He had it again. The nightmare. He watched as she died, helpless to do anything but watch as the life slowly drifted from her body. And the end was always the worst. She would turn her head, the last inkling of life leaving Tess' eyes. And she would smile a tearful smile and say, "I'm sorry."
It shook Oliver awake every time at that exact moment. He hadn't actually been there when she died and yet it was always exactly the same with no variations from one night to the next. And one night he had had enough.
Lex killed her. Lex murdered his sister, ruining any chance Oliver had at happiness all in one swift motion. And it angered him, cutting straight through to his bones. He had needed her. She was the one thing in life he constantly needed. Even if not having her physically there he needed to know she was alright. That's why this was the worst form of torture. She wasn't there and he had no way of knowing if she was alright.
Later, he couldn't even remember the drive to Luthorcorp, only the drive to make sure Lex understood what he did. He stormed through the doors and up to his office, bursting through the doors.
What would have been to his surprise had he been not so consumed by anger, Lex was awake and at his desk. "Oliver," he was clearly shocked, not expecting a visit from his favorite blonde billionaire.
It was only when Oliver got close that Lex was able to see the bags beginning to form under his eyes, but there was something else about his eyes that drew more focus. The anger and the hint of hurt that dwelled in them almost made Lex feel sorry for him, for whatever it was that had him so upset. Almost.
"Do you know what you did to me?" Oliver was definitely angry. It showed in his blatant disregard for not only formalities but also the possibility of guards.
"I don't remember doing anything. But then again, I seem to be having memory problems thanks to my beloved sister," he replied with a slight smirk quirking up the ends of his lips.
Oliver scoffed and shook his head. Any remaining logic went out the window as Oliver's blood began to boil. "You know exactly what I'm talking about," he bit out with more venom than he could have ever mustered had he not done what he did, tearing her away from him.
Lex's eyes flicked over to the side, landing on one spot, making Oliver fight the will to look and see what he was looking at. Then he smiled again. "I'm sorry but I really don't know what you're talking about."
That did it. He swung hard, making contact with Lex's jaw. Again, and again. He couldn't stop, all that pent up rage exploded. He hurt her. He killed her. He took her away from him. He had to pay.
He went to swing again, but stopped when he grabbed his arm, not pushing and holding. There was no strength to it. But it made him freeze momentarily, just enough for Lex to get one word out, "Oliver."
This wasn't like Lex. Why was he acting like this? He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. It didn't work. Something was off in Lex's blue eyes. There was emotion shining through, and not in the way he would have thought. "What's wrong with you?" He pulled back, looking the other man in the eye.
"I can't explain," Lex answered, shaking his head, "I'm sorry."
Had Oliver been thinking clearly, as he realized later, he would've asked when Lex Luthor had ever apologized but he didn't, his anger beginning to swallow him whole again. He pulled back and punched forward with everything he had. Couldn't explain? He killed her!
Lex grabbed his fist again, in the same manner as before. "She wouldn't have wanted this," he said softly.
These words blew yet another fuse in Oliver's already jumbled head. He began wailing on Lex again. "Don't you ever tell me what she would have wanted!"
He began hitting him, punching him until it was all he could feel, all he could think, and all he could remember.
The next morning he woke up in a jail cell, as all that could expected.
The next morning he woke up with a visitor, though not one he would have expected or hoped. Lex sat outside looking at him intently, his eye blackened and cuts covering the rest of his pale face. "You really cared about her," was all Lex said.
Oliver scoffed, "I thought that was obvious."
Lex looked at him deeply, as though trying to make a decision. He looked up and focused on what seemed like a random spot in the room intently as though there was someone there. He turned back to Oliver and said, "I'll post your bail. Just come with me." Oliver gave him a glare from behind the bars and Lex added with a laugh, "After they let you out of course."
A few minutes later they were walking down the street. Lex led him to a small coffee shop on a corner. Oliver froze, looking pained. "What?" Of course he didn't know. How could he?
This was the coffee shop where she begged him to forgive her and she basically told her to go die in a hole. He could practically see her begging emerald eyes looking into his cold brown ones.
Oliver shook his head to Lex's question. He couldn't know. "Nothing." Oliver walked in front of him and took a seat, carefully avoiding the table where it happened.
Lex took a seat across from him and leaned back in his chair. His eyes occasionally flipped to the chair next to him and then back to Oliver. With a sigh he asked, "How much are you accustomed to weird?"
"I live in Metropolis, Lex. If I didn't mind weird I would have moved to Maine," he answered quickly.
"How weird?" came Lex's simple response. He looked next to him again. The strangest part was that he was looking straight into the air. It was clear where he was looking but there was literally nothing there.
"Let's cut to the chase here, Lex. You posted bail for the man who you hate and attacked you. Now you're sitting here and asking me how weird my life is. What are you asking?"
"When Tess infected me with the neurotoxin it had some unexpected side effects."
Her name stung. None of them had really said it yet, especially around Oliver. This was one of the first times he's heard her name since the funeral. It caused his heart to drop to his stomach. "Like what, Lex?"
"Tess' consciousness is bound to my body and only I can see her. It seems that there is no way to reverse this but I have been working on a way to transfer her to a robot. That seems to be the best I can do."
Oliver was in shock. He had no reason to doubt Lex. Neither did he have reason to believe him. While this wasn't another Friday night in Metropolis, it certainly wasn't too out of the box to be true. He decided to believe him for now. If he's telling the truth then maybe he could talk to her. It may not be ideal but it's better than he thought he would ever get again. "Can she hear me?"
"She's sitting right next to me," Lex confirmed.
Oliver couldn't find it in him to say anything still. He knew he should, but everything he wanted to say to her couldn't be said to him. "Why should I believe you?"
Lex turned to what Oliver could only assume was Tess. "She said to tell you that she could do friendly." Lex waited for recognition in his eyes and received it a moment later. A crooked smile spread across his face. "Mercy."