and dealt with,” Lex said, standing impassively by the back of the ambulance Davis was sitting in.
“By the police? I’d love to know what kind of prison could hold men who walk through walls.” Davis tried to rein in his bitterness, now that he didn’t have the Red to blame. He gave Lex an apologetic look.
“You’d be surprised what a prison can be.” With that, Lex left to make another phone call.
Chloe saw the ambulance and assumed the worst. “Davis!” She rushed past the EMT. “Davis, oh my god, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s SVPD custom to send out two squad-cars and an ambulance whenever Lex stubs his toe.”
“I’ll get that,” Chloe said, taking the icepack and pressing it against Davis’s bruise a little harder than before. The EMT shrugged and moved on. “Justin and I were just passing through when we heard the call on the police scanner.”
“Justin?”
“Oh, right.” Chloe turned around to Justin Gaines, who was standing back, erratically illuminated by the police lights. He came forward like a vampire Chloe had invited in. “Davis, you remember Justin Gaines.”
Not really. Davis took Justin’s offered hand.
“Chloe’s told me so much about you,” Justin said, smug smile in place.
“Really? She hasn’t mentioned you.”
“Okay, I think that’s enough shaking,” Chloe said. She pulled Justin’s hand away.
Davis did his best to block Justin’s presence out. “Chloe, I saw a glowing green tattoo on all three of the guys. I think it might be meteor rock. That could explain how they walk through walls.”
“They walk through walls?” Chloe repeated, excited.
Justin cleared his throat.
Davis went on. “So I was thinking tattoos like those you don’t get just anywhere. Maybe if we call around, we could find these guys…”
“Actually, Justin and I were just headed to the Beanery. Pete says the Smiths are playing there.”
“Oh.”
“You wanna come with us? I’ll let you buy me a latte.”
“No, I…” Davis pushed down on her arm, taking the icepack away from his black eye. “I’ve got things to do.”
***
Davis saw Eric in the lunchroom, alone. He sat down beside him. Eric didn’t notice. His bloodshot eyes were fixed on Holly and her boyfriend.
“I could take that guy apart with one finger,” Eric said. “It’d serve him right.”
“Save it for the demons, Eric.” Davis pulled a file folder out of his backpack. “I’ve got some for you now. Three guys with meteor rock tattoos, all with criminal records, all big spenders as of a few weeks ago. Wade Jennings, Blade Sawyer, and Jensen Root. They have a place just outside of town. We should check it out.”
Eric gave Holly one last look. “Yeah. Sure.” They stood. “Hey, Davis, lightning… that’s like a sign from God, right?”
Davis hesitated, faltered. “I wouldn’t go that far. Maybe you just pissed off Thor.”
***
Davis had done a lot of things he wasn’t proud of. Now he watched one. He watched Eric get out of his truck and walk toward the hide-out, where death metal thumped and screamed. Eric stepped inside. The music cut off in a sudden crash, replaced with screaming. Blood splattered one of the windows. The lights flickered and Davis heard a roar he could only call bestial.
Davis reached into his pocket, wished he still had his rosary.
Whitney Fordman phased through the wall and ran, clutching his bloody stomach. Eric went through the wall too. He left a hole.
Before he could catch up to Whitney, the quarterback fell, passing through the ground. He didn’t come up. The back of his letterman jacket protruded from the dirt like a burial shroud.
Eric wiped off his crimson hands with a wet nap. “He called me a wimp once. Look at me now…”
“Whitney was one of them? He seemed like…” Davis shook his head like he had some water in his ear. “He seemed better than that.”
“Who cares? He got you arrested, remember? Fuck him, he got what he deserved.” Eric spat on the letterman jacket.
”Let’s just go,” Davis said, taking the truck out of park.
Eric climbed in next to him. “Anything you say, boss.”
Author’s notes: This chapter covers 1x13 Kinetic.
Come on. How boring would it have been if they just got together? Ironically enough, this whiplash sea change in Davis’s attitude has actually hurt his chances with Chloe. There’s something to be said for consistency, after all. And Justin Gaines, here earlier than in canon because of his e-mail correspondence with Chloe, has that virtue. If only Chloe knew he had issues with the people that put him in the hospital. But then, you’d have to be a psycho killer to crush on Chloe instead of Lana, amirite show?
So a lot of the development I edited in for Whitney with the last chapter and in the Jenkins chapter were so here, when Eric kills him, the thought isn’t immediately “good riddance.” We know from watching the first season that Whitney has a lot going on in his life and isn’t just a douchebag. Unfortunately for him, Eric doesn’t seem to much care.
Clark revealing himself to Lex (settle down, Clexers) was another thing that needed to happen for their relationship to advance to the next level (I said settle down!). Now they’re really on the same team and Lex’s life is on a very nice track. He’s got the brother, he’s got the best friend… he might even have the girlfriend. Stay tuned. I put it here because of how well it fit with Davis reaching out to Chloe. In both cases, they’re doing what they should’ve done a long time ago… but is it too late?
One of the things I disliked about season one was that Clark loses his powers… you know, the powers he’s spent the whole season grappling with… to Eric and he’s just like “so long, sucker, gonna play some basketball and mack on Lana!” Davis is trying to be more responsible than that, but him helping Eric is also a way of avoiding his real problems. That’ll come up some more in later chapters. Just the fact that he doesn’t have the Red inside him anymore isn’t a cure-all, he still has a long way to go and a lot of things he needs to admit to himself before he’d be any good for Chloe, or himself.
On Thursday, Justin is a meteor freak. Chloe finds out.
Fandom: Smallville
Rating: R
Word Count: 3,390
Author’s Note: Betaed by
vagrantdream.Characters/Pairings: Chloe/Davis, Lois, Clark, Lex, Eric Summers
Last Part: Chapter 10
Next Part: Chapter 12
Summary: Davis is free of Doomsday. That doesn’t mean he’s free.
Chloe gave Davis one last pat to the small of the back before gently pushing him off her. He was fidgeting like mad, his lips twitching toward a disbelieving smile, looking like he was trying to keep from bursting into song. He kept his hands on his knees, fingers dancing against his jeans. Chloe had only seen him get this excited a few times. Never about her, of course.
“What’s going on? Seriously, what’s going on? You owe me an explanation. First you say you can’t even be my friend, now you want to take me to the prom? Your mood swings are enough to give a girl whiplash. What the hell’s changed?”
“Everything.” Davis babbled like a little kid with a sugar rush. “I know you deserve the truth, and I know I’m sending some major mixed messages here, but that’s my fault. I’ve been… distracted lately. I’d love to tell you about it, I really would, I want to, it’s just that I can’t talk about it right now. I honestly can’t.“
”Why not?” Chloe demanded.
Davis coughed, forced himself to slow down. Some secret sadness tugged at his expression, pinching his lips together. He scrubbed it from his face. “It’s complicated. But I swear to you, I’ll tell you everything, and soon. But right now… not right now… it’s over, it’s done with, that’s all that matters. You’re the best friend anyone could ever ask for.”
Outside, it had finally begun to rain, casting the cloudy day fully into a hazy twilight. Headlights scythed through it, passing the bus to flash on its passengers. Davis was a point of Zen calm, nirvana, and despite it all, Chloe was happy to see her friend at peace.
The bus rumbled to a stop and the students made a run back into the school. Chloe hugged her messenger bag under her like a baby in a war zone. When she looked back, she saw Davis getting off the bus in measured steps. The rain plastered his hair to his forehead and trickled down his face and he just stood there, letting it wash over him. Euphoric.
***
Clark came into Lex’s office quite unlike himself. He wore jeans and a red jacket over a blue T-shirt for one thing, pretty miserable even by lounging standards. He’d been dressing down for Lois too much. He was anxious as well. Clark paced a few times over to and away from Lex’s desk, to his older brother’s labored amusement, before finally slumping down in one of the chairs in front of the desk. The message his body language sent was horrid; he was virtually prostrating himself before Lex by Luthor standards. But Clark sat there with his eyes closed, calm finally settling into his body.
”Lex, you’re my brother and I love you.”
“What’s this about?” Lex asked, hands folded like he was greeting a slacking employee.
Clark grinned a little at his brother’s cynicism. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you, something I should’ve shared with you a long time ago. And, I’m going to do it. I’m going to tell you. You deserve to know and you’re going to know.”
“So tell me,” Lex said, closing his laptop and he settling back into his chair. This promised to be interesting.
Clark opened his mouth, thought better of it, looked off to the side. “Better if I show you.” He abandoned the chair for the sword rack by the window, picking up one of Lex’s katanas and unsheathing it. Lex buttoned down tightly on his protests, just crossing his arms like he had thought of something suitably nasty to do to Clark if his time was being wasted.
Clark held up the katana, then reversed it so it pointed at himself. Lex’s eyes opened wide as he realized Clark’s intentions. He sprung out of his chair, mouth open to shout—a noise that never came, as Clark drove the sword into his chest with a crash of metal. Shards of the blade peppered the floor at his feet as Clark withdrew the hilt.
Lex worked his mouth closed, his eyes still unable to keep from darting between Clark, the hilt, the broken sword. “Clark… that was an antique…” he managed.
Clark set it down. “We have a lot to talk about.”
***
Popcorn popped on the stovetop. It was Tuesday. Usually, Chloe would be watching Buffy. Usually, she’d be watching it with Davis. But she wasn’t really in the mood for moral ambiguity and existential angst that evening, so she’d let Lois talk her into watching Ugly Betty. Apparently, Lois lived on Ugly Betty. Chloe didn’t care, so long as it didn’t require a lot of thought or pessimism. She’d just finished repeating Davis’s behavior to Lois, who sat with her thumb on the mute button like Chloe had taken up beatboxing in the middle of a family reunion.
“Weird, right? Maybe he was on drugs. And now he’s gone to a Scientology center and gotten his Thetans zapped so he thinks he’s cured, but really he’s just counting down to a relapse.” Chloe hurriedly took the popcorn off the stove. She hated when people let her rattle on like that. Davis probably would’ve stopped her with a little defusing quip.
Lois spoke: “So we’re entertaining the possibility he’s joined a cult now?”
“Why, what do you think happened?”
“Obviously, he uncovered the truth about his murdered birth parents, went on a quest to avenge their deaths, and now that it’s over he can settle down with you.”
Chloe sat down beside her, popcorn salted and in a bowl. “Anyone ever tell you that you have a writer’s gift for imagination, Lois?”
“All the time.” Lois shoved a handful of popcorn into her mouth. “I know how these things work. He probably cheated on you with a skanky ninja chick, that’s why he looks so guilty all the time.”
Chloe found herself lost in examination of a popcorn kernel. “Davis didn’t hook up with a ninja, okay?”
“Okay. Putting the mystery that is Davis Kent in the cold case file for the moment, are you going to give him a second chance?”
“I probably shouldn’t, I know… I mean, he pulls this shit literally in the same hour, I can’t live with that drama in my life… but Davis, the old Davis I mean… he wouldn’t say it was over unless he meant it. What’s really weird is how… okay I am with him not in my life. We used to be inseparable, we even used to do this together, but now we’re on different continents and it’s okay. I’m really okay with that. Maybe I’m not really in love with him.”
Lois patted Chloe in a big-sisterly way. “Love takes time, Chloe. It’s not sea monkeys. He used to carry your books for you. You danced with him at Earl Jenkins’ wedding.”
”He stepped on my toes,” Chloe said, a little smile sneaking onto her face.
“So the question you have to ask yourself is… is he worth it?”
“It’s not like I have a lot of options.”
“Well, there’s a ringing endorsement.”
“Is the show on yet?”
Lois smiled and un-muted the TV.
The doorbell rang.
“Speak of the devil,” Lois groused, muting the TV.
“I’ll get it!” Chloe shoved the popcorn bowl into Lois’s arms and hopped the back of the couch, brushing her hands off on her jeans and taking out her retainers before answering it. “Justin Gaines? What are you doing out of the hospital?”
Justin smiled at her, offering a bouquet of flowers with hands still wrapped in thick bandages. “Well, it’s not an invitation to the slumber party, but I’ll take what I can get.”
“Of course I’m happy to see you!” Chloe gave him a hug. “I just thought you were still recovering from the crash.”
“I kinda am… not so tight?”
“Sorry.” Chloe backed up. Took the flowers. “They’re lovely.”
“They didn’t have any that were also smart and talented, but I think those fit you well enough already.” Justin’s cheery smile never wavered. “I got your e-mail. I thought you might like a friend. And if you also need someone to have comfort sex with, that’s good too.”
Chloe smelled the flowers. “Rain check?”
“Sure. Just give it time. I’ll grow on you like a wart.”
Lois stared forlornly at the TV. “I am never going to get to watch this.”
***
The Summers household was about as ritzy as a place in Smallville could get. Manicured lawn, white picket fence, Porsche in the driveway. Davis had heard Mr. Summers had been a professor at Metropolis University, until his health had forced him to take a ‘low-stress’ position teaching public school. Davis didn’t think ‘low-stress’ was in Mr. Summers’ vocabulary.
He knocked on the door. Mrs. Summers answered. She wore a housedress and pearls and her face was a battleground, with Botox the latest weapon deployed against the hated enemy, time. “Hello, are you here about the car?”
“No, I’m here to talk to Eric.”
“Oh.” Ctrl-Alt-Delete, reboot. “Eric is grounded. He was a very bad boy on his class field trip.”
“I’m here to help him on a class project.”
“What class?”
“For God’s sake, let the boy in, Vivian!” Mr. Summers shouted from inside. “We all know Eric could use the help!”
Vivian stepped aside. Davis, equally abashed, walked in. The house was clean enough to be preserved as a museum exhibit at any moment, one of those places where you got the feeling they vacuumed as soon as you left.
“He’s upstairs,” Vivian said.
Davis nodded gratefully and went up. The door to Eric’s room had the accoutrements of a young boy who’d never taken them down. Police tape, stop signs, ‘keep out.’ The artificial yellow was the one real color in the muted house. Taking the hint, Davis knocked on the door.
“It’s open,” Eric said, disgruntled.
Davis walked in. Eric was sitting on a beanbag chair, controller in his hands, playing Final Fantasy. “Oh, hey Davis.” He held up his controller. “Only allowed to play Teen games.”
Davis closed the door behind him. “Eric, we need to talk.”
Eric paused the game. “The powers, right?”
“You’ve kept them secret, right?”
“My dad doesn’t have me strapped to a lab table, does he?”
“Good. You have to keep control of them; otherwise they’ll be in control of you.”
“I can handle it. Grew up in this house, didn’t I?”
“There’s something else.” Davis sat cross-legged on the floor. “There’s a reason you have these powers.”
“Like I’m not entitled to them after growing up with der Fuhrer for a dad?”
Davis looked at him uncomfortably. “No, you’re not. Haven’t you ever read Spider-Man? With great power comes great responsibility.”
“And what’s your great responsibility?”
Davis got up and pulled Eric to the window. “There are thousands of people out there. Some of them are corrupted. They have powers like us, like you, only they use them for evil. I think… they’re demons.”
“So what do I do?”
“You stop them. I’ve slain about a dozen. Now it’s your turn.”
Eric shook his head. In a few short sentences, Davis had stripped him of his newfound bravado. He wouldn’t forget that. “I can’t do it. I can’t kill anyone!”
“I thought like that too. I learned.” Davis patted Eric’s shoulder, very gently. “They’re not people, they’re demons. You just have to keep that in mind.”
Eric looked at him, slowly, eyes alight. “How many people have you killed?”
The number sprang to Davis’s mind, but more than that he felt shame, suffocating him. He finally said. “Too many.”
Eric laughed, like it was a joke, but stopped when he realized Davis didn’t think it was funny.
“I’ll do my best.” Eric stared out the window, wondering what those white picket fences were hiding. “Davis, will you help me?”
“Of course.” Responsibility passed. He thought of Chloe, eating popcorn, watching Buffy. “If the Apocalypse comes, beep me.”
***
Davis didn’t quite understand the appeal of pool. Lex liked it, but Lex could have any game, any vice. Why pool? Was it just the simplicity of it or did Lex like feeling like a common man?
Davis looked at Lex, with his sleeves rolled up and his shirt untucked, and reminded himself there was nothing wrong with being a common man.
“So, have you slept with Chloe?”
Davis blanked. “Wha?”
Lex lined up his shot. “Davis, you’re glowing.”
Davis actually looked down before remembering things like that didn’t happen to him anymore. “No, I just… had a good day.”
“So our intrepid reporter still has Justin Gaines affixed to her?”
“How do you know about that?”
“Lois Lane. The woman’s an incurable gossip. Heaven help us if she ever has to keep a secret of any importance.”
“She doesn’t love him,” Davis said, driving his cue into billiard chalk.
“Keep that in mind. And remember that just because there’s a goalie, doesn’t mean you can’t…” Lex sunk a shot, “score.”
“One of Clark’s quotables?”
“He has his moments,” Lex confessed. “Sometimes, I wish I could adapt to the life of a corporate raider as easily as he has. He truly is his father’s son.”
The lights went out in a crash of thunder. Davis sighed. “Lex, you’ve really got to do something about your flair for the dramatic.”
“Don’t worry, the back-up generator should be coming online any second.” It didn’t. Lex hung up his cue. “Okay, worry.”
He swept to his desk, and even though the Red had left him, Davis could still sense the distress Lex was bottling up. The hostage crisis, Palmer, Helen’s betrayal – Lex had been through a lot. Davis wondered how good a friend he’d been to him. Then he saw Lex pulling a pistol out of a drawer.
“Whoa, Lex, it’s just the storm.”
“One thing I’ve learned in Smallville is to never take anything at face value.” He tossed Davis a flashlight. “Let’s see about that back-up.”
***
Davis had always liked the dark before. It was cool and welcoming. The light blinded you. It defined you. In the dark, you could be anything. Some of his fondest memories were nights with Chloe, escaping the oppressive summer heat, watching the stars and wondering what their stories were.
But without the Red, the dark threatened. His flashlight was an ineffectual weapon against it. He stuck close to Lex.
Something pinged. Some leftover habit from the Red, triggered. There was an intruder. “Something’s wrong,” Davis said. “Wait here.”
“I’m going to the generator, Davis.”
Davis had already turned back. “Better hurry.”
Lex’s office didn’t seem chic in the dark. It traveled back in time to its medieval roots. Davis kept an eye out for ghosts and goblins.
There, behind the massive painting of St. George came a sound like rats in the wall, only louder. Davis pulled on the painting to find it was mounted on a hinge that swung open to reveal a vault door.
A man stepped through it, Davis backpedaled. The man was all in black except for a glowing green tattoo. It faded.
“Thief!” Davis cried, for lack of anything better to say, and swung at him. His punch passed right through.
The robber laughed and punched back. Davis went down. Two more men with green tattoos stepped out of the vault. They carried heavy-looking duffel bags. The lights came back on, stabbing Davis’s eyes.
They ran, literally passing through Lex when he stepped into the doorway. He watched them go, unreadable, then looked back into his office. “Davis!”
***
Davis pushed the icepack away. The EMT gave him a look and put it back against his black eye. Davis clenched his teeth. It was so… irritating to have this little ache linger with him, causing him more pain in the long run than being stabbed, or a dozen other things he’d lived through. But then, he wasn’t that man anymore. He didn’t have the Red.
“I want to assure you, these men will be found and dealt with,” Lex said, standing impassively by the back of the ambulance Davis was sitting in.
“By the police? I’d love to know what kind of prison could hold men who walk through walls.” Davis tried to rein in his bitterness, now that he didn’t have the Red to blame. He gave Lex an apologetic look.
“You’d be surprised what a prison can be.” With that, Lex left to make another phone call.
Chloe saw the ambulance and assumed the worst. “Davis!” She rushed past the EMT. “Davis, oh my god, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s SVPD custom to send out two squad-cars and an ambulance whenever Lex stubs his toe.”
“I’ll get that,” Chloe said, taking the icepack and pressing it against Davis’s bruise a little harder than before. The EMT shrugged and moved on. “Justin and I were just passing through when we heard the call on the police scanner.”
“Justin?”
“Oh, right.” Chloe turned around to Justin Gaines, who was standing back, erratically illuminated by the police lights. He came forward like a vampire Chloe had invited in. “Davis, you remember Justin Gaines.”
Not really. Davis took Justin’s offered hand.
“Chloe’s told me so much about you,” Justin said, smug smile in place.
“Really? She hasn’t mentioned you.”
“Okay, I think that’s enough shaking,” Chloe said. She pulled Justin’s hand away.
Davis did his best to block Justin’s presence out. “Chloe, I saw a glowing green tattoo on all three of the guys. I think it might be meteor rock. That could explain how they walk through walls.”
“They walk through walls?” Chloe repeated, excited.
Justin cleared his throat.
Davis went on. “So I was thinking tattoos like those you don’t get just anywhere. Maybe if we call around, we could find these guys…”
“Actually, Justin and I were just headed to the Beanery. Pete says the Smiths are playing there.”
“Oh.”
“You wanna come with us? I’ll let you buy me a latte.”
“No, I…” Davis pushed down on her arm, taking the icepack away from his black eye. “I’ve got things to do.”
***
Davis saw Eric in the lunchroom, alone. He sat down beside him. Eric didn’t notice. His bloodshot eyes were fixed on Holly and her boyfriend.
“I could take that guy apart with one finger,” Eric said. “It’d serve him right.”
“Save it for the demons, Eric.” Davis pulled a file folder out of his backpack. “I’ve got some for you now. Three guys with meteor rock tattoos, all with criminal records, all big spenders as of a few weeks ago. Wade Jennings, Blade Sawyer, and Jensen Root. They have a place just outside of town. We should check it out.”
Eric gave Holly one last look. “Yeah. Sure.” They stood. “Hey, Davis, lightning… that’s like a sign from God, right?”
Davis hesitated, faltered. “I wouldn’t go that far. Maybe you just pissed off Thor.”
***
Davis had done a lot of things he wasn’t proud of. Now he watched one. He watched Eric get out of his truck and walk toward the hide-out, where death metal thumped and screamed. Eric stepped inside. The music cut off in a sudden crash, replaced with screaming. Blood splattered one of the windows. The lights flickered and Davis heard a roar he could only call bestial.
Davis reached into his pocket, wished he still had his rosary.
Whitney Fordman phased through the wall and ran, clutching his bloody stomach. Eric went through the wall too. He left a hole.
Before he could catch up to Whitney, the quarterback fell, passing through the ground. He didn’t come up. The back of his letterman jacket protruded from the dirt like a burial shroud.
Eric wiped off his crimson hands with a wet nap. “He called me a wimp once. Look at me now…”
“Whitney was one of them? He seemed like…” Davis shook his head like he had some water in his ear. “He seemed better than that.”
“Who cares? He got you arrested, remember? Fuck him, he got what he deserved.” Eric spat on the letterman jacket.
”Let’s just go,” Davis said, taking the truck out of park.
Eric climbed in next to him. “Anything you say, boss.”
Author’s notes: This chapter covers 1x13 Kinetic.
Come on. How boring would it have been if they just got together? Ironically enough, this whiplash sea change in Davis’s attitude has actually hurt his chances with Chloe. There’s something to be said for consistency, after all. And Justin Gaines, here earlier than in canon because of his e-mail correspondence with Chloe, has that virtue. If only Chloe knew he had issues with the people that put him in the hospital. But then, you’d have to be a psycho killer to crush on Chloe instead of Lana, amirite show?
So a lot of the development I edited in for Whitney with the last chapter and in the Jenkins chapter were so here, when Eric kills him, the thought isn’t immediately “good riddance.” We know from watching the first season that Whitney has a lot going on in his life and isn’t just a douchebag. Unfortunately for him, Eric doesn’t seem to much care.
Clark revealing himself to Lex (settle down, Clexers) was another thing that needed to happen for their relationship to advance to the next level (I said settle down!). Now they’re really on the same team and Lex’s life is on a very nice track. He’s got the brother, he’s got the best friend… he might even have the girlfriend. Stay tuned. I put it here because of how well it fit with Davis reaching out to Chloe. In both cases, they’re doing what they should’ve done a long time ago… but is it too late?
One of the things I disliked about season one was that Clark loses his powers… you know, the powers he’s spent the whole season grappling with… to Eric and he’s just like “so long, sucker, gonna play some basketball and mack on Lana!” Davis is trying to be more responsible than that, but him helping Eric is also a way of avoiding his real problems. That’ll come up some more in later chapters. Just the fact that he doesn’t have the Red inside him anymore isn’t a cure-all, he still has a long way to go and a lot of things he needs to admit to himself before he’d be any good for Chloe, or himself.
On Thursday, Justin is a meteor freak. Chloe finds out.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-08-04 07:55 pm (UTC)*dances away happily*
That eclipses my Davis love for this chapter.
CLEXCLEXCLEXCLEXCLEX!!!!!!!
settle down? No.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-04 09:58 pm (UTC)So Clark telling Lex was awesome. And I loved Lex's reaction. Hee.
As for Davis with eric I have mixed feelings. On one hand he's taking responsibility for his power even though he doesn't have it but on the other it is kind of worse to lead someone to kill. Eric seemed to be doing this for revenge at all of those jocks and anyone else. It's already getting pretty scary with him and I imagine it will get even more scarier. I hope this watching Eric have this powers gives him a bit more info about what's inside of him and kind of corrects his way of thiking. Im starting to get that impression already.
So anyway great job!
no subject
Date: 2009-08-05 10:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-05 04:48 pm (UTC)I didn't get cable until season two, so tell me if WB really thought it was a good idea to have a popular band playing at some random town in Kansas.