Okay, just a few things you need to know. There is going to be slash. Tons and tons of slash, to be accurate. If you can't stand the thought of two men engaged in specifically physical and not-so-specifically emotional relationships, then you don't want to read this. Oh, and this is Clark/Lex.

~ Prologue ~

She was close by. He could feel it, the high-strung thrumming in his blood as it pounded loud and clear in his head. The drugs were still in his system; he felt heavy, as though his limbs would not budge had he been caught in acid, and his eyes were giving him double visions of the stark, empty white corridor of the hospital. Every step hurt so badly, but he refused to stop.

Luthors never gave up.

The jingle of the car keys in his hand, as he fell particularly hard against the wall and grasped it blindly for support, reminded him of what he had to do. He had to get away from this place, now. Get away before she came to rip out his throat, get out before she arrived to feast on his blood. He would very much have preferred to call up a helicopter to fly him away, far away, to Metropolis, but there was simply no time.

Somehow, he managed to struggle to the lift and reach the basement, where his sleek, silvery-gray Lamborghini was parked in the exclusive lot. Lex almost smiled, but his brain wasn't processing anything beyond how incredibly funny it was to have his car there, waiting for him in a reserved space. Which of course, made no sense. Incoherence was a curse that came with being sedated.

She was so close that he could smell her in the still, heavy air. Flashes of memories of the night she had come so close to murdering him stood out coldly in his mind. The feel of the long, jagged claws tearing into his skin; the hot, sticky liquid trailing all over his body in gruesome rivulets; dirt and grit and something else staining his skin an ominous, black, crimson as he fought and screamed…

He slid into the car, jabbing uselessly at the ignition, and fumbling with the effort. It took him three tries to fit the key, and more time to find the strength to rev the engine. His head was spinning and he felt so dizzy that he was privately amused at how far he'd managed to come.

"You're such a cold, unfeeling bastard, Lex." Clark's quiet fury as they had stared at each other. "How could you endorse that kind of research? You've ruined Lana, and now you're ruined yourself. How many others are going to get hurt?"

"Shut up," he snarled, his head, and what he could feel of his body, aching so badly that he wished he were still unconscious. "You don't know my reasons, so stop acting like you own the fucking world, all right?"

"No, I don't know your reasons, but whatever they are, if it leads to this, it can't be good!" Clark shouted back at him, undisguised loathing in his voice. "I trusted you, Lex, but now I can see I've been wrong all along! You're heartless!"

The fire in Lex's eyes burned to dangerous sparks. "So what if I am?" he purred, trying desperately to ignore the migraine in the back of his mind, "Maybe I want to hurt these people. Destroy their lives. Make their families cry. New enlightenment to the Luthor legacy, Clark?"

For a moment, it looked as though the teenager wanted to kill him; the intent was plainly carved into Clark's face.

"I hate you."

Those words cut into Lex like shards of broken glass.

Hot tears were spilling down Clark's cheeks, his fists clenched by his sides and his jaw locked as he glared, one moment longer, at the man he had thought his best friend.

And then Clark turned and all but fled the room.

"He hates me," Lex chuckled quietly to himself as he steered the car towards the exit of the car park. Just as well. Better to push Clark away and have him safe, than come close and have him hurt.

It was, what, close to ten? The darkness outside was a welcoming respite from the glare of the overhead, fluorescent lights. Thank God as well that it was late enough for traffic to be relatively non-existent. Every single family would be at home in their little nests, either asleep, or watching the news, or spouting meaningless gibberish about their day at work, or at school.

Touching.

He had to get back to the mansion. There were so many secret rooms there that surely he would survive long enough to get to a computer or a phone and…and what? Order the scientists to find a cure now before he was ripped to shreds? Call the parental units and have them escort their precious, adopted daughter home because it was past curfew? Hysterical laughter bubbled up in his throat as he drove, wildly, not really seeing, on the bumpy roads and into every single damnable pothole there was.

Clark…if this doesn't work, I just hope you'll know how sorry I am. And Lex was really, truly apologetic. Not about the research, not about Lana, and certainly not about pushing Clark away from him.

But he had never meant to make Clark cry.

Fields, long, endless fields. Lex hadn't been looking where he was going. Where was he? The silence was stifling, his own ragged breathing coming through only vaguely to his own ears. His hands felt slippery on the wheel, and the car seemed to be getting more and more claustrophobic. He tried to squint, blindly hoping that the outline of the mansion would appear in front of him.

A shadow slammed into the hood of the car, all but shattering the metal by brute force. The last thing Lex registered was a low hiss, the flash of dripping teeth in the moonlight, and the recollection of a cold, slimy claw that pulled back to smash the windshield…

~ * ~

Episode Summary

Lana Lang: Grrr!

Lex: Help. I need help.

***

Clark: I hate you.

Lex: Damn right. I'm going to faint now.

***

Lex: Where's the mansion? I can't find the mansion!

Lana Lang: Aw.

~ * ~

That's it for the prologue. If you've managed to come this far, then just take a little bit extra time to click on that button in the bottom left corner (yes, over there, that's the one) and leave me a comment or two, wouldn't you? =)