This opening scene is more than a little silly, but I feel we can use some silly in this world. I hope it makes you smile.

Chapter 18: Price of Fame

*****Two Weeks Later*****

Buffy couldn't believe how quickly her life had changed since she'd revealed her identity to the world. It was insane. Not only did she now have paparazzi that tried to follow her everywhere, but it seemed leather pants were suddenly in vogue. When she saw someone on the street wearing a pair, she didn't pay much attention. Then Dawn told her all the girls at school now where mimicking her, and it was nauseating. She was getting invites to every talk show on the planet. Her clip with Leno was played on each one. Several times, he appeared with her, enjoying his sudden fame as the only one in his field to slay a vampire. More than one had begged her to take her slaying with them as it wasn't fair, they complained.

Finally, she had relented, taking Conan and the two Jimmy's with her in Harlem. Letterman seemed like a dirty old man, so she didn't invite him.

"I can't believe we're actually doing this!" Jimmy Fallon said, scared but excited. All men were dressed in black, but Conan's white complexion shown like a beacon. They each had a stake in a back pocket and held a sword.

The trio didn't know that she had Clark shadowing them just in case things got dicey. Only one camera phone was recording, and it was held by Kimmel's employee Guillermo Rodriguez, who kept insisting he was just a parking lot security guard. He also was holding the flashlight for them.

"He has to share that video, right?" Fallon said. Buffy had refused to allow an entourage, not wanting to risk anymore lives.

"He will share the video," Buffy said.

"If I get eaten by a vampire, Jimmy, my mother will put a curse on you!" Guillermo said to his boss. "She knows some mean old ladies who practice the old religion."

Fallon grinned. "Buffy won't let you get eaten by a vampire," he assured his very nervous employee.

"No, I won't," Buffy said, grinning at very scared but adorable Mexican man.

"I want hazard pay for this," Guillermo said.

"You'll get it," Fallon said. "We're going to silence Leno's smug mouth! It will so be worth it. You're going to capture it all on film! You'll be famous." His sidekick was a bit mollified by his words and stopped complaining as they strolled through a graveyard at midnight.

Giles had the council's lawyer draw up a form that kept her from any liability if the famous trio got injured from this outing. Clark thought it was a foolish waste of time, and Buffy knew he was right. But he wasn't the one constantly getting the calls from them. Buffy had been flattered when they'd asked her for her phone number the first week. Little did she know it would result in daily begging by them. They didn't stop at calls, but she got sent texts and sad icons on the phone at random hours. It was making her nuts.

"After this, I don't want you to give out my number to any of your friends or groupies," she said. "No more calls asking for this. I'm not a wind-up slayer doll. Do you know how many times I've saved the world?"

"No. How many?" Conan asked, curious. Each time she'd went on an interview, she'd said her bit. However, she'd not given much more new information than what she had shared with Leno the first time.

"I don't actually know," Buffy admitted with a sheepish smile. "I don't keep track, but it's a lot. Here's a few highlights. I was sixteen the first time I died saving the world. Luckily, my best friend Xander resuscitated me. Once when I just seventeen, I killed my lover to stop a ritual that would've ended the world. Three years later, a crazy hell god tried to sacrifice my sister to open a gateway to her dimension by bleeding Dawn. But since it opened up all dimensions, my blood closed it because we were sisters. I jumped into the portal, so Dawn wouldn't have to. That was the second time I died saving the world except that time, I was dead a few months before my friends rose me from the dead."

"What?" Fallon asked, shocked. "How?"

"Willow is a very powerful witch, and my death was supernatural, which created a loophole, allowing her to do so," Buffy said. She kept walking. "Of course, she thought I was in a hell dimension being tormented like Angel had been when I had killed him. The Powers brought him back several months later, so we knew how bad it was. The thought that I might be in one of those hells tormented them."

Buffy didn't realize that she was being filmed, assuming only fighting would be recorded.

"That's horrible," Conan said.

"Did you see a white light?" Kimmel asked. "Do you remember anything?"

"Not much," Buffy said. "But I know I wasn't in hell. I was at peace."

The two Jimmy's looked at each other and Fallon reached for her arm to stop her walk. "What do you mean?" he asked when she looked back at them. "You were in heaven? Heaven is real?"

Buffy shrugged. "I'm not religious. There's too much evil in the world for me to think that the churches have it exactly right," she said. "But I know that when I died, I was in a good place—a better place. A place of warmth." She turned back to keep walking.

The men looked a bit sick and horrified as they realized what she revealing. "Her friends pulled her out of heaven, so she could continue to fight on a hellmouth?" Fallon whispered to Kimmel.

"They must secretly hate her," Kimmel said.

Buffy heard them and stopped. Guillermo wisely put the phone down but kept the record button on.

"My friends had no idea I was in heaven—don't you dare judge them," she said angrily. "Do you know how many times they've saved me so that I could save the world? They were just stupid kids who didn't know any better when I met them. Willow wasn't a witch then. She was just some brilliant fifteen-year-old girl, who was constantly bullied with just two misfit guys for friends. Instead of being bitter, she wanted to save people, to make a difference in the world. Do you know how many times Xander has gotten hurt for me? Once he even stood in front of a serial killer and got his eye gauged out, and yet when the final battle came, he was there, fighting with his one eye. Can you fathom that kind of self-sacrifice? That kind of strength? You don't get to judge my friends—they aren't perfect. Neither am I. I led people into battle there in Sunnydale, and so many died. I can't save everyone. I'm just one person. Do you know what that's like? If I'm too tired to go patrol or if I decide to go down one street instead of another, someone dies. That's on me."

Buffy realized she was blurting out way too much of her business to virtual strangers, and she cringed. "I'm sorry. I know this is a lot for you guys, and I didn't mean to unload."

"It's okay," Conan said. "We think what you and your friends do is incredible."

"We are very grateful," Kimmel said.

"I arm wrestled Kimmel for the honor of being president of your fan club, and I won," Fallon said with a smirk, breaking the tension.

Buffy smiled. "I think you'd have to fight Andrew for that one, though," she said. "He's the dweeb in charge of that." She continued forward, only to see two demons coming out of a crypt.

"What the hell is that?" Conan asked. They were close to seven feet with reddish orange skin and small horns. Large teeth were sticking out of their mouths like a sabretooth tiger.

"Those are demons. Very ugly demons," Buffy said, wrinkling her nose.

"We're supposed to be killing vampires—not demons!" Fallon said, his voice going high.

Buffy shrugged. "I said I'd take you on patrol. You get what you get," she said.

"How do you know if the demon is evil?" Kimmel asked. "Didn't you say not all were evil?"

"If they try to kill you, you can assume, it's evil," she said. They walked behind her as she approached the demons. "Hey, guys. Whatcha doing?" She had her scythe in a harness on her back that Xander had made for her for Christmas.

One of them growled and attacked. Guillermo moved away, so he could get everything on film without focusing on just one thing. The trio of comedians were at a loss.

"What do we do?" Fallon asked, scared.

"Stay back!" Buffy ordered as she kicked the demon, knocking it back. However, the other one moved much quicker than most demons and flung her hard into a nearby headstone. Her body hit it, breaking it as she fell into it.

The three comedians fought their instinct to flee, not knowing that Superman was watching, trying to decide if he needed to interfere. However, the calls wouldn't stop unless they knew how dangerous this was. He decided not to help unless someone was about to die, or Buffy was seriously injured.

Conan, the tallest, stood his ground, swinging his sword at the demon. He managed to slice it, causing it to scream in rage, so it kicked Conan, who went airborne. Fallon ran to his side, relieved to see he was still breathing. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yea," he said, staring up at Fallon. "But I hurt all over."

Kimmel was left alone to stand in front of the demon, so he gallantly jumped forward, stabbing the demon in the stomach. Then he quickly jumped back out of striking distance. Buffy was slicing the head off the first one, and she turned in time to see the demon scream again. Concerned that Kimmel was about to get seriously hurt for his heroics, she swung her scythe like a boomerang. The demon's head rolled off its neck.

"Oooh!" Fallon said, gagging at the sight.

The blood splatter did not miss Kimmel, and his trusty cameraman and security guard, gleefully filmed it all, zooming in as it dripped down Kimmel's face.

"Okay, I think we can call it a night," Buffy said. "I got demon goo on my shoes." She looked down and sighed. "Slaying is hell on the shoes."

Guillermo zoomed in her shoes, chuckling. This was going to be golden.

Then he heard a voice he recognized, and his eyes widened. "Are you guys all right?"

The camera focused on Superman, wearing his perpetual black costume coming into view.

Buffy smiled. "Yep. I think so," she said. Superman crouched down to examine Conan. "Does he have anything broken?"

Superman shook his head. "No," he said.

"You can really tell?" Conan asked, looking up at him.

"Yes. I have x-ray vision," he said. "I can see through just about anything." He reached down to help Conan up while Fallon gave Kimmel a tissue to wipe his face with.

"Why do you have tissues?" Kimmel asked.

"I have allergies. I always have a tissue," Fallon said.

"Me, too," Conan said, reaching into his pocket and handing Kimmel another tissue.

"This is the most disgusting experience of my life," he said, wiping at the demon blood and goo on his neck.

Guillermo turned off his phone. "Yes, but you actually stood alone to face the demon and stabbed it. I got your bravery on film," he told his friend and boss.

Kimmel grinned. "That's right!" he exclaimed. Then he looked at Fallon. "You can go suck an egg!"

"At least I got in a slice," Conan said.

"And I got your flight in the air afterward," Guillermo said, grinning.

They all laughed. "You guys did very good," Buffy said, giving them a smile. "You followed rule number one."

"What's that?" Kimmel asked.

"Don't die," she said.

"Seriously? That's your number one rule?" Fallon asked, shaking his head.

"It's kind of important, don't you think?" Buffy countered.

"Well, yea," Fallon agreed. "What's the others?"

She shrugged. "We don't really have any. Just that one. That's the only one that matters. Oh, and don't drink beverages around Giles' books—he gets really cranky," she said.

Superman walked in step with the slayer ahead of them, making sure they made it safely to their cars. Three vampires did make an appearance, but Superman killed them so quickly with his laser beam eyes that Guillermo didn't even get a chance to pull his phone up.

"Damn, he's fast," Fallon said in awe.

"Yes, he takes all the fun out of slaying," Buffy said, looking up at Superman with a pout.

Superman grinned down at her. "I am sorry that I don't enjoy beating up on creatures weaker than me. Killing them is just a necessary evil," he said. "Kind of like putting out rat poison when you have a rat."

"Slayers are so different," she said. "We relish in the fight, the hunt. We are predators by nature, and vampires are our natural enemies—like a cat with a mouse."

"This is so fascinating," Conan whispered to Fallon and Kimmel. He was walking in between them. Guillermo was on Kimmel's right.

"Tell me about it," Fallon agreed. "People will never believe this."

"They will if we tell the exact same story," Kimmel said. "We have to go on the air at the same time."

"We'll each decide how we want to cut up the video," Conan said.

"Of course," Kimmel agreed. He turned to Guillermo. "Send it to them now. When we get to the car, they can check their phone." One town car had picked all three of them up. Each of them had left their phones behind, agreeing that Guillermo alone would have a phone to record.

"That works," Fallon said.

"Did you get her monologue?" Kimmel whispered to his friend.

Guillermo nodded. "Not on film, but I was recording," he said.

Conan was watching Buffy and Superman with speculation and remained quiet until they dropped Buffy off first at her hotel. Then he looked at the guys and said, "Did you see the way Superman and Buffy interacted? I think she likes him!"

Fallon and Kimmel looked surprised while Guillermo nodded. "Yes, he did smile more while speaking to her than I've seen since he started wearing his black mourning outfit," he said.

"Maybe's ready to stop mourning," Kimmel said.

"We probably shouldn't say anything about that on air," Fallon said. "Too much scrutiny can kill budding romances."

"We have plenty of other stuff to talk about," Conan said.

"Let's wait until later," Kimmel said. "I need to clean up. This is horrible."

"You're telling me. I'm going to have to pay to get the car cleaned," Fallon said with a grin.

"Why don't you guys meet at my house at one?" Conan suggested. "It'll give us a chance to rest and view the footage and brainstorm what we want to do."

"This is a huge rating coup, so we can't air it this week," Fallon said. "We have to plug it. Teasers. Get people ready to tune in."

"But we will agree to show it the same day," Kimmel said.

They nodded. "This will be so cool!" Fallon said excitedly. Even though he hadn't done much, he knew it was still going to be a hit.

He was right.

When the clips eventually aired, Buffy's popularity went up even more. The President was already planning on giving her and her friends the Presidential Medal of Freedom for their heroic actions. Buffy was extremely embarrassed, and a bit pissed that her impassioned speech was recorded, but her friends had been torn. On one hand, Willow was mortified that the world knew what she had done to Buffy. She had to create a glamour to disguise her appearance since she had gone on live TV when Buffy appeared with Leno. People seemed to hate her and would accost her in the street if spotted. Religious fanatics were the worst, accusing her of being a servant of the devil. Who would pull someone out of heaven? On the other hand, it was good to know that Buffy really had forgiven her. Xander, though, was getting women from all walks of life chasing after him. He was highly amused by it all.

Unfortunately, it didn't occur to any of them the impact her statements on the afterlife would have. She presented an eyewitness account that this life wasn't all a person had, and it caused the Dow to plunge. Despair and fear gripped many as the battle of good versus evil was framed in such a black and white manner by her words. Places of torment were real—Buffy knew this. Now—thanks to late night television—so did the world. Heaven was real, but did a person have to save the world to get there? The unrest and confusion were causing a worldwide panic just as Bruce had feared.

Then the President gathered several religious leaders that believed in the afterlife, including Islam and Judaism about how her words were not cause for despair but for hope. Each framed her confirmation in light of their own belief systems.

"For the first time since Christians declared Jesus risen from the dead and watched him ascend to heaven, we have hope that what we do on this Earth matters," Reverend Billy Graham said. "Of course, Christians have known this for centuries. The words of a warrior for good doesn't change that. But for those out there who have struggled to believe in a higher power, or think that all you have is this life and you live a life without consequence, you have the words of someone without any religious affiliation assuring you that there is life after death. There is a heaven, and there is most definitely a hell."

Buffy was in Gotham with Faith watching the television, and she wanted to scream. "I can't believe this! They've turned me into some type of Mother Theresa! This is insane!" she said, jumping to her feet and pacing. Since the three weeks the videos first aired, the world had grown insane. Every day, it seemed something crazier was revealed about her. She wanted to go beat something up so badly.

Faith snickered. "I probably shouldn't mention that Andrew told me there's already a slayer church started," he said.

Buffy's mouth fell open, and she grabbed a pillow from the sofa and screamed into it.

Alfred came into the room. "Can I offer you a soothing beverage?" he asked.

"I don't think there's enough liquor in the world that can make this better," she grumbled. "But chocolate might ease my suffering."

Alfred smiled. "Cheer up. There are worse things than being worshipped as a goddess," he said.

Bruce came into the room, chuckling. He dodged the pillow Buffy threw at him.

"Once, Master Bruce was nearly killed as a demon lord," he said.

"That was an exaggeration," Bruce said. "That Amazon tribe felt anyone that anyone who used technology was suspect."

"Then there was the time, all of Gotham wanted his head on a platter," Alfred said.

"Okay, so there is something to be said for being adored over hated," Bruce acknowledged. "Are you ladies going to get ready for the gala or what?" Alfred left to get Buffy her chocolate.

"Do we have to?" Buffy asked.

"Well, I have to as it's a fundraiser for the Wayne Foundation, which supports numerous philanthropic endeavors in city and across the world," Bruce said. "Faith doesn't have to go, but the newspapers will start publishing I'm on the prowl. Or that there's trouble in paradise."

Faith groaned. "We wouldn't want that," she complained. The gossip rags and been obsessed about her ever since she'd been seen on Wayne's arm twice in a row. Thanks to Willow, the public could find very little about her, which drove them nuts. That she'd been photographed with Buffy at a club had been front page news. It was before Buffy's announcement, but some clever reporter put it together after she came out. Speculation was rampant.

"If you hadn't broke that guy's nose for grabbing your ass when we were out at that club, people wouldn't be convinced you are one of my soldiers," Buffy said with a snicker.

"I had already told him twice to stop," Faith said. "Third time is pain. That's my rule."

"It's a good rule," Buffy said.

"Except now, I get sued," Bruce said with a rueful smile.

"What?" Faith asked in confusion.

"That's how this works now, but don't worry about it," Bruce said. "My lawyers can handle a hundred assholes that try to manhandle you."

"Are they paying them off?" Faith asked in outrage. "Because I know that's how rich dudes do things. They don't want the hassle, so they pay people off. You better not be paying lowlifes off who try to grab my ass, or I'm going to kick your ass all over this house!"

Alfred returned with some pudding cups. Buffy's eyes lit up. "Gimme!" she exclaimed.

"I am not paying off lowlife's who grab your ass," Bruce assured her, amused.

Faith looked skeptical and looked at Buffy, who was happily eating her pudding. Buffy shrugged. "Hey, I have never had a billionaire boyfriend, so I'm not sure how that works," she said.

"You better not be," she said sourly.

"I have highly paid attorneys," he said, pulling her into his arms and kissing her neck. "They don't settle." He kissed her. "Besides, too many people caught his hands on your rear, so he couldn't really argue the sexual harassment. You promised not to press charges if he dropped the suit."

Faith grinned. "I did?" she asked.

"You did," he said.

"Well, if we're going to this gala, we need to get dresses," Buffy said. She didn't look excited about it.

"What's wrong? You love shopping for clothes," Faith said.

"That was before I became the most famous Buffy in the world," Buffy said with a gloomy sigh.

"Don't worry," Bruce said. "I have three of the top boutiques bringing clothes here after lunch for you both to choose from."

"No shit?" Faith asked with a grin.

"It's how the obscenely wealthy do things when they don't want to go out shopping," he said with a wink.

"That's way cool," Buffy said.

That evening they both were looking hotter than normal. Faith was wearing a dark blue dress with a long skirt and plunging v-neckline. It had a slit that started up the thigh, so it flashed a lot of skin when she moved. She had her hair up, and Bruce had insisted she wear these dangling sapphire earrings with tiny diamonds around them with a matching necklace while Buffy was wearing a much shorter dress in hot pink. It tied around the neck and was backless, so she didn't wear a bra. Luckily, it had built-in padding, so she didn't look too slutty. Her cross necklace was the only jewelry she chose to wear even though Bruce offered her pick a of diamonds. She opted to wear her hair down with some curl in it. It was past her shoulders—time to get a cut.

The gala was being held in the ballroom of one of Bruce's hotels. When they arrived together, the party was in full swing. However, the entire room seemed to pause a long moment as they entered.

"Great. More eyes staring at me," Buffy muttered.

"Suck it up," Faith said. "Here comes your horde of admirers now."

Bruce introduced her to the police commissioner, who asked her to dance. He was nice and didn't ask her questions, so she was happy to. Then the he introduced her to the mayor, who bored her with his name dropping, but he at least knew how to dance. Then he introduced her to his deputy mayor, who wanted a dance. Finally, she was rescued by a familiar face.

"Clark!" she said. "I didn't know you were going to be here."

"Well, I'm a freelancer these days—I send my boss whatever story I want to report," he said.

"You don't work at the Daily Planet?" she said.

"Oh, I do, but I don't have to punch a clock," Clark explained. "I get paid for each story."

"That's convenient," she said. She looked at him in his suit. "You look very dapper." It was an understatement. Clark in a tux was a sight to behold, and then he smiled. For a moment, her heart stopped.

"Thanks," he said. "You look very beautiful yourself. Did you want to dance?"

"Sure," she said. Unlike the other dances, she felt nervous as Clark took her hand and pulled her onto the dance floor.

He smiled down at her as they moved to the music. "You're so tiny," he said.

She glared up at him. "I am not! You're just too tall!" she insisted.

He laughed, enjoying himself. It was almost a year now since Lois had died, and he still found very few reasons to smile. However, Buffy seemed to bring out a lighter side, and he appreciated it.

"It seems that I see your face everywhere these days," he said.

"Tell your new sister, she really owes me like one or one hundred," Buffy said.

"She's more than a little jealous, I think," he told her.

"Well, I'd trade places in a minute," Buffy said. "The scrutiny is nuts. I can hardly patrol anymore. I got these super ninja wanna be photographers following me everywhere. It's so annoying." They started wearing black, making it harder for her to stop them. It was both hilarious and frustrating.

"I bet," he said.

Faith was keeping an eye on her girl and everyone else when she noticed a well-dressed man from the sidelines watching Buffy very intently. Frowning, she asked Bruce, "Who's the bald guy staring at B so hard?"

"That's Lex Luthor, head of Luthorcorp," Bruce said.

"What kind of guy is he? He seems to be jonesing for B," Faith said.

"He's kind of like me, I suppose—a billionaire who lost his parents and inherited his dad's company," he said. "His mom died when he was young, and he lost his hair during that meteor shower in Smallville."

"Is he an ass? Most rich guys are," she said with a smirk.

Bruce grinned. "He's okay. He's been the bad boy, and then disappeared for a while after his dad died. He's been doing well lately—no tabloid storylines," Bruce said. "The Luthor's were known for dabbling in things best left alone. Lionel, the father, had more than one accusation of human experimentation. It wouldn't be good for Lex to ever know about you and your friends."

"Well, he knows about Buffy, and he seems very interested," Faith said, not happy. "If he's like his dad, he might have bad ideas. Buffy already dealt with one mad scientist."

"Lex is brilliant, but I doubt he'd risk his company messing with someone so high profile," Bruce said. He moved them closer to Clark and Buffy. Then the music stopped, and Lex stepped up to Bruce, not Buffy.

"Hello, Bruce," Lex said.

"Lex," Bruce said, tilting his head slightly. "Thank you for coming. Have you met Faith?"

Lex smiled. "No, I haven't had the pleasure," he said, holding out his hand.

"Hi," Faith said, looking him over as she shook his hand. His grip was firm and not limp like a wet noodle. Too many white guys had the lamest handshakes. He was kind of cute if you could get past the bald look. She only liked the bald look on a black man, so there was no appeal for her.

Buffy and Clark stepped up to them as there was a pause in the music. "Hey, guys," Buffy said. "Look who's doing a story on the event."

"Good to see you, Clark," Faith said, grinning at the big guy. "Bruce, you've met Clark before, right? He's a reporter for the Daily Planet. It was his fiancée that died in Sunnydale."

Bruce gave him a sharp look, his razor-sharp mind making calculations as he looked up at Clark, mentally removing the black eyeglasses.

"Nice to see you again, sir," Clark said, shaking his hand. He gave Lex a wary glance. "Lex. How are you?"

Lex smiled warmly at Clark. "I'm very well, Clark. It's great to see you again—it's been too long," Lex said. "I was so sorry to hear about Lois. She was never one to sit on the sidelines."

"Thanks, Lex," Clark said. "I kind of expected to see you at the funeral." General Lane was high profile, and Lois lived in Lex's hometown. Clark, though, didn't really know what the cloned version of Lex would do or how this Lex would react.

Buffy, Faith and Bruce were very surprised to see the two so familiar with one another and listened in silence.

Lex winced. "I meant to—honestly. Then I came across a new journal and read about yet another diabolical thing that happened in Smallville, and I just couldn't face you," he admitted. "So I just sent flowers."

"I'm Buffy," Buffy said, holding out her hand, trying to break up the sudden tension.

"Sorry," Clark said. "This is Lex Luthor."

"I didn't realize you two knew each other," Bruce said, looking back and forth between the two.

"We met when I was in high school," Clark said. "His dad used to own a business that employed half of Smallville."

"Clark saved my life when he was sixteen, and he did it over and over again over the years," Lex said with a smile. He looked at Buffy. "It seems you and Clark have a lot in common. Thank you for what you do and what you have done." He held out his hand to Buffy.

Buffy was caught off guard and took his hand. No man had ever quite looked at her the way Lex Luthor did, and she felt herself grow a little warm under his intense gaze.

Lex hadn't realized Clark would be at the gala, and his presence rattled Lex even though he worked to cover it with an easy smile. Although he had no emotional attachment to Clark since he was just the clone of Lex Luthor and Clark knew that, the original Lex Luthor's extensive journaling had written about every encounter with Clark. His obsession with Clark had led to his destruction, and this Lex wasn't about to make that same mistake. Clark would never betray Lex's secret because Lex knew Clark's.

Clark was Superman, and now Lex knew that Buffy the Vampire Slayer knew that. He looked closely at Bruce Wayne, who tried hard to pretend indifference, but Lex knew the man wore a mask. He was brilliant—not brilliant the way Lex was. However, Bruce was not a shallow playboy living off his parent's legacy. Bruce had worked hard to build his parents company and expand the science division. Lionel had respected him, and Lex's father rarely respected anyone. If Bruce didn't know Clark was Superman, Lex bet he'd figure it out soon enough.

Clark brought out confusing feelings in Lex, and he no longer felt like wooing Buffy tonight. However, he had finally made contact with her. For now, that was enough.

"It's nice to meet you," Buffy said.

"It's my pleasure," Lex said, holding her hand a bit longer than normal. Then he realized it and let go. "Enjoy your evening."

After he walked away, Buffy looked at Clark and said, "He seemed a bit intense."

"Yeah," Clark agreed.

"You guys seemed to have a lot of baggage," Faith observed.

"At one time, he was my best friend," Clark said.

"Really?" Bruce asked, surprised.

"His father, though, destroyed all the good in him," Clark said, looking sad at the reminder.

"He seemed nice," Buffy said.

Clark hesitated before answering. Although he knew that Bruce was Batman, Bruce didn't know he was Superman, and he wasn't exactly sure what all Faith knew. It was best to be discreet. They were in public, also. "I think he's grown up and trying to be a better man," he said.

"That's good," Buffy said.

"What did he mean about reading his journals?" Bruce asked.

"There was an accident," Clark explained. "He was presumed dead, and he lost his memories. He doesn't actually remember being friends with me, but he kept extensive journals. He's read about pretty much everything that happened between us over the years. There was a lot of good things in the beginning, and then things went pretty sour. He married the first woman I ever loved—it didn't end well between them. He blamed me for that even though I stayed away from Lana after she married him."

Faith grinned. "Wow, Farm Boy—I had no idea you had lived such a juicy life," she said.

"Me either," Buffy said in surprise. "Lex didn't seem mad now, though."

"No. That's pretty much ancient history—several years ago. I'd been with Lois for a few years before we got engaged," Clark said.

"So, Lex is okay?" Buffy asked.

Clark shrugged. "As far as I can see, he's not been repeating past mistakes," Clark said.

"You just like having another fan to add to your collection," Faith said, teasing Buffy.

"Not so!" Buffy said.

A fast song began to play, and Faith's eyes lit up. "Oh, I love this song! Come on, B!" she said, grabbing Buffy's hand and dragging her to the dance floor, forgetting where they were.

Others didn't, however, and phones everywhere began snapping photos of the two grinning and dancing together.

Bruce sighed, watching the duo with a fond smile. "I think Faith forgot we aren't at a dance club," he remarked to Clark.

Clark laughed. "I don't think she really cares," he said, pitching his voice for Bruce alone. "I've spent a lot of time with so many different slayers the past eleven months. One thing that I've learned that they all have in common—slayers live each day like it could be their last."

Bruce didn't like thinking of why that was, and the two watched them dance in silence a long moment. Then Bruce nudged Clark. "Don't you think you should get your own photo for your story?" he suggested.

Clark pulled out his phone. "I suppose," he said, snapping a picture. Buffy looked so free when she was dancing—they both did. "They are very special girls." He sent a copy of the picture to Buffy, knowing she'd like it.

Bruce nodded. "They are," he agreed. "I better go join them before rumors of Faith's lesbian relationship with Buffy breaks up the new slayer church recently started in Buffy's honor, and Faith gets angry stalkers."

Clark laughed at Bruce's dry wit. He watched them for a moment and wanted to join them. However, seeing Lex brought back too many memories that he couldn't shake.

His life in Smallville with Lana and Lex was a lifetime ago.

"Trust me, Clark. Our friendship is gonna be the stuff of legend," Lex said to him in his loft so long ago. How wrong his predication had been.

At one time, Lex had been his rock, offering so many words of advice and encouragement for Clark when he was young. There's nothing wrong with a good fight. Just remember, the Man of Tomorrow is forged by his battles today."

Eventually, though, things eroded between them. It didn't happen all at once, however. "Friendship's a fairy tale, Clark. Respect and fear is all you can hope for," Lex said once after Jonathan hadn't been very hospitable to Lex. Clark had kept extending his friendship, never wanting to give up on Lex, but his father's suspicion of Lex because of Lionel had never allowed him to trust Lex with his secret.

Eventually, things had gotten so bad. "If you look at history, Clark, the great men and women of the world have always been defined by their enemies."

It was like Lex had decided that since they could no longer be friends, they would be enemies. The greater they had been as friends, the greater they would be as enemies. Whenever Lex did something bad, everyone who knew Clark's secret felt like it just reinforced how right Clark had been to keep Lex at a distance.

However, Clark couldn't help but think it was his mistrust that had destroyed the remaining good in Lex. What if he had trusted Lex? How different would things have been?

The thought depressed Clark so much that he left the party.

*****Chapter End****

Quotes in italics taken directly from random episodes of Smallville.