---------------------
Part 3 - Reunification
It had taken longer than Lex would have hoped to get Clark back into Kansas, it had
been over a month since Lana's visit and now that Luthor knew of Clark's fate he
could feel for him every day that he had to be in that place; every day that he was
going through the needless pain of endless tests and probings. Today was the day that
it would all come to an end. Of course he did not know what state his friend, if he
even was still a friend, would be in. After a few hours at Zero hanging upside down
Lex had not been able to sleep for weeks, he still felt the ache sometimes of the nights
locked alone in his father's basement so he knew that after four years of subjection to
isolation and rejection Clark may not be the same young man that he had known. He
was prepared for that but he hoped that there was still a glimmer of the man that he
had known locked inside, no matter how deep. That there was at least a last vestige of
the honour and truth that Clark had shown him, the good qualities that Lex had vowed
to the empty grave that he would try to uphold; Clark had always believed most
highly in truth and Justice and Lex had tried to always work with those in his work, at
least for those that he though deserved them.
A knock at his door drew Lex from his thoughts, he had not wanted to be disturbed,
he was trying to get himself ready for seeing Clark for the first time, that meant that it
must be important.
"Yes?" He asked curtly as the door opened.
"Dr. Luthor, Dr. Zimmerman is here with the patient." His secretary said, she was not
as efficient as Iris but then she was a lot younger and a lot less used to dealing with
him than his personal assistant was.
"Thank you. Would you send the good doctor through, tell him that the head
researcher would like to hear of his progress." He said, she nodded and he noticed the
twinkle in her eye, one of mischief and rebellion, he knew that she at least understood
his plan, he would confuse the doctor with his presence and she knew that. He had
understimated her, he would not do the same with the doctor.
Doctor Zimmerman was glad that the head researcher wanted to see him, he knew that
if he presented his findings to him that they would want to keep him on. He thought
that he had made a lot of progress with Patient X and he knew that he could make
some of their findings lucrative in the defence market just as he would have been able
to if the government had not sold him out. He was surprised to see the plush offices
that he was shown into, he knew of the wealth of LexCorp but had assumed that it
was all lining the coffers of Lex Luthor's private millions, he did not expect them to
pass on the benefits of the money to their employees.
"Dr. Zimmerman, our head researcher will see you now." The secretary that had
shown him in said as she indicated another door. Bradley Zimmerman stood,
gathered his papers and took a deep breathe as he stepped through the door, he saw
the man seated in the leather chair, it's back to him like in a James Bond film and he
plastered on a friendly smile.
"Thank you for seeing me at such short notice." He said, the chair turned and he knew
that this was an acknowledgement of his presence, his smile dropped as he saw who
exactly it was that sat in the chair. "I'm sorry Mr. Luthor, I was lead to believe I was
meeting with the researcher today."
"Take a seat Dr. Zimmerman, please, call me *Doctor* Luthor, I take a keen interest
in the runnings of the Biochemical and chemical research that our facilities do. When
I heard of your research I just had to be here, it's a little known hobby of mine,
thankfully one that Ms. Lane has not discovered yet." He said, she really was a bane
in his life, reporting everywhere he went and everything he did. Cat Grant's column
could be bought with a few nice gifts and comments every now and then, but Ms.
Lane saw her career further than that and he hated her exposes on his life.
"Sorry Dr. Luthor." He said, too little too late as far as Lex was concerned but he still
needed this man for at least a few more hours. "Perhaps I could share some of our
research with you…." He said, wondering if he had been blessed with going directly
to the money man, the figures would speak for themselves he was sure, even if they
were embellished a bit and Luthors were known for their underhanded practices. Lex
smiled and nodded, this was too easy.
For the next half an hour Dr. Bradley Zimmerman unwittingly told Lex Luthor all he
needed to know about their research, in that time Lex made two decisions about the
research. Some of it was indeed useful, it would help them to determine exactly
where Clark was from and it answered some questions that Lex still had over his car
accident, the second was that this man and his team knew too much about Clark to
make it possible for them all to accept his release back into mankind. Lex hated to do
it but as soon as Dr. Zimmerman was gone he would order the immediate and
permanent termination of each of the people that had personally dealt with Patient X
unless they themselves agreed to a life of working at Cadmus Labs. Any and all
research would be transferred to his own lab at his home in Metropolis for his eyes
only, unless Clark was well enough to view it, then he may share it with the other
man.
"One question before you go, Dr. Zimmerman." Lex said. "What is your patient's
name?"
"We call him Patient X." Dr. Zimmerman said good-naturedly, he assumed that the
man had not even been listening, let alone followed what he had spoken of, the
doctorate had no doubt been purchased on a whim.
"No, I asked his name, not what you called him." Lex said, trying to keep the anger
from his voice. Emotion was a weakness and he would not let it out now but it
enraged him that this man did not even treat his once sweet and gentle Clark as a
human being, sure he was an alien but even they had rights.
"I don't remember, I'm sure it is somewhere amongst the papers." The doctor said,
rifling through them. "I can certainly find out for you."
"No need, I know it." Lex said. "There is one other thing that Ms. Lane failed to
report and that is that Lex Luthor looks after his friends." Lex said as he reached into
his desk drawer. "I'm sorry, Dr. Zimmerman but your contract with us has come to an
end." He said as he drew the gun from the drawer, as the doctor rose to protest he felt
a burning in his chest and saw the dart that had shot him in the chest. "It's a
compound my labs developed, a silent but deadly and almost undetectable element.
You'll be dead in…seconds." He said as he saw the man fall to the floor. Calmly Lex
pressed a button and a security man came through the door.
"Take care of this mess." He said impassively, and then handed the guard a note, it
was a list of names of all of the other employees that were to either meet the same fate
or be given the choice of life or death. "These people are to be detained or dealt with
in a similar fashion."
"Yes sir." The man said, his voice full of reverance and respect. Lex enjoyed a
moment of power before he settled back into the routine.
Lex leaned back in his chair and picked up the papers that the doctor had left behind,
he wanted to go and see Clark but first he needed to know how damaged the boy was,
it was as he had feared, he had lived four years not as Clark Kent but as nobody, he
just hoped that the kid was not completely broken.
----------------------
Clark woke to view his new surroundings through a foggy haze, he had not expected
to be moved to a new location, but then part of him had not expected to wake up at
all. He knew that they were trying to keep him disoriented but usually that just meant
moving him to a different part of the lab, something about the smell or sense of this
place was new. It didn't feel like his cell.
As his vision cleared Clark could make out a window, it only looked out onto a
courtyard but it was a window at least and for the first time that he could remember
since his capture he had a room with a view. There was a bed too, furniture was a
luxury that he had not been allowed before and while it was screwed to the floor there
was a real bed and a real desk in his room, a chair too. Tears welled as he wondered
if this was some tormenting dream or if this was some kind of treat for him, show him
what he would be allowed if he just told them the secrets of his home world and the
invasion force that he was allegedly part of. If not it was the last resting place of a
dying man.
"Where am I?" Clark asked, his voice still rough from the hoarse moaning from the
pain of the drugs, a lot of the time when he was out of it he didn't really know what
was happening but a lot of the time he knew he must scream from the soreness of his
throat when he came to. "What do you want with me?"
He knew that the questions would not be answered, at least not until they gave him
something that he wanted but he had to try. He didn't know if he was supposed to use
the bed or not but he was tired and he was sure that it would not matter, they never
really beat him that much anymore, he was conditioned into doing what was right -
what they wanted. They would not have given him these luxuries if he was not
allowed to use them and if they had it was their fault for not answering him sooner.
Soon he was asleep, resting for the first time in a comfortable bed and for a moment
he could pretend that he was somewhere else, maybe on the sofa in his fortress of
solitude or in his bed at home. He could make believe that he was somewhere other
than this research facility…that he was home.
Clark didn't know if it was his superhearing or the years of conditioning that woke
him when he heard the click of the door, the first thing he noticed was the sound of
the shoes, it was not the shuffle of standard issue scrub style that the doctors wore, nor
was it the pounding of the army jack boots the security team had it was more of a
squeak, soft leather uppers and a rubber style sole. Clark was not an expert on shoes
but he had come to learn to tell the difference between certain things and with a
distinct lack of things to do sometimes it was fun to make games just to test his
abilities. In a way doing just that was comforting, remembering some of the extra
lessons that his home schooling had taught him such as dealing with super strength
and the similar games that Jonathan Kent had made up to test his reflexes.
"Clark?" The voice said, he was laying on the bed and he curled tighter as he heard
the voice. He didn't know how they had devised this new torture but it was too
painful to look, too painful to see that it was not real. "Clark, it's Lex." His voice was
a touch softer than Clark remembered.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and tried not to flinch at the touch, they didn't like that
because they didn't think he could hurt. To them he was indestructable so pain did not
touch him, they did not count the emotional kind. The hand took his not recoiling as a
good sign and rolled him over, Clark could not help but look at the gentle person that
was stroking his arm, when he saw the kind face he felt the tears fall.
"Shhh…It's okay…" He soothed, this was not right, Lex was strong, Alexander the
Great's namesake did not coo like a den mother. "Clark, It's okay…"
"No. Please…" Clark begged, his hoarse voice allowing him only a whisper. "Go
Away."
Lex pulled his hand back but did not budge, he had not come this far to leave Clark in
here. Sure the boy needed to stay for a few days but he wanted him to know where he
was, who he was and that he was free to leave. He would have a discrete tail if Clark
did escape that would follow the kid but he would not keep him in his prison for a
minute more than he needed and if Clark bolted at superspeed there was always
satelites, he owned most of them and there was an implant in Clark's body to pinpoint
his location. That was one part of the research Lex thought was a good idea, at least
while he was recovering.
"It's Lex, Clark. Lex Luthor. Do you remember?" He asked, not sure how far inside
his psyche Clark would be locked.
"Go Away. You're Not Real. This is Not Real." He said and then it hit Lex, Clark
thought that he was hallucinating, he thought that all of this was some elaborate
illusion or new torment. Lex shuddered at that thought and wondered what mind
games they had played, wondered if Chloe had not underestimated that even he was
not strong enough to deal with this. "Go Away. Not Real."
"Clark it is me." Lex said, desperately searching for a way to stop the now rocking
boy who just repeated the same four words over and over in the same monotone.
"You saved my life remember, pulled me out of my car. You stopped Pete from
shooting me." He said, trying to think of something, anything that Clark might
remember about him. When he got no response he knew that he needed something
that only the two of them would know. Something that would stop Clark from
repeating the mantra that he was chanting.
"Go Away. Not Real."
"Clark, you still have my copy of "Hamlet" that you borrowed for Freshman English
and I need it back." He said, it sounded stupid but it had driven him insane that every
time he walked past the bound set of Shakespeare's classics he was missing one
volume, the gap on his shelves a reminder of the gap in his heart.
"Lex?" Clark asked as he opened his eyes, the shock of the statement enough to
remind him of the small fact that only he knew. He remembered tiny details in his
more lucid days and he had started a list of regrets, he didn't know if that was one of
them but he wished it had of been. "They got you too?" There was a fear in his voice
now, he wasn't really thinking clearly but he knew that Lex shouldn't be there, not if
he would suffer.
"No Clark, I got you." Lex said. "I owed you for saving me, sorry it took so long."
There was a pitiful laugh in his voice, not for Clark but for himself. He had not really
saved his friend at all, if he had then Clark never would have been in this place.
"Saved?" Clark asked, his voice a little clearer but still dry and throaty.
"Yes Clark, Saved. Free. I'm sorry it took so long." Lex said, he knew that there was
time later for explanations and recriminations but Clark was probably far too
overwhelmed by it all now to take any notice.
"But…but…my parents…" Clark coughed, he had done this for them, for his friends
and for anyone else that he could put in danger just by being around.
"Clark, they died. In the accident that you…" He trailed off as he realised that Clark
hadn't known, he knew that this would get a reaction and backed off just in time to see
Clark punch his fist through the bed base and then rip it from its position on the floor.
Lex slipped out of the door and watched as Clark proceeded to tear the room apart.
He had never seen a display of Clark's true strength, he knew that he had the power to
literally rip a car open as if it were a tin can but just seeing such raw power was
almost scary. If he had not witnessed the tears and known the boy that this man had
once been he would have questioned if he even had any humanity left in him. Lex
knew that Clark was still good and so he ignored the protests of staff who asked him
that they be allowed to inject the enraged patient. Lex informed them that Clark was
not violent and ordered them to allow him time to grieve no matter how much damage
he did to property, he was only to be restrained if he turned on people and then Lex
would be the one to administer the drugs, only as a last resort. Lex knew that
whatever destruction Clark did was replaceable, unfortunately parents were not.
------------------------------
Lex wondered if Clark was weak from the drugs or the emotions of the day but it was
worrying that 45 minutes after his outburst the young man had collapsed into the
middle of the floor in a heap of exhaustion. Only then would Lex, or Dr. Luthor as he
had advised the staff to call him, let the other people in to deal with the mess. He
asked that they leave Clark to him and was glad to see that his title wielded some
power when they did as he asked.
Clark woke to a gentle hand stroking through his unruly hair, it was slightly longer
than he had kept it in High School but there was not something as important as a
barber in a secret government lab, they didn't think about things like that. He opened
his eyes and saw that he was in a new room, better furniture than before as if it was a
bedroom in an apartment rather than a cell.
"Where…?" He began, his voice tight and his throat sore. He remembered the fit and
the rage and assumed that he had screamed again, usually they would have subdued
him a lot sooner than they had…in fact he did not remember any injection at all.
"You're in my study, or at least an extension of it." Lex said. "In Metropolis." He
added as an afterthought, not sure to what extent Clark's disorientation stretched.
"How…?" Clark tried, this time Lex placed a cool finger on his lips and shushed him.
"There is plenty of time for questions later, the first thing you need is rest." He said.
Clark reached for him and Lex felt a familiar tightening in his stomach as the arousal
threatened to take place, instead he brushed Clark's hair gently from his forehead and
placed a kiss on there, a kiss that he tried to make as familial as possible. He had said
once that Clark was like his little brother and he hoped that he could keep that
pretense now. "I have some calls to make, I'll be here when you wake up."
And for the first time in a long time Clark managed to fall asleep without worry and
more importantly without the drugs that they had filled his system with.
---------------------------
To Be Continued…
Notes: Yep, it's angsty, but I like it that way. Thanks to all that have read this and
reviewed already, I'm always wary of moving into a new fandom because you're
never sure of the reception you'll get. I'm glad to say that this is a really friendly
group and it's good to feel so welcome.
Part 3 - Reunification
It had taken longer than Lex would have hoped to get Clark back into Kansas, it had
been over a month since Lana's visit and now that Luthor knew of Clark's fate he
could feel for him every day that he had to be in that place; every day that he was
going through the needless pain of endless tests and probings. Today was the day that
it would all come to an end. Of course he did not know what state his friend, if he
even was still a friend, would be in. After a few hours at Zero hanging upside down
Lex had not been able to sleep for weeks, he still felt the ache sometimes of the nights
locked alone in his father's basement so he knew that after four years of subjection to
isolation and rejection Clark may not be the same young man that he had known. He
was prepared for that but he hoped that there was still a glimmer of the man that he
had known locked inside, no matter how deep. That there was at least a last vestige of
the honour and truth that Clark had shown him, the good qualities that Lex had vowed
to the empty grave that he would try to uphold; Clark had always believed most
highly in truth and Justice and Lex had tried to always work with those in his work, at
least for those that he though deserved them.
A knock at his door drew Lex from his thoughts, he had not wanted to be disturbed,
he was trying to get himself ready for seeing Clark for the first time, that meant that it
must be important.
"Yes?" He asked curtly as the door opened.
"Dr. Luthor, Dr. Zimmerman is here with the patient." His secretary said, she was not
as efficient as Iris but then she was a lot younger and a lot less used to dealing with
him than his personal assistant was.
"Thank you. Would you send the good doctor through, tell him that the head
researcher would like to hear of his progress." He said, she nodded and he noticed the
twinkle in her eye, one of mischief and rebellion, he knew that she at least understood
his plan, he would confuse the doctor with his presence and she knew that. He had
understimated her, he would not do the same with the doctor.
Doctor Zimmerman was glad that the head researcher wanted to see him, he knew that
if he presented his findings to him that they would want to keep him on. He thought
that he had made a lot of progress with Patient X and he knew that he could make
some of their findings lucrative in the defence market just as he would have been able
to if the government had not sold him out. He was surprised to see the plush offices
that he was shown into, he knew of the wealth of LexCorp but had assumed that it
was all lining the coffers of Lex Luthor's private millions, he did not expect them to
pass on the benefits of the money to their employees.
"Dr. Zimmerman, our head researcher will see you now." The secretary that had
shown him in said as she indicated another door. Bradley Zimmerman stood,
gathered his papers and took a deep breathe as he stepped through the door, he saw
the man seated in the leather chair, it's back to him like in a James Bond film and he
plastered on a friendly smile.
"Thank you for seeing me at such short notice." He said, the chair turned and he knew
that this was an acknowledgement of his presence, his smile dropped as he saw who
exactly it was that sat in the chair. "I'm sorry Mr. Luthor, I was lead to believe I was
meeting with the researcher today."
"Take a seat Dr. Zimmerman, please, call me *Doctor* Luthor, I take a keen interest
in the runnings of the Biochemical and chemical research that our facilities do. When
I heard of your research I just had to be here, it's a little known hobby of mine,
thankfully one that Ms. Lane has not discovered yet." He said, she really was a bane
in his life, reporting everywhere he went and everything he did. Cat Grant's column
could be bought with a few nice gifts and comments every now and then, but Ms.
Lane saw her career further than that and he hated her exposes on his life.
"Sorry Dr. Luthor." He said, too little too late as far as Lex was concerned but he still
needed this man for at least a few more hours. "Perhaps I could share some of our
research with you…." He said, wondering if he had been blessed with going directly
to the money man, the figures would speak for themselves he was sure, even if they
were embellished a bit and Luthors were known for their underhanded practices. Lex
smiled and nodded, this was too easy.
For the next half an hour Dr. Bradley Zimmerman unwittingly told Lex Luthor all he
needed to know about their research, in that time Lex made two decisions about the
research. Some of it was indeed useful, it would help them to determine exactly
where Clark was from and it answered some questions that Lex still had over his car
accident, the second was that this man and his team knew too much about Clark to
make it possible for them all to accept his release back into mankind. Lex hated to do
it but as soon as Dr. Zimmerman was gone he would order the immediate and
permanent termination of each of the people that had personally dealt with Patient X
unless they themselves agreed to a life of working at Cadmus Labs. Any and all
research would be transferred to his own lab at his home in Metropolis for his eyes
only, unless Clark was well enough to view it, then he may share it with the other
man.
"One question before you go, Dr. Zimmerman." Lex said. "What is your patient's
name?"
"We call him Patient X." Dr. Zimmerman said good-naturedly, he assumed that the
man had not even been listening, let alone followed what he had spoken of, the
doctorate had no doubt been purchased on a whim.
"No, I asked his name, not what you called him." Lex said, trying to keep the anger
from his voice. Emotion was a weakness and he would not let it out now but it
enraged him that this man did not even treat his once sweet and gentle Clark as a
human being, sure he was an alien but even they had rights.
"I don't remember, I'm sure it is somewhere amongst the papers." The doctor said,
rifling through them. "I can certainly find out for you."
"No need, I know it." Lex said. "There is one other thing that Ms. Lane failed to
report and that is that Lex Luthor looks after his friends." Lex said as he reached into
his desk drawer. "I'm sorry, Dr. Zimmerman but your contract with us has come to an
end." He said as he drew the gun from the drawer, as the doctor rose to protest he felt
a burning in his chest and saw the dart that had shot him in the chest. "It's a
compound my labs developed, a silent but deadly and almost undetectable element.
You'll be dead in…seconds." He said as he saw the man fall to the floor. Calmly Lex
pressed a button and a security man came through the door.
"Take care of this mess." He said impassively, and then handed the guard a note, it
was a list of names of all of the other employees that were to either meet the same fate
or be given the choice of life or death. "These people are to be detained or dealt with
in a similar fashion."
"Yes sir." The man said, his voice full of reverance and respect. Lex enjoyed a
moment of power before he settled back into the routine.
Lex leaned back in his chair and picked up the papers that the doctor had left behind,
he wanted to go and see Clark but first he needed to know how damaged the boy was,
it was as he had feared, he had lived four years not as Clark Kent but as nobody, he
just hoped that the kid was not completely broken.
----------------------
Clark woke to view his new surroundings through a foggy haze, he had not expected
to be moved to a new location, but then part of him had not expected to wake up at
all. He knew that they were trying to keep him disoriented but usually that just meant
moving him to a different part of the lab, something about the smell or sense of this
place was new. It didn't feel like his cell.
As his vision cleared Clark could make out a window, it only looked out onto a
courtyard but it was a window at least and for the first time that he could remember
since his capture he had a room with a view. There was a bed too, furniture was a
luxury that he had not been allowed before and while it was screwed to the floor there
was a real bed and a real desk in his room, a chair too. Tears welled as he wondered
if this was some tormenting dream or if this was some kind of treat for him, show him
what he would be allowed if he just told them the secrets of his home world and the
invasion force that he was allegedly part of. If not it was the last resting place of a
dying man.
"Where am I?" Clark asked, his voice still rough from the hoarse moaning from the
pain of the drugs, a lot of the time when he was out of it he didn't really know what
was happening but a lot of the time he knew he must scream from the soreness of his
throat when he came to. "What do you want with me?"
He knew that the questions would not be answered, at least not until they gave him
something that he wanted but he had to try. He didn't know if he was supposed to use
the bed or not but he was tired and he was sure that it would not matter, they never
really beat him that much anymore, he was conditioned into doing what was right -
what they wanted. They would not have given him these luxuries if he was not
allowed to use them and if they had it was their fault for not answering him sooner.
Soon he was asleep, resting for the first time in a comfortable bed and for a moment
he could pretend that he was somewhere else, maybe on the sofa in his fortress of
solitude or in his bed at home. He could make believe that he was somewhere other
than this research facility…that he was home.
Clark didn't know if it was his superhearing or the years of conditioning that woke
him when he heard the click of the door, the first thing he noticed was the sound of
the shoes, it was not the shuffle of standard issue scrub style that the doctors wore, nor
was it the pounding of the army jack boots the security team had it was more of a
squeak, soft leather uppers and a rubber style sole. Clark was not an expert on shoes
but he had come to learn to tell the difference between certain things and with a
distinct lack of things to do sometimes it was fun to make games just to test his
abilities. In a way doing just that was comforting, remembering some of the extra
lessons that his home schooling had taught him such as dealing with super strength
and the similar games that Jonathan Kent had made up to test his reflexes.
"Clark?" The voice said, he was laying on the bed and he curled tighter as he heard
the voice. He didn't know how they had devised this new torture but it was too
painful to look, too painful to see that it was not real. "Clark, it's Lex." His voice was
a touch softer than Clark remembered.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and tried not to flinch at the touch, they didn't like that
because they didn't think he could hurt. To them he was indestructable so pain did not
touch him, they did not count the emotional kind. The hand took his not recoiling as a
good sign and rolled him over, Clark could not help but look at the gentle person that
was stroking his arm, when he saw the kind face he felt the tears fall.
"Shhh…It's okay…" He soothed, this was not right, Lex was strong, Alexander the
Great's namesake did not coo like a den mother. "Clark, It's okay…"
"No. Please…" Clark begged, his hoarse voice allowing him only a whisper. "Go
Away."
Lex pulled his hand back but did not budge, he had not come this far to leave Clark in
here. Sure the boy needed to stay for a few days but he wanted him to know where he
was, who he was and that he was free to leave. He would have a discrete tail if Clark
did escape that would follow the kid but he would not keep him in his prison for a
minute more than he needed and if Clark bolted at superspeed there was always
satelites, he owned most of them and there was an implant in Clark's body to pinpoint
his location. That was one part of the research Lex thought was a good idea, at least
while he was recovering.
"It's Lex, Clark. Lex Luthor. Do you remember?" He asked, not sure how far inside
his psyche Clark would be locked.
"Go Away. You're Not Real. This is Not Real." He said and then it hit Lex, Clark
thought that he was hallucinating, he thought that all of this was some elaborate
illusion or new torment. Lex shuddered at that thought and wondered what mind
games they had played, wondered if Chloe had not underestimated that even he was
not strong enough to deal with this. "Go Away. Not Real."
"Clark it is me." Lex said, desperately searching for a way to stop the now rocking
boy who just repeated the same four words over and over in the same monotone.
"You saved my life remember, pulled me out of my car. You stopped Pete from
shooting me." He said, trying to think of something, anything that Clark might
remember about him. When he got no response he knew that he needed something
that only the two of them would know. Something that would stop Clark from
repeating the mantra that he was chanting.
"Go Away. Not Real."
"Clark, you still have my copy of "Hamlet" that you borrowed for Freshman English
and I need it back." He said, it sounded stupid but it had driven him insane that every
time he walked past the bound set of Shakespeare's classics he was missing one
volume, the gap on his shelves a reminder of the gap in his heart.
"Lex?" Clark asked as he opened his eyes, the shock of the statement enough to
remind him of the small fact that only he knew. He remembered tiny details in his
more lucid days and he had started a list of regrets, he didn't know if that was one of
them but he wished it had of been. "They got you too?" There was a fear in his voice
now, he wasn't really thinking clearly but he knew that Lex shouldn't be there, not if
he would suffer.
"No Clark, I got you." Lex said. "I owed you for saving me, sorry it took so long."
There was a pitiful laugh in his voice, not for Clark but for himself. He had not really
saved his friend at all, if he had then Clark never would have been in this place.
"Saved?" Clark asked, his voice a little clearer but still dry and throaty.
"Yes Clark, Saved. Free. I'm sorry it took so long." Lex said, he knew that there was
time later for explanations and recriminations but Clark was probably far too
overwhelmed by it all now to take any notice.
"But…but…my parents…" Clark coughed, he had done this for them, for his friends
and for anyone else that he could put in danger just by being around.
"Clark, they died. In the accident that you…" He trailed off as he realised that Clark
hadn't known, he knew that this would get a reaction and backed off just in time to see
Clark punch his fist through the bed base and then rip it from its position on the floor.
Lex slipped out of the door and watched as Clark proceeded to tear the room apart.
He had never seen a display of Clark's true strength, he knew that he had the power to
literally rip a car open as if it were a tin can but just seeing such raw power was
almost scary. If he had not witnessed the tears and known the boy that this man had
once been he would have questioned if he even had any humanity left in him. Lex
knew that Clark was still good and so he ignored the protests of staff who asked him
that they be allowed to inject the enraged patient. Lex informed them that Clark was
not violent and ordered them to allow him time to grieve no matter how much damage
he did to property, he was only to be restrained if he turned on people and then Lex
would be the one to administer the drugs, only as a last resort. Lex knew that
whatever destruction Clark did was replaceable, unfortunately parents were not.
------------------------------
Lex wondered if Clark was weak from the drugs or the emotions of the day but it was
worrying that 45 minutes after his outburst the young man had collapsed into the
middle of the floor in a heap of exhaustion. Only then would Lex, or Dr. Luthor as he
had advised the staff to call him, let the other people in to deal with the mess. He
asked that they leave Clark to him and was glad to see that his title wielded some
power when they did as he asked.
Clark woke to a gentle hand stroking through his unruly hair, it was slightly longer
than he had kept it in High School but there was not something as important as a
barber in a secret government lab, they didn't think about things like that. He opened
his eyes and saw that he was in a new room, better furniture than before as if it was a
bedroom in an apartment rather than a cell.
"Where…?" He began, his voice tight and his throat sore. He remembered the fit and
the rage and assumed that he had screamed again, usually they would have subdued
him a lot sooner than they had…in fact he did not remember any injection at all.
"You're in my study, or at least an extension of it." Lex said. "In Metropolis." He
added as an afterthought, not sure to what extent Clark's disorientation stretched.
"How…?" Clark tried, this time Lex placed a cool finger on his lips and shushed him.
"There is plenty of time for questions later, the first thing you need is rest." He said.
Clark reached for him and Lex felt a familiar tightening in his stomach as the arousal
threatened to take place, instead he brushed Clark's hair gently from his forehead and
placed a kiss on there, a kiss that he tried to make as familial as possible. He had said
once that Clark was like his little brother and he hoped that he could keep that
pretense now. "I have some calls to make, I'll be here when you wake up."
And for the first time in a long time Clark managed to fall asleep without worry and
more importantly without the drugs that they had filled his system with.
---------------------------
To Be Continued…
Notes: Yep, it's angsty, but I like it that way. Thanks to all that have read this and
reviewed already, I'm always wary of moving into a new fandom because you're
never sure of the reception you'll get. I'm glad to say that this is a really friendly
group and it's good to feel so welcome.