Crisis Part 2

In Van's truck…

Clark tenderly touched the back of his head. The blood had dried, but the area still throbbed with pain and felt hot. He couldn't decide if this was a good thing or a bad thing. On the one hand, the entire town had witnessed him being tossed across the street like he was a normal person.

On the other: it really hurt.

"Kent, I just want to say thanks for back there." Van's eyes never left the road.

Clark's mind brought up the strange man's image. But he hadn't died the first time being shot. He, along with the others showed signs of inhuman speed, strength, and invulnerability. Powers Clark was capable of. And it hadn't looked like any of them knew what they were doing. They seemed ignorant of their own strength.

Which was exactly what Clark was experiencing with his own powers at the moment. But Clark couldn't be connected to them.

Could he?

"Why'd you shoot him?" Clark deflected. He hadn't primarily saved Van for Van's sake. He needed Van to cure Alicia.

"Hey, I've seen those things before. They're dangerous."

"They're people and something's wrong with them. They need help."

"No. The civilians deserve help. You know? The defenseless ones without powers?"

"I'm just saying there's got to be a better way than killing them."

"I don't get you, Kent. You've had your run-ins with freaks. You know they're dangerous. Why are you against me? We should be on the same side."

"What side is that? The one that goes after innocent people?"

"Do you only think this way cause you're dating one of them? Can't you do better than that freak?" Van asked. "What about Lana? Or Chloe? They're hot."

Clark turned his gaze to outside the window.

"Did she at least tell you? She had powers?" Van questioned in a quieter tone.

"Yeah. Why?"

Van's grip tightened on the steering wheel. "Megan never told Jake. That freak didn't tell my friend he was kissing the Creature from the Black Lagoon. He could have been infected. Or exposed to some mutant germ without his knowing. If she loved him, if she really, truly loved him, she would have told him."

Clark connected the dots. "You did the posters."

"Course I did. I told you: you made me see the error of my ways. See, I realized that back in that church, you just saw a guy with a gun picking on a poor defenseless girl. So, that meant I needed to make the town understand who the real enemy was. And who they were. And Megan, she needed to suffer first for what she put Jake through. Death would have been too quick."

"Van, none of these people asked to be different."

"Yeah, well, they are. And they all decide to become dangerous."

"You could make the same argument about guns."

Before Van could give a response, he needed to slam on the breaks. Another pale figure had appeared in the middle of the road. Van immediately grabbed his shot gun, went outside, and took aim at the drooling figure in the road.

"Stop!" Clark ran in front of the figure.

"Move it, Kent." Van motioned with the rifle.

"Van, look at him! He's not hurting anyone. I don't even think he knows where he is."

"Wake up! You've seen what those things can do. It's better to shoot it now before someone gets hurt."

"Van, please," Clark pleaded, "there's something wrong with these people. Think about it, why are there so many? Why are they wearing the same thing? It's like they've been kept in a prison somewhere. Something else is going on."

"Fine." Van lowered the rifle to his side. "Let's just get to the hospital and cure that freak girlfriend of yours."

"Thank you." Clark breathed a sigh of relief.

Clark opened the passenger door just as Van grabbed the handle on the driver's side. Then, in a swift motion, Van raised his rifle and shot it off. The man dropped to the ground, a pool of blood staining the pavement.

"No!"

Clark rushed over to the body. There was no mistake the person was dead; Van had been precise with his aim.

"Get in or I'm not going to the hospital."

They never said another word for the rest of the trip.

At the lab in Metropolis…

Lex knelt to inspect the door frame. He had never seen anything like it. The metal showed signs of twisting and stretching. What had been inside the cage had ripped the door straight off its hinges.

"How many?" Lex asked, standing up.

"Fifteen," Dr. Teng answered. The respected doctor acted as his tour guide. If she was surprised at his appearance when Lionel brought him in, she hid it well. Lionel had ridden with Lex in the helicopter to the facility. He was now on an important phone call in the designated research area.

"And up until now, they haven't tried to escape?"

"Some got out during the blackout a few months ago. But that was more of them just stumbling against the door at the correct moment. Hence, why we resorted back to manual locks."

"Something set them off," Lex mused as he looked around. "Any new sounds? New lights? Smells?"

"Nothing. The environment has remained the same."

"I'd like to see it."

Dr. Teng led Lex back to the lab area. The makeshift walls were composed of hanging plastic. The limited space was cluttered with specific equipment. Behind a glass cabinet was a small vial held on a pedestal.

"Is this it?"

Lex leaned closer. The dark, red liquid pooled at the bottom of the lone vial; only a few drops remained.

"Yes."

"Where'd it come from?"

"Above my pay grade." Dr. Teng sighed. "I only have enough to make one, two more serums at most."

"Dad?" Lex questioned.

"Yes?" Lionel's focus was still on his phone.

"Where does this miraculous source originate?" Lex motioned toward the vial.

"Regrettably, it's unknown."

Lex's ears twitched as he recognized the boredom in his father's voice. The concern and gratitude Lionel had shown back at the office was gone. Something was not right.

"Fifteen super-charged, incognizant beings are running loose. How can you be so cavalier?"

"I'm not worried, son." Lionel continued to gaze at his phone. "I know I have someone extremely competent in charge. You wanted the project; it's yours. I'm trusting you to handle things."

Lex felt the familiar twist in his gut; the one he got whenever he realized Lionel had let him down. That the love he offered was no longer on the table. Lex found himself disappointed in the way he reacted. He shouldn't be surprised. All of this had been a rouse.

I'm proud of you.

If Lex failed in containing this incident, Lionel would blame Lex for everything. Illegal clinical trials; tax evasion. All of it would be pinned on Lex.

"Nice try, dad. But I'm not suiting up in the eleventh hour. Clean up your own mess."

Lex never looked back as he vacated the lab. He knew the game wasn't over. Not yet.

Okay, dad. Let's play.

At the Smallville Medical Center…

Lana huddled in the corner of the hospital room. She shut her eyes as she listened to the screams and moans and shouts. The young girl tried to shut it all out by covering her ears.

She couldn't take it anymore. Smallville was supposed to be the boring town she grew up in. It wasn't supposed to be a death trap where you almost died every week. Lana was sick of it.

She was sick of everything.

The death. The survival. The ethic debates of how to treat those with superpowers.

"Lana?" The haggard figure crouched next to her. A look of concern was on the aged face.

"I want it to stop." Lana sobbed. "I just want it all to stop."

Lana felt a cool breeze, and then the sound of Emily's voice coming from the hallway.

"You're being mean!"

Lana crawled to the door and sneaked a peak outside. The pale figure was on the ground in the middle of a red stain. Emily stood over the corpse, her body shaking from a coughing fit. The old woman collapsed to the ground. Lana rushed over and watched as Emily's skin grew more wrinkled, her hair grew paler, and the body withered.

"Emily, listen to me. You can't do that anymore, okay? That's what's making you sick. Let's get you back to bed."

Lana was able to easily lift Emily and carry her to the bed to tuck her in. She took care to put Flopsy back in the woman's arms. Emily continued to gasp for air.

"Thank you," Lana said, indicating to the hallway with her head. "I thought you were mad at me."

"That's what friends do, silly. They forgive each other. I forgave you; for leaving me to drown."

Not really.

"Are you going to leave again?" Emily wheezed.

"No, Emily." Lana reached out for the decaying hand. "I'm not going to leave this time. I'm going to stay right here."

The aging woman smiled and closed her eyes in eternal rest. The empty shell proceeded to dissolve into dust. Lana gazed at her empty hand, now covered in a thin film of grey dust.

When would it all end?

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Lana was shaken after what she had just witnessed. She clutched Flopsy to her body, the toy giving her some comfort. She wandered aimlessly through the hospital halls, trying to find the exit. She couldn't remember where she parked.

"Dr. Yeager!"

Lana looked up to see Clark rushing in. Van was two steps behind him. While Clark looked frantic, Van appeared calm. He strode with his hands in his coat pockets, as casual as if he was walking down Main Street. As Clark continued to call out for the doctor, Van walked over to a fake plant in the waiting area and pulled something from the pot.

"Where's Dr. Yeager?"

"Clark?" The doctor questioned, coming over.

"Hand it over. Now!" Clark shouted at Van.

"Give this to Alicia Baker. All of it; straight to the heart." Van ordered the doctor, handing over a syringe in a plastic bad.

"Van, I swear, if that doesn't cure her…"

"I've told you already: she won't die. From the poison."

Lana's eyes widened as she saw mild mannered Clark Kent grab Van by the collar and push him against the wall. Van let his fist loose on Clark's jaw. His head snapped back, but Clark never let go of Van. The two fell to the ground in a tussle. Orderlies rushed over to pull the two apart.

Van left laughing as Clark retreated two steps to nurse his bleeding lip.

"Clark," Lana walked over, "are you okay?"

"Fine," he mumbled.

"I'm sorry to hear about what happened to Alicia."

"This wouldn't have happened if you had kept your mouth shut!" Clark snapped. "I told you Van was the shooter. And then you just outed Alicia in front of everyone? With Van just sitting there in front of you?"

Lana couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze. "Clark, I'm sorry. I wasn't in my right mind; I was drugged. If you don't believe me, ask Lex."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

Lana nodded in understanding. As painful as it would be, she would need to talk to Alicia.

"Hey, are you okay?" Clark asked in his gentle tone. Lana watched as Clark's eyes took in her appearance. She must be a sight. Lana knew her eyes must be red from crying; she was clutching the rabbit to her body, and she still felt shaky.

Clark took a step closer. For a moment, it looked like he was going to comfort her as he had in the past. He would take her hand, and then Clark would listen to all her troubles. Maybe he would even hold her if she allowed it.

Instead, his body grew rigid. His eyes dropped to the floor, and he took three steps back, widening the distance between them.

Lana knew there was much to discuss between them: what she had said in the Talon, the Torch article. The strong possibility of Clark being a meta.

Alicia.

And all of it would come. But for now, Lana was done putting off the one question that haunted her for months.

"Clark, why didn't you visit me in the hospital?"

Clark looked at her in pure confusion. "Lana, you told me not to."

Lana couldn't believe what she had just hear. "What? I never said that."

"Oh, I remember it perfectly," Clark spoke in all seriousness. "The first chance I got to see you, you said you needed to stay away from me. Cause being around me is dangerous."

"Clark…"

"No, no. See, the thing is, you're completely right." Clark motioned around the hospital. "So, I've been trying to keep my promise this time and stay away. I wanted to be there for you, Lana, I really did. It was not easy to see you in pain and know you didn't want my help. But apparently, even that isn't enough to make you happy. You're disappointed in me? For doing what you wanted? What do you want from me?"

Lana didn't know how to respond. She couldn't remember saying what Clark said she did.

"Mr. Kent?" A nurse asked. "They're about to release your father. Please, come with us."

"I got to go," Clark mumbled as he followed the technician, leaving Lana alone in stunned silence.

The problem all along had been her.

Not Alicia.

Lana Lang.

There. Drama where Clark isn't Lana's doormat. I feel so much better.