Crisis Part 3

At the Smallville Medical Center…

Clark hurried to his father's hospital room. Dr. Scanlan was already there, clipboard in hand. His father was laying on the bed and Pete was sitting in the nearby chair; Mrs. Kent was absent.

"Well, Johnathan," Dr. Scanlan said, "before you're officially released, let's go over the game plan. Where's your wife?"

"She'll be back soon, but she won't forgive me if we go through this without her."

"I understand," the doctor chuckled. "Well, why don't we get you released, and we can go over the plan before you leave."

"That sounds great."

The doctor left, giving Johnathan the ok to change back into his regular clothes.

"About time," Mr. Kent sighed, relieved he was finally able to get out of bed. He swayed, unsteady on his feet. Clark rushed over to keep him from falling.

"Dad, take it easy."

"Clark, what happened?" Mr. Kent noticed his son's bleeding lip.

"My powers are still out." Clark explained as he grabbed his dad's folded street clothes from out of the drawer. "The strange thing is those pale people seem to be experiencing glitches of their own. I just don't see the connection."

Clark held out the folded garments, but Johnathan made no attempt to take them. He stood as still as a statue. He didn't even blink.

"Dad?" Clark worried his father was having another stroke. But a glance to his left showed Pete was frozen in time as well. Pete's head was tossed back, mouth open as he attempted to catch a jellybean. The jellybean itself was floating in midair, hovering over Pete's mouth.

"Oh, come on," Clark moaned. "Not again."

Clark touched his lip and found the wound had healed, as well as the one at the back of his head. Not only had his powers returned, but he had entered speed time without even trying. Clark clenched his eyes shut and focused on having slow thoughts. But his dad and Pete never changed their positions. Clark moved slowly into the hallway, hoping that by moving he would reenter normal time.

The hallway held a scene of eerie silence with figures that seemed to be posed mannequins. One woman's face was frozen in regret as a Styrofoam cup filled with coffee had slipped from her hands. It was floating sideways in midair, the liquid heading towards the floor. Clark grabbed the cup, collected the liquid inside and put it back in the woman's hand.

A clattering of metal caught Clark's attention. He made his way towards the noise. The only other figure to be moving was another pale person. But this one was snarling, and its body jerked as if it could not control itself. It was as if they were having a type of seizure.

"Hi," Clark said, slowly approaching. "Can you tell me your name?"

At Clark's voice, the figure spun around. Clark saw the eyes were rolling up towards the back of their head. It deliberately walked towards Clark. The pace was still slow, but it showed an effort to move none of the others had before. To test his theory, Clark circled around the creature, so he was behind it now, with plenty of space between them.

The snarling figure circled again so it was facing Clark. He took a few steps back and the figure followed him.

"Are you after me?" Clark asked aloud. He wasn't surprised to not receive an answer. But talking aloud helped break the silence.

"Okay." Clark glanced around the waiting room. It wasn't that crowded, but the figure had no coordination. With its' strength, that made it a hazard to all there. He decided he had to lead the figure outside. The process was slow, but Clark didn't want to risk touching the figure. For all he knew, the person had a sickness that could be transferred by touch.

They made it outside the hospital and Clark found two others making their way over. Just like the other one, they became fixated on Clark and walked towards him.

"Is it because I'm moving?" Clark wondered. "Or is it something else?"

Clark continued to walk away, constantly glancing over his shoulder to make sure they were still following him. He wondered what he should do with them. They needed to be contained somehow. He didn't like the idea of putting them in a cage, but their motor skills were lacking. It seemed as if they only got inside the hospital by walking through the walls. Clark even had to hold the door open for them. Clark remembered there was some construction going on in a particular cul-de-sac. Someone was adding a cellar onto their house. The construction workers had dug a pit with a cement foundation. Clark figured he could lead them and push them down. Or they might walk into it by themselves.

With the new plan in mind, Clark started to walk in that direction. It wasn't the best solution, but it would keep them all in one place out of the way of people. Of course, that meant it would be one place for Van to shoot all of them. Clark would have to cross that bridge when he got there.

This time, the figures did not follow him. They groaned in unison and began to walk towards the downtown area.

"Hey!" Clark jumped in front one and waved his arms. "Follow me!"

But they paid Clark no heed.

"Fine," Clark sighed. "Where are you going?"

He followed them to Main Street where the entire town was frozen in time. But Clark's attention was focused on a golden glow coming from inside a familiar red truck. There was one pale figure already by its side. Unaware that it had arms, the figure pushed against the truck. With its strength, the vehicle began to skid along the road. It was at a slow pace, but there were several unmoving people in the truck's path.

Clark increased his speed. At this velocity, Clark knew if he abruptly stopped the truck there would be an impact, hurting the driver. Instead, Clark dragged the people out of harm's way. Next, Clark turned his attention to the truck. He rushed to the other side, grabbed the base, and added resistance to slow it down. The truck managed to stop before it could harm anyone else.

A look through the window showed it was his mother driving.

"Mom!" Clark opened the door. She was a statue, like everyone else, but she seemed startled by what was in the passenger seat. It only held her purse, which was emitting a golden glow.

"Sorry," Clark muttered as he opened the bag. Inside, just like he suspected, was the octagonal key.

Clark looked up and saw the pale figures were making their way towards the truck. Their number had grown so they were now a mob of ten. Clark grabbed the key and backed away from the truck, gaining their attention once more.

"Why do you want this?" Clark wondered.

Not understanding why or who these people were, Clark lifted the key in the air above his head and began to lead them toward his original plan.

But they began to inadvertently cause havoc. Their lack of coordination caused them to bump into cars, sides of buildings, and people.

Clark groaned. This wouldn't do. He looked around and saw an empty trailer bed. He placed the key in the middle and then raced around Main Street, lifting the figures and putting them in the trailer. The first figure to have gone in the trailer leaned over so its arm dangled over and touched the still glowing key.

"Return him to me." The words came out of every figure all at once.

The bright light passed from the key to the figure. One by one, all the figures began to glow. In unison, their heads lifted and they howled in pain. In an instant, their bodies dissolved into fractured light.

The key returned to its normal shade of dull grey. Clark put it in his pocket and took in the mess that was Main Street. Cars were at angles causing traffic. Store signs were knocked over; stands were overturned with produce and wares littering the sidewalk. People were trying to get to a safe place or had been knocked into the air. Buildings had been cracked.

Clark shrugged and got to work.

Normal time on Main Street…

Perry White had tried to interview the people who'd witnessed the bizarre encounter. Again, no one wanted to talk. The ones who did only shouted and bemoaned how they would pay for the damages.

Then, as if by magic, the street began to repair itself.

Produce stands were set upright. Cars were lifted into the air as if on invisible strings and moved into straight lines on the street. People who had been falling were standing safely on the sidewalk. The chaos that had once littered the street was gone. It was as if nothing unusual had happened.

Perry took out his flask and took another sip. When he lowered his head, he saw the Kent kid standing by the side of the street. He was kneeling down, hands beneath the vehicle as if he was placing the truck back into place. The boy stood up and his eyes locked with Perry's.

And then, he just disappeared.

"Did you catch that?" Perry asked Bobby.

"I'm filming, I'm filming." Bobby was turning around to catch the entire change on the street.

"No, not that. That!" Perry took another swig and pointed to where the Kent kid miraculously disappeared from.

Bobby turned to film the spot. "What am I trying to get?"

Perry shook his head. Whatever was going on, the Kent kid was right in the middle of it.

At Smallville Medical Center…

Perry White was going to be a problem.

Unable to pull himself out of speed time, Clark had gotten to work setting Main Street back to normal. Just as he was putting a car down, Clark felt his strength give out, just a small bit. Perry White had witnessed him using his powers again. Whether it was a blessing or not, Clark's body had reentered the speed time. Clark wondered if he should destroy the tape that Bobby kid had. But Bobby had clearly been filming in a different direction. Clark would want to talk with Bobby later. Hopefully he had gotten footage of Van shooting the pale person.

It might be evidence needed to build a case against Van.

Clark made his way back to the hospital and went to Alicia's room. She looked peaceful as she lay on the bed.

"I hope that antidote Van gave you worked." Clark sighed as he pulled up a chair. "I've been nervous about how you're doing. Now, being trapped in speed time is making the wait even longer."

Clark reached out and took her hand. "I'm sorry. I can't help but feel responsible this happened to you. I don't mean to hurt people. I just…it happens. Somehow, in some way everyone I love gets hurt."

Clark kissed her forehead.

Alicia moaned. Clark gasped and backed away. Alicia was clearly moving. He peered back into the hallway and saw everyone moving at a normal pace.

"Hi, you."

Clark rushed back over to Alicia's side. "How do you feel?"

"Tired."

Clark kissed her forehead again.

"You can do better than that." Alicia wrapped her hands around Clark's neck and pulled him close. Clark kissed her gently, sending up thanks that she had returned to him.

"There you are." Pete walked in the room. "Clark, man, what happened?"

"Long story."

"Oh, good, you're awake." A doctor now entered the room. "Excuse me, young man. I need to check her vitals."

"No," Alicia whined as Clark pulled away.

"I'll be right back," Clark promised.

"Hey, Clark," Pete motioned with his head for the two of them to go into the hall. Pete led him to the room next door, which was empty.

"Thanks for staying with my dad." Clark said.

"No problem. It seemed like you had your hands full." Pete cleared his throat. "Listen, um, Chloe and Lana are pretty sure you got powers."

"What?"

"I tried to dissuade them, but they're pretty confident."

"Well, that's just perfect."

"Just wanted to give you a heads up."

Clark nodded. "Thanks."