Katrina Relief Fund Fic
Title: So What's the Emergency This Time?
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing: Clark/Lex
Genre: AU (what else), Established Relationship, Futurefic, Clex with kids
Rating: Mature, no sex, some bad language
Summary: Someone doesn't approve of Clark's decision to semi-retire.
Thank you to maigie2010 for donating to the Katrina Hurricane Relief Efforts
"Clark! We're going to be late!" Lex yelled from the hallway. A blue-suited blur moved past him and Lex smiled when he felt a brief kiss on his cheek. There were advantages to Clark's super powers, especially when it came to getting their three children ready in the morning.
He continued down the hall to the dining room where an immaculately dressed Clark was helping Lily with her stylish, but still appropriate for an eight year old, backpack while Connor was trying to negotiate his after school curfew. The baby, Erik, was happily stuffing Cheerios in his mouth.
"Connor, you're still grounded for that stunt you pulled with Bart Allen last week." Lex poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down to clean up the mess around Erik. The two year old had scattered his dry cereal all around himself. The child refused to eat cereal with milk, but drank the beverage as gustily as Clark.
"Dad, what were we supposed to do? Let those thugs hurt the other kids?"
Lex, while proud that their son seemed to have Clark's hero tendencies, worried about the fifteen year old's same reckless disregard for his own safety. Lex was going to have to face the very real possibility of having a second super-hero in the family very soon if Connor's metahuman abilities continued to develop apace with his physical growth. Their son was already six feet tall.
"Of course not, but we've discussed the use of your telekinesis outside of the Academy, Connor. You know the rules," Clark reminded the boy. "There's no reason for you to hide who and what you are, but you need time to hone your skills in a controlled environment. That's why the League established the Academy."
"I guess the government wouldn't want a bunch of metahumans just putting on costumes and suddenly stopping crimes at random, now would they?" Connor asked cheekily.
"No, they had enough of that with your father's generation." Lex chuckled. "Lily, I'll be picking you up from school this afternoon. I have a conference with your teachers about your art lessons."
Lily launched herself at Lex. "I got into the class?" She hugged him tightly.
"Ms. Vanderhoot called to say that she was very impressed with the portfolio you submitted. I didn't have to bribe a single school official." Lex explained when Lily finally released him.
Lily pouted prettily and rolled her eyes. "As if you would ever do that."
"Of course I would." Lex smiled over her head at Clark. "I would conquer nations for you."
"He says that to all the girls, Lily." Clark laughed.
"I am all the girls." She said haughtily, shaking back her red curls.
Erik just picked up his sippy cup and finished his milk with a loud sigh of satisfaction. All of the other Luthor-Kents looked at his happy face and laughed.
*****
Clark dropped off Conner and Lily at their schools on his way to the Daily Planet. As he was parking the car in his space in the underground garage, his Justice League communicator activated.
"Clark, we have an emergency."
"What is it this time, J'Onn? A volcano or a rampaging super-villain?" Clark asked with some irritation.
"Clark, we wouldn't call you if it wasn't important. We understand that you have chosen not to interfere with human destiny except in the most dire circumstances, but we need you today."
"I ask again, what is the emergency?"
"The Watchtower sensors have picked up a asteroid on a collision course with the earth. It is not on the charts of near earth objects. We suspect that it has been deliberately launched toward Earth. We need you to attempt to change its trajectory before it gets too close to Earth for any action to be effective. Green Lantern will assist you."
"I'm on my way."
Clark quickly placed a call from his handheld computer to his secretary to transfer his column to her computer and to inform her that he wouldn't be in. He was on the trail of a new story, he told her.
A second call to Lex informed him that Clark had been called in on a on a mission in space. Lex told him to be safe.
Then he activated the Justice League transporter.
*****
It wasn't often that Clark arrived at headquarters in civilian attire. Hardly anyone noticed, however. He quickly changed into Superman and the special deep space gear that would allow him to communicate with Green Lantern in the vacuum of space. He rendezvoused with John in the Javelin bay.
"Let's make this quick. I left Lex with the baby this morning so that I could go into the office for a couple of hours." Clark saw the disapproval on Lantern's face at the mention of Lex but didn't care.
*****
Six hours later, Lex was tearing the Martian Manhunter a new one while Clark was being treated for injuries in the Fortress of Solitude. The AI had removed Clark from the Watchtower when Clark had summoned help. Lex had been automatically informed. Robotic surgeons were rapidly removing fragments of frighteningly pure kryptonite from Clark's tissues. Clark wasn't healing as long as any of the substance was in his body.
"Did anyone think to check the composition of that damned asteroid before sending Clark after it, J'Onn? Or did you just think 'Oh, Superman can break it up or push it out of the way'?"
"Of course, I checked, Luthor. There was no indication that the asteroid contained kryptonite."
"Then this was a deliberate trap for Clark." Lex's fury increased.
"It would seem so."
"Seem so? I suggest you find out. And don't bother calling Clark for any more missions. He's no longer on your reserve roster. Clark will stick to needs of his own city from now on. Connor won't be returning to the Academy, either. Clark and the AI will train him."
"Don't you think that Superman should make that decision himself?"
"His name is Clark."
*****
Six of the original members of the League sat around the conference table. It was strange not to have Superman among them.
"What went wrong, John? Why did the asteroid explode?" J'Onn asked
"When Superman approached the asteroid, I picked up some sort of alarm coming from his armor. He backed off and used his heat vision on the asteroid instead of pushing it onto a new course," Green Lantern reported.
"The heat triggered the engines powering the asteroid," Batman deduced.
"And Superman was impaled with fragments of the highly refined kryptonite fuel rods. Ouch!" Flash commented.
"Instead of being able to capture him in a weakened state, we had to seek his AI's assistance to save his life. We could still lose him." Wonder Woman's head was down. Her dejection worried J'Onn. The Amazon was never cowed no matter how desperate the situation.
"We should have known that Luthor would never have left him unprotected. He's been distrustful of us since we objected to their adoption of Connor," J'Onn reminded them.
"Of course Luthor resented our objection. Connor is their biological son." Hawkgirl commented.
"Shayera, Connor is one of a batch of clones produced by Lionel Luthor from Clark and Lex's cells in some sick attempt to find a cure for his liver cancer," Batman corrected her. "It is only sheer luck that he survived and isn't as insane as the Emily Dinsmore clone. We still don't know the extent of the power the boy has due to his mixed mutant and alien DNA."
"That doesn't make the boy any less their son. Nor does it make Lily and Erik any less Clark and Lex's children because they are adopted. Face it, Bruce. Clark has a life and we aren't a part of it anymore because we've interfered with his family once too often." Flash stood up from the table. He pulled the JL communicator from his ear and tossed it on the table. "I'm leaving and I won't be back either. I have my own city to protect. J'Onn, I think the person you need to worry about being a danger to us is at this table."
"Wally --" Bruce called out.
Diana and Shayera tossed their communicators on the table and followed Wally out of the conference room. After a moment's hesitation, John's joined theirs.
*****
"Daddy! Wake up! Hungry!"
Clark opened his eyes to the sound of Erik's insistent little voice and found himself in the Fortress family chambers. Erik had climbed up on the bed beside him. Clark reached out for his son and realized that he still hurt from the explosion.
"Daddy hurt?" Erik frowned at the grimace on Clark's face.
"There you are you little scamp!" Lex walked into the chamber and scooped Erik off the bed before sitting down with the baby in his lap. Lex leaned around Erik to kiss Clark. "We'll get you some breakfast in a minute, Erik. How are you feeling, Clark?"
"Like crap. Did you get the number of that asteroid?"
"As a matter of fact, I did."
Clark frowned. "What do you know?"
"The AI analyzed the kryptonite removed from your system. It was identical to fuel rods produced by my father when he was doing his cloning experiments."
"All of his equipment was seized by the Justice League for destruction when the experiments and Connor were discovered."
"And who in the League was in charge of destroying the equipment?"
"Bruce."
"Wayne Technologies owns several patents for rocket engines that use highly refined kryptonite or plutonium as fuel, including a design with enough horsepower to push an asteroid through space. Ostensibly, the design was for pushing near earth objects away from earth."
"Bruce commandeered Lionel's kryptonite to launch an asteroid at the Earth? How? Why?"
"I don't know for sure, Clark, but it appears to have been some sort of trap for you. The JLA announced that Batman has officially left the team to devote himself to Gotham City. If you feel up to it, have a shower and get dressed. I've got to feed this one." Lex indicated the squirming child in his lap. "Connor and Lily want to see you, too. I'm surprised they didn't sneak in here." Lex blew a raspberry in Erik's neck making the baby giggle.
Despite Lex's antics with the baby, Clark could see that Lex was still very worried. "I'll be dressed in few minutes."
*****
"Why aren't you two in school?" Clark asked Connor and Lily when he joined the rest of the family in the dining room.
"Papa has taken me out of the Academy, Dad. I'll be studying with the AI and with you."
"I see. And you, young lady?" Clark asked Lily.
Lily poked her head up from her sketch pad. "Oh, I'm just taking a few days off. Papa informed the school that there was a family emergency and that we would be out of town for an indeterminate time. I'm getting my assignments via the AI computer system and turning in my homework by email."
"What about your art classes?"
"The AI is teaching me to use the Kryptonian mento-ray to help me visualize my work. It's helping me with my normal sketching and painting."
"Isn't that cheating a bit?"
"I asked the AI the same thing, Clark," Lex interjected. "The mento-ray doesn't enhance Lily's abilities, but using it is like practicing the same hand-eye coordination that her normal talent does."
"Just make sure that you don't use the mento-ray for any of your art assignments." Clark relented.
Lily rolled her eyes. "Yes, Daddy."
Clark ruffled her hair in retaliation for the eye roll.
"I assume you made arrangement for me at the Planet." Clark got a nod from Lex who was busy pretending to steal Cheerios from Erik. "What about LexCorp?"
Lex chewed the Cheerio Erik smushed into his mouth and said, "In Gabe's capable hands as it always is when we have a crisis."
"What are you going to do when he decides to retire?"
"Have him cloned, of course."
*****
It was nearly dawn when Batman returned from patrol. The streets of Gotham were darker these days without a Robin to help share the burden. He changed out of the Batsuit and took a long hot shower to ease the aches from the battles of the night. Bruce wondered if he was getting too old to do this.
He stepped out of the shower and found the Batsuit a smoldering pile of ash and a message burned into the floor of the cave.
"Fuck with me or my family again and next time you'll be in the suit."
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing: Clark/Lex
Genre: AU (what else), Established Relationship, Futurefic, Clex with kids
Rating: Mature, no sex, some bad language
Summary: Someone doesn't approve of Clark's decision to semi-retire.
Thank you to maigie2010 for donating to the Katrina Hurricane Relief Efforts
"Clark! We're going to be late!" Lex yelled from the hallway. A blue-suited blur moved past him and Lex smiled when he felt a brief kiss on his cheek. There were advantages to Clark's super powers, especially when it came to getting their three children ready in the morning.
He continued down the hall to the dining room where an immaculately dressed Clark was helping Lily with her stylish, but still appropriate for an eight year old, backpack while Connor was trying to negotiate his after school curfew. The baby, Erik, was happily stuffing Cheerios in his mouth.
"Connor, you're still grounded for that stunt you pulled with Bart Allen last week." Lex poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down to clean up the mess around Erik. The two year old had scattered his dry cereal all around himself. The child refused to eat cereal with milk, but drank the beverage as gustily as Clark.
"Dad, what were we supposed to do? Let those thugs hurt the other kids?"
Lex, while proud that their son seemed to have Clark's hero tendencies, worried about the fifteen year old's same reckless disregard for his own safety. Lex was going to have to face the very real possibility of having a second super-hero in the family very soon if Connor's metahuman abilities continued to develop apace with his physical growth. Their son was already six feet tall.
"Of course not, but we've discussed the use of your telekinesis outside of the Academy, Connor. You know the rules," Clark reminded the boy. "There's no reason for you to hide who and what you are, but you need time to hone your skills in a controlled environment. That's why the League established the Academy."
"I guess the government wouldn't want a bunch of metahumans just putting on costumes and suddenly stopping crimes at random, now would they?" Connor asked cheekily.
"No, they had enough of that with your father's generation." Lex chuckled. "Lily, I'll be picking you up from school this afternoon. I have a conference with your teachers about your art lessons."
Lily launched herself at Lex. "I got into the class?" She hugged him tightly.
"Ms. Vanderhoot called to say that she was very impressed with the portfolio you submitted. I didn't have to bribe a single school official." Lex explained when Lily finally released him.
Lily pouted prettily and rolled her eyes. "As if you would ever do that."
"Of course I would." Lex smiled over her head at Clark. "I would conquer nations for you."
"He says that to all the girls, Lily." Clark laughed.
"I am all the girls." She said haughtily, shaking back her red curls.
Erik just picked up his sippy cup and finished his milk with a loud sigh of satisfaction. All of the other Luthor-Kents looked at his happy face and laughed.
*****
Clark dropped off Conner and Lily at their schools on his way to the Daily Planet. As he was parking the car in his space in the underground garage, his Justice League communicator activated.
"Clark, we have an emergency."
"What is it this time, J'Onn? A volcano or a rampaging super-villain?" Clark asked with some irritation.
"Clark, we wouldn't call you if it wasn't important. We understand that you have chosen not to interfere with human destiny except in the most dire circumstances, but we need you today."
"I ask again, what is the emergency?"
"The Watchtower sensors have picked up a asteroid on a collision course with the earth. It is not on the charts of near earth objects. We suspect that it has been deliberately launched toward Earth. We need you to attempt to change its trajectory before it gets too close to Earth for any action to be effective. Green Lantern will assist you."
"I'm on my way."
Clark quickly placed a call from his handheld computer to his secretary to transfer his column to her computer and to inform her that he wouldn't be in. He was on the trail of a new story, he told her.
A second call to Lex informed him that Clark had been called in on a on a mission in space. Lex told him to be safe.
Then he activated the Justice League transporter.
*****
It wasn't often that Clark arrived at headquarters in civilian attire. Hardly anyone noticed, however. He quickly changed into Superman and the special deep space gear that would allow him to communicate with Green Lantern in the vacuum of space. He rendezvoused with John in the Javelin bay.
"Let's make this quick. I left Lex with the baby this morning so that I could go into the office for a couple of hours." Clark saw the disapproval on Lantern's face at the mention of Lex but didn't care.
*****
Six hours later, Lex was tearing the Martian Manhunter a new one while Clark was being treated for injuries in the Fortress of Solitude. The AI had removed Clark from the Watchtower when Clark had summoned help. Lex had been automatically informed. Robotic surgeons were rapidly removing fragments of frighteningly pure kryptonite from Clark's tissues. Clark wasn't healing as long as any of the substance was in his body.
"Did anyone think to check the composition of that damned asteroid before sending Clark after it, J'Onn? Or did you just think 'Oh, Superman can break it up or push it out of the way'?"
"Of course, I checked, Luthor. There was no indication that the asteroid contained kryptonite."
"Then this was a deliberate trap for Clark." Lex's fury increased.
"It would seem so."
"Seem so? I suggest you find out. And don't bother calling Clark for any more missions. He's no longer on your reserve roster. Clark will stick to needs of his own city from now on. Connor won't be returning to the Academy, either. Clark and the AI will train him."
"Don't you think that Superman should make that decision himself?"
"His name is Clark."
*****
Six of the original members of the League sat around the conference table. It was strange not to have Superman among them.
"What went wrong, John? Why did the asteroid explode?" J'Onn asked
"When Superman approached the asteroid, I picked up some sort of alarm coming from his armor. He backed off and used his heat vision on the asteroid instead of pushing it onto a new course," Green Lantern reported.
"The heat triggered the engines powering the asteroid," Batman deduced.
"And Superman was impaled with fragments of the highly refined kryptonite fuel rods. Ouch!" Flash commented.
"Instead of being able to capture him in a weakened state, we had to seek his AI's assistance to save his life. We could still lose him." Wonder Woman's head was down. Her dejection worried J'Onn. The Amazon was never cowed no matter how desperate the situation.
"We should have known that Luthor would never have left him unprotected. He's been distrustful of us since we objected to their adoption of Connor," J'Onn reminded them.
"Of course Luthor resented our objection. Connor is their biological son." Hawkgirl commented.
"Shayera, Connor is one of a batch of clones produced by Lionel Luthor from Clark and Lex's cells in some sick attempt to find a cure for his liver cancer," Batman corrected her. "It is only sheer luck that he survived and isn't as insane as the Emily Dinsmore clone. We still don't know the extent of the power the boy has due to his mixed mutant and alien DNA."
"That doesn't make the boy any less their son. Nor does it make Lily and Erik any less Clark and Lex's children because they are adopted. Face it, Bruce. Clark has a life and we aren't a part of it anymore because we've interfered with his family once too often." Flash stood up from the table. He pulled the JL communicator from his ear and tossed it on the table. "I'm leaving and I won't be back either. I have my own city to protect. J'Onn, I think the person you need to worry about being a danger to us is at this table."
"Wally --" Bruce called out.
Diana and Shayera tossed their communicators on the table and followed Wally out of the conference room. After a moment's hesitation, John's joined theirs.
*****
"Daddy! Wake up! Hungry!"
Clark opened his eyes to the sound of Erik's insistent little voice and found himself in the Fortress family chambers. Erik had climbed up on the bed beside him. Clark reached out for his son and realized that he still hurt from the explosion.
"Daddy hurt?" Erik frowned at the grimace on Clark's face.
"There you are you little scamp!" Lex walked into the chamber and scooped Erik off the bed before sitting down with the baby in his lap. Lex leaned around Erik to kiss Clark. "We'll get you some breakfast in a minute, Erik. How are you feeling, Clark?"
"Like crap. Did you get the number of that asteroid?"
"As a matter of fact, I did."
Clark frowned. "What do you know?"
"The AI analyzed the kryptonite removed from your system. It was identical to fuel rods produced by my father when he was doing his cloning experiments."
"All of his equipment was seized by the Justice League for destruction when the experiments and Connor were discovered."
"And who in the League was in charge of destroying the equipment?"
"Bruce."
"Wayne Technologies owns several patents for rocket engines that use highly refined kryptonite or plutonium as fuel, including a design with enough horsepower to push an asteroid through space. Ostensibly, the design was for pushing near earth objects away from earth."
"Bruce commandeered Lionel's kryptonite to launch an asteroid at the Earth? How? Why?"
"I don't know for sure, Clark, but it appears to have been some sort of trap for you. The JLA announced that Batman has officially left the team to devote himself to Gotham City. If you feel up to it, have a shower and get dressed. I've got to feed this one." Lex indicated the squirming child in his lap. "Connor and Lily want to see you, too. I'm surprised they didn't sneak in here." Lex blew a raspberry in Erik's neck making the baby giggle.
Despite Lex's antics with the baby, Clark could see that Lex was still very worried. "I'll be dressed in few minutes."
*****
"Why aren't you two in school?" Clark asked Connor and Lily when he joined the rest of the family in the dining room.
"Papa has taken me out of the Academy, Dad. I'll be studying with the AI and with you."
"I see. And you, young lady?" Clark asked Lily.
Lily poked her head up from her sketch pad. "Oh, I'm just taking a few days off. Papa informed the school that there was a family emergency and that we would be out of town for an indeterminate time. I'm getting my assignments via the AI computer system and turning in my homework by email."
"What about your art classes?"
"The AI is teaching me to use the Kryptonian mento-ray to help me visualize my work. It's helping me with my normal sketching and painting."
"Isn't that cheating a bit?"
"I asked the AI the same thing, Clark," Lex interjected. "The mento-ray doesn't enhance Lily's abilities, but using it is like practicing the same hand-eye coordination that her normal talent does."
"Just make sure that you don't use the mento-ray for any of your art assignments." Clark relented.
Lily rolled her eyes. "Yes, Daddy."
Clark ruffled her hair in retaliation for the eye roll.
"I assume you made arrangement for me at the Planet." Clark got a nod from Lex who was busy pretending to steal Cheerios from Erik. "What about LexCorp?"
Lex chewed the Cheerio Erik smushed into his mouth and said, "In Gabe's capable hands as it always is when we have a crisis."
"What are you going to do when he decides to retire?"
"Have him cloned, of course."
*****
It was nearly dawn when Batman returned from patrol. The streets of Gotham were darker these days without a Robin to help share the burden. He changed out of the Batsuit and took a long hot shower to ease the aches from the battles of the night. Bruce wondered if he was getting too old to do this.
He stepped out of the shower and found the Batsuit a smoldering pile of ash and a message burned into the floor of the cave.
"Fuck with me or my family again and next time you'll be in the suit."