Chapter 1
Smallville Medical Center was having a nice, quiet night – for a change. Or at least it was, until the emergency doors were thrown open and a stretcher was pushed in. One of the doctors, a stressed out looking man, early thirties, ran to greet the paramedic's. "What have we got?" he demanded, leading them to an exam room.
"White male, age 23 years, name is Alexander Luthor," the first paramedic stated.
"What happened?" the doctor, James King, asked.
"Looks like he was poisoned," the second paramedic told him.
"BP?" King questioned.
"100 over 60 and dropping," the first one said again.
King turned to the awaiting nurses. "I need a stomach pump, and get him hooked up; keep an eye on his vitals." The nurses hurried to carry out the doctor's orders and King and the paramedics transferred Lex onto an exam table. The machine was now there, and King began to insert the tube down Lex's throat. A loud, telltale beep sounded from one of the monitors.
"Doctor," nurse Linda Kaplan called. "Pulse is gone."
King reached for the diffibulator paddles, checking the voltage. "Charging," he called. "Clear!" The nurses all stepped away and King held the paddles to Lex's chest. The pulse didn't change. "Increase voltage!" King told the nurses. "Charging...clear!" He shocked Lex again.
A short, steadily repeating beep resonated from the monitor. Linda sighed in relief. "We have a pulse."
Metropolis general was not having a quiet night. So, when the paramedics pushed Chloe Sullivan into Emergency, they had to dodge several people. A kindly looking doctor rushed to greet them, a young resident hot on his heels.
"Female, 17 years," the paramedic told the older doctor, Maury Price. "Burn victim: she has severe third degree burns and possible head trauma."
"Exam 4," Price directed the paramedics and then turned to his resident. "Page Dr. Kim, he's the Burn Unit specialist."
"Yes doctor," Kayla Russell nodded and hurried off to the nearest phone. Price followed the paramedics into exam 4.
"What's her name?" he asked them.
"Chloe Sullivan," the first one replied.
Price frowned. "Why do I know that name?" he asked them as they transferred Chloe onto an exam table.
"She was one of the key witnesses in the Luthor trial," the other one replied. Price looked down at the girl in surprise, knowing that this was probably not an accident.
Martha Kent drove herself to the caves, knowing that Jonathan and Clark would be there. When she arrived she found no trace of her son, but did discover her husband, lying on the ground, water pooling around him.
"Jonathan!" she cried and ran to feel for a pulse. She found one, but it was very faint. Knowing that is was unsafe to move him, she ran back to the car and found her cell phone.
Five minutes later Martha was climbing into an ambulance behind two paramedics and a stretcher holding her husband, en route to Smallville Medical Center.
Kayla watched attentively as Doctors Price and Kim worked on reviving the young girl. Chloe Sullivan's clothes were peeled carefully from her body, patches of charred skin coming off as well. Kayla's eyes began to tingle at the sight.
Somehow, the front of the girl's body was not as seriously burned as the back. Miraculously, Chloe's face was marred only by a large cut down her left cheek, and a lot of soot. Dr. Kim ordered a large dose of antibiotics for her IV.
"Burns can become infected very easily if they're not kept sterile," Price explained to Kayla. "With burns this severe, and infection could kill her."
A nurse ran in with two X-Ray sheets in her hands. "Doctor," she called and clipped the sheets onto a light board. Doctor Price looked over the X-Rays and then returned to Dr. Kim and Kayla.
"There is some swelling," Price told them. "But it looks like it should go down; I think she'll wake up."
"The burns are quite severe," Dr. Kim announced. "I want to transfer her to intensive care until she wakes up, then to the burn unit."
"I'll phone intensive care," Kayla told him, happy to be doing something. "Have them set up a sterilized environment."
Lex Luthor sat morosely in his hospital bed in Smallville Medical Center. He had a private room – naturally – and had the television turned on to a morning newscast from Metropolis. Lex wasn't watching it though, he'd just found the silence too unnerving and had switched the TV on hoping for some distraction. It wasn't helping, and Lex found himself going over and over in his head what had happened the night before.
There was no doubt in Lex's mind that Lionel had been responsible for the poisoned drink; he was however deeply surprised that his father would go so far as to try and kill his heir.
A knock on his door startled him out of his thoughts. Lex looked up to see Martha Kent slip into his room, a bouquet of balloons in her hand. "Mrs. Kent," he greeted her in surprise. She smiled.
"Hello Lex," she handed him the balloons. "You didn't strike me as the flower type." This time he smiled.
"Thank you," Lex put the balloons on his bedside table and turned to her seriously. "I didn't expect to see you here."
Martha nodded sadly. "I was here already," she looked pained. "Jonathan was brought in last night – he'll be fine," she added, seeing his concerned look. "And I overheard the doctor asking for your chart."
"I'm glad to hear that Mr. Kent will be okay," Lex told her sincerely. He wondered if Clark had told her about his discovery at the mansion. "Is Clark around?"
Martha paled. "No, he's . . . away," she averted her eyes briefly. "May I ask, what happened to you Lex? Why are you in here?"
Lex smirked bitterly. "Just a slight case of poisoned drink," he saw her shock. "I'll survive. Though, I haven't decided what I'm going to do about my father?"
"You think that Lionel was responsible for this?" Martha gasped.
"I know he did," Lex toyed with the hem of his blanked, and action that made obvious the fact that he was just by his father actions. An awkward silence filled the room.
"And in local news, two witnesses from Wednesday's Luthor trial have been hospitalized," the newscaster's voice caught their attention. "Billionaire heir Lex Luthor is currently recuperating in Smallville Medical Center after a near-fatal poisoning attempt made last night. Luthor Corp spokespersons report that Mr. Luthor is in stable condition and will have a full recovery.
Key eyewitness Chloe Sullivan remains in intensive care at Metropolis General Hospital after a late night explosion took the life of her father, Gabriel Sullivan, and left her with severe third degree burns and head trauma. Hospital spokespersons released that Ms. Sullivan is in critical condition and has yet to regain consciousness.
Coincidentally, both Lex Luthor and Chloe Sullivan delivered key testimonies in Wednesday's Lionel Luthor murder trial. The whereabouts of third eyewitness, Clark Kent, are still unconfirmed. In other news. . ."
Lex sucked in a gulp of air and blinked blandly at the television set; Martha covered her mouth in shock, tears streaming down her cheeks.
TBC...
Smallville Medical Center was having a nice, quiet night – for a change. Or at least it was, until the emergency doors were thrown open and a stretcher was pushed in. One of the doctors, a stressed out looking man, early thirties, ran to greet the paramedic's. "What have we got?" he demanded, leading them to an exam room.
"White male, age 23 years, name is Alexander Luthor," the first paramedic stated.
"What happened?" the doctor, James King, asked.
"Looks like he was poisoned," the second paramedic told him.
"BP?" King questioned.
"100 over 60 and dropping," the first one said again.
King turned to the awaiting nurses. "I need a stomach pump, and get him hooked up; keep an eye on his vitals." The nurses hurried to carry out the doctor's orders and King and the paramedics transferred Lex onto an exam table. The machine was now there, and King began to insert the tube down Lex's throat. A loud, telltale beep sounded from one of the monitors.
"Doctor," nurse Linda Kaplan called. "Pulse is gone."
King reached for the diffibulator paddles, checking the voltage. "Charging," he called. "Clear!" The nurses all stepped away and King held the paddles to Lex's chest. The pulse didn't change. "Increase voltage!" King told the nurses. "Charging...clear!" He shocked Lex again.
A short, steadily repeating beep resonated from the monitor. Linda sighed in relief. "We have a pulse."
Metropolis general was not having a quiet night. So, when the paramedics pushed Chloe Sullivan into Emergency, they had to dodge several people. A kindly looking doctor rushed to greet them, a young resident hot on his heels.
"Female, 17 years," the paramedic told the older doctor, Maury Price. "Burn victim: she has severe third degree burns and possible head trauma."
"Exam 4," Price directed the paramedics and then turned to his resident. "Page Dr. Kim, he's the Burn Unit specialist."
"Yes doctor," Kayla Russell nodded and hurried off to the nearest phone. Price followed the paramedics into exam 4.
"What's her name?" he asked them.
"Chloe Sullivan," the first one replied.
Price frowned. "Why do I know that name?" he asked them as they transferred Chloe onto an exam table.
"She was one of the key witnesses in the Luthor trial," the other one replied. Price looked down at the girl in surprise, knowing that this was probably not an accident.
Martha Kent drove herself to the caves, knowing that Jonathan and Clark would be there. When she arrived she found no trace of her son, but did discover her husband, lying on the ground, water pooling around him.
"Jonathan!" she cried and ran to feel for a pulse. She found one, but it was very faint. Knowing that is was unsafe to move him, she ran back to the car and found her cell phone.
Five minutes later Martha was climbing into an ambulance behind two paramedics and a stretcher holding her husband, en route to Smallville Medical Center.
Kayla watched attentively as Doctors Price and Kim worked on reviving the young girl. Chloe Sullivan's clothes were peeled carefully from her body, patches of charred skin coming off as well. Kayla's eyes began to tingle at the sight.
Somehow, the front of the girl's body was not as seriously burned as the back. Miraculously, Chloe's face was marred only by a large cut down her left cheek, and a lot of soot. Dr. Kim ordered a large dose of antibiotics for her IV.
"Burns can become infected very easily if they're not kept sterile," Price explained to Kayla. "With burns this severe, and infection could kill her."
A nurse ran in with two X-Ray sheets in her hands. "Doctor," she called and clipped the sheets onto a light board. Doctor Price looked over the X-Rays and then returned to Dr. Kim and Kayla.
"There is some swelling," Price told them. "But it looks like it should go down; I think she'll wake up."
"The burns are quite severe," Dr. Kim announced. "I want to transfer her to intensive care until she wakes up, then to the burn unit."
"I'll phone intensive care," Kayla told him, happy to be doing something. "Have them set up a sterilized environment."
Lex Luthor sat morosely in his hospital bed in Smallville Medical Center. He had a private room – naturally – and had the television turned on to a morning newscast from Metropolis. Lex wasn't watching it though, he'd just found the silence too unnerving and had switched the TV on hoping for some distraction. It wasn't helping, and Lex found himself going over and over in his head what had happened the night before.
There was no doubt in Lex's mind that Lionel had been responsible for the poisoned drink; he was however deeply surprised that his father would go so far as to try and kill his heir.
A knock on his door startled him out of his thoughts. Lex looked up to see Martha Kent slip into his room, a bouquet of balloons in her hand. "Mrs. Kent," he greeted her in surprise. She smiled.
"Hello Lex," she handed him the balloons. "You didn't strike me as the flower type." This time he smiled.
"Thank you," Lex put the balloons on his bedside table and turned to her seriously. "I didn't expect to see you here."
Martha nodded sadly. "I was here already," she looked pained. "Jonathan was brought in last night – he'll be fine," she added, seeing his concerned look. "And I overheard the doctor asking for your chart."
"I'm glad to hear that Mr. Kent will be okay," Lex told her sincerely. He wondered if Clark had told her about his discovery at the mansion. "Is Clark around?"
Martha paled. "No, he's . . . away," she averted her eyes briefly. "May I ask, what happened to you Lex? Why are you in here?"
Lex smirked bitterly. "Just a slight case of poisoned drink," he saw her shock. "I'll survive. Though, I haven't decided what I'm going to do about my father?"
"You think that Lionel was responsible for this?" Martha gasped.
"I know he did," Lex toyed with the hem of his blanked, and action that made obvious the fact that he was just by his father actions. An awkward silence filled the room.
"And in local news, two witnesses from Wednesday's Luthor trial have been hospitalized," the newscaster's voice caught their attention. "Billionaire heir Lex Luthor is currently recuperating in Smallville Medical Center after a near-fatal poisoning attempt made last night. Luthor Corp spokespersons report that Mr. Luthor is in stable condition and will have a full recovery.
Key eyewitness Chloe Sullivan remains in intensive care at Metropolis General Hospital after a late night explosion took the life of her father, Gabriel Sullivan, and left her with severe third degree burns and head trauma. Hospital spokespersons released that Ms. Sullivan is in critical condition and has yet to regain consciousness.
Coincidentally, both Lex Luthor and Chloe Sullivan delivered key testimonies in Wednesday's Lionel Luthor murder trial. The whereabouts of third eyewitness, Clark Kent, are still unconfirmed. In other news. . ."
Lex sucked in a gulp of air and blinked blandly at the television set; Martha covered her mouth in shock, tears streaming down her cheeks.
TBC...