Smallville

The Beginning in the End

Pairing: Tess Mercer and Oliver Queen

Summary: There were seven years that we never got to see. This is the journey that Oliver and Tess took during those seven years. The beginning in the end is the moment that Oliver finds Tess clinging to life on the floor of LuthorCorp.

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Watchtower was silent when Oliver burst through the door. He was focused on changing out of his green leather and bounded up the staircase. Within a few seconds, Oliver was inside of the walk-in closet which housed a couple of extra outfits for everyone working with Watchtower for emergency purposes. The closet was used quite frequently and was organized into sections by each person's name, so Oliver immediately sought out his part of the closet.

As he was pulling back his hood and tearing off his glasses, Oliver happened to glance over at Tess' section of the closet and he stopped suddenly. There were a few empty hangers sticking out at odd angles which caused Oliver alarm but also, relief. Tess was neat and tidy… only when she was in a rush did she leave things in such a state. But it was also a relief to see that Tess had been here and was well enough to change clothes.

Oliver had no idea what had happened to Tess after she was kidnapped on her way to warn them of the planet heading toward them. And in all of the chaos, he had not thought about her since leaving the farm in order to return to the city to finish off Darkseid's allies since he was the only one who knew where they were. And Clark and Lois had decided to figure out what had happened to Tess.

He slowly took off his green leather as he walked toward her part of the closet. He lightly touched the hangers and hoped that Lois and Clark had been successful in their attempts to rescue Tess. Except, there was no sign of either Clark or Lois having been at Watchtower recently… it appeared to Oliver that Tess had been alone when she had changed clothes hurriedly.

Oliver glanced toward the laundry hamper and when he saw something inside, he walked over and picked it up so that he could get a better look.

His heart sank at what he saw. It was a dressing gown that one would find in a hospital. Suddenly, Oliver had something in his gut tell him that he needed to find Tess. Wherever she had been was not good and sometimes, Tess could act rashly in order to settle her curiosity and find her justice.

And something in his gut was telling Oliver that wherever Tess was she was not with anyone that could help her.

He finished getting changed quickly as his heart was starting to pound loudly in his ears. He pulled on a pair of pants, and threw on a t-shirt while he was turning toward the door of the walk-in closet he pulled a jacket off the hanger and was out of there in mere seconds.

Oliver put on the jackets as he flew down the stairs in a blur. He rushed over to the equipment and started barking out orders.

"I need to find Tess. Bring up the tracking device on her cell phone. I need the coordinates of her location." He said as he reached one of the computers and started punching in codes on the keyboard as the system completed its search.

"Location found: Tess Mercer's cell phone's GPS indicates it is currently in the Arctic..."

Oliver shook his head without looking up even though the information was bizarre. "No—Tess is not in the arctic. Bring up the surveillance of the building for the last eight hours. I want to know which way she came in and which way she left."

"Surveillance found two images on subject: 1st image was 5 hours, 36 minutes, and 32 seconds ago Tess Mercer entered building from Main Entrance. Tess Mercer spent 34 minutes, and 26 seconds inside building before exiting from Main Entrance. 2nd image was 28 minutes and 16 seconds ago Tess Mercer entered building from South East entrance. Tess Mercer spent 19 minutes and 54 seconds inside building before exiting from north exit and heading west on Maple Drive."

Oliver saw the images on the screens as the automated voice of the system described her actions in detached detail. His heart was beating inside his chest and his anxiety only increased by the way he saw her the first time in a distressed state wearing the hospital gown. The second time Tess was wearing what Oliver assumed were the clothes she took from the closet upstairs and she looked like she was physically okay which made him feel only a little better.

"I want every image from West Maple Drive from the last half-hour that you can find. And search each and every face that the cameras pick up for Tess. I want to know where she went."

Oliver only had to wait a few seconds before the search was completed. "Subject found: Tess Mercer seen heading West on Maple Drive for three blocks. Tess Mercer cannot be seen on West Maple Drive after Maple Drive and 34th Street."

"Wait… what street?" Oliver asked as dread flew through his entire body.

"Tess cannot be seen on West Maple Drive after Maple Drive and 34th Street."

"What is on West Maple Drive and 34th Street?" Oliver asked although he knew the answer.

"West Maple Drive and 34th Street is the address of LuthorCorp International Headquarters." The system replied in that same automated tone that was making Oliver sick to his stomach.

"Tess… what are you doing at LuthorCorp?" Oliver knew that on any other day it would be a simple question because she was still the CEO of that company and it was now technically a part of Queen Industries but today was not any other day and Oliver was sick with worry.

And without any other warning, Oliver ran out the door of Watchtower with only one mission in his mind.

Find Tess.

When Oliver exited the building the exact same way that Tess had only about a half-hour ago all he found was chaos outside. The ground was shaking just a little bit from all of the activity; there was a buzz in the air from people in a near panic from what they were seeing in the orange-red sky that was heading right for them.

He started running along the street and was constantly bumping into people as he tried to maneuver his way through the crowd. But Oliver could not stop picturing Tess' face in his mind and he knew that he had to get to her as fast as he could. So he just started shoving people out of his way because he knew in his heart that time was not on his side.

After what seemed like an eternity, he rounded the corner on 34th Street. He had LuthorCorp in his sight and started to make his way through the crowds that had gathered in the street. They were all staring up at the planet as it began to seem like it was closer now more than ever to colliding with Earth and as Tess' face continued to flash in his mind, Oliver saw something flash out of the corner of his eye.

He turned his head to get a better look and immediately he found relief in knowing that Clark had the situation under control… and when he next saw his friend he would have to congratulate him on the whole defying gravity part that Clark seems to have finally mastered.

"Come on, Clark. You can do this." He whispered as he watched his friend flying higher and higher and getting closer and closer to the planet. And only seconds later, the massive object in the sky began to move away from them.

He started smiling a little as the people around began to cheer and rejoice as the darkness and the planet were conquered by his friend, Clark. But Oliver did not get lost too long in celebration and he was not happy with triumph.

Because Oliver still saw Tess' face in his mind and knew that he had no time to celebrate anything until he found out that she was okay.

So he started to push his way through the crowd that was preoccupied by happiness instead of the anxiety that had been on their minds only moments before they witnessed the heroic efforts of someone they did not even know.

Oliver ran toward the doors of LuthorCorp and knew that he would not have anyone to contend with as soon as he crossed the lobby floor because the building was practically deserted. He rushed toward the elevator and hit the button. He waited anxiously for the car to arrive.

"Come on!" He whispered under his breath. He felt like he was not going to make it there in time.

Finally, the doors opened and he ran inside. He pushed the button for the top floor and was thankful that the elevator was on its way as quickly as possible. The elevator cart raced up the building and he felt the dread build up inside him.

'What am I going to find when I get there?' He thought.

The doors opened only a few moments later and he was out of the door instantly. He raced toward her office and found what he had been dreading since he saw Tess leave the Watchtower building on the surveillance cameras.

"Tess!" He called to her as she was slumped on the floor with no movement whatsoever. "Oh my god, what happened?"

He leaned down next to her on the floor and picked her up into his arms as he inspected her body. She did not look to be conscious and he saw the blood from her abdomen dripping onto the floor. "Tess, please! You can't leave me. Okay? You hear me? Do not leave me!"

Oliver looked around the room. He did not see anyone around and he had no time to figure out what had happened to her or who had done this because there would be time for that after he got help.

But he was not sure what do because an ambulance would not get here in time to save her life and in that moment, he just let out a blood curdling scream that would be heard by only one person in the entire universe that could possibly help them.

He just hoped it would work.

"HELP! MY GIRLFRIEND IS DYING! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME! MY GIRLFRIEND TESS' IS DYING! HELP! HELP ME NOW!" Oliver could only hope that Clark had heard him. "HELP! PLEASE, SOMEONE! HELP! TESS MERCER NEEDS HELP! WE'RE AT LUTHORCORP! SHE'S DYING! HE—"

His screams were cut off by a rush of wind flying through the room and as he looked up, Clark Kent was standing before him wearing red and blue spandex but that was just another thing that Oliver and Clark would have to discuss later.

"What happened?" Clark asked with concern lacing his features as he took in the scene before him.

"I don't know! She's dying. You have to help her."

Clark nodded and bent down next to Oliver to take Tess from his arms. There was no time for talking or anything like that so the only thing that Oliver knew was that one second Clark was standing before him with Tess in his arms. Then they both disappeared in a rush of wind and color as Clark rushed Tess to safety.

And Oliver was left standing alone in the middle of the room hoping that Tess would be just fine.

He had no idea what he would do if she wasn't.

End of Chapter 1.

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