Suddenly the doors to Lex's office swung open and in stepped Lana. "Lex sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering if we could go over this months receipts for the Talon. . ." Lana said quickly. Clark paused his heart nearly stopping in his chest and Lex turned two shades paler if that was possible considering how pale he was to begin with. Both of them stopped and stared at Lana for what seemed like an eternity. Lana noticed how they were looking at her. "I'm sorry did I come at a bad time?" Lex managed to stutter the words "You're. . .You're. . .Dead!. . " before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed unconscious onto the floor.
Lana quickly walked over to the desk and dropped the folders she was carrying. Then rushed to the bathroom to get a damp wash cloth. Clark stood watching every move Lana made with wide eyes. He slowly picked Lex up from the floor supporting Lex's upper body weight by holding him under his arms. Lana came back with the damp wash rag and stood in front of Clark, Who's jaw had all but dropped to the floor.
"What's wrong with the two of you?" she demanded. " You're acting as if you've just seen a ghost! Clark! Whatever your problem is, snap out of it. Now. And bring Lex over to the sofa. We have to try to revive him." she pleaded. Clark nodded dumbly and did as she asked. Laying Lex on the sofa and quickly moving to the side to give Lana the room she needed to revive Lex. Lex moaned and his eyelids twitched as he felt the moisture on his forehead.
He raised his arm to his head and covered his eyes with his hand to block out all light. " What happened he murmured?" Not really expecting to get an answer. "Um. . .you fainted." Clark replied, unsure of what his friends reaction would be. Lex removed the hand covering his face and opened his eyes, letting in the light. Squinting up at Clark questioningly. Then everything hit him again as he saw Lana. His eyes widened and he tried to sit up, but decided that was a big mistake and he wouldn't be trying that again soon as a wave of nausea and dizziness washed over him.
He fell back onto the sofa with a groan. He had a head ache that was most likely a concussion, and it was probably the floors fault. 'First thing I'm going to do, as soon as I can stand up again, is get more carpeting!' he thought to himself. Lana was starting to get annoyed. Clark was staring at her like she was a particularly fascinating bug, and Lex's reaction to her did not help her curiosity.
"What is going on here! And what do you mean I'm dead?" Lana demanded. That got both their attentions. Clark was the first to speak "Um. . .upstairs, there's a woman. . .who looks like you." Lana's eyes widened. "Can I meet her!" Lex who at this point had almost been forgotten. From his place on the couch cleared his throat. "That might not be such a good idea." Lana looked at him questioningly. "why is that?" Clark looked from Lex to Lana then said "Because . . . she's dead."
Lana looked at Clark for a moment looking for any indication that he wasn't telling the truth. That this was some kind of sick prank. When she found none, she turned and started up the stairs. Clark grabbed her wrist to stop her, but it was too late she had already put her other hand on the stair rail and pulled it away. She held it up to her face examining the sticky red liquid on her hand, her eyes wide, she looked back to Clark. "Lana please" His voice almost a whisper, begging her not to go any further. She looked back at the dark stairs questioningly, then at Clark " I have to." she replied. Then slowly climbed her way to the top of the stairs, trying to ignore the bloody streaks that covered the floor and the walls around her.
Clark fallowed Lana up the stairs. He couldn't shake the image of her body from his mind, everything was silent. He could hear her heart beat, it was speeding up as they got closer to the room where the body was It wasn't hard to tell which way to go to get there, all you had to do was follow the trail of blood. down the hall past the empty rooms that no one had inhabited for years. This place was starting to give Clark the creeps. Clark watched as Lana put her hand on the door and push it open. He wanted to pull her back downstairs and tell her that it was all a joke, he wanted this room to be dark and full of dust, empty just like all the other rooms they had passed to get to this one. It was no use Lana would never let him. He prepared himself for the sight he was about to see again, and walked into the room. He ran straight into Lana.
Lana turned to look at him " Clark what is going on here? What did you do with the body?" Clark looked around the room in shock the body was gone! there was just a mess on the floor where the body used to be, A huge puddle of blood and the only window in the room was broken. Clark walked over to the broken window to examine the broken glass on the floor and immediately felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. He backed away from the window before Lana could notice anything was wrong. From the
other side of the room Clark stared at the wall below the broken window. For the first time he noticed it was giving off a green glow, the exact same shade as the glow of the meteor rocks!
"Lana I think we should go tell Lex the body is gone." Lana looked at him with a look that clearly said she thought he was the strangest person she'd ever met. thinking they should look to see if the kidnapper left any thing behind before going out the window Lana said "Don't you think we should look around here more before we leave Clark?" " Why? it's obvious whoever took her went out the window. "Clark replied. Lana turned and walked out the door " I give up!" she exclaimed. Clark gave a confused
look and fallowed closely after her. "What! What did I do? Lana?"
When they returned to the bottom of the stairs they where both arguing about whether or not boys where totally clueless to everything around them, Lana was sure they were, Clark had a different opinion. Lana and Clark found Lex at his computer typing away. As soon as they entered he started to update them on what he had found while they had been upstairs. "I found out my father has been in charge of a
project involving meteor rocks and human DNA. I had thought that the particular lab that he has been using had been shut down two months ago. It was shut down after an explosion had occurred in a part of the building embedding meteor fragments into the walls making all further research unpredictable. I ordered all testing to be halted immediately. But it seems my father has other ideas. What did you two find?"
Clark looked at the floor like it was the most fascinating thing he had ever seen, Lana walked up behind him gave him a look that clearly said she thought he was pathetic and said "Lex the body is gone and the window upstairs is smashed. Clark not liking the look Lana gave him decided to speak up, "There are meteor fragments at the bottom of the broken window. "Lex looked between Lana and Clark with a raised
eyebrow. "really?" he said as if he had just been told the sky where blue. Clark shifted uncomfortably and Lana flopped into a chair in front of the desk examining her nails, a bored expression on her face. "So now what do we do?" she asked "I mean we can't exactly call the cops."
Martha Kent walked into the kitchen, the house was filled with the scent of apples. The pie was sitting on the counter and the house was quiet. "Clark" she called out and was greeted with silence. Jonathan entered the kitchen behind her and encircled her waist with his arms from behind, pulling her into a hug. "Have I told you lately that you're the most beautiful woman I have ever seen?" Martha smiled up at him and said "Flattery will get you a lot of things Mr. Kent but it will get you no closer to that pie. It's for later."
Jonathan released her, kissed her on the cheek and said "it was worth a try." "Besides you're lucky there's even a pie in this house." Martha replied "Oh really and why would that be?" He asked. "Because you're son got home first. Jonathan laughed and said "Where is Clark any way? It's too quiet in here. "Martha looked around the room and spotted Clark's red backpack. "why don't you try the barn." she
suggested. "Thanks I'll do that." he replied as he opened the screen door and walked out into the cool evenings air.
Clark and Lex where busy deciding how best to find out what happened to the body. Clark wanted to call Chloe and ask her to hack into LexLabs recent security camera footage but couldn't do that with Lex there he would freak out. Clark looked at the clock it was 5:30pm his Mother and father would be home soon if they weren't already. "Um Lex? Can I call my house to see if my parents are home yet." Lex looked up from what he was doing on the computer. "Sure Clark go ahead, but it will be interesting to hear what you are going to tell them." Clark ducked his head to hide his embarrassment and picked up the phone to dial the phone number. Lana laughed.
Martha had just started straitening up the kitchen when she heard the phone ring. When she picked it up it was Clark on the other end. Mom I'm over at Lex's he's helping me with my home work. Lana looked over at Clark wondering what he would say next but he ignored her. Martha asked what kind of home work he needed help with. Clark looked around the room nervously and saw a sword hanging on a
wall and said "Oh, um, History. The History of Scotland. You know how his family came from there?" Martha Paused but then said "Okay don't stay too late. We will save some dinner for you. I don't know about the pie you're fathers looking at it like it's his last meal." Clark laughed and said his goodbyes to his Mother and hung up the phone after listening for the click on the other end of the line.
When Clark hung up Lex was staring at him with an open look of shock on his face. "Clark I think that is the worst lie I have ever heard in my entire life!" Lana burst out laughing fallowed shortly by Lex. Clark just sat in his seat grinning sheepishly slowly turning a shade of red that would rival the shirt he was wearing.
"Clark if your done using the phone as a means to attempt suicide I'd like it back now. I need to make a call." Lex said in a flat toned voice. Witch made Lana and Clark laugh even harder. Lana practically fell to the floor when Lex rolled his eyes and muttered "teenagers" under his breath. when they'd finally regained their composure Lex was on the phone with some one named Nigel. He was giving him orders to fallow
a scientist a star labs named Dr. Kline.
In the middle of the phone call Lana got up and walked up to Lex's CD player/entertainment system. Lex fallowed her with his eyes. Clark listened in on the telephone conversation but with Lana messing with the CD player he could only catch bits and pieces of what was being said on the other end of the line. All he could make out was that Dr. Bernard Kline at star labs was to be watched because of his extensive
knowledge on the subject of cloning and that this Nigel person on the other end of the line was one of Lex's main employee's in Metropolis. He was obviously British and sounded very stuffy to Clark. How he ended up working for Lex and not Lionel Luthor was anyone's guess.
When Lex hung up the phone Lana turned off the CD player and walked over toward the glass coffee table by the couch, "I'm sorry guys but I gotta go. call me if you have any more information." "wait, where are you going?" Clark called after her. Lana grabbed her purse and folder off the table and pulled out a stick of gum. She popped it in her mouth and said "I got a date" then walked out of the room. Lex arched an eyebrow as the door swung shut. "date? More like personality transplant." Clark stared at the door
" She was acting a little strange now that I think about it." He turned to Lex. " You don't think she's the clone?" "Clark the other Lana is dead, you better hope she's not the clone." Clark got up and walked over to where Lana had been messing with the CD player. It was set to a station he had never heard of. He looked over at Lex with a look of hope on his face. "Wouldn't it make sense to make more than one?" "Clark she's not a Barbie doll."