Note: Sorry for the long wait! The second part is now up!
Metropolis: Metropolis General Hospital
9:48 A.M.
Saturday, June 26th
"Well, everything seems to be order," Dr. Scott said, indicating that Lana could get dressed now. "Your cheek is healing fairly fast and you can now switch that neck cast to a simple bandage."
A week had passed since Lana's attack and Clark was happy to announce that his fiancé would be going home today. Dr. Scott, the doctor that Clark had spoken to before he had gone in for the first time to see Lana, was giving her a quick look over. Clark was sure that Lana would be able to leave for Smallville today—so sure that he was willing to bet money on it. Yup, the day was looking up.
"So, she can go now, right?" Clark asked the doctor as he made notes on Lana's folder. He and the doctor walked outside of the room so Lana could have some privacy to change into the clothes Clark had brought her.
The good doctor chuckled and replied, "Yes, Clark, she can leave today."
Clark nodded with a smile. "Thanks Dr. Scott for everything you've done for her—us, I mean. I'm sorry if I drove you crazy with all the questions I've been asking and─"
"No need for a thanks, Clark," Dr. Scott said, raising a protesting hand. "I was just doing my job and you don't have to apologize for driving me insane. It just proves how much you love and care for her."
Clark grinned and held out his hand for the doctor to shake. "Still, I appreciate all you've done. We'll be sure to look you up the next time we need any medical help."
"I'm sure you will," Dr. Scott said, shaking Clark's hand. "You have a good day now."
"Clark?"
Clark turned to his left and found Lana smiling intently at him. The door to her room was creaked opened slightly and he could only see Lana's head peeking out.
Clark raised his eyebrows in a questioning look that caused Lana to smile even wider. She opened the door a bit wider to indicate he should come in. Clark got the message and slipped into the room.
"Lana? What's─" Clark began, but was cut off by her lips. Clark smiled and placed his hands on her hips. They had their share of kisses for the past week, but it was all quick pecks; nothing too heavy. It was obvious that Lana was craving for something a little bit more when her hands found their way in his hair.
Their lips danced and tangled with each other. Every now and then Clark's tongue found its way into Lana's mouth. As far as he was concerned, this was as close to heaven that he could get on earth. Clark sucked slightly on her plump lips which elicited a moan from Lana.
"Clark, are you in here?" someone called from outside the door. That someone also let themselves in.
"Mom!" Clark pulled away from Lana abruptly. Pete was also behind his mother and Clark could tell he was having a hard time containing himself from busting into fits of laughter.
"Clark…" Martha said with a small smile. "Pete and I came to check on Lana, but I can see that she's fine."
Lana blushed and Clark turned even redder. They were still awkwardly in each other's embrace and Lana's lipstick was slightly smeared.
"So…you ready to go?" Pete asked with a smirk, breaking up the awkward silence.
"Yeah, just let me get my bag," Lana replied, avoiding eye contact with anyone but Clark.
"I'll get it for you," Clark offered, dropping his hands from the embrace and picking up her overnight bag with ease.
Lana and Martha were the first out the door followed by Clark and Pete. Clark gave Pete a warning saying not to make any comments about Lana and his make-out session.
Pete ignored his warning and said, "Clark, you have lipstick on your face."
Clark frowned at his best friend and brought the back of his hand up to his face to wipe off the lipstick. Just at that moment, his cell phone rang.
Clark handed the overnight bag to Pete and checked his caller ID on his phone. "Hello?"
"Clark? It's Chloe…you should get over here A.S.A.P. I got a hit," Chloe said all in one breath.
Clark nodded at Pete to go ahead. "You mean you found something on Cobwell?" He had given Chloe the name tag he had found in the alley last Sunday in hope that she could dig up something on Dr. David Cobwell. For now, he was their prime suspect.
"Yeah…can you come over?" Chloe asked, sounding breathless. "Lois isn't here; just in case that would affect your answer."
"Right now?" Clark questioned as he saw Lana, his mother, and Pete all wait by the elevator for him. "Lana and I are heading back to Smallville now. The doctors released her today."
"Really? That's great, Clark," Chloe said enthusiastically. "Tell her I say 'hi.'"
"I will," Clark said. "Err…hold on, Chloe."
"Is everything okay, Clark?" Lana asked, walking toward him.
Clark nodded. "It's Chloe…she just found something on your assailant…"
Lana frowned. "Clark…you didn't tell me you were looking up information on him."
Clark felt his stomach twist in knots like it usually did when he had to lie to her. "Lana…"
"Clark, I just don't want you to find the guy and then go after him and pound him to death," Lana explained, placing a hand on his arm. "It won't solve anything…"
Clark sighed impatiently. "Lana, the guy nearly killed you. What do you expect me to do?"
"Tell the police; let them handle it," Lana said sternly. "Clark…I know you're just doing this to protect me, but I'm fine. You don't have to go beat the crap out of him." Lana locked eyes with his, pleading to him with her eyes to listen to her.
Clark sighed, defeated. "I'll let the police handle it then…but just let me go over to Chloe's to see what she found out."
Lana nodded, understanding. "You want us to wait for you?"
Clark shook his head. "No…you go back to Smallville. Pete can drive you and Mom. You'll be okay, right?"
Lana smiled and placed a hand on his cheek. "We'll be okay. Just—be careful, Clark," she said, her voice laced with concern. "And, just promise me you won't hunt the guy down."
Clark nodded and pulled Lana into a hug. "Have a safe drive home and tell Pete he doesn't have to surpass the speed limit."
Lana giggled and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "I'll see you at home."
Clark watched as she walked back to his mom and Pete. After a moment, he saw Pete wave to him from inside the elevator. After the doors shut, Clark quickly brought the cell phone to his ear.
"Chloe? Are you still there?" Clark asked, feeling a little guilty for forgetting about her.
"Yeah, you coming?" Chloe asked.
"Yeah," Clark said, then realizing he didn't have a car, added, "I'll take a cab." Just so she doesn't ask how I got there…
"Okay, I'll see you in thirty minutes." With a click, they were disconnected and Clark headed toward the elevators.
Metropolis: Metro Apartments
10:56 A.M.
Saturday, June 26th
"So do want anything to drink, Clark?" Chloe asked as Clark took a seat next to Chloe's computer while she rummaged through the fridge.
"Water's fine," Clark said, as he pulled up the file Chloe had found on the computer. He skimmed through the material and paused at several points. Suddenly, he stopped.
"You know, speed reading's not a crime, Clark," Chloe commented as she pulled out a water bottle and a can of coke out of the fridge. She kicked the fridge closed with her foot and went over to where Clark was sitting.
"Yeah, I know," Clark said, sounding nervous. "I just didn't want to miss any important information."
Chloe raised an eyebrow and handed him his water. "Sure, whatever you say Clark."
An awkward silence came and went. Finally, Clark said, "So, how did you get all this?" He gestured at the computer screen.
Chloe smiled and said her infamous, "I'd tell you, but I'd have to kill you."
"Jude?" Clark asked, remembering the guy Pete had mentioned at Lana and his engagement party.
Chloe shrugged with a mysterious smile and sipped her coke. "Anyway," she took a hold of the mouse from Clark and scrolled the file to the beginning again. "From that name tag you gave me, it's obvious that Dr. David Cobwell worked or works at LexCorp. The question is, what did he work on and why would Lex Luthor just tack on a point-five to division one?"
Clark nodded, trying to take all this in. "Maybe it some special project no one was supposed to know about…" he said, thinking back to his high school years when Lex Luthor or Lionel Luthor had some undercover project going on.
"Maybe…" Chloe said thoughtfully, setting her coke can on the desk. "But, it's sort of a coincidence that this tag shows up at the first of these bizarre attacks. First that poor woman, now Lana. It just doesn't connect."
"Don't forget that Lex was also attacked in his own office," Clark reminded her. "That man was also wearing a long overcoat too."
"So…a mysterious man in a long overcoat with fangs, as Lana told us, makes three attacks in total," Chloe said, putting together what they had so far. "And somehow, it all comes back to Lex Luthor."
"Wait—Lana's attack had nothing to do with Lex," Clark said, seemingly correcting her.
"Actually, I've been doing some thinking and theorizing," Chloe said, swilling around in her chair to face Clark. "I think it's safe to assume that David Cobwell is our assailant, right?" Chloe asked and Clark nodded. "Well, it seemed like he wanted to get to get to you through Lana, but do you remember what Lana told us on Monday?"
Clark scrunched up his face in concentration, trying to remember. "She said that he asked her where Lex was hiding…" Clark's eyes widened when he saw the connection. "But, why would Cobwell ask Lana instead of asking someone who knew Lex Luthor? Like his security?"
"Because he knew you had a connection with Lex Luthor," Chloe quickly explained. "The day Luthor was attacked, you and Lois were there for an interview. You, I assume, played hero and stopped him from going Dracula on Luthor. Plus, you and Lex haven't spoken in years…maybe it was Cobwell was listening in on your conversation. You guys must've talked about your Smallville days of being best friends."
Clark nodded, impressed that Chloe had connected the dots. "That's a good theory Chloe…but how do we know if it's true? And how does this help us track him down?" Clark was frustrated once again. They still had nothing on Cobwell's whereabouts.
"Hold your horses," Chloe said, using a phrase Clark hadn't heard in quite some time. "I'll get to that, but first, check out the other stuff I dug out on Cobwell." Chloe turned back to the computer screen and beckoned Clark closer to the screen.
After some scrolling, Chloe finally highlighted some text. "See here? It says that David Cobwell is thirty-six years of age. We can assume he was once a well respected scientist because he used to work for Met U, doing some research and experiments as a chemist. He also had a wife and─"
"Chloe," Clark interrupted impatiently. "This is all nice, but could we just skip the guy's biography?"
Chloe frowned and gave Clark a cryptic look. "Clark, maybe if you hadn't interrupted me you would've learned something of value." Clark sighed and waved a hand to tell her to continue.
Chloe gave a small smile and said, "Clark, I know you and Lana are anxious to get to making out, but she hasn't even gotten back to Smallville yet. It hasn't been three hours yet, has it? Plus, it's gonna take you three hours to get back too."
Clark smiled sheepishly. "Oh…in that case take your time…"
"Okay, well Cobwell's wife died in a fire." When Clark didn't look as interested as he should have, Chloe continued hastily. "But, not just any fire. Cobwell and his wife used to live in the apartments that LexCorp owns. It doesn't list any information here about the fire, but it seems sort of like a…coincidence.
"Coincidence?"
"Yeah, Cobwell was offered a position at LexCorp before the fire and he declined. Now, a week later, the fire happened," Chloe said, taking a sip of her coke. "After the fire Cobwell was a mess. The LexCorp database even says that Cobwell was arrested at a nightclub for public disturbance. At this time, Cobwell was practically living on the streets." Chloe paused to let Clark absorb all this in.
When he didn't say anything, Chloe urged on. "After his arrest, LexCorp offered him a job again with a place to live. This time he accepted. After several months of doing some low key job for LexCorp, Cobwell quited. You can note that this takes place after that weird explosion at Gateway Docks, also owned by Lex Luthor."
Clark's head was reeling from all this information. After a moment he asked, "Is that all?"
Chloe nodded and closed the file on her computer. "As for your earlier question of how to find Cobwell—just think. I mean, it's Lex Luthor that Cobwell's after."
"Lex also told Lois and me during our interview about how his security had to escort a former employee out…" Clark said thoughtfully. "Maybe that former employee was Cobwell."
"Maybe…" Chloe said. "It could mean that Cobwell's going to wind up on Lex Luthor's doorstep right after he gets the address."
"So we have to find out where Lex is hiding so we can stop Cobwell from getting to him," Clark said.
"Whoa…wait up Clark," Chloe said, holding up a hand. "We don't have to do anything but phone the police. As much fun as our meteor freak hunts were in high school, this is police business. We don't even know what kind of drug Cobwell is on or if it's a mutation of some sort."
Clark signed, knowing Chloe was right…it was police business and it was none of his. But, how could he just let the person who had hurt and nearly killed Lana have a disadvantage over the police squad? Clark knew full well that the police would never catch Cobwell with his super speed and super strength. Somehow, Clark had to do something, even if it meant breaking his promise to Lana. He owed it to her and that woman in that alley to stop this David Cobwell.
"Clark? Hello?"
"Sorry," Clark said, realizing he had been out of it for a few minutes. He glanced at the clock and wondered if his mom, Pete, and Lana had made it back to Smallville yet. Probably not…
"Well…that's all the info I have…" Chloe said as Clark rose from his chair. "I'll call you when I get more."
Clark nodded and said, "Thanks, Chloe. I guess I'll get going now…I'll take a cab," he added so that he wouldn't arouse suspicion in Chloe.
"Clark," Chloe called out just as Clark was about to exit the apartment. "Just, don't do anything that Lana wouldn't want you to do…"
Clark gave her a reassuring smile and left, thinking about what Chloe just said. It's hard playing the hero when I know Lana loves and cares about me so much…I want to do the right thing, but I don't want Lana to worry about me either…
