ACT II
FADE IN
After filing away some documents into a cabinet, Chloe looked up to see Oliver walking into the lobby of the Isis Foundation. She smiled. "Oliver, it's good to see you!" Chloe exclaimed. "What brings you to my little hamlet?"
"I wanted to see how you were doing," Oliver commented. "Didn't you get my message?"
"Actually, I'm being so busy I haven't had a chance to check them. I have a mountain of paper work to sift through before the weekend," she added, pointing to the stack of files on the front desk.
"I heard what happened with Omega, are you okay?" he wondered.
"With all this work I've had to do, I haven't had much time to think about it," she started. "But I'd being lying if I said I didn't have a nightmare or two about it."
"Is there anything I can do?"
"I'm not sure there is anything anyone can do," Chloe admitted.
"Then let me just share some words of wisdom with you. I have had enough of my own share of nightmares and close calls to know you'll get through this. And when you do, you'll be stronger than ever," Oliver reassured her.
"Thanks, Ollie. That means a lot."
Oliver looked over to her laptop and noticed a bunch of browser windows open for travel sites. "Planning on going somewhere?"
"Actually yeah," Chloe began. "Jimmy and I are going to take a few days off to celebrate our engagement and to get away from it all."
"I still can't believe you guys are engaged, for awhile it seemed like you would never say yes," Ollie joked, trying to lighten the mood.
Chloe laughed. "Yeah, I was a bit of hold out wasn't I? Leave it to me to wait till we're in a crisis to say I do. Better late than never I suppose."
xxx
Chloe finished filing some more papers in the cabinet when Jimmy walked in the door. "Jimmy!" she called out, running over and hugging him tightly.
She gave him a big kiss on the lips, before pulling away, realizing that Ollie was still there. They both appeared embarrassed by the display of PDA.
"I should get going," Ollie offered, not wanting to intrude any more.
"Are you sure there isn't anything else you needed?" Chloe asked.
"No, nothing that can't wait," Oliver replied. He figured he could handle tracking down the escaped convict on his own without troubling Chloe.
As Oliver was about to head out the door he patted Jimmy on the shoulder. "Congrats on the engagement, Jimmy."
"Thanks," Jimmy replied, grinning. Once Oliver left, Jimmy turned to Chloe.
"What are you doing here? I thought you would be out chasing a story," Chloe commented.
"Perry let me out for lunch early, he figured Lois and Clark could handle it on their own for today," Jimmy explained.
"So he decided to pair them together. I'm guessing Lois didn't take it very well."
"That would be the understatement of the century," Jimmy replied. "Anyways, I thought you could use some lunch."
"Sounds great!" Chloe cheerfully acknowledged. "But first, I thought I'd let you in our weekend plans." She went over to the computer and brought up one of the browser windows.
"Now I know we wanted somewhere warm, but I couldn't find anything in Hawaii or the Caribbean at this short notice," Chloe continued. "But I did find a good deal at resort in Miami Beach."
Grabbing Chloe's waist, Jimmy smiled. "It's perfect."
xxx
Lois and Clark got out of the car, and headed towards Summerholt Institute. "You know Lois, you could've let me drive this time."
"And let your first day jitters get us in an accident, I don't think so," Lois commented, incredulous.
"My nerves are fine," he countered.
"Besides, you're so slow and steady on the road, that a tortoise could beat you in a race," she added.
"That's not how that goes," Clark shot back.
Lois rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Just remember to let me do all the talking when we get in there."
Approaching the door, he opened it for himself, only to have Lois cut back in front of him. "Thanks, Smallville," she commented. Clark sighed and followed her in.
Much to their surprise, they saw Melinda Pierce in the lobby. She was talking to a security guard with a notepad handy. As Melinda finished with the guard, she walked over to them. "Look what the cat dragged in. Come to see a real reporter in action?"
"You wouldn't know real reporting if it slapped you in the face," Lois returned the volley.
"Then what exactly is the not so-dynamic duo doing here?" her rival asked.
"If you must know, we're following a lead," Lois responded, annoyed.
"Please, you're just jealous I got the better story," Melinda scoffed. "You get stuck with some rambling wacko, and I get the prison break. Did you really think Perry would give you a decent story after he sent you back to the basement of shame?"
"Jealous of a two-bit hack journalist, I don't think so," Lois countered. "You never could see the big picture could you?"
"What does that mean?" Melinda questioned her.
"There's always more than meets than eye to a story. And if you would actually do your job, rather than hurtle half-baked insults at me, you would see that."
"Why you stupid…" Melinda started, her face turning red with hostility.
"I hate to break up the cat fight, but we have a story to cover," Clark interjected.
"Some spark from the rookie, I like it," Melinda playfully added, gazing upon Clark like he was eye candy. Lois folded her arms and rolled her eyes. "So Kent, I see you're still alive. How did you ever manage that on Lane's watch?"
"Just fine, thank you," Clark replied, confidently. "Lois is a good teacher," he defended Lois, looking back fondly at her.
'Wow Smallville I didn't know you had it in you,' she thought. Lois smirked with satisfaction at Melinda.
"If you're here to question Doctor Cavendish in an ill-conceived attempt to take my story, don't bother. He's out for the day," Melinda added. "See you Lane…Kent".
xxx
Lois and Clark watched as Melinda walked out the door. "Do you believe this? What is she blind?"
"What are you talking about?" Clark asked.
"When we we're coming in, I noticed the doctor's vanity plates on an Audi in the parking lot," Lois explained.
"So what are we going to do about it?"
"You stay here for now," Lois began. She spotted the young male receptionist at the desk ogling her. "I think I know a way we can get in to see our elusive scientist." She smiled and approached the desk.
Lois eyed the receptionist. "Hi, I was wondering if you could help me," she stated in provocatively disarming tone, eliciting a smile from the young receptionist. She smiled back at him, knowing it was only a matter of time before she got that interview.
xxx
A dark haired, Caucasian male scientist, maybe in his late 30s examined some green liquid under a microscope. A lab technician, an African-American female, stood by his side.
"The meteor rock levels in the serum seem to be at optimum concentration, bring me the rest of the viles and prepare another batch. Dr. Brant should be able to begin his first round of testing on the serum with live subjects soon," the scientist ordered his assistant.
"Yes Dr. Price," the lab assistant answered, nodding. She walked past some containers of sealed meteor rock in the lab, and around the corner where she had left the other viles of serum.
Dr. Price set aside the slide with the serum labeled 'Serum 6X18-Autonomy Control'. He picked up another vile labeled 'Sedative 3X04', also laced with meteor rock, and examined it with his microscope intently.
xxx
Clark looked over to the security guard, who was now talking secretively to a female scientist. He felt compelled to eavesdrop on the conversation as he focused with super hearing.
"Who are they?" the female scientist asked.
"More reporters," the male security guard replied.
"Make sure they don't get anywhere near the device, there would be too many questions," the scientist told him. He shook his head.
Clark had too much history with Summerholt, and he had a feeling all of this was connected. Clark scanned the room and focused again, this time with his x-ray vision. He had found something, but he would have to wait for the right opportunity.
Dr. Cavendish, a man in his fifties, with grey hair and mustache appeared in the doorway behind the desk. He had a small bruise on his forehead. "Miss Lane, I presume?" the doctor asked.
She grinned, turning to Clark. "We're in."
"If you two will come this way," Dr. Cavendish motioned.
"Dr. Cavendish, if we could get to the heart of the matter, we have a few questions for you regarding the prisoner who escaped here last night," Lois started.
"I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have," Dr. Cavendish cut in, being somewhat less than truthful. "But first, I thought you'd might enjoy a tour."
"Of course," Lois responded, trying to restrain herself from gritting her teeth. She'd get it out of him somehow.
"I must insist on accompanying you on the tour," the security guard reported. Dr. Cavendish nodded.
"What's with the chaperone?" Lois asked.
"It's standard procedure, I assure you," Dr. Cavendish responded.
"Of course…lead the way," Lois begrudgingly added.
"I forgot my notepad in the car, I have to go grab it," Clark commented as they entered the corridor.
Lois looked at him quizzically. "Smallville, I've got it covered."
"What kind of reporter would I be without my own notes, I wouldn't want to disappoint the boss on the first day," he assured her, gazing into her eyes.
"Right…absolutely," Lois replied, sensing he might be up to something.
xxx
Clark exited without incident, back out through the lobby. He had a way of getting past the guards in the past and this was no different. Though he imagined they had made some improvements to the facility since he was last there. Clark gazed up to the rooftop and grinned.
xxx
"Summerholt Institute was founded by Dr. Lawrence Garner, our former Chief Neurologist," Dr. Cavendish began. "While Dr. Garner's methods were sometimes controversial, he paved the way for cutting edge neuroscience across the world. Summerholt has 47 ongoing experiments at any one time."
"I appreciate the history lesson, but could we get back to the subject of John Dee, the prisoner that escaped here last night," Lois interjected.
"By all accounts, he was a model prisoner, and an ideal candidate for a simple memory study we were conducting," the scientist answered her.
"Forgive me, but I find it hard to believe that you would recruit prisoners for a simple memory study, especially at a place renowned for advancements in 'cutting edge' research," Lois threw his words back in his face, eliciting a dirty look from the guard.
xxx
Clark dropped from the air duct into a laboratory. He looked up to see that the security camera wasn't functioning. He walked over to a computer, which appeared to be hastily abandoned.
The screen popped on to reveal something called Project Morpheus. Finding a flash drive nearby, he inserted it into an open USB port and began downloading the information.
Spinning around, Clark gazed upon an enormous machine, the top of which seemed to be curved like a snake. Upon closer inspection, the machine appeared to be damaged, perhaps by some sort of energy surge. The control panel nearby was in diagnostic mode. The strange machine was identified with an equally strange name- Materioptikon.
xxx
Dr. Price pulled up from the microscope. "Dr. Watkins, where's that serum I asked for?" No response. The sound of the ventilation system and equipment seemed to abruptly go silent. "Dr. Watkins?" he called out again.
Perturbed, Dr. Price got up from his stool and walked over to where the serum was being processed. "Dr. Watkins, I thought I told you…," he began, cutting himself off. "My God!" he exclaimed as he saw his colleague seemingly frozen in motion. She appeared to be placing serum viles in a container for transport at the time.
"Are you okay?" he clumsily managed, even though it seemed irrational to call out to an inanimate person.
"She can't hear you," a voice called out from the shadows.
Dr. Price turned around to see something come out of the darkness. It was a man…but it wasn't at the same time. He stood face to face with a figure shrouded in blue, with a face like a skull. "Who…who are you?" he asked, scared.
"Everyone always seems to have a sudden bout of amnesia when I enter a room. I guess you all wanted to forget me so much, you can't even recognize my voice," Dee resentfully responded.
"John? It couldn't be," Dr. Price stood there, incredulous.
"It is…in the flesh…so to speak," Dee coolly answered, with a slight grin on his grayish white face.
"I'm sorry for what they did to you, it wasn't my call," Price insisted to his former colleague, figuring Dee or whatever he had become wanted payback.
"Spare me the lies," Dee snapped. "You blamed me for the destruction of the facility, just like the others. Luthor even tried to suggest I was delusional."
"It's not like that."
"Isn't it?" Dee asked rhetorically. "You get a cushy job working for S.T.A.R. Labs, while I get labeled a rogue and put in a cage."
"Nothing you can say will change anything," he continued.
Dee approached Price menacingly. "I was your mentor, your colleague and you betrayed me. This time, no one will deny my vengeance, my birthright. No one will deny Dr. Destiny."
ACT BREAK
