030 ♕ Dead Zone report update + an important PSA [written]

[loisfuckinglane]

[Lois can't help but feel like it's not a coincidence that the second she got done putting the finishing touches on her Dead Zone report update, she finds out Lex Luthor has shown up at the castle.  Paradisa really seems fond of those sort of karmic backslaps, and the deeper she digs, the more retaliation she's steeled herself to expect.

But if the

Comments

Lois

[clarklike]

[Finishes going over the additions.]

Amazing, as always.

[He doesn't really want to bring up Lex, still fine with stewing over that, but he's still disappointed that Lex had to come now. He had been looking forward to the party, relaxing a bit, dancing with Lois...

Ah, well. Paradisa will always be Paradisa, and he knows that.]

Have you talked to Lana or Kara?

Clark

[loisfuckinglane]

And starting to paint a slightly clearer picture, I think, the more pieces we add to the puzzle.

[She definitely feels the same way, but dammit, she's going to get to ENJOY her party.]

Both. And Lana made it clear you'd talked to her already too.

She's pretty angry.

Lois

[clarklike]

The clearest we've had yet, and hopefully that will continue.

[He mulls over Lana for a moment, not really sure how to address that. Technically, he may have crossed some lines, but...]

I know. She slammed the journal on me.

Clark

[loisfuckinglane]

It's given me a few more ideas for leads to look into, at least.

I get where you were coming from, and I can't say I like the idea of her putting herself so close to him. No matter what she knows about, her feelings for him are complicated, and complication is the last thing we need where Lex is concerned.

Lois

[clarklike]

If Lex really is from when the Fortress collapsed on us, then he already knows his relationship with Lana is over. He knows she leaves him, he knows she was obsessed with revenge, and worse yet, he knows when that started and why. She thinks he'll trust her, but if he goes along with it, we all know he'll just be manipulating her.

Lex may be a lot of things but he certainly isn't that gullible.

Clark

[loisfuckinglane]

There's a lot of gaps in what I know about ... how things ended up between those two. But I wouldn't be surprised if you were completely on track about all of it.

However, Lana's obviously not about to cave at this point, and I'm pretty sure beating it into her skull isn't going to work, or trust me, I'd join right up with you on board that train.

We'll have to find another way to convince her, without driving her away. Because to be honest? I think that might be a dangerous move on our part, because if she starts to see us as being against her, he'll likely play on that.

Lois

[clarklike]

"Messily" is one way of putting it.

I don't want to drive her away, but I don't understand her mentality. She says she'll support whatever I want to do as long as I support her... but our methods of dealing with this are on the opposite ends of the spectrum, so that's an impossibility.

I don't see any benefit in her pretending to be his wife whatsoever, even if she somehow still has feelings for him. The only thing I can think of is to ruin her plans by being honest with Lex and then forcing him to stay away from her. On the other hand, if I do that, I've completely alienated Lana, and there's no guarantee she won't go to him anyway.

Clark

[loisfuckinglane]

That much I'd guessed.

I don't think that's a good plan: like I said, getting Lana to turn on us is a great way to drive her right to him. So if it means we have to deal with her putting herself in this bad situation until we can prove to her that she can't handle this alone, or that he's onto her and what she's intending to do, then I don't see what choice we have.

It's not ideal, I know that, but the fact is Lana's making her own decision here, and we can't make it for her, short of locking her in a closet. We can just hope to change her mind eventually.

Lois

[clarklike]

[And he doesn't get to make those choices for other people. He lets out a long sigh. Is it interfering and dictating people's choices when he knows exactly what it'll lead to?]

I know how she changed after everything she went through with Lex, Lois. She changed a lot, got wrapped up in getting revenge. She nearly killed him at one point. For her sake, I don't want it to happen like that again. Waiting for her to come around would be waiting for history to repeat itself.

Clark

[loisfuckinglane]

Did I say we should just 'wait around' for her to have a sudden epiphany? No, we just need to find a way to prove to her that she can't handle this alone - and that Lex is going to be in a position to hide things from her better than if she maintained distance.

... It's tempting to find his room while he's still out and get it wired up directly to Watchtower. [No, she doesn't feel like that's going overboard.]

Lois

[clarklike]

I already explained that. She thinks I just don't trust her enough.

[In the heat of an argument, but still.

Finding his room and wiring it would be unethical, but then again, Watchtower back home already hacks into just about any surveillance camera feed in Metropolis it needs to.]

Watchtower does it at home. As long as we could keep on top of where he does business when he wakes up, it would help us keep tabs on him.

Clark

[loisfuckinglane]

Which is why we won't get anywhere without showing her some evidence.

My thoughts exactly. And it isn't as if doors are locked up tight when residents first get here.

Lois

[clarklike]

Even if they were, we wouldn't have a problem getting in. I'll talk to Oliver and Bruce and see what they've got.

Clark

[loisfuckinglane]

... It's gonna be alright, you know. We'll handle this.

Lois

[clarklike]

I know. We always do.

I was just looking forward to a few more years before I had to deal with Lex Luthor again, that's all.

Clark

[loisfuckinglane]

Maybe his stay'll be a short one.