Magnetic Part 4
At the Luthor Mansion….
Recap:
Lex confronts Dr. Foster about refusing to sign off on his psychological release. Dr. Foster stands by her decision and pleads for Lex to face his demons. Lex orders her to leave.
At the Talon…
Clark had sped over to the Torch with his discovery shortly after arriving at home. Chloe hadn't made much progress on her research, so Clark was forced to wait until tomorrow for them to meet up. Chloe had messaged him that Seth had picked up Lana to grab a morning coffee.
Clark was leaning against the outside Talon wall now, watching the two of them through the window. They nestled close together at a small table; their backs faced the window so they couldn't see Clark, and he couldn't see their faces. But Clark could faintly overhear what they were saying. Seth dominated the conversation, never letting Lana get a word in edgewise. But what was even more disturbing was having just witnessed Lana feed bits of blueberry muffin to Seth.
"Hey," Chloe said walking up to him.
"Hey. What'd you find out?" Clark asked.
"Turns out, over the summer, Seth was sent to the ER after getting into a fight at a county fair. He was in an MRI machine that malfunctioned. According to the records, his electromagnetic activity flew off the charts. The doctors couldn't find anything wrong with him, so Seth was sent home."
"Electromagnetic? What does that have to do with mind control?"
"Think about it, Clark. The brain is nothing but a circuit board of magnetic impulses releasing chemicals that control hunger, depression. Why not attraction?"
"So, how do we stop it?"
"For starters, distance."
"Good luck," Clark huffed.
"Time to switch. I'll do that, you try to find out more about blocking magnetic signals."
"Fine. But how are you going to get Lana away from Seth?"
"Oh, a girl has her ways." Chloe walked inside the coffee shop and over to where Lana was sitting with Seth.
"Hi, Lana. Hi, Seth." Clark could hear Chloe say through the window. "You guys excited to be named Homecoming King and Queen?"
"You know it." The two shared a kiss.
"Well, you know the King and Queen will be featured on page one of the next edition. I can't wait to see your coordinated outfits."
"Um…"
"Lana don't tell me you don't have a dress yet. The dance is tonight! That's it." Chloe threw up her hands. "We don't have a moment to lose. Get in my car. I'll drive you to the mall. You stay here, mister," Chloe wagged her finger. "No looking before the dance."
Clark couldn't help but smile. Chloe was good at thinking on her feet.
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Chloe's mission was clear: keep Lana away from Seth as long as possible. This meant Chloe insisted that she and Lana get mani-pedi's when they first arrived at the mall, followed by a make-up application, and their hair styled. All that was left was to find the dress.
Which was Lana's easiest part of the day, and Chloe's hardest.
Chloe huffed. It was hard not to feel jealous when your best friend looked good in every dress she tried on. Chloe brought Lana dress after dress to buy some time keeping her mesmerized friend from the jock. It was impossible for anything to look bad on Lana Lang. She was currently wearing an orange and purple taffeta monstrosity, studded with pink rhinestones. Yet, Lana somehow managed to pull it off.
"I don't think this is the one."
"If you don't try weird colors, you'll never know." Chloe glanced at her phone; no new messages. Clark must not be having much luck in finding a "cure". From what Chloe had read, the attraction would only grow stronger after constant exposure, so time was of the essence.
And Chloe knew she wouldn't be able to convince Lana to stay away from the dance.
"I think I'll just go with the dress from the first store we went in." Lana came out of the fitting room in her street clothes.
"Wait!" Chloe glanced around the store floor, praying for a salesperson she could rope into a debate. Sadly, the entire store was vacant. "Are you sure that one was the dress? Come on, take a look at these discounted beauties. Easy on the eyes and wallet."
"I don't know." Thankfully, Lana began to browse through the clearance rack. "Seth deserves…" Lana's voice trailed off as she came across a blue sequined gown. It was nothing special; they both had looked at more elegant and stylish dresses that day. But Lana looked mesmerized.
"Lana, what is it?"
"Clark likes blue," Lana whispered. Her face twisted from a blank expression, to nearly crying, to unequivocal rage.
"Clark Kent is nothing but an idiot! He'll say he wants to be with you, follow you around all year, but when he finally gets the chance to be with you, he'll run away. And he won't tell you why. And he lies all the time. And when you need him the most he's always there for you cause Clark's nothing but a big, thoughtful, kind, loving, jerk!"
Chloe took in the sight before her. Lana grasped the blue dress with tight fists. Her shoulders shook as she seemed to fight bursting into tears.
The summer Clark was gone had been an awkward one in the Sullivan house. The two friends had been at odds over Lana and Clark starting a relationship without telling her. Then, Chloe kept a secret of her own after discovering where Clark had been hiding. They never really talked about what Lana had gone through. The closest they came was when Chloe confessed knowing Clark's location.
Chloe could only speculate that her friend had been worried the entire summer. Worried, but hopeful that when Clark returned they would be able to move past it all and resume their relationship.
But that's not what happened.
Clark returned only to break Lana's heart. And, worst of all, Lana hadn't been given answers. Her offer of love had been denied and she didn't know why.
"Lana," Chloe stepped forward. Seth or no Seth, Lana was clearly in pain from the breakup. "It's Clark's loss."
"Yeah." Lana wiped her eye. "And…and…Seth is waiting for me. I need to check my makeup." Lana left to go find the nearest mirror.
Meanwhile, at the Torch…
Clark didn't know what he was looking for. Mostly, because he still didn't understand how Seth was controlling Lana. He knew by touch, but did that mean he had to encase Seth's hands in lead gloves? Or did he have to make Lana wear a tinfoil hat?
In frustration, Clark sighed and looked up. As he did, he saw that Alicia was in the doorway.
"Hi, Clark."
"Alicia. Hi."
"Aren't you going to get ready for the dance?"
"Uh," Clark glanced at the clock. The dance was going to start in less than two hours. "Probably. I just…look, I don't want to be rude, but I'm kind of on a tight schedule right now."
"Maybe I can help." Alicia took a step forward.
"It's hard to explain."
Alicia shrugged. "Try me."
"Okay. Hypothetically, how would you stop a…magnet?"
"Stop. Like…stop it from moving or what exactly are we talking about?"
"I guess more…make it not a magnet."
"That's easy. You just got to…"
"Kent," Seth said as he waltzed into the office. He was dressed in a fitted tux, ready to be crowned Homecoming King. "Thought I'd find you here."
Clark got to his feet and stood between Seth and Alicia. "What do you want?"
"I just want to make sure you don't spoil my big night. See, I'm about to get everything I ever wanted."
Seth took a step forward. Clark took one back, forcing Alicia to walk backwards as Clark acted as a shield in front of her. "Don't let him touch you," Clark whispered to Alicia.
"I'm asking nicely." Seth advanced.
"Seth, what you're doing to Lana is wrong."
"I'm not doing anything," Seth scoffed. "I'm treating her like the queen she is. You know, what you should have done."
"I'm warning you: stay away from her."
Chloe's desk now separated them; Clark and Alicia on one side, Seth on the other. The football jock chuckled, clearly not intimidated. "Oh, please. You don't know who you're dealing with."
"I know you can control what people think. And you controlling Lana stops now."
"You know," Seth leaned forward, "minds aren't the only thing I can control." Seth raised his arms, and with them a variety of metal implements rose into the air; scissors, thumbtacks, staplers, and two very heavy filing cabinets. Seth threw everything towards Clark. The smaller office supplies merely bounced off Clark's body and he managed to catch one of the filing cabinets. He heard Alicia scream in surprise.
Clark wanted to put the filing cabinet down, but Seth was forcing it to move forward. Clark felt himself get pushed back towards the wall, despite pushing back with all his strength. Meanwhile, Seth was advancing. Clark knew that if Seth touched him, he could be influenced to do something he would regret.
Suddenly, Clark's vision blurred, and his entire body felt tingly. Immediately, the force he was pushing against disappeared, causing him to collapse to the ground. Clark sat up and found himself outdoors in an unknown place. Alicia was standing above him.
"I take it Seth's the hypothetical magnet?" Was all she asked.
"What? Yeah."
"You're strong, right? Like, really, really, abnormally strong. I saw you push back against a magnetic field. The math for that alone…" Alicia stared at him, waiting for an answer.
"I…um, well…" Clark stammered, looking for a way out of this.
"Focus; the guy wants you dead. Yes or no?"
"You could say I'm above average."
"Perfect. Ok, here's the plan. We're at the Metropolis Power Plant," Alicia began to explain.
"Why?"
"Electricity. See that cable?" Alicia pointed to a bunch. "I'll bring Seth here. You'll need to break that off and electrify something Seth's controlling. Ready?"
"Wait, why?"
"Trust me!"
"Okay," Clark said, although he wasn't sure.
"Good. Be right back."
Clark stared as she disappeared in a green mist. Seconds later, Alicia reappeared with Seth. He seemed just as disconcerted.
"What the…" Seth's confusion changed to one of laughter. "This place is made of metal! This is my playground."
Seth raised his arms again, pulling up the barbed wire fence and sending it straight towards Clark. The fence wrapped around his body, pinning Clark's arms to his sides as he was forced back into the transformer. Clark couldn't see where Alicia was; he hoped she was someplace safe.
The metal fence squeezed tighter and tighter around Clark. If Clark was a normal person, the barbed wire would have pierced his skin by now or crushed his ribcage. As it was, he felt no pain. The only grunts and groans he gave were trying to push against the magnetic field Seth created.
"You can't fight physics, Clark!" Seth said as he advanced.
"Neither can you!" Alicia shouted as she reappeared. There was an object in her hand that she used to touch the barbed wire fence. Sparks flew and Seth was lifted into the air and pulled towards the fence. For a brief moment, Clark and Seth's eyes locked. Then, Seth's eyes rolled back into his head as green electric currents moved through Seth's body.
Seth and Clark both fell to the ground. The magnetic field gone, Clark freed himself from the twisted metal. Seth's unmoving body lay inches away from him. Alicia stood above them, watching for what would happen next.
"Thank you," Clark said as he stood up.
"My pleasure."
They were both distracted as the lights from the nearby city vanished, and Metropolis plunged into darkness.
Meanwhile, in Chloe's car…
Chloe made sure to drive two miles under the speed limit. She and Lana were all dolled up and finally on their way to the Smallville Homecoming Dance. Lana was all smiles in the passenger seat, chatting about "Seth this" and "Seth that" until, suddenly she wasn't.
Lana gasped and her body snapped backwards.
"What?" Chloe hit her brakes. She stared intently at her friend who had suddenly burst into tears. "Lana?" Chloe asked, all concerned.
"Chloe, take me home."
"You got it." Chloe breathed a sigh of relief.
There were still no new messages on her phone, but if she had to guess, Clark had figured out a way to save Lana once again.