See No Evil
By: Ginger157
Summary: Murders in Metropolis
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: No money for me, Superman et al belong body and soul to DC and WB
It started with the body lying charred beyond recognition in an abandoned warehouse. The gruesome corpse was the first in a long line of similar deaths, with no connection aside from brutality and lack of evidence. The Metropolis Police Department had begun to blame every conceivable suspect and formed thousands of character profiles. No leads and the murders were coming faster and faster, beaten bodies, ripped apart with horrible strength, and then burned completely after death. The police were stumped, but two men knew exactly what was going on. The killer, and the man who was covering it up for him.
A family of four, tourists from Edge City spotted Superman flying to Lex Luthor's penthouse. They had gushed, snapped a picture of a hotdog stand in their misguided enthusiasm, and had gone about their business, feeling safer with the big blue Boy Scout guarding their evening walk. Lex had known he was coming from the moment he had walked away from the body.
"You can stop this Lex. I know you can." Square jaw, and eyes that had turned the clear blue of the Kansas sky. A voice that had deepened, and shoulders that had become broader from bearing the weight of the world.
"Maybe I don't want it to stop. Maybe I feel closer to you since it started."
"The girl who died last...she was the daughter of a senator. This can't be covered up like all the others. Please-"
"I wouldn't worry about it Clark. I already have seven previously convicted rapists in line to be scapegoat. I'm handling it, and you don't need to be involved."
"In the beginning, it was criminals, drug dealers, horrible people. But now.... Please, I'm begging you. Stop this. You're the only one who can do it."
"The most recent theory behind the murders is that this is a man whose father had instilled in him a need to rule, to dominate. And frustration over not achieving this goal, or trying to avoid it has led him to express his rage onto the first person he sees. Hits pretty damn close, doesn't it?"
Clark slumped down and forward, nausea curling up from the pit of his stomach causing his throat to close. His brilliantly red cape fluttered ineffectually around him, and he buried his face in his hands. His worst nightmare had come true and there was nothing he could do to stop it. In the beginning he had tried to go to the police as Clark Kent, but his warning had been laughed off, and his story was lumped together with that of the homeless man blaming Elvis. Tears welled up and he felt exhaustion wash over him, one of the few feelings he had left. He tried to plea with Lex further, but a gentle finger brushed across his mouth to silence him.
"It will all be alright. Just fly on home, and let me take care of everything. You should try visiting your parents, get out of town for a few days." Words did nothing, so Clark tried action, pulling Lex to him, burying himself in the feel of his lips and tongue and the taste of yesterday. Kissing him couldn't make the world go away. The idea of jumping out the window and killing them both blazed white hot through his mind. But he knew Lex would be the only one to die, and he could never let that happen. So he pulled himself away, and let Lex slide a hand though his hair, smoothing it back into the trademark Superman hairdo.
"Why?" It was the one question he had never asked, far too afraid of the answer.
"Because Clark, you're the Hero. The perfect embodiment of everything good in the world. To let the world know the truth would destroy it, rip away all the fragile dreams of inner decency. And so I'm doing my part to save the world. To keep you the Hero, I will play the Villain, and come up with schemes grand enough to drive the murders out of the headlines." Lex paused as a sob shook the body cradled in his arms. "Shhh.... There's selfishness mixed up in this Clark. I could never see any bad in you. I'm just like the average American that way. And destroying all those little hints and witnesses lets a part of me continue seeing you as good. My hero."
The family of tourists from Edge City snapped another picture of Superman as he flew away, and had shrieked excitedly about being able to tell all their friends that they saw Superman twice in one day, and ohh, how exciting could one trip be.
And then they would go home to tell Aunt Louise that she had missed seeing Superman, and wonder where she was. But she had seen him too. She had seen his face as he snapped her neck and her last thought before heat vision had melted her eyes out of their sockets was disbelief.
And Lex took care of the bright red cloth fragments snagged in the doorframe, and opened his window so that his Hero could fly back to him.
By: Ginger157
Summary: Murders in Metropolis
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: No money for me, Superman et al belong body and soul to DC and WB
It started with the body lying charred beyond recognition in an abandoned warehouse. The gruesome corpse was the first in a long line of similar deaths, with no connection aside from brutality and lack of evidence. The Metropolis Police Department had begun to blame every conceivable suspect and formed thousands of character profiles. No leads and the murders were coming faster and faster, beaten bodies, ripped apart with horrible strength, and then burned completely after death. The police were stumped, but two men knew exactly what was going on. The killer, and the man who was covering it up for him.
A family of four, tourists from Edge City spotted Superman flying to Lex Luthor's penthouse. They had gushed, snapped a picture of a hotdog stand in their misguided enthusiasm, and had gone about their business, feeling safer with the big blue Boy Scout guarding their evening walk. Lex had known he was coming from the moment he had walked away from the body.
"You can stop this Lex. I know you can." Square jaw, and eyes that had turned the clear blue of the Kansas sky. A voice that had deepened, and shoulders that had become broader from bearing the weight of the world.
"Maybe I don't want it to stop. Maybe I feel closer to you since it started."
"The girl who died last...she was the daughter of a senator. This can't be covered up like all the others. Please-"
"I wouldn't worry about it Clark. I already have seven previously convicted rapists in line to be scapegoat. I'm handling it, and you don't need to be involved."
"In the beginning, it was criminals, drug dealers, horrible people. But now.... Please, I'm begging you. Stop this. You're the only one who can do it."
"The most recent theory behind the murders is that this is a man whose father had instilled in him a need to rule, to dominate. And frustration over not achieving this goal, or trying to avoid it has led him to express his rage onto the first person he sees. Hits pretty damn close, doesn't it?"
Clark slumped down and forward, nausea curling up from the pit of his stomach causing his throat to close. His brilliantly red cape fluttered ineffectually around him, and he buried his face in his hands. His worst nightmare had come true and there was nothing he could do to stop it. In the beginning he had tried to go to the police as Clark Kent, but his warning had been laughed off, and his story was lumped together with that of the homeless man blaming Elvis. Tears welled up and he felt exhaustion wash over him, one of the few feelings he had left. He tried to plea with Lex further, but a gentle finger brushed across his mouth to silence him.
"It will all be alright. Just fly on home, and let me take care of everything. You should try visiting your parents, get out of town for a few days." Words did nothing, so Clark tried action, pulling Lex to him, burying himself in the feel of his lips and tongue and the taste of yesterday. Kissing him couldn't make the world go away. The idea of jumping out the window and killing them both blazed white hot through his mind. But he knew Lex would be the only one to die, and he could never let that happen. So he pulled himself away, and let Lex slide a hand though his hair, smoothing it back into the trademark Superman hairdo.
"Why?" It was the one question he had never asked, far too afraid of the answer.
"Because Clark, you're the Hero. The perfect embodiment of everything good in the world. To let the world know the truth would destroy it, rip away all the fragile dreams of inner decency. And so I'm doing my part to save the world. To keep you the Hero, I will play the Villain, and come up with schemes grand enough to drive the murders out of the headlines." Lex paused as a sob shook the body cradled in his arms. "Shhh.... There's selfishness mixed up in this Clark. I could never see any bad in you. I'm just like the average American that way. And destroying all those little hints and witnesses lets a part of me continue seeing you as good. My hero."
The family of tourists from Edge City snapped another picture of Superman as he flew away, and had shrieked excitedly about being able to tell all their friends that they saw Superman twice in one day, and ohh, how exciting could one trip be.
And then they would go home to tell Aunt Louise that she had missed seeing Superman, and wonder where she was. But she had seen him too. She had seen his face as he snapped her neck and her last thought before heat vision had melted her eyes out of their sockets was disbelief.
And Lex took care of the bright red cloth fragments snagged in the doorframe, and opened his window so that his Hero could fly back to him.
