Luthorcorp Towers, Metropolis

Lana Lang could smell the city burning. It was amazing the things that remained
stored in memory, scents and sights that one had long ago thought forgotten.
Tiger lilies, whenever she smelled them, reminded her of long, lazy summer days
spent with Aunt Nell. Even now, four years after her aunt had moved to the city,
that flower's particular aroma brought back vivid Technicolor memories of
swinging on the porch swing, nestled in her aunts lap and listening to the
summer crickets. Lana had never thought about the flip side of trips down
memory lane. It had been seventeen years since she'd smelled burning flesh and
felt cinders rain down upon her, but all of a sudden she was three again and
back in Smallville in that stupid fairy princess costume.

She shook and pressed herself more tightly into Lex's embrace. Something wasn't
right. She couldn't quite figure out what it was, but he wasn't acting like
himself. He was too quiet, too watchful. He had always been cunning and more
observant than most people, maybe even more so than Chloe, but now, as he
watched her, his gaze felt different. It wasn't thoughtful. It was predatory,
as if she were being watched by the eyes of some waiting alligator, instead of
those of her boyfriend.

"Lex, the city's falling apart." Sometimes even she wanted to smack herself
for the shades of Captain Obvious she displayed, but there wasn't exactly a set
of preferred phrases to invoke when Armageddon came. Well "Oh crap" and
"Aiiee" probably came closest to the best things to say, but they were
hardly pithy.

If possible, Lex's Cheshire cat smirk widened. "I know."

"But Chloe and your father are down there. I know you guys pretty much try to
kill each other on a weekly basis, but he's your father. We have to do
something."

"But we are. We're protecting ourselves and enjoying the view."

Shocked, Lana struggled to pull herself back, but Lex wouldn't allow it. For
the first time, she realized what all those preparations Fine had gifted him
with really meant. In a fair fight, she might have had a chance to take him. It
was doubtful considering he'd had more training than she, but given an element
of surprise or a concentrated effort on her part, a victory was still possible.
But now, with his strength, the entire defensive line of the Metropolis Sharks
wouldn't be able to take him down. Lana suddenly felt every inch the fragile
princess the town of Smallville had always made her out to be. "Lex, let me
go."

He squeezed her, not hard enough to injure her but enough to make breathing
difficult. "Now why would I want to do that? This night has proven
infinitely more interesting and satisfying than I could have imagined, and
considering I've spent years planning this out, that is quite the
accomplishment."

"But...everyone else..."

"The ones who die tonight should feel lucky. Tomorrow will be so much
worse."

"What happens tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow I take what's mine."

She struggled again, desperate to drag oxygen back into her lungs. Everything
was getting so dark. "Nothing's yours...not anything...besides Luthorcorp."

"But now thanks to the modifications made by your Milton Fine," Lex chuckled at the mention of the professor's name and Lana couldn't figure out what the joke was. "Thanks to his assistance, Earth is mine." He squeezed harder and Lana submitted to the darkness.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form