2009
I was dressed in dark but decidedly not sober colors. Rich colors, the colors of wine and of night. Moonlight glowed on my hands and reflected lights from the surrounding, lower, buildings cast strange shadows.
I hesitated, buried my face in my hands, then fell to my knees. I rose, moved with dragging steps to the edge of the parapet, jagged as though with teeth, burying my face again, leaning against the waist-high wall. After a moment, I straightened, braced my hands on the edge, then hesitated, fell again to my knees, huddling in on myself like an animal.
"Lex!" A voice that was barely a whisper came from above.
"Stop interfering, Superman. Hell, might as well go out on those words, I've said them often enough." I didn't raise my head.
"No, Lex. You can start again."
Superman lightly jumped down, to stand near me.
There was a popping, as if of fireworks, champagne corks, or dart guns. I raised my head, smirked, and rose as Superman doubled over, groaning, then fell full-length.
"Sucker."
Three women emerged from the office I'd left. The three virtues against one angel. Virtue is more dangerous to you than vice, Superman.
"Excellent marksmanship, you all hit him." I looked at the fallen figure, emotion brushing against my heart like the touch of a feather. "I've changed my mind. I don't particularly want to watch you throw him over." Some forgotten scene stirred in my memory. A voice, but no name or face. "We could have been great together."
I turned and saw the reflection in the glass as they hauled him upright. A reflection of regret. "Oh, what the hell, I've changed my mind *again*. Bring him inside. I've never tried convincing Superman himself to join the happy family of employees. We can always go back to Plan A if I can't be persuasive enough."
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The darts had embedded the rock deep and then released it, so even if he had been able to pull them out, he would have remained helpless. Quick twists of a scalpel removed two of them, the third I left until the builders had completed the work, six hours later.
I had luxurious furnishings brought in and shoji screens to hide the starkness of the lead-lined walls. The startkness and the panels behind which the glowing rocks waited. Mercy and Faith carried him in and put him on the bed. Another twist of the scalpel and the third rock was gone, just as the panels in the walls opened. I draped the silk and down comforter over him and left. He'd awaken from the deeper sleep and find himself in a state between discomfort and pain, if I calculated the dosage accurately.
I waited outside, watching him through the camera, waiting until his eyes opened and he became aware of his surroundings. He grimaced, wincing as he tried to move, looking about in muzzy alarm.
"Clark." I entered and the panels, triggered by the sound of my voice, silently shut.
A risk--restored to strength, he could kill me easily--but a risk considered and chosen, determined and dared. I knew him, as well, he would rather try to reason, to appeal, than to do harm to anyone, even me. I'd have warning enough to open the panels. For him to associate my presence, my voice, with an ending to pain was key to my plan.
"Clark," I repeated, sitting on the chair next to the bed, putting my hand on his. "It's Lex. Are you feeling better?"
His eyes moved slowly and he opened his mouth, but no sound emerged.
"Shhh, it's all right. You're going to be fine, Clark." I brushed the hair back from his forehead. "I'll be back in a second." In the bathroom, I ran two washcloths under the water, one hot, one cold. Returning, I wiped his face first with the one, then the other. "How's that?"
"What happened?"
"I'm not sure." Here was where I had to be careful, watching every reaction as I spun the deception. "You were sick, something had happened to you." Good, bewilderment in my voice. As I continued, I added a hint of pride and wonder. "You came to me."
"To you?" He didn't sound indignant or as though he were contradicting the story I was telling.
"I didn't take it as much of a compliment, you didn't seem to know what you were doing. You asked for help, though."
"From you?"
"I couldn't believe it myself. But you did. Just as though nothing had changed." I waited until his eyes were fixed on my face then swallowed hard. "Nothing has changed for me, Clark. I'll still do anything to protect my friends."
I was dressed in dark but decidedly not sober colors. Rich colors, the colors of wine and of night. Moonlight glowed on my hands and reflected lights from the surrounding, lower, buildings cast strange shadows.
I hesitated, buried my face in my hands, then fell to my knees. I rose, moved with dragging steps to the edge of the parapet, jagged as though with teeth, burying my face again, leaning against the waist-high wall. After a moment, I straightened, braced my hands on the edge, then hesitated, fell again to my knees, huddling in on myself like an animal.
"Lex!" A voice that was barely a whisper came from above.
"Stop interfering, Superman. Hell, might as well go out on those words, I've said them often enough." I didn't raise my head.
"No, Lex. You can start again."
Superman lightly jumped down, to stand near me.
There was a popping, as if of fireworks, champagne corks, or dart guns. I raised my head, smirked, and rose as Superman doubled over, groaning, then fell full-length.
"Sucker."
Three women emerged from the office I'd left. The three virtues against one angel. Virtue is more dangerous to you than vice, Superman.
"Excellent marksmanship, you all hit him." I looked at the fallen figure, emotion brushing against my heart like the touch of a feather. "I've changed my mind. I don't particularly want to watch you throw him over." Some forgotten scene stirred in my memory. A voice, but no name or face. "We could have been great together."
I turned and saw the reflection in the glass as they hauled him upright. A reflection of regret. "Oh, what the hell, I've changed my mind *again*. Bring him inside. I've never tried convincing Superman himself to join the happy family of employees. We can always go back to Plan A if I can't be persuasive enough."
****************************************************************************
The darts had embedded the rock deep and then released it, so even if he had been able to pull them out, he would have remained helpless. Quick twists of a scalpel removed two of them, the third I left until the builders had completed the work, six hours later.
I had luxurious furnishings brought in and shoji screens to hide the starkness of the lead-lined walls. The startkness and the panels behind which the glowing rocks waited. Mercy and Faith carried him in and put him on the bed. Another twist of the scalpel and the third rock was gone, just as the panels in the walls opened. I draped the silk and down comforter over him and left. He'd awaken from the deeper sleep and find himself in a state between discomfort and pain, if I calculated the dosage accurately.
I waited outside, watching him through the camera, waiting until his eyes opened and he became aware of his surroundings. He grimaced, wincing as he tried to move, looking about in muzzy alarm.
"Clark." I entered and the panels, triggered by the sound of my voice, silently shut.
A risk--restored to strength, he could kill me easily--but a risk considered and chosen, determined and dared. I knew him, as well, he would rather try to reason, to appeal, than to do harm to anyone, even me. I'd have warning enough to open the panels. For him to associate my presence, my voice, with an ending to pain was key to my plan.
"Clark," I repeated, sitting on the chair next to the bed, putting my hand on his. "It's Lex. Are you feeling better?"
His eyes moved slowly and he opened his mouth, but no sound emerged.
"Shhh, it's all right. You're going to be fine, Clark." I brushed the hair back from his forehead. "I'll be back in a second." In the bathroom, I ran two washcloths under the water, one hot, one cold. Returning, I wiped his face first with the one, then the other. "How's that?"
"What happened?"
"I'm not sure." Here was where I had to be careful, watching every reaction as I spun the deception. "You were sick, something had happened to you." Good, bewilderment in my voice. As I continued, I added a hint of pride and wonder. "You came to me."
"To you?" He didn't sound indignant or as though he were contradicting the story I was telling.
"I didn't take it as much of a compliment, you didn't seem to know what you were doing. You asked for help, though."
"From you?"
"I couldn't believe it myself. But you did. Just as though nothing had changed." I waited until his eyes were fixed on my face then swallowed hard. "Nothing has changed for me, Clark. I'll still do anything to protect my friends."