Yesterday's Tomorrow (Part 25/25)
Title: Yesterday's Tomorrow
Author: hoperoy
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing: Clark/Lex, Clark/other
Rating: NC-17
Length: 3,970
Spoilers: Vessel
Warnings: Violence, non-con, character death
Disclaimer: I can only wish that they were mine. Sadly, that is not the case.
Notes: Part 25/25
Summary: Sometimes the best men don't always win, and even heroes fail. AU after Vessel. What if Clark didn't defeat Zod?
Thanks, danceswithgary!
Previous Part
I can't believe it's the last part! After having taken over a year on this, I really can't believe it's finally done. Thanks so much to everyone who commented on this, or helped me along, or even just read the story!
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"When it is dark enough, you can see the stars." -Charles A. Beard
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Fields of endless corn stretched out before him, kissing the horizon in the distance. A breeze skimmed the tall stalks, making them bend slightly, reminding Lex of all the people that would soon bow to him.
Power
It was a maddening thing, and it had turned many a man to a savage. The trick, Lex decided, was how you handled it. You could use it and wield it, but it must not consume you--you had to be in control of it at all times.
It was proper, he thought, that he should be the first to erect new work camps for humans, right where it had all started, in Smallville, Kansas. Five years ago he'd hit a boy with his Porsche here, and said boy had saved his life.
At the time, he hadn't had any idea what that would lead to.
Smallville had become his home, perhaps more so than Metropolis. He'd traded a cold urban scene, clubs, and the beautiful people in them for All-American boys, prairie sun, and corn. Given what he'd gained, he didn't regret that trade.
With no further hesitation, Lex leaned down and slammed the first fragment of the crystal--barely bigger than the nail on a finger--into the ground. Having done so, he stepped away, watching his work.
At first there was complete silence, and even the wind and the birds seemed to still. Then the loud snapping, twisting sound of earth shifting filled the air, and some of the land before him fell away. The earth morphed and writhed, resembling for a moment an ocean of brown, grainy waves. It was fascinating, Lex had to admit, especially when, a few minutes later, everything settled and became still.
Lex spared a moment of his busy schedule to zip down under the ground to inspect. The wonders of Kryptonian technology would never cease to amaze him, especially as he looked at what lay before him.
Before him spread acres of machinery, the likes of which had never been seen on Earth. No materials yet, but the black ship would take care of that.
The ceiling of the underground caves was supported by huge crystals that had grown from the ground, their color a mixture of the dark clay earth that they'd grown from.
He had many more of these places to create, Lex realized, and he still wanted some sleep tonight. He wouldn't get any if he stayed to marvel over something that was going to become increasingly common. Hurrying from the cave, Lex continued the task that he'd begun.
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Clark turned over in bed. In the last few hours, the feeling of just lying around had become maddening. He knew that Lex was out doing things that were sealing the fate of the world, and the part of him that was still very much influenced by his parents was crying out that he should stop him.
But what could he do to stop Lex? Short of killing him, he didn't have a way to prevent Lex from doing anything. Even if he did then he'd have to overcome five other Kryptonians, and if he failed then he'd be stuck without Lex and utterly without protection.
He didn't want to kill Lex, anyway.
Clark's thoughts overwhelmed him, and he rose from the bed, moving to the window seat. As he sat down, he winced slightly, the burn left from what Zod did irritating him. The cushions were far softer than anything Earth had to offer, though, and Clark sank into them gratefully.
He had to admit that Colorado was very beautiful. The lake and mountains before him were gorgeous, but they were marred by the humans below as they labored to build a city that would become their prison.
What frightened Clark most was that, in his head, a tiny voice continually whispered, *They're not even your race. You owe them nothing. You're safe and cared for, so why should you protect them?* Clark hated that voice, because he feared that he'd succumb to it someday.
And, what he feared even more than that, was that when it happened, he might not even care.
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It was finished, Lex thought in satisfaction as he looked out over his handiwork. All over North America, labor camps had been built. There really was no point in using a euphemism, he reasoned, as in a few years no one would really remember what life had been like before.
Life as it had been would be nostalgic memory only, tainted by people only remembering what they wanted to. All objectivity would be gone, longing filling the void it left. It would be better to leave the kinder words for the people to immortalize in their memories.
Tomorrow at this time it would begin; people would be brought to these underground camps. They would be hidden away from the sun, their entire race enslaved. Humans had become a conquered race. As for the future, there was the possibility that the black spaceship could be used to open Earth to inter-galactic trade.
Lex couldn't find it in himself to really care. He knew that this immense darkness, so infinitely worse than that of his father's, should worry him, but somehow it didn't. People were dying, and he could stop it, but he chose not to. He had what he wanted, after all, so why should he bother?
Deciding that his work was done for the time being, Lex turned away from the land before him. After all, standing here and staring at what was going to bring pain and agony in the future was foolish when he compared it to the reality that Clark, possibly awake now, was back in their room wearing only sweatpants. As far as Lex was concerned, there was no contest as to where he'd rather be.
There was only one more thing that he had to do first.
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"You told me that if Clark crossed you then you'd do with him as you saw fit."
Lex paused, moving further into the room of the fortress which Zod currently occupied. Upon Lex's arrival, he looked up from what appeared to be a book written in Kryptonian.
Not waiting for a reply, Lex continued, "Now I'm telling you that, should anyone cross Clark, I will deal with them as *I* see fit."
Apparently reading the threat in Lex's words, Zod's lips curled into a sneer as he put down his book. "You let emotion blind you. Your greatness lies in pursuing what I have offered you--Kal-El will bring you no greatness."
Lex laughed bitterly. "I don't need *you* to achieve greatness. You've been careless. If I killed you right now, I would stand to gain everything."
Zod still didn't seem particularly intimidated as he rose to his feet. If anything, he looked almost amused. "The others would never follow you."
"No?" Lex asked skeptically. "I don't believe that they have any real loyalty to you, with perhaps the exception of Ursa--not that it matters."
"You think you have a way to control them?" Zod asked, finally giving an outright smile.
Lex shook his head. "I *know* I do." He'd planned this carefully in the last few days, not wanting to make a mistake. There was no room for error in this situation, because if he failed, he'd likely die, and Clark would be left at the mercy of these people. After seeing Clark when Zod had been done with him, Lex wasn't about to let that happen.
Anything less than success was not an option.
"I'm not Kryptonian," he continued. "I may have these powers, but my body was modified to have them--it's not in my biology. If anything, I'm closer to Milton Fine than I am to you." That was the key point in his plan, one that he'd only realized a few days ago.
For the first time, there was a flash of something akin to nervousness in Zod's eyes. Lex couldn't contain his smile at the sight. He *wanted* Zod to be scared--he wanted to him to suffer, just as Clark had. Nothing would ever erase what had happened to Clark--he'd always carry the internal scars--but Lex wanted to make sure that Zod didn't walk away unscathed either.
He wanted him to *regret* what he'd done.
"That is insignificant," Zod replied, even if he didn't look as though he believed that.
"When you had my body modified, you gave me all of your strengths, but none of your weaknesses," Lex reminded him. As he spoke, he slipped his hand into his coat pocket until his fingers brushed the smooth lead box that rested there. It had been a gift to Clark, he remembered, back when they'd just been best friends. It was ironic that he had given Clark a shield to the very thing that hurt him--that he'd been the first to inadvertently help Clark discover how to combat his weakness.
Taking another step forward, Lex looked Zod full in the face. "People don't touch what's mine," he said quietly, his voice threatening. "The moment you touched Clark, you crossed me."
Not waiting for Zod to respond, Lex pulled the box out of his pocket and flicked open the lid.
The effect was instantaneous: Zod was immediately bathed in green light, his face twisting in surprise and pain. His expression caused a sick sort of satisfaction to bubble up in Lex; Zod would get what he deserved.
A few moments after the box was opened, Zod's strength failed, and his legs gave out, his knees making a sickening crack on the floor as he collapsed. He lay there, feebly struggling for a relief that did not come.
Lex would not *let* it come.
Zod been marked for this from the moment Lex had touched the rivulets of blood on Clark's thighs-since he'd seen the damage Zod inflicted. The first time Zod had taken Clark against his will, Lex had let it go, if only because he'd considered doing the same thing that first night, and because it hadn't been quite as brutal.
The second time was different--that had been a vicious, punishing attack, occurring after Clark had come under Lex's protection. Zod had meant it as a warning to Lex just as much as he'd done it to punish Clark. He'd used Clark to make a point--had hurt Clark for no real reason.
"Y-Your emotion for him will blind you and... become your downfall," Zod gasped out, trying to steady himself. The rock was clearly causing him pain, a fact which Lex exulted in. "Just as his father was... to me."
Lex smirked down at him as he moved forward, stopping just inches away. "Clark's not going to be my downfall--he's going to be what keeps me sane. He is not his father, and neither is he a pawn for you to use to make a point--not that any of that matters now."
"The others will never follow you," Zod choked out, his fingers flexing uselessly against the floor as he attempted to push himself up. He failed each time.
"Those that don't will share your fate," Lex replied, smiling.
Lex didn't wait for a reply from Zod. Instead, he simply reached into his other pocket, withdrawing a crystal. The end of it glittered in the light, accentuating the sharpness of its tip. It was not a crystal of knowledge, nor was it used to control the fortress. Instead, it was a special creation that Lex had made out of the substance he'd created in his laboratory--the substance Clark had used to create a tool with which to free himself.
This was a weapon.
Showing absolutely no hesitation, Lex leaned back slightly before slashing Zod's throat in one clean cut. Horror and surprise bloomed on Zod's face as he weakly gripped at his neck. In the end, there was nothing he could do.
He bled to death on the floor at Lex's feet.
When Zod had stopped breathing and no heart beat could be heard, Lex took a step back and smiled. He'd achieved what he'd come here to do. His business was finished. The only thing left for him to do now was go home to Clark and spend the night with him, all the while silently reveling in what he'd done here.
As Lex walked away, he glanced back once at Zod. He felt nothing but satisfaction.
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"Like what you see?" Lex asked casually as he strolled into the room.
Clark was sitting on the seat by the window, his eyes fixed on something that was probably beyond the range of normal human eye. Only at Lex's words did he jerk back, looking at him, his brow furrowing.
"No," he answered truthfully. "This is what you've done to the human race."
"Yes, and I won't try to deny that it's wrong. Even so, think of what it will mean for the race that will be created. Another planet, very like one that was destroyed. Intergalactic trade, entrance to governments in galaxies that we never knew existed before this, new technology--Clark, it's not all bad."
"And the inhabitants of this planet? The ones who have been here since it was created? How is there any good in this for them?" Clark didn't sound angry, and Lex could see that he was really wondering. Clark was just begging to be convinced that this wasn't wrong, and that maybe Lex wasn't really bad after all. Probably, Lex figured, more than that, Clark wanted assurance that he himself wasn't turning into someone that everyone he'd cared about back in Smallville would disapprove of.
Lex couldn't give him that assurance, nor did he want to.
He wanted to leave his mark on Clark. Clark would never be ruthless, nor would he probably ever kill, but Lex would shed no tears if he loosened his moral code even a slight amount. Even if Clark didn't know it, such actions would bind him more to Lex with every breath that he took.
He couldn't help but size Clark up, analyzing as he always did. His hair was so dark--such a contrast for his golden skin. Beautiful was the word that came to mind, and Lex couldn't suppress a smile as he gently sank his hand into Clark's ebony locks.
Clark leaned so that he was pressed full against Lex's body. Lex didn't mind at all, but only braced his shoulder, continuing to touch. "You were never human," Lex told him quietly. "Not really."
"No," Clark agreed, a hint of sadness in his voice, "No, I never was. Even the times I lost my powers, I was never really human. There was always something there holding me back."
"You don't have to pretend to be human anymore," Lex told him quietly as he sat down on the seat and pulled Clark into his lap. Clark's head fell back against his shoulder, his cheek gently rubbing against Lex's jaw. Smiling, Lex kept his voice at a mere whisper as he leaned down to Clark's ear and murmured, "You don't have to pretend now."
Clark sighed, and if Lex wasn't mistaken, it was a sound of relief--perfect realization mixed with acceptance. Clark had been given what he'd wanted all his life, even if he'd had to lose his whole world to gain it.
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It was a strange thing, Clark thought. People--so many of them--all waiting to be led down into the first of the work camps. Their eyes were dim, the hypnosis lifted, and the realization that they were under someone else's command setting in. They'd woken up to find their world enslaved and their lives turned upside down.
Lex stood beside him, hands tucked casually in his pockets, but Clark could see by the look on his face that what he was thinking was anything but casual. This was what Lex had always wanted--power. He had it now, and in a magnitude too great for Clark to really comprehend.
Non, Aethyr, and Nam-Ek had all attended as well, and each of them displayed a smug look on their face. This was their dream as well, Clark realized; all of them had always wanted a world to rule, a people to enslave. Earth had just been a likely target.
Zod and Ursa were absent and, as Clark had learned, dead. The circumstances and motive behind their killings were still unclear, but there was no doubt that Lex had been the one to do it. That much Lex had at least told him, even if he'd been very vague about his reasons.
Power had probably been a nice incentive, Clark imagined, given that Lex had assumed Zod's place. There was something else, though--something that Lex wasn't telling him. Yet, even as he tried to convince himself that he didn't know for sure what it was, Clark did.
Zod had hurt him badly, and Lex had spent the days after taking care of him. He'd cleaned up the blood, he'd held Clark when he hadn't quite come back to reality yet--he'd been the one who had just *been* there. Clark was willing to bet that, during those days, Lex had developed a thirst for vengeance.
Clark knew what it was like to see someone that he cared about hurting. He also knew what it was like to want to seek retribution for that person. It might not have been right, but in some ways he was thankful to Lex for what he'd done.
Clark was jerked out of his thoughts when he saw the people, under Nam-Ek's command, begin to file down into the work camps. Each one had a sort of tracking bracelet similar to the one Clark wore, though Clark knew his had a different function. It was thinner, for one, and of a different, more silver metal. It was a difference in standing, perhaps, because he wasn't a slave.
At least he didn't think that was the word for what he was.
The people looked so despondent as they were taken away from everything they'd ever known, and the sight made Clark sick to his stomach. Mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, many being separated from their families because the Kryptonians didn't care to prevent it.
Clark could identify with them in some ways, even if he knew his life was better. He too had been ripped from everything he'd ever known. The only difference was that they were being forced to work, to slave away under the ground, whereas he'd been given a life and some freedom. It was different, more comfortable, but he too had still lost so much.
Lex almost seemed to read his mind, as he leaned over to Clark and murmured, "They don't deserve your pity, Clark. So many of them deserve this fate. Those that have cheated on their wives, have stolen from their companies, have hit their children--no one's completely innocent, Clark."
He knew Lex was correct when he said that these people weren't innocent, but somehow it just didn't seem that what was happening was right. People made mistakes--they didn't *all* deserve this. But with everything that was going on around him, what other choice did he have but to accept it? "I know that," he muttered quietly, because it was what Lex wanted to hear. It was wrong, he knew, but sometimes it was just easier to feign understanding.
Chloe, Lois, and Lana were standing off to the side watching him. He could feel their stares from where he was. He didn't know what they were saying, but he assumed Lana would have told them about what had happened with Zod... and Lex. They wouldn't accept what he'd done, he was sure, but he wasn't left with many options. It was Lex or the other aliens.
He'd picked the person he actually cared about, as well as the one that cared about him.
They would never understand, and Clark knew that--he could never make them understand. He'd never be able to show them that the decisions he'd made early on--even as far back as high school--had effected what was happening now. Some of the decisions that had helped create this were even theirs, though he'd never tell them that.
He would have to live with his guilt every day of his life, and he didn't want them to have to share the burden.
Chloe looked so sad as she stood between Lana and Lois, her gown flowing in the breeze. She was beautiful, Clark thought, his chest clenching with sadness. Wasted beauty, as Nam-Ek undoubtedly treated her badly, if the bruise on her cheek was any indication.
Lois, too, was beautiful, even with a disgusted and rebellious look on her face. Of the three, she was the likeliest to be killed, because she would never accept what was happening. Clark knew that because they were more alike than he'd ever wanted to admit.
Headstrong to a fault, they both thought in their own way. Their major difference was that Clark had learned to adapt, and while he'd had to lose a little of himself to do that, he was fairly certain he'd be able to keep more in the long run. He would never be exactly what Lex wanted, and he knew that, but neither would he be able to completely resist his influence. Lois, trying to hold on to everything, would lose it all.
He vowed he wouldn't make the same mistake.
Lana was the one that drew his attention the most. She was perhaps, of all the girls, the one most responsible for this. She'd come to Lex at a time when he'd needed a positive influence most. She hadn't given him that, even if she'd tried, instead nursing in him vindictive feelings that had led to his possession by Zod.
Clark was aware that his hands weren't clean either. He'd made mistakes with Lex since they'd first met. Their relationship had always been clouded with lies and misdirection, and he'd inadvertently helped to create this future. Because no matter what anyone said, he was living in a world that was partially of his creation. His mistakes of yesterday had influenced the present.
That wasn't to say that Lex wasn't at all guilty-because he was. What was happening now was because Lex had given in to the darkness inside him, no matter what the reason. In the end, he'd had the choice of what path he wanted to take, and he'd made his own decision-no one but he was responsible for that.
Clark looked to the sky and watched as the clouds drifted overhead. The people going underground might never see those again. He was privileged, he supposed, if there even was such a thing anymore. It might not have been entirely or even mostly his fault, but he'd helped, and that hurt to think about.
It made his stomach churn to think that he'd never be completely free of the feeling of guilt that he'd carried since the meteor shower. He'd always thought that someday he'd be able to work off that debt if he did the right thing enough of the time. That was never going to happen now, he knew, and that feeling smothered him until it almost hurt to breathe.
It ached, because no matter what he told himself, he'd hurt others--had lied, and cheated, and stolen, even though he'd most always done it for a good cause. He might have tried to do the right thing, but in the end it hadn't mattered.
He'd tried, and he'd failed.
His choices had brought about yesterday's tomorrow.
He had helped create *today*.
Author: hoperoy
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing: Clark/Lex, Clark/other
Rating: NC-17
Length: 3,970
Spoilers: Vessel
Warnings: Violence, non-con, character death
Disclaimer: I can only wish that they were mine. Sadly, that is not the case.
Notes: Part 25/25
Summary: Sometimes the best men don't always win, and even heroes fail. AU after Vessel. What if Clark didn't defeat Zod?
Thanks, danceswithgary!
Previous Part
I can't believe it's the last part! After having taken over a year on this, I really can't believe it's finally done. Thanks so much to everyone who commented on this, or helped me along, or even just read the story!
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"When it is dark enough, you can see the stars." -Charles A. Beard
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Fields of endless corn stretched out before him, kissing the horizon in the distance. A breeze skimmed the tall stalks, making them bend slightly, reminding Lex of all the people that would soon bow to him.
Power
It was a maddening thing, and it had turned many a man to a savage. The trick, Lex decided, was how you handled it. You could use it and wield it, but it must not consume you--you had to be in control of it at all times.
It was proper, he thought, that he should be the first to erect new work camps for humans, right where it had all started, in Smallville, Kansas. Five years ago he'd hit a boy with his Porsche here, and said boy had saved his life.
At the time, he hadn't had any idea what that would lead to.
Smallville had become his home, perhaps more so than Metropolis. He'd traded a cold urban scene, clubs, and the beautiful people in them for All-American boys, prairie sun, and corn. Given what he'd gained, he didn't regret that trade.
With no further hesitation, Lex leaned down and slammed the first fragment of the crystal--barely bigger than the nail on a finger--into the ground. Having done so, he stepped away, watching his work.
At first there was complete silence, and even the wind and the birds seemed to still. Then the loud snapping, twisting sound of earth shifting filled the air, and some of the land before him fell away. The earth morphed and writhed, resembling for a moment an ocean of brown, grainy waves. It was fascinating, Lex had to admit, especially when, a few minutes later, everything settled and became still.
Lex spared a moment of his busy schedule to zip down under the ground to inspect. The wonders of Kryptonian technology would never cease to amaze him, especially as he looked at what lay before him.
Before him spread acres of machinery, the likes of which had never been seen on Earth. No materials yet, but the black ship would take care of that.
The ceiling of the underground caves was supported by huge crystals that had grown from the ground, their color a mixture of the dark clay earth that they'd grown from.
He had many more of these places to create, Lex realized, and he still wanted some sleep tonight. He wouldn't get any if he stayed to marvel over something that was going to become increasingly common. Hurrying from the cave, Lex continued the task that he'd begun.
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Clark turned over in bed. In the last few hours, the feeling of just lying around had become maddening. He knew that Lex was out doing things that were sealing the fate of the world, and the part of him that was still very much influenced by his parents was crying out that he should stop him.
But what could he do to stop Lex? Short of killing him, he didn't have a way to prevent Lex from doing anything. Even if he did then he'd have to overcome five other Kryptonians, and if he failed then he'd be stuck without Lex and utterly without protection.
He didn't want to kill Lex, anyway.
Clark's thoughts overwhelmed him, and he rose from the bed, moving to the window seat. As he sat down, he winced slightly, the burn left from what Zod did irritating him. The cushions were far softer than anything Earth had to offer, though, and Clark sank into them gratefully.
He had to admit that Colorado was very beautiful. The lake and mountains before him were gorgeous, but they were marred by the humans below as they labored to build a city that would become their prison.
What frightened Clark most was that, in his head, a tiny voice continually whispered, *They're not even your race. You owe them nothing. You're safe and cared for, so why should you protect them?* Clark hated that voice, because he feared that he'd succumb to it someday.
And, what he feared even more than that, was that when it happened, he might not even care.
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It was finished, Lex thought in satisfaction as he looked out over his handiwork. All over North America, labor camps had been built. There really was no point in using a euphemism, he reasoned, as in a few years no one would really remember what life had been like before.
Life as it had been would be nostalgic memory only, tainted by people only remembering what they wanted to. All objectivity would be gone, longing filling the void it left. It would be better to leave the kinder words for the people to immortalize in their memories.
Tomorrow at this time it would begin; people would be brought to these underground camps. They would be hidden away from the sun, their entire race enslaved. Humans had become a conquered race. As for the future, there was the possibility that the black spaceship could be used to open Earth to inter-galactic trade.
Lex couldn't find it in himself to really care. He knew that this immense darkness, so infinitely worse than that of his father's, should worry him, but somehow it didn't. People were dying, and he could stop it, but he chose not to. He had what he wanted, after all, so why should he bother?
Deciding that his work was done for the time being, Lex turned away from the land before him. After all, standing here and staring at what was going to bring pain and agony in the future was foolish when he compared it to the reality that Clark, possibly awake now, was back in their room wearing only sweatpants. As far as Lex was concerned, there was no contest as to where he'd rather be.
There was only one more thing that he had to do first.
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"You told me that if Clark crossed you then you'd do with him as you saw fit."
Lex paused, moving further into the room of the fortress which Zod currently occupied. Upon Lex's arrival, he looked up from what appeared to be a book written in Kryptonian.
Not waiting for a reply, Lex continued, "Now I'm telling you that, should anyone cross Clark, I will deal with them as *I* see fit."
Apparently reading the threat in Lex's words, Zod's lips curled into a sneer as he put down his book. "You let emotion blind you. Your greatness lies in pursuing what I have offered you--Kal-El will bring you no greatness."
Lex laughed bitterly. "I don't need *you* to achieve greatness. You've been careless. If I killed you right now, I would stand to gain everything."
Zod still didn't seem particularly intimidated as he rose to his feet. If anything, he looked almost amused. "The others would never follow you."
"No?" Lex asked skeptically. "I don't believe that they have any real loyalty to you, with perhaps the exception of Ursa--not that it matters."
"You think you have a way to control them?" Zod asked, finally giving an outright smile.
Lex shook his head. "I *know* I do." He'd planned this carefully in the last few days, not wanting to make a mistake. There was no room for error in this situation, because if he failed, he'd likely die, and Clark would be left at the mercy of these people. After seeing Clark when Zod had been done with him, Lex wasn't about to let that happen.
Anything less than success was not an option.
"I'm not Kryptonian," he continued. "I may have these powers, but my body was modified to have them--it's not in my biology. If anything, I'm closer to Milton Fine than I am to you." That was the key point in his plan, one that he'd only realized a few days ago.
For the first time, there was a flash of something akin to nervousness in Zod's eyes. Lex couldn't contain his smile at the sight. He *wanted* Zod to be scared--he wanted to him to suffer, just as Clark had. Nothing would ever erase what had happened to Clark--he'd always carry the internal scars--but Lex wanted to make sure that Zod didn't walk away unscathed either.
He wanted him to *regret* what he'd done.
"That is insignificant," Zod replied, even if he didn't look as though he believed that.
"When you had my body modified, you gave me all of your strengths, but none of your weaknesses," Lex reminded him. As he spoke, he slipped his hand into his coat pocket until his fingers brushed the smooth lead box that rested there. It had been a gift to Clark, he remembered, back when they'd just been best friends. It was ironic that he had given Clark a shield to the very thing that hurt him--that he'd been the first to inadvertently help Clark discover how to combat his weakness.
Taking another step forward, Lex looked Zod full in the face. "People don't touch what's mine," he said quietly, his voice threatening. "The moment you touched Clark, you crossed me."
Not waiting for Zod to respond, Lex pulled the box out of his pocket and flicked open the lid.
The effect was instantaneous: Zod was immediately bathed in green light, his face twisting in surprise and pain. His expression caused a sick sort of satisfaction to bubble up in Lex; Zod would get what he deserved.
A few moments after the box was opened, Zod's strength failed, and his legs gave out, his knees making a sickening crack on the floor as he collapsed. He lay there, feebly struggling for a relief that did not come.
Lex would not *let* it come.
Zod been marked for this from the moment Lex had touched the rivulets of blood on Clark's thighs-since he'd seen the damage Zod inflicted. The first time Zod had taken Clark against his will, Lex had let it go, if only because he'd considered doing the same thing that first night, and because it hadn't been quite as brutal.
The second time was different--that had been a vicious, punishing attack, occurring after Clark had come under Lex's protection. Zod had meant it as a warning to Lex just as much as he'd done it to punish Clark. He'd used Clark to make a point--had hurt Clark for no real reason.
"Y-Your emotion for him will blind you and... become your downfall," Zod gasped out, trying to steady himself. The rock was clearly causing him pain, a fact which Lex exulted in. "Just as his father was... to me."
Lex smirked down at him as he moved forward, stopping just inches away. "Clark's not going to be my downfall--he's going to be what keeps me sane. He is not his father, and neither is he a pawn for you to use to make a point--not that any of that matters now."
"The others will never follow you," Zod choked out, his fingers flexing uselessly against the floor as he attempted to push himself up. He failed each time.
"Those that don't will share your fate," Lex replied, smiling.
Lex didn't wait for a reply from Zod. Instead, he simply reached into his other pocket, withdrawing a crystal. The end of it glittered in the light, accentuating the sharpness of its tip. It was not a crystal of knowledge, nor was it used to control the fortress. Instead, it was a special creation that Lex had made out of the substance he'd created in his laboratory--the substance Clark had used to create a tool with which to free himself.
This was a weapon.
Showing absolutely no hesitation, Lex leaned back slightly before slashing Zod's throat in one clean cut. Horror and surprise bloomed on Zod's face as he weakly gripped at his neck. In the end, there was nothing he could do.
He bled to death on the floor at Lex's feet.
When Zod had stopped breathing and no heart beat could be heard, Lex took a step back and smiled. He'd achieved what he'd come here to do. His business was finished. The only thing left for him to do now was go home to Clark and spend the night with him, all the while silently reveling in what he'd done here.
As Lex walked away, he glanced back once at Zod. He felt nothing but satisfaction.
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"Like what you see?" Lex asked casually as he strolled into the room.
Clark was sitting on the seat by the window, his eyes fixed on something that was probably beyond the range of normal human eye. Only at Lex's words did he jerk back, looking at him, his brow furrowing.
"No," he answered truthfully. "This is what you've done to the human race."
"Yes, and I won't try to deny that it's wrong. Even so, think of what it will mean for the race that will be created. Another planet, very like one that was destroyed. Intergalactic trade, entrance to governments in galaxies that we never knew existed before this, new technology--Clark, it's not all bad."
"And the inhabitants of this planet? The ones who have been here since it was created? How is there any good in this for them?" Clark didn't sound angry, and Lex could see that he was really wondering. Clark was just begging to be convinced that this wasn't wrong, and that maybe Lex wasn't really bad after all. Probably, Lex figured, more than that, Clark wanted assurance that he himself wasn't turning into someone that everyone he'd cared about back in Smallville would disapprove of.
Lex couldn't give him that assurance, nor did he want to.
He wanted to leave his mark on Clark. Clark would never be ruthless, nor would he probably ever kill, but Lex would shed no tears if he loosened his moral code even a slight amount. Even if Clark didn't know it, such actions would bind him more to Lex with every breath that he took.
He couldn't help but size Clark up, analyzing as he always did. His hair was so dark--such a contrast for his golden skin. Beautiful was the word that came to mind, and Lex couldn't suppress a smile as he gently sank his hand into Clark's ebony locks.
Clark leaned so that he was pressed full against Lex's body. Lex didn't mind at all, but only braced his shoulder, continuing to touch. "You were never human," Lex told him quietly. "Not really."
"No," Clark agreed, a hint of sadness in his voice, "No, I never was. Even the times I lost my powers, I was never really human. There was always something there holding me back."
"You don't have to pretend to be human anymore," Lex told him quietly as he sat down on the seat and pulled Clark into his lap. Clark's head fell back against his shoulder, his cheek gently rubbing against Lex's jaw. Smiling, Lex kept his voice at a mere whisper as he leaned down to Clark's ear and murmured, "You don't have to pretend now."
Clark sighed, and if Lex wasn't mistaken, it was a sound of relief--perfect realization mixed with acceptance. Clark had been given what he'd wanted all his life, even if he'd had to lose his whole world to gain it.
---------------------------------------------------
It was a strange thing, Clark thought. People--so many of them--all waiting to be led down into the first of the work camps. Their eyes were dim, the hypnosis lifted, and the realization that they were under someone else's command setting in. They'd woken up to find their world enslaved and their lives turned upside down.
Lex stood beside him, hands tucked casually in his pockets, but Clark could see by the look on his face that what he was thinking was anything but casual. This was what Lex had always wanted--power. He had it now, and in a magnitude too great for Clark to really comprehend.
Non, Aethyr, and Nam-Ek had all attended as well, and each of them displayed a smug look on their face. This was their dream as well, Clark realized; all of them had always wanted a world to rule, a people to enslave. Earth had just been a likely target.
Zod and Ursa were absent and, as Clark had learned, dead. The circumstances and motive behind their killings were still unclear, but there was no doubt that Lex had been the one to do it. That much Lex had at least told him, even if he'd been very vague about his reasons.
Power had probably been a nice incentive, Clark imagined, given that Lex had assumed Zod's place. There was something else, though--something that Lex wasn't telling him. Yet, even as he tried to convince himself that he didn't know for sure what it was, Clark did.
Zod had hurt him badly, and Lex had spent the days after taking care of him. He'd cleaned up the blood, he'd held Clark when he hadn't quite come back to reality yet--he'd been the one who had just *been* there. Clark was willing to bet that, during those days, Lex had developed a thirst for vengeance.
Clark knew what it was like to see someone that he cared about hurting. He also knew what it was like to want to seek retribution for that person. It might not have been right, but in some ways he was thankful to Lex for what he'd done.
Clark was jerked out of his thoughts when he saw the people, under Nam-Ek's command, begin to file down into the work camps. Each one had a sort of tracking bracelet similar to the one Clark wore, though Clark knew his had a different function. It was thinner, for one, and of a different, more silver metal. It was a difference in standing, perhaps, because he wasn't a slave.
At least he didn't think that was the word for what he was.
The people looked so despondent as they were taken away from everything they'd ever known, and the sight made Clark sick to his stomach. Mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, many being separated from their families because the Kryptonians didn't care to prevent it.
Clark could identify with them in some ways, even if he knew his life was better. He too had been ripped from everything he'd ever known. The only difference was that they were being forced to work, to slave away under the ground, whereas he'd been given a life and some freedom. It was different, more comfortable, but he too had still lost so much.
Lex almost seemed to read his mind, as he leaned over to Clark and murmured, "They don't deserve your pity, Clark. So many of them deserve this fate. Those that have cheated on their wives, have stolen from their companies, have hit their children--no one's completely innocent, Clark."
He knew Lex was correct when he said that these people weren't innocent, but somehow it just didn't seem that what was happening was right. People made mistakes--they didn't *all* deserve this. But with everything that was going on around him, what other choice did he have but to accept it? "I know that," he muttered quietly, because it was what Lex wanted to hear. It was wrong, he knew, but sometimes it was just easier to feign understanding.
Chloe, Lois, and Lana were standing off to the side watching him. He could feel their stares from where he was. He didn't know what they were saying, but he assumed Lana would have told them about what had happened with Zod... and Lex. They wouldn't accept what he'd done, he was sure, but he wasn't left with many options. It was Lex or the other aliens.
He'd picked the person he actually cared about, as well as the one that cared about him.
They would never understand, and Clark knew that--he could never make them understand. He'd never be able to show them that the decisions he'd made early on--even as far back as high school--had effected what was happening now. Some of the decisions that had helped create this were even theirs, though he'd never tell them that.
He would have to live with his guilt every day of his life, and he didn't want them to have to share the burden.
Chloe looked so sad as she stood between Lana and Lois, her gown flowing in the breeze. She was beautiful, Clark thought, his chest clenching with sadness. Wasted beauty, as Nam-Ek undoubtedly treated her badly, if the bruise on her cheek was any indication.
Lois, too, was beautiful, even with a disgusted and rebellious look on her face. Of the three, she was the likeliest to be killed, because she would never accept what was happening. Clark knew that because they were more alike than he'd ever wanted to admit.
Headstrong to a fault, they both thought in their own way. Their major difference was that Clark had learned to adapt, and while he'd had to lose a little of himself to do that, he was fairly certain he'd be able to keep more in the long run. He would never be exactly what Lex wanted, and he knew that, but neither would he be able to completely resist his influence. Lois, trying to hold on to everything, would lose it all.
He vowed he wouldn't make the same mistake.
Lana was the one that drew his attention the most. She was perhaps, of all the girls, the one most responsible for this. She'd come to Lex at a time when he'd needed a positive influence most. She hadn't given him that, even if she'd tried, instead nursing in him vindictive feelings that had led to his possession by Zod.
Clark was aware that his hands weren't clean either. He'd made mistakes with Lex since they'd first met. Their relationship had always been clouded with lies and misdirection, and he'd inadvertently helped to create this future. Because no matter what anyone said, he was living in a world that was partially of his creation. His mistakes of yesterday had influenced the present.
That wasn't to say that Lex wasn't at all guilty-because he was. What was happening now was because Lex had given in to the darkness inside him, no matter what the reason. In the end, he'd had the choice of what path he wanted to take, and he'd made his own decision-no one but he was responsible for that.
Clark looked to the sky and watched as the clouds drifted overhead. The people going underground might never see those again. He was privileged, he supposed, if there even was such a thing anymore. It might not have been entirely or even mostly his fault, but he'd helped, and that hurt to think about.
It made his stomach churn to think that he'd never be completely free of the feeling of guilt that he'd carried since the meteor shower. He'd always thought that someday he'd be able to work off that debt if he did the right thing enough of the time. That was never going to happen now, he knew, and that feeling smothered him until it almost hurt to breathe.
It ached, because no matter what he told himself, he'd hurt others--had lied, and cheated, and stolen, even though he'd most always done it for a good cause. He might have tried to do the right thing, but in the end it hadn't mattered.
He'd tried, and he'd failed.
His choices had brought about yesterday's tomorrow.
He had helped create *today*.