A/N: Hello! Okay, I meant to post this earlier, because I have a lot of it written, and I just kept writing at an insanely fast pace- even for Superman- that is until I ran straight into a brick wall. Oh well. Anyway, this is going to be a longer fic, not sure how long yet, but so far I've got about nine chapters (yay! personal pat on the back) and though I have no idea where to go from there, I know for a fact that it is not yet finished. My love affair with all things Superman continues!

Oh, by the way, I'm still somewhat new to this, and I neither have a beta nor know exactly how to acquire one. . . so the position's up for grabs if anyone is so inclined.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything remotely connected to the DC Universe, that includes Superman himself *sigh, drift into long daydream that would be awkward for readers to hear about in detail about how different my life would be if I owned Superman- I would accept owning either Brandon Routh or Dean Cain versions- STOP! back to the story! Get off of google images where you are not so slyly drooling over pictures of these men and read the epic tale below before we all end up in fantasyland. . . . Yeah. I don't think I'll be getting any rights to Superman anytime soon *pouty-face here*

Enjoy!

*****Chapter One: A Simple Phonecall*****

Clark picked up his phone at his desk nonchalantly, nearly spilling his coffee right on to his lap in the process. Fortunately he allowed himself a quick save before speaking into the receiver smoothly. "Hello? Clark Kent speaking."

"Mr. Kent, so good to hear you've returned."

The voice sent shivers running up his spine as the grip on his telephone tightened. He felt his throat close up as he tried to find the right words. "Um, th-thank you. I-I'm sorry, may I inquire as to who is speaking?" he asked, dreading the answer.

"Aw, come on, Clark. You should recognize the voice of your best friend."

All of the color drained straight out of his face.

"Or is it mortal enemy now? You know, it gets hard to keep track of after so long, so many years. Why haven't you called me, buddy?" There was an obvious venom in his voice.

Clark managed to croak a slight "Luthor."

He was gratified by a snort of laughter at the other end of the line. "Good to know you haven't forgotten all your friends. Listen, before you hang up on me and decide to do a fly-by of the city to find me, let me just say don't bother. In fact, if I were you, I wouldn't put the phone back down on the hook, unless you can be in two places at once."

Despite the constant noise of the bullpen, to Clark everything seemed to fall silent, the only noise resounding in his ears was that of Lex Luthor's impending threat. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you see, up till now I've been playing relatively nice."

"Nice?" He snorted and lowered his voice so as no one else in the office might hear him. "A couple of days ago I woke up from a kryptonite induced coma with a mark on my back bearing your handiwork, thanks to a special dagger. What have you done that's 'nice' for me?"

"Well for one, I didn't expose you, like I should have."

"You didn't know it was me, Luthor. You're insane."

"There's where you're wrong, Clark. I've known, ever since you left, that it was you. I felt incredibly stupid, sitting there in a jail cell, waiting for my appeals case to come around, wondering how I never realized that my best friend was Superman. And still, my lips remained sealed. Why? Because I knew you'd be back. When I thought you were just Superman, I thought you'd disappeared forever, like everyone else. When I realized you were Clark Kent- I knew you'd be back. You have too many people that you care for. The only reason I haven't exposed you yet since your return was one: I was still trying to get my act together after this last stint, and two- that I actually didn't expect you to come back as Clark Kent. I thought it would be a galactically stupid move. The same day, Clark? Really? You didn't stop to think someone might catch on?"

"Why can't I put down the phone, Lex?" he asked, exasperated.

"If you do, it sets off a bomb somewhere in the city. No delay. The line goes click- the explosion goes 'boom'. Simple as that."

"What makes you think I won't go find it and stop it anyways? You've done much worse than that before."

"Oh, that's simple. That's because the second you leave to go stop that bomb, I'm gonna take control of the Daily Planet, using violent means if necessary, to get what I want. Starting with the mother of your child, then I'll work my way around the office, see who I can get to. Oh, and as far as the bomb's concerned, I also have a remote access to the triggering mechanism. Whoops."

Clark clenched his jaw tightly. "How do you know I can't stop the bomb and get back in time to save them all?"

"Simple," Lex Luthor replied. Clark could practically hear the evil grin through the receiver. "I'm already in the building."

Clark felt himself grow cold as the stark realization hit him. Lois. . . "What do you want from me, Luthor?" He spat venomously.

"I want you to get what you deserve. I want you to be in pain. Otherwise, being that I'm already in the building, I think this would be the perfect time for a little reveal, don't you think? Unless you're willing to do one of two things."

"Out with it already!"

"The first option is for you to come with me and a large quantity of my favorite mineral and you can do me a bunch of favors."

It was Clark's turn to snort. "What's behind door number two?"

"Bring me your son."

His words hung there, unbidden, unwanted and frightening.

"Go to hell, Luthor."

"Probably will. Oh well. Suit yourself. But don't hang up. You'll be hearing from me soon, Kent."

*****Act Drop*****

A/N: Okay, so this was a little short, but I want feedback! I'm going to be posting more chapters- perhaps in very rapid succession, some chapters together at once. The more reviews I get, the more inclined I am to write. (No kidding here- literally just one good review to one of my other stories gave me the pick me up I needed for the day- and my day had been pretty terrible!)

[for LOST fans out there]: Push the button.

I. WILL. NOT. BLOCK. ANONYMOUS. REVIEWS. I. WILL. NOT. RESPOND. HATEFULLY. TO. CRITICISM. *cheeky grin*

Disclaimer #2: In case you are wondering, yes, there is a slight tip of the hat to Smallville in here- but PLEASE TAKE NOTE! The ONLY thing from Smallville is the fact that Lex Luthor knew Clark Kent and was in Smallville. From there, I made up my own backstory for the two men. I don't really follow Smallville too well, since I was too young to really be into it before, and although I want to netflix all of them and waste about a month's worth of my time watching the entire series, I haven't the time to do so. So I pieced together things from my minimal knowledge of the show and from my slightly more expansive imagination in order to come up with this plotline. Willing suspension of disbelief, peoples! It will get clearer throughout.