A/N: Hey Everybody!! Sorry for the lateness I have had soooo much writers block!! But here you are!! So Read and Review!!
Martha Kent sat in the chair next to Clark's bed. Jonathan had went and brought Chloe home much to her distaste. Jonathan insisted that she go home and rest and the next day, first thing in the morning she could come back to visit Clark. She reluctantly agreed.
Martha was glad to have some time alone with her son though. Her tears had finally subsided but that was because she felt like nothing more would come out. She glanced at Clark. He had only been in the hospital for a few hours and he only seemed to be getting worse. His face was paler and he looked so lifeless just laying there.
She ran her hand through her hair. She couldn't believe this was happening. In all the worst case scenarios she pictured about what would happen to Clark; this was never one of them. One of the only things she never had to worry about with Clark was that he would never get sick or never get hurt. But apparently she did have to worry.
As she watched her only son lying there on that hospital bed, attached to many wires, she couldn't help but reminisce on his younger years.
"Mommy, look at me!"
Martha turned and saw her five year old son standing on top of the stairs, a pair of red underwear over his blue pajamas and a red pillow case tied around his neck.
"Clark Kent, what are you wearing?" She asked with a smile.
Clark came whizzing down the stairs his arms out in front of him. "It's my costume, mommy!" He jumped off the bottom stop and landed right in front of her. "And my name is not Clark Kent."
"No? Then what is it?"
Clark scrunched up his face in thought and then shook his head. "It's a secret."
"A secret? You can't tell me your mommy what it is?"
Clark shook his head again and ran past his mother his arms out in front of him and making zooming noises. Martha grinned and watched as Clark "zoomed" around the living room.
She turned her head as she heard the door open behind her. Jonathan walked in and smiled at her and then smiled even further at the sight of their son running around with his underwear over his pants. He shot a questioning look her.
"Our son is a superhero, Jonathan." She explained.
"He is? Oh really?"
Clark stopped only for a moment at the sound of his father's voice and then took off again straight towards Jonathan. "Daddy, make me fly!" He jumped into Jonathan's arms. Jonathan caught his son in his arms and lifted him into the air and spun him around. Clark laughed and Jonathan and Martha couldn't help but laugh along.
Martha smiled sadly. "Everyday for a week you would dress up in that costume." She told her unconscious son. "You never told me your name. But you would always say that Clark wasn't your name. But eventually you got bored of that."
"One of your favorite hobbies was chasing the chickens." She said with a smile.
Martha walked out the back door and looked around the farm. Clark had seemed to disappear again. "Clark? Honey, where are you?" She called out. She listened. No answer. "Clark?!"
Jonathan came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "Can't find Clark?"
She sighed, "Again. Just last year he was so clingy to us now he just runs off, he could be getting into all sorts of trouble."
Jonathan chuckled, "He's five Martha he's probably looking at the cattle or something. Don't worry about it."
"Jonathan he's different, what if he slips and lifts something a five year old is not supposed to lift or runs faster than a five year old can run and someone sees him?"
"Martha I doubt he would go further then our lawn and no one is around." He kissed the top of her head. "But I will go look for him."
"Thank you." She said.
He stepped out of the door and just at that time the chickens came running around the corner, squawking as loud as they could and behind them came Clark with his hands outstretched. The boy had a big smile on his face and was laughing as the chickens ran away from him.
Jonathan watched in amusement and then turned to Martha, "See, there was nothing to worry about."
She smiled and nodded. "Aren't you going to do anything?"
"Clark's not going to hurt them. He's just having some innocent fun, if you grow up on a farm there's the one guarantee that at least once you're going to chase the chickens."
She chuckled and shook her head, "Oh you farm boys."
Jonathan grinned and turned back to watch Clark chase the chickens. The chickens ran all around the yard and Clark wouldn't stop. In fact as the chickens kept on running he kept getting more fun out of it. The chickens ran toward the house and then made a sharp turn to the right. Clark stopped only for a second at Martha and Jonathan's feet. "Mommy, the chickens are silly!"
Martha had to agree. "Yes they are."
Clark laughed and took off after the chickens again and disappeared behind the house.
"You loved the chickens. In fact you were so fascinated with everything. I suppose every little kid is. You would always ask 'Mommy what's that?' to even the simplest things. But you especially loved birds. Whenever a bird flew over head you would look at it until it disappeared from sight or you would get all excited when you saw a duck. You asked me, 'Why do they make that funny sound?' And I told you that was how they talked to other ducks. And you said… 'Well they talk weird.'" She half sobbed and half laughed.
"Clark, I couldn't have asked for a better son. I want you to know, even though you probably can't hear me, that I love you so much. From the moment I saw you, I never loved anything so much as you. If I ever had to go through what your biological parents did…I don't know if I could do it. I don't know if I could give you up. But I thank my lucky stars everyday that they did."
Malcolm Hayes trudged down main street, Smallville with his hands shoved in his pockets. He had his hood over his head and with his skill and practice; he was able to not look suspicious.
He couldn't believe he was doing this. He was in a messy place when the boss found him. He grew up in a poor neighborhood in Metropolis. His mother descended down from a poor family. His father once owned a huge business but the business went bankrupt and he lost every thing. His father eventually started to rob food stores and restaurants just to keep his family alive. He learned to be very sneaky in his craft and for years he never got caught. Then when Malcolm was 13 his father wasn't quite fast enough. The store owner had the police on stand by and as soon as he was seen the police went into action. They tried to stop him the easy way and just send him to jail but his father just kept running and wouldn't stop and he was shot down like a dog.
After that his mother went into a depression and his two older siblings had to raise him and his younger sister, Mattie. Mattie was a year and a half younger than he was and he was very close to her.
In his senior year in high school, he got into a fight for hitting on some guy's girl. Mattie was always the tough one, always thinking she could defeat anyone. And so she came to his rescue. The guy and his friends started to poke fun at him for needing a girl to protect him. Before he could react to it, Mattie attacked the guy. The teachers broke up the fight before anything got too messy though. But the guy wasn't finished, he wanted revenge.
As Malcolm and Mattie walked home through the streets, Mattie was jumped. Malcolm tried to fight the gang off but he was punched to the ground and the last thing he remembered was a gun shot and Mattie's scream.
He lost his best friend that day. That's what turned him over to the dark side. His two older brothers, Sean and Peter, who were now 24 and 26, tried to calm him down but it was no use. Malcolm Hayes was corrupted.
Malcolm barely made it through to the end of high school. He just passed for the end of the year and graduated. After high School he went off on his own and started working for many different crime gangs in Metropolis. He did that for ten years until he met the girl of his dreams. A short brunette by the name of Michelle Taylor.
She was walking down the streets completely minding her own business when a man of his own gang had his lustful eyes on her. Malcolm watched silently as the man grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the alley. She started to let out a scream but he covered her mouth. He started to feel her up right then and the look of horror in her perfect chocolate brown eyes just called out to Malcolm. He ran out of his dark corner of the alley across the street. As soon as he approached both the eyes of Michelle and his fellow gang member landed on him. "Mal…" Before the guy could form his name Malcolm pushed him off of her and Michelle fell right into his arms. He peeked over her shoulder and saw the guy on the floor unconscious. He looked down at Michelle and she looked up at him. He felt his heart leap when her eyes locked with his. The look in her eyes transformed from horror to relief. He helped her to her feet and she couldn't take her eyes off of him. "Thank you." Her voice came out softly but it was soft and melodic and music to his ears. He couldn't help but smile, "You're welcome." "I'm Michelle." She announced. "Malcolm." He replied. She smiled up at him and from that moment on, he told himself, he was going to be a changed man. He abruptly quit the gang and with Michelle's help got a semi-proper job.
It turned out that Michelle's family owned a restaurant in Granville and he got a job as a kitchen boy. He was lucky enough to have Michelle's family take to him immediately. And he wasn't complaining, he got to spend more time with Michelle that way. As time passed he and Michelle only grew close and his success started to grow. And after about six years he worked his way up to co-assistant manager with Michelle.
And then one sunny afternoon, on one of their breaks, Malcolm took Michelle out on a picnic and proposed marriage. She immediately said yes. That was the happiest time in Malcolm's life and for him things seemed to be only looking up.
That is until two years later. It was about a week before their wedding date and Michelle had to go into Metropolis to take care of some business. The leader of Malcolm's old gang wanted revenge on Malcolm for deserting them. And what better way than to go for the thing, or person, he loved the most. He sent the man that attacked her eight years ago after her.
The man followed her until she was alone. And once she was, he pulled her into an alleyway. She tried to fight back but he was too strong for her.
He had explicit orders from the boss: "Kill her…show Malcolm Hayes what it means to defy me."
He threw Michelle to the ground, did what he wanted with her and then obeyed the orders of the boss.
When Malcolm received word that his fiancé was dead and not only that but was killed by his old gang, it was that thing to really push him over the edge. Michelle's parents had found out that he was in that old gang and blamed him for Michelle's death and so they fired him from his job at the restaurant. In a blind rage, Malcolm was driven to Metropolis, he bought a gun, and went on a shooting spree and killed every last member of his old gang.
He found an old abandoned warehouse and there he mourned the loss of his beloved Michelle.
He had turned into his father; relying on thieving in order to survive. He did this for years until he was found by Gary P. Jensen. Mr. Jensen asked Malcolm for his help in a very special project. At first Malcolm was reluctant to accept Mr. Jensen's offer but eventually decided to accept.
Mr. Jensen, he soon came to know, also loved in Granville. And coming back to Michelle's hometown only made things worse. But to Malcolm's relief, Mr. Jensen said they would be spending most of their time in Smallville. "Strange things happen in that town Hayes, and it's about damn time I figure out why."
So Malcolm was sent to investigate Smallville. He roamed around town, walking into buildings, sitting around in coffee houses, walking up and down the streets, just trying to find any indication of the cause of weirdness in the small town.
Then one day he decided to check out Smallville High School. He casually walked around the grounds, leaning up against trees and only spied normal teenage human behavior. He walked around behind the school and lowered himself behind a bush. And that's when he first saw it. A dark haired teenage boy appeared out of nowhere with a blonde girl in his arms. Malcolm blinked and rubbed his eyes to see if he was seeing things.
"Well, I still want to see that strength of yours." Said the blonde.
The boy chuckled, "Well let's put it this way…When I was three I could lift the back end of my Dad's truck single handed."
He soon learned that the boy's name was Clark Kent and that he has special abilities beyond any compare.
It was Mr. Jensen who came up with the idea that the meteor rocks had a different effect on the Kent boy. So Mr. Jensen had a knife made of the green substance and ordered Malcolm to kill him.
And that's how he ended up here; on this lonely road in Smallville in the middle of the night. He approached the Talon and saw the place was dark which meant no one was there. Good. He turned into the alleyway where the murder had taken place and looked around. The only thing he saw was a blood stained jacket and a blood stain on the concrete. Hayes let out a sigh.
'The boss is not going to be happy about this.'
Martha hadn't left Clark's side for hours. Jonathan had returned but with Chloe at his side. She had managed to convince Jonathan to let her stay with them at the hospital. And when they got back Jonathan noticed that Martha wouldn't seem to budge from her spot and decided to leave her be for a little while longer and so he and Chloe just sat outside the hospital room.
Martha was growing weary and let her head fall gently to the pillow besides Clark while still keeping an eye on him. She had a hard time keeping her eyes open and once she closed her eyes, she felt Clark's head move beside her. She immediately snapped up and watched him carefully.
His eyes fluttered for a few moments and then his eyelids rose revealing his eyes. "Clark." She whispered in relief and joy.
His head slowly turned to her and he stared at her with clouded, confused eyes like he didn't know who she was.
"Clark, honey, can you hear me?" She placed her hand on his arm.
All he did was stare at her and occasionally blink.
"Clark?" She pressed again.
He did nothing for a few moments and then Martha watched in horror as his head fell to the side, his eyes closed and the beeping on his heart monitor came in slower and further apart.
"Help…" The first one came out as a whisper. "Help!" This one came out more of a squeak. "Help, somebody please!" She called out loudly.
Jonathan and Chloe rushed in along with nurses behind them. The nurses pushed past Jonathan and Chloe and ran to help Clark. Martha stood against the wall her hands covering her mouth as she watched the nurses rapidly tried to stabilize Clark.
She sobbed quietly, trying not to distract even herself from what was going on around her. She wanted, needed to hear every last detail about what was happening and what they had to do to her son.
Jonathan wasn't sure what was going on when he came into the room and he still wasn't sure now. All he knew was that Martha was very upset by it which only made him worry about his son.
Medical terms flew across the air and nurses ran in and out of the room. It seemed that everything they tried had failed and despite all the noise and commotion, Jonathan could hear his son's heart rate slowly decreasing by the minute. He tried not to show his panic, as he could now see that Chloe was near hysterics and he was the person who needed to be strong.
Then out of nowhere the noise in the room slowly subsided and the heart monitor had returned to its normal pace. The nurses made some last minute adjustments and then left the room one by one leaving Martha, Jonathan and Chloe rooted into place.
Dr. Barts entered the room shortly after carrying a chart. "Mr. Kent?"
Jonathan regained his composure and looked at Dr. Barts. "Doctor, what happened? is Clark alright?"
Dr. Barts then chose his words carefully, "He…he has a high fever, Mr. Kent. We were able to get his heart back to its normal pace but I fear that the meteor rock in his blood stream is starting to affect him."
"He was awake." Martha voiced suddenly and they all turned to her. "He was awake but not for long."
Dr. Barts nodded. "That might be his body trying to fight back. And the strain was too much for him and he started to crash. Now with the fever it only seems to be getting worse. He is showing signs of Severe Poisoning but in his case this could be worse than Severe Poisoning."
Martha couldn't help but let out a sob as she slowly sank to the ground.
Jonathan turned to Chloe and saw that she was shaking and tears were streaming down her cheeks. A 16 year old girl should not have witnessed that especially to someone she cared deeply about.
"Chloe…I'm taking you home." Jonathan stated firmly.
Chloe glanced up at him and didn't protest. He put his arm around her and led her out of the room and only then did her sobs start to begin.
Dr. Barts approached Martha and kneeled down in front of her. "Mrs. Kent, I am doing the best I can to try and figure out what we can do for Clark. I promise you, I will not give up hope."
Martha nodded, "Thank you Doctor." She choked out. "You have no idea how much this means to us."
"I don't care what he is Mrs. Kent. He is your son, he is that young girl's boyfriend, and I can tell that he has done great things."
"Clark is a wonderful boy." She agreed. "He always puts other people in front of himself and all he wants to do is help people, he thinks it's his job." She wiped at her eyes.
"I won't let him slip away from you." He knew that doctors didn't say that. Doctors couldn't say that because there was no guarantee that their patient would live and they would give the family false hope. But Clark was a special boy. And whatever he had to do, he would do it, to see that boy live.
She smiled gratefully at him and he rose to his feet. "Meanwhile I gave him something to help bring his fever down I don't know if it'll work for him though."
Martha nodded. "Thank you."
He nodded at her and then left the room.
She slowly stood and went back to sit at Clark's side. "Oh Clark." She brushed the hair off his forehead lightly and felt that his head was burning. "Who would do this to you?"