FiC: SupesFans vs. LexMinions
So much for posting once a week! Here's the next, anyway. :)
Title: SupesFans vs. LexMinions
Rating: PG-13
Character/Pairing: Clex
Summary: During the long hours of insomnia, Lex finds an online forum dedicated to himself... and Superman.
Warnings: none
A.N.: This is an AU futurefic bent on meta.
Part Two: Baby Steps toward Redemption
The Daily Planet building had a lot of charm, and if it was not charming, at least it had character. This character came from, primarily, the reporters who worked there all day and all night. No one would ever accuse this group of resting on their laurels.
Although sometimes they did piss away time on the internet.
Clack clack clack clack.
“I don’t know why you seem to love screwing around on those message boards so much.”
Clack clack clack clack.
“You’d better be defending my honor.”
Chloe hit post, then swiveled around to face Clark. “Aw, do you have PMS?”
“I do not. I can’t believe you found that out on a stupid message board. How do they know things like that?” Clark whined.
He pushed his glasses up on his nose and grimaced. It had been a hell of a day. Luthor had been up to something at one of his warehouses, some secret research project. The JLA had gotten there before him, and things had gone to hell pretty quick, even before he’d arrived. By the end of it, he doubted Luthor had anything left from that project. Superman had flown out of there covered in soot and mere scraps of his suit. It was a good thing he had spares.
“You’d be surprised how much some of these people are able to find out. You can scoff all you want about me hanging out there, but I’ve gotten a lead or two.” Chloe spun around again. “So stuff it.”
“I don’t know that one or two leads is worth spending as much time as you do reading about who has a cuter ass,” Clark complained.
Chloe let out a bubbly laugh. “I warned you not to read the boards if you weren’t ready... Oh. Someone posted on what happened at the warehouse today.”
“What?” Clark zipped up behind her and leaned over her shoulder. “No one could have known about what happened today. LexCorp put the clamp down on the story and none of the JLA would have announced it without a meeting.”
“I don’t think it's a mask, Clark. I’ve talked with Shine before,” Chloe informed him. “I think she might work for LexCorp. Her info is pretty dead on. Maybe a little slanted toward Lex sometimes-”
“Sometimes? She makes me sound like a bull in a China shop!” Clark exploded.
Chloe caught her city of Metropolis snow globe as Clark’s hand accidentally knocked it off the desk. “No offense, but sometimes you are. And anyway, sometimes she defends you, and explains your actions. I think she understands you better than she understands Lex.”
Clark was silent for a moment, pressing his lips together gravely as his eyes skimmed over the account again. Chloe knew that he could read almost as fast as he could run, and as she looked up, his eyes were flashing back and forth so fast they almost seemed black.
“I didn’t know... Do you think what she’s saying is true?” Clark seemed to have gone pale. “Did Lex get hurt?”
“You don’t know?”
“Well, I certainly didn’t knock Lex into an explosion on purpose!”
“I’m not accusing you. Hang on. Let me PM her.”
“What?”
Chloe rolled her eyes. “I’m going to say hi. See that green dot next to her name? It means she’s on.”
Clark sighed impatiently and waited as Chloe typed.
“Hey, long time no see,” Chloe murmured, her fingers flying. “I was afraid we scared you away with our warring...”
“Weren’t you going to ask her about the explosion?”
“Keep your panties on, Clark. I’ve never PMed her before. I want to try this thing called manners. Besides, she really hasn’t been on in a while. It would probably further info-getting more if I find out what’s going on with her.”
Clark sighed again, took Chloe’s coffee mug in hand and went to get her a refill. When he returned, he leaned over her shoulder again. “Getting anywhere?”
“Well, I don’t know if she’s telling the truth, but I have confirmed that Lex was in the hospital earlier this evening. After some prompting she went back to the thread to give some more details.” Chloe picked up her mug, rubbing her hand over the warm ceramic. “Read for yourself.”
Clark sat down to scan the page, frowning deeply as he read Shine’s words describing the aftereffects of the event. He knew Lex well enough to know that just because he’d left the hospital after surgery didn’t mean he was in the pink at all.
“This is bad, Chlo. We need to report this one. Or at least, you need to.”
“Um, didn’t Ollie and the boys want to keep it under wraps? I’m not arguing; you know if I’m given the option, I prefer the truth to be known.” She sat back on the edge of Clark’s desk and looked at him critically. “You’re usually the one with the attitude that Lex deserves everything he gets.”
“I did this.” Clark stood, keeping his hand on the back of his chair. “No, we can’t trust him, but... I could have killed him. I was careless. I was careless, and I didn’t bother to find out the situation before going in. We can’t afford to be that lax about how we do things, and since the team looks to me for a moral standard, it’s my fault we haven’t kept it.”
Chloe shrugged her head to the side, then nodded.
“Are you waiting for me to take a breath so you can bust my balls over this?”
“Nah. I think you’re doing an okay job yourself.” Chloe sipped her coffee and then moved back to her computer. “I’m going to need to confirm the sources, though. What are you going to do?”
“For starters, apologize.”
***
I don’t understand the thing about the cakes? Lex asked Intrepid. He arched his back a little and tried to make himself comfortable in his hospital bed. Not that it was an easy task, considering that he’d been sewn together like a split rag doll no more than twelve hours ago, but the lovely drugs in his IV were making it better.
Lex didn’t quite grasp why everyone seemed to agree that he was a pastry fiend. Wherever else they disagreed, on the board it seemed to be accepted that Lex Luthor loved cake, and there was an entire thread devoted to posting pictures of him, most of which were poorly done photo manipulations, with cake. Eating cake, in a cake, being fed cake by Superman (Lex didn’t want to know), and on and on.
At first he’d suspected this was a veiled insult suggesting he was fat, but when the LexMinions seemed to think it was hilarious too, he knew something was going on that he didn’t comprehend.
It’s just a joke. It comes from this picture. I’ll show it to you, Intrepid replied. A moment later a little drawing of a bald man in a fuschia jumpsuit running with a cart of pastries.
Those are pies, he objected. In return Intrepid sent him a smiley face.
Lex arched a brow and brought up the link for the Superman apology yet again. Early that morning while Lex had been passed out on the sofa in his study, the impossible had occurred. Superman had called a press conference to admit his mistakes in what had happened the previous evening.
If Superman had not seemed genuinely repentant, Lex might have considered this a publicity stunt. Superman did those occasionally. But he had never been good at faking anything. No, Superman was upset. Upset about Lex.
With a lopsided grin he added the video to his favorites and set it to play again. He was learning to love YouTube.
“...As difficult as it may be for some of you to accept, I have to admit to my part in this. Lex Luthor was injured, badly, due to my negligence. He is a person, like anyone else, and whatever our differences have been, in this circumstance he was an innocent bystander. The JLA exists to protect the people, not to act as judge, jury, and executioner. You deserve better than that. We can be better-”
There was a rap on his door, so he called for the person to come enter as he smirked at the image of Superman hunching over the podium to address the crowd for his apology. They didn’t make podiums for 6’5 super men.
“Enjoying yourself?”
Lex looked up warily at Clark Kent, who adjusted the notebook in his hand and pushed his glasses back up on his nose. Lex paused the video, cutting off Superman’s booming voice, and closed his laptop. The last thing he needed was for The Daily Planet to report on how Lex Luthor wasted his time on message boards posing as a girl.
“I was expecting Mercy,” he said sternly.
“Sorry.” Clark paused at the door. “Should I leave? How are you doing?”
“If the second question is off the record, the former’s answer is no.”
“Huh? Ah. Okay.”
Lex kept an eye on Clark as he shuffled over to the side of the bed.
“So how are you doing?”
Lex pursed his lips. “I’m hard pressed to think of a reason why you should care. When was the last time you and I talked outside of a press conference?”
“You’re surprisingly lucid for someone who has to be on a ton of painkillers right now,” Clark shot back wryly.
“My delinquent youth has long prepared me for operating under the influence.” Lex rolled his eyes and reached for the glass of water on his nightstand.
Clark intercepted it and handed it to Lex. “Take it easy,” he urged.
“I’m laying here. Doing nothing. How much easier can I take it?” Lex took a long sip of his water. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m trying to ask a very stubborn and evasive man how he’s feeling, but I’m not doing so good at that,” Clark replied irritably.
“I was impaled, Clark. How do you think I feel? I’m numb, mostly, right now. When I stand up it feels as though my innards will spill out. It’s just a feeling, though. The stitches are holding fine.” Lex let Clark take the water from him and put it back on the stand.
“I’m sorry this happened.” Clark frowned unhappily.
“That’s good. It keeps you from being a sociopath, at least.” Lex smirked at the offended expression on Clark’s face. “Sit down.”
Clark sat. “So you, uh, heard his apology, I take it.”
“Mercy told me about it. I was asleep when it aired, but I looked it up.”
“He means it, you know. Um...”
“I know he does.” Lex lifted his hand a little. “Are you here to make sure I’m not plotting his demise?”
“That would be comforting... but I really am here to see how you’re doing.” Clark set his notepad in his lap. Then dropped it on the floor. “I know we haven’t been friends for a long time, but... you could have been killed.”
“I’m almost killed every other week. What was different about yesterday?” Lex tilted his head to the side, slightly, trying not to feel too giddy from the drugs coursing through his veins.
“Because I...” Clark looked down, as though studying the plain tweed of his plain, plain pants. “It just is.”
Lex’s brows tented as he looked on Clark with some sympathy. He’d only known Clark for a short time-- two years, roughly, while Clark had been in high school and Lex had been wresting himself away from his father’s controlling vise-like grip. Their relationship had ended rather abruptly, and Lex assumed Clark believed himself to be unliked by Lex. With reason, Lex supposed, since Clark had the habit of writing scathing, if poetic, articles targeting him and LexCorp.
On the contrary. Lex always liked Clark best among the parasitic ‘journalists’ employed by the papers in the area. He was the example of what hard work and perseverance for humanity should be. Although Clark seemed to have gained weight since their time in Smallville, his suits were horrendously tailored, he slumped unattractively most of the time, and he’d suffered an accident during his junior year of high school that had left him needing rather thick glasses, a fondness continued to tug at Lex’s heart whenever they were together. He did his best to give the writer advice on how to win the cool, cruel Lois Lane’s heart, much in the same way he had once given advice for Clark with the cool, cruel Lana Lang.
But to no avail. Clark Kent seemed terminally single, no matter how many brunettes with big eyes, shiny hair, and double L initials came into his life. Not that Clark was ever delighted to talk about romance with Lex. Mostly he just wanted to get his questions answered. Which Lex might do, if Clark were looking sufficiently like a sad fat puppy, and if it didn’t ruin Lex’s plans.
“Well,” Lex continued, breaking the awkward silence. “I am okay. Or I will be. It’s probably a good thing Mercy convinced me to come back to the hospital.”
“What made you decide to come back to the hospital?” Clark frowned slightly and looked up at Lex through his long lashes and thick glasses.
“Honestly?” Lex frowned and draped an arm over his chest. “It was the fans.”
“The fans?” Clark leaned forward a little bit. “What fans?”
“You may know that there’s a message board involving myself and Superman-”
“I’m aware of it. That’s how Superman got wind of the story, right?”
Lex ignored the annoyed tone of Clark’s voice and continued, “Well, I saw how worried they were. Worried about me. Worried about Lex Luthor. Who does that? Really?”
He laughed softly, careful not to pop his stitches. “I thought it would put their minds at ease to know that I am receiving professional care, or at least not at the penthouse where I could “take a turn for the worse and with no one there to see,” as one of the participants pointed out.”
“You read that board? Routinely?”
“Of course not,” Lex scoffed. He was a lying liar, and not ashamed of that fact at all. He’d lied about much worse matters. “But Mercy drew the leak to my attention, and I was able to see their responses to word of my injuries. It was... I appreciated their concern. It seemed very heartfelt.”
Clark pouted unhappily and nodded.
“How have you been, Clark? Any fabulous stories to cover? I see Chloe beat you to the punch on my skewering.”
“I guess she did.” Clark shrugged. “I’m not sure I’d want to lift my pen to this one, though.”
“Didn’t know it would bother you so much.” Lex watched Clark. How he kept his chin tucked close to his chest, how he curved his spine over as though something were weighing him down. If Lex had the strength and the energy, he would have pressed his hand on Clark’s back and made him sit up straight. He could hardly believe that Martha Kent had let Clark crawl so far inside himself.
“I just want you to get better,” Clark said emphatically without looking up.
“Well, let me let you in on a little secret, Clark. From me to you, off the record.” Lex waited until he could see Clark’s eyes before continuing. “I always get better. No need to worry about Lex Luthor. Don’t spread that around, though.”
Clark pinched his plump lips to the side in a wry expression. He stood slowly and clutched his notebook tightly. “Well. I’m sorry, Lex.”
“You didn’t do it, Clark,” Lex assured him. “Being a Supesfan doesn’t make you responsible for his actions.”
“I’m not a Supesfan,” Clark sputtered.
“I think all of you at The Daily Planet are Supesfans. But that’s okay. They’re not all bad.” Lex grinned. “Relax, Clark. I’m teasing you.”
“Yeah. Try to get some rest.” Clark looked back at Lex once again, then headed out of the room, still looking as unhappy as ever.
Lex screwed his brows together, wondering why Clark seemed to feel so personally connected to this story. He didn’t know, but he was curious to see what the board members thought about Superman’s apology.
Stretching back a little, Lex opened up his laptop again and began to skim over the various responses.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything more heartwarming and SWEEEET! omg. Oh, Supes, you’re just a great big primary colored huggybear!
---
this is obviously not Superman. it’s a clone, or something. or he’s on red k.
---
The apology is the most decent thing I’ve seen him do in years. Since when do you get a Super!apology? Epically epic!
---
No. No no no no. It’s not enough. It just isn’t this man is just as good as a murderer to me. He CLEARLY got caught. He didn’t want people to know what he did to LL, but Shine spilled everything, so now he’s backpedaling more than he EVER has. He’s not sorry, the weasel. I’ll believe it when he SHOWS LL how sorry he is.
---
You can tell how much he’s hurting right now. Poor Supes. Well, poor LL too, of course. He’s the one who got injured. But Supes looks so guilty. I’m not as hardcore as SnarkShark, but I do think that for Supes, he’s going to have to do something to redeem himself, or he won’t be able to forgive himself. LL means more to him that he knows. It’s very sweet, but very sad, too.
---
I wonder if LL will let us know if he’s seen the apology? If he’s back in the hospital (gosh I hope he’s okay! ;_; ), then would he get to hear how sorry Supes is? I want to see the look on his face when he sees how much Supes cares about him.
---
You “Sex” shippers creep me out.
---
Watch it, AkitaEvita. >:(
Lex frowned at the term, then scrolled over to the terminology thread up kept by the moderator and scanned down for the definition of what a “Sex shipper” was.
Sex: Name-smush of Superman and Lex Luthor. Also used, Sluthor and Lupes. Used primarily to denote the romantic relationship between Supes and LL
After reading that, Lex found it difficult to close his jaw. He took a deep breath in and out. Some of these people seemed utterly convinced that he meant something to Superman. Lex wasn’t sure if that could possibly be true. Superman seemed to question his every action, to attribute sinister motivations to him when where were none. It was hard to fathom any attraction on Superman’s part.
Lex felt himself tempted to dip into the Stuff of Legends forum and see where they were getting this insane conspiracy theory that Superman was secretly in love with him.
He bit down on his thumbnail thinking it over. His curiosity was starting to overpower his sense of revulsion at the thought of people discussing the possibility of him with Superman... and making pictures of it.
A nurse entered and went up to the side of his bed to check his IV. Lex quickly clicked on something less embarrassing to be looking at, which happened to be the YouTube window.
“How’s your stomach? Any more nausea?” the nurse asked. Lex thought her name might be Betty, but when he’d come in they’d given him something rather strong, so her name could be Mashed Potatoes for all he knew.
“Not unless you try to make me eat something,” Lex replied flippantly. He looked over to her. “Well, and if I move too much, but I haven’t been doing that since I got here.”
“Let me refresh your water,” she offered. “You’ll need to try to stay hydrated.”
“Thank you,” he said as she took the glass.
“So I see you caught the Superman apology. Pretty big news, huh?” she asked, filling the water glass.
“I guess so,” Lex agreed in a neutral tone.
“Well, I’m glad he did it. Good on him for admitting he made a mistake, hm?” She returned and set the water on the nightstand.
“Mm hm.”
“I’ve never seen him like that, though. There was something about the way he was talking, you know? It was like he was really broken up about it. I didn’t expect that at all.” She shrugged and leaned over to fluff his pillow. “You need anything else? How are the pain meds working?”
“Pretty good. I’m less loopy than I was when I came in.” “Good. Be sure to let us know if it gets any worse.” She gave him a bright smile before telling him not to work too hard and leaving the room.
Lex tapped his finger against the stand for his laptop. This nurse Betty saw something there that he hadn’t. Could these women be seeing something he couldn’t see?
He clicked on the Stuff of Legends section and started to search. There was a thread (a spectacularly long one) specifically for discussing his interaction with Superman, and reading the ‘clues’ between them, so he started there.
This forum had significantly less sniping between the members, and more long, thought out posts, often analyzing every interaction he and Superman had ever had... at least the ones the public knew about.
See how Supes looks at LL in this picture? He’s disappointed in him. He has high expectations for LL, and he feels let down, personally, because of it.
---
This press conference was the best pieces of evidence ever. How often does LL lose his cool with anyone? I don’t think he’s in love (sorry guys), but there’s definitely a spark between them, and LL feels it just as much as Supes does.
---
This apology is practically like Supes asking LL on a DATE.
---
I don’t want to be obnoxious, but I’m a prophet. Check out this fic I wrote. I TOLD THE FUTURE! (or supes is copying me!) <.< >.>
Wait. Was this a story about himself and Superman? They wrote stories too? Lex ran his fingertips over his mouth several times, trying to decide how far he was willing to go to sate his curiosity.
He reached over to get the machine to shoot him a little more medicine, then clicked on the link, which read: Long Live the Sex!
Title: SupesFans vs. LexMinions
Rating: PG-13
Character/Pairing: Clex
Summary: During the long hours of insomnia, Lex finds an online forum dedicated to himself... and Superman.
Warnings: none
A.N.: This is an AU futurefic bent on meta.
Part Two: Baby Steps toward Redemption
The Daily Planet building had a lot of charm, and if it was not charming, at least it had character. This character came from, primarily, the reporters who worked there all day and all night. No one would ever accuse this group of resting on their laurels.
Although sometimes they did piss away time on the internet.
Clack clack clack clack.
“I don’t know why you seem to love screwing around on those message boards so much.”
Clack clack clack clack.
“You’d better be defending my honor.”
Chloe hit post, then swiveled around to face Clark. “Aw, do you have PMS?”
“I do not. I can’t believe you found that out on a stupid message board. How do they know things like that?” Clark whined.
He pushed his glasses up on his nose and grimaced. It had been a hell of a day. Luthor had been up to something at one of his warehouses, some secret research project. The JLA had gotten there before him, and things had gone to hell pretty quick, even before he’d arrived. By the end of it, he doubted Luthor had anything left from that project. Superman had flown out of there covered in soot and mere scraps of his suit. It was a good thing he had spares.
“You’d be surprised how much some of these people are able to find out. You can scoff all you want about me hanging out there, but I’ve gotten a lead or two.” Chloe spun around again. “So stuff it.”
“I don’t know that one or two leads is worth spending as much time as you do reading about who has a cuter ass,” Clark complained.
Chloe let out a bubbly laugh. “I warned you not to read the boards if you weren’t ready... Oh. Someone posted on what happened at the warehouse today.”
“What?” Clark zipped up behind her and leaned over her shoulder. “No one could have known about what happened today. LexCorp put the clamp down on the story and none of the JLA would have announced it without a meeting.”
“I don’t think it's a mask, Clark. I’ve talked with Shine before,” Chloe informed him. “I think she might work for LexCorp. Her info is pretty dead on. Maybe a little slanted toward Lex sometimes-”
“Sometimes? She makes me sound like a bull in a China shop!” Clark exploded.
Chloe caught her city of Metropolis snow globe as Clark’s hand accidentally knocked it off the desk. “No offense, but sometimes you are. And anyway, sometimes she defends you, and explains your actions. I think she understands you better than she understands Lex.”
Clark was silent for a moment, pressing his lips together gravely as his eyes skimmed over the account again. Chloe knew that he could read almost as fast as he could run, and as she looked up, his eyes were flashing back and forth so fast they almost seemed black.
“I didn’t know... Do you think what she’s saying is true?” Clark seemed to have gone pale. “Did Lex get hurt?”
“You don’t know?”
“Well, I certainly didn’t knock Lex into an explosion on purpose!”
“I’m not accusing you. Hang on. Let me PM her.”
“What?”
Chloe rolled her eyes. “I’m going to say hi. See that green dot next to her name? It means she’s on.”
Clark sighed impatiently and waited as Chloe typed.
“Hey, long time no see,” Chloe murmured, her fingers flying. “I was afraid we scared you away with our warring...”
“Weren’t you going to ask her about the explosion?”
“Keep your panties on, Clark. I’ve never PMed her before. I want to try this thing called manners. Besides, she really hasn’t been on in a while. It would probably further info-getting more if I find out what’s going on with her.”
Clark sighed again, took Chloe’s coffee mug in hand and went to get her a refill. When he returned, he leaned over her shoulder again. “Getting anywhere?”
“Well, I don’t know if she’s telling the truth, but I have confirmed that Lex was in the hospital earlier this evening. After some prompting she went back to the thread to give some more details.” Chloe picked up her mug, rubbing her hand over the warm ceramic. “Read for yourself.”
Clark sat down to scan the page, frowning deeply as he read Shine’s words describing the aftereffects of the event. He knew Lex well enough to know that just because he’d left the hospital after surgery didn’t mean he was in the pink at all.
“This is bad, Chlo. We need to report this one. Or at least, you need to.”
“Um, didn’t Ollie and the boys want to keep it under wraps? I’m not arguing; you know if I’m given the option, I prefer the truth to be known.” She sat back on the edge of Clark’s desk and looked at him critically. “You’re usually the one with the attitude that Lex deserves everything he gets.”
“I did this.” Clark stood, keeping his hand on the back of his chair. “No, we can’t trust him, but... I could have killed him. I was careless. I was careless, and I didn’t bother to find out the situation before going in. We can’t afford to be that lax about how we do things, and since the team looks to me for a moral standard, it’s my fault we haven’t kept it.”
Chloe shrugged her head to the side, then nodded.
“Are you waiting for me to take a breath so you can bust my balls over this?”
“Nah. I think you’re doing an okay job yourself.” Chloe sipped her coffee and then moved back to her computer. “I’m going to need to confirm the sources, though. What are you going to do?”
“For starters, apologize.”
***
I don’t understand the thing about the cakes? Lex asked Intrepid. He arched his back a little and tried to make himself comfortable in his hospital bed. Not that it was an easy task, considering that he’d been sewn together like a split rag doll no more than twelve hours ago, but the lovely drugs in his IV were making it better.
Lex didn’t quite grasp why everyone seemed to agree that he was a pastry fiend. Wherever else they disagreed, on the board it seemed to be accepted that Lex Luthor loved cake, and there was an entire thread devoted to posting pictures of him, most of which were poorly done photo manipulations, with cake. Eating cake, in a cake, being fed cake by Superman (Lex didn’t want to know), and on and on.
At first he’d suspected this was a veiled insult suggesting he was fat, but when the LexMinions seemed to think it was hilarious too, he knew something was going on that he didn’t comprehend.
It’s just a joke. It comes from this picture. I’ll show it to you, Intrepid replied. A moment later a little drawing of a bald man in a fuschia jumpsuit running with a cart of pastries.
Those are pies, he objected. In return Intrepid sent him a smiley face.
Lex arched a brow and brought up the link for the Superman apology yet again. Early that morning while Lex had been passed out on the sofa in his study, the impossible had occurred. Superman had called a press conference to admit his mistakes in what had happened the previous evening.
If Superman had not seemed genuinely repentant, Lex might have considered this a publicity stunt. Superman did those occasionally. But he had never been good at faking anything. No, Superman was upset. Upset about Lex.
With a lopsided grin he added the video to his favorites and set it to play again. He was learning to love YouTube.
“...As difficult as it may be for some of you to accept, I have to admit to my part in this. Lex Luthor was injured, badly, due to my negligence. He is a person, like anyone else, and whatever our differences have been, in this circumstance he was an innocent bystander. The JLA exists to protect the people, not to act as judge, jury, and executioner. You deserve better than that. We can be better-”
There was a rap on his door, so he called for the person to come enter as he smirked at the image of Superman hunching over the podium to address the crowd for his apology. They didn’t make podiums for 6’5 super men.
“Enjoying yourself?”
Lex looked up warily at Clark Kent, who adjusted the notebook in his hand and pushed his glasses back up on his nose. Lex paused the video, cutting off Superman’s booming voice, and closed his laptop. The last thing he needed was for The Daily Planet to report on how Lex Luthor wasted his time on message boards posing as a girl.
“I was expecting Mercy,” he said sternly.
“Sorry.” Clark paused at the door. “Should I leave? How are you doing?”
“If the second question is off the record, the former’s answer is no.”
“Huh? Ah. Okay.”
Lex kept an eye on Clark as he shuffled over to the side of the bed.
“So how are you doing?”
Lex pursed his lips. “I’m hard pressed to think of a reason why you should care. When was the last time you and I talked outside of a press conference?”
“You’re surprisingly lucid for someone who has to be on a ton of painkillers right now,” Clark shot back wryly.
“My delinquent youth has long prepared me for operating under the influence.” Lex rolled his eyes and reached for the glass of water on his nightstand.
Clark intercepted it and handed it to Lex. “Take it easy,” he urged.
“I’m laying here. Doing nothing. How much easier can I take it?” Lex took a long sip of his water. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m trying to ask a very stubborn and evasive man how he’s feeling, but I’m not doing so good at that,” Clark replied irritably.
“I was impaled, Clark. How do you think I feel? I’m numb, mostly, right now. When I stand up it feels as though my innards will spill out. It’s just a feeling, though. The stitches are holding fine.” Lex let Clark take the water from him and put it back on the stand.
“I’m sorry this happened.” Clark frowned unhappily.
“That’s good. It keeps you from being a sociopath, at least.” Lex smirked at the offended expression on Clark’s face. “Sit down.”
Clark sat. “So you, uh, heard his apology, I take it.”
“Mercy told me about it. I was asleep when it aired, but I looked it up.”
“He means it, you know. Um...”
“I know he does.” Lex lifted his hand a little. “Are you here to make sure I’m not plotting his demise?”
“That would be comforting... but I really am here to see how you’re doing.” Clark set his notepad in his lap. Then dropped it on the floor. “I know we haven’t been friends for a long time, but... you could have been killed.”
“I’m almost killed every other week. What was different about yesterday?” Lex tilted his head to the side, slightly, trying not to feel too giddy from the drugs coursing through his veins.
“Because I...” Clark looked down, as though studying the plain tweed of his plain, plain pants. “It just is.”
Lex’s brows tented as he looked on Clark with some sympathy. He’d only known Clark for a short time-- two years, roughly, while Clark had been in high school and Lex had been wresting himself away from his father’s controlling vise-like grip. Their relationship had ended rather abruptly, and Lex assumed Clark believed himself to be unliked by Lex. With reason, Lex supposed, since Clark had the habit of writing scathing, if poetic, articles targeting him and LexCorp.
On the contrary. Lex always liked Clark best among the parasitic ‘journalists’ employed by the papers in the area. He was the example of what hard work and perseverance for humanity should be. Although Clark seemed to have gained weight since their time in Smallville, his suits were horrendously tailored, he slumped unattractively most of the time, and he’d suffered an accident during his junior year of high school that had left him needing rather thick glasses, a fondness continued to tug at Lex’s heart whenever they were together. He did his best to give the writer advice on how to win the cool, cruel Lois Lane’s heart, much in the same way he had once given advice for Clark with the cool, cruel Lana Lang.
But to no avail. Clark Kent seemed terminally single, no matter how many brunettes with big eyes, shiny hair, and double L initials came into his life. Not that Clark was ever delighted to talk about romance with Lex. Mostly he just wanted to get his questions answered. Which Lex might do, if Clark were looking sufficiently like a sad fat puppy, and if it didn’t ruin Lex’s plans.
“Well,” Lex continued, breaking the awkward silence. “I am okay. Or I will be. It’s probably a good thing Mercy convinced me to come back to the hospital.”
“What made you decide to come back to the hospital?” Clark frowned slightly and looked up at Lex through his long lashes and thick glasses.
“Honestly?” Lex frowned and draped an arm over his chest. “It was the fans.”
“The fans?” Clark leaned forward a little bit. “What fans?”
“You may know that there’s a message board involving myself and Superman-”
“I’m aware of it. That’s how Superman got wind of the story, right?”
Lex ignored the annoyed tone of Clark’s voice and continued, “Well, I saw how worried they were. Worried about me. Worried about Lex Luthor. Who does that? Really?”
He laughed softly, careful not to pop his stitches. “I thought it would put their minds at ease to know that I am receiving professional care, or at least not at the penthouse where I could “take a turn for the worse and with no one there to see,” as one of the participants pointed out.”
“You read that board? Routinely?”
“Of course not,” Lex scoffed. He was a lying liar, and not ashamed of that fact at all. He’d lied about much worse matters. “But Mercy drew the leak to my attention, and I was able to see their responses to word of my injuries. It was... I appreciated their concern. It seemed very heartfelt.”
Clark pouted unhappily and nodded.
“How have you been, Clark? Any fabulous stories to cover? I see Chloe beat you to the punch on my skewering.”
“I guess she did.” Clark shrugged. “I’m not sure I’d want to lift my pen to this one, though.”
“Didn’t know it would bother you so much.” Lex watched Clark. How he kept his chin tucked close to his chest, how he curved his spine over as though something were weighing him down. If Lex had the strength and the energy, he would have pressed his hand on Clark’s back and made him sit up straight. He could hardly believe that Martha Kent had let Clark crawl so far inside himself.
“I just want you to get better,” Clark said emphatically without looking up.
“Well, let me let you in on a little secret, Clark. From me to you, off the record.” Lex waited until he could see Clark’s eyes before continuing. “I always get better. No need to worry about Lex Luthor. Don’t spread that around, though.”
Clark pinched his plump lips to the side in a wry expression. He stood slowly and clutched his notebook tightly. “Well. I’m sorry, Lex.”
“You didn’t do it, Clark,” Lex assured him. “Being a Supesfan doesn’t make you responsible for his actions.”
“I’m not a Supesfan,” Clark sputtered.
“I think all of you at The Daily Planet are Supesfans. But that’s okay. They’re not all bad.” Lex grinned. “Relax, Clark. I’m teasing you.”
“Yeah. Try to get some rest.” Clark looked back at Lex once again, then headed out of the room, still looking as unhappy as ever.
Lex screwed his brows together, wondering why Clark seemed to feel so personally connected to this story. He didn’t know, but he was curious to see what the board members thought about Superman’s apology.
Stretching back a little, Lex opened up his laptop again and began to skim over the various responses.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything more heartwarming and SWEEEET! omg. Oh, Supes, you’re just a great big primary colored huggybear!
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this is obviously not Superman. it’s a clone, or something. or he’s on red k.
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The apology is the most decent thing I’ve seen him do in years. Since when do you get a Super!apology? Epically epic!
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No. No no no no. It’s not enough. It just isn’t this man is just as good as a murderer to me. He CLEARLY got caught. He didn’t want people to know what he did to LL, but Shine spilled everything, so now he’s backpedaling more than he EVER has. He’s not sorry, the weasel. I’ll believe it when he SHOWS LL how sorry he is.
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You can tell how much he’s hurting right now. Poor Supes. Well, poor LL too, of course. He’s the one who got injured. But Supes looks so guilty. I’m not as hardcore as SnarkShark, but I do think that for Supes, he’s going to have to do something to redeem himself, or he won’t be able to forgive himself. LL means more to him that he knows. It’s very sweet, but very sad, too.
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I wonder if LL will let us know if he’s seen the apology? If he’s back in the hospital (gosh I hope he’s okay! ;_; ), then would he get to hear how sorry Supes is? I want to see the look on his face when he sees how much Supes cares about him.
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You “Sex” shippers creep me out.
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Watch it, AkitaEvita. >:(
Lex frowned at the term, then scrolled over to the terminology thread up kept by the moderator and scanned down for the definition of what a “Sex shipper” was.
Sex: Name-smush of Superman and Lex Luthor. Also used, Sluthor and Lupes. Used primarily to denote the romantic relationship between Supes and LL
After reading that, Lex found it difficult to close his jaw. He took a deep breath in and out. Some of these people seemed utterly convinced that he meant something to Superman. Lex wasn’t sure if that could possibly be true. Superman seemed to question his every action, to attribute sinister motivations to him when where were none. It was hard to fathom any attraction on Superman’s part.
Lex felt himself tempted to dip into the Stuff of Legends forum and see where they were getting this insane conspiracy theory that Superman was secretly in love with him.
He bit down on his thumbnail thinking it over. His curiosity was starting to overpower his sense of revulsion at the thought of people discussing the possibility of him with Superman... and making pictures of it.
A nurse entered and went up to the side of his bed to check his IV. Lex quickly clicked on something less embarrassing to be looking at, which happened to be the YouTube window.
“How’s your stomach? Any more nausea?” the nurse asked. Lex thought her name might be Betty, but when he’d come in they’d given him something rather strong, so her name could be Mashed Potatoes for all he knew.
“Not unless you try to make me eat something,” Lex replied flippantly. He looked over to her. “Well, and if I move too much, but I haven’t been doing that since I got here.”
“Let me refresh your water,” she offered. “You’ll need to try to stay hydrated.”
“Thank you,” he said as she took the glass.
“So I see you caught the Superman apology. Pretty big news, huh?” she asked, filling the water glass.
“I guess so,” Lex agreed in a neutral tone.
“Well, I’m glad he did it. Good on him for admitting he made a mistake, hm?” She returned and set the water on the nightstand.
“Mm hm.”
“I’ve never seen him like that, though. There was something about the way he was talking, you know? It was like he was really broken up about it. I didn’t expect that at all.” She shrugged and leaned over to fluff his pillow. “You need anything else? How are the pain meds working?”
“Pretty good. I’m less loopy than I was when I came in.” “Good. Be sure to let us know if it gets any worse.” She gave him a bright smile before telling him not to work too hard and leaving the room.
Lex tapped his finger against the stand for his laptop. This nurse Betty saw something there that he hadn’t. Could these women be seeing something he couldn’t see?
He clicked on the Stuff of Legends section and started to search. There was a thread (a spectacularly long one) specifically for discussing his interaction with Superman, and reading the ‘clues’ between them, so he started there.
This forum had significantly less sniping between the members, and more long, thought out posts, often analyzing every interaction he and Superman had ever had... at least the ones the public knew about.
See how Supes looks at LL in this picture? He’s disappointed in him. He has high expectations for LL, and he feels let down, personally, because of it.
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This press conference was the best pieces of evidence ever. How often does LL lose his cool with anyone? I don’t think he’s in love (sorry guys), but there’s definitely a spark between them, and LL feels it just as much as Supes does.
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This apology is practically like Supes asking LL on a DATE.
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I don’t want to be obnoxious, but I’m a prophet. Check out this fic I wrote. I TOLD THE FUTURE! (or supes is copying me!) <.< >.>
Wait. Was this a story about himself and Superman? They wrote stories too? Lex ran his fingertips over his mouth several times, trying to decide how far he was willing to go to sate his curiosity.
He reached over to get the machine to shoot him a little more medicine, then clicked on the link, which read: Long Live the Sex!