Earlier...
The kidnaper grinned to himself. He'd strolled right past security and located the target in the first room he checked. Piece of cake.
The Smallville Medical Center staff had seen quite a bit over the past years, but this went beyond anything the admissions crew had seen. "How about we just say 'Helluva lot of lacerations'?" suggested the Admissions Director. The clerk had learned, after just two days on the job, how to hack the software so that she could enter new codes, since the standard program just wasn't equipped for what they saw every day, and did just that.
Lex Luthor looked on dispassionately while Clark Kent stood next to him, wincing.
He couldn't believe his luck. That Fortune article was going to make him a fortune. The smallest kitten rolled flirtatiously on her back, eyes wide open and trusting. He chuckled as he reached for her. "I didn't even need to spend that thirty-nine cents."
It had to be the easiest job on record. The article in Fortune had a picture of Lex Luthor with the three kittens on his desk and the caption said, "Oh, my father thinks of them as his grandchildren." Either Lex or his dad would pay hefty money to get them back, that was perfectly clear.
A few seconds later, a scream ripped through the night just like cat claws rip through human flesh, a particularly apt comparison given the circumstances.
A thought struck Clark, and this time, didn't bounce off because that whole invulnerability thing. "You know, Mom's probably going to send over more cream or something for 'those sweet kittens' after their ordeal."
"I'm sure you're right. The cook assured me that she'd look after 'the poor little things' and try to make sure they weren't too scared."
"I kind of feel sorry for him," Clark admitted as they walked to the parking lot.
Lex smiled tightly. "Never go on an attack without knowing the enemy, Clark." He paused. "They might just have chased him off if he hadn't tried to use cheap canned tuna as bait."