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serafina20I'm beginning to struggle a little bit with this. I have a vague idea of where I want to go, I have a beautiful idea of a scene that's coming up, but all the little details are plaguing me. And, unfortunatly, COTW 43 is dying a slow painful death, so it's not like I can switch to that to clear my mind.
I might have to start writing original fiction. Or, worse, take a break from writing for awhile! *gasp*
Actually, I'm thinking of going to the bookstore tonight. And buying kneepads for rollerblading. Which I shall start doing regularly starting tomorrow. ;)
Thanks everyone for your feedback and encouragement on this fic. And welcome all the people who've friended me over the past few days!
I really need a title for this fic. I wish I didn't suck at coming up with titles.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
And
Over the next few days, Lex began to remember what it felt like to be stretched. Thin. There was a line from a book his mother had read to him as a child, where the character said he felt like butter scraped over too much bread. That's what Lex felt like.
It wasn't the first time, of course. The first time had been the year after Luthor Corp was ruined. The entire time, from the first news to months after the death of his father, Lex had felt like he was merely a shell. He spoke, he wrote, he ate when Perry forced him to, but he didn't live. He had hardly even existed.
Lex's article was published incited a frenzy. Superman was the talk of everyone, and debated heavily everywhere. Scientists went insane over the idea that alien life was among them, and Lex was besieged with calls and invitations and demand to come and talk. City Hall badgered him on what he knew about the crimes Superman had committed years before, demanding that he produce Superman as well, which he couldn't. Lex and Lois both were interviewed time and again by every news agency in the country. The President requested Lex's appearance in DC.
Headlines of "Is This Alien A Threat?" were common in every newspaper across the world save the Daily Planet. The Planet, however, became the most reliable and objective of all the newspapers, reporting what Superman did verbatim without making any implications as to the reasons why. Perry was firm on his stance, saying that Superman had given them no indication that he was anything what he'd said, either in word or action, and until he did, the Planet wouldn't stoop to mud slinding.
While Lex was being pulled every which way, Superman began to appear everywhere. He didn't grant interviews, but he did answer questions should a news crew be near. His face appeared on tee shirts and that were sold on street corners. Buttons were made, and you were either for or against him. People walked the streets with signs, either in protest or support.
And Superman himself was busy. He stopped fires that were raging out of control, detained criminals long enough for the police to show up, grabbed a kid who was about to be hit by a car, stopped a tree from falling, saved a man at a construction sight. The list went on.
So, even as his motives were questions, even as the political engines of the world debated on whether to call Superman friend or foe, Superman was engraining himself as a hero in the minds of the people of the world.
And, while Lex was glad Superman was becoming accepted, he just wished there was something left over for himself.
* * *
"Have you seen him since your big interview?" Lois asked over lunch about a month after Superman had first entered the public eye.
"No," Lex answered. "I think he's come by my apartment a few times when I've been asleep, but otherwise, I think we're both too busy."
Lois smiled. "I'm not surprised. He is everywhere these days, overextending himself, if you ask me."
Lex snorted. He was overextended himself. Between working on the chemical waste story, going to physical therapy, and being interviewed and questioned by every person in the fucking world, there was nothing for himself. He hadn't even had time to have an uncomfortably awareness-filled dinner with Clark in weeks. Clark was always busy, and although they were together at work, it just wasn't the same.
He hadn't realized how much he'd come to depend on the kid until the kid stopped being so dependable.
Lois sighed. "It's a shame. He's going to burn out at this pace. He should have taken me up on my offer."
"What offer?" Lex asked, frowning. He hadn't heard anything about this.
"A job at Lane Enterprises. I mean, I could use a man who can fly and see through walls. In an age where corporate espionage is the modus operandi, I need an edge." She lifted her wine glass. "Lane Enterprises is the producer of the most sophisticated spy technology in the world, but Superman .... And it's not just the man. Just think of the things we could learn by studying his abilities."
Lex raised an eyebrow. "You want to turn him into a lab rat?"
"Don't be silly, my love. I wouldn't hurt him. Just ask him to submit to a few tests so we can find out how his abilities work. So we can copy them." She tisked and shook her head. "Really, Lex, where is your faith in me?"
"Must have lost it when you had my father killed."
"Oh, you're *not* going to spoil lunch by bringing that up again. I thought we were past that."
"I'm never past that." Especially not on the anniversary of the day it happened. Which was why Clark was supposed to be here with him; it was the only day this month both Lex and Lois had had free, and while he wanted to eat with her, the thought of being alone with her on this day creeped him out.
Clark had agreed, but then had disappeared before lunch. The bastard.
Lois pouted her lips in sympathy at him. Reaching out to cover his hand with hers, she said, "My poor baby, you look so tired. I know it's not me that you're mad at."
Lex pulled his hand away, feeling burned. "Yes, Lois, it is. I love you. You know I do, I can't seem to *stop* loving you. But that doesn't keep me from hating you and your company."
"You're just upset about Superman. You're in love with him, and you know that you can't have him."
"Yes, I know I can't have him. That's why I love him."
"Now, that makes no sense. But, that's okay; I know how tired you are. You need to sleep." She took his hand again and squeezed. "You were doomed from the start, you know. He was never going to fall in love with you."
Lex's heart froze and he rubbed his eyes. Lois had no fucking idea what she was talking about, so why did it hurt so much to hear? "Am I so unlovable?" he asked whimsically.
"Of course not. You're utterly loveable. But, Lex, Superman is an alien, and aliens are different from us. More advanced, which means that they, well, don't succumb to human weakness like our species does."
"So his species doesn't have sex? Did he tell you that?"
"No, not at all. What I mean is, when the time comes that Superman must take care of his sexual needs, he'll come to me."
Sexual needs. Superman had been nuzzling his neck as they flew. That flight had been the single most sexual experience in Lex's life that didn't actually involve sex. And Superman wouldn't come to him if he ever got, well, horny?
"How would you know, Lois? He might be gay."
"Alien's aren't gay," she said, rolling her eyes as if Lex were the silliest person on earth. "Advanced races don't need sex like we do. They do it for procreation only. Lex, he'll need a child eventually. He's the last of his people. He was obviously sent here to create a new race, a hybrid of human and Krytonian. A race of super powered beings who will usher this world into a new age."
"And you are going to give birth to this race?"
Lois nodded. She was glowing so brightly, Lex was almost afraid that she was already pregnant and trying to break it to him gently.
"I told him that I would be proud to be the mother of his children. And I would be happy to find other mothers too, if wants. But I must be the first. I know it's only a matter of time before he takes me up on my offer."
Lex looked at her for a long moment, trying to see if she was joking at all. But she looked so serious, so sure. Her confidence in this pierced him, even as the idea of a superior race of beings mothered by Lois twisted his stomach until he felt sick and scared.
But he couldn't let her see it. Because she was being ridiculous. Superman having sex with her? It was almost as ridiculous as Clark having sex with her.
He started to laugh. Chuckle, really, in a dignified way as he shook his head. As he laughed, he reached for his wine glass only to drop it to the table; his hands were trembling
Lois scowled at him. "Laugh all you want, Lex. You know I'm right. It's the desire of all living things to procreate, and if he and I are not compatible, I have the technology to make it work. He'll come to me." She sipped her wine and waited for Lex to calm down.
God, he hated life. Hated it with a burning passion.
"So," he finally said when he could speak again. "What did Superman say when you made your offer?"
She sighed and shrugged elegantly. "Nothing, we were interrupted. I'd asked him to take me flying, and we were when I offered myself to him. Before he could say anything, my phone rang and I had to take the call. It cut our even off much to early, but business is business."
A cold sweat broke out over Lex's body. He felt sick and hollow and stupid. Superman had taken Lois flying.
He closed his eyes, the memory of his own flight with Superman falling over him. He'd felt safe for the first time since Lois had taken Luthor Corp. Hell, safer than he'd felt since the meteor shower. Lex had been cradled in Superman's arms, held close to that fantastic body. Superman's lips had been on his neck, his body pressed into Lex's back, their fingers laced together. It had been wonderful.
And then, suddenly, he wasn't remembering being with Superman, but with Clark, after. How they'd sat on the couch for hours, talking. How right it'd felt with Clark holding his hand, and the way his stomach had twisted in fear and excitement when Clark had asked if he could keep Lex.
The way the warm vulnerability that had lit in Lex's chest while with Superman had spread and multiplied while with Clark until Lex hadn't know what to think anymore.
He missed Clark. He was angry at Clark, but he missed him. Missed sitting with him, talking with him. He didn't know what he wanted from either Superman or Clark Kent, but he knew he was tired of giving everything to everyone in the world and not having either of them near him at the end of the day. Something had to change.
He opened his eyes again. "Where did you two fly?"
"Just around the city. I couldn't go too far." She checked her watch.
"Are those emeralds?" Lex asked, eyes caught by the strange rocks that made the band of her watch.
She held it out for him. "No, they're not. They're meteorites, I just thought they were beautiful. I had to refine them a little, of course, to get them to look like this, but the potential was there. I'm thinking of gathering more and selling them."
Lex rubbed them between his fingers. "They're lovely. Where did you find them?"
It was moments of hesitation like she did now that let Lex know that, despite everything, Lois did love him in her own strange way. It might not look like love to the rest of the world, but Lex knew it for what it was. It was all she could give.
"Smallville," she finally said. She pulled away. "I got them from Smallville."
He reached out and caught her wrist again, fascinated in the rocks for a whole new reason. "Smallville, huh? So. These are the culprits, then." They were so innocent looking, these rocks. Wouldn't hurt anyone, and yet they'd caused so much damage and pain. So beautiful, and yet so poisonous. "I've always meant to go back, you know? Get over my fear of small towns and corn." He looked at her and smiled faintly. "Prove to myself that just going there won't kill me."
Lois yanked her arm away, body stiff. She wasn't meeting his eyes. "There's no reason to go back, Lex. There's nothing there. Just corn and fertilizer and stuff."
"And pretty rocks."
"Not really. Not anymore."
"But I thought you were going to ..."
Lex was interrupted by Lois' phone. "Lois Lane. Uh-huh. Okay, I'll be in shortly." Lois hung up and looked at him with consternation. "I'm sorry, darling, but I need to get back to the office. It was lovely having lunch with you. Let's do it again soon, all right."
Lex leaned back in his head. "Sounds good."
She rose and kissed him on the forehead. "Bye, love."
He watched her go and then finished his meal in peace. One thing nice about Lois was she never made him feel poor when they ate together, unlike other former colleagues Lex occasionally dined with. She always picked up the check and never mentioned doing it.
When he was done, he left the restaurant and pulled a cigarette from his case. Suddenly, he didn't feel quite so tired and run down as he had before.
He *finally* had a lead.
* * *
Clark was still missing when Lex got back to lunch. As happy as Lex had been to get a lead, the sight of Clark's empty desk pissed him off. So much for promises; Clark left just like everyone else. The liar.
He was lucky Lex didn't demand he be taken off the story.
Lex left the office with rage boiling underneath his skin. Clark wasn't reachable by cell, so Lex left an angry message saying that he had a lead, would be working on said lead, and any time Clark felt like showing up and helping him, he would really appreciate it.
Two hours later, when Clark finally called him back, Lex ignored him.
As angry and frustrated at Clark as Lex was, that didn't stop him from finally making progress on the story. Lois had been stupid to wear her new watch to lunch with Lex, especially since it was obvious she was so proud of it. The more he reviewed their meal together, the more he remembered how every gesture and movement seemed to be designed to draw attention to the pretty rocks on her wrist, even if she hadn't realized what she was doing. She was proud of it, thought it made her special and powerful in some way.
And, apparently, dangerous. The more Lex researched Smallville, the stranger and stranger the place got. So many unexplained incidents and people with remarkable powers. And they all turned a blind eye to what was going on, which was typical, Lex supposed. No one wanted to admit they lived in a town where mutant freaks grew.
No one, that is, except a girl named Chloe Sullivan. In her articles, Lex found stories worthy of the trashiest newspapers in the United States, and yet, somehow, Lex believed her.
Especially after reading about Earl Jenkins and the mysterious Level 3. Level 3, which didn't exist underneath the fertilizer plant in Smallville that Lex's father had bought all those years ago. Level 3, which Lex was sure didn't exist when Hardwick Industries bought the plant almost ten years ago. And Level 3, which probably didn't exist now that Lane Enterprises had taken over Hardwick Industries a few years ago.
Three headed calves. People growing extra fingers or an entire hand. A girl who could change shape.
There was a Level 3, Lex was sure of it. He just needed to find out what it was. But, more than that, he needed to find out if Level 3--or the fertilizer plant--produced the type of toxic chemical waste that was contaminating the land twenty miles from Grandville.
He went home around five. Clark had never appeared, but there were three new news stories on Superman. He was a busy boy these days, too busy for anyone else. It was typical.
But, then, wasn't that what Lex wanted? Someone that wouldn't always be there, someone who wasn't a threat to Lex's carefully imposed loneliness? He wanted a person who would fly in an out of his life without the danger of him ever staying. That's what loving a superhero was all about.
Except ... that's what he wanted from Superman. Clark was, on the other hand, was supposed to be with him. And he wasn't.
Dinner was a sandwich, a glass of Scotch, and a cigarette. He was working again when Superman finally alighted on his balcony.
"Hello, Lex," he said softly, almost hesitantly.
Lex turned from his computer. "Kal. Hi. Long time no see."
"I'm sorry." And he did seem sorry, almost hesitant in fact. "I've been busy."
"I know. I watch the news, read the newspaper. Robberies, muggings, earthquakes. You even saved a kitten from a tree."
He smiled and shrugged. "It just sounded so pitiful. I had to help it."
Lex rose and stepped onto the balcony. "Is that why you save us, Kal? Because we're all pitiful compared to you?"
"No."
"No." Lex raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "You could have called. Or something. I've been wanting to see you, to make sure you're doing all right. You .... Fuck you," he finished, shaking his head.
Superman's eyes widened. "Lex, I ..."
"You took Lois Lane flying," he shouted. Then he realized how he sounded. "God damn it, what the fuck is wrong with me." He stormed into the house and grabbed a cigarette. "All my life, I could never trust anyone who wanted to fuck me because I was a Luthor. I had money, and everyone wanted it. And then, suddenly, I wasn't anymore, and I meet you and now .... You fucked me for publicity."
"I didn't .... Lex, it was once around the city, because she asked. I didn't know what to do."
"You could have said no."
"And make such a powerful enemy before anyone even knew about me?" Superman countered. "Lex, I would have taken you flying even without the interview. That's not why I was there. I've been .... I've been doing this for years. You're the one who wanted to make me a hero."
Lex snorted and exhaled hard. "So I'm the whore."
Superman's hands were like iron on his arms, squeezing his shoulders until tears rose to Lex's eyes. "You are not a whore," he hissed, eyes burning almost red.
"Let go."
"Lex ..."
"I said let go."
He complied, releasing Lex and stepping back. "Lex, I'm sorry," he said softly. "I know what day this is, and I ..."
"Shut up." He took another drag. "Do you want to fuck her?"
"No."
"Why not? I'm sure she's more your type than me."
His lips twitched. "No, she's not. Although she does have a definite idea of what an alien is supposed to be. Ironic, really, because she's nothing to me, and you, who, according to her theory, shouldn't be anything, are everything."
Lex stared at Superman a long moment. His eyes studied the perfect face and the perfect body, and the perfect everything, all he saw was nothing.
"Shit," he swore. "You're not even real, Kal."
"What?"
He ground out his cigarette and turned to Superman. "Take me flying."
"What?"
"Take my flying. Anywhere. Somewhere you'll know I don't know anyone." He stepped into Superman and held out his arms.
"Very well." Superman stepped behind Lex and wrapped his arms around his waist. They rose off the floor and flew into the evening.
Lex refused to allow himself to feel the same magic he had the first night. He held on tightly to Superman's arms, not allowing himself to seek out his hand to hold. Instead, he stayed stiff, gazing at the world in front of them, watching the horizon, wondering where he were being taken.
They flew in silence for about fifteen minutes and finally set down in a park.
"Where are we?"
"Edge City."
Lex nodded. He walked to a bench and sat down. "You know, it'd be easier if you just came to seem me wearing normal clothes. But then, if you did, we wouldn't be here."
Superman came and sat next to him, which was ridiculous, but what else what he was going to do. "What are we doing?"
"Observing." Lex pulled a cigarette from his case and lit up. "See that girl?" He pointed to a teenager who was sitting on the swings.
"Yes."
"Her boyfriend dumped recently. Within the last few days. She misses him, and still wears the bracelet he gave her every day. I'll be he was the first guy she ever slept with. He didn't dump her for another girl, they just broke up. She has an older sister, about five years older. Her parents are divorced and is struggling financially. She's lonely. Two, maybe three friends, none close. Her boyfriend was her best friend. See him?" Lex pointed to a homeless man a few yards away. "He was accountant. Married young. She died young, too. They divorced and he moved away. He served time in jail, probably for skimming money. When he was released, he couldn't find a job, ended up on the streets. He likes to read poetry, and I'm betting he makes money to eat by reading to people."
"You can't know that, Lex."
Lex looked up at Superman with a raised eyelid. "He's wearing the wedding ring around his neck. He has a book of Shakespeare in his pocket. She's wearing a dress that's five years out of date. They're clues, Kal, little bits that make up a person's life. I might not have all the details right on either of them, but you ask them, I'll be pretty close." He laughed humorlessly. "We all have tells. Little things, and I've taught myself how to read them. To tell the story of a person by putting together all the clues. I'm not always right, but I'm always close." He glanced at the girl again. "I was right about Clark's story."
He sighed. "Yes. You were."
"But you." Lex stood and stood in front of Superman. "You're all smoke and mirrors. No flaws, no imperfections. No clues. Just a persona that you put on, and ever bit of it is dedicated to making people only see Superman. And there's nothing underneath. No story."
"I thought that's what you wanted," he said almost angrily. "An enigma, a mysterious figure. One that you couldn't figure out, so you were safe from reality."
"That's the man who wants that," Lex shot back, not bothering to wonder how Superman knew he'd said that. "The reporter wants the story."
"No. The reporter wants the superhero," Superman said intensely, rising. "He wants the headlines and the story. He doesn't give a fuck about the man underneath all that because *no one else cares*. Not right now. And it's my job to make sure they don't care, that they never see beneath the smoke and mirrors." He stepped closer. "What you want is something you can't have. And you know it."
Lex nodded. "Yes, I do. I know. I just want the truth."
"The truth is I *hate* Lois Lane." Then he stopped, eyes going wide.
"What?"
He shook his head. "Nothing. I've just .... I'm not supposed to hate."
"Everyone hates."
"But I'm supposed to be above that."
He smiled. "Surprise. Your just like us, Superman. Prone to hate." Then he frowned. "Haven't you ever hated anyone before?"
He nodded slowly. "But not ... like this." Superman rubbed his forehead, looking suddenly tired. "It's because of you. They way she treats you, and what she did. Apparently, you've gotten under my skin."
"But I can't see anything there."
Superman stepped closer to him and put his hands on Lex's shoulders. "Why can't you accept that, Lex?"
"I need to know. Just in case."
"In case of what?"
Lex pulled away and started walking. As he passed the homeless man, he tossed down twenty bucks. Any other time, he might have asked for a poem, just to hear the guy read, but right now, he just wasn't in the mood.
He kept walking down the path, following it as it wound through trees and bushes. It was almost dusk and normally he might be worried about muggers, but Superman was trailing him, so it really didn't matter.
Finally, he came to a small hill that overlooked the rest of the park. With a sigh, he sat down and ground out what was left of his cigarette. Then he lit another.
"You shouldn't smoke," Superman said, sitting besides him. The cape fluttered in the wind behind him.
Ignoring him, Lex said, eyes gazing sightlessly before him, "When I was nine, my father took me with him to a little town called Smallville. He was interested in buying a creamed corned factory. While we were there, there was a meteor shower. I was caught in it, and ..." He trailed off and ran a hand over his head. "While I was still in a coma, he bought the factory and turned it into a fertilizer plant."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. For years, I figured that was all it was. I didn't care. Then, the day he died, Hardwick Industries bought the plant." He glanced at Superman. "A few years ago Lois bought out the Hardwicks. But she'd owned them for years, bringing them back from bankruptcy time and again. They were her shadow puppet, and it was hard to trace money back to her."
"Oh." And then, "I don't understand."
Lex shrugged and inhaled deeply on his cigarette. "I could never read my father. He, like you, was all smoke and mirrors. All show. He wasn't real." Something inside Lex broke. His forehead creased as he said softly, "And I have this terrible feeling that I'm wrong and he did kill himself. I just didn't know."
Superman put his arm around Lex's shoulder and pulled him close. "You think Lois had your father killed over a fertilizer plant?"
"It's not a fertilizer plant. He was doing experiments out there. Something, I don't know. Lois kept it going, and I think that's where the chemicals are coming from."
Lips pressed into his temple. "Good. This is good, we have a link. Right? You can connect Lois to the chemicals through the plant, right?"
"Yes, but ..." He stopped talking and raised his cigarette to his mouth with a shaky hand.
"What is it?"
Lex turned in Superman's arms to look into his crystal clear eyes. "I'm afraid that something is going to happen to you. And that I'll be responsible." He knew it didn't quite follow, but it made sense to him.
Lips pressed into Lex's forehead. Then he sighed. "I have one weakness, Lex. It's called Kryptonite. They're meteor rocks that came down when I landed on Earth. It's all that remains on my planet, and I get violently ill when I'm near it," he whispered. "And I can't see through lead. Other than that, I'm fine. And I know how to take care of myself."
"I know, but ..."
Superman stopped his words with a kiss. His mouth was warm and wet and tasted like chocolate.
"Lois has a Kryptonite bracelet," Lex whispered when they broke apart. "She got the rocks from Smallville, and I think she's doing experiments with the rocks."
Superman froze ever so slightly. "Oh."
Lex closed his eyes and pressed himself into Superman. "Are you going to sleep with her?"
"What?"
"She said she offered to have your children."
"I already have a volunteer if I ever want children," Superman said slowly. He traced Lex's profile. "She's an old friend, and I trust her. I don't trust Lois."
"Does she know your secret identity?"
He seemed to freeze again. "Yes," he finally replied. "Do you?"
Lex didn't answer. Instead, he kissed Superman, allowing himself to sink into the fantasy. The fantasy of safety and love and finding everything he'd ever wanted without the baggage of humanity. He kissed the lover who would never leave him because Lex would never, ever be able to make him stay. He kissed Superman like the fantasy would fade in the morning, and Lex would have to learn to love the man he left behind when the costume came off.
He kissed as if saying goodbye.
And then, he pulled away. "I need to go home."
"But ..." He stopped and shook his head. "Very well." Superman rose, and pulled Lex with him.
"Wait." Lex placed his hands on Superman's chest and gazed at him steadily. "Being Superman is a relief," he said finally. "You like helping people, you like flying, you love feeling as if you're making a difference. You really are as confident as you appear, but, at the same time, it's getting to be too much. It's a lot more than you thought it was going to be. You hate feeling stretched, like you have time for everyone except yourself. You hate the costume, but know it's what a superhero needs to look like." He licked his lips. "You love me."
His face softened and Superman bent down to kiss him again. Then, without speaking, he lifted Lex into his arms and flew home.
When he was gone, Lex closed and locked the door to his balcony. He'd gotten out of the habit the last few weeks, always hoping that Superman would appear, even when he didn't. It was the bravest thing Lex had ever done, allowing himself to be open continually to rejection, because he knew one day Superman would be back for him.
He waited. He had no idea how long it took, or where Superman went, or even if he was right. But he didn't want to be wrong, and saw no reason that he was. So Lex showered and changed and had another drink. Then he packed his clothing, pulled all the files from his safe, and put his laptop away. And, finally, he curled up in bed and called Clark.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Clark. It's me."
"Lex. Hi." There was a hesitation. "Look, about today. I'm so sorry I didn't make to lunch. Or even back to the office. I know ..."
"It's okay."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. I got a lead at lunch."
"That's great! What is it?"
"Smallville. Your hometown? Do you, uh, feel like visiting home?"
Clark sighed, and Lex heard all the frustration and uncertainty and exhaustion that Lex knew had to be plaguing him come out in a rush. "Yes, Lex. I want to go home."
TBC ...
I might have to start writing original fiction. Or, worse, take a break from writing for awhile! *gasp*
Actually, I'm thinking of going to the bookstore tonight. And buying kneepads for rollerblading. Which I shall start doing regularly starting tomorrow. ;)
Thanks everyone for your feedback and encouragement on this fic. And welcome all the people who've friended me over the past few days!
I really need a title for this fic. I wish I didn't suck at coming up with titles.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
And
Over the next few days, Lex began to remember what it felt like to be stretched. Thin. There was a line from a book his mother had read to him as a child, where the character said he felt like butter scraped over too much bread. That's what Lex felt like.
It wasn't the first time, of course. The first time had been the year after Luthor Corp was ruined. The entire time, from the first news to months after the death of his father, Lex had felt like he was merely a shell. He spoke, he wrote, he ate when Perry forced him to, but he didn't live. He had hardly even existed.
Lex's article was published incited a frenzy. Superman was the talk of everyone, and debated heavily everywhere. Scientists went insane over the idea that alien life was among them, and Lex was besieged with calls and invitations and demand to come and talk. City Hall badgered him on what he knew about the crimes Superman had committed years before, demanding that he produce Superman as well, which he couldn't. Lex and Lois both were interviewed time and again by every news agency in the country. The President requested Lex's appearance in DC.
Headlines of "Is This Alien A Threat?" were common in every newspaper across the world save the Daily Planet. The Planet, however, became the most reliable and objective of all the newspapers, reporting what Superman did verbatim without making any implications as to the reasons why. Perry was firm on his stance, saying that Superman had given them no indication that he was anything what he'd said, either in word or action, and until he did, the Planet wouldn't stoop to mud slinding.
While Lex was being pulled every which way, Superman began to appear everywhere. He didn't grant interviews, but he did answer questions should a news crew be near. His face appeared on tee shirts and that were sold on street corners. Buttons were made, and you were either for or against him. People walked the streets with signs, either in protest or support.
And Superman himself was busy. He stopped fires that were raging out of control, detained criminals long enough for the police to show up, grabbed a kid who was about to be hit by a car, stopped a tree from falling, saved a man at a construction sight. The list went on.
So, even as his motives were questions, even as the political engines of the world debated on whether to call Superman friend or foe, Superman was engraining himself as a hero in the minds of the people of the world.
And, while Lex was glad Superman was becoming accepted, he just wished there was something left over for himself.
* * *
"Have you seen him since your big interview?" Lois asked over lunch about a month after Superman had first entered the public eye.
"No," Lex answered. "I think he's come by my apartment a few times when I've been asleep, but otherwise, I think we're both too busy."
Lois smiled. "I'm not surprised. He is everywhere these days, overextending himself, if you ask me."
Lex snorted. He was overextended himself. Between working on the chemical waste story, going to physical therapy, and being interviewed and questioned by every person in the fucking world, there was nothing for himself. He hadn't even had time to have an uncomfortably awareness-filled dinner with Clark in weeks. Clark was always busy, and although they were together at work, it just wasn't the same.
He hadn't realized how much he'd come to depend on the kid until the kid stopped being so dependable.
Lois sighed. "It's a shame. He's going to burn out at this pace. He should have taken me up on my offer."
"What offer?" Lex asked, frowning. He hadn't heard anything about this.
"A job at Lane Enterprises. I mean, I could use a man who can fly and see through walls. In an age where corporate espionage is the modus operandi, I need an edge." She lifted her wine glass. "Lane Enterprises is the producer of the most sophisticated spy technology in the world, but Superman .... And it's not just the man. Just think of the things we could learn by studying his abilities."
Lex raised an eyebrow. "You want to turn him into a lab rat?"
"Don't be silly, my love. I wouldn't hurt him. Just ask him to submit to a few tests so we can find out how his abilities work. So we can copy them." She tisked and shook her head. "Really, Lex, where is your faith in me?"
"Must have lost it when you had my father killed."
"Oh, you're *not* going to spoil lunch by bringing that up again. I thought we were past that."
"I'm never past that." Especially not on the anniversary of the day it happened. Which was why Clark was supposed to be here with him; it was the only day this month both Lex and Lois had had free, and while he wanted to eat with her, the thought of being alone with her on this day creeped him out.
Clark had agreed, but then had disappeared before lunch. The bastard.
Lois pouted her lips in sympathy at him. Reaching out to cover his hand with hers, she said, "My poor baby, you look so tired. I know it's not me that you're mad at."
Lex pulled his hand away, feeling burned. "Yes, Lois, it is. I love you. You know I do, I can't seem to *stop* loving you. But that doesn't keep me from hating you and your company."
"You're just upset about Superman. You're in love with him, and you know that you can't have him."
"Yes, I know I can't have him. That's why I love him."
"Now, that makes no sense. But, that's okay; I know how tired you are. You need to sleep." She took his hand again and squeezed. "You were doomed from the start, you know. He was never going to fall in love with you."
Lex's heart froze and he rubbed his eyes. Lois had no fucking idea what she was talking about, so why did it hurt so much to hear? "Am I so unlovable?" he asked whimsically.
"Of course not. You're utterly loveable. But, Lex, Superman is an alien, and aliens are different from us. More advanced, which means that they, well, don't succumb to human weakness like our species does."
"So his species doesn't have sex? Did he tell you that?"
"No, not at all. What I mean is, when the time comes that Superman must take care of his sexual needs, he'll come to me."
Sexual needs. Superman had been nuzzling his neck as they flew. That flight had been the single most sexual experience in Lex's life that didn't actually involve sex. And Superman wouldn't come to him if he ever got, well, horny?
"How would you know, Lois? He might be gay."
"Alien's aren't gay," she said, rolling her eyes as if Lex were the silliest person on earth. "Advanced races don't need sex like we do. They do it for procreation only. Lex, he'll need a child eventually. He's the last of his people. He was obviously sent here to create a new race, a hybrid of human and Krytonian. A race of super powered beings who will usher this world into a new age."
"And you are going to give birth to this race?"
Lois nodded. She was glowing so brightly, Lex was almost afraid that she was already pregnant and trying to break it to him gently.
"I told him that I would be proud to be the mother of his children. And I would be happy to find other mothers too, if wants. But I must be the first. I know it's only a matter of time before he takes me up on my offer."
Lex looked at her for a long moment, trying to see if she was joking at all. But she looked so serious, so sure. Her confidence in this pierced him, even as the idea of a superior race of beings mothered by Lois twisted his stomach until he felt sick and scared.
But he couldn't let her see it. Because she was being ridiculous. Superman having sex with her? It was almost as ridiculous as Clark having sex with her.
He started to laugh. Chuckle, really, in a dignified way as he shook his head. As he laughed, he reached for his wine glass only to drop it to the table; his hands were trembling
Lois scowled at him. "Laugh all you want, Lex. You know I'm right. It's the desire of all living things to procreate, and if he and I are not compatible, I have the technology to make it work. He'll come to me." She sipped her wine and waited for Lex to calm down.
God, he hated life. Hated it with a burning passion.
"So," he finally said when he could speak again. "What did Superman say when you made your offer?"
She sighed and shrugged elegantly. "Nothing, we were interrupted. I'd asked him to take me flying, and we were when I offered myself to him. Before he could say anything, my phone rang and I had to take the call. It cut our even off much to early, but business is business."
A cold sweat broke out over Lex's body. He felt sick and hollow and stupid. Superman had taken Lois flying.
He closed his eyes, the memory of his own flight with Superman falling over him. He'd felt safe for the first time since Lois had taken Luthor Corp. Hell, safer than he'd felt since the meteor shower. Lex had been cradled in Superman's arms, held close to that fantastic body. Superman's lips had been on his neck, his body pressed into Lex's back, their fingers laced together. It had been wonderful.
And then, suddenly, he wasn't remembering being with Superman, but with Clark, after. How they'd sat on the couch for hours, talking. How right it'd felt with Clark holding his hand, and the way his stomach had twisted in fear and excitement when Clark had asked if he could keep Lex.
The way the warm vulnerability that had lit in Lex's chest while with Superman had spread and multiplied while with Clark until Lex hadn't know what to think anymore.
He missed Clark. He was angry at Clark, but he missed him. Missed sitting with him, talking with him. He didn't know what he wanted from either Superman or Clark Kent, but he knew he was tired of giving everything to everyone in the world and not having either of them near him at the end of the day. Something had to change.
He opened his eyes again. "Where did you two fly?"
"Just around the city. I couldn't go too far." She checked her watch.
"Are those emeralds?" Lex asked, eyes caught by the strange rocks that made the band of her watch.
She held it out for him. "No, they're not. They're meteorites, I just thought they were beautiful. I had to refine them a little, of course, to get them to look like this, but the potential was there. I'm thinking of gathering more and selling them."
Lex rubbed them between his fingers. "They're lovely. Where did you find them?"
It was moments of hesitation like she did now that let Lex know that, despite everything, Lois did love him in her own strange way. It might not look like love to the rest of the world, but Lex knew it for what it was. It was all she could give.
"Smallville," she finally said. She pulled away. "I got them from Smallville."
He reached out and caught her wrist again, fascinated in the rocks for a whole new reason. "Smallville, huh? So. These are the culprits, then." They were so innocent looking, these rocks. Wouldn't hurt anyone, and yet they'd caused so much damage and pain. So beautiful, and yet so poisonous. "I've always meant to go back, you know? Get over my fear of small towns and corn." He looked at her and smiled faintly. "Prove to myself that just going there won't kill me."
Lois yanked her arm away, body stiff. She wasn't meeting his eyes. "There's no reason to go back, Lex. There's nothing there. Just corn and fertilizer and stuff."
"And pretty rocks."
"Not really. Not anymore."
"But I thought you were going to ..."
Lex was interrupted by Lois' phone. "Lois Lane. Uh-huh. Okay, I'll be in shortly." Lois hung up and looked at him with consternation. "I'm sorry, darling, but I need to get back to the office. It was lovely having lunch with you. Let's do it again soon, all right."
Lex leaned back in his head. "Sounds good."
She rose and kissed him on the forehead. "Bye, love."
He watched her go and then finished his meal in peace. One thing nice about Lois was she never made him feel poor when they ate together, unlike other former colleagues Lex occasionally dined with. She always picked up the check and never mentioned doing it.
When he was done, he left the restaurant and pulled a cigarette from his case. Suddenly, he didn't feel quite so tired and run down as he had before.
He *finally* had a lead.
* * *
Clark was still missing when Lex got back to lunch. As happy as Lex had been to get a lead, the sight of Clark's empty desk pissed him off. So much for promises; Clark left just like everyone else. The liar.
He was lucky Lex didn't demand he be taken off the story.
Lex left the office with rage boiling underneath his skin. Clark wasn't reachable by cell, so Lex left an angry message saying that he had a lead, would be working on said lead, and any time Clark felt like showing up and helping him, he would really appreciate it.
Two hours later, when Clark finally called him back, Lex ignored him.
As angry and frustrated at Clark as Lex was, that didn't stop him from finally making progress on the story. Lois had been stupid to wear her new watch to lunch with Lex, especially since it was obvious she was so proud of it. The more he reviewed their meal together, the more he remembered how every gesture and movement seemed to be designed to draw attention to the pretty rocks on her wrist, even if she hadn't realized what she was doing. She was proud of it, thought it made her special and powerful in some way.
And, apparently, dangerous. The more Lex researched Smallville, the stranger and stranger the place got. So many unexplained incidents and people with remarkable powers. And they all turned a blind eye to what was going on, which was typical, Lex supposed. No one wanted to admit they lived in a town where mutant freaks grew.
No one, that is, except a girl named Chloe Sullivan. In her articles, Lex found stories worthy of the trashiest newspapers in the United States, and yet, somehow, Lex believed her.
Especially after reading about Earl Jenkins and the mysterious Level 3. Level 3, which didn't exist underneath the fertilizer plant in Smallville that Lex's father had bought all those years ago. Level 3, which Lex was sure didn't exist when Hardwick Industries bought the plant almost ten years ago. And Level 3, which probably didn't exist now that Lane Enterprises had taken over Hardwick Industries a few years ago.
Three headed calves. People growing extra fingers or an entire hand. A girl who could change shape.
There was a Level 3, Lex was sure of it. He just needed to find out what it was. But, more than that, he needed to find out if Level 3--or the fertilizer plant--produced the type of toxic chemical waste that was contaminating the land twenty miles from Grandville.
He went home around five. Clark had never appeared, but there were three new news stories on Superman. He was a busy boy these days, too busy for anyone else. It was typical.
But, then, wasn't that what Lex wanted? Someone that wouldn't always be there, someone who wasn't a threat to Lex's carefully imposed loneliness? He wanted a person who would fly in an out of his life without the danger of him ever staying. That's what loving a superhero was all about.
Except ... that's what he wanted from Superman. Clark was, on the other hand, was supposed to be with him. And he wasn't.
Dinner was a sandwich, a glass of Scotch, and a cigarette. He was working again when Superman finally alighted on his balcony.
"Hello, Lex," he said softly, almost hesitantly.
Lex turned from his computer. "Kal. Hi. Long time no see."
"I'm sorry." And he did seem sorry, almost hesitant in fact. "I've been busy."
"I know. I watch the news, read the newspaper. Robberies, muggings, earthquakes. You even saved a kitten from a tree."
He smiled and shrugged. "It just sounded so pitiful. I had to help it."
Lex rose and stepped onto the balcony. "Is that why you save us, Kal? Because we're all pitiful compared to you?"
"No."
"No." Lex raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "You could have called. Or something. I've been wanting to see you, to make sure you're doing all right. You .... Fuck you," he finished, shaking his head.
Superman's eyes widened. "Lex, I ..."
"You took Lois Lane flying," he shouted. Then he realized how he sounded. "God damn it, what the fuck is wrong with me." He stormed into the house and grabbed a cigarette. "All my life, I could never trust anyone who wanted to fuck me because I was a Luthor. I had money, and everyone wanted it. And then, suddenly, I wasn't anymore, and I meet you and now .... You fucked me for publicity."
"I didn't .... Lex, it was once around the city, because she asked. I didn't know what to do."
"You could have said no."
"And make such a powerful enemy before anyone even knew about me?" Superman countered. "Lex, I would have taken you flying even without the interview. That's not why I was there. I've been .... I've been doing this for years. You're the one who wanted to make me a hero."
Lex snorted and exhaled hard. "So I'm the whore."
Superman's hands were like iron on his arms, squeezing his shoulders until tears rose to Lex's eyes. "You are not a whore," he hissed, eyes burning almost red.
"Let go."
"Lex ..."
"I said let go."
He complied, releasing Lex and stepping back. "Lex, I'm sorry," he said softly. "I know what day this is, and I ..."
"Shut up." He took another drag. "Do you want to fuck her?"
"No."
"Why not? I'm sure she's more your type than me."
His lips twitched. "No, she's not. Although she does have a definite idea of what an alien is supposed to be. Ironic, really, because she's nothing to me, and you, who, according to her theory, shouldn't be anything, are everything."
Lex stared at Superman a long moment. His eyes studied the perfect face and the perfect body, and the perfect everything, all he saw was nothing.
"Shit," he swore. "You're not even real, Kal."
"What?"
He ground out his cigarette and turned to Superman. "Take me flying."
"What?"
"Take my flying. Anywhere. Somewhere you'll know I don't know anyone." He stepped into Superman and held out his arms.
"Very well." Superman stepped behind Lex and wrapped his arms around his waist. They rose off the floor and flew into the evening.
Lex refused to allow himself to feel the same magic he had the first night. He held on tightly to Superman's arms, not allowing himself to seek out his hand to hold. Instead, he stayed stiff, gazing at the world in front of them, watching the horizon, wondering where he were being taken.
They flew in silence for about fifteen minutes and finally set down in a park.
"Where are we?"
"Edge City."
Lex nodded. He walked to a bench and sat down. "You know, it'd be easier if you just came to seem me wearing normal clothes. But then, if you did, we wouldn't be here."
Superman came and sat next to him, which was ridiculous, but what else what he was going to do. "What are we doing?"
"Observing." Lex pulled a cigarette from his case and lit up. "See that girl?" He pointed to a teenager who was sitting on the swings.
"Yes."
"Her boyfriend dumped recently. Within the last few days. She misses him, and still wears the bracelet he gave her every day. I'll be he was the first guy she ever slept with. He didn't dump her for another girl, they just broke up. She has an older sister, about five years older. Her parents are divorced and is struggling financially. She's lonely. Two, maybe three friends, none close. Her boyfriend was her best friend. See him?" Lex pointed to a homeless man a few yards away. "He was accountant. Married young. She died young, too. They divorced and he moved away. He served time in jail, probably for skimming money. When he was released, he couldn't find a job, ended up on the streets. He likes to read poetry, and I'm betting he makes money to eat by reading to people."
"You can't know that, Lex."
Lex looked up at Superman with a raised eyelid. "He's wearing the wedding ring around his neck. He has a book of Shakespeare in his pocket. She's wearing a dress that's five years out of date. They're clues, Kal, little bits that make up a person's life. I might not have all the details right on either of them, but you ask them, I'll be pretty close." He laughed humorlessly. "We all have tells. Little things, and I've taught myself how to read them. To tell the story of a person by putting together all the clues. I'm not always right, but I'm always close." He glanced at the girl again. "I was right about Clark's story."
He sighed. "Yes. You were."
"But you." Lex stood and stood in front of Superman. "You're all smoke and mirrors. No flaws, no imperfections. No clues. Just a persona that you put on, and ever bit of it is dedicated to making people only see Superman. And there's nothing underneath. No story."
"I thought that's what you wanted," he said almost angrily. "An enigma, a mysterious figure. One that you couldn't figure out, so you were safe from reality."
"That's the man who wants that," Lex shot back, not bothering to wonder how Superman knew he'd said that. "The reporter wants the story."
"No. The reporter wants the superhero," Superman said intensely, rising. "He wants the headlines and the story. He doesn't give a fuck about the man underneath all that because *no one else cares*. Not right now. And it's my job to make sure they don't care, that they never see beneath the smoke and mirrors." He stepped closer. "What you want is something you can't have. And you know it."
Lex nodded. "Yes, I do. I know. I just want the truth."
"The truth is I *hate* Lois Lane." Then he stopped, eyes going wide.
"What?"
He shook his head. "Nothing. I've just .... I'm not supposed to hate."
"Everyone hates."
"But I'm supposed to be above that."
He smiled. "Surprise. Your just like us, Superman. Prone to hate." Then he frowned. "Haven't you ever hated anyone before?"
He nodded slowly. "But not ... like this." Superman rubbed his forehead, looking suddenly tired. "It's because of you. They way she treats you, and what she did. Apparently, you've gotten under my skin."
"But I can't see anything there."
Superman stepped closer to him and put his hands on Lex's shoulders. "Why can't you accept that, Lex?"
"I need to know. Just in case."
"In case of what?"
Lex pulled away and started walking. As he passed the homeless man, he tossed down twenty bucks. Any other time, he might have asked for a poem, just to hear the guy read, but right now, he just wasn't in the mood.
He kept walking down the path, following it as it wound through trees and bushes. It was almost dusk and normally he might be worried about muggers, but Superman was trailing him, so it really didn't matter.
Finally, he came to a small hill that overlooked the rest of the park. With a sigh, he sat down and ground out what was left of his cigarette. Then he lit another.
"You shouldn't smoke," Superman said, sitting besides him. The cape fluttered in the wind behind him.
Ignoring him, Lex said, eyes gazing sightlessly before him, "When I was nine, my father took me with him to a little town called Smallville. He was interested in buying a creamed corned factory. While we were there, there was a meteor shower. I was caught in it, and ..." He trailed off and ran a hand over his head. "While I was still in a coma, he bought the factory and turned it into a fertilizer plant."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. For years, I figured that was all it was. I didn't care. Then, the day he died, Hardwick Industries bought the plant." He glanced at Superman. "A few years ago Lois bought out the Hardwicks. But she'd owned them for years, bringing them back from bankruptcy time and again. They were her shadow puppet, and it was hard to trace money back to her."
"Oh." And then, "I don't understand."
Lex shrugged and inhaled deeply on his cigarette. "I could never read my father. He, like you, was all smoke and mirrors. All show. He wasn't real." Something inside Lex broke. His forehead creased as he said softly, "And I have this terrible feeling that I'm wrong and he did kill himself. I just didn't know."
Superman put his arm around Lex's shoulder and pulled him close. "You think Lois had your father killed over a fertilizer plant?"
"It's not a fertilizer plant. He was doing experiments out there. Something, I don't know. Lois kept it going, and I think that's where the chemicals are coming from."
Lips pressed into his temple. "Good. This is good, we have a link. Right? You can connect Lois to the chemicals through the plant, right?"
"Yes, but ..." He stopped talking and raised his cigarette to his mouth with a shaky hand.
"What is it?"
Lex turned in Superman's arms to look into his crystal clear eyes. "I'm afraid that something is going to happen to you. And that I'll be responsible." He knew it didn't quite follow, but it made sense to him.
Lips pressed into Lex's forehead. Then he sighed. "I have one weakness, Lex. It's called Kryptonite. They're meteor rocks that came down when I landed on Earth. It's all that remains on my planet, and I get violently ill when I'm near it," he whispered. "And I can't see through lead. Other than that, I'm fine. And I know how to take care of myself."
"I know, but ..."
Superman stopped his words with a kiss. His mouth was warm and wet and tasted like chocolate.
"Lois has a Kryptonite bracelet," Lex whispered when they broke apart. "She got the rocks from Smallville, and I think she's doing experiments with the rocks."
Superman froze ever so slightly. "Oh."
Lex closed his eyes and pressed himself into Superman. "Are you going to sleep with her?"
"What?"
"She said she offered to have your children."
"I already have a volunteer if I ever want children," Superman said slowly. He traced Lex's profile. "She's an old friend, and I trust her. I don't trust Lois."
"Does she know your secret identity?"
He seemed to freeze again. "Yes," he finally replied. "Do you?"
Lex didn't answer. Instead, he kissed Superman, allowing himself to sink into the fantasy. The fantasy of safety and love and finding everything he'd ever wanted without the baggage of humanity. He kissed the lover who would never leave him because Lex would never, ever be able to make him stay. He kissed Superman like the fantasy would fade in the morning, and Lex would have to learn to love the man he left behind when the costume came off.
He kissed as if saying goodbye.
And then, he pulled away. "I need to go home."
"But ..." He stopped and shook his head. "Very well." Superman rose, and pulled Lex with him.
"Wait." Lex placed his hands on Superman's chest and gazed at him steadily. "Being Superman is a relief," he said finally. "You like helping people, you like flying, you love feeling as if you're making a difference. You really are as confident as you appear, but, at the same time, it's getting to be too much. It's a lot more than you thought it was going to be. You hate feeling stretched, like you have time for everyone except yourself. You hate the costume, but know it's what a superhero needs to look like." He licked his lips. "You love me."
His face softened and Superman bent down to kiss him again. Then, without speaking, he lifted Lex into his arms and flew home.
When he was gone, Lex closed and locked the door to his balcony. He'd gotten out of the habit the last few weeks, always hoping that Superman would appear, even when he didn't. It was the bravest thing Lex had ever done, allowing himself to be open continually to rejection, because he knew one day Superman would be back for him.
He waited. He had no idea how long it took, or where Superman went, or even if he was right. But he didn't want to be wrong, and saw no reason that he was. So Lex showered and changed and had another drink. Then he packed his clothing, pulled all the files from his safe, and put his laptop away. And, finally, he curled up in bed and called Clark.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Clark. It's me."
"Lex. Hi." There was a hesitation. "Look, about today. I'm so sorry I didn't make to lunch. Or even back to the office. I know ..."
"It's okay."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. I got a lead at lunch."
"That's great! What is it?"
"Smallville. Your hometown? Do you, uh, feel like visiting home?"
Clark sighed, and Lex heard all the frustration and uncertainty and exhaustion that Lex knew had to be plaguing him come out in a rush. "Yes, Lex. I want to go home."
TBC ...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-01-03 05:52 pm (UTC)I love, love, love to pieces how this AU setup has brought out the Sherlockian side of Lex's personality, something that doesn't come out to play so much when he's a businessman but which I'm more than willing to believe is there.
squee!
no subject
Date: 2004-01-04 01:32 pm (UTC)It really is a lot of fun to play with, and it fits his personality so well. This is a man who is insatiably curious about everything, and now he's in a profession in which curiosity is key. I get to play with this side of him a little in COTW, but not as much as here. He gets to spend so much time looking in this fic. It's definitely one of my favorite things to write. :P
no subject
Date: 2004-01-03 07:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-04 01:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-03 10:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-04 01:35 pm (UTC)I *love* writing fanboy Lex. And the best part is I feel is supported by SV canon. I mean, really, who has two issues of every comic so he can read one and display the other? :P
Thanks for the fb!
no subject
Date: 2004-01-04 12:28 am (UTC)Poor Clark. He's so far in over his head with the double identity gig. It's a wonder he gets any sleep at all. :(
Hopefully Martha will dropkick some sense into him before Perry fires his ass. :)
no subject
Date: 2004-01-04 01:36 pm (UTC)And he was so sure he knew what he was doing, too. It's sad.
Thanks!!!
Oh my!
Date: 2004-01-04 01:17 am (UTC)Re: Oh my!
Date: 2004-01-04 01:37 pm (UTC)Nothing can stop destiny. Clark and Lex were meant to be. *sigh*
I love you icon, btw. ;)
no subject
Date: 2004-01-04 01:08 pm (UTC)-morsel
no subject
Date: 2004-01-04 01:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-04 06:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-04 10:15 pm (UTC)I know nothing about Superman canon, but just knowing Clark, it totally seems like he'd get so caught up in trying to help people, he wouldn't stop to rest. And Lex is a total work-a-holic, too. And Lois .... I'm having so much fun writing her. When I started, I had no idea what she was going to be. I was afraid she was going to turn into this uber-bitch who was completely unsympathetic, which I didn't want. I liked Lois in the movies (not so much in Lois and Clark, but I'm not a terri hatcher fan), but I like the idea of her (even if I think she's a little, well, let's say "special";). But I like the way she's turning out. *I* like her, at any rate, even though she's a little self-absorbed.
Thanks for the fb and advice.