Fiction - Just a Drop of Water in an Endless Sea
I think I only slept about an hour last night. But, hey, bonuses... At least that means I brought fic and artwork to you today. Working on things helps me keep from kicking myself too hard so, everybody wins. I hope. ;)
Title: Just a Drop of Water in an Endless Sea
Rating: PG, Clex
Length: 1,652 words
Challenge: sv_flashfiction - Falling
Sequel to: Dust in the Wind
Notes: Not mine, but I promise to put them right back when I'm finished. Honest...
Summary: Slightly AU, futurefic. Sometimes it even hurts to breathe.
The plane trip back to Metropolis had been a nightmare; Lex cursed the many roadblocks they'd encountered in trying to get back from overseas. Every stop because of all the increased security precautions just made him grind his teeth even harder. That's why, after several hours of delays, his jaw now ached in time to the headache beating relentlessly behind his eyes.
Bruce had offered him a seat back with Lucius on his Wayne Tech jet and he'd accepted. It'd cut hours off of his arrival time since he didn't have to wait for his own jet to arrive. Wincing again at the throbbing in his temples, Lex laid his head back on the cushions. He kept his eyes closed, forcing himself to relax, dozing at times almost against his will. The few hours of rest he'd gotten earlier in no way made up for the week of almost no sleep he'd just endured.
Lex jerked back fully awake at the announcement that they were descending into Metropolis Airport, pulled up from dreams of flight of a different kind, safe within Clark's arms. He rubbed his hands over his face, his eyes gritty, feeling the pain grip his heart again like a vice as reality once more came crashing down around him.
After being given the all clear from the cockpit, he stood, quickly gathering his things, again shaking Lucius' hand, thanking him for the ride back home.
"It was the least we could do, Lex. I was happy to be of service." Lex forced himself not to flinch away as Lucius reached out, his hand gentle on his shoulder. "Tell Bruce I'll handle everything at home. I know he'll want to be with you until the…"
"Thank you, Lucius, I'll tell him." Lex almost blurted out the words, hating the hint of panic he heard in his own voice, anything to stop him from saying the hated word. Saying it made it real and he just couldn't face that. Not yet. He needed a little longer to get his mask in place or he would shatter into a million pieces.
Right now he couldn't afford that weakness; too many people depended on him. He forced a smile onto his face that Lex prayed didn't look like the rictus that it felt like; stretching muscles that screamed at the falseness of it. "Thank you again. I'm sure that Bruce will be calling you soon."
Making his exit as quickly as he could, he winced at the sudden sunlight assaulting his eyesight. Shading his eyes as his vision slowly cleared, Lex sent another prayer of thanks to Bruce as he noted not only the absence of reporters but also the limo waiting silently for him at the end of the ramp.
Recognizing who waited for him, even in his chauffeur's garb, he slid into the offered backseat, tense muscles relaxing slightly as the sleek black car pulled out into the congested airport traffic leaving the terminal behind.
"J'onn… Thank you for being here. Tell me, what's been happening? The last I heard was that Clark was being taken to the medical facility on the Watch Tower and that his condition was… critical." Lex cursed the break in his voice even knowing that J'onn would never think less of him because of it. He tried to crush the derisive reverberation of his father's voice in his head berating him once again for his weakness.
The melodic sounds of J'onn's voice washed over him, somehow silencing the hated echo. "I'm sorry, Lex. I checked just before you arrived. I'm afraid he's on total life-support, they've barely been able to stabilize the worst of his injuries as of yet."
His breath caught, threatening to leave him as he struggled to get his racing heart under control. "The creature... Doomsday? What of him?" A part of Lex savagely prayed a spark of life remained just so he could have the pleasure of ripping it away with the most unimaginable pain that he could manage.
J'onn sighed, the other-worldly quality of his voice incongruous in the confines of the powerful sedan. "We've removed it for further study… As far as we can determine thus far he is well and truly dead. If he could ever have been deemed alive at all..."
Lex's head jerked up at the words. "What the hell do you mean? He looked damned alive to me as he pummeled Clark from one end of this blasted planet to another. I saw the footage, J'onn!" Lex shuddered as the images he'd studied on the long trip home again flooded his mind.
He felt J'onn's mind reaching out, placing a balm on his ragged emotions. The touch so gentle Lex couldn't summon the anger he should have felt at the invasion. His senses were just too numb.
"He was a construct, Lex, a weapon seemingly designed just for Clark. Kryptonite wasn't the only thing we found laced into his infrastructure… There were also traces of Kryptonian DNA."
"Oh, God… Clark's?" His hands flew to his temples at the renewed beat of pain there. He'd ravage the damned corpse. The fucking thing would be reduced to cinders microscopic in size by the time he was finished with it.
Lex saw the small shake of his head as J'onn replied. "No, oddly similar in structure but it was different. If we didn't know that Clark was the last of his people I'd almost say a relative. But, that's impossible; his world died long ago and many light-years away."
Again he felt the ghost touch of that silent comfort wrapping around him, helping to keep him sane. "Lex, whoever sent this thing… this abomination, will pay… In my thousand's of years of life I have never seen a creature more deserving to be described as pure, unadulterated evil."
Steel entered J'onn's voice, chilling Lex coming from someone he knew as a man of peace. "He not only fought Clark, fought the League, he toyed with us. He reveled in the destruction and carnage he left in his wake. His laugh was truly… monstrous."
As he spoke the words they pulled into a darkened warehouse. Lex saw J'onn begin to morph into his true form as he felt the first tingle of the transport beam take him, transporting him instantly hundreds of miles into space between a single beat of his heart.
Swaying slightly, both from reaction and a sudden sense of vertigo, Lex opened his eyes, Diana's hand moving to clasp his elbow. "Lex, are you unwell?"
The look of concern on her face threatened to break him. Lex waved away her hand, straightening his shoulders. "It's nothing, just a momentary dizziness, it's already passed." Stepping forward he moved off of the transport pad feeling the sterile air of the Watch Tower wrap around him.
Every fiber of his body screamed at him to leave, to run as quickly, and as far away, as he could. Lex knew as soon as he saw Clark the reality of this nightmare would hit him. The pain at just the thought of the horror that awaited him in the Med Bay threatened to choke him.
Lex stood taller. No one looking at him would see the barely leashed terror he was feeling. At least, as long as they didn't see his eyes, or knew him, like their friends did. Who, damn it, were mostly all right here clustered around this blasted hunk of space junk that he'd designed. Running his hands over his face he shook his head to chase away the cobwebs.
Diana searched his face, Lex had no illusions as to the fact that she saw right through his act. Her hand once again sought his elbow, velvet steel which both communicated her love to him and said she'd brook no foolishness. "Come, Lex… I'll take you to him."
Lex nodded, already marshalling his strength. He'd already failed Clark once this night. He'd been half a world away brokering a fucking deal while Clark had fought for his life. If he had called for him, Lex never heard it.
He could have done something, helped in some way. Renewed pain throbbed through his temples, beating in time to his racing heart. At least he could have been the one to hold him as Clark bled out on that fucking, broken-assed street.
A sudden thought hit Lex, causing him to stumble and for Diana to toss him another look filled with concern. There were things that he'd be asking Bruce about as soon as he saw him. Lex felt a cold certainty start to grow in the pit of his stomach as they walked the dimly lit corridors. Just how much advance warning did they have of Doomsday's coming? How blasted convenient was it that he'd been half a world away, cloistered in a conference room far from any hint of news as the battle raged on?
Lex's anger at himself grew over his own stupidity. If he hadn't been so fucking tired he would have known something was up. That it was more than an 'I love you, take care of yourself' call that he'd suddenly gotten from Clark in the middle of his God-damned meeting!
It made a sickening sense with Clark's continued savior complex. When Clark woke up he'd remind him that he wasn't some shrinking damsel in distress that his big, strong, superhero had to defend. Hell, most of the toys on this damned station wouldn't exist without him there.
Lex silently nodded to himself as they walked. He'd kick that alien bastard's ass if he'd planned this out in some twisted maneuver to keep him safe. Yes, he would, just as soon as Clark woke up. Lex closed his eyes, his hand on the door to the Med Bay, Diana beside him, a silent, solid, source of support. 'Just, please, dear God, let him wake up.'
fin
Title: Just a Drop of Water in an Endless Sea
Rating: PG, Clex
Length: 1,652 words
Challenge: sv_flashfiction - Falling
Sequel to: Dust in the Wind
Notes: Not mine, but I promise to put them right back when I'm finished. Honest...
Summary: Slightly AU, futurefic. Sometimes it even hurts to breathe.
The plane trip back to Metropolis had been a nightmare; Lex cursed the many roadblocks they'd encountered in trying to get back from overseas. Every stop because of all the increased security precautions just made him grind his teeth even harder. That's why, after several hours of delays, his jaw now ached in time to the headache beating relentlessly behind his eyes.
Bruce had offered him a seat back with Lucius on his Wayne Tech jet and he'd accepted. It'd cut hours off of his arrival time since he didn't have to wait for his own jet to arrive. Wincing again at the throbbing in his temples, Lex laid his head back on the cushions. He kept his eyes closed, forcing himself to relax, dozing at times almost against his will. The few hours of rest he'd gotten earlier in no way made up for the week of almost no sleep he'd just endured.
Lex jerked back fully awake at the announcement that they were descending into Metropolis Airport, pulled up from dreams of flight of a different kind, safe within Clark's arms. He rubbed his hands over his face, his eyes gritty, feeling the pain grip his heart again like a vice as reality once more came crashing down around him.
After being given the all clear from the cockpit, he stood, quickly gathering his things, again shaking Lucius' hand, thanking him for the ride back home.
"It was the least we could do, Lex. I was happy to be of service." Lex forced himself not to flinch away as Lucius reached out, his hand gentle on his shoulder. "Tell Bruce I'll handle everything at home. I know he'll want to be with you until the…"
"Thank you, Lucius, I'll tell him." Lex almost blurted out the words, hating the hint of panic he heard in his own voice, anything to stop him from saying the hated word. Saying it made it real and he just couldn't face that. Not yet. He needed a little longer to get his mask in place or he would shatter into a million pieces.
Right now he couldn't afford that weakness; too many people depended on him. He forced a smile onto his face that Lex prayed didn't look like the rictus that it felt like; stretching muscles that screamed at the falseness of it. "Thank you again. I'm sure that Bruce will be calling you soon."
Making his exit as quickly as he could, he winced at the sudden sunlight assaulting his eyesight. Shading his eyes as his vision slowly cleared, Lex sent another prayer of thanks to Bruce as he noted not only the absence of reporters but also the limo waiting silently for him at the end of the ramp.
Recognizing who waited for him, even in his chauffeur's garb, he slid into the offered backseat, tense muscles relaxing slightly as the sleek black car pulled out into the congested airport traffic leaving the terminal behind.
"J'onn… Thank you for being here. Tell me, what's been happening? The last I heard was that Clark was being taken to the medical facility on the Watch Tower and that his condition was… critical." Lex cursed the break in his voice even knowing that J'onn would never think less of him because of it. He tried to crush the derisive reverberation of his father's voice in his head berating him once again for his weakness.
The melodic sounds of J'onn's voice washed over him, somehow silencing the hated echo. "I'm sorry, Lex. I checked just before you arrived. I'm afraid he's on total life-support, they've barely been able to stabilize the worst of his injuries as of yet."
His breath caught, threatening to leave him as he struggled to get his racing heart under control. "The creature... Doomsday? What of him?" A part of Lex savagely prayed a spark of life remained just so he could have the pleasure of ripping it away with the most unimaginable pain that he could manage.
J'onn sighed, the other-worldly quality of his voice incongruous in the confines of the powerful sedan. "We've removed it for further study… As far as we can determine thus far he is well and truly dead. If he could ever have been deemed alive at all..."
Lex's head jerked up at the words. "What the hell do you mean? He looked damned alive to me as he pummeled Clark from one end of this blasted planet to another. I saw the footage, J'onn!" Lex shuddered as the images he'd studied on the long trip home again flooded his mind.
He felt J'onn's mind reaching out, placing a balm on his ragged emotions. The touch so gentle Lex couldn't summon the anger he should have felt at the invasion. His senses were just too numb.
"He was a construct, Lex, a weapon seemingly designed just for Clark. Kryptonite wasn't the only thing we found laced into his infrastructure… There were also traces of Kryptonian DNA."
"Oh, God… Clark's?" His hands flew to his temples at the renewed beat of pain there. He'd ravage the damned corpse. The fucking thing would be reduced to cinders microscopic in size by the time he was finished with it.
Lex saw the small shake of his head as J'onn replied. "No, oddly similar in structure but it was different. If we didn't know that Clark was the last of his people I'd almost say a relative. But, that's impossible; his world died long ago and many light-years away."
Again he felt the ghost touch of that silent comfort wrapping around him, helping to keep him sane. "Lex, whoever sent this thing… this abomination, will pay… In my thousand's of years of life I have never seen a creature more deserving to be described as pure, unadulterated evil."
Steel entered J'onn's voice, chilling Lex coming from someone he knew as a man of peace. "He not only fought Clark, fought the League, he toyed with us. He reveled in the destruction and carnage he left in his wake. His laugh was truly… monstrous."
As he spoke the words they pulled into a darkened warehouse. Lex saw J'onn begin to morph into his true form as he felt the first tingle of the transport beam take him, transporting him instantly hundreds of miles into space between a single beat of his heart.
Swaying slightly, both from reaction and a sudden sense of vertigo, Lex opened his eyes, Diana's hand moving to clasp his elbow. "Lex, are you unwell?"
The look of concern on her face threatened to break him. Lex waved away her hand, straightening his shoulders. "It's nothing, just a momentary dizziness, it's already passed." Stepping forward he moved off of the transport pad feeling the sterile air of the Watch Tower wrap around him.
Every fiber of his body screamed at him to leave, to run as quickly, and as far away, as he could. Lex knew as soon as he saw Clark the reality of this nightmare would hit him. The pain at just the thought of the horror that awaited him in the Med Bay threatened to choke him.
Lex stood taller. No one looking at him would see the barely leashed terror he was feeling. At least, as long as they didn't see his eyes, or knew him, like their friends did. Who, damn it, were mostly all right here clustered around this blasted hunk of space junk that he'd designed. Running his hands over his face he shook his head to chase away the cobwebs.
Diana searched his face, Lex had no illusions as to the fact that she saw right through his act. Her hand once again sought his elbow, velvet steel which both communicated her love to him and said she'd brook no foolishness. "Come, Lex… I'll take you to him."
Lex nodded, already marshalling his strength. He'd already failed Clark once this night. He'd been half a world away brokering a fucking deal while Clark had fought for his life. If he had called for him, Lex never heard it.
He could have done something, helped in some way. Renewed pain throbbed through his temples, beating in time to his racing heart. At least he could have been the one to hold him as Clark bled out on that fucking, broken-assed street.
A sudden thought hit Lex, causing him to stumble and for Diana to toss him another look filled with concern. There were things that he'd be asking Bruce about as soon as he saw him. Lex felt a cold certainty start to grow in the pit of his stomach as they walked the dimly lit corridors. Just how much advance warning did they have of Doomsday's coming? How blasted convenient was it that he'd been half a world away, cloistered in a conference room far from any hint of news as the battle raged on?
Lex's anger at himself grew over his own stupidity. If he hadn't been so fucking tired he would have known something was up. That it was more than an 'I love you, take care of yourself' call that he'd suddenly gotten from Clark in the middle of his God-damned meeting!
It made a sickening sense with Clark's continued savior complex. When Clark woke up he'd remind him that he wasn't some shrinking damsel in distress that his big, strong, superhero had to defend. Hell, most of the toys on this damned station wouldn't exist without him there.
Lex silently nodded to himself as they walked. He'd kick that alien bastard's ass if he'd planned this out in some twisted maneuver to keep him safe. Yes, he would, just as soon as Clark woke up. Lex closed his eyes, his hand on the door to the Med Bay, Diana beside him, a silent, solid, source of support. 'Just, please, dear God, let him wake up.'
fin