Fic: Foundation (1/6)
Title: Foundation (1/6)
Author: BradyGirl
Pairings/Characters (this chapter): Clark/Lex (eventually) (Clark does not appear in this chapter), Alexander
Continuity: Smallville
Genres: Drama, Hurt/Comfort
Rating (this chapter): PG-13
Warnings: None
Spoilers: For "Asylum", "Memoria", "Onyx", "Vessel", "Zod", and concepts from "Fracture"
General Summary: Can Lex fight his possession by Zod?
Chapter Summary: Lex awakens in a strangely familiar yet confusing place.
Date Of Completion: June 30, 2008
Date Of Posting: August 20, 2008
Disclaimer: I don’t own ‘em, DC and Warner Brothers do, more’s the pity.
Word Count: 1398
Feedback welcome and appreciated.
Author’s Note: I set this story aside for awhile because I wasn’t quite sure about it, but after re-reading it several weeks later and some revising, it’s ready for Prime Time! ;)
Thanks to
jen_in_japan and
morganichele for their encouragement! :)
All chapters can be found here.
I
THE HIDDEN CORNERS OF MY MIND
Lex opened his eyes.
It looked like a room in the mansion of his childhood, but it appeared off-kilter, everything at a tipped angle like the tilted House That Jack Built from Storyland. Everything was dark and musty as if the room hadn’t been occupied for a long time.
Lex realized that he was shaking. He winced. His head was throbbing, too.
Wow, I must’ve really gone on a bender last night.
He tried to stand, frowning at his weakness.
Oh, Dad’s gonna love this. Just something else to bust my chops about.
There was a nagging feeling in his mind that he was…forgetting something.
He got on his knees, his entire body aching. He grabbed onto an endtable and pulled himself up.
The door suddenly burst open, a red-haired child running in.
“C’mon, Lex! We have to get outta here!”
Lex’s eyes widened in shock. “You’re…!”
“…Alexander! Come on!”
The little boy grasped his hand and began pulling.
“Where are we going?”
“Away from them!”
Puzzled, Lex followed his younger self out of the room and into a dim corridor.
The hall was as tilted as the room, lined with doors that were tightly shut. Lex stumbled, confusion clouding his mind.
“Who are we running from?”
Alexander didn’t answer. They kept running until they reached an old wooden door, dust billowing up from the doorknob as the boy turned it, tugging on Lex’s hand.
Once they were inside, Alexander slammed the door shut. He huddled against Lex, who looked around the cramped room.
“Where are we?”
“In storage,” Alexander whispered.
Lex put his arm around the child. “How can I be seeing a younger version of myself?”
“We’re all different people.”
Lex frowned. “What is this place?”
“It’s you.”
Thoroughly confused, Lex winced and put a hand to his head. Pale blue eyes looked at him with sympathy.
“Why can’t I remember?”
“You’re kinda patchy. Summerholt and Belle Reve will do that to you.”
Lex felt his stomach clench. Those episodes of his life were best forgotten.
“It’s okay, Lex.”
The small face looking up at him wore an understanding expression. Swallowing, Lex tightened his hold slightly. Trying to distract himself from the pain in his head, he looked around the room.
“Why are there cracks in the walls, patched up by…duct tape?!”
Alexander giggled, then sobered. “Everyone has cracks in their foundation.”
“Most people probably don’t have so many,” Lex muttered. He noticed a faint green glow in the cracks that were not taped. “What is this place?”
Alexander looked sympathetically at him but said nothing.
Suddenly, the boy tensed as footsteps were heard outside. Lex’s muscles readied for action, his headache pounding.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are!”
Lex frowned. That was his voice, but cold and uncaring, like…
He hissed in surprise, Alexander grabbing his hand. The boy put a finger to his own lips and Lex suppressed any further noise. Finally, all was quiet again.
“That was me,” Lex whispered.
Alexander nodded.
Lex remembered the Onyx experiment that had split him in two like Captain Kirk. He smiled at his geekiness, but shows like Star Trek had helped him from going crazy as a child.
Bad choice of words.
“Alexander, this place…is my mind?”
The boy nodded, and Lex sighed, closing his eyes.
Of course. Good Lex and Evil Lex are both part of me. He pinched the bridge of his nose. And Evil Lex has been winning a lot lately.
Sadness washed over him. 33.1 and everything else had been fed by his paranoia. The incidents with Milton Fine and the black ship, not to mention two hostile aliens who had threatened him and Lana, had spooked him so badly that he had started 33.1.
A mistake, or at least far too zealous.
Everything was so clear without the Darkness clouding his mind. But why was he suddenly split in two again?
“How did Onyx split me again?”
Alexander looked at the door. “It didn’t.”
Lex frowned again. “Then what?”
“Your bad self…he merged with…” Alexander shivered.
“Who, Alexander?”
The little boy looked up at him, blue eyes frightened.
“The General,” he whispered.
“The General?”
Alexander nodded quickly. “General Zod.”
Lex’s headache grew worse. “Who’s General Zod?”
“He’s from Krypton. He…took you over, Lex.”
“Took over?” Lex’s eyes widened. “As in…possessed?”
At Alexander’s nod, Lex leaned back against the crate. He probably would have been more shocked if he hadn’t lived in Smallville the past five years.
Possession? Pretty much encountered before breakfast. Kind of run-of-the-mill, as far as Chloe’s old Wall of Weird went.
“Um, Alexander, you say that this Zod possessed me?” At the boy’s nod, Lex continued, “Why don’t I remember it?”
“He’s more powerful than you. He just overwhelmed you, including your memory.”
Lex sighed. Of course.
“He took you over completely because Clark wouldn’t kill you.”
“What?!”
Alexander’s eyes glowed. “He couldn’t, Lex. He knew that Zod was going to do bad things, but he couldn’t use the dagger that Jor-El gave him.”
Head swimming, Lex tried to sort everything out.
Clark could have stopped the possession, but would have had to kill him to do it.
Someone named Jor-El had given him a dagger to do it.
Clark didn’t do it.
Their friendship was long over, yet Clark hadn’t killed him.
Alexander looked sad. “Lex, Zod is hurting people. He wants to take over the world.”
Clark had sacrificed the world for him?
“I have to stop Zod.”
Lex tried to stand.
Alexander grabbed him. “You can’t, Lex! You’re too weak!” His eyes grew fearful. “We have to go deeper into the mansion!”
“It’s my mind, not a mansion.”
“’My father’s house has many rooms’.”
Scripture? Why not?
Lex followed Alexander out.
“This way,” the boy whispered urgently.
Exhausted, Lex let Alexander tug him by the hand down the corridor.
They kept running, Lex confused again. He felt frightened at the fuzziness.
It felt too much like Belle Reve.
He stopped, Alexander nearly yanked off his feet.
“Lex!”
“Sorry.” Lex looked around. “Where are we?”
Alexander’s face suddenly lit up. “Fantasy Land.”
“Huh?”
“That door with the gold knob is all my imaginings.”
“Ah, daydreams.”
The boy nodded. “Warrior Angel and Devilicus are in there!”
Lex laughed. “We could use them.”
Alexander grinned.
“What’s the door with the silver knob?”
“Real-life memories.”
“What about the purple knob?”
“Grown-up fantasies.”
Lex blinked. “Ah.”
Alexander tugged on Lex’s hand. “Hurry, we have to hide!”
Still weak, Lex decided that would be the best course of action.
Alexander turned the silver doorknob and hurried in.
& & & & & &
The room was gloomy, and suddenly the cold, disapproving voice of his father could be heard, “Honestly, Alexander, can’t you do anything right?”
A small voice answered, “I’m sorry, Daddy.”
Lionel made a disgusted noise. “Stop whining! A Luthor must be strong! Worrying all the time makes you weak.” The sneer cut through Lex. “Time to buck up, boy! Don’t make mistakes, make successes.”
Lex could see the shadowy figures, the tall man and the small boy.
“Maybe we should try another room,” he muttered.
“Wait!”
The room grew brighter, and this time Lex was astonished to see Clark’s loft.
& & & & & &
Happy voices came from below, and Clark and Lex joked and teased their way up the stairs.
Clark laughed. “She never saw me.”
They discarded their jackets, Clark in red plaid and jeans and Lex in dark-blue pants and light-blue shirt.
& & & & & &
Lex felt a stab at the easy familiarity between him and Clark. How long had it been?
Too long.
& & & & & &
They sat on the couch, talking of inconsequential things, just enjoying each other’s company. The open window displayed a grand view of the farm, trees and fields stretching out beyond the farmhouse.
The two young men sat shoulder-to-shoulder, happiness filling the loft.
& & & & & &
Maybe Dad’s scolding would have been better.
Lex felt an overwhelming sense of loss, hungrily taking in Clark’s beautiful profile.
A loud noise out in the hall startled him, Alexander clutching his hand. “Hide!” he hissed.
The happy loft scene dissolved, Lex stumbling in the dark. They crouched behind a crate, Lex holding his younger self close as the silver doorknob began to turn…
Author: BradyGirl
Pairings/Characters (this chapter): Clark/Lex (eventually) (Clark does not appear in this chapter), Alexander
Continuity: Smallville
Genres: Drama, Hurt/Comfort
Rating (this chapter): PG-13
Warnings: None
Spoilers: For "Asylum", "Memoria", "Onyx", "Vessel", "Zod", and concepts from "Fracture"
General Summary: Can Lex fight his possession by Zod?
Chapter Summary: Lex awakens in a strangely familiar yet confusing place.
Date Of Completion: June 30, 2008
Date Of Posting: August 20, 2008
Disclaimer: I don’t own ‘em, DC and Warner Brothers do, more’s the pity.
Word Count: 1398
Feedback welcome and appreciated.
Author’s Note: I set this story aside for awhile because I wasn’t quite sure about it, but after re-reading it several weeks later and some revising, it’s ready for Prime Time! ;)
Thanks to
jen_in_japan and
morganichele for their encouragement! :)
All chapters can be found here.
I
THE HIDDEN CORNERS OF MY MIND
Lex opened his eyes.
It looked like a room in the mansion of his childhood, but it appeared off-kilter, everything at a tipped angle like the tilted House That Jack Built from Storyland. Everything was dark and musty as if the room hadn’t been occupied for a long time.
Lex realized that he was shaking. He winced. His head was throbbing, too.
Wow, I must’ve really gone on a bender last night.
He tried to stand, frowning at his weakness.
Oh, Dad’s gonna love this. Just something else to bust my chops about.
There was a nagging feeling in his mind that he was…forgetting something.
He got on his knees, his entire body aching. He grabbed onto an endtable and pulled himself up.
The door suddenly burst open, a red-haired child running in.
“C’mon, Lex! We have to get outta here!”
Lex’s eyes widened in shock. “You’re…!”
“…Alexander! Come on!”
The little boy grasped his hand and began pulling.
“Where are we going?”
“Away from them!”
Puzzled, Lex followed his younger self out of the room and into a dim corridor.
The hall was as tilted as the room, lined with doors that were tightly shut. Lex stumbled, confusion clouding his mind.
“Who are we running from?”
Alexander didn’t answer. They kept running until they reached an old wooden door, dust billowing up from the doorknob as the boy turned it, tugging on Lex’s hand.
Once they were inside, Alexander slammed the door shut. He huddled against Lex, who looked around the cramped room.
“Where are we?”
“In storage,” Alexander whispered.
Lex put his arm around the child. “How can I be seeing a younger version of myself?”
“We’re all different people.”
Lex frowned. “What is this place?”
“It’s you.”
Thoroughly confused, Lex winced and put a hand to his head. Pale blue eyes looked at him with sympathy.
“Why can’t I remember?”
“You’re kinda patchy. Summerholt and Belle Reve will do that to you.”
Lex felt his stomach clench. Those episodes of his life were best forgotten.
“It’s okay, Lex.”
The small face looking up at him wore an understanding expression. Swallowing, Lex tightened his hold slightly. Trying to distract himself from the pain in his head, he looked around the room.
“Why are there cracks in the walls, patched up by…duct tape?!”
Alexander giggled, then sobered. “Everyone has cracks in their foundation.”
“Most people probably don’t have so many,” Lex muttered. He noticed a faint green glow in the cracks that were not taped. “What is this place?”
Alexander looked sympathetically at him but said nothing.
Suddenly, the boy tensed as footsteps were heard outside. Lex’s muscles readied for action, his headache pounding.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are!”
Lex frowned. That was his voice, but cold and uncaring, like…
He hissed in surprise, Alexander grabbing his hand. The boy put a finger to his own lips and Lex suppressed any further noise. Finally, all was quiet again.
“That was me,” Lex whispered.
Alexander nodded.
Lex remembered the Onyx experiment that had split him in two like Captain Kirk. He smiled at his geekiness, but shows like Star Trek had helped him from going crazy as a child.
Bad choice of words.
“Alexander, this place…is my mind?”
The boy nodded, and Lex sighed, closing his eyes.
Of course. Good Lex and Evil Lex are both part of me. He pinched the bridge of his nose. And Evil Lex has been winning a lot lately.
Sadness washed over him. 33.1 and everything else had been fed by his paranoia. The incidents with Milton Fine and the black ship, not to mention two hostile aliens who had threatened him and Lana, had spooked him so badly that he had started 33.1.
A mistake, or at least far too zealous.
Everything was so clear without the Darkness clouding his mind. But why was he suddenly split in two again?
“How did Onyx split me again?”
Alexander looked at the door. “It didn’t.”
Lex frowned again. “Then what?”
“Your bad self…he merged with…” Alexander shivered.
“Who, Alexander?”
The little boy looked up at him, blue eyes frightened.
“The General,” he whispered.
“The General?”
Alexander nodded quickly. “General Zod.”
Lex’s headache grew worse. “Who’s General Zod?”
“He’s from Krypton. He…took you over, Lex.”
“Took over?” Lex’s eyes widened. “As in…possessed?”
At Alexander’s nod, Lex leaned back against the crate. He probably would have been more shocked if he hadn’t lived in Smallville the past five years.
Possession? Pretty much encountered before breakfast. Kind of run-of-the-mill, as far as Chloe’s old Wall of Weird went.
“Um, Alexander, you say that this Zod possessed me?” At the boy’s nod, Lex continued, “Why don’t I remember it?”
“He’s more powerful than you. He just overwhelmed you, including your memory.”
Lex sighed. Of course.
“He took you over completely because Clark wouldn’t kill you.”
“What?!”
Alexander’s eyes glowed. “He couldn’t, Lex. He knew that Zod was going to do bad things, but he couldn’t use the dagger that Jor-El gave him.”
Head swimming, Lex tried to sort everything out.
Clark could have stopped the possession, but would have had to kill him to do it.
Someone named Jor-El had given him a dagger to do it.
Clark didn’t do it.
Their friendship was long over, yet Clark hadn’t killed him.
Alexander looked sad. “Lex, Zod is hurting people. He wants to take over the world.”
Clark had sacrificed the world for him?
“I have to stop Zod.”
Lex tried to stand.
Alexander grabbed him. “You can’t, Lex! You’re too weak!” His eyes grew fearful. “We have to go deeper into the mansion!”
“It’s my mind, not a mansion.”
“’My father’s house has many rooms’.”
Scripture? Why not?
Lex followed Alexander out.
“This way,” the boy whispered urgently.
Exhausted, Lex let Alexander tug him by the hand down the corridor.
They kept running, Lex confused again. He felt frightened at the fuzziness.
It felt too much like Belle Reve.
He stopped, Alexander nearly yanked off his feet.
“Lex!”
“Sorry.” Lex looked around. “Where are we?”
Alexander’s face suddenly lit up. “Fantasy Land.”
“Huh?”
“That door with the gold knob is all my imaginings.”
“Ah, daydreams.”
The boy nodded. “Warrior Angel and Devilicus are in there!”
Lex laughed. “We could use them.”
Alexander grinned.
“What’s the door with the silver knob?”
“Real-life memories.”
“What about the purple knob?”
“Grown-up fantasies.”
Lex blinked. “Ah.”
Alexander tugged on Lex’s hand. “Hurry, we have to hide!”
Still weak, Lex decided that would be the best course of action.
Alexander turned the silver doorknob and hurried in.
& & & & & &
The room was gloomy, and suddenly the cold, disapproving voice of his father could be heard, “Honestly, Alexander, can’t you do anything right?”
A small voice answered, “I’m sorry, Daddy.”
Lionel made a disgusted noise. “Stop whining! A Luthor must be strong! Worrying all the time makes you weak.” The sneer cut through Lex. “Time to buck up, boy! Don’t make mistakes, make successes.”
Lex could see the shadowy figures, the tall man and the small boy.
“Maybe we should try another room,” he muttered.
“Wait!”
The room grew brighter, and this time Lex was astonished to see Clark’s loft.
& & & & & &
Happy voices came from below, and Clark and Lex joked and teased their way up the stairs.
Clark laughed. “She never saw me.”
They discarded their jackets, Clark in red plaid and jeans and Lex in dark-blue pants and light-blue shirt.
& & & & & &
Lex felt a stab at the easy familiarity between him and Clark. How long had it been?
Too long.
& & & & & &
They sat on the couch, talking of inconsequential things, just enjoying each other’s company. The open window displayed a grand view of the farm, trees and fields stretching out beyond the farmhouse.
The two young men sat shoulder-to-shoulder, happiness filling the loft.
& & & & & &
Maybe Dad’s scolding would have been better.
Lex felt an overwhelming sense of loss, hungrily taking in Clark’s beautiful profile.
A loud noise out in the hall startled him, Alexander clutching his hand. “Hide!” he hissed.
The happy loft scene dissolved, Lex stumbling in the dark. They crouched behind a crate, Lex holding his younger self close as the silver doorknob began to turn…