ok this chapter follows a scene out of smallville pretty closely for a while but i don't lay claim to any of it except the stuff that's mine. there is a slight difference in the scene but that's just so it would work with my story.

Disclaimer: The Smallville episodes are not mine.


When Bart came to his head hurt abominably. It pounded against his skull making every noise seem twice as loud. His thoughts seemed to pile up, creating a huge and messy pile within his mind that, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't sort through. Some of the words and emotions that pulsed through his head didn't even seem likely for him to be experiencing considering his current position. With a groan, Bart sat up and only then noticed where he was. He was sitting on a metal grid floor that was lit softly from beneath, while solid plastic walls surrounded him. Slowly he lifted himself off the floor, trying not to aggravate his thumping head.

"Morning sunshine," a familiar voice said.

To Bart in his cell, it sounded slightly distorted but there was no doubt whose voice it was. Bart turned his head and glared reproachfully at his captor. Lex Luthor simply stared back, unperturbed.

"I want a lawyer," Bart finally said.

Lex smiled. "And I want a ponytail. Disappointment abounds."

He stepped up to his prisoner's cell.

"Who do you work for?"

Bart smirked. "What you see is what you get Goldilocks."

Bart saw the two guards behind Lex raise their weapons threateningly but ignored them. Bullets were easy to outrun.

"You're a low level thief. Swiping corporate data isn't your style. Now tell me who you're working for and this won't have to get unpleasant," Lex said, his voice heavy with implications.

Bart stared at Lex for a moment then sighed.

"Alright, alright," he took a deep breath. "I work for a guy – called Mr Kissmybutt. Would you like me to introduce you?"

Lex grinned and reached into his coat. When his hand came out, it was clutching a remote in it. He pressed a button and the cover slid up revealing the buttons underneath. As Lex turned the remote on, the floor of Bart's cell brightened until it was glowing yellow. Bart glanced down at it, confused. His heart began to beat faster but he refused to show his apprehension while his mind worked overtime. He still couldn't get that feeling out of his mind, as though something foreign had wormed its way in and was trying to take over.

Bart returned his gaze to Lex, watching as the billionaire turned away.

"The floor of your cell has been outfitted with pressure plates designed to track movement," Lex paused and turned back to face Bart. "Stop in one place even for a millisecond after I activate them, and you fry."

He studied his prisoner for a moment. "Last chance."

Bart glanced down at the floor then back at Lex. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared defiantly at the man, hating him with all his being. He'd be damned if he was going to tell a Luthor anything, let alone one of the biggest secrets he knew. Oliver's life was worth more than anything Lex put him through.

Lex waved the remote then gave an almost-apologetic smile.

"Well maybe you'll feel more talkative when you get tired of running."

He paused for a second as though waiting for Bart to stop him, then his finger hit the button and the plates activated. Crackling blue electricity suddenly lit up the cell, the little electrons enjoying the conductive metal that they danced over. Pain lanced through Bart as the electricity reached him. He cried out as his muscles seized up and his mind buzzed. Thoughts and movement seemed impossible as the all-consuming agony coursed through him but, after what felt like hours, Bart managed to get his legs moving. On instinct his mind told his legs to move faster and faster until he felt the plates deactivate and he was moving at speeds often only reached in automated vehicles.

Lex watched in awe and satisfaction as Bart ran around and around in circles so he wouldn't be electrocuted. The boy had an incredible amount of willpower and he briefly wondered whose stubbornness was going to hold out longer. He'd been watching Bart Allen for a while now and knew the boy did what he wanted, when he wanted and didn't like it when other people told him to do otherwise.

As Lex turned and walked out of the room, he thought back to his experiment and silently hoped that it had been a success. It would be a great source of leverage if the boy proved to be difficult.

***

Arianna's dreams were random to say the least. They jumped from days spent swimming at Crater Lake, to dark rooms that had only a circle of dim lighting with barely a gap in between. Her most recent dream involved a boy – one she'd never seen before but had the strangest feeling that she'd known forever. He was dressed in a red hoodie and red jeans, a yellow lightning bolt streaking down the side of his pant legs. His hair was disheveled as though he'd only just woken up and his eyes were a steely grey that gave nothing away. With his arms crossed over his chest, he looked the picture of stubbornness.

He was talking to someone that Arianna couldn't see but the words that she was hearing didn't match up with the movements his lips were making. She listened carefully to the words she could hear.

What the hell is going on? ... Like hell! Does he actually believe that I would tell him anything! ... I wonder how long they're going to be… Ollie will come and when he does, Luthor better watch his back because I'm going to be looking for some payback… Why does everything feel so strange? …

Arianna frowned in her sleep as she the boy was electrocuted. She watched him cringe and then she cried out as the pain slammed into her mind. Her eyes flew open as the scream escaped her lips and she sat up, clutching at her head, trying desperately to get to the source of her agony.

Then, as quickly as it came, the pain was gone, receding into the past as though it had never happened. Breathing heavily and aware that she was covered in a glistening sheen of sweat, Arianna looked around her. A monitor was beeping at her side, keeping time with her fast-beating heart, and a row of computers sat along the left hand wall. She was lying on a hospital bed, the sheets coiled around her from her tossing and turning. As she studied her surrounds and tried to ascertain where she was, there was a soft hiss and then a door directly in front of her bed slid open.

Arianna's head whipped around and her eyes fell on Smallville's most famous man. Lex Luthor stood in the doorway, silently studying her with emotionless eyes. She sat still on her bed, awareness of her situation suddenly dawning on her. She was no longer the carefree teenager who had recently been exposed to the meteor rocks in the latest shower. No, that day had changed her and her life for good. Now she was a Luthor experiment, a test subject.

Slowly Lex walked over to her, the door closing behind him with another hiss. He stopped beside her bed.

"Arianna Beckett?" Lex said. It sounded like a question but Arianna knew that Lex already knew more than her name.

She didn't say anything, just waited for him to continue.

Lex smiled. "How's your brother?"

Arianna frowned and narrowed her eyes. Her older brother Logan was the only family that she had left and he had taken care of her after their parents had died in a car accident. She loved Logan more than anybody and she was not going to let a Luthor threaten him.

"He's fine. What do you want?"

Lex's eyes scrutinised her. "Not much for the small talk, are you?"

"Not when you've kidnapped me and proceed to threaten my brother," she replied. "Now tell me why I'm here."

A smirk played across Lex's face.

"Alright, you're here because you are dangerous. You have been affected by the meteor rocks and we believe that you have a special ability due to that exposure."

I scoffed. "Whatever. You do realise that kidnapping is illegal."

"Only for the poor my dear," Lex retorted. "And before you even bother, your brother won't be looking for you because he thinks that you're in Metropolis for a few months."

Arianna swallowed. Her head was thumping for some unknown reason and her pulse was slowly accelerating. She tried to control her breathing but it was becoming haggard and uneven. She turned her head away from Lex, hoping to hide her sudden exhaustion.

"How are you feeling Miss Beckett?" he asked.

She took a few deep breaths before replying. "Fine, not that you care."

Lex emitted a soft laugh.

"Oh but I do care Arianna because you are one of my most prized experiments. You won't be going anywhere any time soon so your health is of great importance to me. If you don't survive then I know not to try this experiment again, but if you're feeling completely normal then it obviously worked."

Arianna lowered her head again. She wasn't sure she understood what 'experiment' Lex was talking about but she sure wasn't feeling fine – not that she was going to admit that. She felt as though she was running a marathon, her sides aching and her legs burning. She tried to concentrate on calming herself but no matter what she did, nothing worked.

"I'll come back later," Lex suddenly announced, "when you're not so out of breath."

He walked swiftly out of the room, a knowing smile on his face. The door closed behind him, automatically locking as it resealed.

Arianna watched him leave, her chest rising and falling quickly. Why was she so exhausted? She wasn't even doing anything and yet her heart raced and her lungs struggled to inflate. What was going on? And did it have anything to do with this experiment that Lex had performed?


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