Chapter 3

The next two weeks went by without much progress. Lex was released from the hospital, and the official police report did not give them much to go off of. So, naturally, Chloe and Lois had to do some digging of their own.

Lois and Clark had also been talking more. Some nights she would stop by after work just to see how he was doing. They were becoming increasingly closer since their sleepover, and Chloe noticed it. She was really happy for her best friend and her cousin.

The doctor seemed to be their only suspect. Especially since he blatantly stated his hatred for Lex. He would have motive, but he obviously would not admit to a group of reporters that he tried to murder somebody. So their work was just going to be that much harder.

Then suddenly one morning they hit a milestone. Chloe had been tapping into all of Dr. Rosenthal's files daily and one day she found something useful.

She printed the papers from her computer and made the announcement of what she found.

"This shows what he was working on with Lex. He just finished the project yesterday and uploaded it onto his file."

"What's the project?" asked Lois.

"It's almost like a truth serum. The chemicals that he has used are what seem to be the traditional formula. But there is a slight difference. Meteor rock."

"Why would that need to be in there?" asked Jimmy.

"Well, according to this report," Chloe replied, reading from the paper, "that produces the effect of someone being under the control of the person who administers it to them."

"Like the Imperious Curse?" asked Jimmy.

They all looked at him, unsure of what he meant.

"You know, from Harry Potter?," he continued. "The curse you put on somebody and they do your bidding? It's illegal." He saw that none of them were responding. "Never mind."

"I know it was just put up yesterday, but what if Dr. Rosenthal had somebody else kill Lex by using this stuff on them?" suggested Clark.

"My thoughts exactly," thought Chloe. "It was only ready yesterday, but that is only because Lex wanted a large amount. A small dosage would work on a person for up to an hour," she said, looking at the paper.

"And one of the ingredients is a plant found only in Bolivia," she continued. "So maybe Dr. Rosenthal took off to Bolivia right after administering the serum. That way it could not been proven that he had anything to do with it. He was just on a business trip."

"We need to get down to that lab and get a straight answer from him," Lois stated.

They all headed down to the lab. When they arrived there they were just about to push open the door without any introduction when they heard Dr. Rosenthal had company. As they listened to the conversation, they realized that the other voice belonged to Lex.

"Is everything ready, doctor?" he asked sternly.

"Yes, Mr. Luthor. It is all here in this box."

"Good." A couple of moments, during which the group could hear a lid being taken off . "This is all of it?" Lex said harshly.

"Well, yes. This is what all of the money and resources you gave me made," he replied defensively.

They heard the lid being slammed back down on the box. "I hardly think that all of the money that I put into this project would have resulted in only this. Where's the rest of it? Or did you squander away some of the money?" Lex's tone now was furious.

"You have no right to accuse me of anything, Mr. Luthor!" The doctor's tone was pained and angry.

"And you have no right to take advantage of an ingured man!"

"It was your fault you were injured in the first place! It's just too bad the job wasn't finished!" The doctor's tone turned seemed to be that of a man letting out a large amount of pent up emotions.

Another moment passed by. "When you finish your job, tell me. Otherwise you'll be sorry." They heard footsteps coming their way. They ducked to the side of the building and watched Lex drive away. None of them had paid attention before that his car was even there. They all stared at each other, convinced that the doctor had just confirmed their theory. They walked inside to get their proof.

Clark began to feel sick immediately upon entering the room. His stomach felt that it was squeezed inside of him and his blood felt like it was boiling. His veins began throbbing and his heart began to receive shooting pains that started in his chest because it was constricting. He started to collapse to the floor. Dr. Rosenthal had opened the boxes again.

Lois noticed Clark's condition and approached him. "Clark, are you okay?"

He looked up at her weakly, with those big, pouty, puppy-dog eyes that she couldn't help but smile at. Then he replied almost inaudibly, "I'm allergic to the meteor rocks."

Luckily at this point, Dr. Rosenthal sealed the boxes, which were made of lead. Clark immediately began to feel better and stood up straight.

"It's okay, I'm fine now," he told her.

He and Lois joined Jimmy and Chloe on the other side of the table where Dr. Rosenthal was standing. Chloe knew how Clark would react and Jimmy saw Chloe was not worried, so he was not worried about Clark.

"And to what do I owe this pleasure?" asked the doctor coldly.

"I know about the project you and Lex are working on," said Chloe in a strong tone.

"Do you now?" He moved across to the other side of the table where they were and faced Chloe. "Well then I hope you also know that it is illegal to look through someone's personal files."

"Don't talk to me about illegal. You possibly used this stuff on someone to shoot Lex so that you could get off Scott-free!" Chloe was clearly not going to let the doctor get to her.

Dr. Rosenthal chuckled a little. "Well, that's kind of presumptuous, don't you think?"

"Then you tell me why you flew the country thirty minutes after Lex was shot."

"I told you, I was on a business trip." he was beginning to get annoyed. Chloe, however, was not going to give up.

"But there's no proof that you didn't have somebody else do it."

"There's no proof that I did, either. You sure are stubborn."

"You said you hated Lex."

"Would you try to kill somebody simply because you didn't get along with them?"

Lois could see that this was going nowhere. So she stepped in the middle of them. "Okay, this needs to stop. Look, doctor, all that is needed is proof that you didn't use any of this stuff on somebody."

"Done." Came a voice from behind them.

They all turned around at the same time. Lex Luthor was standing in the room with them.

For a few moments the room was silent and all eyes were on Lex. Then he started walking towards them.

"I left my phone in here. I came back and walked into this intriguing conversation. And I am sure glad I did." His eyes sent a piercing glare to everyone in the room. "You see, Dr. Rosenthal was on a business trip for me. I ran out of an ingredient I needed so I sent him to retrieve some more."

"Why didn't you have him take your private jet?" asked Clark.

"Because I was going to be needing it to go to Metropolis that following night. That is, before someone shot me."

"Lex ,believe me," Dr. Rosenthal chimed in, "I didn't have anyone shoot you."

Lex stared at him with much conviction. "I'll be the judge of that." He walked over to the boxes that the doctor had recently sealed. He took the lids off. Clark had to maintain himself for a few moments while Lex examined the contents of the first box.

"So I take it you know what this does." said Lex as he looked up from the box to the group.

"Yes," said Chloe. She knew it would not be smart to lie to Lex.

"Well, then you should also know who my main subject was," he said, staring at Clark. "You always kept secrets from me, even when we were friends. I figured I could make you tell me all that you have been keeping from me this whole time." He began approaching Clark with some of the substance that he had taken from a box and Clark began to feel even weaker.

"Lex," Clark said weakly, "You don't have to do this."

"But there's enough here to control you for who knows how long," said Lex. "It would be a shame to waste it. And while I'm at it, I think I'll use it on the four of you as well, so that you don't breathe a word of this to anybody." He stared coldly at everybody else in the room.

As the substance came nearer, Clark collapsed to the floor. Lex was about to pour it into Clark's mouth when Chloe kicked him from behind. He became unconscious.

Jimmy and Lois saw Dr. Rosenthal run out, afraid of being a part of the scene . They then ran over to the boxes and threw the out the window, destroying the contents.

Clark gained his strength back and they all walked outside of the laboratory after Chloe called 911 and explained the situation, minus the illegal hacking part.

"Well, we don't know if the doctor is still guilty or not," she said in a disappointed tone.

"Yeah, we're not any further than we were this morning," said Clark sulkily.

"Relax, Smallville. I'm sure something will turn up. In the mean time, there is nothing we can do," Lois assured him. Inspite of the situation at hand, Clark still felt his heart flutter at his nickname.

They made their way back to The Daily Planet. When they walked in Curtis was there. He gave Clark a sort of strange look. It was almost jealous.

He approached Lois. "Hey, Lois, still on for tonight?"

"You bet," she replied. But then she began laughing at Curtis's appearance. His shirt was stained with ink and some of it was also on his hand.

"What?" he asked her nervously.

"You have ink on your shirt and hand." She pointed to the said areas.

He stared down at himself and looked up at her with an awkward laugh. "Shoot. My pen broke at my desk, and I guess some of it got on me." He laughed another awkward laugh. "So, uh, see you tonight then." He stormed off, muttering something inaudible under his breath.

Lois laughed again. Clark, however, was not amused. He somehow didn't like the idea of Lois going out on a date. Especially not with Curtis. Something just did not set right with that guy.

He decided to approach Lois about the topic. "What's tonight?" he asked her.

"Nothing really. Curtis just asked me out so I said yes. I figured it might be nice to get out there again. Why?" She was bewildered by Clark's tone and expression.

He stared down at the floor a few moments. Then he lifted his head slightly and said, "No reason. Just be careful, ok?"

She laughed a small laugh. "You don't have to worry about me, Clark. But it's really sweet of you to worry like that." She walked away.

Chloe overheard the whole conversation and went up to Clark. "What was that all about?" she asked confused.

"What?" Clark asked innocently.

"Do you have feelings for my cousin?" she asked.

Chloe had found out about Clark and Lana when he told her the day after Lois spent the night with him. She was really supportive, like always. Clark hoped that she would be again after what he was about to say to her.

"Chloe, I don't know," he said mildly. "It's just that first everything with Lana happened. Then Lois was great through all of this."

"Yeah, she told me how you guys were talking and everything."

"I've never seen that side of her before. I just always saw her as a friend."

"And, now do you want something more?"

"I think I might. But is it too soon?"

Chloe paused for a couple of moments. Then she stared Clark straight in the eye.

"Only you can decide that, Clark. You need to decided if you can fall in love again, or if you are just being vulnerable right now."

Clark had a sad look about him now. "It's not just that, Chloe. It's my secret too. Lana couldn't handle it. She felt being together would hold me back."

"Well, maybe you just need to find somebody who doesn't feel that." She said simply.

"I don't think it's going to be as easy as that," Clark said as if what Chloe said was silly.

"I know that Clark. Believe me, I know first hand what it is like being different. But Jimmy accepted me when I thought he wouldn't. So maybe Lois would do the same for you. Lana couldn't because no matter how much she loved you, she always felt the world needed you more."

"How do you know that?" Clark said, eying her questioningly. Those were her precise words.

"She told me. The day after you informed me of your breakup, I called her. Look, I know it would be easier on you if you were like everyone else. But trust me, I wouldn't change a thing."

"Thanks, Chloe. I do wish I were more human, though."

"Well, look at it this way Clark. You're more human that the scumbag who shot Lex. Or Lex for that matter."

"Thanks, I think," Clark said uncertainly. Him and Chloe laughed.

He stared at her for a couple of moments. "Why couldn't I just have been attracted to you? You know everything that I'm going through."

"Yeah, life would be easier," Chloe said jokingly. Clark laughed and kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks, Chloe."

"Anytime Clark. And talk to Lois. They say there's someone out there for everybody."

Clark smiled and walked away. He was going to go and talk to Lois, but he saw that she was busy working. Plus, he had to mull things over by himself at first.

He hoped that Chloe was right. That there really was somebody out there for everybody. But Lana was the only woman he had ever loved. Maybe he was just lonely and vulnerable right now. One thing was for certain, he was very confused.

While he was hoping for some sort of sign, he drove back to the farm. He sat at home alone that night, while Lois got ready for her date.

She was supposed to meet Curtis in front of a coffee house that was right down the street from their work. He offered to pick her up, to which Lois's exact words were, "Look, I'm a modern gal. And I can get there on my own, thank you. If you don't like it then that's tough." Curtis did not dare argue with that so he decided to let her have her way.

Lois currently looked at her watch as she stood outside. It was about five minutes until eight, the time she was supposed to meet Curtis. She looked in her purse and didn't find her phone. Chloe called me when I was in the car to ask me a work question she said to herself. I must have left it in there. I better go get it incase Curtis tried or will try calling me.

She turned the corner and walked to her car. On her way there, she felt herself step in a wet puddle. She unlocked the door and sure enough, her cell phone sat in one of the drink holders in the front. She went to reach it from the driver's seat when she suddenly felt somebody grab her by the arm. They turned her towards them and she saw a masked figure dressed in black. He lead her to the passenger side while Lois put up a fight. He was extremely strong. He clasped his hand over her mouth tightly so that she couldn't scream or even move her lips. She still tried to resist but the man hit her on the side of the head. She saw the scene in front of her fade to black. The last thing she remembered was the scent of her captor.

When she was pushed in the passenger seat the man slammed the door and walked over to the driver's side, thinking how this was too easy. He got into the car and sped away.

Yea, I'm evil. Sorry.