Elseworlds (2/5)
First of all, I got a lovely gift on my user page from romanyg. Thank you! I've never received a gift on Valentines day, which isn't that big over here, and besides, I'm perpetually single, but seeing the gift was great.
ETA: Oh, and some people wrote me in svmadelyn's Valentine Game! Man, I really need to become more pro-active to keep up with this fandom's nice-ness!
This part isn't very Valentine-y, unless you like your romance more bitter than sweet.
Title: Elseworlds (or Five Identities Lex Luthor and Clark Kent Never Had)
Rating: teen
Pairing: Clex
Genre: AU
Warnings: Angst
Note: "Elseworlds" is what DC calls its AU comic stories in which cracky stuff like "What if Bruce Wayne was a pirate?" or "What if Clark Kent and Lex Luthor grew up as brothers?" happens. This is in the vein of that, with the theme of: What if Clark and Lex became other heroes and villains than Superman and, well, Lex Luthor?
Part One: Old Friends
2. Two Sides of a Coin
He got up when Clark entered, a smile brightening his face, and put down the book. But he waited until the guard had locked the door behind his visitor and left until he greeted him, softly, by his name. "Clark."
This Lex never noticed the cape and the suit. He never even commented on it. Each time he sounded surprised, as if Clark's visit was going to bring him unexpected salvation long after he had despaired.
Clark returned the smile, as kindly and brightly as he could manage. "Hello, Lex."
Lex stepped close to the bars, curling his fingers around them. The nails were bit short, and there was blood crusted under them. Clark frowned and studied his face for the tell-tale healing scars. He visited every week, and on most Sundays, Lex's face was clean and unblemished, only sometimes, the scars were still angry and red when Clark comes. He seemed so reasonable most of the time, and the guards never noticed the switch soon enough.
Today, Lex's skin was merely pale, and the only red was rimming his eyes, so Clark felt confident enough to ask, "How are you?"
Lex dropped his head, resting his forehead against the bars. "It's been a quiet week."
Behind him, the wall was stark white, scrawled with equations and manic writing. Once, they'd taken all his pens away, and in his rage, Lex had hurt himself so badly that it had lasted for two whole days despite his dramatically increased healing factor. Superman had made it clear then that they were to leave the pens to him, and give him paper as well. Lex could have bought these luxuries from his remaining fortune, but he never did, so Clark did something that his fellow heroes perpetually frowned on and threw in Superman's considerable influence.
Later, Clark had picked some of Lex's writings up out of curiosity. He'd shown them to Bruce to get his opinion.
Bruce had said that as far as he could follow the equations, they were brilliant and the machines Lex designed would work. That had been before the League got proof that they worked, that one time Lex had managed to break out and stay out of prison for a whole month and in the end nearly reduced Metropolis to a pile of smoking rubble.
He'd broken down before he pressed the button and surrendered himself to Superman.
"That's good," Clark said gently. "I had a pretty busy one."
Lex smiled, but his smile grew ever wider, until it was a grin, sharp and malicious. "You think he cares?" he hissed.
Clark stiffened. "Lex?"
With a shudder, Lex closed his eyes. "I'm tired," he whispered. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay."
"Yeah, tell him that. 'It's okay, Lex. Calm down. Drink your tea and be a happy little puppet.' That's how you like him, don't you? Tame and caged. Why don't you come closer, Superman? Don't you want to pet him? I'm sure he'd love to lick your shiny red boots!"
Clark's face hardened, and he crossed his arms. "You're a sick creature. I'm not here to talk to you."
Lex snarled and threw himself against the bars, gripping them in both hands. "I'm the only thing that's healthy in this wreck! I'd have this city razed into the ground if I could just find a way to carve him out of this body!"
"You're the one who doesn't belong in this body, Luthor," Clark replied coldly.
Luthor stared at him, then stepped back from the bars. His look was disdainful. "Still telling yourself that, alien? We both belong here. We used to be one before the black rocks split us in two. And you made us one again - in body, not in mind. If you're visiting him, then you're damn well visiting me, too."
Clark said nothing for a long time, just gave him a hard look. Then he shook his head and turned with a swish of his cape. "I'm leaving."
He was at the door, his hand on the button that'd call the guard, when the same voice sounded softly from behind him, a strangled plea. "Clark."
Clark stilled.
"I'm tired," Lex whispered. "I can't do this anymore."
Clark swallowed. "You can, Lex," he lied. A wet noise made him turn, shocked, because even this Lex hardly ever cried. But Lex wasn't crying, although his eyes were shiny and red.
"Please."
Clark came back, closer this time, until he could touch Lex's fingers that were clenched around a bar, the knuckles white with tension. "I'll stay, Lex. I'm not leaving."
Lex closed his eyes. "No. Please, Clark."
"Lex - "
"I don't want to hurt you."
"He's not you, Lex."
Lex screwed up his face, as if suddenly in pain. "No, Clark. He's right about that. He's us. I'm him. We're just two sides of a coin."
Clark tightened his grip around Lex's fingers. "No. You're not the same. You know you're not. You'd never do what he's done. The person you were before wouldn't have, either. You know that, right?"
Lex didn't answer. He just stared at the ceiling somewhere past Clark. His fingers were cold, and they were trembling.
"End it. Please."
If Clark could have killed the other Lex, he'd have been a murderer in a heart-beat, if just so he could save this Lex.
"He won't ever do it," Lex said in a sing-song voice. "Don't you realize it, you fool? He loves you like this. Come on, Lex, beg some more. Give the alien some nice memories to go home with."
"No."
"'Please, Clark, please'."
"Clark!"
Clark pulled away his hand. It felt dirty, and it burned like a brand. He turned, and this time did his best not to listen to the lonely dialogue behind him.
"I love you," he said, right before the guard let him out.
Some commentary on Part One
For some reason, this story idea has fascinated me for ages. Superhero identities, especially in the DC verse, are things that can be inherited, and exist separately from the characters that have them. There have been several Robins, several Green Lanterns, several Supergirls, several Flashes - the list goes on. A hero identity is something more than a costume, it's a character concept, a role (in many cases, something of an archetype within the larger pantheon of heroes). But let's stop the DC meta.
There've been quite a few Elseworlds comics playing with the idea of Clark as another hero - Kal-El as the son of the Waynes instead of the Kents, becoming Batman, or Kal-El as a Green Lantern for example. But what fascinates me far more is the idea of *Lex* as another supervillain/hero. In some cases, this requires his counterpart to change his role as well, so Clark is up there in the title as well.
Lex as Charles Xavier is really pretty obvious, the more you think about it. They're probably the two most recognizable bald white men of comics. They're both (in case of SV!Lex) mutants. They've both got a mansion, and both have an interest in finding and researching other mutants. They've both got a very good friend turned arch-enemy, and on top of that, that good friend wears a red cape and can fly in both cases. They've both got lots of money, although Lex has definitely more, and they've both got a difficult family history. They're both very charismatic men, and natural leaders.
But Charles is a hero (albeit usually an ambiguous one) and Lex is a villain (also ambiguous in some cases.) The difference doesn't lie in Charles's telepathy, I think. If Lex got telepathy and mental control of others as his mutant power, I very much doubt he'd have used it solely for good things. (Not that Charles did, mind you). In "Old Friends", Lex brainwashed Lionel as soon as he got his powers under control. We know it's self-defence, but that doesn't make it any less dangerous. Once he was controlling his own father, Lex didn't stop using his powers. I very much doubt he was bullied at school.
I want to go on about this 'verse, but I sense enough material for more fic, so I'm shutting up.
Now, Lex as Two-Face. Two-Face is Harvey Dent, a lawyer and good friend of Bruce Wayne, the Batman. After an attack with acid that leaves half his face scarred, he goes mad and gets a split personality - good Harvey and evil Two-Face, who becomes a Batman villain. Two-Face has a coin with one scarred side that he flips in order to determine whether he'll be good or bad. (One of my favourite villain concepts ever, and also terribly tragic.) Also, he was abused by his father. Now the Two-Face Lex, he's actually Onyx Lex. The two Lexes have been reunited, but their personalities remain split - a weak good guy and a much more aggressive and pretty smart bad guy. It's the last identity that occurred to me for Lex, but it fits the theme of "friends gone enemies" as well.
But not all of these stories will be following that theme. There'll be a hero and sidekick story, and probably two with them working as fellow heroes, unless I decide to scrap one of them and write something else instead: Clark and Lex as Superboy Prime and Alex Luthor! (There'll be about two people who get this, but come on, anyone who's read Infinite Crisis must at least have thought about this once!)
ETA: Oh, and some people wrote me in svmadelyn's Valentine Game! Man, I really need to become more pro-active to keep up with this fandom's nice-ness!
This part isn't very Valentine-y, unless you like your romance more bitter than sweet.
Title: Elseworlds (or Five Identities Lex Luthor and Clark Kent Never Had)
Rating: teen
Pairing: Clex
Genre: AU
Warnings: Angst
Note: "Elseworlds" is what DC calls its AU comic stories in which cracky stuff like "What if Bruce Wayne was a pirate?" or "What if Clark Kent and Lex Luthor grew up as brothers?" happens. This is in the vein of that, with the theme of: What if Clark and Lex became other heroes and villains than Superman and, well, Lex Luthor?
Part One: Old Friends
2. Two Sides of a Coin
He got up when Clark entered, a smile brightening his face, and put down the book. But he waited until the guard had locked the door behind his visitor and left until he greeted him, softly, by his name. "Clark."
This Lex never noticed the cape and the suit. He never even commented on it. Each time he sounded surprised, as if Clark's visit was going to bring him unexpected salvation long after he had despaired.
Clark returned the smile, as kindly and brightly as he could manage. "Hello, Lex."
Lex stepped close to the bars, curling his fingers around them. The nails were bit short, and there was blood crusted under them. Clark frowned and studied his face for the tell-tale healing scars. He visited every week, and on most Sundays, Lex's face was clean and unblemished, only sometimes, the scars were still angry and red when Clark comes. He seemed so reasonable most of the time, and the guards never noticed the switch soon enough.
Today, Lex's skin was merely pale, and the only red was rimming his eyes, so Clark felt confident enough to ask, "How are you?"
Lex dropped his head, resting his forehead against the bars. "It's been a quiet week."
Behind him, the wall was stark white, scrawled with equations and manic writing. Once, they'd taken all his pens away, and in his rage, Lex had hurt himself so badly that it had lasted for two whole days despite his dramatically increased healing factor. Superman had made it clear then that they were to leave the pens to him, and give him paper as well. Lex could have bought these luxuries from his remaining fortune, but he never did, so Clark did something that his fellow heroes perpetually frowned on and threw in Superman's considerable influence.
Later, Clark had picked some of Lex's writings up out of curiosity. He'd shown them to Bruce to get his opinion.
Bruce had said that as far as he could follow the equations, they were brilliant and the machines Lex designed would work. That had been before the League got proof that they worked, that one time Lex had managed to break out and stay out of prison for a whole month and in the end nearly reduced Metropolis to a pile of smoking rubble.
He'd broken down before he pressed the button and surrendered himself to Superman.
"That's good," Clark said gently. "I had a pretty busy one."
Lex smiled, but his smile grew ever wider, until it was a grin, sharp and malicious. "You think he cares?" he hissed.
Clark stiffened. "Lex?"
With a shudder, Lex closed his eyes. "I'm tired," he whispered. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay."
"Yeah, tell him that. 'It's okay, Lex. Calm down. Drink your tea and be a happy little puppet.' That's how you like him, don't you? Tame and caged. Why don't you come closer, Superman? Don't you want to pet him? I'm sure he'd love to lick your shiny red boots!"
Clark's face hardened, and he crossed his arms. "You're a sick creature. I'm not here to talk to you."
Lex snarled and threw himself against the bars, gripping them in both hands. "I'm the only thing that's healthy in this wreck! I'd have this city razed into the ground if I could just find a way to carve him out of this body!"
"You're the one who doesn't belong in this body, Luthor," Clark replied coldly.
Luthor stared at him, then stepped back from the bars. His look was disdainful. "Still telling yourself that, alien? We both belong here. We used to be one before the black rocks split us in two. And you made us one again - in body, not in mind. If you're visiting him, then you're damn well visiting me, too."
Clark said nothing for a long time, just gave him a hard look. Then he shook his head and turned with a swish of his cape. "I'm leaving."
He was at the door, his hand on the button that'd call the guard, when the same voice sounded softly from behind him, a strangled plea. "Clark."
Clark stilled.
"I'm tired," Lex whispered. "I can't do this anymore."
Clark swallowed. "You can, Lex," he lied. A wet noise made him turn, shocked, because even this Lex hardly ever cried. But Lex wasn't crying, although his eyes were shiny and red.
"Please."
Clark came back, closer this time, until he could touch Lex's fingers that were clenched around a bar, the knuckles white with tension. "I'll stay, Lex. I'm not leaving."
Lex closed his eyes. "No. Please, Clark."
"Lex - "
"I don't want to hurt you."
"He's not you, Lex."
Lex screwed up his face, as if suddenly in pain. "No, Clark. He's right about that. He's us. I'm him. We're just two sides of a coin."
Clark tightened his grip around Lex's fingers. "No. You're not the same. You know you're not. You'd never do what he's done. The person you were before wouldn't have, either. You know that, right?"
Lex didn't answer. He just stared at the ceiling somewhere past Clark. His fingers were cold, and they were trembling.
"End it. Please."
If Clark could have killed the other Lex, he'd have been a murderer in a heart-beat, if just so he could save this Lex.
"He won't ever do it," Lex said in a sing-song voice. "Don't you realize it, you fool? He loves you like this. Come on, Lex, beg some more. Give the alien some nice memories to go home with."
"No."
"'Please, Clark, please'."
"Clark!"
Clark pulled away his hand. It felt dirty, and it burned like a brand. He turned, and this time did his best not to listen to the lonely dialogue behind him.
"I love you," he said, right before the guard let him out.
Some commentary on Part One
For some reason, this story idea has fascinated me for ages. Superhero identities, especially in the DC verse, are things that can be inherited, and exist separately from the characters that have them. There have been several Robins, several Green Lanterns, several Supergirls, several Flashes - the list goes on. A hero identity is something more than a costume, it's a character concept, a role (in many cases, something of an archetype within the larger pantheon of heroes). But let's stop the DC meta.
There've been quite a few Elseworlds comics playing with the idea of Clark as another hero - Kal-El as the son of the Waynes instead of the Kents, becoming Batman, or Kal-El as a Green Lantern for example. But what fascinates me far more is the idea of *Lex* as another supervillain/hero. In some cases, this requires his counterpart to change his role as well, so Clark is up there in the title as well.
Lex as Charles Xavier is really pretty obvious, the more you think about it. They're probably the two most recognizable bald white men of comics. They're both (in case of SV!Lex) mutants. They've both got a mansion, and both have an interest in finding and researching other mutants. They've both got a very good friend turned arch-enemy, and on top of that, that good friend wears a red cape and can fly in both cases. They've both got lots of money, although Lex has definitely more, and they've both got a difficult family history. They're both very charismatic men, and natural leaders.
But Charles is a hero (albeit usually an ambiguous one) and Lex is a villain (also ambiguous in some cases.) The difference doesn't lie in Charles's telepathy, I think. If Lex got telepathy and mental control of others as his mutant power, I very much doubt he'd have used it solely for good things. (Not that Charles did, mind you). In "Old Friends", Lex brainwashed Lionel as soon as he got his powers under control. We know it's self-defence, but that doesn't make it any less dangerous. Once he was controlling his own father, Lex didn't stop using his powers. I very much doubt he was bullied at school.
I want to go on about this 'verse, but I sense enough material for more fic, so I'm shutting up.
Now, Lex as Two-Face. Two-Face is Harvey Dent, a lawyer and good friend of Bruce Wayne, the Batman. After an attack with acid that leaves half his face scarred, he goes mad and gets a split personality - good Harvey and evil Two-Face, who becomes a Batman villain. Two-Face has a coin with one scarred side that he flips in order to determine whether he'll be good or bad. (One of my favourite villain concepts ever, and also terribly tragic.) Also, he was abused by his father. Now the Two-Face Lex, he's actually Onyx Lex. The two Lexes have been reunited, but their personalities remain split - a weak good guy and a much more aggressive and pretty smart bad guy. It's the last identity that occurred to me for Lex, but it fits the theme of "friends gone enemies" as well.
But not all of these stories will be following that theme. There'll be a hero and sidekick story, and probably two with them working as fellow heroes, unless I decide to scrap one of them and write something else instead: Clark and Lex as Superboy Prime and Alex Luthor! (There'll be about two people who get this, but come on, anyone who's read Infinite Crisis must at least have thought about this once!)