Thank you for reviewing celticgothhardy! you're great for inspiration!
DISCLAIMER - i don't own Smallville or its characters.... :(
It had barely been one day since Bart had woken in his cell. Lex had not returned since activating the pressure plates on the floor of his cell, so Bart was still running. He was exhausted and he could feel blood trickling from his nose. His lungs were burning as he sucked in air and his chest heaved, but he kept running. He would prefer exhaustion over death any day and if he stopped, he knew he'd be electrocuted.
Bowing his head, Bart kept running, watching his feet as they pounded the metal floor. He knew he wasn't going as fast as he normally could but for some reason, he couldn't get his legs to go any faster. It wasn't that he was getting tired – his speed had never really been affected by how weary he got – but it felt like a part of his mind that was linked with his speed had fallen asleep. But regardless of his fatigue, Bart kept pushing himself, fearing what would happen if he stopped.
***
Lex had been watching the two teenagers carefully throughout the day, his excitement growing by the second. It seemed that the longer he kept the boy running, the more exhausted the girl became. To Lex, it appeared that his experiment had been a complete success.
As the billionaire stood in front of the main super computer, his emotionless eyes studied the boy's vital signs. Bart's heartbeat had been steadily rising – as was to be expected – but his speed was slowing. The initial drop in his speed had happened only moments after the girl fell unconscious. She'd been struggling for breath and fighting exhaustion for two hours before succumbing to its tempting embrace and now, as Arianna slept, the boy slowed. At first, it had been a gradual decline but now, nearly twelve hours later, Bart's speed was down in the hundreds. If he kept slowing, he would be electrocuted for staying in one place for too long.
Lex glanced briefly at the cameras trained on his two experiments. Arianna was lying in her hospital bed, a breathing apparatus covering her mouth and nose, helping her body with the breathing process. The heart monitor was beeping softly, steadily in the background – the only sounds in the room artificial ones.
He turned his gaze back to Bart. This boy was the most intriguing person he'd met, apart from Clark Kent himself. He hadn't been affected by the meteor rock and yet he had abilities – abilities which proved to be very handy indeed. The billionaire watched Bart for a few seconds more and then reached into his pocket for his phone.
He punched in a number and waited patiently for the man on the other end to pick up.
"Anderson, I need you to keep an eye on the Allen kid. I have other business to attend to but make sure he doesn't die – in fact, don't even let him be electrocuted," Lex ordered.
Anderson confirmed his understanding and Lex hung up. Then he turned and walked away.
***
Clark faced Oliver, anger boiling inside him. How could he have let this happen? Bart was just a kid – he should be in school enjoying the carefree lifestyle of a teenager! But no, Oliver had gotten him involved in his fanciful dreams of justice, ripping away any chance that Bart had of a normal life.
"How did this happen?" Clark demanded.
Oliver sighed and walked across the room so he could face the tall superhero.
"Clark, I already know that you don't approve of Bart joining my team but it was his decision and I didn't force him into anything. You should know that making Bart do anything he doesn't want to is near impossible and changing his mind is just as difficult…"
"I don't care what excuses you have Oliver!" Clark interrupted. "You shouldn't have even let him know that you're the Green Arrow."
"Look, I know all this already okay? And I regret my decision but I can't change it now. We just need to focus on getting him back for the moment – we can argue this case at another time when Bart is not in a life or death situation," Oliver replied.
Clark ground his teeth but Oliver's logic hit home. They shouldn't be arguing over how Bart had gotten into his situation, but rather how to get him out. He swallowed down his anger and released a deep breath.
"Do you have any idea where to start looking?" he asked.
Oliver studied Clark's face for a few seconds then walked up the three steps to where he kept his computers. He sighed as he remembered Bart's name for it – his throne room, a pun no doubt originated from his last name.
"AC and Victor have been working hard to find any 33.1 facilities in this area, but so far they've come up with nothing. I haven't had much luck either but I have narrowed the location down considerably."
Clark cocked his head to one side, awaiting further explanation. Oliver pulled out a remote from in his drawer and came back to stand next to Clark. He held the remote up in front of a hidden sensor and pressed the red power button. A television screen lowered from a compartment in the roof, stopping just above Clark's six foot frame. They both had to lift their heads to examine what was shown on the screen.
It was a video surveillance tape of a well-known Luthor Corp warehouse. Its expansive grounds were bordered by vicious looking fences and the entire ground was patrolled regularly by guards with dogs and guns.
"Where did you get this?" Clark asked.
Oliver smiled. "Queen Industries has many satellites that are constantly passing over the Smallville/Metropolis area. I like to keep an eye on the locals, just in case. Now watch."
Oliver hit another button on the remote and the tape began to move at a faster pace. Clark stared carefully at the screen, not blinking incase he missed something vital, although he was positive that Oliver would point it out when it happened. But after watching an entire days worth of surveillance and not seeing anything suspicious, Clark began to get confused and annoyed.
"What was I supposed to see?" the Kryptonian demanded after Oliver had pressed stop, allowing the screen to turn black again.
A small, knowing grin tugged at Oliver's lips and he raised an eyebrow.
"The wonderful and all-powerful Clark Kent didn't see anything, did he?" he said. Clark scowled at him, not in the mood.
"Well neither did I."
Clark frowned. Did he hear right? "I'm sorry?"
"There was nothing on the surveillance tape to suggest that Bart was even removed from the area. No cars, trucks or vans left the compound and I didn't see anybody carrying a teenager's body over their shoulder as they swapped shifts. So unless you see a way for Luthor to get Bart out of that compound, then I'm sticking with my theory on this one. Bart's still in there and we will rescue him," Oliver announced.
Clark took a moment to think about Oliver's theory. If he was right then it would be very careless on Lex's behalf to house a kidnapped teen in the same place he was found, but if he was wrong then Lex had more tricks up his sleeve then Clark liked to believe.
"Alright, let's get moving," Clark declared.
Oliver smiled and nodded appreciatively. "I'll get in touch with Victor and AC; we're going to need them."
Ok, so you should let me know whose perspective you like hearing about the most - Bart, Lex, Arianna or Clark/Oliver. that way i can adjust the story so it's not all over the place and from three different people's POV... and please let me know if any one isn't sounding right! thanks... reviews are great!
