Asylum Part 2

At Smallville High…

Pete tentatively smelled his t-shirt. It no longer smelled like sweat after washing it with shampoo in the school's shower. But it was clearly wrinkled, and the material now had a grainy texture. Pete groaned as he realized he would have to make a stop at his house to get another shirt.

This time, I'll grab a whole bunch.

The Ross household was practically empty now. Pete's older brothers and sisters were off at their respective colleges and jobs. He had expected things to be quieter at home; more peaceful. Instead, his parents had started arguing louder as if to fill the silence. The word "divorce" had come up more than once.

Pete hadn't told anyone. Not yet. Telling someone would only make it real.

Pete groaned again when he realized he had been walking on auto pilot. The way to his first class went by Clark's locker; a route he had been avoiding. Sure enough, Clark waved once he spotted him and called him over.

"You won't believe this: I just had a phone call with the shooter. I'm putting a meeting together during lunch. Be there?"

"Yeah, sure." Pete tried to play it cool, but Clark must have picked up on his sour mood.

"Everything ok?"

Just tell him. Pete was about to open his mouth to speak, when Alicia walked up.

"Hi, Pete." Alicia brushed past him to get close to Clark.

Clark had asked Pete for permission to tell Alicia that Pete knew. Pete agreed, although he had to remind himself of what Alicia knew, since she hadn't been told everything. The bond of knowing Clark's secret seemed to have made Alicia more tolerant of him. She said 'hello' instead of just ignoring Pete in the hallways. But it seemed to Pete that Alicia remained tense around him.

"Good morning, handsome." Alicia gave Clark a quick kiss. "I was thinking, we've been official for a little over a month now. You should have some pictures of me in your locker."

"I do." Clark pointed to a photo taped at eye level. Clark had never been one to overtly decorate his locker. There had only been one photo he had taped inside. That photo had been taken the night of the Talon opening; Clark, Pete, Lana, and Chloe standing with their arms around each other's shoulders. Now that Clark was dating, another photo had been added. He and Alicia were sitting side by side in the Smallville ice cream parlor. The picture caught them laughing as they shared a hot fudge sundae.

"You need more." She held up a stack of photos, the size of a deck of cards.

Clark grabbed the deck and shuffled through them. "I'll take this one."

"No, silly." Alicia giggled. "All of them."

"All?" Clark glanced between the deck to his locker. "They won't fit."

"Sure they will." Clark's girlfriend pulled out a roll of tape and began to wallpaper the inside of the door with the photos.

Pete looked at Clark watching Alicia arrange the photos. Clark was frowning and looked unsure about wanting to say something. A glance at Alicia's handiwork showed that the photos had not been taken from a family album. They looked as if a professional photographer had taken them on a set. Some had been written on with "To my love, Clark" and "For Clark" and "Love Alicia" and "CK + AB Forever". At least three had red lip marks on them.

Pete figured he should try to help Clark out.

"Don't you think that's a little much?"

"Not at all. I want everyone to know Clark's my boyfriend."

"Hey!" Clark protested as Alicia took down the Talon photo. "This one stays."

Clark took the photo from Alicia and was about to put it back on the door when Alicia said, "Do you think that's a good idea?"

Alicia's words had an immediate effect on Clark. His shoulders sagged and it was like the light faded from his eyes. The hand holding the photo dropped back to his side.

"It's all for the best." Alicia kissed Clark on the lips and she pulled the photo away from him.

The first bell of the day rang. Clark, still looking deflated, began to walk in the opposite direction Pete and Alicia had to go.

"Nice photos." Pete said as he walked with Alicia down the hall.

"Thank you."

"Is there a reason you didn't want Clark to have a photo with his other friends? Like me?"

"Oh, you weren't the problem. And neither is Chloe. It's just that Lana was in that picture," Alicia explained. "Clark's been having a hard time moving on. I'm just trying to help."

"Right. You wouldn't have anything to do with Clark not visiting Lana in the hospital, would you?"

"I don't know what you mean." Alicia didn't look in Pete's direction as she entered her classroom.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Chloe jumped out of her skin when she heard the familiar sound signaling she had a new text message. Ever since Lex was sent to Belle Reve, Chloe waited anxiously for Lionel to contact her again. She still had not been able to give him what he asked for: a sample of Clark's blood. She had no idea how to go about getting it. Did Lionel expect her to just attack her friend with scissors? But a man like Lionel wouldn't bother himself with the details. He just wanted results.

The message wasn't from Lionel, just her dad saying he would be home later than expected.

Chloe got settled in front of her computer for her free period of the day.

"What the hell, Sullivan?"

If the text message caused Chloe to jump, Bobby Big Mouth jumping from behind the filing cabinet gave her a heart attack.

"Bobby? What are you doing here?"

"What the hell!" The city snitch began to pace up and down the room. He would sit in a chair for one second only to get back up and begin pacing again.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

Bobby pointed at her. "You owe me. You owe me big time. Big time, Sullivan."

"I think your blood sugar's low. Here, have some jerky." Chloe shuffled through her purse.

"Not hungry."

That got Chloe's attention. "Something's got you freaked."

"Oh, it's nothing. Really. It's just that dead people have decided to not stay dead anymore."

"What?" Chloe thought back to the investigation she did on who attacked Lana outside the Talon.

"Zombies, Sullivan! I'm talking zombies! There's a whole bunch of them in that warehouse. This hot doctor shoved a needle into his chest and the dead person wasn't dead anymore. Saw the guy myself; he was DEAD! Do you hear me? DEAD! Why aren't you freaking out?"

Because I live in Smallville. Chloe pointed her finger at the Wall of Weird. "Bobby, take a look at that wall. I've seen stuff you haven't dreamt of."

Bobby inspected the various articles and magazine clippings. "Huh. You always said you saw strange stuff. I always thought you were putting it on, being a country girl. You know, wanting to appear tough."

"Hey, I was raised in Metropolis." Chloe sighed. She needed to get Bobby to calm down before he could talk rationally about what he saw. A change in topic was in order. "Bobby, did you manage to find anything about Lionel's obsession with Clark Kent?"

"No. And I'm not going back there. That's where the zombies live."

"Bobby…"

"No!" Bobby began to roll up his sleeves. "I'm just going to go straight to the source. Find this Clark guy and get some answers."

Bobby turned to leave, ready to storm the halls of Smallville High, but ran straight into Clark's chest. Bobby raised his head to look up; Clark towered a foot higher.

"Sorry about that," Clark said good-natured. "Were you talking about me?"

Bobby took a step back and sized up the farm boy. Chloe had to stifle her laughter as Bobby's bravado seemed to deflate instantly.

"Clark, this is Bobby. Bobby, meet Clark Kent."

"Yeah. I go by Bobby Big Mouth."

"Nice to meet you. Just dropping this off before class." Clark handed over a stack of papers. "And we need to have a meeting here during lunch."

"About what?"

"Trust me, it's important." Clark left as the final warning bell rang.

"You forgot to mention that he's a giant."

Chloe laughed. Clark was tall and muscular enough anyone could take him for being on the football team. Or a thug, which was what Bobby's city brain was probably telling him. Compared to Clark, Bobby looked like a twig. But deep down, Clark was softy. He wouldn't harm a fly.

"That was a building with legs. What's that guy made of?"

"How about you tell me what you saw in that warehouse."

"Yeah, sure."

Chloe pulled out a pen as Bobby settled into a chair.

At Belle Reve…

Recap:

Lionel visits Lex who is now strapped down to the bed after his attempted escape. Lex claims to be better and that he knows Lionel wasn't responsible for his grandparent's death. After Lionel refuses to get Lex out, he reacts violently.

Lionel meets up with Dr. Foster, expressing frustration that Lex's memory remains intact. He reminds Dr. Foster that they had an agreement regarding Lex's mental health. Lionel pushes for Dr. Foster to put Lex through a certain procedure. She is against it and warns Lionel of the risks it will put on Lex. Lionel leaves, ordering for the procedure to take place.

At Smallville Torch office…

Everyone Clark had asked to attend his meeting showed up. Chloe was naturally there; she was already trying to create a profile for the shooter to track him down. Clark wanted Pete and Alicia in on the news. They both knew about his powers and would be able to help him on whatever needed to be done. Jordan needed to be there so Clark could warn Jordan the shooter knew about him. They all sat as close as they could together in the middle of the room.

"What's the big news?" Chloe asked.

"I talked with the shooter this morning. He left a phone for me on the porch." Clark handed it over to Chloe along with the box it came in and the note. "Think one of your guys can find anything?"

"I'll ask. But shouldn't you hang on to it, in case he calls again?"

"I tried redialing the number. It was disconnected."

"What'd he say?" Pete asked.

Clark took in a deep breath. "He said I inspired him. That what he was doing, I started. But I have no idea what he was talking about."

"Well, that's new information that could help us."

"There's more. Jordan, he mentioned your name."

"What? I'm next!" Jordan jumped up from his chair.

"You have powers?" Alicia asked, a huge grin on her face. "What are they!"

"I said not to create a file on me!" Jordan began pulling the blinds down.

"I didn't! I swear!" Chloe said.

"I never said Jordan had powers," Clark said to Alicia. "But the shooter seems to think so. Anyway, Jordan, I don't think you're next," Clark said, trying to calm Jordan down. "He said he had something planned. 'Shooting fish in a barrel' were his exact words. I think he's going after a bunch of people in one place."

"That could be why he's been inactive since shooting Nathan outside the jewelry store," Chloe mused. "He's been planning his next attack. Question is: where?"

"Belle Reve," Jordan said, huddle in the corner. "It's where most of the infected ended up. They have nowhere to run."

"And now, Lex is there, too." Clark added.

"How do we stop him?" Pete asked.

"For whatever good it will do, I'll reach out to security," Chloe said.

"That's not enough!"

"Clark, what are you going to do? Break them out and put them in your own personal prison? We don't even know when he's going to strike."

"Then that's what we need to figure out."