Chapter Ten: A Peek into a Terrible Life

Part One-

This chapter is going to be quite different from the others. It will be told in separate sections covering different points of view of characters. Some may cover overlapping story in order to include their thoughts and individual reactions to different situations. It will also probably be broken down into at least two chapters. (It just keeps getting longer!) Hopefully it won't be too confusing :D

The Talon- the group

It was 6:30 am Thursday morning; Lex's meeting with Swann was set for 7:45am. Lex had just finished telling them that everything that they had discussed the previous week had been arranged. Lana was already at the hotel where they would be staying; Jason had dropped her off even earlier that morning. There were two unmarked SUV's, and a limo parked outside waiting for them.

"Just so everyone is clear…Jason, Pete, Lois, Mr. Kent and I will leave in a few minutes; Jason and I to our scheduled meetings, Lois to the labs, and Pete and Mr. Kent will join the guards. Now, I've arranged it so they expect you both to be coming; no matter what you see, don't act like it bothers you. They expect you to just observe how they do things. Here are your credentials and clearance." Lex handed them to Lois, Pete and Mr. Kent.

"Exactly what am I going to see?" Lois asked, hating that she was nervous.

"I don't know for sure, but you will be closely involved in whatever they are doing with Clark at the time; and I'm not exactly sure what that is either. I'll find that out today. If you get a chance, it might be a good idea if you could look at old records, see what they know about Clark."

Lois nodded silently.

"Do they expect us too?" Mr. Kent asked.

"Yeah, you will be stationed inside on the second level, which is below ground. That's the main facility level where they do most of the testing, so I would imagine that Clark is kept there too. Now, Chloe and Mrs. Kent will drive up in the separate SUV's and you won't need to be there until about 10:00 pm. That's when we should make our move. Jason and I will say we want to go over some paperwork; Lois can say she wants to review their research. Mr. Kent, you and Pete will still be on duty. I've learned that they run a skeleton crew of guards at night. I guess they figure with all the meteor rocks they have all over the place, Clark would never be able to get out on his own. So you guys should have no problems getting to him."

"Lex and I figure that we will be able to get into the main security room and disable everything…including the alarms and surveillance. After that we can just stun gun anyone in our way." Jason said, trying to sound sure of himself.

"What are you going to do if you run into trouble?" Chloe asked

"We won't; we will do everything on time; and will all be fine." Lex interjected. He hoped everyone else believed him; since he said it trying to convince himself.

"What happens if after we get Clark away from those guys, and they've hurt him?" Mrs. Kent asked softly

Everyone stayed silent for a moment, looking at each other. They had all tried to force themselves to not think about that part.

It was Mr. Kent that finally spoke, and surprised everyone, especially Lex.

"Lex, do you thick that you could arrange to have a doctor or someone available if we need them?"

Lex's silence went on a little longer. Mr. Kent and Lex looked at each other, finally understanding one another.

"I can have someone on call. You can call me at the mansion anytime, too. And I've already got the house stocked with everything you should need."

"Do we have any other problems?" Lex waited "Alright."

Everyone stayed silent and got up. They all said soft goodbyes and Mrs. Kent and Chloe watched everyone else leave.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Lois, Lex, and Jason xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Upon entering the building, they all realized why Dr. Swann was confident Clark would never get out on his own; there were meteor rocks everywhere. Some were disguised as fancy paperweights on desks, but most were embedded in the walls, doors and windows.

Jason, Lex and Lois made their way to Dr. Swann's office. Lois was going there to introduce herself as Dr. Susan Campbell, and then she would be taken down to the labs on the second level.

"Don't worry, just follow my lead and we'll be fine. He's going to start with taking us on a tour of the facility, so we just need to remember where the security office, the labs and Clark's room are." Lex tried to reassure them.

They had already said goodbye to Pete and Mr. Kent when they entered the building. They had just checked in as new guards, not even associated with Lex.

Another guard was a few steps ahead of them, escorting them to Dr. Swann's office.

"Ah Mr. Luthor, you made it…" Dr. Swann said as the guard knocked and opened the office door.

"Dr. Swann, may I introduce my assistant, Jason Teague; and the doctor I told you about, Susan Campbell."

"Yes, pleased to meet you both. I assume that Mr. Luthor has already informed you both of what we do here?" He asked, looking at them both.

"Yes, with what he has told me, I am very eager to get involved." Lois said, trying to sound professional.

"I must say, I'm glad to have you aboard, Mr. Luthor. Shall we start with a tour of our facility, and we can drop young Dr. Campbell off at the Labs; so we may all get started." Dr. Swann moved his chair towards the door; leading them down a hallway towards another door.

After a maze of different offices and file rooms, they stopped in front of a door that they probably would have not even noticed otherwise. It opened to Dr. Swann's voice command.

"The rest of you will use your security badges to get in and out." He explained.

The door opened to reveal an elevator. The next time they opened they found themselves in a completely different environment. They were now below ground and there were no windows. Black, lead walls and doors surrounded them. They were lead down a brightly lit hallway; until they reached what they all realized must be the Labs. It was a large room filled with shelves of laboratory equipment, and a single exam table in the middle of the room.

"This is our main lab, it has the most up-to-date equipment we could get. We do have some smaller ones, but they are not frequently used." Swann paused for just a moment, until someone exited a room, a little further down. "Oh, Dr. Ridge, this is Dr. Campbell. She is going to be observing us in action today, and then joining your team next week. Please allow her access to your research, so she may be up to speed on our current projects."

Lois stepped forward and shook Dr. Ridge's hand.

"Pleased to meet you, Doctor. I'm looking forward to working with you."

"Let's go. I was just going to look over yesterday's reports. Then we ca wash up and get started for today."

Lois looked back for a moment, as she followed Dr. Ridge into another room.

"Let's continue." Dr. Swann said, as he started further down the hallway. They toured the other lab rooms, and several more rooms filled with computers, and files. They soon reached the end of the hallway, and then Dr. Swann turned around and headed them back down the same hallway. When they reached the large lab room again, they now noticed another small hallway off to the side.

"Down this hallway, is our security main room, and Kal-el's cell; I won't be able to take you down that way, so I'll now take you down to our third level." Dr. Swann turned towards the elevator.

Lex didn't move, "When I signed on, we agreed that me and my company would be actively involved here. Now how do you expect to let us do that without letting us get involved, Dr. Swann?" Lex stood, just waiting for an answer.

Dr. Swann turned around slowly. "I don't like to have his cell opened more than necessary. I will bring you both down later this morning; after they have started with him. Right now, I'll take you down below, to our third level. It's where we can safely test him without the effects of the Kryptonite." Dr. Swann turned into the elevator.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Kal-el's point of view xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kal-el lay on the mattress in his room; waiting for the blinding white lights to be turned on; he could usually predict it by how long he had been left alone. He never had any idea what time it was; but that didn't really matter. They didn't care whether he hadn't slept, or how many hours they kept him in the lab doing their tests. He never slept much anymore anyway; and when he did it was because he had been drugged. He didn't mind; mostly the time he spent in his cell, he spent it somewhere between awake and asleep. It was there that he was with her. He was able to see and feel her; he figured she had to be someone from his past. Somehow he knew she was experiencing the same way. They didn't actually talk to each other, but it was almost they could understand each other through their feelings. On some level they were always connected; the feeling…the connection was getting stronger all the time.

Right on time, his thoughts were rudely interrupted by lights and food being shoved through an unlocked slit in the door.

A few minutes later, three or four guards stormed in and forced him into a room down the hall, and strapped onto an uncomfortable exam table. It was there he waited for someone to enter. Sometimes it took what felt like hours for someone to come and do something painful to him; but this morning, several people were already there, waiting for him. The doctors, and scientists or whoever they were, were all dressed in their usual attire of sterile gowns, gloves and masks. By now he knew almost all of them by their voices, or just by their eyes; but today, there were a single pair of eyes that he didn't recognize, although they seemed familiar. She was standing alone in the background of everything, and seemed to be forcing herself to look anywhere but at him, not wanting to make eye contact. The others in the room bustled around, gathering papers and going about their business as usual, as they normally completely ignored him.

A few minutes later, as they seemed to be becoming more focused, they moved his table into a sitting position. The woman in the back hadn't moved. Today they seemed to be doing just some regular lab testing and getting new samples. They did that every once in a while. He didn't really care why. The young doctor in the back didn't seem real interested in taking part. Every few minutes, one of the other doctors would go over and quietly talk to her. Kal-el realized that she must be the new doctor that Dr. Swann was talking about last week. Not that it meant anything special to him, just someone new to try new, painful things to him.

After a few minutes, the doctors, including the new one, started analyzing everything. He heard an unfortunate familiar sound. He heard Dr. Swann, off to the side quietly talking to the doctors.

"Good morning, Kal-el." He moved his wheelchair so that he was looking him in the eye. But the sight of Dr. Swann was not what surprised him; it was the other two people standing in front of him.

He looked them both in the eyes; they were looking at him different than everyone else did. He couldn't exactly figure it out, but he didn't care very much. He couldn't care; it hurt too much.

Lex, Jason and Dr. Swann

The three of them had been talking in Dr. Swann's office; Dr. Swann was explaining the 'project' to them.

"We acquired Kal-el close to two years ago. I first learned about him about a year before that; and immediately started making preparations for what we are doing now. I secured this building and made the necessary changes. Once we got him here, we kept ourselves extremely busy; finding everything we could about his anatomy and physiology; the exact effects the red and green forms of Kryptonite had on him. We are always testing his abilities and testing any improvements and changes he has. For the past several days, I have been working personally with him on helping us decipher his written language."

Lex jumped in, "Has he told you what's on the cave walls?" Even though he was on Clark's side, he couldn't deny his natural curiosity.

"I am able to read only small parts; but hopefully more soon."

Jason looked up from the notes he was taking, "Are you able to get his cooperation?"

Dr. Swann didn't answer immediately, "On most of our other testing we have had very little trouble, because of the Kryptonite, he doesn't have much of a choice. But, on this…I have had very little success. I have tried at different times and had to stop and come back to it at a later date. So this time, I am afraid that I will need to use some other techniques. Any other questions?"

Jason spoke up again, "Yes, why do you call him Kal-el, instead of Clark?"

"First of all, I've preferred that none of the doctors or scientists directly address him in any way. I am the only one that has spoken directly with him. Secondly, Kal-el is an alien; an alien that tried to hide among humans for 14 years. I know that you both knew him previously, but he was a lie. He isn't Clark Kent, no matter how much you or he wanted him to be, he is and always will be Kal-el." Dr. Swann spoke so calmly, like he was talking about something that you would run across everyday, rather than aliens.

Dr. Swann looked up at the clock on the wall, "8:30am, they should be ready for us by now. I will take you down to the lab now, I needed to give them some time to finish up getting some fresh samples from him this morning." He started moving towards the door.

"Will we get a chance to see the doctors in action?" Lex asked.

"It depends on how cooperative he chooses to be this morning. After we are done, you could probably spend some time observing them before going over the old data. Though I don't remember exactly what they're testing later today."

"That's alright."

They all exited the room, and headed for the elevator. Once in the basement, they turned down the hallway towards the lab. Jason and Lex followed a little behind Dr. Swann; both trying to prepare themselves for what they were about to see.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Lois xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx

Lois followed Dr. Ridge into the empty lab room.

"Today we are going to be collecting fresh samples from him. Every couple of months we gather new samples for comparison and new testing. You should know that Dr. Swann prefers that we refrain from speaking directly to him; all we need to do is just go about our work as normal…as if he couldn't hear us. There are very small amounts of Kryptonite exposed in the room, so he is weakened just enough that he is unable to break through the restraints. If it is all right, Dr. Campbell, we will just have you mainly observe today. Watch how we handle him; his reactions to us, and you'll be able to pick everything up in a few days. You are welcome to look through any of our old records of tests and things we've performed. The guards should be bringing him in any minute; so let me hurry and introduce you to the rest of our team."

"That will be just fine." Lois said, trying to get herself to remember to react to the name 'Dr. Campbell'.

One of the other doctors approached her, "I'm Dr. Kelly; I'll show you where to change."

Lois just looked at him, puzzled. "Change?"

"Whenever we're in the lab with the subject, we always were sterile attire. You'll need to wear a mask, gown and gloves while we work with him."

"Oh, right, sure. That's fine." Lois tried to act like this was something normal and expected.

Dr. Kelly took her through another door in the corner of the room and showed her where the supplies were. A few minutes later, she re-entered the lab, looking like she actually belonged; she was glad that wasn't how she felt, though.

Dr. Ridge motioned over to her when he saw her come back.

"Oh, I almost forgot to show you, we, as well as the security room, have screens showing all activity on this floor, including Kal-el's cell." Dr. Ridge explained.

Lois didn't want to look, but she did anyway. She saw a figure, lying on the floor of a small room. She watched as three large men entered the room and roughly grabbed Clark. But the thing that surprised her most wasn't how much his appearance had changed, it was the fact that he just let them; he didn't even try to avoid their grasp. That wasn't the Clark she knew…and that scared her more than anything. She watched as they carried him out of the room and down the hall a few steps…after that she didn't need the screen anymore. The door she had entered only a short time ago opened again. It had been almost two years since she had been this close to Clark; she watched the guards strap him onto the exam table in the middle of the room. For a brief moment, their eyes met. She expected to see recognition in his eyes, or some form of the Clark she thought she had gotten to know so well two years ago; but he eyes showed nothing but emptiness, and he quickly left her gaze and stared straight up at nothing.

Lois stayed towards the back of the room, just watching the other doctors as they went over to Clark and did whatever they wanted; whatever they needed to do without even looking at his face. They took scrapings of his skin, a few hairs, a swab of his mouth, several samples of blood through a large IV in his arm. Lois couldn't help herself but to watch Clark. He didn't hardly even move or look over at any of them. She couldn't bear to think of what his life must have been like for the past two years.

As the doctors seemed to be finishing, Dr. Kelly motioned her over to him, "We are going to take these samples and go analyze and test them against some of our old samples and see if there are any changes. And while we are doing that, Dr. Swann wanted to come down here and work with him. He has been trying to get Kal-el to decipher the rest of the language on those cave walls. He's tried several times, but no matter what we try, he just won't do it. You can either stay in here, or come with us, it's up to you."

"I think I will stay here for a few minutes. I will come and join you later."

"That's fine. We'll be in one of the other lab rooms on this hallway."

Lois watched the rest of the doctors start to gather up the new samples, when the door opened again. Dr. Swann entered first, and then saw Lex and Jason follow. The three of them briefly made eye contact and stood together a little behind Dr. Swann, who was now facing Clark.