a short trip to hell } { seems that I've been held in some dreaming state
[Set in shorttriptohell, pending L approval. fromthetap is used with permission and love. feltalone is used with less permission, but still the same amount of love, and hasperkynipples is mine, so I can abuse him all I want. Given the nature of the verse, I’m not sure how big a change there’ll be in Tess, but since we AU’d Season 8 hard, I feel comfortable doing her as a Season 8 voice with Season 10 information.]
And I could hear the thunder and see the lightning crack
All around the world was waking, I never could go back
Cos all the walls of dreaming, they were torn right open
And finally it seemed that the spell was broken
Clark is a hero, and Tess believes in him.
Tess doesn’t believe in much.
There’s too much evil in the world. She’s bred from it. She has red hair and the killer instincts, all the marks of a Luthor that make her dangerous and deadly. She has been raised in a world full of wolves, of people who take what they want from you without any regard for what it does to you. Her father took her innocence, Oliver took her heart and Lex took her trust. By the time they finish, there’s nothing left but a cold woman who would rather conquer the world than live in it. She wants the world to burn under her feet, and Lex’s money and power gives her the means to do it. Add in Queen Industries, and Tess Mercer has the world at her fingertips. And according to her pride, that’s supposed to be enough.
And then there’s people like Clark.
Actually, there’s only Clark.
Clark saves the world without cause to, without any expectation of reward-or need of it, for that matter. Tess doesn’t understand him, but he opens her world again, gives her a messiah to follow in a world that lacks one. It’s almost as though he doesn’t see the darkness that leaks at the corners, threatening to swallow everything whole. He doesn’t see the things coming to destroy him, he doesn’t see the world that would tear him down and nail him to their own version of a cross. Judas lurks in every corner, in every face, and the wolves in the world would rather control him than let him save them.
Tess didn’t want to be one of the wolves. She doesn’t want to be a Judas that lurks in the shadows and waits for the moment to tear him down. Lex and Lionel always wanted to be Clark’s advisory, but Tess just wants to be a disciple, to just sit and learn. He could be the savior that she’s been searching for her whole life the person that allows her to walk in the light again, to get back all that was taken from her.
Even then, she still wanted Clark for revenge.
It takes her a long time to learn the difference. To learn about wanting someone because it’s good for everyone as oppose to wanting something because it’s better for herself. She’s still struggling with it most days. Especially when she sees him eying Lana Lang.
She knows that he and Lana are over. The way she is with Dean makes that more than obvious. But there are still moments. Moments where she sees him watching her and wonders if there’s something about her that would make Clark crack. In Tess he sees someone he needed to rescue, to save from herself and drag her back into the light again. In Lana, she is a woman that he loved. The woman that he would sacrifice the world for, and that is what Tess wants to be to him. She wants to be the one the hero would give anything for, regardless of what. She likes to think that she’d be that to Clark. Some days she believes it.
It’s probably the one thing in their relationship she doesn’t want to test.
They’re in the mansion one night, in Lex’s old office, after a small dinner party they had thrown for friends. Dean and Lois are down below, mingling with Chloe, Lois and the others, while Tess and Clark are on the balcony above them, watching. She watches his eyes on Lana, and for a moment, Dean almost blends in with the rest of them, but she can see the way he’s frayed around the edges. Clark doesn’t, thinks Dean’s an ass most of the time, but Tess can see the darkness in his eyes. It takes someone dark to recognize it, a lot of the time.
“I’ve still got that folder on my desk,” she says slowly as she turns to lean against the balcony. “All of Dean’s dirty little secrets.” There’s a look, one he gives her when she’s crossing that line back into dangerous territory again, and she flashes him the most innocent face she has. “What? If I remember correctly, you’re the one who asked me to find it.”
“Yeah, but I also told you to get rid of it.”
She shrugs as she turns to face the crowd again, staying close as her eyes run over the faces below her with her usual raptor-sharp focus. “I felt it might come in handy. Save it for a rainy day. After all, it’s not every day that a supposedly dead serial killer starts dating our very own Lana Lang.”
“You missed a lot of the early years in Smallville,” he comments dryly, before moving closer and leaning in next to her. “I just don’t want her to get hurt.”
“I know that, Clark,” she sighs as she turns to face him again. “But … it’s been almost a year. I think if Dean was going to turn into an axe murderer, he would have done it by now.”
“You don’t know that. He could be using her. He may be living a double life.”
“Something you know quite a bit about.”
“This isn’t about me, Tess.”
“No. This is about Lana.” She’s right and he knows it. Tess makes a habit of being right, and that’s something even he couldn’t break her of. He glances away, back down to the party again. She takes a breath and moves closer to him, leaning into his shoulder. “Dean is a good man. He tries. Just be happy with what we have.”
She hates feeling like she has to ask him to be happy with her. She hates that she needs to illicit the response she gets from him in order to be reassured that he is in fact happy, but sometimes, a person just needs to hear it. Even if it makes them feel weaker for it.
He turns to face her, one hand coming up to brush against the side of her face. His thumb crosses over her cheekbone, before giving her a small smile. “I’m happy. You know that.”
She smiles back, nodding a bit as he leans in to kiss her. “I know.”
He’s millimeters from her mouth when his phone rings. He sighs, reaching into his jacket pocket and glancing at the number. “It’s Oliver.”
She sighs. “Tell him not to keep you out too late.”
He smirks, before pressing a kiss to her cheek. That’s then followed by a breeze as he superspeeds past her, disappearing out the door. She sighs, reaching for her wine glass and making her way back down to their guests and joining the rest of the group. Lana turns as she does, then her eyes wander over her shoulder to where someone else should be.
“Where’s Clark?”
“Duty called,” she says simply. “Can’t have my star reporter lying down on the job, now can I?”
She pauses for a moment, and Tess knows she knows. She purses her lips for a moment before nodding. “Guess a reporter’s job is never done, is it?”
“No,” Tess replies simply. “It never really is.”
1208 words
And I could hear the thunder and see the lightning crack
All around the world was waking, I never could go back
Cos all the walls of dreaming, they were torn right open
And finally it seemed that the spell was broken
Clark is a hero, and Tess believes in him.
Tess doesn’t believe in much.
There’s too much evil in the world. She’s bred from it. She has red hair and the killer instincts, all the marks of a Luthor that make her dangerous and deadly. She has been raised in a world full of wolves, of people who take what they want from you without any regard for what it does to you. Her father took her innocence, Oliver took her heart and Lex took her trust. By the time they finish, there’s nothing left but a cold woman who would rather conquer the world than live in it. She wants the world to burn under her feet, and Lex’s money and power gives her the means to do it. Add in Queen Industries, and Tess Mercer has the world at her fingertips. And according to her pride, that’s supposed to be enough.
And then there’s people like Clark.
Actually, there’s only Clark.
Clark saves the world without cause to, without any expectation of reward-or need of it, for that matter. Tess doesn’t understand him, but he opens her world again, gives her a messiah to follow in a world that lacks one. It’s almost as though he doesn’t see the darkness that leaks at the corners, threatening to swallow everything whole. He doesn’t see the things coming to destroy him, he doesn’t see the world that would tear him down and nail him to their own version of a cross. Judas lurks in every corner, in every face, and the wolves in the world would rather control him than let him save them.
Tess didn’t want to be one of the wolves. She doesn’t want to be a Judas that lurks in the shadows and waits for the moment to tear him down. Lex and Lionel always wanted to be Clark’s advisory, but Tess just wants to be a disciple, to just sit and learn. He could be the savior that she’s been searching for her whole life the person that allows her to walk in the light again, to get back all that was taken from her.
Even then, she still wanted Clark for revenge.
It takes her a long time to learn the difference. To learn about wanting someone because it’s good for everyone as oppose to wanting something because it’s better for herself. She’s still struggling with it most days. Especially when she sees him eying Lana Lang.
She knows that he and Lana are over. The way she is with Dean makes that more than obvious. But there are still moments. Moments where she sees him watching her and wonders if there’s something about her that would make Clark crack. In Tess he sees someone he needed to rescue, to save from herself and drag her back into the light again. In Lana, she is a woman that he loved. The woman that he would sacrifice the world for, and that is what Tess wants to be to him. She wants to be the one the hero would give anything for, regardless of what. She likes to think that she’d be that to Clark. Some days she believes it.
It’s probably the one thing in their relationship she doesn’t want to test.
They’re in the mansion one night, in Lex’s old office, after a small dinner party they had thrown for friends. Dean and Lois are down below, mingling with Chloe, Lois and the others, while Tess and Clark are on the balcony above them, watching. She watches his eyes on Lana, and for a moment, Dean almost blends in with the rest of them, but she can see the way he’s frayed around the edges. Clark doesn’t, thinks Dean’s an ass most of the time, but Tess can see the darkness in his eyes. It takes someone dark to recognize it, a lot of the time.
“I’ve still got that folder on my desk,” she says slowly as she turns to lean against the balcony. “All of Dean’s dirty little secrets.” There’s a look, one he gives her when she’s crossing that line back into dangerous territory again, and she flashes him the most innocent face she has. “What? If I remember correctly, you’re the one who asked me to find it.”
“Yeah, but I also told you to get rid of it.”
She shrugs as she turns to face the crowd again, staying close as her eyes run over the faces below her with her usual raptor-sharp focus. “I felt it might come in handy. Save it for a rainy day. After all, it’s not every day that a supposedly dead serial killer starts dating our very own Lana Lang.”
“You missed a lot of the early years in Smallville,” he comments dryly, before moving closer and leaning in next to her. “I just don’t want her to get hurt.”
“I know that, Clark,” she sighs as she turns to face him again. “But … it’s been almost a year. I think if Dean was going to turn into an axe murderer, he would have done it by now.”
“You don’t know that. He could be using her. He may be living a double life.”
“Something you know quite a bit about.”
“This isn’t about me, Tess.”
“No. This is about Lana.” She’s right and he knows it. Tess makes a habit of being right, and that’s something even he couldn’t break her of. He glances away, back down to the party again. She takes a breath and moves closer to him, leaning into his shoulder. “Dean is a good man. He tries. Just be happy with what we have.”
She hates feeling like she has to ask him to be happy with her. She hates that she needs to illicit the response she gets from him in order to be reassured that he is in fact happy, but sometimes, a person just needs to hear it. Even if it makes them feel weaker for it.
He turns to face her, one hand coming up to brush against the side of her face. His thumb crosses over her cheekbone, before giving her a small smile. “I’m happy. You know that.”
She smiles back, nodding a bit as he leans in to kiss her. “I know.”
He’s millimeters from her mouth when his phone rings. He sighs, reaching into his jacket pocket and glancing at the number. “It’s Oliver.”
She sighs. “Tell him not to keep you out too late.”
He smirks, before pressing a kiss to her cheek. That’s then followed by a breeze as he superspeeds past her, disappearing out the door. She sighs, reaching for her wine glass and making her way back down to their guests and joining the rest of the group. Lana turns as she does, then her eyes wander over her shoulder to where someone else should be.
“Where’s Clark?”
“Duty called,” she says simply. “Can’t have my star reporter lying down on the job, now can I?”
She pauses for a moment, and Tess knows she knows. She purses her lips for a moment before nodding. “Guess a reporter’s job is never done, is it?”
“No,” Tess replies simply. “It never really is.”
1208 words