Lex had had a lot of run-ins with near-death experiences, but it was still concerning when Clark came to Chloe and Emmeline with another one. Lex claimed that several people had shot at him the previous night, but when Clark went to go inspect, he found nothing but a shard of glass.
"Well, is Lex all right?" Chloe asked quickly.
"He's freaked out," Clark answered. "Pretty shaken up, but he's alive. How'd you guys get mixed up in this?"
"Uh, I was just researching Lionel Luthor for a story. I found out that he ran with a pretty tough crowd as a kid."
"Morgan Edge?"
"Yeah. I thought Lex would be interested, but I had no idea he would develop this theory that Edge and Lionel murdered his grandparents."
"Chloe, these people are dangerous. They could come after you guys too. Lex and I both agree that both of you should stay out of sight until this is over."
"No, nobody who knows anything about this is safe, not until whoever is responsible is exposed!"
"Well, I'm not going to leave either of you alone. Grab your laptop and let's go."
Emmeline looked at Chloe, concerned for her friend. She knew that she was probably regretting getting involved with Lionel now more than ever.
The three of them hopped into Clark's truck and drove back to the farm. When they got there, they were quite displeased to see Lionel standing in the driveway with Clark's parents.
Lionel shook Clark's hand. "Hello, Clark." He turned to Chloe and shook her hand as well. "Miss Sullivan, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Chloe answered quietly.
"And Miss Brooks?"
Emmeline nervously stared at his outstretched hand but kept her hands shoved in her sweatshirt pockets. Lionel slowly lowered his hand, and she couldn't help but notice the…smug look he had on his face.
"Clark, Mr. Luthor has something he'd like to talk to you about," Jonathon said to his son.
"I'm afraid it's serious," Martha added.
"Have you seen Lex, Clark?" Lionel asked.
Clark paused a little before answering, "Not for a few days."
"Lex is missing. It's important that I find him."
"Mr. Luthor, I know Lex pretty well, and if he wanted you to know where he was, you probably would."
"Lex is seriously ill. He needs help."
"What do you mean, ill?"
"There's a psychotic break. Lex has had a psychotic break."
Emmeline and Chloe exchanged a surprised look. Hadn't they just seen the guy a couple days ago? He had seemed just fine then. And Lex was almost always cool and collected in public.
"That can't be right," Clark continued.
"It happened while he was on that island. I thought he'd beaten it, but, um…he's had a relapse. He is suffering from paranoid delusions. He's hearing voices. He sees things that aren't there." Lionel took a step toward Clark. "I want my son. I want him back. The way he used to be. If you hear from him Clark, you have to help me. We have to get him the care he needs."
Lionel left the farm and Emmeline released a breath she hadn't realized she hadn't been holding.
Clark led Emmeline and Chloe into the barn where they saw Lex hugging a blanket and singing to it.
"He thinks it's his little brother," Clark said quietly to them.
Lex looked up and smiled at the two girls. "Hi, Chloe, Emmeline." He stood up and walked over to them. "It's good to see you girls again."
Clark pulled Chloe and Emmeline away for a second. "Can you both just look after him for a few minutes? I need to talk with my parents."
"Sure," Chloe said.
Clark left the barn and the two girls slowly approached Lex.
"How are doing?" Chloe asked him.
"A little sore from being shot at, but I'll survive. The better question is how are the both of you? My father has gone to great lengths to keep this all quiet."
"We're fine. For now."
"You should start sleeping with one eye open. I'll protect you, like I promised, but I don't know how far he's willing to go when it comes to you."
"We'll be okay, Lex," Emmeline said.
"I need to talk to the Kents. Tell them about what I know."
"No, wait!" Chloe said quickly. "Uh, Clark said he needed to talk to them about something private."
"This can't wait, Chloe."
"No, Lex!"
Lex bounded out of the barn and back to the house. Chloe and Emmeline looked at each other for a second before hurrying after him. They caught up with him in the front yard and saw him looking at everyone angrily.
"We tried to stop him. I'm sorry," Chloe apologized.
Lex looked at the two girls incredulously. Then he turned back to the Kents. "You're all watching me now?"
He turned and began to walk off. Clark quickly ran up to him and grabbed his arm.
"Lex! Where are you going?"
"To find Morgan Edge and prove I'm not crazy."
"Lex…"
"You're either with me or against me Clark. Choose right now."
Clark glanced back at his parents for a second.
"Clark," Jonathon said pleadingly.
Emmeline looked over at him and watched with immense worry as he took off with Lex.
Chloe and Emmeline drove out to the edge of the town to meet with Clark and get another update on Lex. Emmeline was only there because like Clark had said, neither of them should be alone. The two of them got out of Chloe's car as Clark's truck pulled up.
"Hey," Chloe said, going over to his window.
"Thanks for meeting me all the way out here," Clark told her.
"Of course."
He handed her a small medical bottle. "Look, I need you to find out if this can make someone hallucinate."
"Okay, I'll get it to my source at the pharmacology lab."
"Also, I need to check out a Dr. Claire Foster and the two security guards. If there's a conspiracy, they're probably in on it."
"Uh, Clark, I dug up some of Lex's medical records. Apparently this isn't the first time he's had this kind of problem."
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, after his brother died, Lex went right back to boarding school. And soon after that, he started exhibiting some…pretty bizarro behavior."
"What do you mean, 'bizarro'?"
"His housemaster found him sitting in the bell tower in the middle of the night, singing a lullaby to a wrapped up blanket." Clark's face fell a little bit. "You know, I want to believe that this is a conspiracy just as much as you do, believe me, but I think we need to start preparing ourselves for the possibility that Lex really is losing his mind."
The two girls rushed to the hospital as soon as they got the news that Lana had been admitted and that things weren't looking too good.
As they approached her room, they both could hear Lionel yelling. "If you had listened to me, Lex would already be getting the help he needs, and Miss Lang wouldn't be here fighting for her life!"
"Clark?" Chloe said as they rounded the corner. "Are you okay?"
Lionel looked at Clark hardly. "But don't worry about me, Clark. My security personnel are well-equipped to protect me and to, um, find my son. Now, I strongly suggest the three of you go home before you do any more damage." He turned and walked past the two girls. "Miss Sullivan. Miss Brooks."
Chloe and Emmeline stepped over to Clark. "The drug analysis came back. It was just a common sedative."
Clark's face fell again and he looked inside the window of Lana's room. "Lionel's right, Chloe. I really screwed up."
"Maybe not. There are a lot of drugs that could make Lex see pink elephants. Now, the question is, how did it get into his system?"
Clark thought for a second. "The mansion. Everything is brought to him there: the food, the drinks."
"So for all we know, they could have been dosing him for weeks."
Clark quickly left the hospital to go get Lex the help he needed. Chloe and Emmeline looked at Lana through the window. Emmeline put her hand to the glass.
"Do you think she'll pull through?" she asked quietly.
"Yeah, I do. The doctors say that it's going to be tough but that she got to the hospital just in time."
"In that case, she's got a really rough run ahead of her."
"What do you mean?"
"That brace on her leg? My dad had to get it when he shattered his bone at work a few years ago. It is extremely painful because the metal pins have to be tightened every few moments. Not to mention there's the hours of physical therapy she's going to have to go through in order to get her leg working again."
Chloe's eyes teared up. "Em…this is all my fault. If I hadn't gotten involved with Lionel in the first place, this wouldn't have happened."
"No," Emmeline said firmly. "You heard Lex. He was looking into Lionel before he ever knew that you were. This would've happened whether you had gotten involved with Lionel or not."
Emmeline gently opened the door to Lana's hospital room. "Hey," she said with a small smile. "Welcome back."
Lana gave her a pained smile. "I heard about Lex. He's in a mental hospital?"
"Yeah…we all tried to help, but it was just no use."
"Clark's not taking it well."
"He was here?"
"Yeah. I guess I finally realized why he kept pushing me away all this time. He was just trying to keep me safe."
"Look, Lana, you and I both know that you've got a long journey ahead of you to fix that leg. But I promise you that I am going to help you through this, okay? If you need someone to talk to, I'm here. If you need someone there to help you through the physical therapy, I'll be here in the blink of an eye."
A tear slipped from Lana's eye, but Emmeline didn't know if it was because of what she had just said or because of the pain in her leg.
"Emmeline, there's something I want to talk to you about," Hannah said as her daughter sat across from her at the Talon.
"Okay, what's up?"
"I have been here for a few weeks now. And from what I've seen…this place is too dangerous for you. I think it would be best for you to come live with me at my home in New York."
"What?"
"I live in a very safe neighborhood, and it would be a way for us to continue getting to know each other."
"Hannah…my whole life is here."
"I know. But after what I've seen happen with Lana and Clark and even you with that car accident, I just think you would be safer living with me."
Emmeline scoffed. "You may be related to me by blood, but that does not make you my mother, and it doesn't give you the right to want to pull me away from all I've ever known. If I moved with you, I would be starting back over again. Do you know how long it took for me to be comfortable with these people I call my friends? I can't just leave now."
"Emmeline, please…"
"No!" Emmeline exclaimed as she stood up from the table. "I'm not going with you. I'm staying in Smallville."
She furiously left the Talon as Hannah watched her daughter go with a stoic expression on her face.
