Categories > TV > Smallville > Despair's Edge
One week later...
Clark leaned his head back against the soft couch at the Torch office and took a deep breath. It was finally all over. Well, there was still one small matter to attend to, which was why they were all here, crowded into the small office and staring over Chloe's shoulder at the pictures. All except Clark, who would much rather not relive his nightmare.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Chloe asked, hitting the print button and waiting for the incriminating evidence to appear on the tray.
"Of course I am," Lex answered. "The Planet will be more than happy to print the story. I'll make sure of that. An exposé on the abduction and apparent torture of a fifteen-year-old boy will be sure to raise plenty of suspicion. And, with the Kents suing LuthorCorp as well, my father will think twice before trying this again."
"What about that guy from New York?" Lana voiced from her spot on the couch next to Clark. "Did they ever find him?"
Again, Lex was the one to answer. "No, they never found him. Turns out they suspect he may have been killed in an entirely unrelated incident. Either way, they're dropping it. Even if the man Clark saw at the lab was the same person, he got out as well. The Phoenix Operation has been shut down, and all research destroyed. We don't have to worry about it anymore."
Clark nodded and closed his eyes. It was good to finally be home, among friends who knew his secret and would keep him safe.
The loft was quiet. But it was a peaceful quiet, the kind of silence made for thinking and for rest. This was how Lana found him, later that evening, sitting on the old couch with his feet propped up on the trunk. "So, we're back to where this whole mess started," she said, reaching the top of the stairs.
Taking hold, breaking in
The pressure's on, need to circulate
"Actually, this whole mess started at the Talon," he shot back, the corners of his mouth quirking up in the closest thing to a smile she'd seen from him in a long time.
Mesmerized, taken in
I'm moving slow so it resonates
"Was that a smile? Haven't seen one of those in a while." The sound of her soft laughter filled the barn. He loved hearing her laugh.
It's time to rest, not to sleep away
My thoughts alone try to complicate
"Thought you'd be home by now," he shrugged, rising and moving toward her. "It's getting kind of late, after all."
I'll do my best to seek you out
And be myself, and not impersonate
Her smile widened. She felt like a little girl trying to muster up courage to ask her crush on a date. "I came by for one last dance," she whispered.
I've tried so hard
To not walk away
And when things don't go my way
I'll still carry on and on just the same
His eyes dropped to the floor. /So this is it/, he thought. "Yeah. I guess... I guess it wouldn't really work..."
"Clark," she interrupted, bringing his gaze back to her. "I meant one last dance before I have to go home."
Relief washed visibly through him as he stepped forward and put his arms around her. Gently, they swayed to an unheard tune, caught in a rhythm all their own. They didn't need music. All they needed was each other.
I've always been strong
I can't make this happen
'Cause I need to breathe
I wanna breathe you in
Fear of becoming
I'm so tired of running
'Cause I need to breathe
I wanna breathe you in
I wanna breathe you in
Slowly, she lifted her head up to his and kissed him. Slowly, he responded, deepening it and allowing himself to be lost in it. This is the way I remember it/, she thought. /This is the way it's supposed to feel like. This is the way it's supposed to be.
In the failing light, they continued their slow dance, lost in each other, lost to the world around them, finding comfort and assurance in the special bond they shared.
I'm going in, so cover me
You're compass will help me turn the page
The laughingstock I'll never be
Because I won't let them take me
I've tried so hard
To not walk away
And when things don't go my way
I'll still carry on and on just the same
I've always been strong
I can't make this happen
'Cause I need to breathe
I wanna breathe you in
Fear of becoming
I'm so tired of running
'Cause I need to breathe
I wanna breathe you in
I wanna breathe you in
I wanna breathe, I want to, I want to
I wanna breathe, I wanna breathe
--Breath You In by Thousand Foot Krutch
They stumbled on through the forest, keeping well under the trees and out of sight. It wouldn't be long now. Soon they'd be safe, far away from anyone who could hurt them again. That's what she kept telling him. But he was afraid. Afraid to trust her again. Afraid to trust anyone after what had happened to him.
She kept him blindfolded, so he couldn't see where they were going. She didn't know where they were going, but it didn't matter. He couldn't see, so he had to trust her. He had to trust her completely, or be left to die out in the middle of nowhere. No one even knew he was still alive, so there would be no one to save him if she left him here.
No one knew either of them was alive. As far as anyone knew, they were dead, both of them. She had killed him, and then been killed herself. But she knew better. She had thought he was safe where she put him. She had been wrong. Now she would find somewhere truly safe, where nobody would find them.
Where nobody could take him away from her again.
She would not be caged. She would not be controlled. And she would not let her love leave her sight again.
She was the Phoenix.
The End
Clark leaned his head back against the soft couch at the Torch office and took a deep breath. It was finally all over. Well, there was still one small matter to attend to, which was why they were all here, crowded into the small office and staring over Chloe's shoulder at the pictures. All except Clark, who would much rather not relive his nightmare.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Chloe asked, hitting the print button and waiting for the incriminating evidence to appear on the tray.
"Of course I am," Lex answered. "The Planet will be more than happy to print the story. I'll make sure of that. An exposé on the abduction and apparent torture of a fifteen-year-old boy will be sure to raise plenty of suspicion. And, with the Kents suing LuthorCorp as well, my father will think twice before trying this again."
"What about that guy from New York?" Lana voiced from her spot on the couch next to Clark. "Did they ever find him?"
Again, Lex was the one to answer. "No, they never found him. Turns out they suspect he may have been killed in an entirely unrelated incident. Either way, they're dropping it. Even if the man Clark saw at the lab was the same person, he got out as well. The Phoenix Operation has been shut down, and all research destroyed. We don't have to worry about it anymore."
Clark nodded and closed his eyes. It was good to finally be home, among friends who knew his secret and would keep him safe.
The loft was quiet. But it was a peaceful quiet, the kind of silence made for thinking and for rest. This was how Lana found him, later that evening, sitting on the old couch with his feet propped up on the trunk. "So, we're back to where this whole mess started," she said, reaching the top of the stairs.
Taking hold, breaking in
The pressure's on, need to circulate
"Actually, this whole mess started at the Talon," he shot back, the corners of his mouth quirking up in the closest thing to a smile she'd seen from him in a long time.
Mesmerized, taken in
I'm moving slow so it resonates
"Was that a smile? Haven't seen one of those in a while." The sound of her soft laughter filled the barn. He loved hearing her laugh.
It's time to rest, not to sleep away
My thoughts alone try to complicate
"Thought you'd be home by now," he shrugged, rising and moving toward her. "It's getting kind of late, after all."
I'll do my best to seek you out
And be myself, and not impersonate
Her smile widened. She felt like a little girl trying to muster up courage to ask her crush on a date. "I came by for one last dance," she whispered.
I've tried so hard
To not walk away
And when things don't go my way
I'll still carry on and on just the same
His eyes dropped to the floor. /So this is it/, he thought. "Yeah. I guess... I guess it wouldn't really work..."
"Clark," she interrupted, bringing his gaze back to her. "I meant one last dance before I have to go home."
Relief washed visibly through him as he stepped forward and put his arms around her. Gently, they swayed to an unheard tune, caught in a rhythm all their own. They didn't need music. All they needed was each other.
I've always been strong
I can't make this happen
'Cause I need to breathe
I wanna breathe you in
Fear of becoming
I'm so tired of running
'Cause I need to breathe
I wanna breathe you in
I wanna breathe you in
Slowly, she lifted her head up to his and kissed him. Slowly, he responded, deepening it and allowing himself to be lost in it. This is the way I remember it/, she thought. /This is the way it's supposed to feel like. This is the way it's supposed to be.
In the failing light, they continued their slow dance, lost in each other, lost to the world around them, finding comfort and assurance in the special bond they shared.
I'm going in, so cover me
You're compass will help me turn the page
The laughingstock I'll never be
Because I won't let them take me
I've tried so hard
To not walk away
And when things don't go my way
I'll still carry on and on just the same
I've always been strong
I can't make this happen
'Cause I need to breathe
I wanna breathe you in
Fear of becoming
I'm so tired of running
'Cause I need to breathe
I wanna breathe you in
I wanna breathe you in
I wanna breathe, I want to, I want to
I wanna breathe, I wanna breathe
--Breath You In by Thousand Foot Krutch
They stumbled on through the forest, keeping well under the trees and out of sight. It wouldn't be long now. Soon they'd be safe, far away from anyone who could hurt them again. That's what she kept telling him. But he was afraid. Afraid to trust her again. Afraid to trust anyone after what had happened to him.
She kept him blindfolded, so he couldn't see where they were going. She didn't know where they were going, but it didn't matter. He couldn't see, so he had to trust her. He had to trust her completely, or be left to die out in the middle of nowhere. No one even knew he was still alive, so there would be no one to save him if she left him here.
No one knew either of them was alive. As far as anyone knew, they were dead, both of them. She had killed him, and then been killed herself. But she knew better. She had thought he was safe where she put him. She had been wrong. Now she would find somewhere truly safe, where nobody would find them.
Where nobody could take him away from her again.
She would not be caged. She would not be controlled. And she would not let her love leave her sight again.
She was the Phoenix.
The End
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