One Step Behind Part 1/2
Title: One Step Behind
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing: Lex/Clark
Rating: Mature
Disclaimer: I don’t own DC
A huge thank you to the girl that read over my story and made it legible. Thank you so much twinsarein for all your wonderful work. It means the world to me!
Summary: It is centered on the six months just before Superman's death and just after Superman comes back. Lex reflects on his past and present with his old friend Clark Kent and his present enemy Superman.
Part 1/2
Nothing in Lex’s life ever went the way he assumed it would. It seemed life was always one step behind his expectations.
Lex paced his office, biting the inside of his cheek and awaited the news. It was taking too long, and he thought these damn reporters always said ‘the news waited for no man’---today seemed to be the exception, but then everything today seemed to be out of the ordinary.
Around him, his faithful supporters watched the news. They shouted out cheers when Doomsday got in a good punch or smashed a particular building that hadn’t been bought out by Lexcorp.
“Did you see that?” he heard David Smith, one of his main supporters, shout out as he walked by. “Superman punched Doomsday so hard, the guy just destroyed two buildings on his way down.”
“Which two buildings?” Bradley Hill, the leader of an underground gang, shouted back from the other side of the room.
A group of men, surrounding Mr. Hill, were placing bets on which buildings were going to be destroyed next.
When David shouted back which buildings were rubble, half of them began to shout profanities as Bradley began to cheer. The men were drinking glass after glass of expensive champagne and getting louder with each one. The women hanging off their arms glared at each other and tried to catch Lex’s attention.
“Tell me again, why I invited these buffoons?” Lex whispered to Mercy.
Mercy and Hope stood on either side of Lex as he paced.
“I think you made some speech about keeping your followers close and your enemies even closer, sir,” Mercy replied.
Lex glanced at her from his peripheral vision, “and here I thought you said you stopped listening to my speeches years ago.”
Mercy lips curled slightly upwards, “Unfortunately, one or two still make their way in, sir.”
Lex stifled a chuckle and continued to pace back and forth from one side of his office to the other. He had a glass of champagne in one hand and his other was stuffed in his pocket, hiding his black, leather glove. Even after years of having the glove, it still upset Lex to have, yet another, visible imperfection.
Lex hated these kinds of social gatherings, especially when a handful of the people in the room were scheming behind his back to gain their own power. But as Mercy had said, it helped to keep them at arms length.
The fight with Doomsday was taking too long, and Lex was eager to go back to the drawing board and come up with his next dastardly plan to destroy Superman. He was thinking about a large ray gun when one of his followers shouted out.
“Something’s going on.”
Lex turned around and walked to the front of the room where the large television was set up.
The newscaster came into view and he watched as she placed a hand to her ear. She was listening to the incoming news in her earpiece and was nodding her head to confirm that she could hear clearly. Everyone in the room was silent as they waited, but Lex knew what was coming.
He was about to turn around and give his already prepared speech of defeat and inspiring words of getting Superman the next time, when he noticed the newscaster’s eyes widen. Lex frowned as she looked past the camera and shook her head at someone.
“What’s happening?” someone in the back of the room shouted. Mercy turned around and told him to shut the fuck up.
The newscaster looked ready to stand up, but instead placed her hand back to her earpiece. She looked past the cameras again and mouthed the words, “I can’t.”
After a few moments passed, she stared helplessly at the camera and Lex felt as if she were looking straight at him.
“I-I--He-he’s dead.”
Lex closed his eyes as time stopped and everything around him faded to black. He let his champagne glass slip past his fingers and smash to pieces on the hardwood floor.
“I-it looks, from the cameras on sight, that Lois Lane, the reporter from ‘The Daily Planet’ is holding….”
Lex zoned out the words and unconsciously wrapped his arms around himself, suddenly feeling very cold.
Around him, the room erupted in cheers and congratulations, but he didn’t hear or see any of it. His eyes were locked with the newscaster’s and he watched in morbid fascination as her eyes began to water. He was uncertain why he empathized with the woman on the screen, but he felt connected to her as she began to sob.
“Superman is gone,” the newscaster said as an image of Superman being cradled by Ms. Lane came into focus. He stared at the image and thought, ‘What the hell is this? What the hell is going on?!’
Lex looked away from the screen and into the cheerful faces of those around him, unsure of what to say or do. He felt Mercy and Hope stand closer to him and brush their shoulders against his own. It was their non-communicative way of reminding Lex they were right there for whatever he needed.
‘What the hell is going on?’ the words kept turning over and over again in his head. ‘He can‘t be…’
“Mr. Luthor,” Bradley said as he walked up to shake his hand, “It may not have been you down there, but you must be…” He trailed off when Lex stared at his hand in stunned silence, before slapping it away in disgust.
Lex took a step back and stared at the crowd around him, their faces changing from cheerful smiles to confused frowns as he glared at each of them. The silence in the room was growing deafening and Lex was struggled to come up with a way to get the people around him gone. His usual fine-tuned public relations skills seemed to escape him as everyone began to focus on him intently, as if waiting for him to break.
He glanced at Mercy, who subsequently, turned to Hope. The two women stared at each other with knowing and concerned eyes before jumping into action.
“Mr. Luthor is a busy man,” Mercy shouted at the people in the room. “He doesn’t have time for your praise.”
Everyone in the room glanced at one another before Hope shouted at them to start moving.
“You heard the woman, get the hell out!” `
Lex turned his back to the people around him and stared at the huge golden globe of the Daily Planet. He tuned out their complaints as they began to file out of his office. When everyone was gone, he focused back on the television and watched the newscaster wipe tears away as she spoke.
“Doomsday has been reported dead and…”
Lex stopped listening and stared at his desk. There were files everywhere, three monitors, a long keyboard, and a framed picture of Lexcorp on a starry night. With only the newscaster as a witness to his emotions, Lex Luthor placed his arm on the edge of his desk and pushed everything off in one huge sweep.
Behind the closed door of his office, Mercy and Hope stood together. Hope placed her hand on the door as Mercy moved behind her. Their bodies a mere inch apart.
“Should we go in?” Hope whispered.
Mercy shook her head and pulled Hope away, “give him time.”
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Hope stood next to the limo as Lex got out. She handed him a cup of coffee and closed the limo door behind him. It was cold outside and Lex pulled the collar of his jacket closed.
“Mr. Hill is in the waiting room, sir.” She told him as she stepped ahead of him and opened the front doors of Lexcorp.
“How long has he been here?” Lex asked as his new assistant, Jennifer, ran up and handed him his daily briefings. She followed a few steps behind him as Hope pushed the button for the elevator.
“An hour,” Hope answered as the steel doors slid open.
He nodded his head and read the first lines of his report, before turning to his assistant.
“What the hell is this?” he barked, causing Jennifer to back up a few steps.
“Y-Your daily report, s-sir,” she answered.
“And did you get a moron to write it, I’m two lines in and it makes no sense.”
Jennifer’s eyes widened as she thought over her morning. Had she proofread the report twice or just the once? Shit, she couldn’t remember! She’d heard from Mr. Luthor’s past assistant that he hated any and all mistakes.
In fact, since starting a month ago, Jennifer had heard many stories about Mr. Luthor. People around the office had told her that Mr. Luthor had been okay to work for six months ago, but ever since Superman’s passing, anything and everything caused the man to lose it.
Her first day on the job, Sally down in finances had told her that Mr. Luthor had been even worse a few months back.
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“He had a tape of the newscast the day Superman died, and for a week he’d just sit in his office watching it again and again,” Sally had told her as they ate lunch in the cafeteria.
Stan, from the lab department, was sitting with them and he nodded his head at Sally’s words. “Yeah, and what’s worse, a few weeks later, he was in the labs ordering everyone around like slaves. I was working in the department where we were coming up with new technology around cloning, fucking brilliant stuff,” he said as he stuffed a French fry into his mouth.
“Anyways, Mr. Luthor spent a week with us, asking all sorts of questions about cloning, before he had some kind of breakdown,” Stan paused and asked Sally if he could have a slice of her pizza. She nodded her head and he kissed her cheek before grabbing the last slice.
“Then one day,” Stan said after taking a bite, “Luthor asked some question about human cloning, and my boss gave Luthor this weird look.” Stan made his forehead wrinkle up and pointed to it. “Just like the one I’m making now.” Sally giggled and he smiled brightly at her.
He turned to Jennifer and shook his head as he continued, “I mean human cloning, that’s way beyond anything we were working on. Anyways, my boss told him that clones would never be exactly the same, you know, seeing as how their memories and reactions would differ.” Stan made a duh face that made Jennifer and Sally both laugh.
Stan laughed along with them, “So, you know what happened next?”
“He flipped out,” Sally suggested.
Stan shook his head, “No, Sal, he fucking flipped out! Man, you should have seen it Jen. After that, he ordered us to stop all projects regarding cloning. He put a stop to a year worth of research. He pissed off a lot of people, man. It safe to assume the guy has lost it.”
Sally and Stan both nodded their heads at each other before turning to look at Jennifer.
“You’re kidding?” she replied.
“I wish,” Sally said as she grabbed one of Jennifer’s potato chips and munched on it. “I’m telling you, Jen, working at Lexcorp hasn’t been the same since Superman died.”
Jennifer sipped her soda and shrugged, “I don’t think there’s a thing in this world that hasn’t changed since we lost Superman.”
The three of them went silent and stared up into the sky. Each hoping a streak of blue and red would fly by.
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In the present time, Jennifer took a step back as Mr. Luthor threw the file at her and she scrabbled to catch it
“I’m so sorry, sir,” she said, “I’ll make sure it never happens again.”
“I want it fixed, and ready to read in five minutes, or it’s your job,” he hissed out.
Hope shot daggers at her as she turned and watched the numbers of the elevator go up. The silence in the elevator made Jennifer so uncomfortable that she began to feel claustrophobic and held the folder closer to her chest. When the doors opened, she all but ran off to her desk and struggled to catch her breath.
Lex, on the other hand, strolled into the office paying no mind to the people around him. The whole floor went silent as Lex walked in. Each employee tried to blend into the scenery and keep their heads down, praying he wouldn’t take notice of them.
“Tell Mr. Hill to meet me in my office in ten minutes,” Lex ordered Hope as he walked to the end of the hall. Hope nodded her head and marched off in the other direction, as Lex opened the doors to his office.
Lex briefly stared at the view of The Daily Planet from his window before he stalked over to his desk. He placed his cup of coffee near his keyboard and sat down, effectively leaving the view from the window behind him. He turned on the computer and felt a knot of tension grow in the back of his neck.
Five minutes later, his assistant came running in and nervously placed the report on Lex’s desk.
“Mr. Luthor, I apologize for…”
Lex held up a hand to stop her, “Ms. Jenson,” he stated as he opened the file and looked over the first few lines. The mistake had been corrected.
“I don’t ever want to hear your justifications or apologies again,” he told her without looking up. “All I want is an assistant that does her job right the first time. If I’m asking too much of you, leave now, because I will not allow another mistake.”
Jennifer nodded her head and quickly backed up. She was about to apologize again but stopped before the words made it passed her lips. Just as she got to the door, Bradley Hill walked in and leered at her.
“I see you’re as kind as ever to the hired help,” Bradley said with a chuckle, staring at her ass as she ran out of the office.
“And you’re as crude as ever, Mr. Hill,” Lex said as he got up from his chair and walked over to the man.
Neither man reached out to shake the other’s hand and kept a good distance from each other.
“So, I’ve been kept waiting all this time,” Bradley said as he walked over to the couches, on the other side of the office, and sat down. “You mind telling me what this is about?”
Lex walked over to his desk and opened a drawer. He grabbed a file, before he walked over and sat on the couch facing the one Bradley was sitting in.
“I want you to look at this,” Lex said as he threw the file at the other man.
Bradley gave him a foul look, but quickly looked away when Lex raised his eyebrow, daring him to oppose.
“What is it?” Bradley asked as he opened it up and stared wide eyed at the pictures inside. He looked through photo after photo before he stood up in dismay. The file fell to the floor, spilling the contents to the ground. Each glossy picture of Bradley with pre-pubescent girls stared back at him.
Bradley’s face was red with anger as he clenched his hands into fists and loomed over Lex.
“What the fuck is this, Luthor, are you trying to blackmail me?!”
Lex’s smile was as cold as his blue eyes, “truth is never easy to face, is it, Mr. Hill?”
Bradley glared at the pictures and bit his lower lip to stop himself from threatening the man. He may be big in the underground, but no one lived when Luthor wanted them dead.
“So what the hell do you want?” he hissed as he tried to calm himself down, “because we both know I don’t want to see these damn pictures in the Daily Planet.”
“Control,” Lex said as he leaned back and crossed his legs. The man was the very essence of indifference and it pissed him off even more.
“Control of what?” Bradley shouted.
Lex didn’t even blink as the man began to pace angrily in front of him, “Everything.”
Bradley let out a gush of air and shook his head, “what, like my gang, my money, my…my what?!”
Lex’s smile was cruel as he said, “Control of what you do in my town, and when and where you and your little gang do it”
Bradley stopped pacing and let out a harsh laugh, “and if I tell you to go fuck yourself?”
Lex’s cold eyes sparkled with homicidal delight, “Why don’t you say it and find out.”
Bradley’s heart stopped for a moment, and with shaky knees, he slowly sat down.
After a second’s pause, Lex slapped his hands on his knees as he got up. He reached out to shake his hand, “So we have a deal then?” he asked with a charming smile.
Bradley reached out and pictured Lex with horns and a red tail as he shook his hand.
“Yeah sure, Luthor, it’s a deal.”
“Wonderful,” Lex stated as he smoothed down his tie. “Then let’s discuss your first assignment,” he said as he walked over to the bar and poured himself a drink.
Bradley listened to Lex’s plans as he quickly drank two glasses of expensive bourbon. He decided after the first sip, that if he was going to be leaving this office without his balls, the very least Lex could do is allow him a few stiff drinks before showing him the door.
Lex was staring out the window of his office and Bradley watched him rub his thumb against the leather glove on his right hand. He looked small, as he stood there, small but fiercely dangerous. Lex Luthor had always been deceitfully delicate looking, but the moment you looked into the smaller man’s eyes, you knew the power hidden there could eat you alive.
“I plan to take over this town,” Luthor stated absently as if he weren’t really talking to Bradley, but someone out there in the sky.
Bradley nodded his head. He knew without Superman around to stop Lex, it was a reality just waiting for him to grab a hold of.
After a few more drinks, he told Luthor just that.
“You must be glad Supes isn’t around anymore, eh Lex?” he asked as he stared out the window at The Daily Planet’s golden globe.
With his back turned, he didn’t notice the way Lex had stopped dead in his tracks and glared at him.
“You think?” Lex asked his voice devoid of all emotion.
Bradley still hadn’t turned around, and he chuckled as he took another drink of his bourbon. His buzz was now growing to a fully drunken state.
“Hell yeah,” He slurred, “if Doomsday hadn’t kicked it with Supes, we could have thrown that monster a party.”
Before he knew what had happened, he felt pain explode in his lower back. He turned in wide eyed shock to the man behind him.
Lex was standing there with a sword clutched in his hand and a fierce snarl on his face.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” he shouted as he turned his head and stared in shock at the blood staining his white, collared shirt. He reached back and touched the wound, it wasn’t too bad, but what the hell was Luthor thinking?
“What the hell, Luthor?!”
“Don’t speak that fucker’s name,” Lex snarled as swung the sword, almost hitting Bradley’s face. “No one speaks that name in my presence, you got me!”
Bradley held out his hands and screamed in pain as the sword made contact with his left palm. “If that fucker wasn’t dead, I’d spend years torturing him for what he’s taken away from me. Fucking YEARS!”
Cradling his bleeding hand, Bradley moved back and begged him to stop.
“Okay man, I fucking promise. I won’t talk about him again, just stop!”
Lex held the sword over his head, his breathing was erratic and he stared at Bradley with unfocused eyes. Bradley knew insanity when he saw it. Without a second thought he ran across the room and to the exit.
“Mr. Hill,” Lex shouted out, causing the man to stop dead in his tracks. Lex dropped the sword and it clattered as it hit the ground. Bradley slowly turned around and stared into the eyes of the man that held his life in his hands.
Lex looked older and more bitter then his years should have allowed.
“Don’t forget what we talked about.”
Bradley nodded, before turning and stumbling out the door.
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Hope was in her office staring at her computer screen, a half eaten sandwich in her hand and a piece a fruit in front of her. Mercy sat next to her, sipping a cup of coffee as she pointed out the vulnerable areas in Lex’s new lab.
Hope glanced at Mercy, their eyes meeting before she spoke.
“Are we going to talk about it?” she asked and then took a bite of her ham sandwich.
Mercy leaned back in her chair and stared up at the ceiling, “just give him time, Hope.”
Hope stared at the screen with the blueprints of Lex’s new lab on it. He hadn’t even asked about the security of the lab, or discussed what new plans he had for taking over the city. Her boss wasn’t himself, and hadn’t been in months.
“Isn’t that all we’ve been doing recently?”
Mercy sat up straighter and drank the last of her coffee, “that doesn’t mean we stop, Hope.”
Hope was thinking over Mercy’s words when the phone began to ring. Mercy picked it up and Hope turned to pick up the other extension.
“Mercy,” Lex greeted.
Mercy glanced at Hope and they both silently told each other they noticed it; Lex’s voice was too calm and too sedate; a horrible combination when it came to their boss.
“Did your meeting with Mr. Hill go okay, sir?” Mercy asked, her eyes still locked with Hope’s.
“There may have been a bit of bloodshed, but…” he trailed off.
Hope stood up and placed a hand over her receiver, “who’s blood?” she hissed.
“Are you hurt, sir?” Mercy asked waving away Hope’s concern.
“No, Mercy, but my sword is a little worse for wear.”
Mercy closed her eyes briefly before staring back into Hope’s green eyes, “Do we need a cleaner, sir?”
“He’s not dead--and Hope?”
Hope’s eyes widen before she slowly takes her hand off the receiver.
“Yes, sir?”
“I’m going away for a bit, girls.”
Hope was silent, before she asked him where he was going.
“Gotham,” he stated before hanging up the phone.
Mercy placed the phone down at the same time as Hope.
“What the hell is in Gotham?” Hope asked.
Mercy placed her head on her desk, “Let’s hope it’s not who I think it is.”
Hope’s eyes widen as she sits down in her chair, “He wouldn’t?”
Mercy shrugged as she tried and failed to smile, “Maybe this means he’s back to his old self?”
Hope raised a brow, “You know the old Lex would never have anything to do with Batman.”
Mercy glanced up as she turned her head. Her cheek still rested against the desk, “you may be right, Hope, he isn’t the same-and he may not ever be like our old Lex again.”
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“What the hell do you want, Luthor?” Batman hissed as he tried to get out of his restraints. His upper lip was split open and the blood was filling the inside his mouth. The disgusting taste was making it hard for Batman to breathe and he coughed out the blood in Lex’s direction.
Lex stared down in disgust at the crimson spatter on his new white suit and wiped his hand over the stain.
“God damn it,” he snapped as he glared at the mess.
Batman began to laugh and Luthor backhanded him hard with the side of his pistol.
The masked man’s head reeled back and he bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from crying out in pain. He could feel the sting that blossomed from his temple travel down his body. He blinked over and over again as blood began to roll down the side of his face and into his eyes.
“Bastard,” he hissed through bloodstained teeth.
Lex rounded the table and stared into the masked man’s eyes. It had been awhile since someone had looked at him with such defiance, and Lex had missed it more than he cared to think about.
“Maybe… maybe,” he said as he tapped his pistol lightly against his lips, “I’m looking for a replacement.”
He placed his gun down on the table and picked up a piece of kryptonite. He rolled the small rock between his fingers.
“That shit doesn’t hurt me,” Batman hissed out as he pushed against the handcuffs that were digging into his skin.
Lex stared at the green meteorite, the glow of the rock reflecting in his eyes. It had been months since he’d even thought of kryptonite; a once priceless object that had now become as useless as a moon rock.
Lex absently said, “Maybe it isn’t completely useless; it would hurt if I injected it into your blood stream,”
Lex’s smile widened as he thought of all the possibilities, “In fact,” he stated as he glanced up at Batman, “I’ve seen it do the oddest things to people.”
Batman already knew what kryptonite could do to a human under the right circumstances and began to thrash violently in an attempt to get away.
Lex began to laugh as he stared at Batman with crazed eyes, “Do you think it’d turn you into a real bat?!”
Before Batman could answer, a loud crash was heard behind them. Lex and Batman turned around to see a gang of masked clowns run into the room with machines guns strapped to their hips. Lex dropped the kryptonite in shock and took a step back. He glanced behind him and saw more masked clowns walk in the back exit.
“Shit,” Lex hissed as he saw the last clown, the only one without a mask, walk in.
The masked clowns began to laugh, their laughter grew louder and louder until the noise of it echoed off the walls.
The unmasked clown raised his hand and the laughter stopped immediately.
“Now that was funny, Lexy!”
“Joker,” Lex stated in both shock and apprehension.
Joker placed both arms in the air, before letting them fall dramatically.
“BOYS!” he shouted out.
The gang of masked clowns grabbed their machine guns and aimed them at Lex’s bald head.
Lex put up his arms in surrender and Joker stalked over, waving a large knife and giving him a grand smile.
“What do you want?” Lex hissed as he kept walking backwards in a poor attempt to escape.
Joker giggled and scratched his chin with his knife, making a show of thinking over Lex’s questions.
“Hmm, what do I want…Hmmm…” he said as he grabbed Lex by the arm and swung him around so that Lex’s back was against Joker’s chest.
Joker placed his knife to Lex’s throat and whispered into his ear.
“This isn’t about what I want, Lexy.”
The combination of Joker’s voice right next to his ear, the feel of his lips brushing his skin, and the cool steel against his throat caused Lex to violently recoil in disgust and fear.
“Then why are you here?” Lex sneered as he tried to calm down.
Joker’s soft laughter felt like battery acid on Lex’s nerves.
“You let yours die, Lexy,” Joker said softly, his lips brushing intimately against Lex’s ear. “You can’t have mine.”
Joker turned his head to look at Batman. The masked hero sneered at him and the clown began to giggle.
“Oh, Bats, here I am being your knight-in-shining-armor and I don’t even get a smile,” Joker said with a pout.
Batman told him to fuck off and Lex felt a pain in his heart that he didn’t even let himself reflect on. Joker’s gaze turned back to Lex and he snapped his teeth a hair’s breath away from the fleshy part of Lex’s lobe.
“Go back to your pretty lights and glass towers, Lexy. Your services aren’t welcome here.”
Mercy snapped her cell phone shut and watched the jet slow down to a halt.
“That was one of Joker’s clowns,” Mercy told Hope as they watched the door of the jet open, “they just threatened a war if Lex ever tries a stunt like that again.”
Hope put on her sunglasses and raised a brow at Mercy. They didn’t need to say it; it was clear to both of them that Lex was losing it.
They both watched Lex get off the place and stalk over to them. Hope quickly looked away and pretended to read something on her blackberry.
Mercy, on the other hand, stared straight into Lex’s eyes.
“What?” he snapped; not at all appreciating the look she was giving him.
“Did you get it out of your system, Lex?”
The sound of Lex backhanding Mercy caused Hope to drop her cell and gasp in shock. She grabbed Mercy and held her back as Lex stood there with his hands clenched tightly into fists.
“Don’t you fucking judge me, Mercy. I don’t pay you for your fucking judgment. I pay you for your god damn unquestioning loyalty!”
Mercy stood up, and Hope watched as she wiped the blood off her split lip.
“My apologizes, sir,” she hissed out before turning on her heels and walking away.
Hope turned back to Lex, opening her mouth to protest, but closed it when he glared at her.
“Do you have anything to say, Hope?” he hissed.
Hope shook her head in remorse and grabbed his bag, “no, sir.”
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The moment Lex got back to his office he looked out the window and stared at The Daily Planet.
His mind replayed Batman’s words over and over again as he rubbed the soft leather covering his right hand.
“What the hell do you want, Luthor?”
He had told that masked freak he had wanted a replacement.
As the golden globe from the Daily Planet turned slowly, it reflected the sun off its surface and into Lex’s eyes. The blinding light made Lex close his eyes and behind his lids he saw red, yellow and blue.
Lex stopped rubbing the leather on his glove and placed a closed fist on the window in front of him. He rested his forehead against the cool glass.
“You let yours die, Lexy.”
Lex didn’t want a replacement.
The image in Lex’s head changed, and he no longer saw vibrant colors but dull browns and black rimmed glasses.
“What the hell do you want, Luthor?”
“Clark,” Lex whispered to no one.
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing: Lex/Clark
Rating: Mature
Disclaimer: I don’t own DC
A huge thank you to the girl that read over my story and made it legible. Thank you so much twinsarein for all your wonderful work. It means the world to me!
Summary: It is centered on the six months just before Superman's death and just after Superman comes back. Lex reflects on his past and present with his old friend Clark Kent and his present enemy Superman.
Part 1/2
Nothing in Lex’s life ever went the way he assumed it would. It seemed life was always one step behind his expectations.
Lex paced his office, biting the inside of his cheek and awaited the news. It was taking too long, and he thought these damn reporters always said ‘the news waited for no man’---today seemed to be the exception, but then everything today seemed to be out of the ordinary.
Around him, his faithful supporters watched the news. They shouted out cheers when Doomsday got in a good punch or smashed a particular building that hadn’t been bought out by Lexcorp.
“Did you see that?” he heard David Smith, one of his main supporters, shout out as he walked by. “Superman punched Doomsday so hard, the guy just destroyed two buildings on his way down.”
“Which two buildings?” Bradley Hill, the leader of an underground gang, shouted back from the other side of the room.
A group of men, surrounding Mr. Hill, were placing bets on which buildings were going to be destroyed next.
When David shouted back which buildings were rubble, half of them began to shout profanities as Bradley began to cheer. The men were drinking glass after glass of expensive champagne and getting louder with each one. The women hanging off their arms glared at each other and tried to catch Lex’s attention.
“Tell me again, why I invited these buffoons?” Lex whispered to Mercy.
Mercy and Hope stood on either side of Lex as he paced.
“I think you made some speech about keeping your followers close and your enemies even closer, sir,” Mercy replied.
Lex glanced at her from his peripheral vision, “and here I thought you said you stopped listening to my speeches years ago.”
Mercy lips curled slightly upwards, “Unfortunately, one or two still make their way in, sir.”
Lex stifled a chuckle and continued to pace back and forth from one side of his office to the other. He had a glass of champagne in one hand and his other was stuffed in his pocket, hiding his black, leather glove. Even after years of having the glove, it still upset Lex to have, yet another, visible imperfection.
Lex hated these kinds of social gatherings, especially when a handful of the people in the room were scheming behind his back to gain their own power. But as Mercy had said, it helped to keep them at arms length.
The fight with Doomsday was taking too long, and Lex was eager to go back to the drawing board and come up with his next dastardly plan to destroy Superman. He was thinking about a large ray gun when one of his followers shouted out.
“Something’s going on.”
Lex turned around and walked to the front of the room where the large television was set up.
The newscaster came into view and he watched as she placed a hand to her ear. She was listening to the incoming news in her earpiece and was nodding her head to confirm that she could hear clearly. Everyone in the room was silent as they waited, but Lex knew what was coming.
He was about to turn around and give his already prepared speech of defeat and inspiring words of getting Superman the next time, when he noticed the newscaster’s eyes widen. Lex frowned as she looked past the camera and shook her head at someone.
“What’s happening?” someone in the back of the room shouted. Mercy turned around and told him to shut the fuck up.
The newscaster looked ready to stand up, but instead placed her hand back to her earpiece. She looked past the cameras again and mouthed the words, “I can’t.”
After a few moments passed, she stared helplessly at the camera and Lex felt as if she were looking straight at him.
“I-I--He-he’s dead.”
Lex closed his eyes as time stopped and everything around him faded to black. He let his champagne glass slip past his fingers and smash to pieces on the hardwood floor.
“I-it looks, from the cameras on sight, that Lois Lane, the reporter from ‘The Daily Planet’ is holding….”
Lex zoned out the words and unconsciously wrapped his arms around himself, suddenly feeling very cold.
Around him, the room erupted in cheers and congratulations, but he didn’t hear or see any of it. His eyes were locked with the newscaster’s and he watched in morbid fascination as her eyes began to water. He was uncertain why he empathized with the woman on the screen, but he felt connected to her as she began to sob.
“Superman is gone,” the newscaster said as an image of Superman being cradled by Ms. Lane came into focus. He stared at the image and thought, ‘What the hell is this? What the hell is going on?!’
Lex looked away from the screen and into the cheerful faces of those around him, unsure of what to say or do. He felt Mercy and Hope stand closer to him and brush their shoulders against his own. It was their non-communicative way of reminding Lex they were right there for whatever he needed.
‘What the hell is going on?’ the words kept turning over and over again in his head. ‘He can‘t be…’
“Mr. Luthor,” Bradley said as he walked up to shake his hand, “It may not have been you down there, but you must be…” He trailed off when Lex stared at his hand in stunned silence, before slapping it away in disgust.
Lex took a step back and stared at the crowd around him, their faces changing from cheerful smiles to confused frowns as he glared at each of them. The silence in the room was growing deafening and Lex was struggled to come up with a way to get the people around him gone. His usual fine-tuned public relations skills seemed to escape him as everyone began to focus on him intently, as if waiting for him to break.
He glanced at Mercy, who subsequently, turned to Hope. The two women stared at each other with knowing and concerned eyes before jumping into action.
“Mr. Luthor is a busy man,” Mercy shouted at the people in the room. “He doesn’t have time for your praise.”
Everyone in the room glanced at one another before Hope shouted at them to start moving.
“You heard the woman, get the hell out!” `
Lex turned his back to the people around him and stared at the huge golden globe of the Daily Planet. He tuned out their complaints as they began to file out of his office. When everyone was gone, he focused back on the television and watched the newscaster wipe tears away as she spoke.
“Doomsday has been reported dead and…”
Lex stopped listening and stared at his desk. There were files everywhere, three monitors, a long keyboard, and a framed picture of Lexcorp on a starry night. With only the newscaster as a witness to his emotions, Lex Luthor placed his arm on the edge of his desk and pushed everything off in one huge sweep.
Behind the closed door of his office, Mercy and Hope stood together. Hope placed her hand on the door as Mercy moved behind her. Their bodies a mere inch apart.
“Should we go in?” Hope whispered.
Mercy shook her head and pulled Hope away, “give him time.”
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Hope stood next to the limo as Lex got out. She handed him a cup of coffee and closed the limo door behind him. It was cold outside and Lex pulled the collar of his jacket closed.
“Mr. Hill is in the waiting room, sir.” She told him as she stepped ahead of him and opened the front doors of Lexcorp.
“How long has he been here?” Lex asked as his new assistant, Jennifer, ran up and handed him his daily briefings. She followed a few steps behind him as Hope pushed the button for the elevator.
“An hour,” Hope answered as the steel doors slid open.
He nodded his head and read the first lines of his report, before turning to his assistant.
“What the hell is this?” he barked, causing Jennifer to back up a few steps.
“Y-Your daily report, s-sir,” she answered.
“And did you get a moron to write it, I’m two lines in and it makes no sense.”
Jennifer’s eyes widened as she thought over her morning. Had she proofread the report twice or just the once? Shit, she couldn’t remember! She’d heard from Mr. Luthor’s past assistant that he hated any and all mistakes.
In fact, since starting a month ago, Jennifer had heard many stories about Mr. Luthor. People around the office had told her that Mr. Luthor had been okay to work for six months ago, but ever since Superman’s passing, anything and everything caused the man to lose it.
Her first day on the job, Sally down in finances had told her that Mr. Luthor had been even worse a few months back.
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“He had a tape of the newscast the day Superman died, and for a week he’d just sit in his office watching it again and again,” Sally had told her as they ate lunch in the cafeteria.
Stan, from the lab department, was sitting with them and he nodded his head at Sally’s words. “Yeah, and what’s worse, a few weeks later, he was in the labs ordering everyone around like slaves. I was working in the department where we were coming up with new technology around cloning, fucking brilliant stuff,” he said as he stuffed a French fry into his mouth.
“Anyways, Mr. Luthor spent a week with us, asking all sorts of questions about cloning, before he had some kind of breakdown,” Stan paused and asked Sally if he could have a slice of her pizza. She nodded her head and he kissed her cheek before grabbing the last slice.
“Then one day,” Stan said after taking a bite, “Luthor asked some question about human cloning, and my boss gave Luthor this weird look.” Stan made his forehead wrinkle up and pointed to it. “Just like the one I’m making now.” Sally giggled and he smiled brightly at her.
He turned to Jennifer and shook his head as he continued, “I mean human cloning, that’s way beyond anything we were working on. Anyways, my boss told him that clones would never be exactly the same, you know, seeing as how their memories and reactions would differ.” Stan made a duh face that made Jennifer and Sally both laugh.
Stan laughed along with them, “So, you know what happened next?”
“He flipped out,” Sally suggested.
Stan shook his head, “No, Sal, he fucking flipped out! Man, you should have seen it Jen. After that, he ordered us to stop all projects regarding cloning. He put a stop to a year worth of research. He pissed off a lot of people, man. It safe to assume the guy has lost it.”
Sally and Stan both nodded their heads at each other before turning to look at Jennifer.
“You’re kidding?” she replied.
“I wish,” Sally said as she grabbed one of Jennifer’s potato chips and munched on it. “I’m telling you, Jen, working at Lexcorp hasn’t been the same since Superman died.”
Jennifer sipped her soda and shrugged, “I don’t think there’s a thing in this world that hasn’t changed since we lost Superman.”
The three of them went silent and stared up into the sky. Each hoping a streak of blue and red would fly by.
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In the present time, Jennifer took a step back as Mr. Luthor threw the file at her and she scrabbled to catch it
“I’m so sorry, sir,” she said, “I’ll make sure it never happens again.”
“I want it fixed, and ready to read in five minutes, or it’s your job,” he hissed out.
Hope shot daggers at her as she turned and watched the numbers of the elevator go up. The silence in the elevator made Jennifer so uncomfortable that she began to feel claustrophobic and held the folder closer to her chest. When the doors opened, she all but ran off to her desk and struggled to catch her breath.
Lex, on the other hand, strolled into the office paying no mind to the people around him. The whole floor went silent as Lex walked in. Each employee tried to blend into the scenery and keep their heads down, praying he wouldn’t take notice of them.
“Tell Mr. Hill to meet me in my office in ten minutes,” Lex ordered Hope as he walked to the end of the hall. Hope nodded her head and marched off in the other direction, as Lex opened the doors to his office.
Lex briefly stared at the view of The Daily Planet from his window before he stalked over to his desk. He placed his cup of coffee near his keyboard and sat down, effectively leaving the view from the window behind him. He turned on the computer and felt a knot of tension grow in the back of his neck.
Five minutes later, his assistant came running in and nervously placed the report on Lex’s desk.
“Mr. Luthor, I apologize for…”
Lex held up a hand to stop her, “Ms. Jenson,” he stated as he opened the file and looked over the first few lines. The mistake had been corrected.
“I don’t ever want to hear your justifications or apologies again,” he told her without looking up. “All I want is an assistant that does her job right the first time. If I’m asking too much of you, leave now, because I will not allow another mistake.”
Jennifer nodded her head and quickly backed up. She was about to apologize again but stopped before the words made it passed her lips. Just as she got to the door, Bradley Hill walked in and leered at her.
“I see you’re as kind as ever to the hired help,” Bradley said with a chuckle, staring at her ass as she ran out of the office.
“And you’re as crude as ever, Mr. Hill,” Lex said as he got up from his chair and walked over to the man.
Neither man reached out to shake the other’s hand and kept a good distance from each other.
“So, I’ve been kept waiting all this time,” Bradley said as he walked over to the couches, on the other side of the office, and sat down. “You mind telling me what this is about?”
Lex walked over to his desk and opened a drawer. He grabbed a file, before he walked over and sat on the couch facing the one Bradley was sitting in.
“I want you to look at this,” Lex said as he threw the file at the other man.
Bradley gave him a foul look, but quickly looked away when Lex raised his eyebrow, daring him to oppose.
“What is it?” Bradley asked as he opened it up and stared wide eyed at the pictures inside. He looked through photo after photo before he stood up in dismay. The file fell to the floor, spilling the contents to the ground. Each glossy picture of Bradley with pre-pubescent girls stared back at him.
Bradley’s face was red with anger as he clenched his hands into fists and loomed over Lex.
“What the fuck is this, Luthor, are you trying to blackmail me?!”
Lex’s smile was as cold as his blue eyes, “truth is never easy to face, is it, Mr. Hill?”
Bradley glared at the pictures and bit his lower lip to stop himself from threatening the man. He may be big in the underground, but no one lived when Luthor wanted them dead.
“So what the hell do you want?” he hissed as he tried to calm himself down, “because we both know I don’t want to see these damn pictures in the Daily Planet.”
“Control,” Lex said as he leaned back and crossed his legs. The man was the very essence of indifference and it pissed him off even more.
“Control of what?” Bradley shouted.
Lex didn’t even blink as the man began to pace angrily in front of him, “Everything.”
Bradley let out a gush of air and shook his head, “what, like my gang, my money, my…my what?!”
Lex’s smile was cruel as he said, “Control of what you do in my town, and when and where you and your little gang do it”
Bradley stopped pacing and let out a harsh laugh, “and if I tell you to go fuck yourself?”
Lex’s cold eyes sparkled with homicidal delight, “Why don’t you say it and find out.”
Bradley’s heart stopped for a moment, and with shaky knees, he slowly sat down.
After a second’s pause, Lex slapped his hands on his knees as he got up. He reached out to shake his hand, “So we have a deal then?” he asked with a charming smile.
Bradley reached out and pictured Lex with horns and a red tail as he shook his hand.
“Yeah sure, Luthor, it’s a deal.”
“Wonderful,” Lex stated as he smoothed down his tie. “Then let’s discuss your first assignment,” he said as he walked over to the bar and poured himself a drink.
Bradley listened to Lex’s plans as he quickly drank two glasses of expensive bourbon. He decided after the first sip, that if he was going to be leaving this office without his balls, the very least Lex could do is allow him a few stiff drinks before showing him the door.
Lex was staring out the window of his office and Bradley watched him rub his thumb against the leather glove on his right hand. He looked small, as he stood there, small but fiercely dangerous. Lex Luthor had always been deceitfully delicate looking, but the moment you looked into the smaller man’s eyes, you knew the power hidden there could eat you alive.
“I plan to take over this town,” Luthor stated absently as if he weren’t really talking to Bradley, but someone out there in the sky.
Bradley nodded his head. He knew without Superman around to stop Lex, it was a reality just waiting for him to grab a hold of.
After a few more drinks, he told Luthor just that.
“You must be glad Supes isn’t around anymore, eh Lex?” he asked as he stared out the window at The Daily Planet’s golden globe.
With his back turned, he didn’t notice the way Lex had stopped dead in his tracks and glared at him.
“You think?” Lex asked his voice devoid of all emotion.
Bradley still hadn’t turned around, and he chuckled as he took another drink of his bourbon. His buzz was now growing to a fully drunken state.
“Hell yeah,” He slurred, “if Doomsday hadn’t kicked it with Supes, we could have thrown that monster a party.”
Before he knew what had happened, he felt pain explode in his lower back. He turned in wide eyed shock to the man behind him.
Lex was standing there with a sword clutched in his hand and a fierce snarl on his face.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” he shouted as he turned his head and stared in shock at the blood staining his white, collared shirt. He reached back and touched the wound, it wasn’t too bad, but what the hell was Luthor thinking?
“What the hell, Luthor?!”
“Don’t speak that fucker’s name,” Lex snarled as swung the sword, almost hitting Bradley’s face. “No one speaks that name in my presence, you got me!”
Bradley held out his hands and screamed in pain as the sword made contact with his left palm. “If that fucker wasn’t dead, I’d spend years torturing him for what he’s taken away from me. Fucking YEARS!”
Cradling his bleeding hand, Bradley moved back and begged him to stop.
“Okay man, I fucking promise. I won’t talk about him again, just stop!”
Lex held the sword over his head, his breathing was erratic and he stared at Bradley with unfocused eyes. Bradley knew insanity when he saw it. Without a second thought he ran across the room and to the exit.
“Mr. Hill,” Lex shouted out, causing the man to stop dead in his tracks. Lex dropped the sword and it clattered as it hit the ground. Bradley slowly turned around and stared into the eyes of the man that held his life in his hands.
Lex looked older and more bitter then his years should have allowed.
“Don’t forget what we talked about.”
Bradley nodded, before turning and stumbling out the door.
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Hope was in her office staring at her computer screen, a half eaten sandwich in her hand and a piece a fruit in front of her. Mercy sat next to her, sipping a cup of coffee as she pointed out the vulnerable areas in Lex’s new lab.
Hope glanced at Mercy, their eyes meeting before she spoke.
“Are we going to talk about it?” she asked and then took a bite of her ham sandwich.
Mercy leaned back in her chair and stared up at the ceiling, “just give him time, Hope.”
Hope stared at the screen with the blueprints of Lex’s new lab on it. He hadn’t even asked about the security of the lab, or discussed what new plans he had for taking over the city. Her boss wasn’t himself, and hadn’t been in months.
“Isn’t that all we’ve been doing recently?”
Mercy sat up straighter and drank the last of her coffee, “that doesn’t mean we stop, Hope.”
Hope was thinking over Mercy’s words when the phone began to ring. Mercy picked it up and Hope turned to pick up the other extension.
“Mercy,” Lex greeted.
Mercy glanced at Hope and they both silently told each other they noticed it; Lex’s voice was too calm and too sedate; a horrible combination when it came to their boss.
“Did your meeting with Mr. Hill go okay, sir?” Mercy asked, her eyes still locked with Hope’s.
“There may have been a bit of bloodshed, but…” he trailed off.
Hope stood up and placed a hand over her receiver, “who’s blood?” she hissed.
“Are you hurt, sir?” Mercy asked waving away Hope’s concern.
“No, Mercy, but my sword is a little worse for wear.”
Mercy closed her eyes briefly before staring back into Hope’s green eyes, “Do we need a cleaner, sir?”
“He’s not dead--and Hope?”
Hope’s eyes widen before she slowly takes her hand off the receiver.
“Yes, sir?”
“I’m going away for a bit, girls.”
Hope was silent, before she asked him where he was going.
“Gotham,” he stated before hanging up the phone.
Mercy placed the phone down at the same time as Hope.
“What the hell is in Gotham?” Hope asked.
Mercy placed her head on her desk, “Let’s hope it’s not who I think it is.”
Hope’s eyes widen as she sits down in her chair, “He wouldn’t?”
Mercy shrugged as she tried and failed to smile, “Maybe this means he’s back to his old self?”
Hope raised a brow, “You know the old Lex would never have anything to do with Batman.”
Mercy glanced up as she turned her head. Her cheek still rested against the desk, “you may be right, Hope, he isn’t the same-and he may not ever be like our old Lex again.”
-------------------------------
“What the hell do you want, Luthor?” Batman hissed as he tried to get out of his restraints. His upper lip was split open and the blood was filling the inside his mouth. The disgusting taste was making it hard for Batman to breathe and he coughed out the blood in Lex’s direction.
Lex stared down in disgust at the crimson spatter on his new white suit and wiped his hand over the stain.
“God damn it,” he snapped as he glared at the mess.
Batman began to laugh and Luthor backhanded him hard with the side of his pistol.
The masked man’s head reeled back and he bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from crying out in pain. He could feel the sting that blossomed from his temple travel down his body. He blinked over and over again as blood began to roll down the side of his face and into his eyes.
“Bastard,” he hissed through bloodstained teeth.
Lex rounded the table and stared into the masked man’s eyes. It had been awhile since someone had looked at him with such defiance, and Lex had missed it more than he cared to think about.
“Maybe… maybe,” he said as he tapped his pistol lightly against his lips, “I’m looking for a replacement.”
He placed his gun down on the table and picked up a piece of kryptonite. He rolled the small rock between his fingers.
“That shit doesn’t hurt me,” Batman hissed out as he pushed against the handcuffs that were digging into his skin.
Lex stared at the green meteorite, the glow of the rock reflecting in his eyes. It had been months since he’d even thought of kryptonite; a once priceless object that had now become as useless as a moon rock.
Lex absently said, “Maybe it isn’t completely useless; it would hurt if I injected it into your blood stream,”
Lex’s smile widened as he thought of all the possibilities, “In fact,” he stated as he glanced up at Batman, “I’ve seen it do the oddest things to people.”
Batman already knew what kryptonite could do to a human under the right circumstances and began to thrash violently in an attempt to get away.
Lex began to laugh as he stared at Batman with crazed eyes, “Do you think it’d turn you into a real bat?!”
Before Batman could answer, a loud crash was heard behind them. Lex and Batman turned around to see a gang of masked clowns run into the room with machines guns strapped to their hips. Lex dropped the kryptonite in shock and took a step back. He glanced behind him and saw more masked clowns walk in the back exit.
“Shit,” Lex hissed as he saw the last clown, the only one without a mask, walk in.
The masked clowns began to laugh, their laughter grew louder and louder until the noise of it echoed off the walls.
The unmasked clown raised his hand and the laughter stopped immediately.
“Now that was funny, Lexy!”
“Joker,” Lex stated in both shock and apprehension.
Joker placed both arms in the air, before letting them fall dramatically.
“BOYS!” he shouted out.
The gang of masked clowns grabbed their machine guns and aimed them at Lex’s bald head.
Lex put up his arms in surrender and Joker stalked over, waving a large knife and giving him a grand smile.
“What do you want?” Lex hissed as he kept walking backwards in a poor attempt to escape.
Joker giggled and scratched his chin with his knife, making a show of thinking over Lex’s questions.
“Hmm, what do I want…Hmmm…” he said as he grabbed Lex by the arm and swung him around so that Lex’s back was against Joker’s chest.
Joker placed his knife to Lex’s throat and whispered into his ear.
“This isn’t about what I want, Lexy.”
The combination of Joker’s voice right next to his ear, the feel of his lips brushing his skin, and the cool steel against his throat caused Lex to violently recoil in disgust and fear.
“Then why are you here?” Lex sneered as he tried to calm down.
Joker’s soft laughter felt like battery acid on Lex’s nerves.
“You let yours die, Lexy,” Joker said softly, his lips brushing intimately against Lex’s ear. “You can’t have mine.”
Joker turned his head to look at Batman. The masked hero sneered at him and the clown began to giggle.
“Oh, Bats, here I am being your knight-in-shining-armor and I don’t even get a smile,” Joker said with a pout.
Batman told him to fuck off and Lex felt a pain in his heart that he didn’t even let himself reflect on. Joker’s gaze turned back to Lex and he snapped his teeth a hair’s breath away from the fleshy part of Lex’s lobe.
“Go back to your pretty lights and glass towers, Lexy. Your services aren’t welcome here.”
Mercy snapped her cell phone shut and watched the jet slow down to a halt.
“That was one of Joker’s clowns,” Mercy told Hope as they watched the door of the jet open, “they just threatened a war if Lex ever tries a stunt like that again.”
Hope put on her sunglasses and raised a brow at Mercy. They didn’t need to say it; it was clear to both of them that Lex was losing it.
They both watched Lex get off the place and stalk over to them. Hope quickly looked away and pretended to read something on her blackberry.
Mercy, on the other hand, stared straight into Lex’s eyes.
“What?” he snapped; not at all appreciating the look she was giving him.
“Did you get it out of your system, Lex?”
The sound of Lex backhanding Mercy caused Hope to drop her cell and gasp in shock. She grabbed Mercy and held her back as Lex stood there with his hands clenched tightly into fists.
“Don’t you fucking judge me, Mercy. I don’t pay you for your fucking judgment. I pay you for your god damn unquestioning loyalty!”
Mercy stood up, and Hope watched as she wiped the blood off her split lip.
“My apologizes, sir,” she hissed out before turning on her heels and walking away.
Hope turned back to Lex, opening her mouth to protest, but closed it when he glared at her.
“Do you have anything to say, Hope?” he hissed.
Hope shook her head in remorse and grabbed his bag, “no, sir.”
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The moment Lex got back to his office he looked out the window and stared at The Daily Planet.
His mind replayed Batman’s words over and over again as he rubbed the soft leather covering his right hand.
“What the hell do you want, Luthor?”
He had told that masked freak he had wanted a replacement.
As the golden globe from the Daily Planet turned slowly, it reflected the sun off its surface and into Lex’s eyes. The blinding light made Lex close his eyes and behind his lids he saw red, yellow and blue.
Lex stopped rubbing the leather on his glove and placed a closed fist on the window in front of him. He rested his forehead against the cool glass.
“You let yours die, Lexy.”
Lex didn’t want a replacement.
The image in Lex’s head changed, and he no longer saw vibrant colors but dull browns and black rimmed glasses.
“What the hell do you want, Luthor?”
“Clark,” Lex whispered to no one.