Discovery
By Lanie Trace (lindalee)
This is post Covenant fiction. Based on the Smallville series on WB. Characters created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. Based on the Superman Characters originally created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
If I am hitting on anyone's ideas, or if someone else is writing a similar storyline. Contact me; I'd love to collaborate.
Clearing the CobwebsLex wakes up. Am I in a hospital or not? I can't seem to focus. All of these thoughts are pounding in my head.
"You're awake. That's good." A female voice comes closer to him.
Lex tries to ask, "Where am I?" but his speech is slurred.
"Metropolis Medical Center. Do you remember what happened?" the voice asks. "Do you remember me?" She walks up to his bedside and turns on a small amount of light.
"Janine." Lex smiles with relief; at least it's not the enemy. "Things are kind of hazy."
"Where to start?" she says
"What are you doing here? Not that I am not glad to see you." Lex's speech is becoming clearer, and he can focus now.
"I'm not glad to be here." Janine answers, "What's the last thing you recall?" She tries not to think about the middle of the night call she received in London.
"My father being denied bail." Lex answers.
"That was over two months ago, Lex" Janine knows that will go over like a brick wall.
"What!" Lex shouts, "That's a really bad joke, Janine."
"I wish I were joking." She says cautiously
"You look exhausted, have you slept at all." Lex asks in a calmer voice.
"It's been rough, you are damn lucky Alexander." She uses his full name. "I'm going to have the nurses call the doctor in. I'll be right back." She turns to leave.
"Chloe, Clark and Lana are they okay."
"I'll tell you after we talked to the doctor."
"Janine, I care about these people, please tell me." Lex attempts to sit up and realizes he can't feel his legs. He presses both hands down to see if they are still there.
"You still have your legs. The poison attacked your nervous system; if your unusual condition didn't exist you would be dead. That's why you are damn lucky" Janine answers him.
"Please Janine. Tell me what has happened." Lex not use to pleading to get what he wants, but he will try anything right now.
"This is against my better judgment, and no they are not okay. It's bad. I will tell you everything after the doctor is here. I promise." Janine leaves Lex to fume over the little news she has given him.
She hates to see Lex this way. 'He can act so like his father when he's this angry' she thinks to herself.' I have to help him through this, mom would want that.' She heads down the hallway to the nurse's station. "He's awake. Could call Dr Lane?" she asks the head nurse Jennifer.
"Maggie, Let's go ahead and get vitals, too." Jen tells her student nurse.
"That might not be a good idea, right now. I could not get away from him without telling something happened to his friends." Janine tells both of them.
"I'll do it." Jen gets up and comes with Janine.
Lex is attempting to sit up in the bed, when Jen and Janine arrive. "Damn him, Janine. Damn him straight into the river Styx." Lex snarls. "Fill me in, all of it. I'm not waiting on a doctor to come." Janine knew all too well to whom Lex was talking about, she cursed him long ago, after chasing her mother away from Lex.
"He did wake up on the wrong side of the bed." Jen comments. "How about I take vitals first, so that maybe the doctor won't put us both out."
"If you must." Lex snaps.
"You will recover Mr. Luthor, you are a lucky man. One because you survived and two because you have a loyal friend." Jen tells while taking his pulse. "His vitals are not good, but considering what he is feeling right now, I have the doctor take into account."
She smiles and finishes her work. Janine and Lex are alone again.
"Fill me in." Lex says quietly. Janine knows when he gets quiet its never a good sign. "I want to know all of it. Don't kid glove me."
"Wouldn't dream of it." Janine answers and takes a deep breath. "Chloe Sullivan and her father Gabe were killed in a gas explosion at the safe house. You know that you were poisoned. Clark has been missing since before the attempt on you and Chloe. There is some sad news about Clark's father Jonathan. He is in a coma. The doctor's are keeping in it. His body suffered some kind of electrical charge and they are still trying to figure out what happened." She finishes and waits for Lex to process the news.
"Does my father know what has happened? How successful his plans were?" Lex rhetorically and sarcastically comments.
"I'm sure he does. He has asked about you and wants me to come see him." Janine answers anyway.
"You haven't given him the satisfaction." Lex smirks
"Not a chance in hell." Janine answers and Lex finally smiles. "You know the more you two go at each other the more alike you become."
"Someone else said that to me, not too long ago in fact." Lex answers and she sees the pain in his eyes.
"You really shouldn't have had that room." Janine looks at her friend.
"How did you know about?" Lex flatters on the question.
"I have checked on the Kents, Martha is very nice and very strong. She told me.
Although she didn't say it out right I think she believes that is part of the reason Clark has disappeared. I didn't have the heart to tell her, he maybe lost completely."
"You think my father has him somehow? Or he is dead?" Lex comments
"Yes, Terrence cannot find a trace of the young man being anywhere and Jonathan was found at the caves." Janine adds.
"Lionel has him." Lex answers and for a moment he looks almost terrified. "Lana?"
"She's okay, her aunt called her as soon as she knew about Chloe. She has come by several times to sit with you." Janine touches his arm. The door open and Dr Lane comes in.
"Everyone is thinking how miraculous your recovery is, I say that a bunch of, well I am glad you are awake. Now to the issue of your paralysis." Dr. Lane is very straightforward like most specialists. He normally doesn't have patients, however Lex provided him a challenge even he could not resist. And being that Janine's mother was a good friend to his wife; he wasn't going to pass up the opportunity. "We do not know if it is permanent or not, your nervous system has been recovering slowly."
"When will you know, Doctor?" the coldness of Lex's voice could be felt.
"Considering your unusual condition with the elevated white blood cells, I can't even predict. It's unheard of recovering from this. You are a fascinating study, Mr. Luthor." Dr. Lane adds.
"Please use Lex, right now Mr. Luthor doesn't inspire me to be civil." Lex snaps with his voice and eyes almost frozen.
"I can do that." Dr. Lane not happy about he patient telling him what to do. 'That's what I get for helping with this.' He thinks and smiles.
"Do you have any other information on my condition? I am going home to recover." Lex comments
"That's not really a good idea. You may need the care we can give you here." Dr Lane comes back.
"I wasn't asking about whether I am going home. I asked what other information you have on my condition." Lex snaps with his eyes flaming. Janine thinks 'Here we go. The monster is loose and on a rampage.'
"Again, that's really not a good idea." Dr Lane snaps back angry. 'Spoiled as my little girl' he thinks 'That's what I get for helping you and giving her anything she wants.'
"Again, I didn't ask. I am going home." Lex is growing angrier about the whole conversation.
"Compromise? Gentlemen." Janine comes in to save Dr. Lane. "How about we see how Lex does over a week and then if everything is stable he can go home with 24 hour care."
She gives Lex the 'don't make me pull what my mother and yours use to do' look. Lex looks at her knowing he needs to wait for that battle.
"I guess we can try that." Lex answers and gives Janine his best 'evil eye' to which Janine only smiles. She has never been afraid of Lex, even when she saw him after he lost all his hair.
"Fine." Dr. Lane relents to the young woman who could tumble a building with one look if she put her mind to it. 'I hope that young man, knows what he's got by the tail' he smiles and leaves the room. He needed some fresh air after that.
Friday rolls around and Lex continues to improve. He is able to walk with crutches. Dr Lane allows him to be released with 24-hour care, and that Janine will call if anything changes for the better or worse. They are traveling by limo back to the mansion. Lex turns to Janine, who is typing on her PDA. "What is it?" Lex asks.
"Terrence has found some interesting facts about your father and his involvement in the Kent's adoption of Clark. Were aware he set the whole thing up?" Janine is completely baffled.
"Strange things happen around my father." Lex's answer was a vague as ever.
"Hmm. I think I have found someone who can assist us with the case against your father, if you still want to continue." Janine adds because she has two people ready to help testify and one has a great deal of information on Lionel before he was the billionaire.
"You have to ask." Lex snaps.
"Good. They are waiting for us at the mansion." She says putting up her PDA.