Quicksand 10/13
Title: Quicksand
Authors: herohunter and ladydreamer
Pairing: Clex
Rating: Generally PG, and NC-17 in parts
Warning: mpreg
Summary: One cold November evening, twelve years after Lex Luthor left Smallville and Clark Kent behind, the two meet in Centennial Park… as Lex is walking home with his daughter.
Thanks to our beta lexalicious, and to lapetite-kiki for the beautiful cover for the fic.
Part Ten
Clark was glad he had changed into the Superman suit, which was slightly different from his own, with no yellow at all, and the S was in red and black. The rest was just a plain blue suit. He didn't disliked it, and was happy he had it on when he spotted Batman standing on the edge of a building in Gotham, and zoomed towards him. He stopped a few feet away, floated in front of him, and smiled. "Bruce! I'm glad I found you, I have to-"
"Hey!" Batman barked. He looked up at Superman angrily. "Not Bruce. Never gonna be Bruce."
Clark moved back in the air and frowned. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the man under the cowl was considerably shorter than Bruce. He blinked. "Dick? What are you doing? Where's Bruce?"
Dick frowned and blinked rapidly. "Are you high or something? He's in the goddamn cemetery!"
Clark felt like a bucket of cold water had been thrown down his back. Cold enough for him to feel. Dick was all wrong, too, not the pleasant young man who liked Superman so much he had named himself Nightwing, after the Kryptonian legendary hero. Shit. "Cemetery?" he whispered. He slowly lowered himself to the ledge of the building. "No..."
Dick bit his lip and wiped his eyes. Batman couldn't cry, dammit. "What is it, Clark? Are you sick?" He reached over to touch Superman's shoulder. "You remember my name. What else don't you remember?"
"I remember everything, Dick. I'm in the wrong world," Clark said tiredly. He covered Dick's hand with his. "Where I come from, Bruce is Batman and you're Nightwing. I'm not married to Lois. Lex doesn't hate Superman." It felt good to say it out loud to someone, though Clark wasn't sure what Dick could do to him. "What happened?" he added quietly.
"Penguin. He blinded him. Killed 'im," Dick said in a thick voice. He took a shaky breath. "Wrong world? Like another dimension? Crazy. How could that happen?"
Clark shook his head. "I'm still trying to find that out. But I have a clue; I just wanted to run it by Bruce..." He thinned his lips. "I'm so sorry."
"S'okay. You didn't know." Dick looked at him miserably and wrapped his arms around Superman.
Clark held on to Dick like he too would disappear suddenly, his eyes watering and a tear falling for this Bruce. God, what such sad world this was, without the Dark Knight.
Dick clung to Superman, who didn't seem to come around much anymore, since they'd both lost Bruce. "I missed you. Even if it isn't really you."
"I..." Clark rubbed Dick's back though he might not feel it through the suit. "I'm here, Dick." This poor kid, having been made to take on Bruce's role, when Clark knew that only one man had been made of the stuff it took to be Batman. Bruce Wayne and support the toll. He was going to have to beat the crap out of this world's Clark for leaving Dick like this.
Dick sniffed and nodded. "Thanks. You can use the Batcave whenever you need to, Clark."
"Thanks, kiddo." Clark took a breath. He was going to have to talk to Lex, no other way around it. He gave Dick's back a couple of pats. "Will you be okay?"
Dick managed a boyish smile, which looked very strange in the Batsuit. "I'm fine, Superman. A lot better, now that I got to see you. Will you come back?"
Clark wanted to promise that yes, but he hesitated. "I don't know. But one of us will, I'll make sure of it."
"Thanks, big guy." Dick gave him a nod and a little wave, then took a deep breath and did his best to get back into character.
"Stay safe." Clark slowly floated off, turned, and flew back to Metropolis. He had to wonder what had happened for the other Clark to let his life become what he had, with one old friend having become an enemy, and a new friend having been let go like that. He headed for Lex's penthouse because he had just run out geniuses to brainstorm with.
***
Back in his penthouse, Lex was in his lavender silk robe and walked out of his shower rubbing the back of his head. He poured himself a scotch and set it on the nightstand as he sat down in his bed. It would be nice to have someone in his bed tonight. He should get a cat. He couldn't deal with any more wives.
Superman hovered outside Lex's window for a moment, just watching him, such familiarity it made his very soul ache. He reached his right hand and tapped the glass.
Lex turned to the window and choked on his scotch. "What the fuck are you doin' here?" he demanded. Setting the scotch on the table he rushed to get the little box from his pants thrown over a chair.
Superman rolled his eyes; his patience was getting to an end tonight. He was in the bedroom and pushing Lex against a wall in no time, holding Lex's hands over his head and meeting his eyes, but he had been careful not to hurt Lex at all. "Stop. We need to talk."
Fear flickered through Lex's eyes, but he lifted his chin defiantly. "Then talk, Superman, you thug. I've done nothin', and if I had, you would never find the evidence to put me away."
"Shut up." Superman inhaled once, slowly, trying to draw strength from Lex's scent. "There's something you need to know, but I can't talk to you if you're gonna be all irrational and huffy, Lex, you got that?"
"Huffy?" Lex protested. "I am never ir- irrashun... Why are you being so gentle? Are you dyin'?"
Clark groaned. He let go of Lex's hands and dropped his forehead to his left shoulder. "You're drunk," he muttered.
Lex flushed, immensely embarrassed. "Shut up. Gettin' shrapnel in the gut makes a man sore." He looked at Superman's head on his shoulder for a moment. "What is it? I sober up quick. I c'n get some water."
Clark raised his head with a frown. "Why are you talking like that?"
"You makin' fun of me?" Lex asked uncertainly. There was something wrong with Superman, and for once he'd entered the room without trying to choke him to death.
"No!" Clark took a step back and tried to bring his voice back down. "You got an accent, that's all."
"Well, excuse the shit outta me!" Lex replied in annoyance. "Not e'ryone was born with a silver spoon in their mouths. We can't all be a shinin' prince from 'nother planet. You an' e'rybody else knows I grew up in Suicide Slums!"
Clark shook his head slowly. "That's just it, Lex," he said softly. "I don't know that. I know virtually nothing about you... Or myself, for that matter."
Lex narrowed his eyes and watched Superman seriously. "What's wrong with you? Did'jou lose your memory?"
"No, my memory's fine. It just doesn't belong to this reality. Things are very different where I come from." Clark let out a dry chuckle and sat on Lex's bed, his cape pooling at his sides, his legs spread. He placed his elbows on his knees.
Lex straightened up and went to sit on the other side of the bed. "I'm drunk. You're gonna have t'say that a bit more clearly because it sounds like you're sayin' you're from another dimension."
"That's exactly what I'm saying." Clark raised his head and met Lex's eyes. "And I think your blob-things have something to do with it."
"Are they still gettin' out?" Lex asked with an irritated sigh. He stood slowly and walked to his bar for a bottle of water. Then he took a long, slow drink. "I'll take you t'see them. I don't know how they could be escapin' though. Or makin' it possible for you to leave your dimension."
"What the hell did you make those things for, anyway?" Clark asked. "They're a pain in the butt to get rid of!"
Lex smirked proudly. "I know. Well." He shrugged. "I didn't exactly create them from scratch. I found them and then genetically altered them to love you."
"Ah. Yeah, that explains it." Clark shook his head. "You two act like four-year olds, you know."
"Oh, it had a purpose. In the case that y'went rogue, I could just infect 'em with a low dose of Kryptonite, an' they'd find you and stop you within minutes." Being called a four-year-old had absolutely no effect on Lex's mood.
Clark tented his eyebrows and tilted his head to the side. "Huh. Not bad. What else have you been up to that I need to know?"
"Wouldn't you like t'know. Lucky you'll likely be home before it becomes important." Lex took another drink of his water and looked around for the keys to his Lamborghini. Oh, wait. They were in the garage.
"What are you looking for?" Clark asked, standing up.
Lex shook his head and walked into the closet to get dressed. "I was lookin' for my keys. They're in the garage. I c'n take you to the lab where we keep 'em, though. The lab techs call them the 'jelly babies.'"
"Lex."
Lex looked out at Superman. "What?"
Clark spread out his hands. "Flying alien, remember? I can take us there."
"You're not gonna drop me are you?" Lex asked cautiously. "Or pretend that you're gonna drop me, because no matter what our other version of you thinks, it's not funny!"
Clark gaped. "He did not do that!"
"Twice." Lex pursed his lips humorlessly.
"I'm definitely having words with that jerk!" Clark exclaimed, visibly angry now. And if he so much as thought of hurting Clark's Lex... He thinned his lips. "Don't be surprised if he never comes back."
"You aren't gonna hurt 'im, are you?" Lex asked, raising his eyebrows as he left the closet in a stiff black shirt and black trousers.
Clark paused, watching Lex's concern shine right through him. "I might throw him in the Phantom Zone. It only hurts when you first get there. The landing is brutal."
Lex laughed softly. "C'n I keep you? At least you don't choke me when you're pissed."
Clark smiled slowly. "My Lex would have a problem with that." He offered Lex his right hand.
"Your Lex?" Lex repeated as he took Superman's hand. "As in... Yours. I see. That makes a lotta sense, given your behavior."
"Does it?" Clark walked with Lex to the window, wrapped one arm around his waist, and slowly floated them out of the penthouse.
Lex trembled involuntarily as he looked down at the city beneath them. He wrapped his arms around Superman and clung more tightly than he was comfortable admitting. He'd never been afraid of flying before. He sucked in his cheeks and swallowed.
"It's okay." Clark hugged Lex with both arms and gave Lex's temple a kiss. "I won't drop you, Lex."
Lex immediately became distracted by the fact that Superman had just kissed him. Though not a romantic kiss on the lips, it was quite unexpected, tender, and caring. He watched Superman for a moment then relaxed his grip a little. "The lab is past the docks," he informed Superman.
Clark nodded and headed that way, but not too fast. "If he came back changed... Would you?" he asked Lex, looking at him.
"Would I what?" Lex asked, leaning into Superman's warmth. It was cold up there, but it wasn't too bad while he was by Superman's side.
"Would you change, too? You'll never be happy as long as you're enemies."
"I wouldn't change doin' the things I do to try to make the world a better place," Lex answered thoughtfully. "But change begets change. If he were different, I would have to be also, I think. I don't know what I would become, however."
Clark let one corner of his mouth curl up. He had an idea of what Lex would become. "Also, you need to stop marrying all those women," he added.
"There haven't been that many," Lex scoffed. He rolled his eyes. "A man gets lonely up there. Is it my fault most women are schemin' evil bitches?"
"It's your fault if you know that they are and let yourself be fooled anyway. Five wives I've been told, Lex." Clark shook his head. "Enough. Call a friend if you get lonely."
"I don't have any friends," Lex snapped. He paused, thinking about Clark. Maybe... Everything wouldn't blow up this time.
"You only need one," Clark told him and began descending over the docks. "Which building?"
Lex pointed silently and gave direction as they flew down. "I'll be lucky to keep one. I've never been terribly good at keepin' any relationship goin'."
Clark looked at Lex again. "I'm sorry about that. I'm not giving up, though."
Lex watched his eyes, but didn't say what he was thinking. That this Superman would be leaving him, soon enough. They landed outside of the facility, and Lex leaned over for a retina scan, granting them access. The tech on duty led them down.
Clark x-rayed as much of the facility as he could, which had led-lined chambers, but what he could see was just a regular laboratory with rooms, equipment, nothing out of the ordinary. "Do you experiment with Kryptonite a lot?"
"When it's pertinent. We have to be careful around the substance because it has a quite deleterious effect on human bein's," Lex informed Superman. "I have managed t'come up with an antidote for the radiation, though." He looked up at "Do not tell him that."
"Why not?" Clark walked close to Lex, not because he was worried at what he would find behind each led door, but out of concern and his natural reflex to protect Lex, any Lex, apparently.
"Because he'll send his Jackass Lords t'steal it from me," Lex replied tersely. "They'll blow up half my factories b'fore they figure out where it is."
"Why would-" Clark exhaled. "If he asked you to share the formula with him, would you? Or are you looking to develop it and make a profit?" He placed a hand on Lex's shoulder. "I'm trying to understand the dynamics between the two of you, Lex."
Lex sucked in his cheeks slightly and considered his response. He took a breath and said, "I might develop it as a medication, but in general, Kryptonite related projects are not consider profit-bearin' ventures. People can develop cancers from it or die of radiation poisonin' very quickly. I created an antidote because we don't know how much there is, an' I've suspected that larger pieces might reach Earth years after his spaceship did."
Clark nodded. "I hope you're wrong, but it's not a possibility to be ruled out. But you didn't answer my question." He smiled softly. "Would you share the antidote?"
"I don't know," Lex answered honestly. "If I give it to him, then I have absolutely no defense when he enters my space and attacks me, for whatever he thinks I've done today."
"I see." Clark's heart dropped. When did Superman become such a bully? Whether Lex had been doing something wrong or not, it was Superman's role to arrest him if there was proof, but not to harass him if there was none.
"I'm sorry if I disappoint you," Lex said softly as the reached the chamber. He told the technician to keep the guard glass up when they entered, and pressed his hand into the DNA scanner in front of him.
"You misunderstand me, Lex. It's not you I'm disappointed in." Clark faced the door and tilted his head up slightly.
"Would your Lex give him the antidote?" Lex asked.
Clark met Lex's eyes. "I don't know. Not if he behaves there like he does here." He swallowed and the sudden moisture in his eyes made it hard for him to blink. "He'd better not hurt my Lex." His irises flash with bright red for a moment.
MY Lex, Superman had said. Lex was amazed at the degree of devotion and protectiveness this other Superman had toward him in the other world. Lex touched Superman's shoulder and squeezed gently. "I'm sure your Lex is a survivor."
"Lex has a family," Clark said quietly. "I'm worried about the children, too." The very idea of something happening to their angel Athena, Clark's princess and the smartest, most loving and beautiful child in the whole universe, and their baby girl, so tiny still and safely growing inside her father, both equally precious to Clark, made his teeth grind and his fists tighten at his sides.
Lex paused with his other hand on the door. "Children? You have children? The two of you adopted? You really are together, then."
Clark paused. He wondered how much he should disclose from what he had already said, but then again... If he knew that Lex could get pregnant, should he not tell this one also, just in case? "We didn't adopt."
"You didn't? Then... I can't imagine Lois offered her services?" Lex opened the door. Across the room about one hundred jellies plastered themselves against the glass that separated them from the rest of the room.
"I wouldn't have sex with Lois if she were the last woman alive," Clark replied almost distractedly as he slowly approached the glass tank. "I don't know how my Lex feels about her, but no, no surrogate..." He raised a hand and touched the glass, which caused the jellies to twitch towards his touch. "Lex... This is just gross."
"Blame God. I just altered them." Lex let out a deep chuckle. "He is so utterly grossed out when these things get on him. Yes, I know I'm four." He walked over to a glass tube that lead into the tank, put a few capsules of treats inside, and sent it in. The jellies shot over to their snack and undulated all over it. "They dissolve their food," he informed Superman. "The computer over there has the complete files from what we understand about them. You're free to look at them."
"What exactly do they want from us?" Clark asked. He thought the jellies alone were gross, but the eating process was even worse. He looked away from the glass and walked to the computer Lex had indicated. "They've never tried to eat me, the ones I've run into. They just... Suck me into them." He fought hard not to shudder.
"Well, that's the idea. Containment. I should probably use a different form of Kryptonite, if it's ever to work. Otherwise, I think they'd probably love you to death. I created a type that saps your powers while it's in your proximity," Lex informed him, crossing his arms. "None of these are infected, though." He looked at Superman for a moment, his brows slowly lowering. "If there was no surrogate, how...? You?"
Clark opened up a few files and looked through them in seconds, then looked up at Lex and slowly shook his head. "No. Not me."
"Well, you aren't going to tell me that I got pregnant!" Lex replied in an offended tone. "I'm no woman... I'm not a woman in your universe, am I?"
Clark pressed his lips together but the smile showed anyway. "Lex is definitely not a woman." He let his wide grin show a second later. "We didn't know it could happen, and we don't know if it can happen with anyone else but me. I was seventeen, and Lex had married a metahuman woman who had altered pheromones. She wanted to break us up because we were close friends, so she had us have sex with each other."
He sighed. "In a way, it worked because Lex thought he had gotten pregnant of her, and left. We met twelve years later, and I met my daughter without any of us knowing it. We finally put two and two together... He's expecting our second now."
Lex's eyes grew wide, and he stepped back, putting his hand on the back of a chair to pull toward him. He dropped down into it and took a few deep breaths. He shook his head. "He's... now? He wouldn't... I don't think Superman would hurt an infant..."
Lex was lying though. He wasn't too sure about that, if Superman thought that this one's Lex was him, but he didn't want this one to worry any more than necessary. They needed to hurry. Sooner or later, Superman would find the other Lex, intent on blaming this mess on him. Lex curled his hands around his middle feeling quite insecure. "That's quite unbelievable. Congratulations."
Clark nodded. "Thank you," he said softly. "Would you like to see her?"
"See her? Your daughter?" Lex looked up a Superman and nodded softly without thinking about it.
Clark reached under the suit and pulled out a wallet-size laminated photograph of Lex, Athena and him, and handed it to this Lex. "I always keep a picture of them with me, so it made it when I came."
Lex leaned forward and looked at the photograph. He paused briefly and blinked again, looking between him and the photograph. "She looks a lot like you," he commented. "No wonder Clark defended you so energetically today. I suppose the scallops were for your Lex?"
"He had a craving for them," Clark said with a hopeful smile. Pissing off a Lex who was Superman's nemesis in a secret lab full of Superman-loving Jellies as well as green K wouldn't have been his smartest move if the man decided to get furious. "And the éclairs. When I got here and found you at that penthouse... I still wasn't sure that you weren't him, just that I couldn't see or hear our daughters anywhere." He glanced down. "I'm sorry, Lex. I didn't mean to lie to you or deceive you, but I didn't know what else to do."
It figured that the only two people to care about him in over two decades had been the same person. From another reality. "Don't worry about it," Lex said dryly and gave a short nod. "That's what I would have done. Tried to figure out what was going on, and use whoever could best help me out of the situation. "
Clark took one of Lex's hands in his. "Wait. That's not exactly what happened. I didn't know you weren't him until after we were already talking. And I didn't use you, or you might have ended up with a little one on the way yourself by now. Plus, I meant every word I said. You and me, whatever our realities, we need to be friends, not foes. We're too connected Lex, don't you feel it? Denying that is denying half of yourself."
"You wouldn't have to have sex with me to get me to do what you wanted, Clark. We're here, aren't we?" He shook his head. "Does it matter what you say to me? We're going to send you home to your family, and things will go back to how they were before. It would be good to be friends with Clark again... I don't believe he'd want that, though. In your world, Lex left you. In mine, Clark ended our friendship after the accident in my lab."
Clark frowned. "What accident?"
"The explosion didn't happen in your world? I lived in Smallville for a few years. I was studying the meteor rocks. Experimenting with them, and there was an accident. I infected myself. All my hair fell out, and I was in the hospital for days with severe radiation poisoning." Lex sighed. "I should have died. I didn't. One day I just began to improve. My burns healed two days later, and I was walking again."
"Wow." Clark shook his head. "With us, Lex lost his hair in Smallville, but when I came to Earth. It was my fault."
"What, did you rip it out?" Lex asked flatly.
Clark rolled his eyes. "No. It still was my fault, all of it. Here, too, it's his fault." Clark was never going to think any differently.
"He didn't make me do my experiments. In fact, he was quite set against it. He... I'm going to kill him," Lex said suddenly, frowning as he remembered something and looking at the jellies, which were prostrating themselves on the glass.
Clark arched his eyebrows. That was so like his Lex it had been quite comical. "Yeah? How come?"
"One time I created a detector for extraterrestrial matter. I worked on calibrating it for ages, and when I was done, I took it to him to show him what I'd created. I'd thought that we could find meteor rocks more easily, and other alien artifacts," Lex explained, spreading his hands as he spoke. "Of course when I brought it over and turned it on, the thing started to go crazy!" He sighed, feeling his face flush in anger. "I'd thought it didn't work. I thought it was useless, and destroyed it."
He had also spent the following weeks in utter self-loathing, but that was a bit much to admit right now.
"Oh." Clark deflated a little. "Look, Lex, for what it's worth... Jerk or not, I'm sure that your Clark hated not being able to tell you, just like I did. We've had different lives, but he is me. He has feelings for you, and they're almost unbearably strong. I guess that here, if they couldn't go one way, they went the other..."
"You think he really wanted to?" Lex leaned over, feeling hopeful. He shrugged. "Maybe so. Maybe so. Lord knows I've tried to think of another explanation... They're eating through the glass."
Clark quickly turned his head over and groaned. "Great. I only found this costume at his place." He turned and started walking towards the Jellies. "Get out, Lex. This is gonna be really messy."
Lex sighed and backed out of the door. He hated to see them destroyed. They hadn't much choice in wanting to ooze all over Superman.
Clark rolled his head to the left and to the right, approached the glass and waited until the hole was large enough for him to fly through it. "I'm never eating jello again," he mumbled, and threw himself at the creatures.
By the time Clark emerged from the room covered in goo, Lex was dozing in the chair outside of the room. It was roughly three am, and he'd had a lot of alcohol that night.
Clark slipped on the slime that dripped from him for a third time, then gave up walking altogether and floated a couple of inches off the ground. He went to where Lex was, looking and feeling like he could use a nap himself. "Lex," he said quietly.
"Oh! Sorry, Clark." Lex yawned widely and looked at Clark. "That's... Gross."
Clark tilted his head to the side in agreement. "I need a shower," he added miserably. "Or twelve."
"Indeed. Well, we should probably hose you off here in the decontamination room. You can take a shower at my place," Lex offered. He rubbed the back of his head and stood.
"Okay." Clark tried not to move too much and splatter the whole place, and he followed after Lex quite dejectedly, still floating. "Don't make me go back to Lois, Lex. She wants to have sex with me."
"That's probably one of the saddest things I ever heard," Lex remarked, leading Clark to the decontamination chamber. "Step inside... You may want to take your clothes off."
Clark didn't think twice about it. He entered the chamber and began to gladly strip.
Lex raised a brow as he caught sight of what was normally covered by a cape or a lab coat and briefly thought that he might be willing to squirt out a brat or two in order to get a grab at that. He shook his head and turned away. He swatted at Larissa when she didn't turn her head as well. The woman smirked as she started the decontamination shower.
Clark raised his hands and tilted his head back, letting the goo get washed away from him. He kept his eyes open as he usually did in the shower; he liked watching the drops of water coming at him and splashing against his eyes.
Lex left them for a moment to get a cold glass of water. He remembered swimming with Clark at the lake, and it was a memory he had long cherished. To think that the same old friend was Superman. Well, it explained the almost automatic distain for him. Clark's father had never liked or trusted Lex as an outsider. He had seemed intimidated by Lex's intelligence, and would have rather spent time with the cows.
With a sigh he headed back to the room. This one seemed to think that Lex and Clark would automatically drift to one another, and somehow everything would be fine. Lex wasn't quite so optimistic. He was more open with this Superman because he seemed in control, but he knew too well that both had too much power to go unchecked. His own Superman, well. Lex thought it was a miracle he didn't cause more collateral damage.
After he was done and properly clean to his liking, Clark shut off the water from the inside of the chamber and shook his head fast, sending water against the glass walls. A second later, he stuck his head out. "Can I get a towel, please?"
"Um. Yeah." Larissa grabbed one from the cabinet and tossed it to him.
Lex returned and dipped his head when he saw the cracked door. "Done? See if you can't find him something to wear, Larissa."
Larissa sighed, but did as she was told.
Clark came out with the towel around his hips. "Thanks, Lex!"
"Don't mention it," Lex replied, crossing his arms. This had been a very strange day.
Clark walked up to a counter and leaned back on it, his hands gripping it lightly, and he watched Lex with a small smile on his lips.
"What?" Lex asked, raising a brow.
"You really are Lex," Clark said softly. "It's hard for me to be near you and not touch you."
"Was there a doubt that I was Lex? I think I'll take that as a complement," Lex replied.
"It's just difficult to accept emotionally." Clark sighed. "Well. The jellies didn't help us."
"They'll be back. They always are," Lex replied. "I'll have the information copied, and we can look at it back at my place tomorrow."
Clark nodded. "I'm keeping you awake. Do you go to work tomorrow?"
"Yes, I do. We start at 7:30am," Lex said, tilting his head back with a light smile.
"Sorry." Clark ducked his head, then looked up again. "I still don't know Clark's hours at the hospital, but I got his wallet and ID badge."
"He works at Sacred Heart. You can call the night nurse and have her check your hours for you," Lex suggested.
Larissa returned with a large shirt and sweatpants for Clark. "It's the only thing we have that'll fit."
"Thank you." Clark took the clothes, slipped the sweatpants on, handed her the towel back, and put on the shirt. It fit snuggly and the pants were slightly short around the ankles, but they were better than the goo-covered Superman suit.
"Right, then. Let's head home. I mean, to the penthouse," Lex said. He turned and led the way down the hall.
Clark gave the woman a parting smile and rushed after Lex. He had not expected them to have shoes his size just lying around. "We flying?" he asked as he caught up with Lex.
"That might look a bit suspicious without your suit. We'll take a car," Lex decided, slipping his hands into his pockets.
Clark nodded. He figured that Lex was tired and he didn't want to push, but it was the strangest thing having to feel awkward around Lex. "Sorry you're stuck with me."
"I'm not stuck with you," Lex replied. "I'm lucky to have ever met you. Otherwise..." He shook his head as they exited the building. "I don't know how things might have gone. Not well, certainly. Who knows how many Clarks there are out there, waiting to fly through a dimensional portal? One might be more dangerous than mine."
"I suppose you're right. And with your level of genius, there might be some really scary Lexes as well."
"I am one of the scary Lexes."
Clark looked down at himself and patted his own chest a couple of times. "I'm still alive."
Lex rolled his eyes. "You didn't find me at all menacing when you first dropped in at my penthouse?"
"Um." Clark shrugged. "I might have, if I hadn't been used to my Lex's attempts at playing the villain when I was younger. He was very given to grand gestures and would take the blame for everything to help a friend. Does that help?"
Lex sighed heavily. "How will I ever show my face at the next Evil Society meeting?" he lamented.
Clark chuckled. "Poor Lex. Foiled again!"
"Seems so. Get in the car, you." Lex opened the passenger's side door and bowed slightly.
"Thanks." Clark folded himself into the car and looked up at Lex. "I could get you a 'Hug me, I'm evil' t-shirt?"
"No," Lex replied curtly, although he smiled as he walked over to his side of the car, got in, and started the car. It wouldn't take too long to get back. He drove fast, and the police wouldn't pull Lex Luthor over.
Clark relaxed back in the seat and watched Lex drive for a while. "Do you think your Clark was afraid of your experiments and that's why he broke off your friendship?"
"I don't know," Lex answered after a moment. "I never understood it. I wasn't investigating him, not ever. I just felt so alone here. I wanted to believe that there was intelligent life somewhere, if it wasn't on this planet. I didn't have a very good opinion of human beings at the time. My foster parents were not good people."
"Wait, foster parents? What happened to Lionel?"
Lex tensed and swerved a little but quickly got back into his lane. "He... He died."
Clark touched Lex's shoulder lightly. "I'm sorry. But..."
"What?" Lex focused on the road and took his turn. Almost home.
"Well, he wasn't exactly a good father to my Lex, either. That's why Lex left. He was afraid that Lionel might take the baby from him and just kill him to keep her." Clark had let Lex hang on to their picture for now.
"No. I believe that he would. He..." Lex took a sharp turn into the LexCorp parking garage and skidded to a stop in his spot. "He killed my mother."
Clark nodded slowly. "In our world, he killed his own parents for their insurance money." He gave Lex's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "What happened?"
Lex looked at his lap and was silent for a long time. He'd not talked to anyone about this since the DHS worker and the police had forced it out of him. "My mother. She was- She was sick. For a long time. And then they had another baby." Lex swallowed and took a breath.
"Julian," Clark said softly, hopefully. Could he still be alive here?
Lex looked up. "This happened to your Lex? His father killed her when she...?"
"No..." Clark turned his upper body to Lex. "Tell me," he asked in a whisper.
"He..." Lex looked down. "She must have used a pillow. He beat her to death. He was still... When I got home... I saw him and got his gun. Too late. He's dead too."
Clark blinked fast, trying to process the broken bits of information Lex had given him. "You shot him?" He took a breath. "Lillian smothered Julian there, too. Only Lex took the blame so Lionel wouldn't hurt her. You can imagine what kind of a father Lionel was from then on. As far as I know, Lillian died of a heart condition. I'm so sorry, Lex."
"No luck among Luthors, then. He had it worse. He had to keep living with the man." Lex opened his door and got out abruptly.
Clark thinned his lips and got out as well.
Lex pressed a button on the key ring, which locked the doors. He headed to his private elevator. "Morning, Gary."
"Morning, sir." The man pressed the button for them.
Clark felt beyond absurd wearing no shoes as he followed after Lex, but he was glad to see that Gary was still around. He gave the man a nod and kept his head lowered.
Lex was silent on the way up, and when the elevator reached the top, he crossed his arms over himself, the picture of tension, and stepped into his foyer. "I have a guest room."
"Lex." Clark took Lex's arm. "Stop."
Lex stopped and took a breath before looking back at Clark. "Would you like a toothbrush?"
Clark pulled Lex to him and wrapped his arms around his slim waist, hooking his chin over Lex's right shoulder. "Stop," he muttered.
"Sorry," Lex replied stiffly. For the second time that night, Clark's arms were around him, offering comfort. No, he couldn't be using Lex; he had no reason to do this. Lex was helping him regardless. Lex's arms hung by his sides, and he breathed in and out slowly. "Your Lex is a very lucky man."
"Well I'm here now," Clark told him, not letting go.
"I feel embarrassed," Lex admitted after a moment. He moved one arm up to press against Clark's unyielding arms. "I've never told anyone that, outside of the officers, and I feel I shouldn't have."
"Why not, because your parents did bad things?" Clark shook his head. "You don't have to tell everyone. You told me."
"You- you don't understand. I don't expose myself to people like this. What is it about you, either of you, that has me so out of control?" Lex demanded, his voice rising as he spoke.
"We're the Stuff of Legend," Clark said with a soft smile. He rubbed Lex's back and gave his cheek a kiss. "For better or worse."
Lex opened his mouth to protest, but instead found himself leaning back against Clark's warmth. He always did this to him. From this dimension or any other. He made him weak.
Clark closed his eyes and let this Lex have some of his love. He didn't seem to be getting it from anyone else. When he moved, it was to lift Lex up off the floor and carry him to his bedroom.
"This... Isn't necessary," Lex argued feebly. If his Clark actually did start behaving like this, he would be in trouble.
"Of course not," Clark replied. "You have two perfectly well-working legs." He didn't let Lex down, however.
Lex looked at Clark silently, and then cocked his head to the side and asked, "Do you carry him around all the time?"
"Whenever I can get away with it. But that's not why I'm carrying you." Clark headed down the hall and entered Lex's bedroom.
Lex liked that answer. It meant that his otherworld counterpart still had some spunk in him, despite being domesticated. "Then why?"
Clark set Lex down on the end of the bed and kneeled down to remove Lex's shoes and socks. "Because no one takes care of you. And I want to."
"I pay people to take care of me. You should meet Mercy." Lex reached over and touched his hair lightly. "But thank you."
Clark smiled softly. He put Lex's socks inside his shoes, slid them under the bed, and looked up at him, reaching up to unbutton his shirt. "You pay people to keep you alive, safe. Doesn't mean they care."
"I doubt they do," Lex agreed. He watched as he was undressed, thinking what a strange thing it was that this man, who had fallen out of the sky, could care about him.
"Who's Mercy?" Clark asked as he pushed the shirt over Lex's shoulders and out of him. He set it on the floor at his side and stood to his feet.
"She's my assistant, driver, and bodyguard," Lex answered. He lifted his hips as Clark slid his pants down, and soon he was naked before him. He looked up at Clark, observing him.
"Is she having the night off?" Clark dropped the pants over the shirt and held out a hand to Lex, looking down at him.
"She's taking care of something in the office for me," Lex said, taking Clark's hand.
"Have you thought of lining your walls with kryptonite so he can't come in and hurt you?" Clark pulled Lex gently up, wrapped one arm around his back, and walked with him to the side of the bed. He drew back the covers.
"I've considered it. There's a good chance that I'd give myself cancer, however."
"Hm. Then don't. Get in bed," Clark said softly.
Lex snuggled down into his bed, keeping his eyes on Clark, and pulled the thick cover over himself. "Don't forget to call the hospital."
"Do you mind if I use your phone?" Clark sat by Lex and picked up the cordless phone on the nightstand. He dialed information first, asked for the hospital number, and then called to find out his schedule. He stood, picked up Lex's clothes and took them to the bathroom, where he had spotted a hamper through the wall. He found out he had to go in that morning, so he thanked the attendant and hung up, then went back to Lex. "Looks like I have an early rise tomorrow as well," he said as he put the phone back in its cradle and got on the bed with Lex, but over the covers.
"I'm sorry for that." Lex paused. "But work is a good excuse to keep you away from his wife."
Clark chuckled. "That's true. Where I come from, Lois and I work together at the Planet; I'm a reporter." He turned off the lamp on his side of the bed and scooted closer to Lex. "I like her, but she's not particularly marriage material..."
"My advice would be to never marry, if you can help it," Lex informed him. He yawned and rested his head on his pillow, blinking sleepily at Clark.
"I thought you'd been married five times?" Clark said with a grin. He slipped one arm under Lex's pillow, hugged him around the waist, and pulled him closer.
Lex jumped a little and took a breath to release his nervousness. "I have. I speak from experience."
"Stop doing it, then." Clark gave Lex's forehead a kiss.
"I may have to go to meetings for this little problem. Marriage-aholics Anonymous," Lex replied with a smirk.
Clark's chest shook in silent laughter as he settled Lex against it. He really wanted to find a way to return to this world now and again, and check on Lex.
Authors: herohunter and ladydreamer
Pairing: Clex
Rating: Generally PG, and NC-17 in parts
Warning: mpreg
Summary: One cold November evening, twelve years after Lex Luthor left Smallville and Clark Kent behind, the two meet in Centennial Park… as Lex is walking home with his daughter.
Thanks to our beta lexalicious, and to lapetite-kiki for the beautiful cover for the fic.
Part Ten
Clark was glad he had changed into the Superman suit, which was slightly different from his own, with no yellow at all, and the S was in red and black. The rest was just a plain blue suit. He didn't disliked it, and was happy he had it on when he spotted Batman standing on the edge of a building in Gotham, and zoomed towards him. He stopped a few feet away, floated in front of him, and smiled. "Bruce! I'm glad I found you, I have to-"
"Hey!" Batman barked. He looked up at Superman angrily. "Not Bruce. Never gonna be Bruce."
Clark moved back in the air and frowned. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the man under the cowl was considerably shorter than Bruce. He blinked. "Dick? What are you doing? Where's Bruce?"
Dick frowned and blinked rapidly. "Are you high or something? He's in the goddamn cemetery!"
Clark felt like a bucket of cold water had been thrown down his back. Cold enough for him to feel. Dick was all wrong, too, not the pleasant young man who liked Superman so much he had named himself Nightwing, after the Kryptonian legendary hero. Shit. "Cemetery?" he whispered. He slowly lowered himself to the ledge of the building. "No..."
Dick bit his lip and wiped his eyes. Batman couldn't cry, dammit. "What is it, Clark? Are you sick?" He reached over to touch Superman's shoulder. "You remember my name. What else don't you remember?"
"I remember everything, Dick. I'm in the wrong world," Clark said tiredly. He covered Dick's hand with his. "Where I come from, Bruce is Batman and you're Nightwing. I'm not married to Lois. Lex doesn't hate Superman." It felt good to say it out loud to someone, though Clark wasn't sure what Dick could do to him. "What happened?" he added quietly.
"Penguin. He blinded him. Killed 'im," Dick said in a thick voice. He took a shaky breath. "Wrong world? Like another dimension? Crazy. How could that happen?"
Clark shook his head. "I'm still trying to find that out. But I have a clue; I just wanted to run it by Bruce..." He thinned his lips. "I'm so sorry."
"S'okay. You didn't know." Dick looked at him miserably and wrapped his arms around Superman.
Clark held on to Dick like he too would disappear suddenly, his eyes watering and a tear falling for this Bruce. God, what such sad world this was, without the Dark Knight.
Dick clung to Superman, who didn't seem to come around much anymore, since they'd both lost Bruce. "I missed you. Even if it isn't really you."
"I..." Clark rubbed Dick's back though he might not feel it through the suit. "I'm here, Dick." This poor kid, having been made to take on Bruce's role, when Clark knew that only one man had been made of the stuff it took to be Batman. Bruce Wayne and support the toll. He was going to have to beat the crap out of this world's Clark for leaving Dick like this.
Dick sniffed and nodded. "Thanks. You can use the Batcave whenever you need to, Clark."
"Thanks, kiddo." Clark took a breath. He was going to have to talk to Lex, no other way around it. He gave Dick's back a couple of pats. "Will you be okay?"
Dick managed a boyish smile, which looked very strange in the Batsuit. "I'm fine, Superman. A lot better, now that I got to see you. Will you come back?"
Clark wanted to promise that yes, but he hesitated. "I don't know. But one of us will, I'll make sure of it."
"Thanks, big guy." Dick gave him a nod and a little wave, then took a deep breath and did his best to get back into character.
"Stay safe." Clark slowly floated off, turned, and flew back to Metropolis. He had to wonder what had happened for the other Clark to let his life become what he had, with one old friend having become an enemy, and a new friend having been let go like that. He headed for Lex's penthouse because he had just run out geniuses to brainstorm with.
***
Back in his penthouse, Lex was in his lavender silk robe and walked out of his shower rubbing the back of his head. He poured himself a scotch and set it on the nightstand as he sat down in his bed. It would be nice to have someone in his bed tonight. He should get a cat. He couldn't deal with any more wives.
Superman hovered outside Lex's window for a moment, just watching him, such familiarity it made his very soul ache. He reached his right hand and tapped the glass.
Lex turned to the window and choked on his scotch. "What the fuck are you doin' here?" he demanded. Setting the scotch on the table he rushed to get the little box from his pants thrown over a chair.
Superman rolled his eyes; his patience was getting to an end tonight. He was in the bedroom and pushing Lex against a wall in no time, holding Lex's hands over his head and meeting his eyes, but he had been careful not to hurt Lex at all. "Stop. We need to talk."
Fear flickered through Lex's eyes, but he lifted his chin defiantly. "Then talk, Superman, you thug. I've done nothin', and if I had, you would never find the evidence to put me away."
"Shut up." Superman inhaled once, slowly, trying to draw strength from Lex's scent. "There's something you need to know, but I can't talk to you if you're gonna be all irrational and huffy, Lex, you got that?"
"Huffy?" Lex protested. "I am never ir- irrashun... Why are you being so gentle? Are you dyin'?"
Clark groaned. He let go of Lex's hands and dropped his forehead to his left shoulder. "You're drunk," he muttered.
Lex flushed, immensely embarrassed. "Shut up. Gettin' shrapnel in the gut makes a man sore." He looked at Superman's head on his shoulder for a moment. "What is it? I sober up quick. I c'n get some water."
Clark raised his head with a frown. "Why are you talking like that?"
"You makin' fun of me?" Lex asked uncertainly. There was something wrong with Superman, and for once he'd entered the room without trying to choke him to death.
"No!" Clark took a step back and tried to bring his voice back down. "You got an accent, that's all."
"Well, excuse the shit outta me!" Lex replied in annoyance. "Not e'ryone was born with a silver spoon in their mouths. We can't all be a shinin' prince from 'nother planet. You an' e'rybody else knows I grew up in Suicide Slums!"
Clark shook his head slowly. "That's just it, Lex," he said softly. "I don't know that. I know virtually nothing about you... Or myself, for that matter."
Lex narrowed his eyes and watched Superman seriously. "What's wrong with you? Did'jou lose your memory?"
"No, my memory's fine. It just doesn't belong to this reality. Things are very different where I come from." Clark let out a dry chuckle and sat on Lex's bed, his cape pooling at his sides, his legs spread. He placed his elbows on his knees.
Lex straightened up and went to sit on the other side of the bed. "I'm drunk. You're gonna have t'say that a bit more clearly because it sounds like you're sayin' you're from another dimension."
"That's exactly what I'm saying." Clark raised his head and met Lex's eyes. "And I think your blob-things have something to do with it."
"Are they still gettin' out?" Lex asked with an irritated sigh. He stood slowly and walked to his bar for a bottle of water. Then he took a long, slow drink. "I'll take you t'see them. I don't know how they could be escapin' though. Or makin' it possible for you to leave your dimension."
"What the hell did you make those things for, anyway?" Clark asked. "They're a pain in the butt to get rid of!"
Lex smirked proudly. "I know. Well." He shrugged. "I didn't exactly create them from scratch. I found them and then genetically altered them to love you."
"Ah. Yeah, that explains it." Clark shook his head. "You two act like four-year olds, you know."
"Oh, it had a purpose. In the case that y'went rogue, I could just infect 'em with a low dose of Kryptonite, an' they'd find you and stop you within minutes." Being called a four-year-old had absolutely no effect on Lex's mood.
Clark tented his eyebrows and tilted his head to the side. "Huh. Not bad. What else have you been up to that I need to know?"
"Wouldn't you like t'know. Lucky you'll likely be home before it becomes important." Lex took another drink of his water and looked around for the keys to his Lamborghini. Oh, wait. They were in the garage.
"What are you looking for?" Clark asked, standing up.
Lex shook his head and walked into the closet to get dressed. "I was lookin' for my keys. They're in the garage. I c'n take you to the lab where we keep 'em, though. The lab techs call them the 'jelly babies.'"
"Lex."
Lex looked out at Superman. "What?"
Clark spread out his hands. "Flying alien, remember? I can take us there."
"You're not gonna drop me are you?" Lex asked cautiously. "Or pretend that you're gonna drop me, because no matter what our other version of you thinks, it's not funny!"
Clark gaped. "He did not do that!"
"Twice." Lex pursed his lips humorlessly.
"I'm definitely having words with that jerk!" Clark exclaimed, visibly angry now. And if he so much as thought of hurting Clark's Lex... He thinned his lips. "Don't be surprised if he never comes back."
"You aren't gonna hurt 'im, are you?" Lex asked, raising his eyebrows as he left the closet in a stiff black shirt and black trousers.
Clark paused, watching Lex's concern shine right through him. "I might throw him in the Phantom Zone. It only hurts when you first get there. The landing is brutal."
Lex laughed softly. "C'n I keep you? At least you don't choke me when you're pissed."
Clark smiled slowly. "My Lex would have a problem with that." He offered Lex his right hand.
"Your Lex?" Lex repeated as he took Superman's hand. "As in... Yours. I see. That makes a lotta sense, given your behavior."
"Does it?" Clark walked with Lex to the window, wrapped one arm around his waist, and slowly floated them out of the penthouse.
Lex trembled involuntarily as he looked down at the city beneath them. He wrapped his arms around Superman and clung more tightly than he was comfortable admitting. He'd never been afraid of flying before. He sucked in his cheeks and swallowed.
"It's okay." Clark hugged Lex with both arms and gave Lex's temple a kiss. "I won't drop you, Lex."
Lex immediately became distracted by the fact that Superman had just kissed him. Though not a romantic kiss on the lips, it was quite unexpected, tender, and caring. He watched Superman for a moment then relaxed his grip a little. "The lab is past the docks," he informed Superman.
Clark nodded and headed that way, but not too fast. "If he came back changed... Would you?" he asked Lex, looking at him.
"Would I what?" Lex asked, leaning into Superman's warmth. It was cold up there, but it wasn't too bad while he was by Superman's side.
"Would you change, too? You'll never be happy as long as you're enemies."
"I wouldn't change doin' the things I do to try to make the world a better place," Lex answered thoughtfully. "But change begets change. If he were different, I would have to be also, I think. I don't know what I would become, however."
Clark let one corner of his mouth curl up. He had an idea of what Lex would become. "Also, you need to stop marrying all those women," he added.
"There haven't been that many," Lex scoffed. He rolled his eyes. "A man gets lonely up there. Is it my fault most women are schemin' evil bitches?"
"It's your fault if you know that they are and let yourself be fooled anyway. Five wives I've been told, Lex." Clark shook his head. "Enough. Call a friend if you get lonely."
"I don't have any friends," Lex snapped. He paused, thinking about Clark. Maybe... Everything wouldn't blow up this time.
"You only need one," Clark told him and began descending over the docks. "Which building?"
Lex pointed silently and gave direction as they flew down. "I'll be lucky to keep one. I've never been terribly good at keepin' any relationship goin'."
Clark looked at Lex again. "I'm sorry about that. I'm not giving up, though."
Lex watched his eyes, but didn't say what he was thinking. That this Superman would be leaving him, soon enough. They landed outside of the facility, and Lex leaned over for a retina scan, granting them access. The tech on duty led them down.
Clark x-rayed as much of the facility as he could, which had led-lined chambers, but what he could see was just a regular laboratory with rooms, equipment, nothing out of the ordinary. "Do you experiment with Kryptonite a lot?"
"When it's pertinent. We have to be careful around the substance because it has a quite deleterious effect on human bein's," Lex informed Superman. "I have managed t'come up with an antidote for the radiation, though." He looked up at "Do not tell him that."
"Why not?" Clark walked close to Lex, not because he was worried at what he would find behind each led door, but out of concern and his natural reflex to protect Lex, any Lex, apparently.
"Because he'll send his Jackass Lords t'steal it from me," Lex replied tersely. "They'll blow up half my factories b'fore they figure out where it is."
"Why would-" Clark exhaled. "If he asked you to share the formula with him, would you? Or are you looking to develop it and make a profit?" He placed a hand on Lex's shoulder. "I'm trying to understand the dynamics between the two of you, Lex."
Lex sucked in his cheeks slightly and considered his response. He took a breath and said, "I might develop it as a medication, but in general, Kryptonite related projects are not consider profit-bearin' ventures. People can develop cancers from it or die of radiation poisonin' very quickly. I created an antidote because we don't know how much there is, an' I've suspected that larger pieces might reach Earth years after his spaceship did."
Clark nodded. "I hope you're wrong, but it's not a possibility to be ruled out. But you didn't answer my question." He smiled softly. "Would you share the antidote?"
"I don't know," Lex answered honestly. "If I give it to him, then I have absolutely no defense when he enters my space and attacks me, for whatever he thinks I've done today."
"I see." Clark's heart dropped. When did Superman become such a bully? Whether Lex had been doing something wrong or not, it was Superman's role to arrest him if there was proof, but not to harass him if there was none.
"I'm sorry if I disappoint you," Lex said softly as the reached the chamber. He told the technician to keep the guard glass up when they entered, and pressed his hand into the DNA scanner in front of him.
"You misunderstand me, Lex. It's not you I'm disappointed in." Clark faced the door and tilted his head up slightly.
"Would your Lex give him the antidote?" Lex asked.
Clark met Lex's eyes. "I don't know. Not if he behaves there like he does here." He swallowed and the sudden moisture in his eyes made it hard for him to blink. "He'd better not hurt my Lex." His irises flash with bright red for a moment.
MY Lex, Superman had said. Lex was amazed at the degree of devotion and protectiveness this other Superman had toward him in the other world. Lex touched Superman's shoulder and squeezed gently. "I'm sure your Lex is a survivor."
"Lex has a family," Clark said quietly. "I'm worried about the children, too." The very idea of something happening to their angel Athena, Clark's princess and the smartest, most loving and beautiful child in the whole universe, and their baby girl, so tiny still and safely growing inside her father, both equally precious to Clark, made his teeth grind and his fists tighten at his sides.
Lex paused with his other hand on the door. "Children? You have children? The two of you adopted? You really are together, then."
Clark paused. He wondered how much he should disclose from what he had already said, but then again... If he knew that Lex could get pregnant, should he not tell this one also, just in case? "We didn't adopt."
"You didn't? Then... I can't imagine Lois offered her services?" Lex opened the door. Across the room about one hundred jellies plastered themselves against the glass that separated them from the rest of the room.
"I wouldn't have sex with Lois if she were the last woman alive," Clark replied almost distractedly as he slowly approached the glass tank. "I don't know how my Lex feels about her, but no, no surrogate..." He raised a hand and touched the glass, which caused the jellies to twitch towards his touch. "Lex... This is just gross."
"Blame God. I just altered them." Lex let out a deep chuckle. "He is so utterly grossed out when these things get on him. Yes, I know I'm four." He walked over to a glass tube that lead into the tank, put a few capsules of treats inside, and sent it in. The jellies shot over to their snack and undulated all over it. "They dissolve their food," he informed Superman. "The computer over there has the complete files from what we understand about them. You're free to look at them."
"What exactly do they want from us?" Clark asked. He thought the jellies alone were gross, but the eating process was even worse. He looked away from the glass and walked to the computer Lex had indicated. "They've never tried to eat me, the ones I've run into. They just... Suck me into them." He fought hard not to shudder.
"Well, that's the idea. Containment. I should probably use a different form of Kryptonite, if it's ever to work. Otherwise, I think they'd probably love you to death. I created a type that saps your powers while it's in your proximity," Lex informed him, crossing his arms. "None of these are infected, though." He looked at Superman for a moment, his brows slowly lowering. "If there was no surrogate, how...? You?"
Clark opened up a few files and looked through them in seconds, then looked up at Lex and slowly shook his head. "No. Not me."
"Well, you aren't going to tell me that I got pregnant!" Lex replied in an offended tone. "I'm no woman... I'm not a woman in your universe, am I?"
Clark pressed his lips together but the smile showed anyway. "Lex is definitely not a woman." He let his wide grin show a second later. "We didn't know it could happen, and we don't know if it can happen with anyone else but me. I was seventeen, and Lex had married a metahuman woman who had altered pheromones. She wanted to break us up because we were close friends, so she had us have sex with each other."
He sighed. "In a way, it worked because Lex thought he had gotten pregnant of her, and left. We met twelve years later, and I met my daughter without any of us knowing it. We finally put two and two together... He's expecting our second now."
Lex's eyes grew wide, and he stepped back, putting his hand on the back of a chair to pull toward him. He dropped down into it and took a few deep breaths. He shook his head. "He's... now? He wouldn't... I don't think Superman would hurt an infant..."
Lex was lying though. He wasn't too sure about that, if Superman thought that this one's Lex was him, but he didn't want this one to worry any more than necessary. They needed to hurry. Sooner or later, Superman would find the other Lex, intent on blaming this mess on him. Lex curled his hands around his middle feeling quite insecure. "That's quite unbelievable. Congratulations."
Clark nodded. "Thank you," he said softly. "Would you like to see her?"
"See her? Your daughter?" Lex looked up a Superman and nodded softly without thinking about it.
Clark reached under the suit and pulled out a wallet-size laminated photograph of Lex, Athena and him, and handed it to this Lex. "I always keep a picture of them with me, so it made it when I came."
Lex leaned forward and looked at the photograph. He paused briefly and blinked again, looking between him and the photograph. "She looks a lot like you," he commented. "No wonder Clark defended you so energetically today. I suppose the scallops were for your Lex?"
"He had a craving for them," Clark said with a hopeful smile. Pissing off a Lex who was Superman's nemesis in a secret lab full of Superman-loving Jellies as well as green K wouldn't have been his smartest move if the man decided to get furious. "And the éclairs. When I got here and found you at that penthouse... I still wasn't sure that you weren't him, just that I couldn't see or hear our daughters anywhere." He glanced down. "I'm sorry, Lex. I didn't mean to lie to you or deceive you, but I didn't know what else to do."
It figured that the only two people to care about him in over two decades had been the same person. From another reality. "Don't worry about it," Lex said dryly and gave a short nod. "That's what I would have done. Tried to figure out what was going on, and use whoever could best help me out of the situation. "
Clark took one of Lex's hands in his. "Wait. That's not exactly what happened. I didn't know you weren't him until after we were already talking. And I didn't use you, or you might have ended up with a little one on the way yourself by now. Plus, I meant every word I said. You and me, whatever our realities, we need to be friends, not foes. We're too connected Lex, don't you feel it? Denying that is denying half of yourself."
"You wouldn't have to have sex with me to get me to do what you wanted, Clark. We're here, aren't we?" He shook his head. "Does it matter what you say to me? We're going to send you home to your family, and things will go back to how they were before. It would be good to be friends with Clark again... I don't believe he'd want that, though. In your world, Lex left you. In mine, Clark ended our friendship after the accident in my lab."
Clark frowned. "What accident?"
"The explosion didn't happen in your world? I lived in Smallville for a few years. I was studying the meteor rocks. Experimenting with them, and there was an accident. I infected myself. All my hair fell out, and I was in the hospital for days with severe radiation poisoning." Lex sighed. "I should have died. I didn't. One day I just began to improve. My burns healed two days later, and I was walking again."
"Wow." Clark shook his head. "With us, Lex lost his hair in Smallville, but when I came to Earth. It was my fault."
"What, did you rip it out?" Lex asked flatly.
Clark rolled his eyes. "No. It still was my fault, all of it. Here, too, it's his fault." Clark was never going to think any differently.
"He didn't make me do my experiments. In fact, he was quite set against it. He... I'm going to kill him," Lex said suddenly, frowning as he remembered something and looking at the jellies, which were prostrating themselves on the glass.
Clark arched his eyebrows. That was so like his Lex it had been quite comical. "Yeah? How come?"
"One time I created a detector for extraterrestrial matter. I worked on calibrating it for ages, and when I was done, I took it to him to show him what I'd created. I'd thought that we could find meteor rocks more easily, and other alien artifacts," Lex explained, spreading his hands as he spoke. "Of course when I brought it over and turned it on, the thing started to go crazy!" He sighed, feeling his face flush in anger. "I'd thought it didn't work. I thought it was useless, and destroyed it."
He had also spent the following weeks in utter self-loathing, but that was a bit much to admit right now.
"Oh." Clark deflated a little. "Look, Lex, for what it's worth... Jerk or not, I'm sure that your Clark hated not being able to tell you, just like I did. We've had different lives, but he is me. He has feelings for you, and they're almost unbearably strong. I guess that here, if they couldn't go one way, they went the other..."
"You think he really wanted to?" Lex leaned over, feeling hopeful. He shrugged. "Maybe so. Maybe so. Lord knows I've tried to think of another explanation... They're eating through the glass."
Clark quickly turned his head over and groaned. "Great. I only found this costume at his place." He turned and started walking towards the Jellies. "Get out, Lex. This is gonna be really messy."
Lex sighed and backed out of the door. He hated to see them destroyed. They hadn't much choice in wanting to ooze all over Superman.
Clark rolled his head to the left and to the right, approached the glass and waited until the hole was large enough for him to fly through it. "I'm never eating jello again," he mumbled, and threw himself at the creatures.
By the time Clark emerged from the room covered in goo, Lex was dozing in the chair outside of the room. It was roughly three am, and he'd had a lot of alcohol that night.
Clark slipped on the slime that dripped from him for a third time, then gave up walking altogether and floated a couple of inches off the ground. He went to where Lex was, looking and feeling like he could use a nap himself. "Lex," he said quietly.
"Oh! Sorry, Clark." Lex yawned widely and looked at Clark. "That's... Gross."
Clark tilted his head to the side in agreement. "I need a shower," he added miserably. "Or twelve."
"Indeed. Well, we should probably hose you off here in the decontamination room. You can take a shower at my place," Lex offered. He rubbed the back of his head and stood.
"Okay." Clark tried not to move too much and splatter the whole place, and he followed after Lex quite dejectedly, still floating. "Don't make me go back to Lois, Lex. She wants to have sex with me."
"That's probably one of the saddest things I ever heard," Lex remarked, leading Clark to the decontamination chamber. "Step inside... You may want to take your clothes off."
Clark didn't think twice about it. He entered the chamber and began to gladly strip.
Lex raised a brow as he caught sight of what was normally covered by a cape or a lab coat and briefly thought that he might be willing to squirt out a brat or two in order to get a grab at that. He shook his head and turned away. He swatted at Larissa when she didn't turn her head as well. The woman smirked as she started the decontamination shower.
Clark raised his hands and tilted his head back, letting the goo get washed away from him. He kept his eyes open as he usually did in the shower; he liked watching the drops of water coming at him and splashing against his eyes.
Lex left them for a moment to get a cold glass of water. He remembered swimming with Clark at the lake, and it was a memory he had long cherished. To think that the same old friend was Superman. Well, it explained the almost automatic distain for him. Clark's father had never liked or trusted Lex as an outsider. He had seemed intimidated by Lex's intelligence, and would have rather spent time with the cows.
With a sigh he headed back to the room. This one seemed to think that Lex and Clark would automatically drift to one another, and somehow everything would be fine. Lex wasn't quite so optimistic. He was more open with this Superman because he seemed in control, but he knew too well that both had too much power to go unchecked. His own Superman, well. Lex thought it was a miracle he didn't cause more collateral damage.
After he was done and properly clean to his liking, Clark shut off the water from the inside of the chamber and shook his head fast, sending water against the glass walls. A second later, he stuck his head out. "Can I get a towel, please?"
"Um. Yeah." Larissa grabbed one from the cabinet and tossed it to him.
Lex returned and dipped his head when he saw the cracked door. "Done? See if you can't find him something to wear, Larissa."
Larissa sighed, but did as she was told.
Clark came out with the towel around his hips. "Thanks, Lex!"
"Don't mention it," Lex replied, crossing his arms. This had been a very strange day.
Clark walked up to a counter and leaned back on it, his hands gripping it lightly, and he watched Lex with a small smile on his lips.
"What?" Lex asked, raising a brow.
"You really are Lex," Clark said softly. "It's hard for me to be near you and not touch you."
"Was there a doubt that I was Lex? I think I'll take that as a complement," Lex replied.
"It's just difficult to accept emotionally." Clark sighed. "Well. The jellies didn't help us."
"They'll be back. They always are," Lex replied. "I'll have the information copied, and we can look at it back at my place tomorrow."
Clark nodded. "I'm keeping you awake. Do you go to work tomorrow?"
"Yes, I do. We start at 7:30am," Lex said, tilting his head back with a light smile.
"Sorry." Clark ducked his head, then looked up again. "I still don't know Clark's hours at the hospital, but I got his wallet and ID badge."
"He works at Sacred Heart. You can call the night nurse and have her check your hours for you," Lex suggested.
Larissa returned with a large shirt and sweatpants for Clark. "It's the only thing we have that'll fit."
"Thank you." Clark took the clothes, slipped the sweatpants on, handed her the towel back, and put on the shirt. It fit snuggly and the pants were slightly short around the ankles, but they were better than the goo-covered Superman suit.
"Right, then. Let's head home. I mean, to the penthouse," Lex said. He turned and led the way down the hall.
Clark gave the woman a parting smile and rushed after Lex. He had not expected them to have shoes his size just lying around. "We flying?" he asked as he caught up with Lex.
"That might look a bit suspicious without your suit. We'll take a car," Lex decided, slipping his hands into his pockets.
Clark nodded. He figured that Lex was tired and he didn't want to push, but it was the strangest thing having to feel awkward around Lex. "Sorry you're stuck with me."
"I'm not stuck with you," Lex replied. "I'm lucky to have ever met you. Otherwise..." He shook his head as they exited the building. "I don't know how things might have gone. Not well, certainly. Who knows how many Clarks there are out there, waiting to fly through a dimensional portal? One might be more dangerous than mine."
"I suppose you're right. And with your level of genius, there might be some really scary Lexes as well."
"I am one of the scary Lexes."
Clark looked down at himself and patted his own chest a couple of times. "I'm still alive."
Lex rolled his eyes. "You didn't find me at all menacing when you first dropped in at my penthouse?"
"Um." Clark shrugged. "I might have, if I hadn't been used to my Lex's attempts at playing the villain when I was younger. He was very given to grand gestures and would take the blame for everything to help a friend. Does that help?"
Lex sighed heavily. "How will I ever show my face at the next Evil Society meeting?" he lamented.
Clark chuckled. "Poor Lex. Foiled again!"
"Seems so. Get in the car, you." Lex opened the passenger's side door and bowed slightly.
"Thanks." Clark folded himself into the car and looked up at Lex. "I could get you a 'Hug me, I'm evil' t-shirt?"
"No," Lex replied curtly, although he smiled as he walked over to his side of the car, got in, and started the car. It wouldn't take too long to get back. He drove fast, and the police wouldn't pull Lex Luthor over.
Clark relaxed back in the seat and watched Lex drive for a while. "Do you think your Clark was afraid of your experiments and that's why he broke off your friendship?"
"I don't know," Lex answered after a moment. "I never understood it. I wasn't investigating him, not ever. I just felt so alone here. I wanted to believe that there was intelligent life somewhere, if it wasn't on this planet. I didn't have a very good opinion of human beings at the time. My foster parents were not good people."
"Wait, foster parents? What happened to Lionel?"
Lex tensed and swerved a little but quickly got back into his lane. "He... He died."
Clark touched Lex's shoulder lightly. "I'm sorry. But..."
"What?" Lex focused on the road and took his turn. Almost home.
"Well, he wasn't exactly a good father to my Lex, either. That's why Lex left. He was afraid that Lionel might take the baby from him and just kill him to keep her." Clark had let Lex hang on to their picture for now.
"No. I believe that he would. He..." Lex took a sharp turn into the LexCorp parking garage and skidded to a stop in his spot. "He killed my mother."
Clark nodded slowly. "In our world, he killed his own parents for their insurance money." He gave Lex's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "What happened?"
Lex looked at his lap and was silent for a long time. He'd not talked to anyone about this since the DHS worker and the police had forced it out of him. "My mother. She was- She was sick. For a long time. And then they had another baby." Lex swallowed and took a breath.
"Julian," Clark said softly, hopefully. Could he still be alive here?
Lex looked up. "This happened to your Lex? His father killed her when she...?"
"No..." Clark turned his upper body to Lex. "Tell me," he asked in a whisper.
"He..." Lex looked down. "She must have used a pillow. He beat her to death. He was still... When I got home... I saw him and got his gun. Too late. He's dead too."
Clark blinked fast, trying to process the broken bits of information Lex had given him. "You shot him?" He took a breath. "Lillian smothered Julian there, too. Only Lex took the blame so Lionel wouldn't hurt her. You can imagine what kind of a father Lionel was from then on. As far as I know, Lillian died of a heart condition. I'm so sorry, Lex."
"No luck among Luthors, then. He had it worse. He had to keep living with the man." Lex opened his door and got out abruptly.
Clark thinned his lips and got out as well.
Lex pressed a button on the key ring, which locked the doors. He headed to his private elevator. "Morning, Gary."
"Morning, sir." The man pressed the button for them.
Clark felt beyond absurd wearing no shoes as he followed after Lex, but he was glad to see that Gary was still around. He gave the man a nod and kept his head lowered.
Lex was silent on the way up, and when the elevator reached the top, he crossed his arms over himself, the picture of tension, and stepped into his foyer. "I have a guest room."
"Lex." Clark took Lex's arm. "Stop."
Lex stopped and took a breath before looking back at Clark. "Would you like a toothbrush?"
Clark pulled Lex to him and wrapped his arms around his slim waist, hooking his chin over Lex's right shoulder. "Stop," he muttered.
"Sorry," Lex replied stiffly. For the second time that night, Clark's arms were around him, offering comfort. No, he couldn't be using Lex; he had no reason to do this. Lex was helping him regardless. Lex's arms hung by his sides, and he breathed in and out slowly. "Your Lex is a very lucky man."
"Well I'm here now," Clark told him, not letting go.
"I feel embarrassed," Lex admitted after a moment. He moved one arm up to press against Clark's unyielding arms. "I've never told anyone that, outside of the officers, and I feel I shouldn't have."
"Why not, because your parents did bad things?" Clark shook his head. "You don't have to tell everyone. You told me."
"You- you don't understand. I don't expose myself to people like this. What is it about you, either of you, that has me so out of control?" Lex demanded, his voice rising as he spoke.
"We're the Stuff of Legend," Clark said with a soft smile. He rubbed Lex's back and gave his cheek a kiss. "For better or worse."
Lex opened his mouth to protest, but instead found himself leaning back against Clark's warmth. He always did this to him. From this dimension or any other. He made him weak.
Clark closed his eyes and let this Lex have some of his love. He didn't seem to be getting it from anyone else. When he moved, it was to lift Lex up off the floor and carry him to his bedroom.
"This... Isn't necessary," Lex argued feebly. If his Clark actually did start behaving like this, he would be in trouble.
"Of course not," Clark replied. "You have two perfectly well-working legs." He didn't let Lex down, however.
Lex looked at Clark silently, and then cocked his head to the side and asked, "Do you carry him around all the time?"
"Whenever I can get away with it. But that's not why I'm carrying you." Clark headed down the hall and entered Lex's bedroom.
Lex liked that answer. It meant that his otherworld counterpart still had some spunk in him, despite being domesticated. "Then why?"
Clark set Lex down on the end of the bed and kneeled down to remove Lex's shoes and socks. "Because no one takes care of you. And I want to."
"I pay people to take care of me. You should meet Mercy." Lex reached over and touched his hair lightly. "But thank you."
Clark smiled softly. He put Lex's socks inside his shoes, slid them under the bed, and looked up at him, reaching up to unbutton his shirt. "You pay people to keep you alive, safe. Doesn't mean they care."
"I doubt they do," Lex agreed. He watched as he was undressed, thinking what a strange thing it was that this man, who had fallen out of the sky, could care about him.
"Who's Mercy?" Clark asked as he pushed the shirt over Lex's shoulders and out of him. He set it on the floor at his side and stood to his feet.
"She's my assistant, driver, and bodyguard," Lex answered. He lifted his hips as Clark slid his pants down, and soon he was naked before him. He looked up at Clark, observing him.
"Is she having the night off?" Clark dropped the pants over the shirt and held out a hand to Lex, looking down at him.
"She's taking care of something in the office for me," Lex said, taking Clark's hand.
"Have you thought of lining your walls with kryptonite so he can't come in and hurt you?" Clark pulled Lex gently up, wrapped one arm around his back, and walked with him to the side of the bed. He drew back the covers.
"I've considered it. There's a good chance that I'd give myself cancer, however."
"Hm. Then don't. Get in bed," Clark said softly.
Lex snuggled down into his bed, keeping his eyes on Clark, and pulled the thick cover over himself. "Don't forget to call the hospital."
"Do you mind if I use your phone?" Clark sat by Lex and picked up the cordless phone on the nightstand. He dialed information first, asked for the hospital number, and then called to find out his schedule. He stood, picked up Lex's clothes and took them to the bathroom, where he had spotted a hamper through the wall. He found out he had to go in that morning, so he thanked the attendant and hung up, then went back to Lex. "Looks like I have an early rise tomorrow as well," he said as he put the phone back in its cradle and got on the bed with Lex, but over the covers.
"I'm sorry for that." Lex paused. "But work is a good excuse to keep you away from his wife."
Clark chuckled. "That's true. Where I come from, Lois and I work together at the Planet; I'm a reporter." He turned off the lamp on his side of the bed and scooted closer to Lex. "I like her, but she's not particularly marriage material..."
"My advice would be to never marry, if you can help it," Lex informed him. He yawned and rested his head on his pillow, blinking sleepily at Clark.
"I thought you'd been married five times?" Clark said with a grin. He slipped one arm under Lex's pillow, hugged him around the waist, and pulled him closer.
Lex jumped a little and took a breath to release his nervousness. "I have. I speak from experience."
"Stop doing it, then." Clark gave Lex's forehead a kiss.
"I may have to go to meetings for this little problem. Marriage-aholics Anonymous," Lex replied with a smirk.
Clark's chest shook in silent laughter as he settled Lex against it. He really wanted to find a way to return to this world now and again, and check on Lex.