Subject: Chapter 24
Short summary: The breeding program continues but runs into problems and Clark becomes more isolated...
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Chapter 24
Clark woke to find Amanda still cuddling with him, her supposed kinky lover. He wasn't sure what woke him, he was still so tired... Perhaps it was something that Lex said, he could hear him talking easily in spite of the kryptonite that caused him so much pain...
"I don't think you can take Clark's reactions to this girl as being indicative of how well he'll react to all of them, Colonel."
The Colonel's reply was angry. "I'm getting really fucking tired of hearing you complain after the good taxpayers have paid you enormous sums to be here..."
"I'm sorry if I'm upsetting you, Colonel, but I'm not convinced that the current plan is workable. Clark may not be human, but he isn't a machine either. You can't always depend on the girls to always get a positive sexual response from him..."
The Colonel sighed. "I think going from how well young Amanda did in there that your fears may be unfounded. So, we'll just have to see, won't we?" Lex sighed as the Colonel left the room.
Lex spoke quietly to himself, or maybe he spoke to Clark. "I guess we will."
Clark shook his head and shifted his weight, trying to get more comfortable underneath the still sleeping Amanda. She snuggled, nuzzling against Clark's neck in her sleep, and made a soft noise as she hugged him for a moment before falling back into a deeper sleep. Despite himself, Clark enjoyed the gentle physical affection she was showing him. He gently placed his head against hers and drifted back off to sleep.
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Clark dreamed that he was tied down and blindfolded, but somehow he could still see Lex stand over him. Clark struggled to free himself and Lex just stood there watching, unable (or unwilling) to help. Clark begged Lex to let him go, but the bald man just stood there and said nothing in reply. His only response was the sound of his heartbeat. It was so loud it sounded like a kettle drum. When the dream Lex leaned over to kiss him, Clark woke with a gasp.
Still chained, nauseous and in pain, Clark realized he was now alone. However, Amanda hadn't been gone long. His skin was chilled from the sudden lack of her warmth from where she'd been touching him. He pulled a bit against the chains holding him and had to suppress a groan when he heard Lex's heartbeat.
Lex still watched and Clark was confused.
The whole world had been turned upside down. A man he loved, had loved (he had to remember the past tense), watched him being tortured while a sweet girl raped him. However, she had also shown him perhaps the only tenderness he'd felt the whole time he'd been imprisoned.
Nothing made sense anymore. Nothing.
His wrists and ankles were sore, the cold metal of the restraints painfully tight. Clark shifted his weight as much as he could as he tried to lessen the strain on his abused limbs.
Several people were walking down the hall toward the room Clark was in... He could count three pairs of foot steps and some clinking, as if one of them was carrying a tray of some kind. That detail made Clark tense up, uncertain of their purpose.
Clark Listened as they talked. A young voice asked, "So, you were called up, huh?"
"Yeah, made four times more here as a civie than I'm making now that I'm back in the army... That bastard Preskin..."
Another voice growled, "That bastard is your commanding officer, Simms. Show some respect, soldier."
"Well, he didn't have to recall my ass, Sarge... I left the army for a reason..."
The younger voice again spoke up. "Did you see the guy use his powers? I've heard he's so strong it's scary..."
Simms replied thoughtfully. "Yeah, I worked in the control room before going back to doing this medic crap..." His voice became tense. He was scared. "I never got a good look at him but he could do things that woulda required a fantastic amount of strength... It didn't seem real. Yeah, I'd call him scary."
Sarge replied with another growl. "He's not scary as long as you got the green rocks, Simms. You know that..."
"That stuff makes you nuts, you heard what happened to Owens, right?"
"Yeah, that's why the engineers have been working so hard all day, putting in new installations of the meteors... No one has to wear the amulets anymore."
The younger voice sounded petrified. "What happened to Owens?"
Simms replied, his voice dropping to a hushed tone as if he didn't want anyone else to overhear. "Well, he saw what this guy could do and he thought it was because of the rocks, and not from him being an alien..."
The kid gasped in surprise. "So he is an alien... Is he dangerous?"
Sarge replied, maybe in an attempt to calm the kid's obvious fears, but he growled his response. Clark didn't think he sounded be very reassuring. "He's harmless, as long as you got this... Just push this button, and the green light makes him weak as a kitten. There's nothing you pansies have to worry about."
This must not have made the kid feel any better, because he sounded even more scared. "So, what happened to Owens?"
Simms continued. "Well, he started wearing the rocks all the time, even when he slept. It gave him a rush, like he was taking drugs and he'd keep like two or three in his pockets and never take the amulet off even when he wasn't escorting the alien to tests or whatever...He never got powers, at least not that no one could tell, but he sure went nuts..."
Closer to the room where Clark was, a man yelled. "What are you men doing? Get a move on, this ain't tea time girls! You've got work to do!"
The men mumbled assent and approached the room and entered. Clark tensed up as they stopped just inside the door. The kid gasped.
"He looks human."
Simms sounded shocked. "He looks so young..." His voice became hushed, like he was scared by what they were going to do. "Can we just get this over with, Sarge?"
Clark was frightened. What were they going to do to him? What other humiliations was he going to have to suffer? He wished he could see. His heart raced and his chest heaved as he struggled weakly against the restraints that held him. Someone got into bed with him, Clark tensed as the bed dipped down with the added weight. He gasped when something cold touched him between the legs.
It took him a moment to realize what was going on. Someone was swabbing him, taking samples from his skin. Clark grimaced, it was humiliating but at least they didn't get their samples the way they used to.
The man who knelt in between his legs stopped collecting the samples and spoke, seemingly confused. It was Sarge. "What are you guys waiting for?"
There was a nervous shuffling of feet. The younger man said. "You know for what, Sarge..."
The man was perplexed. "I know what, Erickson? You both have jobs to do and orders to follow."
"It's the green rock... Is that little one on that collar enough? It's so small...."
Sarge spoke again. "Oh, that... believe me. He's as weak as a kitten. You got nothing to worry about."
Simms replied anxiously. "I'm not sure its enough to make me feel better..."
"I don't care how it makes you feel, Simms. You follow orders or you'll really hate the army when you have to see the next decade from inside Leavenworth for willfully disobeying a direct order."
Simms whined. "I've seen what he can do... Erickson is right. I don't think that little rock is nearly big enough to disable him..."
Clark clenched his fists in frustration as he felt the grate open. The increase in pain and nausea took away what little strength Clark had left.
Sarge growled. "Happier?"
Barely conscious, his breath hitching from the pain, the men started wiping him down.
When Clark realized what they were doing, he felt his entire body blush with the humiliation.
They were washing him down like an animal.
Despite his precarious hold on consciousness, he knew that if they were cleaning him up that the next girl would soon arrive. He shook his head weakly and sighed in mute frustration. He was too sick and weak, he dreaded another girl...
The men who washed him paid special and very careful attention to Clark's genitals, which only added to the shame. He felt like he was being wiped down like a prize stallion. Clark was glad he was blindfolded so he couldn't see their leering looks as they washed him.
He was also grateful that his body didn't respond. That certainly would have made him feel even more ashamed than he already did.
Sarge took out a key and unlocked the restraints. Despite the pain from the kryptonite, the relief from the constant strain on his wrists and ankles was amazing. When Sarge pushed him over onto his side, presumably to wash his back, the sudden change in position made Clark's head swim and tossed him into unconsciousness.
------
Clark came around while he was being chained back up... Someone dried him roughly with a towel as the grate slowly closed.
Clark sighed in relief from the extra pain. Someone leaned over him and he heard 'Sarge' speak more gently to him than he had to the soldiers under his command.
"Are you thirsty, Clark? I got some water here for you, if you are..."
Clark nodded, he was very thirsty. Sarge gently held his head up so he could sip water through a straw.
He felt better after drinking and was sorry Sarge took the cup away before his thirst was completely satisfied. Clark couldn't ask for more and had to work to suppress a groan when the men retreated.
So he silently waited, in pain and nauseous, for the next girl to arrive.
------
Clark could hear her bare feet padding down the hall before she opened the door. She walked in more confidently than Amanda had. She only paused briefly at the door once it opened and Clark could hear her give a gentle exhale of breath. Was it from a smile or from shock?
She continued her quiet strides to the bed and Clark realized, with some disgust, that he could smell her approach. Unlike the sweet smelling Amanda, this girl smelled strongly of cigarette smoke. She stopped at the foot of the bed and let the robe drop. Clark decided it had to have been a smile before, because she laughed.
"My God, you're gorgeous... Even with your eyes covered its easy to tell. I just love that someone with a beautiful body like you wants to be chained up and blindfolded. It's so hot." He felt the bed dip down when she climbed in. "This is going to be a lot more fun than I'd thought it would be..."
The cigarette smell was overpowering and disgusted Clark. He never understood the appeal of cigarette smoke. Why people would choose that as a delivery system for drugs mystified Clark. It spoke volumes about the power of addiction and he was glad that was immune to the effects of nicotine.
He didn't like to remember it, but when they were about ten, he'd let Pete talk him into trying to smoke.
One of Pete's older brothers, Michael, had thought cigarettes were cool and made fun of Pete because he didn't light up. That made Pete angry but he was a bit chicken about trying it alone and convinced Clark to try smoking with him.
By then, of course Clark had been fully aware that he was different, even if he hadn't understood exactly why. He knew that the only thing that made him sick were meteors and he never got seriously hurt unless they were around. There weren't any meteor rocks in the shed where Michael had planned to have them try smoking, so he wasn't at all worried about the cigarettes hurting him. However, he didn't like to break rules and smoking was definitely against the rules in his house.
He'd heard that kids coughed when they tried smoking, but the cigarette smoke did nothing to Clark, so he pretended to cough to make it seem like it did. He didn't want to smoke more than he had to in order to help his friend and he played it up for affect. Unfortunately, when Pete's turn came to take a puff, he took in too deep a breath. He hacked and coughed so badly he could barely breathe.
Pete ended up getting violently ill, he threw up for what seemed like hours, and they all got in a lot of trouble. Clark felt bad for Pete. He had been just trying to look cool for his big brother. Clark felt awful about the whole thing, especially after he had to sit through his father's lengthy and very serious lecture on the evils of tobacco smoke.
Clark's argument that the cigarettes didn't hurt him at all didn't seem to hold any weight with his dad. His mom had seemed sympathetic to Clark's having caved to peer-pressure, but it didn't matter in the end. He'd been grounded for a month anyway. His dad also made him write out "I will not smoke cigarettes" a thousand times in addition to doubling the amount of chores he had to do after school for six months.
He wasn't harmed at all, he actually didn't mind doing extra chores and being grounded wasn't really that much of a punishment for a loner like Clark. However, the whole experience made him absolutely detest cigarettes and he came to hate the smell of cigarette smoke.
He turned his head away from the woman as she lay down next to him and started to caress his skin. The smell was revolting and worsened the nausea Clark already felt from the kryptonite. He hoped her rape of him would be over soon.
She leaned over to kiss him but she caught Clark off-guard and her tongue forced its way into his mouth as she mashed her lips into his. She tasted of cigarettes that weren't covered up by the breath-mints she apparently had eaten.
He pulled away as best he could and she seemed okay with him not allowing the kiss. He could hear her shrug as her lips went down his neck as a hand explored his torso, moving further down.
She took hold of him but her attempts to bring a rise out of his flesh were clumsy and ham handed. Rather than arousing, her grip was painful... In pain, nauseous and humiliated, he jerked as hard as he could against the restraints that held him.
Her inexpert lovemaking seemed to go on forever and Clark was in misery. His body failed to respond. He was glad, despite the fact that it prolonged the pain. Trying, perhaps, to evoke some response from Clark's uncooperative anatomy, she jerked hard on him and he couldn't stifle a cry of pain.
In protest against the kryptonite locked around his neck, and perhaps exacerbated by his prolonged exposure, his throat seized painfully and started to close up. He had trouble breathing and she didn't notice at first. She kept on pulling painfully on his flaccid cock and he pulled unsuccessfully against the chains that held him. He shook his head, desperately trying to tell her to stop, but she continued.
Clark's throat constricted more and his breath came in wheezing gasps. He was dizzy and close to blacking out. He could hear several people enter the room quickly but he blessedly lost his hold on consciousness...
------
When Clark woke he was back on the bed in his enclosure. The collar and blindfold were gone and Dr. Edwards leaned over Clark, a concerned look on his face, as he pulled the covers up for him.
"You better now, Clark?"
Clark nodded and hugged his mom's pillow to his chest. He was exhausted. The Colonel's angry voice called from the doorway.
"What the hell's going on, doctor?"
Dr. Edwards snapped back.
"I'm taking care of my patient... You know that leaving him under the influence of kryptonite for too long makes the effects far worse. He should have been given a break in the sun to recover, like I recommended..."
"The days are getting shorter, doctor. We don't have time to take him back and forth... I can get in more girls if we don't."
"Then you should move the honeymoon suite onto one of the upper levels where you can give him some sun in between bouts of... well, whatever you want to call it."
"The upper floors look more like labs... the honeymoon suite has to stay down there."
Dr. Edwards sighed and looked at his patient. He looked back at the colonel. "Clark has amazing physical strength, but it looks not even he can perform whenever it's convenient for you. Since you insist on this project proceeding, you need to let him rest in the sun between girls..."
"I don't need you to tell me how to run this project, doctor."
"You ignore his health you won't have a project anymore, colonel. You should keep that in mind..."
The colonel heaved a deep sigh and continued in a much less adversarial tone. "Do you know why he didn't respond to the second girl?"
The doctor shrugged. "Sexual response isn't a science, colonel. It could be any one of a dozen things... He looks exhausted and was weakened by the kryptonite. It could just be as simple as that."
The Colonel turned to Clark. "Is that what happened?"
Clark looked at the man in shock. "You actually want me to give you my opinion on why I didn't respond?" He shook his head, incredulous. "You're crazy..."
Doctor Edwards shook his head, perplexed. "What difference does it make why?"
The colonel was angry. "I've been given the task of making this project work. Any new information that will help me reach that goal is information I will uncover." The Colonel looked back down at Clark. "Either you answer the question, or I could have them strap you in the exam chair and have the techs hook up the medicinal breathing mask again, if you prefer..."
Clark scowled and rolled onto his side away from the colonel. Clark didn't want to be put back into that chair ever again if he could help it. He hugged the patchwork quilted pillow more tightly to his chest and mumbled his reply. "She was disgusting..."
"What did you say?"
Clark spoke louder. "She was gross."
The colonel was perplexed. "She was beautiful. How could you even see her? You were blindfolded."
Clark spoke in between clenched teeth. "I didn't need to see to tell that she smelled..."
The man came around to the other side of the bed, so he could look Clark in the eye. "I don't understand.... The girls shower before they see you..."
"It wasn't anything like that." Clark shook his head. "It was cigarette smoke... The smell was seeping out of her skin... It was disgusting."
The Colonel looked shocked. "Cigarette smoke? None of the girls smoke, Mr. Kent. It's against the rules."
"It was against the rules in my house too, but it didn't stop me from trying to smoke when I was a kid." Clark looked away. "Believe me: she smokes and smokes a lot. She tried breath mints to cover it up, but it wasn't enough..."
The colonel was angry and seemingly at a loss for words.
Dr. Edwards looked the colonel with raised eyebrows. "I guess the civilians aren't as good as your soldiers when it comes to following orders, Colonel." The Colonel swore under his breath softly before he left.
The doctor sighed and looked down appraisingly at Clark. "You look better, but I'm giving you the rest of the day off." He frowned and looked up at one of the cameras. The doctor's look turned sympathetic when he looked back at Clark. He pointed at a tray sitting on the table. "Try to eat something and I'll check on you later, okay?"
Clark nodded but he didn't plan on eating. The doctor left and Clark looked out into the late afternoon sky. He sighed and hugged the pillow again. He didn't look forward to the morning and yet more girls.
-------
After that, each day started out the same. After he'd finished picking at his breakfast, he'd wait for them at the window and the grate would open in the ceiling. He'd collapse and they'd come and put the collar and blindfold on him. Weakened by the kryptonite, they'd easily drag him down to the lower levels and chain him down. After the girl was done, they'd take swabs and then drag Clark back upstairs where he was expected to shower, eat and rest in the sun. He supposed that he had Dr. Edwards to thank for getting the breaks in between girls.
However, increasingly he'd eat next to nothing. So, after washing the smell of sex off he'd lay spread out on the big bed and try to enjoy being in the sun. He was grateful that the need for him to rest and recuperate in the sun made it so the girls weren't being brought to him around the clock.
There was an endless parade of girls. However, maybe having gone over how much he hated smoking that one girl never came back and none of the other girls smoked, thank goodness, but there were others to take her place. And there were a lot of others.
Amanda, among some others whose names Clark didn't know, were always successful in getting him to respond, but growing numbers of the girls failed. He figured that about half the time, the girls failed to arouse him. That made the colonel angry and he was growing increasingly frustrated because of it.
It was getting tougher and tougher for Clark to handle the situation. It was humiliating and made him feel more like something other than normal... He was treated no better than an animal. Worse, it made him feel less than human.
But he wasn't human, was he? Why would he expect to be treated like one? He wanted to fit in but he never would. Not really, anyway.
Not that the girls who raped him thinking it was part of a kinky sex game could really tell, but his otherness really grated... What the hell had he thought was going to happen? His adoptive parents loved him and treated him as normal as possible, but he wasn't normal. He wasn't even human.
Why'd they do that when they must have known how hard it would be? He'd been fooling himself that he could fit in. He would never, could never, fit in.
Given his unique physiology, it was clear that the humans would never let him have a normal life; he'd never live happily ever after. The humans who trapped him here and wanted to turn him into a breeding machine made sure of that.
Clark, perhaps for the first time since he was in dark lab down in the basement, became truly depressed. As a defense mechanism, he turned his bad ass alien act on all the time. He wouldn't talk if he could help it and he scowled at everyone.
He had terrible nightmares and became more and more broody, especially when he realized that Gus was gone. No one said anything, but he hadn't seen the Gus since that time he asked him about the pillow. The only people he saw now were soldiers and Dr. Edwards.
Clark missed seeing Gus. Although he knew Gus hadn't really been a friend, the big man had been kind to him and his absence made him feel more alone. However with Gus, Celia, and even quiet Philip gone, no one else he knew was left.
Well, no one else except for Dr. Edwards and Lex.
Clark could still hear Lex's heartbeat when he bothered to listen for it, but he tried very hard not to. It was demoralizing to be reminded that Lex still watched and he was depressed enough as it was. When he did listen, he noticed that Lex didn't talk much with the Colonel anymore. When he did talk to the man, his manor was cold and very business like.
Clark didn't wonder why that was. He was too mired in his own problems to actually think about Lex's too. So the nightmare went on and on. It was wearing Clark out but he never got a day off.
So in a desperate plan to get a break, Clark would cry out every few days, as if in pain, just to cause the painful constriction of his throat muscles that always made him stop breathing. Despite the pain and passing out, he knew he didn't risk anything by doing it. They would always save him. He'd always come to later in his enclosure and have the rest of the day off.
Dr. Edwards clearly knew that Clark was doing it on purpose, but he let him get away with it anyway. While Clark enjoyed the breaks, he realized that the Colonel wasn't fooled. The military man knew that Clark was manipulating the situation to get time off. Every time he argued with the doctor over the decision to let Clark get the rest of the day off but the doctor never gave in. He had the power to do that as long as he thought Clark's health was in danger, but that power was something that the Colonel was no longer being indulgent about.
Clark could see the growing anger in the Colonel's eyes, but he didn't care anymore. One or two fewer girls a week wouldn't really make that big a difference in the decades he would likely be here servicing the Colonel's stable of brood mares, but he had to do something. Also, he felt justified in doing anything he could to break the cycle of abuse, even if it was only for part of a day.
-----
Again, he came to after they'd chained him down and the grate in the ceiling slowly closed. He futilely tugged at the restraints, frustrated, and then waited blind and mute for the next faceless girl to come.
He didn't have long to wait, but this time the person that entered the room was wearing shoes. He listened more closely. It was Lex.
Clark fought hard as he could against the restraints, trying desperately to break the unbreakable, but it was no use. His chest heaved with his exertions as Lex came closer.
Lex sighed. "You know it's me, don't you?"
Clark just turned his head away from his former would-be lover, breathing hard.
"I'm sorry if my visit distresses you, Clark, but I wanted to let you know in person that I'm leaving... "
Clark gasped, despite himself. As painful as Lex being there hurt, his presence could be comforting too. Lex leaving meant he'd be even more isolated than he already was.
Lex sat down on the bed next to Clark. "Since I won't see you again, I wanted to say good bye. The Colonel wouldn't let me see you any place else, but maybe this is for the best..."
Clark couldn't say a thing in response, but he clenched his fists and rattled the chains holding him down. It was the only way he could communicate his frustration.
"After you'd told the Colonel about the girl smoking, he opened an investigation. He discovered that there was a group of girls buying contraband from the civilian guards, including cigarettes, alcohol and even some illegal drugs. After he'd found out how pervasive the black market operation was, the colonel finally decided enough was enough. He got rid of the girls breaking the rules and fired the few civilians that were left. Some employees who were previously in the military and had time left to serve in their contracts he'd called back up or, if they were reservists, had them activated. The last civilian employee left besides me was Dr. Edwards. However, he was in the reserves and was activated just a few hours ago. He's being processed now and will be wearing a uniform the next time you see him. As for me, I think the Colonel was glad that I wasn't military. He barely hid the joy in his voice when he fired me..."
Lex sighed again. "I'm sorry, Clark... You'll probably hate me for the rest of your life and I will completely understand if you do...." Lex became silent and a pause hung in the air. Clark wasn't sure what was going on in Lex's mind but his heart was racing.
He continued. "There had been only lies between us... so many, many lies. So many that I had thought that the truth you were trying to cover up was the only thing that mattered. You had worked so hard to keep that secret..." He sighed and gently touched Clark's cheek. "I can see now that I was wrong, Clark. The truth that mattered wasn't who you are, or where you're from, or even all the special and powerful things you can do. The only truth that should have mattered was how I felt about you."
Lex's voice caught and he didn't bother to clear his throat. Clark could hear the tears well up in Lex's eyes, even if he couldn't see them. "Its cold comfort given where you are, Clark, but I want you to know this: I'm sorry that this happened and I wish more than anything that I could take you away from here but I can't... I hope someday you can understand that, even if you never forgive me for the part I played in this."
Lex leaned over and Clark tensed, thinking that his dream was about to come true. He wasn't sure he could handle Lex kissing him. But Lex didn't. He just sighed and gently brushed the hair from Clark's forehead and then pressed his cool lips gently against Clark's forehead. He spoke so softly that Clark barely heard what he said. "I love you, Clark."
Lex left quickly and, as far as Clark could tell, never came back.
Continued here....
See all chapters here...
Chapter 24
Clark woke to find Amanda still cuddling with him, her supposed kinky lover. He wasn't sure what woke him, he was still so tired... Perhaps it was something that Lex said, he could hear him talking easily in spite of the kryptonite that caused him so much pain...
"I don't think you can take Clark's reactions to this girl as being indicative of how well he'll react to all of them, Colonel."
The Colonel's reply was angry. "I'm getting really fucking tired of hearing you complain after the good taxpayers have paid you enormous sums to be here..."
"I'm sorry if I'm upsetting you, Colonel, but I'm not convinced that the current plan is workable. Clark may not be human, but he isn't a machine either. You can't always depend on the girls to always get a positive sexual response from him..."
The Colonel sighed. "I think going from how well young Amanda did in there that your fears may be unfounded. So, we'll just have to see, won't we?" Lex sighed as the Colonel left the room.
Lex spoke quietly to himself, or maybe he spoke to Clark. "I guess we will."
Clark shook his head and shifted his weight, trying to get more comfortable underneath the still sleeping Amanda. She snuggled, nuzzling against Clark's neck in her sleep, and made a soft noise as she hugged him for a moment before falling back into a deeper sleep. Despite himself, Clark enjoyed the gentle physical affection she was showing him. He gently placed his head against hers and drifted back off to sleep.
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Clark dreamed that he was tied down and blindfolded, but somehow he could still see Lex stand over him. Clark struggled to free himself and Lex just stood there watching, unable (or unwilling) to help. Clark begged Lex to let him go, but the bald man just stood there and said nothing in reply. His only response was the sound of his heartbeat. It was so loud it sounded like a kettle drum. When the dream Lex leaned over to kiss him, Clark woke with a gasp.
Still chained, nauseous and in pain, Clark realized he was now alone. However, Amanda hadn't been gone long. His skin was chilled from the sudden lack of her warmth from where she'd been touching him. He pulled a bit against the chains holding him and had to suppress a groan when he heard Lex's heartbeat.
Lex still watched and Clark was confused.
The whole world had been turned upside down. A man he loved, had loved (he had to remember the past tense), watched him being tortured while a sweet girl raped him. However, she had also shown him perhaps the only tenderness he'd felt the whole time he'd been imprisoned.
Nothing made sense anymore. Nothing.
His wrists and ankles were sore, the cold metal of the restraints painfully tight. Clark shifted his weight as much as he could as he tried to lessen the strain on his abused limbs.
Several people were walking down the hall toward the room Clark was in... He could count three pairs of foot steps and some clinking, as if one of them was carrying a tray of some kind. That detail made Clark tense up, uncertain of their purpose.
Clark Listened as they talked. A young voice asked, "So, you were called up, huh?"
"Yeah, made four times more here as a civie than I'm making now that I'm back in the army... That bastard Preskin..."
Another voice growled, "That bastard is your commanding officer, Simms. Show some respect, soldier."
"Well, he didn't have to recall my ass, Sarge... I left the army for a reason..."
The younger voice again spoke up. "Did you see the guy use his powers? I've heard he's so strong it's scary..."
Simms replied thoughtfully. "Yeah, I worked in the control room before going back to doing this medic crap..." His voice became tense. He was scared. "I never got a good look at him but he could do things that woulda required a fantastic amount of strength... It didn't seem real. Yeah, I'd call him scary."
Sarge replied with another growl. "He's not scary as long as you got the green rocks, Simms. You know that..."
"That stuff makes you nuts, you heard what happened to Owens, right?"
"Yeah, that's why the engineers have been working so hard all day, putting in new installations of the meteors... No one has to wear the amulets anymore."
The younger voice sounded petrified. "What happened to Owens?"
Simms replied, his voice dropping to a hushed tone as if he didn't want anyone else to overhear. "Well, he saw what this guy could do and he thought it was because of the rocks, and not from him being an alien..."
The kid gasped in surprise. "So he is an alien... Is he dangerous?"
Sarge replied, maybe in an attempt to calm the kid's obvious fears, but he growled his response. Clark didn't think he sounded be very reassuring. "He's harmless, as long as you got this... Just push this button, and the green light makes him weak as a kitten. There's nothing you pansies have to worry about."
This must not have made the kid feel any better, because he sounded even more scared. "So, what happened to Owens?"
Simms continued. "Well, he started wearing the rocks all the time, even when he slept. It gave him a rush, like he was taking drugs and he'd keep like two or three in his pockets and never take the amulet off even when he wasn't escorting the alien to tests or whatever...He never got powers, at least not that no one could tell, but he sure went nuts..."
Closer to the room where Clark was, a man yelled. "What are you men doing? Get a move on, this ain't tea time girls! You've got work to do!"
The men mumbled assent and approached the room and entered. Clark tensed up as they stopped just inside the door. The kid gasped.
"He looks human."
Simms sounded shocked. "He looks so young..." His voice became hushed, like he was scared by what they were going to do. "Can we just get this over with, Sarge?"
Clark was frightened. What were they going to do to him? What other humiliations was he going to have to suffer? He wished he could see. His heart raced and his chest heaved as he struggled weakly against the restraints that held him. Someone got into bed with him, Clark tensed as the bed dipped down with the added weight. He gasped when something cold touched him between the legs.
It took him a moment to realize what was going on. Someone was swabbing him, taking samples from his skin. Clark grimaced, it was humiliating but at least they didn't get their samples the way they used to.
The man who knelt in between his legs stopped collecting the samples and spoke, seemingly confused. It was Sarge. "What are you guys waiting for?"
There was a nervous shuffling of feet. The younger man said. "You know for what, Sarge..."
The man was perplexed. "I know what, Erickson? You both have jobs to do and orders to follow."
"It's the green rock... Is that little one on that collar enough? It's so small...."
Sarge spoke again. "Oh, that... believe me. He's as weak as a kitten. You got nothing to worry about."
Simms replied anxiously. "I'm not sure its enough to make me feel better..."
"I don't care how it makes you feel, Simms. You follow orders or you'll really hate the army when you have to see the next decade from inside Leavenworth for willfully disobeying a direct order."
Simms whined. "I've seen what he can do... Erickson is right. I don't think that little rock is nearly big enough to disable him..."
Clark clenched his fists in frustration as he felt the grate open. The increase in pain and nausea took away what little strength Clark had left.
Sarge growled. "Happier?"
Barely conscious, his breath hitching from the pain, the men started wiping him down.
When Clark realized what they were doing, he felt his entire body blush with the humiliation.
They were washing him down like an animal.
Despite his precarious hold on consciousness, he knew that if they were cleaning him up that the next girl would soon arrive. He shook his head weakly and sighed in mute frustration. He was too sick and weak, he dreaded another girl...
The men who washed him paid special and very careful attention to Clark's genitals, which only added to the shame. He felt like he was being wiped down like a prize stallion. Clark was glad he was blindfolded so he couldn't see their leering looks as they washed him.
He was also grateful that his body didn't respond. That certainly would have made him feel even more ashamed than he already did.
Sarge took out a key and unlocked the restraints. Despite the pain from the kryptonite, the relief from the constant strain on his wrists and ankles was amazing. When Sarge pushed him over onto his side, presumably to wash his back, the sudden change in position made Clark's head swim and tossed him into unconsciousness.
------
Clark came around while he was being chained back up... Someone dried him roughly with a towel as the grate slowly closed.
Clark sighed in relief from the extra pain. Someone leaned over him and he heard 'Sarge' speak more gently to him than he had to the soldiers under his command.
"Are you thirsty, Clark? I got some water here for you, if you are..."
Clark nodded, he was very thirsty. Sarge gently held his head up so he could sip water through a straw.
He felt better after drinking and was sorry Sarge took the cup away before his thirst was completely satisfied. Clark couldn't ask for more and had to work to suppress a groan when the men retreated.
So he silently waited, in pain and nauseous, for the next girl to arrive.
------
Clark could hear her bare feet padding down the hall before she opened the door. She walked in more confidently than Amanda had. She only paused briefly at the door once it opened and Clark could hear her give a gentle exhale of breath. Was it from a smile or from shock?
She continued her quiet strides to the bed and Clark realized, with some disgust, that he could smell her approach. Unlike the sweet smelling Amanda, this girl smelled strongly of cigarette smoke. She stopped at the foot of the bed and let the robe drop. Clark decided it had to have been a smile before, because she laughed.
"My God, you're gorgeous... Even with your eyes covered its easy to tell. I just love that someone with a beautiful body like you wants to be chained up and blindfolded. It's so hot." He felt the bed dip down when she climbed in. "This is going to be a lot more fun than I'd thought it would be..."
The cigarette smell was overpowering and disgusted Clark. He never understood the appeal of cigarette smoke. Why people would choose that as a delivery system for drugs mystified Clark. It spoke volumes about the power of addiction and he was glad that was immune to the effects of nicotine.
He didn't like to remember it, but when they were about ten, he'd let Pete talk him into trying to smoke.
One of Pete's older brothers, Michael, had thought cigarettes were cool and made fun of Pete because he didn't light up. That made Pete angry but he was a bit chicken about trying it alone and convinced Clark to try smoking with him.
By then, of course Clark had been fully aware that he was different, even if he hadn't understood exactly why. He knew that the only thing that made him sick were meteors and he never got seriously hurt unless they were around. There weren't any meteor rocks in the shed where Michael had planned to have them try smoking, so he wasn't at all worried about the cigarettes hurting him. However, he didn't like to break rules and smoking was definitely against the rules in his house.
He'd heard that kids coughed when they tried smoking, but the cigarette smoke did nothing to Clark, so he pretended to cough to make it seem like it did. He didn't want to smoke more than he had to in order to help his friend and he played it up for affect. Unfortunately, when Pete's turn came to take a puff, he took in too deep a breath. He hacked and coughed so badly he could barely breathe.
Pete ended up getting violently ill, he threw up for what seemed like hours, and they all got in a lot of trouble. Clark felt bad for Pete. He had been just trying to look cool for his big brother. Clark felt awful about the whole thing, especially after he had to sit through his father's lengthy and very serious lecture on the evils of tobacco smoke.
Clark's argument that the cigarettes didn't hurt him at all didn't seem to hold any weight with his dad. His mom had seemed sympathetic to Clark's having caved to peer-pressure, but it didn't matter in the end. He'd been grounded for a month anyway. His dad also made him write out "I will not smoke cigarettes" a thousand times in addition to doubling the amount of chores he had to do after school for six months.
He wasn't harmed at all, he actually didn't mind doing extra chores and being grounded wasn't really that much of a punishment for a loner like Clark. However, the whole experience made him absolutely detest cigarettes and he came to hate the smell of cigarette smoke.
He turned his head away from the woman as she lay down next to him and started to caress his skin. The smell was revolting and worsened the nausea Clark already felt from the kryptonite. He hoped her rape of him would be over soon.
She leaned over to kiss him but she caught Clark off-guard and her tongue forced its way into his mouth as she mashed her lips into his. She tasted of cigarettes that weren't covered up by the breath-mints she apparently had eaten.
He pulled away as best he could and she seemed okay with him not allowing the kiss. He could hear her shrug as her lips went down his neck as a hand explored his torso, moving further down.
She took hold of him but her attempts to bring a rise out of his flesh were clumsy and ham handed. Rather than arousing, her grip was painful... In pain, nauseous and humiliated, he jerked as hard as he could against the restraints that held him.
Her inexpert lovemaking seemed to go on forever and Clark was in misery. His body failed to respond. He was glad, despite the fact that it prolonged the pain. Trying, perhaps, to evoke some response from Clark's uncooperative anatomy, she jerked hard on him and he couldn't stifle a cry of pain.
In protest against the kryptonite locked around his neck, and perhaps exacerbated by his prolonged exposure, his throat seized painfully and started to close up. He had trouble breathing and she didn't notice at first. She kept on pulling painfully on his flaccid cock and he pulled unsuccessfully against the chains that held him. He shook his head, desperately trying to tell her to stop, but she continued.
Clark's throat constricted more and his breath came in wheezing gasps. He was dizzy and close to blacking out. He could hear several people enter the room quickly but he blessedly lost his hold on consciousness...
------
When Clark woke he was back on the bed in his enclosure. The collar and blindfold were gone and Dr. Edwards leaned over Clark, a concerned look on his face, as he pulled the covers up for him.
"You better now, Clark?"
Clark nodded and hugged his mom's pillow to his chest. He was exhausted. The Colonel's angry voice called from the doorway.
"What the hell's going on, doctor?"
Dr. Edwards snapped back.
"I'm taking care of my patient... You know that leaving him under the influence of kryptonite for too long makes the effects far worse. He should have been given a break in the sun to recover, like I recommended..."
"The days are getting shorter, doctor. We don't have time to take him back and forth... I can get in more girls if we don't."
"Then you should move the honeymoon suite onto one of the upper levels where you can give him some sun in between bouts of... well, whatever you want to call it."
"The upper floors look more like labs... the honeymoon suite has to stay down there."
Dr. Edwards sighed and looked at his patient. He looked back at the colonel. "Clark has amazing physical strength, but it looks not even he can perform whenever it's convenient for you. Since you insist on this project proceeding, you need to let him rest in the sun between girls..."
"I don't need you to tell me how to run this project, doctor."
"You ignore his health you won't have a project anymore, colonel. You should keep that in mind..."
The colonel heaved a deep sigh and continued in a much less adversarial tone. "Do you know why he didn't respond to the second girl?"
The doctor shrugged. "Sexual response isn't a science, colonel. It could be any one of a dozen things... He looks exhausted and was weakened by the kryptonite. It could just be as simple as that."
The Colonel turned to Clark. "Is that what happened?"
Clark looked at the man in shock. "You actually want me to give you my opinion on why I didn't respond?" He shook his head, incredulous. "You're crazy..."
Doctor Edwards shook his head, perplexed. "What difference does it make why?"
The colonel was angry. "I've been given the task of making this project work. Any new information that will help me reach that goal is information I will uncover." The Colonel looked back down at Clark. "Either you answer the question, or I could have them strap you in the exam chair and have the techs hook up the medicinal breathing mask again, if you prefer..."
Clark scowled and rolled onto his side away from the colonel. Clark didn't want to be put back into that chair ever again if he could help it. He hugged the patchwork quilted pillow more tightly to his chest and mumbled his reply. "She was disgusting..."
"What did you say?"
Clark spoke louder. "She was gross."
The colonel was perplexed. "She was beautiful. How could you even see her? You were blindfolded."
Clark spoke in between clenched teeth. "I didn't need to see to tell that she smelled..."
The man came around to the other side of the bed, so he could look Clark in the eye. "I don't understand.... The girls shower before they see you..."
"It wasn't anything like that." Clark shook his head. "It was cigarette smoke... The smell was seeping out of her skin... It was disgusting."
The Colonel looked shocked. "Cigarette smoke? None of the girls smoke, Mr. Kent. It's against the rules."
"It was against the rules in my house too, but it didn't stop me from trying to smoke when I was a kid." Clark looked away. "Believe me: she smokes and smokes a lot. She tried breath mints to cover it up, but it wasn't enough..."
The colonel was angry and seemingly at a loss for words.
Dr. Edwards looked the colonel with raised eyebrows. "I guess the civilians aren't as good as your soldiers when it comes to following orders, Colonel." The Colonel swore under his breath softly before he left.
The doctor sighed and looked down appraisingly at Clark. "You look better, but I'm giving you the rest of the day off." He frowned and looked up at one of the cameras. The doctor's look turned sympathetic when he looked back at Clark. He pointed at a tray sitting on the table. "Try to eat something and I'll check on you later, okay?"
Clark nodded but he didn't plan on eating. The doctor left and Clark looked out into the late afternoon sky. He sighed and hugged the pillow again. He didn't look forward to the morning and yet more girls.
-------
After that, each day started out the same. After he'd finished picking at his breakfast, he'd wait for them at the window and the grate would open in the ceiling. He'd collapse and they'd come and put the collar and blindfold on him. Weakened by the kryptonite, they'd easily drag him down to the lower levels and chain him down. After the girl was done, they'd take swabs and then drag Clark back upstairs where he was expected to shower, eat and rest in the sun. He supposed that he had Dr. Edwards to thank for getting the breaks in between girls.
However, increasingly he'd eat next to nothing. So, after washing the smell of sex off he'd lay spread out on the big bed and try to enjoy being in the sun. He was grateful that the need for him to rest and recuperate in the sun made it so the girls weren't being brought to him around the clock.
There was an endless parade of girls. However, maybe having gone over how much he hated smoking that one girl never came back and none of the other girls smoked, thank goodness, but there were others to take her place. And there were a lot of others.
Amanda, among some others whose names Clark didn't know, were always successful in getting him to respond, but growing numbers of the girls failed. He figured that about half the time, the girls failed to arouse him. That made the colonel angry and he was growing increasingly frustrated because of it.
It was getting tougher and tougher for Clark to handle the situation. It was humiliating and made him feel more like something other than normal... He was treated no better than an animal. Worse, it made him feel less than human.
But he wasn't human, was he? Why would he expect to be treated like one? He wanted to fit in but he never would. Not really, anyway.
Not that the girls who raped him thinking it was part of a kinky sex game could really tell, but his otherness really grated... What the hell had he thought was going to happen? His adoptive parents loved him and treated him as normal as possible, but he wasn't normal. He wasn't even human.
Why'd they do that when they must have known how hard it would be? He'd been fooling himself that he could fit in. He would never, could never, fit in.
Given his unique physiology, it was clear that the humans would never let him have a normal life; he'd never live happily ever after. The humans who trapped him here and wanted to turn him into a breeding machine made sure of that.
Clark, perhaps for the first time since he was in dark lab down in the basement, became truly depressed. As a defense mechanism, he turned his bad ass alien act on all the time. He wouldn't talk if he could help it and he scowled at everyone.
He had terrible nightmares and became more and more broody, especially when he realized that Gus was gone. No one said anything, but he hadn't seen the Gus since that time he asked him about the pillow. The only people he saw now were soldiers and Dr. Edwards.
Clark missed seeing Gus. Although he knew Gus hadn't really been a friend, the big man had been kind to him and his absence made him feel more alone. However with Gus, Celia, and even quiet Philip gone, no one else he knew was left.
Well, no one else except for Dr. Edwards and Lex.
Clark could still hear Lex's heartbeat when he bothered to listen for it, but he tried very hard not to. It was demoralizing to be reminded that Lex still watched and he was depressed enough as it was. When he did listen, he noticed that Lex didn't talk much with the Colonel anymore. When he did talk to the man, his manor was cold and very business like.
Clark didn't wonder why that was. He was too mired in his own problems to actually think about Lex's too. So the nightmare went on and on. It was wearing Clark out but he never got a day off.
So in a desperate plan to get a break, Clark would cry out every few days, as if in pain, just to cause the painful constriction of his throat muscles that always made him stop breathing. Despite the pain and passing out, he knew he didn't risk anything by doing it. They would always save him. He'd always come to later in his enclosure and have the rest of the day off.
Dr. Edwards clearly knew that Clark was doing it on purpose, but he let him get away with it anyway. While Clark enjoyed the breaks, he realized that the Colonel wasn't fooled. The military man knew that Clark was manipulating the situation to get time off. Every time he argued with the doctor over the decision to let Clark get the rest of the day off but the doctor never gave in. He had the power to do that as long as he thought Clark's health was in danger, but that power was something that the Colonel was no longer being indulgent about.
Clark could see the growing anger in the Colonel's eyes, but he didn't care anymore. One or two fewer girls a week wouldn't really make that big a difference in the decades he would likely be here servicing the Colonel's stable of brood mares, but he had to do something. Also, he felt justified in doing anything he could to break the cycle of abuse, even if it was only for part of a day.
-----
Again, he came to after they'd chained him down and the grate in the ceiling slowly closed. He futilely tugged at the restraints, frustrated, and then waited blind and mute for the next faceless girl to come.
He didn't have long to wait, but this time the person that entered the room was wearing shoes. He listened more closely. It was Lex.
Clark fought hard as he could against the restraints, trying desperately to break the unbreakable, but it was no use. His chest heaved with his exertions as Lex came closer.
Lex sighed. "You know it's me, don't you?"
Clark just turned his head away from his former would-be lover, breathing hard.
"I'm sorry if my visit distresses you, Clark, but I wanted to let you know in person that I'm leaving... "
Clark gasped, despite himself. As painful as Lex being there hurt, his presence could be comforting too. Lex leaving meant he'd be even more isolated than he already was.
Lex sat down on the bed next to Clark. "Since I won't see you again, I wanted to say good bye. The Colonel wouldn't let me see you any place else, but maybe this is for the best..."
Clark couldn't say a thing in response, but he clenched his fists and rattled the chains holding him down. It was the only way he could communicate his frustration.
"After you'd told the Colonel about the girl smoking, he opened an investigation. He discovered that there was a group of girls buying contraband from the civilian guards, including cigarettes, alcohol and even some illegal drugs. After he'd found out how pervasive the black market operation was, the colonel finally decided enough was enough. He got rid of the girls breaking the rules and fired the few civilians that were left. Some employees who were previously in the military and had time left to serve in their contracts he'd called back up or, if they were reservists, had them activated. The last civilian employee left besides me was Dr. Edwards. However, he was in the reserves and was activated just a few hours ago. He's being processed now and will be wearing a uniform the next time you see him. As for me, I think the Colonel was glad that I wasn't military. He barely hid the joy in his voice when he fired me..."
Lex sighed again. "I'm sorry, Clark... You'll probably hate me for the rest of your life and I will completely understand if you do...." Lex became silent and a pause hung in the air. Clark wasn't sure what was going on in Lex's mind but his heart was racing.
He continued. "There had been only lies between us... so many, many lies. So many that I had thought that the truth you were trying to cover up was the only thing that mattered. You had worked so hard to keep that secret..." He sighed and gently touched Clark's cheek. "I can see now that I was wrong, Clark. The truth that mattered wasn't who you are, or where you're from, or even all the special and powerful things you can do. The only truth that should have mattered was how I felt about you."
Lex's voice caught and he didn't bother to clear his throat. Clark could hear the tears well up in Lex's eyes, even if he couldn't see them. "Its cold comfort given where you are, Clark, but I want you to know this: I'm sorry that this happened and I wish more than anything that I could take you away from here but I can't... I hope someday you can understand that, even if you never forgive me for the part I played in this."
Lex leaned over and Clark tensed, thinking that his dream was about to come true. He wasn't sure he could handle Lex kissing him. But Lex didn't. He just sighed and gently brushed the hair from Clark's forehead and then pressed his cool lips gently against Clark's forehead. He spoke so softly that Clark barely heard what he said. "I love you, Clark."
Lex left quickly and, as far as Clark could tell, never came back.
Continued here....