End of Part 1
Oliver balanced the trey filled with food while he attempted to open his bedroom door without spilling everything everywhere. He shivered a bit as he got the door opened. It made him smile because it would be an excuse to use if Dinah didn't let him get back into bed with her.
She had giggled and smiled when she sent him off for breakfast but he was afraid that she might have freaked out or something while he was gone. She had wanted to wait but last night she hadn't said no. Thus resulting in one of the best night's he'd ever had.
Everyone might think he was crazy but Dinah seemed to be the girl for him. He was convinced and he was almost certain she was too. Eventually everyone else would catch on to how happy he was with her. He slipped into the room and carried the trey over to the nightstand.
He set the massive amount of food down. He didn't have a clue as to what she liked for breakfast. Any other meal he'd have gotten a gold star. But he was happy to learn, so he could give her breakfast any day she wanted.
"All right, I have eggs, bacon, pancakes, muffins, and cereal. Which do you prefer?" Oliver asked.
The bundle of blankets on the bed didn't move. Oliver laughed as he reached over persuade her to come out. When he pulled the covers back, his heart sank. She wasn't in bed. He ran a hand through his messy hair and cussed. She'd bailed, which was what he was afraid of.
The room was freezing so he went over to his pile of clothes to pull on a shirt. He stopped as he took notice of the floor. Dinah had left all of her clothes. He mentally kicked himself, she was probably in the shower. He walked over to his bathroom door and poked his head inside. She wasn't there.
"Well, where the hell did she go?" Oliver asked his empty room. Lex came barging into the room. "Whoa, what's the rush for?"
"Jonathan's in the hospital and Clark's missing," Lex said out of breath.
"What?" Oliver asked shocked.
"Where's Dinah?" Lex asked seeing her clothes on the floor and glad he hadn't walked in on them.
"I don't know. She's gone but her stuff's still here," Oliver said.
"I don't like any of this. Check the security tapes. I'm heading to the hospital," Lex said before rushing out of Oliver's room.
Oliver's slipped on a shirt as he rushed down the hallway to the security room. His mind was shifting into overdrive. Jonathan was in the hospital and Clark was missing and now Dinah was missing too. Someone had been after Clark. They'd all be aware of the threat but now, he was afraid for Clark. Someone knew how to get to him and they did. He and Lex weren't going to stop until they got their friend back.
He burst into the security room and quickly searched for the tape he needed. It only took a second for him to throw it into playback and fast forward to the point he needed. Dinah was lying in bed, smiling. Then she was pulling up the covers and you could see her breath in the air.
She said something, and then the feed went blank. Oliver rewound the tape a few times trying to figure out what she'd said.
"Who the fuck is Chris?" Oliver asked to no one.
888888
Lex had gotten to the hospital as fast as he could. His doctor's were already here and checking Jonathan over. If anything happened, Clark would never forgive himself. His best friend was finally healing and stepping back out into the world and then this. Wherever Clark was, Lex was going to make sure he came back to a family.
Lex reached Jonathan's room and quietly stepped inside. The doctor turned and acknowledged him before turning back to his work. Lex waited patiently as his heart sank. Jonathan was in bad shape. His face was burned, his left arm wrapped from elbow to his fingers, and the bandages were bled through already. The heart monitor was beeping but Lex knew that the heartbeat wasn't where it should have been. It was dangerously low.
The doctor finished and motioned for Lex to join him outside. Lex led the way and turned as the doctor closed the door. "Please tell me something good," Lex pleaded, dreading what the doctor would say.
"I wish I could," The doctor spoke softly.
888888
Chloe broke every law she could on her way over to Lana's. She didn't think that Lana heard yet but she was going to be there. She didn't want to have to tell her best friend that her date had gone home to get kidnapped and his father sent to the hospital in critical condition. Worst of all, she didn't know how Lana was going to take it. She really liked Clark and it would definitely upset her. But the intensity of her reaction was going to speak volumes.
She came to a screeching halt in Lana's driveway and within a second her car was off, the door opened and she was running up the front steps. Lana opened the door as Chloe came to a stop, breathless.
"Chloe? What's going on?" Lana asked pulling her robe tight.
"You haven't heard?" Chloe asked.
"Heard what?" Lana answered with her own question, entirely confused.
"Clark's been kidnapped, and his dad's in the hospital. Critical condition," Chloe managed to get out in pants.
"What?" Lana asked stunned.
Chloe gave her a second to process what she told her. When Lana didn't say anything Chloe came inside and lead Lana to the couch. "Lana?" It had been a few minutes and Lana didn't say anything. She was afraid that she'd gone into shock.
"Anything from the police?" Lana finally asked.
"Nothing. They say that the house was in shambles like their been a struggle, and they took tire prints. They wouldn't release anything else," Chloe answered.
"I need to do something. I need help," Lana said.
"There's nothing we can do but wait and hope Clark comes back safely," Chloe was trying to be supportive, but she knew from Lana's reaction. Lana was falling for Clark. She could deny it all she wanted but Chloe could tell. He'd swept her off her feet tonight and now Chloe was going to have to be strong to keep Lana together until Clark was rescued.
888888
His head was pounding. His muscles ached and his body seemed to pulse. When he opened his eyes, the light above him forced him to close them again. Panic began to creep into him when he couldn't move. He tried opening his eyes again and after a few blinks he could make out his surroundings.
It appeared that a surgical light was hanging above him. He looked to his left and saw a steel slate and a stand covered in shiny sharp objects. It took him a second to realize he was some type of hospital room. But as he looked down, his fears became reality.
He was strapped to steel late, like the one to his left, and his chest was covered in a bandage. It looked odd, and it took a second to realize why. Bandages were suppose to be white, this one was red, like it was completely soaked through with blood. His brain caught up with what he was seeing. It was blood. His blood.
He struggled against his bonds and nearly screamed. His body was filled with excruciating pain and he tossed his head back and fell into a fit of spasms.
"I really advise you not to move. Since were keeping you restrained your body isn't healing like it usually does. So that pain is from where we installed our insurance," Tex said stepping up to Clark.
"What," Clark tried to speak and ended up grinding his teeth from the pain.
"Oh the insurance?" Tex asked before smiling, "Nothing to worry about. It's just a modified pace maker, so to speak. I hit the shiny red button and your hit with a sonic charge to your heart."
Clark couldn't believe what he was hearing. Tex was the one behind this and was using him like a lab rat. "You…bastard," He managed to get the words out.
"Now, now," Tex tsked as he patted Clark's chest. Clark screamed from the pain. "Do we really need name calling?" Tex said, his smile covering his face.
Professor Ivo walked in, "Tex, no need to torture him. We need him somewhat calm for the procedure."
Clark looked over to the man who spoke, "Procedure?" Clark's voice was weak but his whisper carried through the room.
"Oh, is this the part where I get to be all cliché and reveal my evil plan?" Tex asked.
"We do have time," Professor Ivo said with a chuckle.
"Clark, my boy. Did you know that you're adopted?" Tex asked. Clark remained silent. Fear filling his veins. Surely this bastard wasn't about to tell him he was really his father or something horrible like that. "Let me tell you a secret," Tex began.
"I'm dying. I have been since I was born, but not the natural cycle that everyone else gets to enjoy. My brain is killing me. For the longest time I feared death, just like Professor Ivo here. But then my brain kicked into overdrive and never stopped. I found a way to continue living till I created my own cure. I was born a long time ago, and I've managed to cheat death to this point," Tex stopped his story and smiled down at Clark.
Clark was quite. He didn't know what to think. Tex was telling him he was dying and that he knew how not to. Professor Ivo walked up and inserted a needle into the drip attached to his arm. "Go on. I'm sure he's curious. As am I," Ivo said, grinning down at Clark.
"It's not my brain that's killing me. I discovered that my body was. So I thought of a way to get myself a new one. I learned how to successfully perform a brain transplant. And for years, I've been body hopping as soon as the current body wears out. I tire of jumping around and leaving brainless bodies in my wake. So I created a body that could sustain my brain. And thus you were born. I couldn't grow you without a brain and I needed to wait until you fully developed. I had no idea that the enhancements I made to your cells would make you like a god. That was a pleasant surprise but I didn't have a cell properly prepared to contain you. And you escaped." Tex continued with his story.
Clark didn't want to believe what he was hearing. His greatest fear was to be turned into a science experiment because of his abilities but he was already one. He wasn't human. He didn't have parents. He would never be normal.
"Then by great luck a man approached me with a video. A mysterious blur caught on a security tape. I realized that I had found you and I did everything I could to get you back. And here we are," Tex said stretching his arms out and laughing.
Clark wanted to puke, from the pain and from the grief that rifled through him. "Who are you?"
"That's a million dollar question," Ivo said, chuckling again as he made preparations.
"I was born as Gerard Shugel. I posse many bodies in my lifetime. Before you, I kept frozen bodies in case my current one wouldn't hold anymore. This body, Tex Thompson was a personal favorite. He died in World War two but I managed to get his body before it was useless. I then invested into a company that turned into Humanite Industries that you know today." Gerard continued to gloat over his achievement.
"He named his company after his alter ego, Ultra Humanite," Ivo chimed in his two cents with his own smirk.
"Who're you?" Clark gasped, his head was getting heavy but he hoped if he kept them talking he could find a way out of this.
"I too was searching for a way to cheat death when I met Gerard. Only I was hunting down a Mayan potion that prolongs the drinker's life, indefinitely. Only side effect is that it turns your skin to stone, and then your insides turn as well. Lucky for me, I ran into a talking monkey," Ivo answered.
"Ape," Gerard corrected.
Clark was sure he was succumbing to the drugs. He couldn't have heard correctly. Gerard a monkey?
"The drugs are taking effect," Ivo said noticing the dilation of Clark's pupils.
Gerard laid himself on the steel slate and inserted the IV drip himself, "Then lets begin."
8888888
Oliver met Lex at the hospital. Lex was seated in the waiting room with his head in his hands. Oliver's heart sank to his stomach. Lex never cried but if something were wrong with Jonathan who'd become like a father to them both…well he would be shedding a few tears himself.
"Stop Oliver. Nothing's wrong with Jonathan," Oliver mentally encouraged himself before walking over.
Lex looked up as he approached and Oliver noticed how bloodshot his eyes were. He hoped beyond hoped that he didn't just lie to himself.
"Anything on the tape?" Lex asked.
"It was weird. The room got so cold you could see her breath and before the feed cut out she said 'Chris'," Oliver answered.
"The feed cut?" Lex thought out loud to himself. "I'll send the tape to a friend and see if he can do anything."
"Any word on Jonathan?" Oliver asked.
"Um, he's in surgery," Lex answered.
"How bad is it?" Oliver asked, dreading the answer.
"His injuries are bad, but the worst of it is internal. He sustained damage to his heart. Their trying to repair now," Lex answered.
Oliver sat down next to him, his knees suddenly weak. "What about Clark?"
"I haven't been given an update yet. Whoever did this, covered their tracks well," Lex said. The only thing they could do was throw money at the problem but that could only take them so far. And right now, they were left no information and to many questions. Clark was in trouble but they couldn't do anything till they had answers. Right now, all they could do was be there for Clark. Oliver hated this. He felt powerless and useless.
888888
Ivo was preparing to start the operation when his papers flew off the table. He turned confused to the sudden gust of wind.
"Hey gramps"
He turned and laughed. A teenager was standing across the room with his arms crossed. He was wearing some type of costume. A red jumpsuit with a lightning bolt on his chest.
"Isn't it a little early for Halloween?" Ivo asked.
"You're telling me Dr. Frankenstein?" Impulse asked with a laugh of his own.
Ivo picked up the scalpel and stalked towards the boy, "Wait till you see what I do with you."
He moved in a flash and stood behind him, "If you can catch me."
Ivo spun and the boy disappeared again. He jumped when he heard movement above him. He looked up and saw nothing past the beams. The ceiling was pitch black. "Don't play games with me boy," Ivo shouted. The machine behind him beeped, Clark and Gerard were ready for the transplant. He didn't have time for this. Gerard's body would only last for a few more hours. Long enough for the operation. They had already been cutting it close.
He scanned the entire room but the boy was gone. He paged security and informed them to sweep the building and guard the door. He couldn't have any interruptions. When his nerves finally calmed he turned to Clark and moved to make the first incision.
Something dropped to the floor, and Ivo jumped, nearly taking off Clark's eyebrow and ear. He turned and saw a small sphere rolling on the floor. "What the hell?" Ivo asked. The ball erupted into a flash and Ivo was blinded. He tripped backwards into the pole of the surgical light. The bulb was knocked loose and began to flicker on and off. When Ivo could finally see again, the room was filled with smoke. He held his knife close, ready to slice that punk teen when he reappeared.
He heard something above him again and looked up. Two boots collided with his skull and he flew back into the machinery. Sparks flew as his focus went in and out. He swore he must have had a concussion. The man released Clark from his binds and after a minute Ivo watched as Clark's wounds sealed up, meaning the pacemaker was still secured to his heart. But the boy didn't wake up. The man dressed in black, with a cape and pointy ears cursed.
He spoke, his voice deep and dark, "Impulse, take Boy Scout back to the cave."
A gust of wind filled the room and the teenager appeared next to Clark. The bigger man helped the teen hold Clark's weight before they both were gone in another gust of wind. Ivo rushed to his feet and dived at the man, stabbing at him with the scalpel. The blade cut into his abdomen with a spark and a tear of the material. The man turned and starred down at him. For the first time in his life, he'd never been so scared.