HE WAS MARKED...FOR MURDER
Author: EscapeToCity
Rating: R
Warning: Character death...some *Slash*
Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me; they are property of D.C. Comics, Warner Bros., and Millar/Gough. None of the other copywritten networks, magazines, stores, brands, places or people belong to me either.
Notes: This is the beginning of a new series. Includes elements of post- crisis comic canon and some 'Smallville' revisionist history, as well as some of my own inventions...
Read and see what you think...
Best regards,
-J.B. @ Pass Christian 9/15/02
Comments? Email me anytime: EscapeToCity@aol.com **************************************************************************** *******************
REACTIONS
The sun is just creeping into my room. I haven't awoken in this place for so long.
It feels so good.
Home...
I can already smell the bacon...wow....bacon...Kelex and his pals can't make breakfast worth a damn and I have so missed good, wholesome grease...
Seven years, on and off... I've been learning...about myself...Krypton, Jor-El, and Lara.
I cannot believe it's actually 2012!
(I miss you so much...please call me...)
I've become a man. Well..sometimes...food still flies out of my mouth when I laugh at the table...
Of course...I don't have to eat that much anymore...
So nice to be home... I mean...I came back as much as possible...to see them... But I miss the routine... The scents. The sun.
Antarctica's pretty mundane by comparison. Unless you're an ice worshipper.
"Clark!" "Shhh! Let him sleep!"
I look over at the alarm. 6:59.
(I love you)
Last night I got the best sleep I've had in years. That says a lot considering I sometimes don't need sleep for days... Warm, fuzzy pillow...this one's been here since I was a kid... Posters... High School...
"Let him sleep!"
I'm almost back in slumber...
"Damnit, Jon...turn the television back on!" "Alright, Martha...but it's probably just more of the same..."
Flash.
The same what?
"Clark, come downstairs, honey! Hurry!"
My mother sounds alarmed. Dressed only in my boxers I race down the stairwell...
I don't yet glance at the television... I don't hear the voices...
Flashes.
"Clark...son...look at this..."
My father is wearing glasses...thick ones...his eyes are going out...I can see the astimagtism there...I keep telling him to have surgery....but...
"What is it, Dad?"
...barely a whisper...."...Jon...maybe we should talk to him first..."
"Martha...he's got to face it. Clark...son...please...sit down."
Flashbulbs.
My Mom. She's still beautiful. Still so full of life and wisdom. I was afraid that when I left, they'd forget me. No longer need me in their lives... How stupid....I was their son...they loved me.
She's pointing to the television...
"He's not ready, Jon."
I don't really understand...
"Ready for what, Mom?"
I hear the familiar strings of the NBC News theme.... I slowly turn around... Facing the television...
"It's Lex, son..."
(I think I love you.)
Listening. Seeing.
"What about Lex, Dad?"
(No....I know I love you)
"....and from New York, this is 'Today' with Vicki Vale........One of the world's most famous titans of industry has died...Billionaire industrialist Alexander "Lex" Luthor was found dead last night in his ninety-fourth floor penthouse in Metropolis. Police were alerted to the scene around eleven last night, and we now go to affiliate WGBS for in-depth coverage.... Thank you, Vicki, I'm Catherine Grant, live from Central Metropolis. I'm here in front of the famous LexCorp. spire, tallest building in America, once home to the glamorous and generous man known as Lex Luthor. Last night, however, Mr. Luthor was found shot to death in the elevator lobby of the fabulous multi-million dollar penthouse. Police have been combing the area for clues but as of yet have none...nor any suspects. Millions here in Metropolis and around the world are shocked and saddened. Mr. Luthor was not only America's second-richest man, but the leading contributor to many worthy causes....He is survived only by his wife, Patricia Luthor....our viewers may remember his father Lionel was killed in a helicopter accident four years ago at Metropolis Harbour...The world has truly lost both a leader and a hero today...Back to you, Vicki...So, Cat-- Has there been any word yet how this might affect the global markets?....Well, Vicki, Mr. Luthor had a huge and diversified portfolio...I think many fear that--"
I don't even realize it but the windows shatter, exploding....
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
"....--global currencies may reel on news of his death...in Metropolis, many fear for their jobs, their security..."
I feel her. My Mom....she's hugging me...trying to calm me down... My Dad....he's there too...his hands are wrapped around mine...
They want to comfort me. They can't.
"....--when the markets open, shares of LexCorp will soar on speculation that Patricia Luthor was divest herself of her murdered husband's holdings..."
My God...Lex is dead. Lex is dead.
"...--here's Lex Luthor leaving the World Economic Summit just last week in Rio, his beautiful wife, now widow, by his side..."
No.
I picture him...blood pouring out of him...and they are taking pictures...Cat Grant in faux *purple* Gucci fur laughing...all the glitterati mobbing him as he dies...bleeding...Mary Hart in his face with a microphone...crawling...help him...help him...
",,,--for those just joining us, Alexander "Lex" Luthor was found gunned down last night in his Metropolis penthouse...discovered by his wife of three years, Patricia....."
"Turn it off, Jon! Quick!"
(Purple...you love purple, don't you?)
"We're here, Clark...we're here, son. It's gonna be alright. It will."
(...wow...Clark...wow...you can fly! Lex...don't ever say the word *wow* again...)
But it never will be. It never was right in the first place.
Run. Please. Oh. Fuck. Stop. No. Die. Please. No. Stop.
I couldn't stop screaming...I don't know how long I kept it up...at some point, for the first time in my memory, I fainted into blackness... **************************************************************************** *******************
"I'm surprised he reacted that badly, Martha. I mean, he hasn't even seen Lex Luthor since, what, '05?"
She pours the coffee gently, tenatively...
"There was always something very deep, very genuine...about their...their...friendship, Jonathan. It's moot now, of course...let's just say...they cared for each other. Lex was one of the few people who stood by Clark through high school. He knew about his gifts...helped him to decipher the logs from the ship. Those were very tough years for Clark, you know--"
Lines mass upon his face...
"Cared for each other? What in hell does that mean? You're not saying--"
Martha leans over and covers his mouth....sternly but lovingly...
"Does it matter now, Jon? Alexander Luthor is dead. Whatever happened years ago is dead with him. All we can do now is try to be here for Clark...this wasn't the kind of homecoming I'd planned for."
Removing her hand...he kisses it softly... "Me either, Martha. And I'm not saying it's not terrible what happened to Lex. It is damned horrible. Man being murdered in his own home."
"Lex always had such fine security. It's shocking, really. Baffling. But the world is so violent, Jon."
"That's why I thank God everyday that we live out here."
"Yeah, I guess."
"Who was the wife?"
"I have no idea, Jon...some socialite...originally from Gotham I think. She looked devastated on the news."
"Yeah...devastated until the lawyers come in with the inheritance paperwork."
"You don't think...Jonathan! Lex was far too bright to let a gold-digger into his life! Let's have at least some respect for the dead!"
"Maybe, honey, but Lex was always surrounded by some shady characters."
"True...shady...all of them. Except Clark."
(Oh, yeah....I know I love you! )
She looks down into her breakfast. Her stomach is rolling. She raises her eyes to meet his...
"Martha...I know I was always hard on Lex. Maybe too hard. He never revealed Clark's secrets, so far as we know...yeah...and...and...he was amazing during the whole *Midvale* incident. He really saved Clark's life...and ours...think of what might have happened if Lex hadn't *handled* things that night...if the authorities had gotten involved...it's just...I don't know. Maybe I am just a hard man."
"Honey...don't knock yourself for being protective of Clark. I'm as bad as you are about our son. But Lex was good to him, good to us. Let's just remember that...God...Clark... I am glad he's home, though. He looks wonderful. So strong. But I wonder...can he handle this...this terrible news...can he deal with this, as an adult?"
Taking her hand in his...
"He is an adult, Martha. By our years, he's about twenty-five now. He can handle it....Twenty-five. I am so thankful I lived to see him at this age. My father never made it this far."
She gets up and goes over to hug him. They stay that way until the eggs taste like plastic, the coffee cold...
...like memory. **************************************************************************** *******************
I wake up to the phone ringing. It's dark outside.
I don't know what time it is. I don't care.
My face is still wet.
"Hello?"
"Clark...hey there...it's me, Lana."
I thought I'd turned off the phone.
"Hi."
"Pete and I saw the news. Poor Lex. I'm so sorry, Clark. I'm so very sorry."
"Lana....there's no need to apologize to me. Lex and I...we hadn't even really been close in years."
"But you were close, Clark."
(Once. Yes....once, we were.)
She knows. Or she thinks she knows.
Does it even matter now?
"What do you mean, Lana? Has Pete been telling you stories again?"
Kind laughter... "No, Clark...it's just that Pete did tell me Lex sent you letters all the time. You never opened them. Just left them in a box."
I'm never telling Pete a secret again... Now that Lana and Pete are married, they tell each other everything. I'm glad I had second thoughts and never told them about me...
They both think I've been off doing Peace Corps work in the Third World...
"Lana...I just got tired of Lex's stories about women and partying and the fast life...I missed the guy I got to know when he lived here."
"I understand, Clark. You missed Lex. You wanted him to stay?"
(No one can know, Clark...they would keep us apart. It would ruin your life.)
"Lana..."
"Clark...I also wanted to ask you...about his wife...did you ever meet her? Aunt Nell sold she and Lex a mare last fall...Nell said Patricia was gorgeous and seemed pretty bright...what do you know about her?"
Lex's.... Lex. His. Patricia. His... Wife.
(We have to stay apart.)
"I can't talk about this, Lana. Not right now. I'm still upset. Can I call you later?"
Lana and Pate and everyone else in Smallville think I am so odd...even more of a nerd now than in my youth...they think I'm so isolated. So inexperienced... It's good to let them keep thinking that way...
"Sure, Clark. Pete and I are going bowling this afternoon but tonight there's going to be a candlelight vigil for Lex at the plant. Gabe Sullivan is coming down from Metropolis to lead the prayer service. Chloe is probably coming with him. I know you'll be there."
"Maybe."
"You owe him that much, Clark. You owe yourself. Remember that Pete and I are thinking of you."
(I'm so lonely here in the city, Clark...please call...)
Click.
No, Lana. I left because my heart broke and I loved the bald bastard...I cut him out of my life and he kept calling the house...and calling...and Mom kept asking "What are you scared of, Clark?" And he got richer and I could freeze stuff with my breath...and God...I missed him... and now he's up and died on me and...hey...
Why didn't I read the letters?
(You don't have the strength to be a masochist nor a martyr, Clark. Leave those roles to me...)
Lex started mailing them as soon as I left. Every week, give or take.
Mom kept them all for me...everytime I came home from the Fortress-- Christmas, birthdays, Thanksgivings-- she would show them to me...that strange look in her eyes...those words...
"Are you afraid of what they might say, Clark?"
Mom knew. Yeah...she always did. She knew after that humid night in July, my senior year, when I had been working all day and was all sweaty and slicked over and Lex walked up behind me with the cold....cold towel...and ran it all over my chest, taking his time...
I'll never forget how hard I was. Or how his mouth tasted.
(Please, Clark...call...)
I'll never forget the look on her face when she walked in the barn, ice- cold milk and cookies on a platter...
The icy towel...his hands...all over me... I never regretted any of it. Damn you, Lex.
Damn you...for being afraid.
(Don't run away...)
Damn me for being afraid.
**************************************************************************** ******************* She couldn't believe her eyes...
"This is CNN....the world continues to mourn the death of Lex Luthor...in related news, Patricia Luthor has announced the funeral will be private, held at the Lillian Luthor Foundation offices in downtown Metropolis...'I want the time to remember my husband alone...I don't want the press all over me...I simply can't handle that right now...what was that? Yes...he was the love of my life...I was the love of his life...'
Maggie Sawyer watched the tape again...
'...Welcome to Good Morning America...I'm here with Bruce Wayne, C.E.O. of Wayne Enterprises, based in Gotham City...Mr. Wayne, we know you were close to Alexander Luthor...you went to Exeter together, rowed together...you were fierce competitors in the business arena...what would you like our viewers to remember about him?... I want them to remember what an amazing businessman he was. How much he cared for Metropolis. I want them to look past the glamour and cast their gaze upon the many libraries and schools and parks Lex built...I don't want him to become some martyr for our troubled times...I want him to survive as an inspiration, Diane...That's so moving, Bruce, really...Thank you...Here's some footage of you and your wife, Selina Kyle Wayne, attending the Metropolis Grand Opera last year with Lex...'
Maggie turned off ABC...what was playing on the crime lab videorecorder was much more important...
Everything about this case was important. And troubling. No murder weapon. No prints, no DNA, no witnesses. No forced entry, no theft. Clean...cold...quick...and deadly.
"Turpin! Get in here!"
Dan Turpin raced into Sawyer's office. She looked at him nervously...
"What Maggie? Your danish not sweet enough for ya?"
"Stop the bullshit, Dan...you gotta see this..." Pointing at the screen...
"What's wrong, Sawyer? You look kinda peaked..."
"You will be too, Turpin."
Dan looked over to the monitor. Maggie was watching the survelliance tapes from the LexCorp. tower the night of the murder.
"So its the Luthor tapes, so what?"
"Sit down, Dan....you'll see."
The crime lab had sixty tapes and disks in their possession from the building. Each one showed the events in different parts of the complex for the entire evening...Thankfully the press had no idea they existed...at least, not yet... Tape number four was the one from the sky lobby, just outside the penthouse.
"Jesus!" Turpin spilled his coffee all over the table...
"I told you."
There...on the tape...was Lex Luthor.
"He's still alive at this point...but watch..."
On the tape, Lex exited the sky elevator, walking slowly towards the heavy mahogany doors of his apartment.
"OK...so he's walking."
"Shut up, Turpin!"
Lex was saying something.
"Turn up the audio feed."
Almost...
"A little more!"
(......I should never have left you...I should never have left you...I should never have...)
At this point in the tape, Lex seems startled...turning around in the hallway...
"Ya think someone else is there, off camera?"
"Seems like he saw someone..."
Now Lex smiles....broadly...he is just about to walk forward...
"Our mystery person."
...When the shots hit him squarely in the chest...so fast...flashes...his eyes roll back, he seems to cough...
".38 special, alright. Certainly wanted to do more than wound him."
"He knew his killer, Turpin. He knew them well."
"Damn. Damn. This changes everything."
Both of them were horrified to watch as Lex collapsed onto the carrera marble floor...blood everywhere... They'd both seen numerous men and women die...some went thankfully fast...some...others...others like Lex...they lingered...
It was awful to watch.
"He's still trying to talk, Maggie."
(......h-e...p..h-el)
"Sounds like *help* maybe?"
...He was shaking...foamy blood dripping from his mouth...he appeared to be gasping...he grabbed at his throat with his right hand...
"Damn, Maggie....wait...he's still trying to get some words out..."
(....K....M.....Ca....Ca....K...a...l...c....Ka...l....Kal...)
"California?"
"Hold on...he gets one coherent phrase out..."
(....love you 'Kal'.)
...for nine more seconds he gasps and tears run down his pale cheeks until finally, his eyes bulging and his body trembling, he is silent...
"Wow...man..."
"Who did Lex know...personally...who would want him dead?"
"If he was anything like Daddy Lionel, the numbers could run into the thousands."
"From what I heard, Dan, he was vastly different from Lionel Luthor."
"Maybe it's simple. The wife."
"She was speaking at Metropolis University's Young Women in Business seminar. There were ten cops in the audience. Her speech started at eight, was over at ten fifteen. Time of death on Lex Luthor is estimated at nine- thirty five. Airtight alibi from what we can see..."
"A lover? Bad business deal?"
"Nothing yet on either of those fronts...we're going to look closely at all his associates, both business and personal...I am going to investigate this California angle...might be good to see if he had any trips that way recently..."
"Good idea. Nada on the other tapes?"
"Nothing. Just usual LexCorp. late-night activities. Janitors. Maids. Computer nerds."
"Let's make sure we check everything, every damn detail. We're gonna catch hell from the big brass if we don't wrap this up nice and quick. I see my badge vanishing before me, Sawyer."
"You're not the only one. We gotta nail whoever did this. There's a methodical killer out there, Turpin, and we owe Lex Luthor and the citizens of Metropolis to find the perp and put them away."
"Whatever it takes, Sawyer?"
"Whatever it takes." **************************************************************************** ***************** The service was held in on the terrace overlooking Grand Hope Park.
The place was mobbed with security, celebrity, and hypocrisy...most of the fifty invited guests had absolutely no feeling for Lex...
There were exceptions...
Bruce Wayne and his wife Selina wept openly as singer Cassandra Wilson sang Le's favorite song...
...'The Nearness of You'...
(when you're near, Clark...I feel safe...)
Mayor Berkowitz looked to have aged twenty years...he'd battled with the Luthors for *control* of Metropolis for years...and perhaps he'd developed an affection for them through all that struggle...
Peregrine White, Jr., the only member of the press invited, looked red-eyed at the closed casket...wearily fingering his cigars...wishing he had tried to better understand Lex Luthor's motivations...Maybe the 'Planet' could have treated him better...
Outside the foundation's walls, thousands cried as images of Lex were shown on a giant screen....He was their employer, their inspiration, their hero...now he was dead...
Outside the sun was beautiful.
Outside the trees were still green...
(Clark...all the rocks...they're gone...you're safe now...)
Outside the harbor was still filled with ships, the parkways clogged with commuters...
Outside...
Under a tree...
Outside...in the open....for the first time...
...was the man who loved Lex.
Using his x-ray vision, Clark looked into the ceremony. Saw the well-coiffed...wondered who and what they were to Lex...
(Look closer, Clark...look at me...what do you see?)
Closer.
His eyes boring though stone and granite and polish and chrome and petals...
Then wood and titanium...
Lex.
Peaceful. Mouth stitched shut. Body ravaged with injuries from the gunshots.
What's that...
Oh.
My.
He's really gone.
God.
Clark found himself shaking...then vomited into an adjacent trash bin.
Whispering...
"Mom and Dad said to leave all this alone, Lex. They told me not to come here today...to stay away. But I can't. Sitting around Smallville lighting candles and crying in the barn...I had to come. I'm mad too, Lex. I'm fucking angry. Somebody hurt you. Killed you. And I have to find out who and why. I promise I will, Lex. You have my word...my love."
(Clark...it's never too late....to say what we feel...)
END of Reactions
Up Next: PROMISES
Author: EscapeToCity
Rating: R
Warning: Character death...some *Slash*
Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me; they are property of D.C. Comics, Warner Bros., and Millar/Gough. None of the other copywritten networks, magazines, stores, brands, places or people belong to me either.
Notes: This is the beginning of a new series. Includes elements of post- crisis comic canon and some 'Smallville' revisionist history, as well as some of my own inventions...
Read and see what you think...
Best regards,
-J.B. @ Pass Christian 9/15/02
Comments? Email me anytime: EscapeToCity@aol.com **************************************************************************** *******************
REACTIONS
The sun is just creeping into my room. I haven't awoken in this place for so long.
It feels so good.
Home...
I can already smell the bacon...wow....bacon...Kelex and his pals can't make breakfast worth a damn and I have so missed good, wholesome grease...
Seven years, on and off... I've been learning...about myself...Krypton, Jor-El, and Lara.
I cannot believe it's actually 2012!
(I miss you so much...please call me...)
I've become a man. Well..sometimes...food still flies out of my mouth when I laugh at the table...
Of course...I don't have to eat that much anymore...
So nice to be home... I mean...I came back as much as possible...to see them... But I miss the routine... The scents. The sun.
Antarctica's pretty mundane by comparison. Unless you're an ice worshipper.
"Clark!" "Shhh! Let him sleep!"
I look over at the alarm. 6:59.
(I love you)
Last night I got the best sleep I've had in years. That says a lot considering I sometimes don't need sleep for days... Warm, fuzzy pillow...this one's been here since I was a kid... Posters... High School...
"Let him sleep!"
I'm almost back in slumber...
"Damnit, Jon...turn the television back on!" "Alright, Martha...but it's probably just more of the same..."
Flash.
The same what?
"Clark, come downstairs, honey! Hurry!"
My mother sounds alarmed. Dressed only in my boxers I race down the stairwell...
I don't yet glance at the television... I don't hear the voices...
Flashes.
"Clark...son...look at this..."
My father is wearing glasses...thick ones...his eyes are going out...I can see the astimagtism there...I keep telling him to have surgery....but...
"What is it, Dad?"
...barely a whisper...."...Jon...maybe we should talk to him first..."
"Martha...he's got to face it. Clark...son...please...sit down."
Flashbulbs.
My Mom. She's still beautiful. Still so full of life and wisdom. I was afraid that when I left, they'd forget me. No longer need me in their lives... How stupid....I was their son...they loved me.
She's pointing to the television...
"He's not ready, Jon."
I don't really understand...
"Ready for what, Mom?"
I hear the familiar strings of the NBC News theme.... I slowly turn around... Facing the television...
"It's Lex, son..."
(I think I love you.)
Listening. Seeing.
"What about Lex, Dad?"
(No....I know I love you)
"....and from New York, this is 'Today' with Vicki Vale........One of the world's most famous titans of industry has died...Billionaire industrialist Alexander "Lex" Luthor was found dead last night in his ninety-fourth floor penthouse in Metropolis. Police were alerted to the scene around eleven last night, and we now go to affiliate WGBS for in-depth coverage.... Thank you, Vicki, I'm Catherine Grant, live from Central Metropolis. I'm here in front of the famous LexCorp. spire, tallest building in America, once home to the glamorous and generous man known as Lex Luthor. Last night, however, Mr. Luthor was found shot to death in the elevator lobby of the fabulous multi-million dollar penthouse. Police have been combing the area for clues but as of yet have none...nor any suspects. Millions here in Metropolis and around the world are shocked and saddened. Mr. Luthor was not only America's second-richest man, but the leading contributor to many worthy causes....He is survived only by his wife, Patricia Luthor....our viewers may remember his father Lionel was killed in a helicopter accident four years ago at Metropolis Harbour...The world has truly lost both a leader and a hero today...Back to you, Vicki...So, Cat-- Has there been any word yet how this might affect the global markets?....Well, Vicki, Mr. Luthor had a huge and diversified portfolio...I think many fear that--"
I don't even realize it but the windows shatter, exploding....
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
"....--global currencies may reel on news of his death...in Metropolis, many fear for their jobs, their security..."
I feel her. My Mom....she's hugging me...trying to calm me down... My Dad....he's there too...his hands are wrapped around mine...
They want to comfort me. They can't.
"....--when the markets open, shares of LexCorp will soar on speculation that Patricia Luthor was divest herself of her murdered husband's holdings..."
My God...Lex is dead. Lex is dead.
"...--here's Lex Luthor leaving the World Economic Summit just last week in Rio, his beautiful wife, now widow, by his side..."
No.
I picture him...blood pouring out of him...and they are taking pictures...Cat Grant in faux *purple* Gucci fur laughing...all the glitterati mobbing him as he dies...bleeding...Mary Hart in his face with a microphone...crawling...help him...help him...
",,,--for those just joining us, Alexander "Lex" Luthor was found gunned down last night in his Metropolis penthouse...discovered by his wife of three years, Patricia....."
"Turn it off, Jon! Quick!"
(Purple...you love purple, don't you?)
"We're here, Clark...we're here, son. It's gonna be alright. It will."
(...wow...Clark...wow...you can fly! Lex...don't ever say the word *wow* again...)
But it never will be. It never was right in the first place.
Run. Please. Oh. Fuck. Stop. No. Die. Please. No. Stop.
I couldn't stop screaming...I don't know how long I kept it up...at some point, for the first time in my memory, I fainted into blackness... **************************************************************************** *******************
"I'm surprised he reacted that badly, Martha. I mean, he hasn't even seen Lex Luthor since, what, '05?"
She pours the coffee gently, tenatively...
"There was always something very deep, very genuine...about their...their...friendship, Jonathan. It's moot now, of course...let's just say...they cared for each other. Lex was one of the few people who stood by Clark through high school. He knew about his gifts...helped him to decipher the logs from the ship. Those were very tough years for Clark, you know--"
Lines mass upon his face...
"Cared for each other? What in hell does that mean? You're not saying--"
Martha leans over and covers his mouth....sternly but lovingly...
"Does it matter now, Jon? Alexander Luthor is dead. Whatever happened years ago is dead with him. All we can do now is try to be here for Clark...this wasn't the kind of homecoming I'd planned for."
Removing her hand...he kisses it softly... "Me either, Martha. And I'm not saying it's not terrible what happened to Lex. It is damned horrible. Man being murdered in his own home."
"Lex always had such fine security. It's shocking, really. Baffling. But the world is so violent, Jon."
"That's why I thank God everyday that we live out here."
"Yeah, I guess."
"Who was the wife?"
"I have no idea, Jon...some socialite...originally from Gotham I think. She looked devastated on the news."
"Yeah...devastated until the lawyers come in with the inheritance paperwork."
"You don't think...Jonathan! Lex was far too bright to let a gold-digger into his life! Let's have at least some respect for the dead!"
"Maybe, honey, but Lex was always surrounded by some shady characters."
"True...shady...all of them. Except Clark."
(Oh, yeah....I know I love you! )
She looks down into her breakfast. Her stomach is rolling. She raises her eyes to meet his...
"Martha...I know I was always hard on Lex. Maybe too hard. He never revealed Clark's secrets, so far as we know...yeah...and...and...he was amazing during the whole *Midvale* incident. He really saved Clark's life...and ours...think of what might have happened if Lex hadn't *handled* things that night...if the authorities had gotten involved...it's just...I don't know. Maybe I am just a hard man."
"Honey...don't knock yourself for being protective of Clark. I'm as bad as you are about our son. But Lex was good to him, good to us. Let's just remember that...God...Clark... I am glad he's home, though. He looks wonderful. So strong. But I wonder...can he handle this...this terrible news...can he deal with this, as an adult?"
Taking her hand in his...
"He is an adult, Martha. By our years, he's about twenty-five now. He can handle it....Twenty-five. I am so thankful I lived to see him at this age. My father never made it this far."
She gets up and goes over to hug him. They stay that way until the eggs taste like plastic, the coffee cold...
...like memory. **************************************************************************** *******************
I wake up to the phone ringing. It's dark outside.
I don't know what time it is. I don't care.
My face is still wet.
"Hello?"
"Clark...hey there...it's me, Lana."
I thought I'd turned off the phone.
"Hi."
"Pete and I saw the news. Poor Lex. I'm so sorry, Clark. I'm so very sorry."
"Lana....there's no need to apologize to me. Lex and I...we hadn't even really been close in years."
"But you were close, Clark."
(Once. Yes....once, we were.)
She knows. Or she thinks she knows.
Does it even matter now?
"What do you mean, Lana? Has Pete been telling you stories again?"
Kind laughter... "No, Clark...it's just that Pete did tell me Lex sent you letters all the time. You never opened them. Just left them in a box."
I'm never telling Pete a secret again... Now that Lana and Pete are married, they tell each other everything. I'm glad I had second thoughts and never told them about me...
They both think I've been off doing Peace Corps work in the Third World...
"Lana...I just got tired of Lex's stories about women and partying and the fast life...I missed the guy I got to know when he lived here."
"I understand, Clark. You missed Lex. You wanted him to stay?"
(No one can know, Clark...they would keep us apart. It would ruin your life.)
"Lana..."
"Clark...I also wanted to ask you...about his wife...did you ever meet her? Aunt Nell sold she and Lex a mare last fall...Nell said Patricia was gorgeous and seemed pretty bright...what do you know about her?"
Lex's.... Lex. His. Patricia. His... Wife.
(We have to stay apart.)
"I can't talk about this, Lana. Not right now. I'm still upset. Can I call you later?"
Lana and Pate and everyone else in Smallville think I am so odd...even more of a nerd now than in my youth...they think I'm so isolated. So inexperienced... It's good to let them keep thinking that way...
"Sure, Clark. Pete and I are going bowling this afternoon but tonight there's going to be a candlelight vigil for Lex at the plant. Gabe Sullivan is coming down from Metropolis to lead the prayer service. Chloe is probably coming with him. I know you'll be there."
"Maybe."
"You owe him that much, Clark. You owe yourself. Remember that Pete and I are thinking of you."
(I'm so lonely here in the city, Clark...please call...)
Click.
No, Lana. I left because my heart broke and I loved the bald bastard...I cut him out of my life and he kept calling the house...and calling...and Mom kept asking "What are you scared of, Clark?" And he got richer and I could freeze stuff with my breath...and God...I missed him... and now he's up and died on me and...hey...
Why didn't I read the letters?
(You don't have the strength to be a masochist nor a martyr, Clark. Leave those roles to me...)
Lex started mailing them as soon as I left. Every week, give or take.
Mom kept them all for me...everytime I came home from the Fortress-- Christmas, birthdays, Thanksgivings-- she would show them to me...that strange look in her eyes...those words...
"Are you afraid of what they might say, Clark?"
Mom knew. Yeah...she always did. She knew after that humid night in July, my senior year, when I had been working all day and was all sweaty and slicked over and Lex walked up behind me with the cold....cold towel...and ran it all over my chest, taking his time...
I'll never forget how hard I was. Or how his mouth tasted.
(Please, Clark...call...)
I'll never forget the look on her face when she walked in the barn, ice- cold milk and cookies on a platter...
The icy towel...his hands...all over me... I never regretted any of it. Damn you, Lex.
Damn you...for being afraid.
(Don't run away...)
Damn me for being afraid.
**************************************************************************** ******************* She couldn't believe her eyes...
"This is CNN....the world continues to mourn the death of Lex Luthor...in related news, Patricia Luthor has announced the funeral will be private, held at the Lillian Luthor Foundation offices in downtown Metropolis...'I want the time to remember my husband alone...I don't want the press all over me...I simply can't handle that right now...what was that? Yes...he was the love of my life...I was the love of his life...'
Maggie Sawyer watched the tape again...
'...Welcome to Good Morning America...I'm here with Bruce Wayne, C.E.O. of Wayne Enterprises, based in Gotham City...Mr. Wayne, we know you were close to Alexander Luthor...you went to Exeter together, rowed together...you were fierce competitors in the business arena...what would you like our viewers to remember about him?... I want them to remember what an amazing businessman he was. How much he cared for Metropolis. I want them to look past the glamour and cast their gaze upon the many libraries and schools and parks Lex built...I don't want him to become some martyr for our troubled times...I want him to survive as an inspiration, Diane...That's so moving, Bruce, really...Thank you...Here's some footage of you and your wife, Selina Kyle Wayne, attending the Metropolis Grand Opera last year with Lex...'
Maggie turned off ABC...what was playing on the crime lab videorecorder was much more important...
Everything about this case was important. And troubling. No murder weapon. No prints, no DNA, no witnesses. No forced entry, no theft. Clean...cold...quick...and deadly.
"Turpin! Get in here!"
Dan Turpin raced into Sawyer's office. She looked at him nervously...
"What Maggie? Your danish not sweet enough for ya?"
"Stop the bullshit, Dan...you gotta see this..." Pointing at the screen...
"What's wrong, Sawyer? You look kinda peaked..."
"You will be too, Turpin."
Dan looked over to the monitor. Maggie was watching the survelliance tapes from the LexCorp. tower the night of the murder.
"So its the Luthor tapes, so what?"
"Sit down, Dan....you'll see."
The crime lab had sixty tapes and disks in their possession from the building. Each one showed the events in different parts of the complex for the entire evening...Thankfully the press had no idea they existed...at least, not yet... Tape number four was the one from the sky lobby, just outside the penthouse.
"Jesus!" Turpin spilled his coffee all over the table...
"I told you."
There...on the tape...was Lex Luthor.
"He's still alive at this point...but watch..."
On the tape, Lex exited the sky elevator, walking slowly towards the heavy mahogany doors of his apartment.
"OK...so he's walking."
"Shut up, Turpin!"
Lex was saying something.
"Turn up the audio feed."
Almost...
"A little more!"
(......I should never have left you...I should never have left you...I should never have...)
At this point in the tape, Lex seems startled...turning around in the hallway...
"Ya think someone else is there, off camera?"
"Seems like he saw someone..."
Now Lex smiles....broadly...he is just about to walk forward...
"Our mystery person."
...When the shots hit him squarely in the chest...so fast...flashes...his eyes roll back, he seems to cough...
".38 special, alright. Certainly wanted to do more than wound him."
"He knew his killer, Turpin. He knew them well."
"Damn. Damn. This changes everything."
Both of them were horrified to watch as Lex collapsed onto the carrera marble floor...blood everywhere... They'd both seen numerous men and women die...some went thankfully fast...some...others...others like Lex...they lingered...
It was awful to watch.
"He's still trying to talk, Maggie."
(......h-e...p..h-el)
"Sounds like *help* maybe?"
...He was shaking...foamy blood dripping from his mouth...he appeared to be gasping...he grabbed at his throat with his right hand...
"Damn, Maggie....wait...he's still trying to get some words out..."
(....K....M.....Ca....Ca....K...a...l...c....Ka...l....Kal...)
"California?"
"Hold on...he gets one coherent phrase out..."
(....love you 'Kal'.)
...for nine more seconds he gasps and tears run down his pale cheeks until finally, his eyes bulging and his body trembling, he is silent...
"Wow...man..."
"Who did Lex know...personally...who would want him dead?"
"If he was anything like Daddy Lionel, the numbers could run into the thousands."
"From what I heard, Dan, he was vastly different from Lionel Luthor."
"Maybe it's simple. The wife."
"She was speaking at Metropolis University's Young Women in Business seminar. There were ten cops in the audience. Her speech started at eight, was over at ten fifteen. Time of death on Lex Luthor is estimated at nine- thirty five. Airtight alibi from what we can see..."
"A lover? Bad business deal?"
"Nothing yet on either of those fronts...we're going to look closely at all his associates, both business and personal...I am going to investigate this California angle...might be good to see if he had any trips that way recently..."
"Good idea. Nada on the other tapes?"
"Nothing. Just usual LexCorp. late-night activities. Janitors. Maids. Computer nerds."
"Let's make sure we check everything, every damn detail. We're gonna catch hell from the big brass if we don't wrap this up nice and quick. I see my badge vanishing before me, Sawyer."
"You're not the only one. We gotta nail whoever did this. There's a methodical killer out there, Turpin, and we owe Lex Luthor and the citizens of Metropolis to find the perp and put them away."
"Whatever it takes, Sawyer?"
"Whatever it takes." **************************************************************************** ***************** The service was held in on the terrace overlooking Grand Hope Park.
The place was mobbed with security, celebrity, and hypocrisy...most of the fifty invited guests had absolutely no feeling for Lex...
There were exceptions...
Bruce Wayne and his wife Selina wept openly as singer Cassandra Wilson sang Le's favorite song...
...'The Nearness of You'...
(when you're near, Clark...I feel safe...)
Mayor Berkowitz looked to have aged twenty years...he'd battled with the Luthors for *control* of Metropolis for years...and perhaps he'd developed an affection for them through all that struggle...
Peregrine White, Jr., the only member of the press invited, looked red-eyed at the closed casket...wearily fingering his cigars...wishing he had tried to better understand Lex Luthor's motivations...Maybe the 'Planet' could have treated him better...
Outside the foundation's walls, thousands cried as images of Lex were shown on a giant screen....He was their employer, their inspiration, their hero...now he was dead...
Outside the sun was beautiful.
Outside the trees were still green...
(Clark...all the rocks...they're gone...you're safe now...)
Outside the harbor was still filled with ships, the parkways clogged with commuters...
Outside...
Under a tree...
Outside...in the open....for the first time...
...was the man who loved Lex.
Using his x-ray vision, Clark looked into the ceremony. Saw the well-coiffed...wondered who and what they were to Lex...
(Look closer, Clark...look at me...what do you see?)
Closer.
His eyes boring though stone and granite and polish and chrome and petals...
Then wood and titanium...
Lex.
Peaceful. Mouth stitched shut. Body ravaged with injuries from the gunshots.
What's that...
Oh.
My.
He's really gone.
God.
Clark found himself shaking...then vomited into an adjacent trash bin.
Whispering...
"Mom and Dad said to leave all this alone, Lex. They told me not to come here today...to stay away. But I can't. Sitting around Smallville lighting candles and crying in the barn...I had to come. I'm mad too, Lex. I'm fucking angry. Somebody hurt you. Killed you. And I have to find out who and why. I promise I will, Lex. You have my word...my love."
(Clark...it's never too late....to say what we feel...)
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