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Chapter Twenty Seven.

Lex ignored every speed limit sign, but his heart still beat faster than his car moved.

When Martha had called, she had told him that he needed to be over soon, that it was bad.

Lex tried to think of what she could mean by that. She had been so vague. Had his son attacked someone? In the past few days, Clark had been excessively violent towards him. And if he was that way with his father, how would he be around people that he didn't care about as much?

Recently, Clark had been a mystery to Lex, even more of a mystery than he had been when Clark had first been thrown into Lex's life. He was violent, scared, angry… Where had the little angel that Lex knew and loved gone?

There were other matters too though. Clark had run away, and he had attacked Lex. It was his job as his father to make sure that something like this never happened again. Though, he was at a loss on how to do so. There was no way that Clark would just listen to what he had to say, but he wasn't going to strike him. No, that was out of the question.

When he pulled up to the farmhouse, his thoughts were on what he expected to see. Would the farm be in shambles from destroyed property? Would Jonathan's jaw be broken?

There was another thought as well, hidden in the very back of Lex's mind. Would Clark hate him? Would he fear him? Lex had yelled at him. He had never raised his voice at the child until that moment.

Lex took a deep breath, then exited his car and walked towards the door.

He didn't knock, he just walked right in.

"Lex!" Martha said.

Lex looked over at her for a second, then to the living room. He breathed a sigh of relief when he looked at the sofa.

Clark was asleep on the sofa under a blanket. Not only was his son safe, but he wouldn't have to fight with him again today. This was probably the biggest win of Lex's entire day.

Lex walked over to the sofa, then kneeled beside it. Clark was so adorable. How was it possible for a child so cute to cause so many problems in such a short amount of time?

"Lex, wait," Martha said, but Lex didn't listen.

He gently shook Clark's shoulder. "Hey, bubba," he said. "Time to wake up."

Normally, Clark would protest and try to burrow farther under the covers. Normally, Clark would make a little squeak, then open his eyes. Normally, Clark would wake up.

But he didn't. He didn't even move.

Lex frowned, and his heart began to beat faster. "Clark?" He said, then looked up to Martha and Jonathan. Something was wrong with Clark. Something was wrong with his baby boy. "What's going on?"

Martha let out a small sob, and Jonathan looked down at the floor.

"What is going on with my son!?" Lex shouted, and his frantic voice echoed throughout the room. Why weren't they telling him? What was wrong with his boy?

"We don't know," Jonathan said as he wrapped his arm around Martha. "I found him like that in the old foundry a few miles away. He hasn't woken up."

Lex's heart sank and his stomach twisted. This was his fault. "This shouldn't be possible," he said. "He's invincible."

Jonathan shook his head. "He was surrounded by that meteor rock," he explained. "It was glowing…"

Lex suddenly felt like he couldn't swallow. He had seen what the meteor rocks could do to Clark. He could still see Alistair opening the box of meteor rock in the back of his mind.

"No…" Lex said, his voice barely even a whisper. "What have I done…"

Lex looked back over at Clark. His tiny body didn't move outside of the small movement from breathing, his already pale skin was now a ghostly white. His little lips that were normally a soft pink were now tinted blue.

It was all Lex's fault too. He had yelled at him. He had made Clark think that he was dangerous. Clark ran away to a meteor rock infested building because of him, because he couldn't control his temper.

Now Clark was sick, dying even, and it was all because of him.

Martha dried her hands on a kitchen towel and sighed.

If she looked out the window, she could see the midday sun shining over the snowy farmland. Normally it would bring some level of happiness or holiday excitement to her, but today it didn't.

Instead, her heart was breaking and her body was tired. Clark wasn't waking up, and Lex was miserable.

They had tried everything they could think of. Smelling salts, shaking, shouting, everything… None of it had worked. Clark never even moved.

She didn't know what to do. No one was hungry, no one could sleep, all of their thoughts were on the little boy who they wanted to help so desperately, but couldn't.

And it broke her heart.

Just a few weeks ago, she had been taking care of him the way she had taken care of every other little kid in Smallville. He had been happy, energetic at times, and a little light in her world.

And now… Now he lay sick on her sofa, the only signs of life that he showed were the small and slow movements of his crackly breathing.

She wanted to cry her eyes out, but she needed to be strong. Crying wasn't going to fix this.

Cleaning the kitchen wasn't going to either, but that was what she had just finished doing. All of the dishes were clean, the counters were spotless, but Clark wasn't waking up.

Martha took a deep breath, then walked into the living room. Lex hadn't moved from his son's side since he had walked in the door.

She kneeled beside Lex, but neither of them said anything. They didn't even acknowledge each other at first.

Then gently, Martha wrapped her arms around Lex and pulled him to her chest.

After a moment, Lex's shoulders began to shake with silent tears. Another moment later and he was sobbing.

"Shhh…" She soothed as she rubbed his back, but her own eyes filled with tears as well. She laid her chin against his head. ***

"We've tried so much…" Lex said between the sobs. He buried his face in her neck as he spoke. "What if he doesn't wake up? What if… What if I accidentally killed my son?"

Martha stroked the top of his head, but she couldn't stop her own tears from falling down her face. She sniffled, it was a gross, teary sniffle. The same thought had been going through her head, but there was a glaring problem that she needed to address.

"Lex, look at me," she said as she gently cupped his cheeks in both of her hands. His eyes were so bloodshot. She had never seen him cry like this before. She want to just wrap her arms around him and hold him so tightly that she squeezed away all of the sadness and problems in his life.

"Yes?" He asked. His voice was thick and heavy with tears.

"It is not your fault," she said.

Lex shook his head. "Martha, I snapped at him. I yelled at him, then he ran away…" He said. "He ran away to some abandoned old building and got stuck there because he was surrounded by the one thing that we know of that can weaken him! If Jonathan hadn't found him, he would be dead. He might be dead anyway…"

Martha looked down at the child on the sofa. It was hard to believe that he was the little bundle of energy that she had babysat, but it was the truth. He was so pale, so lifeless…

"Yes, you snapped at him, but you are not responsible for the meteor rocks in the foundry or the fact that the meteor rocks make him sick," she said. "What's important is that you learn from what happened, and that you teach Clark that it can't happen again."

Lex nodded, but by the way he stayed quiet, Martha guessed that he didn't believe her. Not that she had expected him to. She had just hoped that he would. She really wanted just one win today. Well, a win that didn't have a cruel twist. They had found Clark, after all.

Martha looked at Clark again. His eyes were sunken in and his lips seemed dry…

She sat up, then gently opened Clark's mouth. The inside of his mouth was dry as well.

She looked over at Lex. "Did he drink much yesterday?" She asked.

Lex shook his head. "He wasn't really interested in breakfast or lunch," he said. "And he didn't want to drink his juice."

Martha wanted to swear. She wasn't a swearer at all. She hated swearing, but just this once, she wanted to. If she was right, then things were worse than she had thought they were.

"Lex, I think he's dehydrated."

Lex paced the floor of the Kent's living room.

Clark was dehydrated. If they didn't get fluids into him quickly, he would die.

The problem was that getting fluids into him wasn't easy. He was in a coma, so he couldn't just drink. They would have to use an IV.

Jonathan had gone to go get some supplies that Lex had called in, but something still nagged at the back of Lex's brain. He had seen it in the lab reports, but he had seen it with his own eyes too.

Clark's skin seemed to be impenetrable. Any needle that tried to pierce through his skin would be unsuccessful in its task. Of course, maybe that wasn't the case now since he had been exposed to so much meteor rock.

"Lex?"

Lex looked over at Martha. For a second, he stopped his pacing. "Yes?" He asked.

"You're pacing," she said, then cleared her throat. "Would you like a hug?"

Lex hesitated for a second. "Um…"

Martha smiled softly, then wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. Lex tried to relax into her hold, but his muscles were too tight and tense with anxiety.

He laid his forehead on her shoulder for just a moment. It was the most motherly hug he had been given in years. Even before his mother died. He had missed hugs like these.

Then the door opened and reality sank back in. The anxiety sparked back up as well.

"Hey," Jonathan said, though there was no happiness in his voice. "I got the things we need."

Lex nodded. "I need to go wash my hands before I do this…" He said.

After he started to walk off, Jonathan called out. "Lex?"

Lex turned around. "Yes?"

Jonathan cleared his throat. "I grabbed a meteor rock," he told him. "Just in case we couldn't get the needle to go in."

Lex's stomach dropped and he felt like he was going to throw up. Using meteor rock on Clark was like torture. He had seen what it did to the child. They were dealing with its effects right now!

Lex could hardly manage a nod. He didn't want to hurt his baby boy. Using the meteor rock would do exactly that. And how would they know if it made things worse? They wouldn't be able to tell.

He walked away and washed his hands. He tried to wash away the anxiety and guilt with the bacteria on his hands, but it only seemed to make it worse.

When he walked back into the living room, he found himself trying not to cry. He didn't understand why though. Giving his child an IV would only increase the chances of survival, and he wasn't even awake to feel it.

While he had been gone, Martha and Jonathan had set up the IV pole and all of the tubing that went with it. Everything was ready.

Lex swallowed, then knelt beside his son. His lifeless little son that meant everything to him.

He put on a pair of gloves, then took the needle out of its protective packaging. With each movement, the nausea from the anxiety grew a little bit stronger.

He took Clark's little hand in his and found the vein. He held pressure on it while he tried to insert the needle.

It didn't go in.

Lex bowed his head as the tears began to spill. He would have to use the meteor rock.

He cleared his throat. "Um… Jonathan?" He began, though he could hardly get the words out. It felt so wrong. Hurting his son to save him. "I need the meteor rock."

A thick silence filled the room as Lex's words sunk in. The silence was so thick that it felt like it could be cut with a knife.

Jonathan nodded, then handed the rock to Lex. It was so small, unsuspecting, and yet… It was the only thing that could hurt Clark.

Lex held it in his palm for a minute before putting it beside Clark.

Unlike last time, Clark didn't start screaming and crying in pain, but somehow, it didn't make Lex feel any better.

Clark's breathing grew labored and slow, and when Lex looked down at Clark's hand, he noticed something that he hadn't been able to see the last time his son had been around the meteor rock.

The veins in Clark's hands turned a horrifying green.

Lex swallowed back the slowly growing nausea. He was causing his son pain. Hadn't he already done enough of that?

He quickly inserted the needle and tubing, then covered it with a long piece of tape.

As soon as the IV was in though, Lex grabbed the meteor rock and handed it to Jonathan. He never wanted to see it again. It had the power to hurt his son, and he would never let anything hurt him again.

"Take that somewhere far away from here," Lex told him. "Please."

Jonathan nodded and left the room with the meteor rock in his hand. After a moment, Martha also left the room.

Lex laid his head down on the sofa cushion beside his son's face. He could just barely feel Clark's warm breath against his skin.

After a moment, the tears began to fall down his face again. He had hurt Clark. He had hurt his baby boy in so many ways. He was such a horrible parent… Clark deserved better from him, and he had failed.

"I'm so sorry," Lex whispered to his comatose son. "I'm so sorry."

He sat like that for so long that he lost track of time, but after a while, a thought occurred to him.

Hydration wasn't going to wake him up, neither was any sort of normal treatment. What would Alistair and his group have done in this situation?

His mouth was suddenly very dry. Was he really going to look through the files of Project 33.1 to try to find a cure? They had tortured Clark. They had abused him and treated him like he was an animal.

But if he had been exposed to the cold while meteor rock was in his system, then maybe there would be some way to cure him that they had used.

The file was at the mansion though, and moving Clark wasn't a good idea. Especially now that they had put an IV in.

"Martha?" He called.

Martha walked into the room. She looked so tired, and suddenly, Lex felt guilty asking anything of her. She had already done so much. "Yeah?" She asked.

"I need you to do something for me."

To Lex's frustration, the files were bare.

But at the same time, it set off a little alarm in his head. The files weren't just bare, they were too bare.

It was almost like they were incomplete.

Lex leaned back as he thought about it. He could hear Clark's raspy breathing from where he slept on the sofa beside him.

Alistair and Lionel had been partners in the project, but Lex knew that Alistair had bigger and grander plans for Clark.

Had Alistair kept details hidden from Lionel? Details that would have changed everything?

Lex reached over and stroked Clark's hair as he continued to think. Alistair was dead now, how was he going to get this information? He hadn't checked computers or physical files during the escape from the lab.

Suddenly, a thought hit him.

The other scientists in the lab who worked with him. Lionel had been in the lab, sure, but he hadn't actually helped with the actual project.

One of the people who worked on the project might have exactly what Lex needed.

He grabbed his phone. He still had the contact information of most of the people he had blackmailed into never messing with Clark again.

He clicked on one that he knew belonged to one of the leading scientists in the project. He really didn't want to talk to this horrible excuse for a human, but he had to.

The phone was answered on the third ring.

"Hello?" Lex said. "This is Lex Luthor."

Yeah, I know... I'm a pretty terrible human, lol. I hope you enjoyed! Please follow, fave, and review! I would love to know what you thought!

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