The dew from the early morning still covered the grass two stories below the balcony outside of Clark's room at Wayne Manor. He had stood there for the past hour after watching the sun come up over the countryside. It was not much, but it was as close of a feeling of being back in Kansas as he could find here on the outskirts of Gotham City. He took a few deep breaths to inhale the cool morning air that would soon give way to another day of summer heat.
It felt good to be alive on this day and out of his sick bed. He had spent most of the night there fighting off the effects that lingered after he almost drowned in the polluted Gotham Reservoir. He had passed every type of body waste possible during the night and Alfred's insistence on his drinking the hot tea to keep the fluids moving also helped to flush his system out faster. Clark was still slightly weak, but felt like his old self again. Whatever was in that water was finally gone, and he could concentrate on solving the mystery behind Lex's accident. He would take into consideration his own brush with death later.
When he finally made his way back into the room, wearing his usual attire of jeans and a tee shirt, Clark heard the distinctly soft knocking of Alfred at his door. He smiled as he realized how easily he had come to recognize the man's manners.
"Come in, Alfred," Clark called out, picking his dirty pajamas from the floor.
The door opened slowly as Alfred let his head slip into the room. "Are we feeling well enough to receive guests this morning?" He asked the young man.
"Sure," Clark called back over his shoulder, pulling the blankets up over the bed after tucking the sleepwear under the pillows.
Alfred opened the door the entire way and ushered Lana and Chloe into the room. They ran to the bedside and each gave Clark a big hug. Chloe had her arm in a sling with a bandage over her dislocated shoulder.
"What happen?" Clack looked down at her after the hug with a shocked stare.
"I had a little run in with a floor when I fell out of an air duct," she told him with a smile. "But the doctors say it was only slightly dislocated, and I need to wear this sling until the swelling goes down."
"I don't believe this," Clark gasped. "I didn't even know you were hurt."
"From what Alfred told us when we got home early this morning, you were having your own problems," Chloe replied with a smile. "He wouldn't even let us in here to check up on you."
"I believed it was in the best interest of all concerned that your condition not be made to view by anyone who would only be worried by your appearance," Alfred explained with his English gentleman's stance a few feet away.
"Alfred was right," Clark smiled over at him. "You wouldn't have wanted to see me with all the hurling and shakes all night."
Alfred nodded his head and walked back towards the door. "I shall go prepare breakfast," he announced. "Do make your way to the dining room when you so desire."
Clark watched as he left the room.
"So," Chloe interrupted his watch. "Lana tells me that you had a rough time in the water last night."
"Yeah," Clark sat on the edge of the bed. "I don't know what these people are being forced to drink, but it sure had a bad effect on me."
"It was like the water sapped Clark of all his energy," Lana added. "His skin even turned grayish."
"I'm not sure if there is a connection," Clark said, putting his hands in his pocket. "But I think someone is polluting the Gotham City drinking water."
Chloe had a serious look on her face as she turned away. "There is a connection, Clark," she said under her breath loud enough for them to hear. "The connection is Lionel Luthor."
"Lionel," Clark questioned. "He's all the way back in Kansas. What would he have to do with the Gotham drinking supply?"
"According to the documents I was shown last night, and by a few strong testimonials from people effected by the results, Lionel has been polluting the Gotham City water supplies for years, and using the inhabitants as live guinea pigs," Chloe explained.
"It's all part of his big secret and why he has been trying to mislead everyone about Lex's accident," Lana added as she sat down next to him.
Clark gave her a puzzled look. "I don't get it," he stood up and walked over to the seating area by the fireplace. He placed his hand on the mantel and looked down into the cool ashes. "What does dirty water in Gotham have to do with Lex's death in Smallville?"
Lana and Chloe gave each other a concerned look as Chloe made her way over to Clark's side. "It is all a big game of deception, Clark," she spoke softly. "But it all stems from level three at the Smallville Luthor Corps plant."
The mention of Lionel's dirty little secret area caught Clark's attention and he looked up at his friend.
"Earl Jenkins was right, Clark," she continued. "Lionel was running some secret experiments down there, and it was producing a lot of waste. Luthor Corp needed somewhere to dispose of the potentially harmful bye-products from his testing, so he arranged to have it dumped in the Gotham land fills."
Clark made his way over to the armchair and sat down, still listening to his friend.
"Morgan Edge showed me secret documents detailing these activities last night, only he claims that Lionel gave new orders by paying off the city's officials, and the waste was not dumped in the land fill," she paused to let it sink in. "The waste was dumped into the Gotham City Reservoir of drinking water."
"Why?" Clark said with a lost look in his eyes.
"For the same reason there was a level three to start with," Lana said, making her way over to them. "He wanted to see the effects the meteor fragment waste would have on living organisms. According to what Chloe and I could figure, the first tests must have been on plant life on level three and then on humans in Gotham."
"He must have wanted it far away from Metropolis, too," Chloe added. "He not only took advantage of the depressed economy and dirty politicians around here, but he knew this city was far enough away that Kansas would not be effected."
"With the constant west to east jet stream," Clark thought out loud. "Even if there was any fall out, it would take years, if ever, for the pollutants to reach Metropolis."
"All these facts prove that Lionel knew what he was doing," Chloe remarked with a huff.
"Morgan Edge," Clark seemed to remember him all of the sudden. "He knew about Lionel's test?"
"Not until recently," Chloe sat in the chair. "My guess is Edge and Luthor were not even aware of each other until the effects on Gotham's people started to show, and Edge began to research possible reasons. According to him, Earl's confession was the clincher that proved Luthor's involvement."
"So Gotham has been Lionel's own testing lab," Clark rubbed his chin while deep in thought.
"That would appear to be the case," Chloe confirmed.
"It still doesn't fully explain why the water had such a bad effect on you," Lana joined in sitting on the coffee table before them. "I mean we live in the capital city for these meteor fragments, and I have never seen them have such a bad effect on you, Clark."
"I guess I never got a lung full of contaminated water before," Clark tried to find an excuse. "Even my folks would never let me swim in Crater Lake, so I have never been that close to it."
"There's also no telling how Luthor has alerted the original fragments before he dumped them here," Chloe added. "If the water had such an effect on a big strapping farm boy like you," she smiled at him. "It's no wonder why this town has it's own versions of meteor freaks."
Clark sat silent for a moment as he allowed all the information to sink in. He then turned back to the girls and asked, "So, what is the actual Edge and Luthor connection? If Morgan Edge knew Lionel was doing this, then why didn't he come forward and expose him?"
"Morgan Edge had his own agenda," Chloe said with a concerned look. "He was not interested in justice as much as he was in retribution." She took a deep breath and looked down at her hands. "It seems that Morgan's infant son was one of the water's infected victims, and he eventually died a horrible death, which in turn sent Mrs. Edge over the line that ended with her killing herself."
"So when he discovered Luthor Corps and the drinking water connection, " Clark finished. "He knew where the fault laid."
"And he wanted revenge," Lana added in.
Clark lifted his head with a scared look. "Oh, my God," he gasped. "An eye for an eye and a son for a son."
Both Chloe and Lana remained silent as they let him process the information into his thought patterned.
They each took one of his hands as he sat silent with his head low. Chloe glanced over at Lana before she spoke softly again. "Clark," she lifted his chin with her free hand. "Morgan Edge admitted to me last night that he murdered Lex. The whole terrorist story was a smoke screen set up by him to mislead the police."
Clark's lower lip quivered slightly as he asked, "So what are you saying, Chloe?"
"Lex is not a prisoner, Clark," she spoke softly and deliberately remorse. "Morgan Edge was determined to kill Lex in exchange for the death of his own son, and he was very sure that it was done."
"The phone call," Clark started.
"Just some sick joke," Chloe told him. "I would not be surprised if Morgan didn't set it up himself to get us out here and uncover the truth."
"If he wanted us to expose Lionel for him," Clark rationed out. "Then why wouldn't he just hand over his proof?"
"It might have been his original plan," Chloe replied. "But he didn't plan on Lionel coming after him so quickly, and in the heat of the moment, he was more than eager to tell me that he was responsible for Lex's death. Which, in turn, he realized I could not live with that knowledge."
Clark looked up alarmed at her.
"Morgan tried to kill me and Salina last night," She said patting his hand. "He locked us in his office after a fire started and left us to die."
"Bruce saved them," Lana added.
Clark gave her a puzzled look. "Bruce?" he repeated. "The same guy who froze at the sight of a gun at the club, and then almost killed the guy from sheer anger?"
"That would be the same Bruce," Lana blushed.
Clark rubbed his face with his hands. "This is all too much," he mumbled. "Lionel is an environmental terrorist while Morgan pays to have a bunch of rich kids killed off to cover up his real target, and then sets us up to uncover the truth only to find out that Chloe knows too much and tries to kill her with an anthrop phobia Bruce Wayne as her hero?"
"Some one has been reading his Physiology 101 books again," Chloe raised an eyebrow. "But, yeah, that Bruce."
"So why would Morgan bring us all the way out here to find the truth only to kill us once we knew?" Clark asked.
"We were suppose to discover Luthor's secrets on our own," Chloe explained. "At least I think that was the plan, but when Morgan found out that Lionel was on to him and sent a hit man, all bets were off. He decided to handle things himself and took the documents with him before the club burned down. He no longer felt it necessary to hide his connection from Lionel since Lionel figured it out on his own. The problem was I was too close to the source as well, and became a threat."
"Morgan and Lionel are not the point Clark," Lana put in. "Those two can do whatever they want to each other. That dye has been cast, but the whole reason we came to Gotham is over. We know what really happen to Lex now, and he's not coming back."
Lana reached across and touched his face. "Lex is dead, Clark."
The space that stood behind his eyes became vacant as Clark stared at her. The pain that he felt when Martha told him about the accident was resurfacing. His mind drifted back to the day he had been able to finally block from his memories as he watched his best friend die in his arms. Then the total loss felt standing at his gravesite began to consume his heart again. The phone call had blocked all these emotions, and the thin veil of hope and possibilities covered them. These were what he had held onto the last four days, only now the veil was being torn, and the pain from so much grief was again lifting its evil head.
"Clark," Chloe glanced at Lana and then back at him. "Are you okay?"
Her voice called his reactive mind back to reality, and he nodded. "I'm fine."
The girls watched as he got up and made his way back to the balcony door. "I," he almost whispered. "I need to be alone for a few minutes."
The courtroom was nearly vacant at the early hour as Martha and Jonathan Kent, wearing their best business suits, entered. The two embraced passionately at the realization that they had not seen each other in days. The handcuffs were removed and they sat side by side, hand in hand, as Bill Ross fumbled with the last minute paper work.
"What can you tell us?" Jonathan asked him softly.
"Not much, I'm afraid," he responded. "Sarah tried to get a feel for the situation from Judge Brown earlier, but he wasn't about to drop his poker face."
"Is that a bad sign?" Martha leaned in to ask.
"I wish I could tell you, Martha," Bill said back with a cautious look. "Brown has always been a bit of a hard nose, but with all the peculiar twists in your case thus far, there is no telling which way this could go."
"What Bill is so eloquently trying not to say, Martha," Jonathan spoke softly. "Is that he hopes Lionel Luthor hasn't got Judge Brown in his back pocket like he does the police department."
They all rose as the judge was brought into the room and the assistant district attorney gave her reading of the charges and why these two people 'should not' be allowed to be given bail. Then it was Bill Ross' turn to give the Kent's side of the case and to assure the judge that his clients were not flight risk.
The somber middle-aged man with the graying temples sat quietly for several minutes mulling over the court documents and conferring with his bailiff from time to time. After several agonizing minutes, he turned his attention back to the courtroom of eight people.
"Will the defendants rise" the judge instructed.
Both Kents and Bill Ross rose to their feet with heavy stares.
"I have reviewed this case," the judge started. "As both of you have pleaded innocent while the D.A.'s office is holding such strong evidence to your guilt, I have no choice but to schedule this case to trial."
Martha let out a disappointed sighed as Jonathan grasped her hand again.
"The court has also been petitioned to set bail at this time," he continued. "And after much consideration, due to the possible flight risk as your son has disappeared to avoid questioning, I have decided to set bail at the highest possible level for this case. I do so only because you have each been subjected to an already lengthy incarceration and the court have decided to show lenience in setting such bail."
Martha's hands began to shake as she waited for the set price.
The judge flipped through a few pages one more time before he spoke. "So it is hereby granted that bail is to be set at five hundred thousand dollars for each defendant."
"Five hundred thousand dollars," Martha repeated loudly. "We don't have that kind of money."
Bill motioned to her to remain silent.
"Your honor," Jonathan spoke up from her left. "My wife and I are farmers. We do not have a million dollars to pay the bail. This isn't even a case of murder. We are being falsely accused of wrongful death. The bail could not possibly be that high."
He crashed his gavel on the bench. "Silence," he demanded. "It has been determined by this court that you are a flight risk, and thus makes it well within my means to set a high bail or to deny bail should you provoke the bench."
"They will never let us out of here," Martha turned to her husband. "The only person we know with that type of money is Lionel and he's the reason we are in here."
Jonathan pulled his wife into a hug. "I know, darling," he said assuring. "We'll find a way out of this."
"Your honor," a new voice joined into the conversation from the doorway. They all turned and saw Sarah Ross approaching the bench with another familiar woman at her side.
"Your Honor," Sarah spoke. "If it pleases the court, this woman would like to pay the bail for the Kents."
The judge looked down at them with a frown. "This woman?"
"Mrs. Jack Fordman," the second lady spoke. "I have already provided the bailiff's office with the necessary paperwork and have put up the Fordman Department store, with a net value of well over three million dollars down as collateral."
"So you see, your Honor," Sarah added. "The worth of the store will more than cover the lean against the Kents."
"Very well," he slammed his gavel again. "See to it that the bailiff gets the money and this trial is set for four weeks from today in this chamber. Court adjourned."
With a huff, the judge rose, as did the rest of the courtroom and left the hall. Both Martha and Jonathan hugged their new savior in turn.
"I don't believe this, Joan. Why would you put Fordman Department Store up at risk for us?" Martha asked her with a big smile.
"I know we haven't been close, Martha," she smiled back. "But Jack always did think highly of Jonathan and their time together on the Crows. Whitney and Clark were also able to work out their differences before he left, so I knew they would want me to help in any way I could."
"Thank you very much," Jonathan joined the conversation. "I don't know how we can ever repay your trust in us."
"Oh, I'm not worried, Jonathan," she smiled. "I have a feeling this may not ever go to trial."
"What do you mean?" He questioned with a puzzled look.
Joan and Sarah gave each other a friendly glance before they turned back to them.
"We have great news," Sarah started.
"I got a phone call from Nell Potter this morning," Joan continued. "She woke up from her coma during the night. Someone told her about this hearing, and she asked me to step in on her behalf and help in any way I could."
"Nell is awake," Martha's jaw dropped open with a huge grin. "Oh, dear Lord, I have been praying for her to wake up."
"Well your prayers have been answered," Mrs. Fordman grinned back. "Now she can't say much, but I have a feeling she might have something that could turn this case around."
"We have to go to Metropolis," Martha turned to Jonathan. "We need to hear what Nell knows."
Jonathan looked over at Bill Ross who was enjoying the reunion.
"I don't see why not," he smiled widely. "As long as you stay in Kansas, you are welcome to travel all you want."
"Oh, Jonathan," Martha wrapped her arms around his neck. "This whole nightmare might soon be over."
He returned her hug, but still had a worried scowl on his face. Somehow, he wondered, it can't be all as simple as this.
Salina Kyle had found her way to Wayne Manor and, much to her surprise, Alfred had allowed her in. She asked to see Chloe Sullivan and was taken to the sitting room where the girls and Clark had been taken on their first night there to meet Bruce.
Walking the perimeter of the room, Salina admired all the expensive knick-knacks that were spread around the decor. Picking up a small silver statue of a small boy firing and arrow, she marveled at how the street price she could get for the item would feed and house her for a month. Checking over her shoulder, she slipped the small object into her large handbag.
"Salina?" Chloe's voice got her attention.
Salina turned quickly toward her hostess hoping that her small indigestion was not seen. "Chloe," she forced a smile over her nerves. "I'm so happy to see you."
"Me too," Chloe gave her a hug. "I was worried after you disappeared last night. Did you go to the emergency room on your own?"
"Oh, I'm fine," Salina shook off the notion. "I just saw you were with your friends, and I thought you might want to be alone."
"Well, you thought wrong," Chloe motion her good arm to take a seat on one of the sofas. "I told Lana and Bruce how we helped to save each other and they wanted to make sure you were okay, too."
Salina sat on the opposite sofa from the one Chloe placed herself on. "Well, I'm just not a people person," She lied. "But I am happy to see that you are okay."
"Where did you go last night?" Chloe asked.
Salina looked away with an unease glance at the floor. "I had some friends down town that gave me a place to crash for the night and some clean clothes," she explained. "I thought about going to pick my stuff up at Morgan's, but I thought it would be better to just stay away from his place since he already tried to kill me once that night."
"Has anyone heard from him?" Chloe asked.
"No," Salina replied. "I cased a few of his usual stops this morning, but it appears that he has made good on his pledge to go into hiding. I'm sure he figured out that you already told the police your story, so he's probably out of the country by now."
"I did tell the police," Chloe told her with a frown. "But they can't press any charges for Edge murdering Lex with out proof and my word just isn't going to cut it alone." She gave a small smile. "However, if someone was to come forward and back up what Morgan told me last night, then they might have a case."
Looking across the coffee table, Salina gave her a questionable look.
"I could use your help, Salina," Chloe clarified. "Morgan Edge killed a very good friend of mine, and you could help me see that he stands trial for his murder."
"I can't, Chloe," Salina hung her head. "Morgan was my lover."
"Who left you to die," Chloe reminded her. "You do not owe him anything."
"I owe him for taking me off the streets," she retorted. "Even if it were only for a short few months, I can't forget that he gave me a place to belong for that short time."
Chloe reached her hand across to Salina's. "You were his sexual plaything, Salina. He was not some hero for you."
A tear trickled down her cheek. "For the time we were together, he was,"
"Please," Chloe pleaded.
Salina stood up quickly. "Don't you understand," she cried. "Yes, I care for the man and he took care of me for a while, but everyone sees me as you do, Chloe. I was no more than a warm body in his bed at night, and that is what the courts will see."
Chloe watched silently as she walked to the opposite side of the sofa.
"People who do what I do to survive are non-persons in the eye of the law," Salina explained nervously. "What we do to save our lives, they see as tossing our lives away. We are not lawful or honest, so therefore we do not matter."
"That's not true," Chloe protested. "You matter."
Salina inspected her for a moment. "I matter to you because we shared a life or death situation last night, but think back, Chloe. What did you think of me before you gave me two minutes of your time?"
This time Chloe lowered her head in shame.
"That's right," Salina said with a soft but harsh tone. "If, for some unexplained reason, the police believe me and they find Morgan and bring him to trial, then I would have to sit up on the witness stand and tell them what I know. They would then bring up the fact of how Morgan I got to know each other, and they might even bring up my own questionable legal history, but most of all, they will tell the whole world who and what I am. Every one of those jurists will see me as the hopeless runaway prostitute who was scorned by a man twice her age and is only looking for payback. My story, as well as your credibility, will be thrown out of court."
A tear was now rolling down Chloe's face. "But you are so much more than that, Salina. We just have to make them see that."
Salina walked back to the coffee table and sat herself before Chloe on the edge of the wood structure. "No one else will see that," she said softly. "You are the first person who has even given me the benefit of a doubt in the last two years, girl. To the rest of the world I am trash and always will be. That's the way the world works."
"It's not fair," Chloe almost pouted. "You can be something special if just given a chance."
"And for a hundred bucks and warm body, I am for about an hour at a time," Salina forced a smile She leaned forward and kissed Chloe forehead.
"We could have been good friends in another place and time, Chloe," Salina forced a smile through her tears. "But we come from two different worlds."
"What," Chloe sniffed. "What will you do now?"
Salina gave a heavy sigh. "The only thing I can do," she replied. "There's no time for regrets for Salina Kyle. I need to brush myself off and go to doing the only thing I know how to do."
"Oh, Salina," Chloe gushed.
"I'll be okay," Salina promised. "Everyone hates their job."
Chloe wiped away a few stray tears as Salina picked up her bag and walked to the door. "But it's like Morgan always told me, Chloe. I am a survivor. Salina Kyle has more lives than an alley cat."
Chloe met her at the door and the two young women hugged for a long moment. "I still believe in you, Salina," she said into her ear.
Salina pulled herself away, wiping her own tears. She could not say another word and stepped out of the room. Stepping into the long hall, she looked back as Chloe closed the door, unable to watch as her friend left.
The walk to the front door was long and arduous for her as she walked away from the only person who thought more of Salina then she had ever thought of herself. Yet, she knew even with the best intentions, Chloe would never be able to save her from herself. She would try, that much Salina was sure of, but in the end, she would only bring her new friend down with her, and she already loved this blond firecracker too much to do that to her.
Alfred stood at the door with a smile holding it open for Salina as she approached. The young girl smiled at the older gentleman who gave her a slight bow as she passed. In the doorframe she stopped and turned back.
"Is there a problem?" Alfred questioned with true concern.
Salina shook her head as if waking from a trance. "No," she smiled reaching into her shoulder bag. "This is a nice spread you have here, Al."
"Thank you, young miss," Alfred returned as he watched her pull a small silver object from her purse.
Salina handed Alfred the Silver statue. "Don't tell Chloe," she said with a tender smile placing the object in his hand. "She's too good for people like me."
Alfred looked down at the familiar knick-knack as Salina walked off the stoop. He watched as the young beauty made her way down the driveway and out the through the electronically controlled gates.
Deep down in his heart, Alfred had the sinking feeling that he had not seen the last of this raven-haired vixen in the Wayne Manor.
Perry White had wanted his first stop in the morning to be at the hospital to check up on Nell and see if his impassioned plea to the doctor had touched a chord in the man's heart. Except the message that Chloe had left in his voice box had sparked his interest. He knew he had to get to his office at the Daily Planet and start typing up the story while the details were still fresh in his mind. The facts would require hours of research and verifications, and he still had not gotten a one-on-one interview with his prime witness, but he knew he had enough to start the groundwork on the story and type up the outline before he would return her phone call.
He was frantically typing away on his keyboard when a young, dark-haired copy boy approached his desk. The young man was pushing a mail cart and chewed loudly on his gum when he stopped before Perry.
"I got a package for you, chief," he said reading the label.
"The name's Perry, kid," he grunted not looking up from his keyboard.
"You're all chief to me, chief," the teen stated.
"Fine," Perry sighed in defeat. "I guess it's kinda flattering to be called chief."
"Yeah, sure," Johnnie replied snapped his gum. "Whatever, chief."
Perry took the parcel box from the young man and looked at the label. "Oh, my God," he said under his breath. "This is from Morgan Edge in Gotham City. He must have had this couriered overnight."
"What is it?" Johnnie asked.
"What ever it is," Perry grinned from ear to ear. "This could be the last confession of a dead man."
Jonnie gave the elder man a strange once over.
Eagerly Perry ripped into the box and found it filled with legal forms and requisite forms from Luthor Corps."
"What are those," Jonnie asked picking up a few forms that Perry had moved aside.
Perry looked up at him with the same smile, only bigger. "This is the mother load, kid. These forms will substantiate Chloe's claim and possibly send Lionel Luthor to prison for the rest of his foreseeable life span."
Jonnie snapped his gum again dropped the forms back on Perry's desk, "Whatever, chief," he stated pushing his cart to the next stop.
Perry continued to flip through the forms with a new glow. This was the type of mornings all hard hitting journalist prayed for.
Pete Ross was ruffled and wringed as he woke up in the back seat of his small car. After escaping the Luthor Corps building, he had driven himself to the out skirts of Metropolis, not sure of what his next move should be. His search of the primacies the night before had proven interesting, but unclear as to what Lionel was hiding. Lionel did not seem the type that would have a mental breakdown, even if he were the last man on Earth, much less the last Luthor. Pete was sure that Lionel's illness was part of the ruse. Lionel did not want him to leave the building and sent his personal hit man to stop him. This was not the action of a man who was not thinking clearly.
Then there was the clue. Pete reached down to the floorboard and pulled up a wooden object that had once been a crude carving of a horse. When he had swung the object at Randolph's head to make his escape, a mental picture came to Pete's mind. He had been hit on the head earlier that night himself, and when he awoke, he found Lionel with a baseball bat, but in his mind's eye, Pete could clearly see that the object was much smaller and rounded in a football like manner, and not a bat. Looking at the horse he held up to the early summer light, Pete was sure that this horse was the weapon used to assault him and not the baseball bat. All of it led to more suspicions as to what really happened in that dark closet last night. If the bat did not hit him, then did Lionel hit him at all? It was unclear to Pete how long he was knocked out, but he did wonder if it were enough time for Lionel and Randolph to make a switch.
The questions kept coming to Pete as he sat pondering the possibilities, but the biggest question still remained. Why was this horse vaguely familiar to Pete even before last night. He had seen it somewhere before, but the memory was unclear.
As the heat of the day began to build, so did Pete's self-assuredness that this was the clue that would end Lionel Luthor's entire game. All he needed to do now was remember why this clue was important to him.
Lana had spent a good part of the morning hours looking for Bruce on the grounds of Wayne Manor when she finally came across him sitting in the large library. He was busy typing away at his computer as she made her way across the large hard wood floor.
"Bruce," she made her presence known softly. "I've been looking for you."
"Oh, yeah," he looked up then back at the computer screen. "I've been out most of the morning and just got back."
"Why didn't you tell me you were going out?" she asked. "I thought we were going to have breakfast together."
"I couldn't," he said with his mind on other matters. "I was making last minute plans."
"Plans," she looked over his shoulder as she came around the desk. "You're buying airline tickets?"
"One airline ticket," he corrected.
"To Bangkok?" she asked.
"Yeah," Bruce half smiled at his screen. "I've been reading some real good stuff about a new form of martial arts that has been discovered in the mountains of Tibet, and there's a guide in Bangkok who can lead me to this one particular master of the studies."
She read from the monitor. "You're getting a ticket for today."
"I leave in two hours," he said with a grin. "I was lucky enough to get a seat on the Concord and then a connecting flight from there. The guide gave me two days to get there, or he would take on another client."
"I don't understand," Lana almost gasped. "What is this all about? Why are you leaving in such a hurry?" She lowered her head. "Why are you leaving me?"
For the first time, Bruce stopped what he was doing and turned to her. "Leaving you?"
"I," she was hesitant to continue. "I thought we made a real connection the last few days."
"We did," Bruce took her hand in his. "You have been a great friend, Lana. But I hope you realize we could never be anything more."
"I thought we were more," she turned away. "I thought you were starting to fall for me like I was for you."
"You were falling for me?" he questioned in complete ignorance.
"We kissed, Bruce," she reminded him. "I thought that meant something to you."
A blank stare came across his face.
"Oh, Bruce," she gasped as she saw his confusion. "How could you kiss me when it didn't mean anything to you?"
"I kissed you because you wanted me to," he returned. "Lana, you have to understand that you are still underage. I like you, but you are a child. Besides, don't you have a boyfriend in the service?"
Now it was Lana's turn for a blank stare.
Bruce stood up and held her by the shoulders. "Don't you understand what happened to me last night, Lana? I surrendered myself to that place in my soul that has been calling to me for years, and I realized what I wanted to do with the rest of my life."
A tear rolled down Lana's face as he continued. "The dark knight has come to the service at long last, and he is in control now. I have to be what he wants me to be."
"Bruce," she pulled away. "You're scaring me again."
"I'm sorry, Lana," he lowered his head. "It's just that last night I discovered the real me, and now I know what I have to do with the rest of my life. I have to let that dark space inside of me take control, and I need to use my wealth, training and abilities to help avenge crime so some other poor child doesn't have to live with loss like I did with the death of my parents."
"I thought we agreed that you can't fight the evils of the world all by yourself, Bruce," she cried. "You're just one man, Bruce, not a comic book."
"I'm sorry Lana," he sighed. "I have had this longing inside of my soul for a much longer time than I have known you. I need to follow my destiny. Even if nothing ever comes from this journey, I have to take the chance and see where this course will lead me"
"And what about our destiny?" she looked up with sad eyes.
"We never had a future, Lana," Bruce said softly. "The fates saw to that long before we even took our first breaths." He pulled her into a hug. "You are a sweet and good person, Lana, and you have helped your friends get some answers for themselves, but the journey is over now. We had a nice time together, but now it's time to get back to our own lives."
"Bruce," she cried as he pulled away.
He placed a tender finger on her lips. "Don't make this more than it is, Lana," he gave her a half smile. "I will always remember our time together, but it's finished."
Lana watched helplessly as he turned and walked out of the room, leaving her alone in the large empty library with her own grief. She grasped the edge of the desk and allowed herself to sink to the floor in a puddle of her own tears.
Bruce found Alfred waiting in the hall outside of the library when he left the room. It was unclear how he did it, but the manservant always seemed to know where to be at the right time. He gave Bruce a firm look as he exited.
What?" Bruce questioned his elder.
"You were rather harsh with the young lady," Alfred told him with certainty.
"I had to do it, Alfred," Bruce sighed heavily hearted.
"I thought you were beginning to care for the young woman," Alfred spoke softly so Lana would not hear. "I have not seen you take such a genuine shine to another girl in a very long time."
"I did," Bruce, confirmed, as his eyes seemed to drift back into the memories of his mind. "But I can not afford the luxury of love in my life right now."
"You are young and lonely Master Bruce," Alfred protested. "When will it be the time for love?"
Bruce looked at his mentor with a firm resolve. "When the journey of the bat is finish, Alfred. Not until the journey is over."
Alfred watched as Bruce walked away down the empty corridor, off into his destiny.
The corridors of Metropolis General Hospital were teaming again with people going about their daily activities as Doctor Phillip Burns made his way towards Nell Potter's room that late morning. He could hear several voices as he opened the door to enter, and much to his own surprise, one of the sounds belonged to Nell herself.
When he opened the door, he found that she had two new guests in the room with her. When he got a look at the man and the woman, Burns remembered where he had seen them before. "Mr. and Mrs. Kent," he forced a smile.
"Doctor Burns?" Martha was surprised to see him. "I didn't realize you were the doctor on Nell's chart."
"So you remember me," he tried to make small talk.
"We remember that you helped Lionel frame us for his son's death," Jonathan said harshly.
"I assure you that I only supplied Mr. Luthor with the facts," he defended himself. "He was also kind enough to ask me to care for Miss Potter while she was here."
"Yeah," Jonathan grunted. "Lionel's a real sweat heart that way. He tries to get you out of the picture, and then worries about your health."
Burns gave Jonathan a rye look as he walked past, towards Nell.
"Good morning," he smiled as the woman who was awake, but still very much weak from her ordeal. "It's nice to have you back in the world of the living, Miss Potter."
"Doctor," she looked up with frail eyes. "What happened to me, how did I get here?"
"You mean your friends didn't tell you?" he asked looking over his shoulder at the Kents.
"They said I was attacked at the Luthor Corps parking lot," she replied. "But I don't remember that."
"Then tell us what you do remember," Martha coaxed from the opposite side of the bed.
Nell thought hard as she told them, "I was inside the building. I was waiting for Lionel and I think I was looking around."
"Looking," Jonathan repeated. "What for?"
"I don't know," she said with a frown. "I remember opening several doors, but I can't remember if I saw anything."
Doctor Burns listen intently as she spoke, but he didn't want to speak and risk suspicion.
"What about your head?" Martha asked. "Do you remember hitting your head?"
Nell sat silent for a long few minutes.
"This is going nowhere," Burns insisted finally finding his voice and hoping to put an end to the questions. "You are tiring Miss Potter out on her first day back from a coma. You should leave now."
Martha and Jonathan looked at each other and were about to move when Nell spoke up again.
"Lionel," she said loudly. "I remember Lionel and I were talking. He grabbed my arm and I struggled to have him let go," her eyes became watery. "I turned quickly, and then everything went black."
"Did Lionel hit you?" Jonathan asked.
"Perhaps Miss Potter is remembering when she was trying to get away from her attacker in the garage, but has confused the information," Burns added in. "It's very common to get such details mixed up after a head trauma."
"He must be right," Nell replied. "Because I don't remember any more."
Burns took her pulse. "You have upset my patient. I must ask you now to leave."
"First," Jonathan grabbed doctor Burn's arm. "I think you and I should have a little talk in the hall."
Burns protested as Jonathan pulled him out of the room. Once alone, Martha turned her attention back to Nell.
"I'm sorry, Nell," she spoke with warm eyes and a soft tone. "But I need you to try and remember everything you know. Our children's lives may depend on it."
Nell looked up at her with sad eyes. "I know that there is more, Martha," she returned. "I just can't put all the pieces together right now. All I can tell you is that Lionel is hiding something but I can't remember what. We were fighting about it when I blacked out. That much I know, but if Burns is working for Lionel, I can't let him know until I can complete all the details."
Martha hung her head as she sighed. "I'm so sorry, Nell. You have been through so much already. Try and get some rest, and when you remember, Jonathan and I will be right here to help you figure out what it means"
Nell grasped her hand. "I'm sorry, Martha," she cried. "Perhaps tomorrow I'll remember more."
In the hall, Dr. Burns shook himself free from Jonathan's grasp "Unhand me," he demanded. "I should have security remove you from this building right now."
"Do that doctor, and I'll tell the world how you are in with Lionel Luthor to keep Nell Potter under wraps."
"How dare you, Mr. Kent," he protested. "I have never been so rudely treated."
"Oh, yes, you have," another voiced joined in from a few feet away. "You and I did this same dance last night."
They both turned to see Perry White approaching.
"Not you again," he grumbled.
"It's me, Doctor Phil," Perry smiled. "And I heard you were released this morning, Mr. Kent."
"Both my wife and I were released on bail," Jonathan shook his hand. "I was not aware that you and Dr. Burns knew each other when I dragged him out here and was about to warn him not to harm Nell anymore."
"Oh, Phil and I go all the way back to last night," Perry responded sarcastically. "But I must admit that the old Doc here may not be such a bad guy. It's seems that our little talk last night had some lasting effects, and low and behold, today Nell is awake."
"Are you saying that my suspicions about this are right?" Jonathan asked.
"Well, that would not be for me to say," Perry rubbed the back of his neck. "We'll have to see what the grand jury has to say about our friends doctoring."
"Grand jury?" Burns spoke up.
"Yeah, remember that friend of mine over at Star Labs I told you about last night?" He grinned. "It seems she turned the information over to medical licensing board as well as the FBI. They have decided to take a closer look at your practice, Doctor Burns, and from what they know already from the Potter and Luthor cases, you have been a very bad boy."
"What have you done," Burns grunted.
"I only did what I said I would," Perry replied. "I'm told that you are being suspended from medicine until the inquiry is finished. You should receive the injunction very soon."
A scared look came over Burn's face. "You idiot. You have ruined my career and me. My wife and kids will suffer for this. We will never live it down."
"If you think that's bad," Jonathan added. "Wait until Lionel discovers your faulty career poses a lot of questions about him as well."
"I did what you asked," Burns said to Perry with a defeated tone. "I did what you asked."
"I'm sorry, Doctor," Perry truly was. "But once I handed those files to Star Labs, the ball was out of my court. It's up to the government now."
Burns propped himself up against the wall. "It's over," he sighed. "My career and my life are over."
Both Jonathan and Perry felt bad for the guy, but he did bring it on himself by teaming up with Lionel Luthor. Now his entire world was coming apart.
Jonathan stepped back into the room as Perry leaned over into Burns' ear. "There's an old saying in the news paper business," he told him. "If you lay down with the dogs, then you better be ready to wake up with the fleas."
He too slipped into the room and left Burns standing alone in the crowded hallway.
Maggie Butterfold huddled in the corner of the small room empty room when she heard the key in the door being turned. She had been placed there during the night and was not aware of what would happen to her. All she knew was that Lionel Luthor had asked to see her, and he was not going to take no for an answer.
The dim light from the hall was blinding as it shone in her frail eyes. She had been crying most of the night in the absolute darkness, and her eyes were now blood shot and sore.
A shadow stepped into the room from the hall and hung over her.
"Maggie," the voice said with a strong hint of disappointment. "You have been a very bad girl, my dear."
Blinking twice rapidly cleared enough of her sight, that Maggie could see her guest was Lionel Luthor himself.
"Mr. Luthor," she huffed with baited breath.
"Yes, dear," he swatted before her. "I hear that you had a very eventful night with that reporter from the Daily Planet."
"I didn't tell him anything," she said with haste.
"We go back a long way, Maggie," he smirked. "There is no need for you to lie to me. I know you went to the hospital to tell him that Nell was in my office when she had her accident."
"He suspected already," Maggie insisted. "I didn't try to make any trouble."
"I know," he ran his hand across her face with a smile. "It's my fault. I never gave you a chance to mend your mistake when you let Nell into my office alone. I acted out of haste when I fired you."
She stared up at him with a confused look.
"That's right, Maggie," he grinned again. "I fired you when I should have been more understanding. Could you ever forgive me?"
"I," she stuttered. "I don't understand. Are you saying you want me to take my job back? That everything is forgiven?"
"There's nothing to forgive, Maggie," he patted her head.
"But you had me held in this closet the whole night," she reminded him. "Why would you do that if you are forgiving me?"
"A misunderstanding," he said standing to his feet pulling her up to hers. "My men were to have you wait in one of the offices upstairs and then they forgot where they placed you."
Maggie was not naive enough to believe him, but she was not about to question his sudden generous state of mind.
"So," he started again. "Let us put all this mess behind us, and we start anew. In the morning of course."
"Yes, of course," Maggie smiled for the first time in two days. "I would like that very much, sir,"
"Very good," Lionel turned away. "Now you go home and get some rest and I'll see you in the morning."
Maggie was excited as she stepped out into the service hall in the Luthor Corps basement with him. She was not sure if going back to work for Lionel was a smart thing to do at that time, but she knew it was far better than any possibility she had dreamed up during the night.
"Thank you again, Mister Luthor," she replied as he walked away.
"No problem," he waved behind himself to her. "James will take you home," he said as she noticed one of his men standing behind her waiting.
James gestured for her to follow her down another hall when Lionel stopped and turned back just as she had turned away.
"Oh, one more thing, Maggie," he called out.
Maggie's blood ran cold by the sound of his voice. She had known him long enough to know that there was more to this story, and the hammer was about to fall.
"Yes, Mister Luthor," she turned back forcing a smile.
"Your daughter was looking for you all night," he smirked. "You might want to give her a call."
"My daughter," Maggie questioned. "She lives with her husband in Topeka."
"Yes, but she was called in on a family emergency," Lionel explained. "It's seems while he was worrying and waiting for you to come home last night, your husband had another heart attack."
"Oh, my Lord," Maggie gasped.
"He's in Metropolis General," Lionel continued. "James can take you there if you prefer. I'm told he will be better after surgery."
"Oh, my Joe," Maggie cried.
Lionel turned away with another smirk. "I shall expect you bright and early in the morning, Margaret. Oh, and welcome back to Luthor Corps."
Maggie had to be helped down the hall by her driver as he led her to the car.
Alfred had let himself into Clark's room when there was no answer at the door. Clark had not come down to breakfast, and had not been seen out of his room the whole morning. It was now approaching lunchtime, and Alfred had decided to check in on his new young friend.
When he entered the large quarters, all was just as it had been when he had left Clark several hours earlier. He made his way across the room and saw that the teenager was still standing on the small balcony.
"Master Clark," Alfred announced himself.
Clark did not respond. He stood as silent as one of the stone statues on the lawn, watching into the swaying trees in the distant field.
"Master Clark," Alfred repeated placing a tender hand on his shoulder.
Clark's eyes seemed to tear up but he did not allow himself to release them. "It can't be over, Alfred."
Alfred remained silent out of respect for Clark's grief. He wanted to comfort the younger man, but he knew that Clark had to work through these emotions if he were going to be able to function again.
"Everyone thinks I came here to find Lex's killer," Clark told him with a monotone voice. "But that was only part of the story, Alfred. I came here to find Lex."
"But Mr. Luthor is still dead, is he not?" Alfred asked.
"Yeah," Clark let his head sink into his chest. "I don't know why, but I built up this hope inside of me that the phone call was real, and that his attackers had found a way to kidnap him and when I found them, I would find him. Then I would save him, and I would bring him home and protect him until he could take care of himself again."
"I am sure that you would have done so, too," Alfred affirmed. "A young man with your abilities would be a very able-body defender."
Clark turned with a shocked look.
"Have no fear, Master Clark," Alfred smiled. "I assure you that no one is aware but myself. I had the fence with the bent metal bars repaired, I burned the suit last night, and Doctor Thompkins reset my wrist earlier in the day. The ladies and Master Bruce have not even questioned the brace," he held up his broken wrist.
"Alfred," Clark began to protest.
"Your secret is safe with me, young sir," Alfred assured him. "You need never worry about your identity being revealed. After all, we all have our own little foibles to cover."
"I'm sorry," Clark said with eyes. "About the wrist, I mean."
"I have suffered far greater damage while attempting to act as Master Bruce's sparring partner, so have no further concern in the matter."
Clark knew he should be more worried that another person was on to his secrets, but his mind was already engrossed with other matters, and he turned away again.
"Could I get you something, Master Clark?" Alfred asked.
"Unless it's about six feet tall, bald, and thinks of me as a little brother," Clark smirked slightly at his own little joke. "Then the answer would be no, Alfred. Thank you, but I just want to be alone."
"Of course," Alfred nodded. "I shall be within ear shot should you require my assistance."
Alfred stopped before he stepped off the balcony. "Forgive me for saying so, young sir," he spoke cautiously. "Perhaps you are feeling incomplete because the journey is not yet truly finished."
Clark gave him a questionable look.
"Perhaps," Alfred continued. "It is not time to give up on young Mister Luthor just yet."
Clark was deep in the thought of his meaning when Alfred stepped out of the room.
Lionel Luthor stood over the bed where Lex laid motionless just staring up at the ceiling. He and his son had never been close, and he usually thought of Lex as a trophy or prize that he had been rewarded with in life, and had to mold into his own image. Today, Lionel looked down of the soul known Luthor heir, and felt a hint of remorse for what he had been putting the young man through.
Placing his hand over the silent son's forehead, Lionel comforted his own self-doubt in the assuredness that he was doing the best thing. Perhaps Lex was suffering now and had even retreated from the world of reality, but in the future, there would be a Luthor successor to step forward and claim the mantel of Luthor Corps and to carry on the long line of the Luthor name.
"Yes," Lionel grinned. "Hate me now, my son, but in the future, when all that is Luthor is yours, you shall look back at me as your savior and protector."
Lionel's attention was drawn away from his non-responsive son by the sounds of footsteps on the linoleum floor behind him. He turned and saw his young chief of security standing in wait.
"What do you have to tell me, Randolph?" Lionel grunted.
"Things have started going wrong sir," Randolph responded. "Morgan Edge has completely disappeared and no one has any idea where he has gone."
"He will lay low like the snake that he is," Lionel retorted. "His type never stays gone forever."
"We still don't know what he said to whom, but word is that Perry White has received a phone call from Miss Chloe Sullivan early this morning, and he has been working frantically on a story for tomorrow's Daily Planet, ever since."
A worried crease crossed Lionel's brow.
"My informant at the Planet said that Perry White received an overnight parcel from Gotham this morning, and Detective Henderson from the Metropolis police department has been seen speaking to him shortly after."
"Morgan had something on us," Lionel grunted. "And now the MPD has it."
"Now would be a good time to call in some favors, sir," Randolph suggested.
"All in good time," Lionel replied.
"There's more, sir," Randolph continued. "It's unclear how it happened, but Nell Potter has awoken from her coma, and we have lost contact with Doctor Burns. Our sources at the hospital say that there have been questions circling about his practice, and they are expecting an indictment to be set against him."
"Burns was a risk from the start," Lionel told him. "But he was the best I could do at such short notice. We must sever all ties to him at once."
"Of course sir," Randolph returned. "The process has already been set in motion."
Lionel finally turned to face him. "Is there anything else to report?" He asked. "What have you discovered about our intruder from last night?"
"Only that he has never worked for the temp service we use, and he stole his uniform from the storage closet without anyone's knowledge." Randolph replied. "No one else in the building besides us and the security cameras ever got a look at him. We are trying to run a trace on his facial features, but have not been having much luck so far."
A sour look grew across Lionel's face. "They are getting close, Randolph," he growled. "It has become to dangerous for Lex here."
"I know sir," Randolph pulled a folder from behind him. "I did some research and I found this private facility upstate that might be able to solve our problems."
Lionel took the folder and began to read.
"Our own staff doctor has recommended it, sir," he explained as Lionel read. "According to him, they have experience with people in your son's condition. They claim that he has retreated into his own sub conscious mind, but he will only be able to remain there for a short time. When he returns, his behavior can go one of two ways. He could either give in and become completely passive and non responsive, or he will become violent and become a risk to everything and everyone including himself."
"There is also a chance that he will recover completely," Lionel corrected.
"Under normal circumstances, yes," Randolph agreed. "But Lex has been severely traumatized, and you telling him that he killed his best friend and the only person he believed would be able to save him, has sent him over the edge. Perhaps permanently."
"What are you saying?" Lionel looked at him with concern.
"I'm saying that in spite of all that he had been through," Randolph told him. "He had one great hope to cling to, and now that is gone. Lex's spirit has been broken. He has given up all hope of ever being saved."
"But I saved him," Lionel turned quickly back to his son. "I saved him."
"In his mind," Randolph said as Lionel leaned over his son. "You are his captor and the person he needs saving from. Now his hope is gone, and perhaps his mind as well."
Lionel stared into his son's eyes for any signs of life he could find, but they were void and lifeless as he stared past his father to the same two ceiling tiles he had stared at for the past twelve hours. His hands began to tremble as he ran it over Lex's head again.
"Mr. Luthor," Randolph called out to his employer.
"It wasn't suppose to be like this, son," Lionel said softly into his ear. "You were suppose to thank me for saving you, and then we would work together side by side, two Luthors."
The same vacant stare was all Lex had to offer his father.
"Even now, you should wake up and I would explain everything to you," Lionel spoke as his eyes began to glisten. "Then you would understand, and I would protect you until Morgan Edge was destroyed, and we would rule Luthor Corps together as father and son, as it was always meant to be."
There was no response or movement from Lex, other than the same rhythmic rising and falling of his chest with each passing breath. Wherever Lex had retreated to, he was not coming back any time soon.
"Mr. Luthor," Randolph interrupted softly again.
"This facility," Lionel finally responded to him. "Will Lex be safe and well cared for there?"
"It's a private hospital that few people have ever even heard of, and is very well staffed with and excellent record." Randolph explained. "It's also has no connections to Luthor Corps in any way, and is listed as a mental facility."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning," he returned. "No one will be looking for a person recovering from a car crash in Psychiatric Hospital. We will also have him registered under an assumed name. Even if they do know who he is, no one will say anything. These people have handled this type of case before."
"Very well," Lionel nodded still looking down at his son. "If the police have any proof against me from Edge, then they could be here at any moment with a search warrant. We need to get my son into hiding, tonight."
"Yes sir," Randolph smiled behind Lionel's left shoulder from the doorway. "And I promise you, sir," he added. "Where Lex is going, no one will ever find him."
Lionel spoke not a word, but looked down at his son one final time.
Lex stared up vacantly as the ceiling tiles while his fate had been decided for him.
A few hours later and nearly fifteen hundred miles away, Clark Kent stood in the warm evening breeze as the world passed by him. He was young, healthy, and alive, and for all he cared, he was lost. His mission was a successful failure, and his one true desire for the outcome was lost forever. Clark leaned his head against the brick wall of the Wayne Manor on his balcony and allowed his sorrow to flow.
In the distance, a song began to play against the backdrop of life.
***Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely by Backstreet Boys***
Clark covered his face with his hands.
***Show me the meaning of being lonely***
He allowed his form to slide down the wall until he was on his knees.
***So many words for the broken heart***
He leaned forward as his grief got the better of him.
***It's hard to see in a crimson love***
Clark began to shake as a sudden summer rain began to fall.
***So hard to breathe***
He looked into the heavens.
***Walk with me, and maybe***
Somewhere, Lex was pulled up in his bed.
***Nights of light so soon become***
Randolph watched as two men in white coats placed him in a wheel chair.
***Wild and free I could feel the sun***
Lionel watched from the door as they wheeled Lex pass him.
***Your every wish will be done***
Lex watched with vacant eyes as empty halls passed before him.
***They tell me...***
The attendant spun the chair around and backed into the elevator.
***Show me the meaning of being lonely***
The elevator doors closed.
***Is this the feeling I need to walk with***
Elsewhere, Clark pulled his knees to his chest.
***Tell me why I can't be there where you are***
Alfred watched down on him from an opened window.
***There's something missing in my heart***
He pulled the drapes close and allowed Clark his privacy.
***Life goes on, as it never ends***
Two flights below, Lana walks under the balcony deep in thought.
***Eyes of stone observe the trends***
She stopped at the marked graves of Thomas and Martha Wayne.
***They never say forever gaze if only***
She was crying.
***Guilty roads to an endless love***
Bruce picked up his drink in first class seat.
***There's no control***
He took a sip staring out the window.
***Are you with me now***
He pulled a news magazine clipping from his pocket.
***Your every wish will be done**
He stared at Lana's 'three year old face' in a Time magazine.
***They tell me***
Bruce leaned back in his chair and turned to the window again
***Show me the meaning of being lonely***
Chloe looked up from her laptop in the Wayne Library.
***Is this the feeling I need to walk with***
She shrugged her sore shoulder and grimaced.
***Tell me why I can't be there where you are***
She placed a tender hand on her hurt and spun the chair around.
***There's something missing in my heart***
Chloe watched the rainfall outside the large windows.
***There's nowhere to run***
Elsewhere, Salina stood on a street corner in revealing garments.
***I have no place to go***
A car pulled up in front of her and she leaned in.
***Surrender my heart' body and soul***
A male hand held up money in her face.
***How can it be you're asking me to feel the things you never show***
She glanced up at the rain with pain in her eyes and Salina opened the door and got in.
***(Music interlude)***
A couple of detectives walked into Lionel office and handed him a search warrant.
He faked a smile as several officers began to swarm the entire room.
One policewoman opened the door to the emptied bedroom and then turned back.
***You are missing in my heart***
Lex was riding silently in the back of a van with blackened windows.
***Tell me why I can't be there where you are***
A passing street light glimmered across his face revealing a tear was on his cheek.
***Show me the meaning of being lonely***
Pete looked up at the Metropolis General Hospital sign holding up the wooden horse.
***Is this the feeling I need to walk with***
Jonathan and Martha appeared before him with a shocked look..
***Tell me why I can't be there where you are***
Martha grasped the horse with a smile.
***There's something missing in my heart***
Two flights above, Dr. Burns laid in a pool of his own blood, while the gun smoked in his hand.
***Show me the meaning of being lonely***
Clark looked up from his silent prayer.
***Is this the feeling I need to walk with***
He rose to his feet and rushed through his room picking up his coat.
***Tell me why I can't be there where you are***
Alfred spotted him in the hall and Clark nodded his head knowingly.
***There's something missing in my heart***
With a determined look, Clark set out the Wayne Manor's front door with a purpose.
It was about an hour later when Chloe came running into Clark's room holding up the cell phone from Perry White. She had a large smile on her face as she announced, "Clark, Perry is on the phone with Pete and your folks, and they may have found something."
She stopped in her tracks when she saw that Alfred was alone in the room changing the linen.
Chloe stopped at the foot of the bed and gave him a questionable look. "What's going on here? Where's Clark?"
Alfred placed the newly cover pillow on the bed and looked up at her. "I am afraid you have missed Master Clark," he told her. "He has decided to continue his quest on his own. Clark is gone."
With her jaw sprung open, Chloe dropped the phone to the floor in shock.
TO BE CONCLUDED
***Notes***
Another week, and another group of reviews, thank you all again. It means so much to me.
To Brennan: Thanks for reading again. I guess you and MitchPell have been reading the some of the same stories, so thanks for taking time with mine's.
To MitchPell: Thanks for coming back and the kind words. The horse is becoming a big clue, but now, it may be too little too late. Lionel is cruel, but I hope I have been able to show in the chapter and others, that he never meant to hurt Lex, but to keep him safe, even if he has gone about it in the wrong way. As for the take on what will happen next, I think a wrench has been thrown into that possibility, or has it?
To Merrie: Thank you so much for building me up with each review. I just hope you think I continue to live up to such high standards. Let's see if I can wow you again.
Oh, thanks for the nod, but to here someone say that they are a fan, only brings back real bad 'Mommy Dearest' flashbacks. But thanks for the consideration.
To Angledust: I am so proud, and thank you for your kind review.
To Shortperson: Thanks for the correction on the doctor MD thing.
To Suz: Thank for your review again. I look forward to all the regulars. Thanks for the Pete and Dr. Burns nods. I also agreed that the Kents not knowing Clark was sick was for the best. I have to admit, I like the Bruce in the trench coat bit too. As for Alfred, whom we now know has figured out at least part of Clark's secret and the suite, the suite was ripped to small shreds in the bathroom when Clark removed it from his body. My assumption would be that a two thousand dollar suite would be very well made and would not have ripped to small swatches as shown. I'm sorry if it was clear. As for Lionel, the image of a dead Clark was sick, but Lionel needed to drive his story home.
Thanks again for all the kind words.
To LaCasta: Thanks for your comments. I am glad you like my take on the Bat.
Well that ends another week, and I want to thank everyone who read my story so far. I also must sadly inform you that there is not going to be a new chapter next week, as I have yet to even start writing chapter twenty, and I would not do it justice by trying to rush it out. It should be the final chapter, and it has to be special, but at this time the holidays have slowed me down and I am with out the next part, but I promise I will have it up as soon as possible. I'm shooting for the first Monday in 2003, so please keep watching and I am sorry for the in conveyance.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Best Wishes and God Bless
Please remember to keep the Christ in Christmas
Phaze