Redemption, Prologue

Chapter 1
Chapter 2

Clark/Chloe
Season 5, sequel to "Vengeance"
Rating: PG
5000 words
Disclaimer: These characters belong to the CW and DC comics, not to me

If heroism means working through pain, then I’m definitely not a hero.

The kryptonite hadn’t gotten closer than three feet away from me before I collapsed to the ground. I know it looks kind of wimpy for a six foot three guy to be rolling around on the ground in agony just because someone waves a chunk of rock at him, but you have no idea what it feels like when that stuff gets near me. It’s like my skin is blistering off and my bones are being pulverized, and at the same time my muscles are on fire.

I’m the first to admit I’m not great with words, but what I’m trying to say is, it hurts like hell. Which was why I was lying on the pavement writhing and grinding my teeth together, instead of dealing with the problem.

The problem is usually a meteor freak, and when kryptonite is involved, sometimes my friend Chloe Sullivan has to save my ass. She’s gotten me out of more scrapes than I can remember. And she’s the only one of my friends who knows my secret, so she’s the one who watches out for me. She keeps telling me, “You need to learn never to go into a dangerous situation without backup. I’m your backup, Clark.”

And she makes a pretty good backup. She has no superpowers, but when she gets mad she’s like a little buzzsaw, five foot seven inches worth of resourcefulness and pluck. Actually, she despises the word “plucky,” but it describes her to a T. At least, it usually does. She’s my best friend, and under ordinary circumstances, I’d trust her with my life. The only thing was, this time it was Chloe who was the problem.

She was the one holding the kryptonite.

Read Chapter 1 here.