Disclaimer: I don't own "Smallville"
Chapter 13: Kinetic
Our episdoe begins on a beautiful night, which was about ready to storm, much to everyones dismay. Brianna and Chloe were at the Luthor Mansion with Clark videotaping the whole thing. They were co-interviewing Lex about his plant for both the Torch and the Jr. Torch. Sarah couldn't do it, because she promised her dad to help with the tractor. And Allison was at the Fordman's store helping out Whitney. So it was up to Brianna, Chloe, and Clark to do the interview. Although they would've been done by now if Clark hadn't messed up the camera. Brianna sighed as he was finished fixing it.
"Are you ready now Clark?" she asked impatiently.
"Yeah," Clark answered. "I forgot to press the record button. Sorry,"
Lex smirked as Clark sat down out of view for the camera.
"So, Mr. Luthor," Chloe started. "Are there any more secret construction projects going on at LuthorCorp like Level 3?"
"Please," Lex smiled. "Call me Lex,"
Chloe didn't seem too impressed with the chilvary given by the billionaire.
"OK Lex," she said. "Are you gonna answer my question?"
"Chloe..." Brianna and Clark scowled at her.
"What?" Chloe whipped her head at both of them.
"It's okay," Lex reassured them. "'Our critics are our friends. They show us our faults',"
Brianna smiled.
"Benjamin Franklin," she remarked. "How very appropriate for this interview,"
Suddenly, one of Lex's security gaurds came in.
"Excuse me, Mr. Luthor," he apologized for his intrusion. "Your father's on the phone,"
Lex sighed.
"I need to get this," he said to the teenagers. He then turned to the security gaurd. "I'll take it in the conservatory,"
Chloe and Brianna looked a little bit disappointed. Although Lex reassured them softly.
"I look forward to resuming our verbal judo," he said.
Chloe smiled, but didn't look convinced. As soon as Lex left the office, Chloe jumped up from her seat and started looking around the place. Brianna sighed and put her head in her hands. She knew she should've told Chloe not to start snooping. But even if she did, Chloe would stil snoop. Clark didn't apporve of it either as he watched Chloe slink around the room.
"I wonder if he's really taking a call, or if he's just trying to avoid me," Chloe wondered aloud.
Brianna laughed.
"Chloe," she said. "Lex is not one to avoid things,"
Clark had to agree on that ash he looked around too, but stayed by the camera. Soon, Chloe came by an ancient vase on one of the shelves.
"Wow," she said as Clark and Brianna came to look. "That's really cool. Do you think its real?"
"It's bound to be," Brianna squinted at the design. "Looks old enough,"
Clark and Brianna looked at the design and studied it. They had seen artifacts like this in Lex's mansion all the time. So it was nothing new to them. But when they turned around, they found Chloe gone.
"Chloe?" called Brianna.
"Chloe," scowled Clark as they went to look for her.
About 5 minutes later of searching, they finally found Chloe looking into a room. Most likely to see if it led to a secret passage way or something like that. They finally got her to come back to the office with them.
"Chloe," Clark complained to her. "You can't just go snooping around someone's house,"
"Clark," Chloe chuckled. "It's a mansion. It's designed for snooping,"
Clark rolled his eyes and glared at her, in a disapproving way. Chloe sighed.
"Okay, fine," She threw her hands in the air giving up. "We'll go and wait in the library for Lex to officially blow us off,"
"I'll put the camera away," Clark said as they entered back in Lex's office.
"We'll go get our bags," Brianna said as she and Chloe walked away to the corner.
As they were getting their stuff ready, Clark started putting away the camera. But as he turned it off, and was about to take it off the stand, he noticed a bag on the floor beside him. Strange. It wasn't there when he and Brianna left to go get Chloe.
"Hey," he said softly. "What's going on?"
There was no answer. Suddenly, Clark started to feel a bit sick. And then, WHAM! An arm wrapped around his neck, and a guy appeared in front of him. Chloe and Brianna turned around and saw guys in ski masks and duffels bags in their hands. One had Clark in a choke hold, and it looked like he was failing to get out of it. Brianna jumped back and held onto Chloe's arm.
"Chloe! Bri! Run!" choked Clark.
The girls took Clark's order, and ran out of the room, forgetting their stuff. Only to find another guy in front of them when they turned the corner. Brianna started to form some thoughts. How did he catch up to them? Did he have super-speed like Clark or something? There was no time to answer that question. They turned around and ran for it, only to find that their destination was a dead end. The guy in the ski mask grabbed the two girls. Chloe with an arm around her neck, and Brianna's arm caught in his hand. As the girls struggled with him, they started turning around with their efforts. They didn't noticed the stained glass window behind them. When the guy pushed them away from him, they stumbled backwards, crashed into the window, and somersaulted out of it, and grabbed the ledge. Scared, they started calling Clark.
"Clark!" screamed Chloe and Brianna.
Brianna looked down and gasped. They were way high up, about three stories from the ground. As they were about to call Clark again, prespiration on their fingers from holding onto the ledge gave in, and they slipped, screaming, before they hit the ground unconsious. And Clark was too late to catch them in time.
Early the next morning, Allison and Sarah raced down the halls of Smallville Medical Center to Brianna and Chloe's hospital room. Sarah noticed Clark wasn't at breakfast and called him on his cell phone. When he told her that Chloe and Brianna were in an accident, she raced down to the Fordman's Store to Allison before opening it up for Whitney. When they walked in, they found Lex talking to Clark. Both Brianna and Chloe were still unconsious. Chloe had a swollen eye, and a broken arm. Brianan had the same, and it was a terrible sight to see their friends hurt.
"How are they doing?" choked Sarah as she went over to Clark.
"Don't worry," Lex noticed the girls were worried. "I brought in the best doctors from Metropolis,"
"Are they gonna be all right?" asked Allison.
"Doctors aren't sure. The fall was pretty bad. They both broke their arms and have a concussion. They wanna make sure there's no brain swelling,"
"I should've gotten to them," Clark said softly.
Lex sighed.
"I don't mean to belabor the obvious, Clark," he said. "But this isn't your fault,"
Clark looked down at his feet.
"I just don't know what happened," he explained. "One minute, the room is empty, and then they appear out of thin air,"
"Do the police have any leads?" asked Sarah.
Lex looked at the farm girl with a gleam in his eye.
"They don't think I'm the first one that's been hit," he said.
Allison furrowed her eyebrows.
"I don't understand," she said. "There haven't been any reports on robberies in the paper. Why do you think you're not the first one to be robbed?"
"Allison, there's been over a dozen of these robberies all over the county. This gang somehow gets in and out without busting a single vault. They tried to hit the Smallville Savings and Loan,"
"We didn't hear about that," Clark said.
"Banks don't publicize attempted robberies, Clark, it's bad for their image,"
Sarah and Allison smirked. They had to agree on that. If their families accounts were in danger of being robbed, they'd take them out immedietly. But Sarah noticed something.
"If nothing was taken, how do they know they were robbed?" she asked
"Apparently, they tripped an alarm inside the vault," Lex explained. "Although, no one knows how they got in there in the first place,"
"And the stuff they stole from you," Clark said. "Can the police trace it?"
"...I didn't report anything stolen Clark,"
As Lex was about to leave the room, the kids looked back in disbelief.
"Why not?" asked Clark. "I saw them walk out with two bags,"
"I don't care about that," Lex turned back. "I just want to find the people who did this to Chloe and Brianna. When I do, I promise you, they will be dealt with accordingly,"
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Sarah.
"It means you should let me worry about it, Sarah," Lex said. "Now, take your brother home and get him to get some rest?"
Lex walked out of the hospital room, as Clark looked back at Chloe and Brianna in their beds. Sarah put a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey," she said softly. "You know Brianna and Chloe can make it. They don't walk out without a fight. Now go home,"
Clark nodded, and left the hospital room. Allison sighed.
"That kid thinks he has to save everyone," she remarked. "What time is it?"
Sarah looked at her watch.
"Almost nine," she explained.
Allison went wide eyed.
"I gotta run," she said grabbing her jacket. "Whitney wants me to open up for him. He's doing something for his dad,"
"How is Mr. Fordman?" asked Sarah.
Allison hesitated as she put her bag over her shoulder.
"Um..." she said softly. "He's taking it slow. But he's all right. I've only seen him in the store once or twice, but he's resting so that his heart doesn't give out,"
"Tell Whitney I said hi, all right?" Sarah asked.
Allison nodded with a smile, and waved bye at her friend. It was nice what she was doing for Whitney. Helping him out at the store a lot made her feel like a sister to him. He liked that too, since he never had any brothers or sisters. They both were gonna realize soon how much they meant to each other as "siblings".
Later that day, Sarah was upstairs on her computer working double time on her articles. Since Brianna was in the hospital and couldn't get computer service there, she decided to write and proofread the stories she was assigned to. Her mother knocked on the door was she was finishing emailing them to the Jr. Torch.
"Sweetheart," she said. "Did you feed the work horses?"
Sarah stopped typing and groaned.
"I totally forgot," she said turning around to face Martha. "I'm sorry. With Brianna in the hospital and Allison working at Fordmans..."
"Why don't you go do it now? Come on, I'll go with you,"
Sarah mentally rolled her eyes, and went outside to the barn to get some hay. Her dad was working with the cows, when he noticed them come outside.
"Hey sport," Jonathon said.
"Hey," Sarah said.
"Sport...Do you know what's up with Clark?"
"Why?...Oh! He's just upset about Brianna and Chloe,"
Jonathon looked up at Martha, and she nodded. Time for one of those talks with their son. They followed Sarah into the barn, where they found Clark breaking wood in half with his fists. Frankly, it wasn't going very well.
"Hi Clark," Martha said concerned. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to make myself useful," Clark complained.
"Hey son..." Jonathon noticed the chopped up wood. "We need firewood. Not toothpicks,"
Clark looked at everyone, and sighed.
"I know what you guys are gonna say," he said. "It's not my fault. Lex already told, so did Chloe's dad, and Brianna's dad,"
"They're right Clark," Sarah exclaimed. "You did your best,"
"Chloe and Brianna could've died!"
"Son..." Jonathon sighed. "Becoming an adult means learning a lot of difficult decisions one of which is you can't save everybody, no matter who you are,"
"You said you felt the effects of the meteor rocks," Martha said, remembering a conversation that had happened earlier.
Clark nodded.
"Yeah," he said. "I just don't know where it was coming from...Sometimes I just wish I could leave this town and get away from the meteor rocks,"
In anger, Clark started to put his fist down on another log, but Sarah grabbed it, before they could be sprayed with sharp bits of wood.
"I'm sure that you will," she said throwing the log aside. "You'll get that chance,"
"She's right," Jonathon agreed. "But running away won't solve anything,"
"If you wanna make yourself useful," Martha advised. "Don't hang around here feeling sorry for yourself. Go. See what you and Sarah can find out,"
Sarah furrowed her eyebrows.
"What about the horses?" she asked.
"I'll take care of it," Jonathon ushered Sarah out of the barn to follow Clark. "You just go and do whatever it is to figure things out,"
Sarah smirked, and followed her brother out of the barn, ready for another adventure.
Later, after they called Pete, Clark and Sarah were with him as they walked in town past Smallville Savings and Loan. Allison was still at Fordman's working her butt off to help Whitney, so she couldn't help them out this time.
"Lex said that the people who hit the mansion also tried to rob this bank," Clark pointed at Smallville Savings and Loan.
Pete sighed, a bit aggitated.
"Look," he said. "I've got three words for you guys: Official Police Investigation,"
"The police haven't done a thing," Sarah explained. "There have been a dozen robberies in the past six months. All with the same freaky M.O. No sign of entry, the jewels and the cash just vanished,"
"That's right," Clark said. "Except for this place. Lex says they triggered and alarm inside the vault,"
"The question is, how'd they get inside?"
"I don't know," shrugged Pete. "Now stop channeling Chloe and Brianna and come on,"
Clark didn't want to go anywhere. Instead, he turned on his X-Ray vision self, and looked through the vault that was in view from behind the window. Despite the door in the way, Clark could see something unusual. An arm was lodged inside the gears. Pete noticed the same freaky stare on his face.
"Oh no," he groaned.
"Yep," Sarah grinned. "The famous Kent thousand yard stare,"
"Clark!" Pete waved a hand in fron of Clark's eyes. "Come on man. I know you feel bad. I do too. But we're not cops,"
Clark sighed, but still stared at the vault from behind the glass as if it was something else.
That afternoon, Allison was just coming out from the back of the store carrying a box of athletic shoes. She craned her neck to the top of the box to look at Whitney.
"Hey Whitney!" she caught his attention. "These just came in. Do you want me to stack them up for you?"
Whitney nodded.
"Yeah, sure," he said softly. "That'd be all right,"
Allison nodded too, and went to the shoe section and started stacking them up in the right order. While she did so, she heard a faint bell sound, saying that a customer had come in. She looked up and smiled to see Clark coming up to Whitney.
"Hey Whitney," he greeted.
Whitney didn't answer.
"Whitney?" Clark asked.
Whitney mentally rolled his eyes, and turned to face Clark.
"Hey," he said.
"I'm here to pick up a microwave for my mom," Clark explained.
Whitney, obviously not wanting to talk to the farm-boy, turned back.
"You can pick it up at the back counter," he said gruffly.
Allison started to grow a bit worried. Lately, Whitney had been a bit stressed lately, and she didn't think it was just about his dad. She could tell it was something else. When Clark looked at her, she shrugged and went about her business, as he walked up to Whitney.
"Is everything okay?" he asked.
This time, Whitney was irritated.
"I bet you think it's just great to live in Smallville your whole life," he sneered. "Take over the farm from dad,"
"Well..." Clark said, patient. "I'm not sure that's the life for me,"
"Sometimes you don't have a choice,"
"...Whitney, you'll get out of here.You'll probably go further than anyone else in this town,"
"I lost my scholarship Kent!"
When Allison heard this, she dropped about 6 boxes of size 10 Nikes. Whitney didn't tell her about this. No wonder he was being so bossy to her the past few days. Clark looked surprised.
"I'm sorry," he said softly. "...Have you told Lana yet?"
"...I am going to spend the rest of my life in this store," he said. "Develop a bad heart a fifty like my dad, and become just another 'remember him?'...I'm never getting out of Smallville,"
Clark was about to say otherwise, when some guy came up with a pair of shoes.
"Hey man," he said to Whitney. "You got these sneaks in a twelve?"
"Yeah," Whitney answered.
Suddenly, Clark noticed the man's arm. It was tattooed with a green color. It was strange. He had seen something sort of like that the night he, Brianna, and Chloe were attacked at Lex's mansion. The guy noticed this.
"You got a problem, bro?" he asked.
Clark shook his head.
"No," He turned to Whitney, lifting up his order form. "I'll go find this,"
Allison watched Clark leave the scene as Whitney went to go help the guy with his shoes. She ducked low behind the shelf and pretended to sort out the sizes, as she heard another voice.
"Hey..." the other guy said. "Aren't you Whitney Fordman?"
"Yeah," Whitney answered.
"Wade Mahaney...I saw you throw 300 yards against Topeka last year. That was a great game, man...So, I heard you were tracked for a full ride to Kansas State,"
"It didn't work out," Whitney explained, then turned to the other guy. "Size twelve right?"
"Yeah," the first guy said. "Thanks buddy,"
"Man," the guy named Wade groaned. "Well, I know all about that. Senior year I got sacked, blew out my knee, had to have four operations,"
"Tough break," Whitney commented.
"I had a dozen schools offer me full scholarships, and then it all went away, just like that. So what's your plan now?"
Whitney shrugged.
"Don't have one," he explained. "Just don't want to do this the rest of my life,"
Wade chuckled.
"I hear you," he remarked. "Where's the future in that, huh? Say, uh, we're having a party at our place tonight. Why don't you, uh, swing by?"
"I can't. I've gotta close up,"
"Come by after. Knock back a brew. Detox from this. Come on man, it'll be fun...Fun!"
That night, before they closed, Whitney was just putting up the sign that said the store was closed, when Allison walked out from the back, putting on her dark blue fleece coat, and red and yellow scarf.
"All right," she said. "I'll see you tomorrow,"
"Yeah, thanks for your help today," Whitney said as he locked the cash register.
"No problem...Hey Whitney. Can I ask you something?"
"Sure. What?"
"...How come you didn't tell me or Lana that you lost your scholarship for Kansas State?"
Whitney stopped what he was doing and looked at the sixth grader.
"Did Kent tell you?" he growled.
"No, I heard it from you," Allison said calmly. "Why didn't you tell me? Or Lana?"
"Because I have enough people feeling sorry for me because of my dad, all right? I don't want people feeling sorry for me because I'm a failure!"
"You're not a failure. You're just slipping off the edge, that's all. You can get a new scholarship for other things. Academic ones. And people are just concerned about you that's all. They don't feel sorry for you. And they won't feel sorry for you, even if you tell them about your scholarship,"
"What do you know?"
"What I know, is that you're gonna get out of Smallville, somehow someway, without the use of your athletic skills,"
"...You know what, I don't have to hear this. I gotta go,"
"And meet up with those guys you met at the store? Why are you going to meet them?"
"Because they're like me,"
"And you'll be like them if you fall into their crowd. Shooting the breeze, drinking beer, and banging out your head to rock music. I know that's not the Whitney Fordman I know,"
And Allison left the store, knowing that Whitney would not take her advice.
The next day, Clark got a call from Mr. Arkin that Brianna and Chloe were awake, and went back to the hospital with a bouquet of flowers, handpicked. Sarah couldn't come because she had chores to do, but asked to send her condolences to them. When he walked in, Brianna looked up from her bowl of green Jell-O and smiled.
"Hey," she said with a mouthful.
"Your dad called, and told me you two were awake," he said.
Chloe smiled weakly.
"You're officially our first visitor," she said as he walked in.
Inside their room, a whole row of flowers, able to match Clark's flowers, were on the shelf
"How you feeling?" he asked.
"Like a million bucks..."Chloe said.
"...Thrown in the washing machine..."Brianna added.
"...And set on spin,"
"Everyone was real worried about you two," Clark said.
"Yeah, I noticed," Chloe said. "Looks like Nell's flower shop's been stripped clean,"
"I like the ones from Lex," Brianna said. "They make me feel like I won the Kentucky Derby,"
Clark smiled at Brianna, as he gave Chloe the flowers he had.
"They're beautiful Clark," she said, smelling them. "They're my favorite,"
"Hey!" Brianna exclaimed. "Where's my bouquet?"
"You're sharing it with Chloe," Clark grinned. "Now eat your Jell-O,"
"It tastes nasty," Brianna grimaced as she took another bite.
"Then why are you still eating it?"
"Because they won't give me anything else until lunch!"
Clark smiled, but then decided to say what he wanted to say to the two ever since the accident.
"I um..." he sat at the edge of Chloe's bed. "I just wanna say I'm sorry,"
"For what?" asked Chloe confused.
"Letting you and Brianna get hurt,"
Chloe rolled her eyes.
"Well, we are perturbed with you, Clark," she said sarcastically. "We're also mad that you didn't put out the Chicago Fire of 1871,"
"And," Brianna joined in the game. "Prevent the fall of the Roman Empire, making you directly responsible for the Dark Ages,"
Clark chuckled, glad that they weren't actually mad at him.
"Thanks," he said, feeling much better. "Do you two remember anything about those guys?"
"There was one thing," Chloe thought. "The guy that grabbed me and Brianna had a tattoo on his forearm,"
"Yeah," Brianna remembered. "An octogan, maybe. What's going on, Clark?"
"I don't know," Clark said softly. "Let me do some digging,"
Chloe smirked.
"Clark Kent: Investigative Reporter," she smiled. "...Has a nice ring to it,"
Clark eyed her playfully, and kissed his friend on the forehead.
"You get some rest," he said.
"I'll try," Chloe smiled.
Before Clark left the room, Brianna spoke.
"Hey!" she exclaimed. "What about me?"
Clark smiled.
"Sorry Brianna," he said going to her bed, and giving her a kiss. "Satisfied?"
"Loved," Brianna corrected.
Clark chuckled.
"Get some sleep," he said.
"Clark," Brianna groaned. "I've been sleeping for the last 24 hours. Right now I'm hungry...Think you can sneak me some real food next time you come back?"
Clark grinned.
"Maybe," he said as he left the room.
"Thank you!" Brianna called out.
When Clark went back to the Fordman's, he found Allison putting up some coats, and stopped by to say hello.
"How you doing?" he asked.
"Fine," griped Allison. "...How's Brianna and Chloe?"
"They're awake, thankfully. They're almost out of the woods. Have you seen Whitney?"
Allison stopped what she was doing, and put her hands on her hips.
"You mean Mr. Big-Shot?" she asked. "Yeah. He just got here, when he was supposed to be here when the store opened. That was two hours ago. I was stuck going back and forth helping out customers,"
"You know Allison you don't have to do that," Clark reassured.
"But I want to. Whitney needed someone to help out with the store, I'm helping him out,"
"...Where did Whitney go?"
"Pfft. With some guys he met yesterday. His mom said he didn't come home until 3 in the morning,"
"Think I should go talk to him?"
"Be my guest. He won't listen to me,"
Clark thanked her, and found Whitney behind the check out counter. He was different. He was acting like he owned the place (He hasn't yet), and wearing sunglasses. Allison listened closely to their coversation.
"Whitney," called Clark. "You have a minute?"
"I'm kind of busy," Whitney said cooly.
"You remeber the guy who came in here yesterday? Looking for the shoes?"
"Doesn't ring a bell. A lot of guys come in here,"
"Whitney, this is serious,"
Clark grabbed Whitney's arm, before he could turn away. He winced, and grabbed it, rubbing it.
"Take it easy," he complained.
As he rubbed his skin, the sleeve of Whitney's shirt came up, and revealed a green tattoo. Clark went wide eyed, and so did Allison. When did he get that?"
"Where'd you get that tattoo?" Clark asked.
"Mind your own business," growled Whitney.
"Look, did those guys give it to you?...Whitney, they're bad news,"
Whitney sighed, and took off his sunglasses to get a better look at Clark.
"You spend all your time trying to steal Lana," he said. "Now, suddenly, you wanna become my own personal Boy Scout,"
"That's not true," Clark reasoned.
"...It's stuff seeing yourself the way others see you, isn't it, Kent?"
"Stay away from those guys,"
"You're not my father, Kent. Now get out of here,"
Clark, looking a bit defeated, left the store. Allison was getting angry at Whitney and stode forward to him.
"Why did you do that?" he asked.
"He's always getting into other people's business," Whitney sneered.
"Yeah, because something wrong's going on with them. Clark's my friend. You never give him a chance when he wants to help you. Why?"
"Because he's always trying to steal my girlfriend, and nobody likes him, all right?"
"...Well I do...So I guess that means I'm a nobody, huh?"
With that, Allison left the store, in tears. When she saw Clark, she raced toward him. He turned around, noticing her, worried.
"Allison, what's wrong?" he asked.
"Clark..." Allison sobbed.
She hugged Clark very tightly, crying, as he hugged her back for comfort. This is a feeling she gets, when she loses a best friend and brother.
Back at the Kent Farm, Clark came home, after dropping Allison off, to find his sister looking at a yearbook at the kitchen table.
"Hey," he said getting something to drink.
"Talk to Whitney?" Sarah asked.
"Tried to. Failed,"
"Really? Well, that's new. Listen, remember those guys Allison told you about?"
"Yeah," Clark said as he sat down next to her. "How do you know?"
"Allison tells me everything. You should know that. So, when I had some free time from the newspaper today, I went to the high school, and borrowed a yearbook from their school library,"
Clark knitted his eyebrows togethor.
"How'd you get them to give you a yearbook?" he asked.
"Told the librarian it was for a project for history," Sarah simply shrugged as she handed Clark the yearbook. "Are these Whitney's new friends?"
Clark looked at the yearbook, and immedietly recognized them.
"Wade Mahaney and Scott Bowman," he nodded. "Class of '96,"
"Yep," Sarah remarked. "All-star athletes, lettered in football, baseball, basketball. You name it, they got it. They ruled the school,"
"What happened?"
"Well, according to an old article from the Ledger, Wade got injured and Scott started using drugs,"
"They watched their futures vanish,"
"Yeah, and not in a very good way, not to mention. Is Whitney in trouble or something?"
"I don't know,"
At the moment, nobody knew. But they knew there was a chance to save Whitney, and they were gonna do it as soon as possible.
That night, when the sky grew dark, and the street lights came on in town, Clark and Sarah hid behind the corner, waiting for Whitney to come out of the store. Clark knew that Wade and his gang would come and pick him up, and probably do something stupid and not-well-thought out. Clark put an arm across Sarah to keep her backed up against the wall as he peaked out the corner. Whitney had just come out of the store, just as a red mustang pulled up in front. Wade seemed to ask him something, and Whitney seemed totally interested, and got in with them. When they pulled away, Clark and Sarah came out of their hiding place.
"Where do you think they're going?" Sarah asked as they walked briskly up the sidewalk.
"I don't know," Clark said. "Anybody out?"
Sarah looked around.
"Nope," she said. "You're clear,"
Clark nodded, as he picked up Sarah and supersped after the car. When they finally got there, they saw their car empty.
"Where'd they go?" Sarah asked.
Clark shrugged and looked around. Sarah started searching, until she spotted another car. Was someone else here? Maybe they could help. But when she looked at the liscense plate, her eyes bulged like a fish.
"Clark, Lex is here," Sarah said.
"How do you know?" he asked as he walked over.
"Who else in Smallville has their name on their liscense plate with LEX as the first letters?" she asked, as though it was obvious.
Clark sort of smiled, but then, he started hearing noises from the alley.
"Do you hear that?" he asked.
Sarah listened intently too.
"Yeah," she said softly.
"Come on,"
Running at a normal pace, the siblings followed the sound from behind a meat locker. There was shouting about money, and, what sounded like Whitney, protests in order to stop whatever was going on. Clark pushed Sarah back gently, and pushed the door open with al the strength he had. But once the door ripped open, he started feeling sick. Sarah watched from the shadows, as he collapsed to his knees, clutching his stomach. One guy in a ski mask had Lex around the neck, when he saw Clark he let go, he let go of him, and he and the other guys raced for it. But not outside. No. These guys went for the wall. They passed right through the wall. When the last guy was about to go in, Clark recognized him.
"Whitney?" he asked.
Whitney turned around, and may have considered going back to help, if it weren't for the other guy to pull him through the wall.
As soon as they made sure everything was all right, Lex drove the Kent kids back into town. Once they got out of the car, Clark went straight to the point.
"All right Lex," he said as he closed the car door. "What were you doing with those guys?"
Lex sighed.
"They were blackmailing me Clark," he explained. "I went there to make a drop...You're wondering if your father's been right about me all along, aren't you?"
Clark sighed. He wasn't thinking that, but he sure as heck was disappointed that Lex didn't call the cops about this.
"They stole a computer disk that contains confidential information," Lex explained it to them.
"What was on it?" asked Sarah.
"Nothing illegal, but it's not something I want in the public domain,"
"That's why you didn't want the police involved," Clark understood.
"Clark, I told you I'd handle it. Question is, what were you and Sarah doing there?"
"We were following Whitney. He's been hanging out with those guys. I wanted to help,"
"Is this because of Chloe and Brianna?"
Clark looked down a bit.
"Clark, you can't save the world," Lex remarked. "All you'll end up with is a messiah complex and a lot of enemies,"
"I saved you, didn't I?" asked Clark, smiling a bit. "That turned out all right...What's your next move?"
"They're gonna learn that it doesn't pay to rob Lex Luthor,"
As Lex turned away, Sarah asked a question.
"What about Whitney?" she asked.
Lex shrugged as he went back to his car.
"A man is measured by the quality of his friends," he said. "If the quarterback's with them, he'll have to face the consequences,"
The next morning, Clark and Sarah were on their way to the hospital with Allison. They got a call from Pete saying to have a Jr. Torch and Torch meeting in Chloe and Brianna's hospital room. When they walked in, they found Pete standing over Chloe's bed, Chloe with a laptop on her lap, and Brianna standing by it, looking over her shoulder.
"Weren't we supposed to meet at the Torch?" asked Sarah.
"Yeah, well, Chloe called," Pete said. "And I told them what we were doing..."
"So I insisted that you guys come here," Chloe said.
"You should be resting," Clark reminded. "And Brianna what are you doing out of bed?"
"Come on Clark," Brianna scoffed. "It's only a broken arm, and it's not the first concussion I've had, so get over it. And all this resting is driving me insane. These so-called health-care professionals just want me in bed eating Jell-O,"
"Those facists," Clark joked.
"Clark," Chloe sighed. "We need to do this, okay? Don't cut us out of it, please?"
"Okay,"
"So, we were surfing the Net, doing some research..."
"How'd you get online here?" asked Allison.
Chloe smirked.
"Pete hijacked the phone line for me," she said innocently.
Allison gaped at Pete who looked proud of himself for what he did. She rolled her eyes.
"What have you got?" Sarah asked.
"All right, get this," Brianna said excitedly. "What if these guys are using meteorite tattoos to speed up their metabolism? What would you say to that?"
"I'd say, it's official. These guys have taken ink-printed art to a whole new level,"
"Their molecules are literally moving at hyperspeed," Chloe said
"That's how they're able to go through solid objects?" asked Clark.
"That's crazy," scoffed Pete.
"Well," Brianna cringed. "They're doing it. It's like the ultamite rush,"
"But there's no way their bodies can handle that kind of stress for long," Chloe continued.
"What are you saying will happen?" asked Allison, getting worried.
"...You take the ultamite rush, you pay the ultamite price,"
Allison put a hand on her chest in fright.
"Whitney," she whispered and left the room.
Allison raced into town and into the abandoned Talon, where she knew Lana would be there. When she found her going through some papers, she rushed up to her.
"Lana," she said out of breath.
Lana turned around, surprised to see Allison there.
"Ali," she whispered. "Honey what's wrong?"
"Where's Whitney?"
"I don't know. I haven't..."
"Lana," said a familiar voice.
The girls turned around to find Whitney. Allison couldn't recoginze him at first. He looked tired, worn out, and desperate.
"Whitney," Lana whispered as Allison came and hugged Whitney.
"I'm in trouble Lana," Whitney choked. "I messed up. I trusted the wrong guys. I'm sorry. I let you and Ali down. I just don't know what to do,"
Lana put a hand on her boyfriends cheek, and smiled.
"It's okay," she comforted.
Later, Whitney was sitting by Allison and Lana explained everything. Clark was worried about Allison, and followed her here to the Talon. When he found out Whitney wanted to talk, he was willing to listen. Whitney told them everything about Wade's plan.
"After they get the money, they're gonna kill Lex," he said. "And probably me for betraying them,"
"You did the right thing," Lana said softly.
"Yeah, too little too late,"
"Where are they now?" asked Clark as he handed Whitney a cup of coffee.
"Back at the loft sleeping it off,"
"Did you see the disk they stole from Lex?"
"No. But it's gotta be there. I can sneak in and get it,"
"It's too dangerous," Allison said. "We should call the police,"
"No cops. I'm already in enough trouble,"
"Tell me where they are," Clark said. "I bet I can get in and out before they even wake up,"
"I can let you go alone Clark," Whitney stood up. "I got myself into this mess, I gotta try and get myself out of it,"
"Then I'm gonna help you," Allison stood up.
"No. It's dangerous. They could kill you,"
"Whitney, I got blasted by web shootings from Brianna's brother, I got caught in a fire that was caused by your old coach,almost got killed by a psycho with a butcher knife, followed a man with a case of jitters in our LuthorCorp field trip, and Lex was hypnotized into killing me. If those things haven't killed me, then somebody up there is bound to love me,"
Despite their protests, Allison still followed Whitney and Clark into the gangs loft. Everywhere was filled with half empty glasses of beer, and trash. Allison thought it was in need of a good bottle of Pine-Sol, but that wasn't why they were there. Whitney looked around.
"Empty," he announced. "Must be out looking for me,"
"Let's find it before they come back," Clark ordered.
As Whitney went searching, Clark gave Allison a look that said "Keep him busy". Allison nodded, and pretended to search for the disk with Whitney, as Clark used his X-Ray vision to scan the area. A clink and a clank later, he had it in his hands.
"I got it," he announced.
Whitney and Allison looked up, and they and Clark hurried as fast as they could to get out of there. But before they could reach the door, out of nowhere, Wade and his two cronies appeared from the walls. They were cornered. Clark and Whitney put Allison between them to keep her safe. Wade pointed at Whitney.
"You really messed up, rookie," he growled.
Whitney didn't look scared, but he felt it. Wade noticed the disk in Clark's hands, and looked at him confused.
"Look," he said dangerously. "I don't know how you found that disk bro, but I need it back. Now,"
Clark sure hoped Lex didn't really need the disk that much, because he crushed it in half. There was no way this guy was getting it back. Carelessly, he let it drop to the floor. Wade clenched his fist, and plunged it through Clark's stomach...literally. Allison jumped and hung onto Whitney, as she watched her friend grow weak.
"Hurts doesn't it?" chuckled Wade. "It feels like someone's chewing up your insides. I stay in long enough, I could do some serious damage,"
Wade pulled his fist back, and Clark fell to his knees, weak from the effect. Whitney put an arm around Allison as Wade pointed at him.
"You're next bro," he said
Allison struggled against one of the tattooed guys arms, as she watched Wade push Whitney in front of them in an abandoned car warehouse.
"Wade please," Whitney reasoned.
Wade pushed him again.
"Keep moving rookie," Wade grinned.
Whitney did as he was told, and moved a bit more forward, as the guy who was holding Allison grabbed a remote control like device. When Wade grabbed him by the collar, he pushed him right under a car that was being held in the air by chains.
"I thought you understood," Wade shook him. "This was your chance to be on top again,"
"I thought my life was over when I lost my scholarship," Whitney finally realized. "But I was wrong,"
"No. You were right. Your life is over...Remember your initiation bro? That's how you joined us,"
Wade looked up at the car above them.
"And that's how you're gonna leave," he said. Then he turned to the other guy. "We're running out of time. Grab the remote,"
As the guy who had Allison prepared the remote with one hand, Allison struggled a bit more.
"Let them go," she heard Clark's voice.
Wade turned Whitney around, using him as a shield. But then, Clark noticed something. Wades glowing green tattoo, was fading into a dull green color.
"The cops are on their way,"
Out of nowhere, Wade pulled out a gun, and held it against Whitney. What he meant was serious.
"Think again, rookie," he said. "There's only one way off this team,"
"Don't worry bro!" shouted Allison's captor. "I've got you covered,"
Allison, giving up the struggling game, went to the next level. Finding some bare skin on his arm, she bit it as hard as she could. The guy yelped in pain, and let her go. Allison sped to Clark, and held onto his arm.
"Think again, bro," Allison stuck out her tounge.
Even though she was free, Allison knew that it wouldn't stop Wade's plan. The guy grabbed the remote and pressed a button. The chain that held the car above Wade and Whitney released, and started to fall.
"Yeah!" shouted Wade.
Before Allison could even scream, she found that Clark had already supersped over there, grabbed Whitney and pushed him out of the falling cars way. Wade wasn't so lucky. As they slowly got up, they heard sirens wail. The guy who had the remote, dropped it, but didn' go very far because the cop cars pulled up. Giving up, Allison watched with a smirk, as Clark and Whitney got to her. They were all right.
As the cronies were led to cars, and paramedics making sure Whitney was all right, Allison and Clark met up with Lex, who was the one who made the emergency phone call.
"What did you tell the police?" asked Clark.
"The truth," Lex simply said.
Allison looked down. She was afraid of that.
"Those guys broke into my house; You, Allison, and the quarterback figured it out, tried to be heroes, and got int over your heads,"
"What about--?" Allison was about to ask
"Walking through walls part? I don't think the cops coud handle that much truth,"
Allison smirked.
"Sorry about your disk," Clark apologized.
"I didn't come out here for that Clark," Lex explained. "I came because my friends were in trouble,"
Clark nodded, approvingly.
"Thanks," he said.
"Ah!" Brianna exhaled loudly. "The sweet smell of freedom,"
Clark rolled his eyes. Brianna and Chloe had just gotten out of the hospital, and were walking with him and Lana on the way to the Talon. Lana had a business proposal to Lex about making a coffeeshop out of the old movie theatre, and said it would have low prices. To which, Brianna shouted for joy.
"Bri," Clark sighed. "You and Chloe were in the hospital. Not Alcatraz,"
"You spend a week in there, and you'd feel like a prisoner too," Chloe pointed out. "Come on. Bad food, lights out by nine, and no cable?"
"Talk about your worst nightmare," Brianna commented.
"We're thinking about doing an expose,"
"How's Whitney, by the way?" Brianna asked Lana.
"He's taking it one day at a time," Lana smiled.
"Good," Chloe nodded. "All right, well, bye,"
"Chloe," Clark called as Chloe and Brianna started walking away. "Where are you and Bri going?"
"Oh," Brianna shrugged. "We're just gonna do a little checking with the police. Apparently, none of the tattoo ink was found at the loft, and Scott and Derek aren't saying anything to anyone, so..."
"We smell a cover up," Chloe smirked.
But before they could take one more step, Clark stopped them.
"Chloe, Brianna," Clark smiled. "It's good to have you back,"
The girls smiled.
"Thanks,"
(A/N: Whoa! This is the quickest I've ever updated in a long time. I hope you guys like this chappie. Review please!)