Disclaimer: No infringement intended. Made for entertainment purposes only.
Summary: A normal kickboxing session goes awry when Lex's rage gets the best of him. Lex/Lana friendship.
Spoilers: Post-Exodus (S2)
Rating: PG-13
Author's Note: This is my favourite standalones.
Dedication: For Jade-thank you for being my creative wall to bounce fanfics off.

Fighter
by Lissette aka RunLiLiRun

When he first made the proposition to her at The Talon he had said it was to help her through some tough emotions, specifically her anger. And to save a few more mugs from there shattered fates on the floor. Apparently, Lana Lang had begun breaking too many while waitressing and continued to do so even after being ordered to remain behind the counter. She came close to beating her record when she had worked at The Beanry. He graciously offered to be her outlet in a well needed kick boxing session to release some pent up anger. While it was a nice enough gesture, her humiliation would have been complete if Lex Luthor were to see Lana have a meltdown between a kick and a jab.

He insisted and she continuously dodged the offer for two days. When Lana cried herself to sleep, she realized that this was becoming a habit for nearly a month. She decided it was about time that she did something to help herself. The next night Lana stood in a purple workout outfit in his private gym, watching him fiddle with the sound system. He had told her he was setting up 'the right kind of music to fit the mood'.

If the heavy metal blasting out was meant to distract, loose focus and possibly make a person go deaf, then he would succeed in fully kick boxing her butt to the moon. Thankfully, he lowered the volume. Guess she would just have to block out the noise. He only put this type of music in his car and never around her. If this was his way of reaching out, she hoped it wouldn't become habit or he'd suddenly take to something just a wee bit softer. Lana was getting antsy and she shifted in her runners and adjusted the gloves on already sweaty hands. "We set?" She asked.

Lex pressed a few more buttons then slowly walked to the punching bag in front of her. She wondered if he was hot in his black sweatshirt and gray track pants. It was after all a very warm night in the middle of summer. "Let's warm up." He pulled in an elbow and worked at a kink, and she watched his fingers move underneath black wraps.

"Already did," she informed him. As she waited for him to finish up a business call in his office Lana ran the stairs of the mansion up and down ten times and now she was itching to begin. They had stopped their lessons just before his wedding day. She had not forgotten anything he had taught her.

Titling his head to the side in a 'very well' fashion, he moved into position behind the bag and said, "Whenever you want to begin-" She connected two solid hits to the center of the bag. "You can," he finished dryly.

Lana gave a small shrug, as if to ask an innocent 'what?'. For the next ten minutes she practiced basic moves, punches and kicks. Sequences that had been imbedded into her mind by his constant repetition. He could tell she wasn't giving it her all even as she developed a healthy sheen of sweat on her exposed skin. Her hits were half-hearted and bored. When he saw a punch coming, he pushed the bag at the same time she impacted it. Lana stumbled back at the unexpected resistance. Her glance was surprised and curious.

Lex shrugged. The following six punches and two kicks were dealt with the same shoving of bag. When her leg kicked the bag, it didn't completely extend and she lost her balance. Falling back, she turned just in time to catch herself on her hands, her butt now in the air and in the direct vision of Lex. Lana quickly straightened up and swiveled to look at him warily.

"Lex," she paused. "What are you doing?"

"It's too easy for you," he stated.

"There's nothing else to work with," she gave a quirky smile.

Lex turned around and pulled off his sweatshirt, revealing a tight white muscle shirt. It looked one hundred percent cotton and fit him just as perfectly as the rest of his clothes. When he bent to pick up and slip on a pair of boxing gloves, Lana's smile froze on her face. Walking out towards the middle of the gym into open space, he said obviously, "There's me."

The smile disappeared and her eyes widened. Lana shook her head, ponytail lightly hitting either cheek. "No way!"

"A moving target is more challenging than an immobile one," he argued, swinging his arms in wide circles to pump blood through them.

Her eyes watched his lean muscles ripple at his movements. "You're asking me to actually fight you." His response was an infamous Luthor half-smile. Not knowing what to do, Lana stalled by unstrapping and restrapping her gloves, tightening them around her wrists.

"You scared?" he teased.

Once, they had wrestled as he was showing her different styles of fighting. Giving her many brochures on different martial arts he had given her the choice on what she wanted to learn. Wrestling had not been a favorite of hers. Without exception he had won every match because of his body weight. Poor Lana would have mat burns by trying to wiggle away. And not just that, he had discovered how incredibly ticklish she was. She had told him she never wanted to fight him again after nearly bursting a gut from a laughing fit. Supposedly, her smile muscles in her face ached for a week after the incident. Sometimes, Lana exaggerated.

Lana's eyes roved over his lean figure. When training with him they not only got into their personal space, they grabbed, yanked and punched on any unguarded limb. At first it had bee unnerving. He would grip and position her with little effort, especially in wrestling. But as most things went, she got accustomed to his body presence and the smell of his sweat intermingling with her own. In the past they had sparred only a few times and every single one of them she had pretended to be the attacker. It was easier to attack than defend and through the whole session he would tell her what he was about to do and ask her what her reaction would be. Weighing her choices to finally fight with him in kick boxing or not, she remembered that he had offered to be her outlet and apparently he meant that literally. Her eyes met his twinkling ones.

"No," she lied and licked her dry lips. "I was thinking about your reputation."

"Smallville won't know I beat up it's fairy princess. It'll stay with me to the grave."

Lana laughed at his charming arrogance already convinced that she was going to do this with that comment alone. "You need someone to thoroughly whoop your ass, Lex."

He raised his eyebrows, partly in surprise that she said 'ass' and partly because of what she said. "Are you rising to my challenge Miss. Lang?"

Stretching her arms in a show of nonchalance, Lana approached him until she was a good four feet away. Smiling, she set her feet apart in a stable stance and brought her gloves to her face. "Come on then, give me your best," she said and made a come here motion with her head. Despite what she said, Lana hit first. The punch was aimed at his chest and he easily swiped her wrist away. While he did she went for his head with her other arm.

He saw his opportunity and swiftly snaked in a light punch to her shoulder. Lana pulled back. "Don't leave yourself open," he reminded her.

She nodded, knowing that perfectly well, it was just anxiety and excitement that was making concentrating hard. Bringing her fists up to her face again, she prepared to attack but Lex beat her to it. The punch was aimed at her gut. Lana sidestepped, punched the incoming fist aside and tapped her glove on his bum as a warning. A grin appeared on her cute face and she bounced away. In his eyes there was a mischievous sparkle.

And so the dance began as they each threw playful hits, neither hitting very hard when they made contact with the other. He was bigger than her and he was taking advantage of that by seeking mainly upper torso punches, but Lana had learned a great deal on techniques the past few months. Of course, she learned them all from him but she had practiced some of her own alone in her room in front of the mirror. Using her smallness to her benefit, she tried to get in a low kick.

Seeing that she would have a difficult time balancing on one leg, Lex took the opportunity and all of a sudden fell forward on her. They crashed to the floor like bowling pins. On top of her, his right leg trapped her knees and his forearms pinned hers on the ground. "One nothing," he said, staring down at her sweaty face.

Lana sighed and rolled her head sideways in defeat, not looking at him. Despite getting use to him and his manner, he was still intimidating, especially from this particular angle, with his weight heavily on her. A sharp heat sliced through her. In her head she counted to seven before he climbed off of her to resume their fight. She got up and once again faced him. Determined to win, she went at him before he could further enjoy that small victory. Once again a pattern emerged.

"Faster," he said, kicking it up another notch. In a series of punches and blocks, it was their previous rhythm at a faster pace. Seeing that after a few minutes she got used to the pattern and was hesitating on where to hit, Lex suddenly broke it by putting her on the defense. Lana was startled and barely ducked a head swipe in time and blocked a kick to the thigh clumsily. "Where's that fighter I know is in there?" he asked her.

She wanted to say, 'Waiting for the right opportunity to strike', but was too busy keeping one fist up and driving a hook to his side. She unknowingly let her guard slip and he kicked the back of her knee hard, making her fall forward on all fours. She flicked strands of hair out of her eyes and looked up at him in shock from the ground. That had actually hurt! A bruise in the shape of his shoe would no doubt form. When he opened his mouth she thought he was going to apologize or ask if she was alright. He didn't do either.

"This is Lana Lang without her knight in shining armor," he observed. Backing away, he reached for a water bottle on a stool. He took a swing and wiped his upper lip with the back of his forearm, staring down at her.

She didn't know what his problem was or why he said that, but it had hurt more than the kick. Looking up at him from the floor, she swallowed around the lump that had developed in her throat and glanced at the wooden design. It was beech wood.

She mumbled something he didn't quite catch as he set the bottle back on the stool. "What was that?"

"I said-" she stopped herself. Climbing to her feet, she stood straight, gloves at her sides and lifted her chin up proudly. "I said I can take care of myself."

"Prove it." He advanced on her. Lana didn't hesitate, fury boiling her blood, and launched herself at him, kicking and punching at every opening she saw. Every hit that she got in she missed another eight. Those misses only pissed her off even more. Those misses were like all the times Clark had stood her up, disappointed her and caused her pain. "Come on!" he provoked.

Emotion had made her assault mighty but it also made her reckless. The blocks were clumsy as she tried to defend herself fiercely. A blow landed on her hip.

"Lex!"

She knew he was strong but she had never felt how much. That hit would leave her purple. The force of his hits left her speechless and her breathing was coming in fast pants.

"Hit me harder!" he demanded when she managed a jab to his neck. Lex hardly flinched.

'I can't!' she wanted to yell. He was scaring her. She had never seen him this aggressive and she nervously tried to get out of his range, yet he wouldn't let up and continued to follow her every move. And instantly Lana remembered his situation. His plane had crashed into the Atlantic and he had survived on an island with the local natives for a week and half. He had come back three weeks ago a widow. No, worse, a betrayed widow. Dr. Bryce had not been found and neither had a good chunk of Lex's money. What had she gotten herself into? Looking at his determined expression, she saw real rage in his eyes. This session wasn't about trying to help her with her anger anymore. It was about his anger seeking release. His blocks were more powerful than her hits and her attack weakened as she backpedaled, balance becoming unstable. Soon, Lana became overwhelmed. A desperate kick to the groin was easily deterred and so were her two punches to his nose and eye.

But she used both fists with that move and her entire upper body was left exposed. Sneaking into her arms Lex's gloves rested on her shoulders for a millisecond before he shoved her. Lana flew two feet, fell heavily on her tailbone and slid another foot on the wooden floor. The jolt went all the way up spin, vibrated at the base of her skull and her skin squeaked against the wood. An angry red trail appeared on her lower back. When he loomed above her, certain this was going to be the final blow to lose at what had now become more than just a friendly match to him, she cowered on the floor.

"Stop it!" she cried out and kicked out a leg to keep him back.

She heard him breathing hard, knowing he was trying to get the flow of oxygen to his lungs to slow down by the way he would suddenly stop breathing to pant again. "You're still holding back," he accused.

Her head snapped back and she stared at him incredulously. What the hell? And what would he call what she had been doing with him now? They were street fighting, not boxing!

"You're no different from anyone else." He delivered the final verbal blow.

Lana climbed slowly to her feet on shaky legs, bringing up the gloves to hide her face and more precisely the unshed tears. The soft thump of his gloves dropping to the floor, discarded, made her heart squeeze.

"I think we're done here," he said coldly.

The meanings Lana interpreted in his message made her stomach drop to her feet and rush back to her throat. Lex on the other hand, was fully expecting for Lana to get really pissed off and give him a good talking to or he hoped a snappy attack. She had fought well and he wanted to continue, stretching her to her limits. He felt her anger, but he could feel his more and he didn't want that. Lex wanted her anger to engulf him. That's why he was stunned when she backed up a few steps, twirled and ran for the door. There, in the glimpse he saw behind the gloves, was not a face red from he thought was fury but hurt and humiliation. Lex was instantly aware that he had gone too far in his taunting. Unfamiliar feelings filled him up; remorse and fear. He rushed after her.

He caught up with her at the top of the stairs and reached forward to catch her wrist. She's spun around and instinctively, Lana slammed a boxing glove directly into his mouth. All her pent up anger, frustration and pain of the past hour and month was packed into that punch. It sent him reeling to the side and he released her wrist. But Lana was already leaning away from him and when he let go she lost her balance.

It happened so fast that she didn't even have time to scream. As if sensing something terrible taking place, Lex glanced up and watched her in almost slow motion as she fell. His reflexes are quick but not quick enough as he only briefly grabbed hold of her boxing glove. Sweaty fingers slip and he was left standing on top of the stairs with a boxing glove in one hand. The sound of bones and flesh hitting the stone stairs was sickening to the ear. Lana flipped twice, rolled and slid the rest of the way down on her stomach.

Lex stood still for a few seconds in shock and horror, staring down at the crumpled heap on the second landing. Then he went into action and clambered down the stairs. When he reached the bottom he fell to his knees beside her completely immobile form.

"Oh god." His heart stopped in his chest and he couldn't help the gasp of horror slip passed his now fat bottom lip. Crouching to her, he carefully turned her over to her back and looked down into her face. It didn't appear as if anything was broken yet fingers immediately touched the pulse by her neck. It was beating hard and fast. The touch made her eyes flutter open and the terrified look she gave him cut deeply. That wasn't important right now though and he instead asked her, "Lana, are you alright?"

Raising her hands to her face, she turned her back to him and started to cry. The image of the one hand still in a glove over her eyes would have looked silly if it weren't for the seriousness of the situation. She visibly flinched when he touched her shoulder and her crying turned to sobs. He was getting frightened, wondering if she might be physically injured. Deciding not to risk any chances, he got to his feet and ran down the remaining stairs and headed to the kitchen. The cook should have been around somewhere but when Lex reached the kitchen it was empty. Where was his butler? Where was everyone? Opening the kitchen door, he raced down the footpath to the staff residence. Slamming a fist on the door, he tried to doorknob but it was locked.

Meanwhile, Lana gave a cry when she attempted to sit up, her torn muscles and sharp spots on her body making her want to scream. Biting her lip, she sucked in a deep breath and managed to get on all fours then used the banister to haul herself to her feet. She wanted to get out of there before he came back. She didn't want to see Lex. She wanted to be as far away from him as possible. Her own injuries weren't as great a concern than getting out of her business partner's mansion. In her state, she still had adrenaline pumping through her and abnormally moved faster than was possible.

By the time she made it down the stairs and into the hallway she thought she had a good chance of escaping. Leaning heavily into the wall, she used any heavy object in sight to drag her forward. But she heard voices and running footsteps behind her and Lana panicked. Her moves were hasty. The pounding of foot falls abruptly stopped. Looking at the now empty second landing he glanced wildly around. She couldn't have gotten far.

"There," his butler told him, who was carrying a cotton stretcher and pointed down the hall near the front door.

What was she doing? Lana was hanging onto everything as she made her way to the door and she was moving at an incredible rate. Rushing forward he reached her when she was ten feet from the exit. Putting his arms under her armpits to help keep her upright, she struggled to get away from him and he had to tighten his grip. She winced in pain. Initial fright turned into exasperation. "Lana, would you stop being-"

"Stop being what?" She choked out through her tears. "Pathetic? Weak? Emotional? This is who I am, isn't?" Twisting in his arms she was inches from his face and she aimed her hurt eyes at him.

"I was going to say difficult. I'm trying to help you."

A gurgling laugh sounded from her throat. "You've done a fantastic job so far." She was about to move on her own, not liking the proximity of their bodies when he wrapped his arms around his her torso and held her there. She had the wicked impulse to do it, still hurt by what he had said and how he apparently viewed her. Lana snapped her head back and collided with his forehead. White spots filled her vision as their heads cracked. Good, she thought, and hoped he was hurt.

Great god, Lana had a hard head. He sighed deeply, feeling a migraine coming. Turning to look at his astonished staff he blinked at the stars he saw decorating the air before them. "Look's like she's fine. Leave the first aid kit there."

They were dismissed and he concentrated his attention back to the sobbing girl in his embrace. No doubt his death grip was causing her pain and he loosened his hold, hands widening and settling gently on her shoulder blades. Shaking, he felt her shaking. His voice was quiet. "Please stop struggling," he asked her.

At last, she did and her head hanged defeated, continuing to cry.

"Let's get you seated."

Slowly moving to the living room, he carefully sat her down on the leather sofa. He released her and perched himself on the edge of the coffee table in front of her. Lana moved her knees so that they weren't touching his and leaned as far away as she could, reminding him that she was still hurt and angry at his conduct.

"Do you want something to drink?" Lana shook her head. Her sobbing was painful to hear. Was she that upset? She just fell down a flight of stairs you idiot. Right. Not for the first time in his life, Lex felt useless. Her ponytail was a mess and all over her purple clothes there were streaks of dust. Maybe he should tell the maid to clean the stairs more frequently. He stretched a hand out and dusted a big clump off of her thigh.

"Don't," she whispered and cringed at the contact. His hand immediately left her. Lana shifted away from him. Gently unwrapping her glove with her teeth, she let it fall to the ground and hugged her bruised ribs, leaning forward with her head down. It had happened; she had had a meltdown in front of Lex Luthor. The tears sliding down her cheeks were a reminder of that. Shame, embarrassment and anger filled her. He had caused this, he had been the trigger but she still had a meltdown.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he told her.

The noise she made could have been a snort but it was hard to tell from her racking sobs. "Sure," she said sarcastically, not believing him.

"Everything I said before-I didn't mean. Things just got out of hand." She wouldn't look at him. Staring at her he saw a cut above her forehead and the bruised skin under her chin. He saw another bruise on her neck and his eyes took in the bruises on her shoulders, arms and from what he could see even her back. God, she was covered in them. There was more purple showing than tanned peach.

"Are these from the fall?"

"Not all of them," she said clearly.

The teary eyes weren't accusing, just stating the truth. He had done this. There was something black within him. Something that had crawled its way into him a long time ago, that had urged him on when he was fighting with her. It rushed through him as he struck at her. And the scariest thing of all was that he knew he couldn't stop it. But right now he had to fix his mess.

Lex swallowed and drew closer, his expression showing regret. "And for that I am truly sorry."

She looked at him. There was no sign of the rage that had previously been shining in the vast blue. The fight went out of her and her eyes fluttered shut. She carefully inclined back into the soft leather. The muscles in her throat worked over time as she struggled to keep from crying again. "You don't really see me like that do you?" she spoke very softly. "Am I just an ordinary girl in a fairy princess costume?"

His hand touched her knee briefly. "No. You're anything but ordinary, Lana." Her eyes opened and watched him touch his mouth with his fingers. A smirk made it's way across his handsome face. "I've got the fat lip to prove it."

Lana sighed. "Then why do the people I love always leave me?"

He did something that astonished them both. Lex moved and sat beside her on the sofa, his arm going around her shoulders and resting there. She stiffened somewhat but stayed put. "Look, I won't pretend to understand why Clark left but I'm confident that it wasn't because of something you did or didn't do."

"How can you be so sure?" she mumbled.

"Because I know who you are and I'm not disappointed with what I see."

She stopped breathing for a moment as she took that in. The compliment touched her intensely, it went past her surface pain and her inner pain to a small spot in her heart that kept good compliments stored. This one was hers to keep and she would never let go of it. She leaned into his side and took in a deep breath. "That means a lot to me, Lex."

"I don't know what your destiny is, Lana, but I can tell you one thing, you're not alone. I'll always be here for you."

A smile whispered across her lips. "I'll always be here for-"

Her body went pliant and her arms fell into his lap. He looked down at her. Oh. She had fainted. He looked below her elbow to her left wrist, the one that had no boxing glove on as she fell down the stairs. It was bent backwards, in an almost u-shape, clearly broken.

No, Lana wasn't a fairy princess anymore; she had become a fighter.

- July 31, 2003.