Look up information on Dr Bethany. Yeah, check. Chloe can do that, no matter how much she wants to be out there in Metropolis with Clark. Rather than making the drive all the way back to the Planet, she makes the shorter trip back to the apartment. Quickly stopping in the Talon to get a cup of coffee (there are benefits to being the Maid of Honor of the owner's fiancee), she heads upstairs to begin.
Her laptop is exactly where she had left it earlier in the day: on the kitchen table surrounded by a stack of papers and books. Lois hasn't been home yet. That's okay. It's probably better that her cousin remains uninvolved. Chloe takes one more sip from her mug before placing it on the table next to the computer. It's time to get to work.
She's barely five minutes in to an internet search when a gloved hand covers her mouth. She tries to scream. She tries to flail and fight. But there isn't much she can do against the chloroform soaked cloth against her lips. Despite her will to stay awake, Chloe winds up knocked out rather quickly.
When she does wake up again, Chloe finds herself unable to move. Petrified, she looks from the corner of her eye. Her legs and arms are strapped in and there are individuals in blue scrubs, face masks, and gloves all around her. She can't make out where she is. She can't make out who they are. Underneath the silvery cloth further strapping her in place across her breasts and from hips to ankles, she's exposed and naked. Chloe tries to move, at least squirm. She can't.
As much as she wants to scream, the only noise that comes out are clenched little distressed noises. Her mouth is being held open by something (what Chloe can't see), but she can feel the tubes running out from her mouth. The room darkens and a green laser (a scanner of some sort?) begins to move across her torso. Even when voices come into hearing, Chloe finds herself still too freaked to pay attention.
"Blood iron levels?"
"225."
"Copper, cadmium, and chloride all high."
"The clock is ticking. Let's not waste time."
"Erythrocyte and leukocyte counts confirmed. Initializing full-body spectral scan."
The scan narrows on her stomach. That much Chloe can see. But what she can't see bothers her more. There isn't any Clark here to save the day. She's alone with these mad scientists and she can't think of any way to escape. She groans again, wishing it could be more of a scream.
"Scanning in progress. Vertical asymptote at "X." Preparing for DNA extraction."
"Proceed."
Unfortunately, sometimes you really do have to be careful for what you wish for. Her eyes widen even more (if possible) when an over-sized needle is raised over her abdomen. The moment it pierces the skin, Chloe finally screams.
***
That must have been some dream. She yawns, slowly coming to conscious. Chloe turns on her side and yawns again, blinking sleepily. There's a weird metallic taste in her mouth, but it's ignored. That nagging unsettling feeling is ignored too. Definitely some dream, a nightmare Chloe hopes she doesn't remember.
And then she does remember.
Clark never contacted her before she went to bed. She needs to call him. But first? A quick shower and a cup of coffee. Right now, Tobias Rice isn't going anywhere.
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