CHAPTER 4
Chloe paced around her room in a fit of fury. It was impossible. Unfounded in medical history. Who the hell did Lex Luthor think he was? It was an outrageous proposition, but one that twisted around in Chloe's mind. Clark's alien, super-powered blood had certainly kept Clark close to invincible over the past years. She attempted to smooth the crumpled papers that she had quickly shoved into her jacket while making her dramatic exit, laying them down delicately on her desk. Surely if she were to just explain the situation to Clark, he would be more than happy to help her out in any way he could. She sat at her desk and frantically reread the papers, feeling an intensity drill into her head like a migraine. Lex appeared to already have a sample of the DNA in question, which was certainly no good news for Clark. 'He's already got the sample,' Chloe's mind raced. 'It would be so easy to….' All thought stopped in its tracks as Chloe took a quick breath in. There was a flaw. A giant, major, unavoidable flaw. Assuming that Clark's blood had the capability to heal human sickness, it was still a different story entirely as to how it would react to a Kryptonite-induced illness. "Lex doesn't know that Clark can't handle Kryptonite…" she mumbled quietly to herself. "If the blood reacts to the effects of meteor rocks in the same way that Clark does, it'll kill dad." This was ridiculous. She wasn't actually considering this. Even if Clark were to approve of this miracle blood transfusion, it would reveal his powers to Lex, and if it failed, it would only be a hop, skip and a jump away in the fanatical mind of Lex Luthor to realize Clark's weakness too. Some things just weren't worth risking.
She turned to throw the papers away but thought better of it and opened a drawer of her desk to store them in. A glossy swatch of color caught her eye from the back of the drawer and she pulled out a photograph. It was taken two years ago, on Chloe's sixteenth birthday. Her dad, as tradition demanded, had taken Chloe to her favorite restaurant in Metropolis and then instructed the waiter to bring out a store-bought birthday cake laced with candles and Chloe, as tradition demanded, had gasped in mock-surprise. She smiled wistfully at the photograph before placing it back in the drawer, along with the stack of slightly wrinkled papers. Resting her face in her hands, she realized her cheeks were wet and slick with tears. Some things really weren't worth risking, but it all depends on where your priorities lie.