Summary: Pseudo tag to Luthor. Faith is a hard thing to come by when the world is turning against you.

A/N: Do you really think that in any universe they could be mine?

"When you have come to the edge of all light that you know and are about to drop off into the darkness of the unknown, Faith is knowing one of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly."- Patrick Overton

Searching for Solid Ground

Chapter 1

While sipping his tea, the man paused his conversation. He watched the couple across the busy boulevard, eating their lunch. He looked at his own dining companion and nodded towards them. "I know his physical strengths and weaknesses intimately. I've always prepared for the inevitable."

His companion made a small sound to show she was paying close attention.

"What I need from you is his daily routine. His friends. Loved ones. Family pets. I need to know what I'm up against… here." The man's eyes never strayed from the love birds across the way.

Lyla sipped her tea and glanced at the dark-haired man and his girlfriend. "Not a problem."

"I knew there wouldn't be." He took another sip of his tea. "Just remember what I told you."

Lyla restrained from rolling her eyes like a teenager. "He's more than he seems. Clark Kent is about as mild-mannered as I am." She smiled with the last part.

"Do not let your guard down around him. I know him as well as I know my own son and he's dangerous, very dangerous," the man said as he placed a bill down on the table. "You have a week."

"You're forgetting something." Lyla gazed up at him and raised her eyebrows.

In turn, he nodded at the money. When she looked at the twenty, she noticed it was sitting high off the table on an envelope. She nodded her thanks.

"I'll be in touch." Her new client exited through the low gate and melted in to the stream of walkers on the sidewalk.

Lyla sat for a little while longer watching her target and planning her next move. He had already sent her a simple bio sheet:

Clark Kent, son of Martha Kent and Jonathon Kent (deceased).

Adopted through a now defunct agency: Metropolitan Ministries.

Cub reporter for the Daily Planet.

Dating Lois Lane (coworker).

Still lives at family farm in Smallville…

That last part made her smile: hell of a commute.

What intrigued her most was the company he kept: Tess Mercer, Oliver Queen, and a mysterious blond woman. Plus, his mother was a U.S. Senator and his father-in-law-to-be was a General. Yes, he kept very intriguing company indeed.

Clark Kent gazed at Lois Lane with what Lyla would definitely define as adoration. They were sitting very close and laughing quietly at whatever the other was saying. Lyla wondered what her client could possibly want with someone as outwardly vanilla as Clark Kent. As she watched Lois, Lyla was really hoping it wasn't jealousy. She shivered and quickly chased that thought from her head.

Although, anyone who tried to act that normal was usually hiding something pretty good. From the fervor she could see contained underneath her client's calm exterior, she knew she must be right. Lyla stood and followed her client's lead, melting into the stream of people flowing on the sidewalk.

One thing that his experience as Clark Luthor had taught him was not to take his friends for granted, ever. He would need them more than ever with the VRA breathing down their necks. He came back into this world with weapons and desperation aimed at him. Looking over the desk at Lois, he knew that he never wanted them or, especially, her to look at him like that again.

He was also proud that they had fought and won against his doppelganger. Lionel made his children barracudas, but his friends had shown that strength was not just in the breeding or the genes. Such a revelation was probably a big shock to Clark Luthor. Clark wished he could have seen his face.

"What's next?" he asked.

"Follow up with the mayor's office and their reasons for backing the VRA legislation." Lois tapped her pen on the desk. "There has got to be a way to make them understand that this is just fear mongering. We're doing op ed pieces until we're blue in the face and they're still just smiling and nodding at us."

Clark gave her his most apologetic smile. "We'll find a way."

Lois placed her hand on top of his. "You always do."

Faith was another thing that Clark Luthor did not have. He did not have faith in anybody as evident in his treatment of his sister, Tess. Sadder yet, no one had faith in him. Why would they since he was a monster? A murderer. It left a bad taste in Clark's mouth. He fought the inevitable guilt for something that he had no control over.

However, right now was not the time to brood on things out of his control. He dropped the conflict in his head and jumped back into the conflict on his side of the dimensional wall. They had their own monsters with which to deal.

He kept the smile, because he had no idea how they would stop this monster as it gained momentum. Hate was a powerful tool and the shadowy, inky Darkness behind the hate was harder to fight since it was so intangible. It could sell half truths to the people and hide behind their righteous anger. There was not always someone to physically punch and that made it harder to fight.

Lois gave him a trusting smile and gripped his hand a little tighter. Clark Luthor did not have his greatest strength. From a very young age, Clark had felt alone. Even after Pete and Chloe had found out his life altering secret, he was still alone. But his doppelganger had been more alone than Clark had ever been. Lionel had made sure of that.

Lois dissipated his loneliness because she had let him come to her on his own. She made him comfortable. She allowed him to have the double life and be at ease doing it. He wasn't a child hiding anymore. He was out there sharing his abilities (when the VRA wasn't trying to cripple them). He was over the precipice and doing what he had been sent to Earth to do- at least his interpretation of it.

At the moment, in this world, Kent and Lane had an article to write or, more to the point, finish. "I'll call them to get either a big 'bite me' or a 'sure, come on in'."

"You do that and I'll go get in their face." She stood up from the desk and grabbed her bag.

"Or I'll go with you and get in their face," he amended as he followed her lead.

"I knew you'd see it my way." The smiles they had been trading all day ratcheted up as they headed towards the elevators.

It was just a moment, as they climbed the stairs, when his strength left him, and he found himself looking at the calves and shoes of those passing him. He put his hand down to keep from falling back to the bottom.

"Clark!" Lois' eyes darted wildly from person to person. Suspicion etched on her face. "What happened?"

"I-I don't know," he stammered. "I got dizzy?"

He was already feeling better and started to climb to his feet.

"You don't get dizzy unless there's something green and sparkly around."

"It wasn't that." -of that he was sure. "It was more like a power drain."

"Can you get to the elevators?"

"Yeah."

She stood up with him and saw everyone looking at them. "What? You all never seen someone slip before?" Her glare sent everyone scurrying. She grabbed him by the arm and guided him to the doors.

"I'm fine, Lois," he whispered. "It's gone whatever it was."

She looked around one more time. "Good." He could see that the suspicion had not left. She pressed the down button and hung onto his arm for dear life.

Lyla stood across the room, watching, as the doors to the elevator shut. She felt amazing. One little brush against his hand made her feel like she could take on the world. Her client hadn't been lying when he said that Clark Kent was powerful.

She slipped out an exit and clutched the handrail in the stairwell. She crushed it. Looking at her hand, she delightfully whispered, "Damn."

"He said strength and power. I didn't realize…" A wicked smile curled on her lips. "This is going to be fun."