Asylum Part 6

At Belle Reve…

Wendell Connelly had seen some weird things since he became an orderly at Belle Reve. There were the normal sights of chaos dealing with the mentally ill. But then, a few years ago, a certain type of inmate started coming in. Inmates that possessed unnatural abilities where extra precautions had to be taken.

But the weirdest thing Wendell had seen had been last night during the electroshock therapy for Lex Luthor. The lights had flickered on and off throughout the procedure. An investigation showed that someone, or something, had done a good job of tearing the utility room apart. And more than one person had been there. An automatic rifle had been bent beyond recognition. Shattered pieces of sharp metal were strewn across the floor. Pipes were bent and the electrical breaker had been flattened.

And then there were the bodies. Two inmates had been shot in the head last night. The first one to be discovered was Cyrus Krupp. The other was Ian Randall in the utility room. Both were found with a meteor rock painted with the word "Freak" next to them. Eric Summers had been found in the utility room unconscious, but he seemed reluctant to share any information of what had happened.

Wendell had his orders, and he made his way to the room of Jeff Palmer. This patient had gone missing. Security footage had been interrupted during the power outages, but records indicated that the doors had remained locked throughout the night.

Jeff couldn't have just disappeared, Wendell told himself as he let himself inside the room with his security badge. The air inside smelled strongly of mint.

The only place a person could hide was under the bed. Wendell got down on his hands and knees to do a thorough check of the space. Nothing but a few dust bunnies.

There was no mistaking the sound of laughter and Wendell felt a presence at his side.

"Hey!" Wendell yelled as the door to the room closed shut. He fumbled around for his security badge, but it wasn't on his person.

"Bye-bye, Mr. Connelly." A phantom voice said as Wendell watched his security badge float in midair down the hallway.

Banging on the door did not work. And neither did shouting. Wendell pushed down his frustration. He was only stuck here until the janitor came to do his rounds. They'd recognize him and get him out in no time. Or a security guard would have seen what had happened and send someone down right away.

There was nothing to do but wait.

Out of boredom, Wendell picked up the watering can to give Jeff's seedlings a drink. He paused in front of Jeff's mint plant. The stalk was sturdy, but every leaf had been ripped away. Even stranger, the soil glowed with specks of green crystals.

Wendell sighed and took a seat on the edge of the bed. He could only imagine how he would fill this out in a report.

At the Luthor Mansion…

Recap:

Clark visits Lex. His friend says he is doing better. Lex has no memory of Clark's powers, but says he is thankful for Clark's friendship and the two share a hug.

At Smallville Medical Center…

Lana breathed through the pain. Ever since Van's visit, his words echoed in her mind.

Lana was not weak, and she was determined to prove it. She began to push herself to do more laps in the physical therapy room. The pain was still excruciating, but Lana was finding she could stand just a little taller and put the weight on her foot just a little longer. After completing the last of her extra laps, Lana reached for her crutches. A sharp pang ran up her leg as she put weight on her foot. Lana began to fall, but strong arms were there to keep her up.

"Easy there." It was none other than Van. He helped Lana get to her crutches, so she was able to stand safely. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just pushing through the pain." Lana noticed Van had a cut above his eyebrow. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing important. How's the PT going?"

"Better. Van, you were right. I wasn't pushing myself. Guess I've just been scared."

"Of what?" They both sat down on the nearby chairs.

"My life's changed," Lana admitted. "Pain aside, it's been nice being in the hospital. It's allowed me to hide from everything that's been going on. Once I leave this place, I don't know what will happen."

"Can I give you a ride home?"

"Thanks, but Chloe's giving me a ride."

Lana was surprised when Mrs. Kent walked through the door.

"Mrs. Kent. I wasn't expecting you."

"Chloe was working on a deadline. I hope you don't mind."

"I'll see you in school," Van said as he left.

"So, how's Clark? I got his card." The two made their way to the parking lot.

Mrs. Kent sighed and gave Lana a look of sympathy. "I'm sorry he hasn't come by to see you. Clark probably won't want me meddling, but he seems to believe you don't want to see him."

Why would he think that?

"Things have been a bit rocky between us," Lana admitted. "Especially with…"

Alicia! Lana grit her teeth. It all made sense. Alicia said something to Clark; she must have. But Lana kept that thought to herself. She knew all too well what she would sound like to Mrs. Kent if she said her thought aloud. Besides, it wasn't fair to put this solely at Alicia's feet. Clark was his own person; if he wanted to visit Lana, he could have done so.

Lana changed the conversation and asked Mrs. Kent about the Talon and the other going-ons in the town. What was happening between her and Clark would have to wait until she returned to school.

At Luthor Corp…

Lionel sat at his desk, scotch in hand, as he hit the rewind button again.

The video footage before him was when Clark Kent paid his son a visit.

"I know your secret." Lex said on the screen. Clark had glanced up at the security camera, only for Lex to put a finger to his lips. What was said next was intelligible.

Lionel sighed. His security had managed to enhance the audio the morning following Lex's procedure. Lex's memory was wiped, and now the secret Lex had known about his young friend was gone.

"It's too bad, Lionel," the blonde high schooler said across his desk. "If you weren't so busy trying to destroy your son's mind, you could have been cured already. Cyrus, one of the infected inmates, I'm told had healing properties. Shooter got to him first. What a pity."

Lionel glared over his desk. The young girl was not intimidated by his stare.

"And how is our Clark Kent project coming along?"

"Slowly. These things take time. But I'm getting there."

Lionel banged his fist on his desk. The show of anger was a sign of weakness, but Lionel was losing patience. Time was not something he had.

"Oh, that's right," the young blonde crowed. "Time's something all the money in the world can't buy. And you're almost out."

Lionel kept his smile to himself. He admired the blonde's brazenness. If he was in a better mood, he might enjoy a sparring of words. But right now, he only found it annoying. "Do I need to remind you of our bargain? You need me if you ever want to see your boyfriend again, Miss Baker."

Alicia pouted. "Clark's starting to trust me. I've been good, haven't I? Can't I see Adam?"

"No. Not until you give me something I can work with." Lionel gulped down his beverage. Over the rim of the glass, he could see the young girl glaring at him with arms crossed.

"Off you go. There's a good girl."

Alicia disappeared in her cloud of green mist. Lionel forcefully closed the laptop and brought out the letter that was his death sentence.

"Terminal" his doctor had written.

"Rare".

"Incurable".

But Lionel had not clawed his way out of the depths of poverty for his own body to fail him. Lionel Luthor was a fighter; he was a survivor.

And Lionel Luthor would do whatever it took to win.

At the Kent farm…

Martha reached across the dinner table for her son's hand. Her baby's eyes were filled with tears as he explained how he failed to rescue Lex.

"But Lex is okay," Johnathan hugged his son. "Your secret is safe. You can find some consolation in that."

"Lionel got away with murder." Clark said.

"Did you tell Lex the truth about why he was put in Belle Reve?"

"I didn't see the point." Clark sighed.

"Clark," Johnathan warned, "let this matter go."

"Someone has to make Lionel pay."

"That's not you," Johnathan insisted. "I know this is hard, but you have to realize there are people more powerful than you out there."

Martha watched as her son retreated to the living room.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"In a way, I envy Lex," Clark confessed. "I wish I could wipe away the memory of this last month."

Martha wanted to ask Clark more questions. But she was distracted by a frantic knock at the door. Johnathan opened it and Mrs. Ross with a tear stained face was on the other side.

"Is Pete here?" She asked coming inside.

"No. Abby, what's wrong?" Martha asked.

Mrs. Ross walked straight up to Clark. "I know he's your friend. Pete doesn't have to come out and talk to me, but, Clark, please just tell me if he's here." She looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Mrs. Ross, I haven't seen him all day. We were supposed to meet up yesterday, but he didn't show."

The woman sank into a chair at the kitchen table and burst into tears.

"Abby, what's wrong?"

"Pete's been missing since yesterday."

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Pete struggled against the duct tape that bound his hands behind his back. He had gone to the parking lot, on his way to go to Clark's barn when he had been jumped by a couple of thugs and forced into a trunk. His hands had long ago gone numb. After much struggle, he was able to get the tape off his mouth. It still stuck to his bottom chin, but at least he could breathe more easily.

"Help!" Pete shouted from the dark trunk. "Somebody help me!"

And now, on this cliff hanger, I must regrettably wave the white flag of surrender. I'm far too behind to keep up with my weekly updates. We're getting to the good parts, so I need to take a break to catch up.