Title: Metropolis
Author: AmandaG
Summary: Chloe and Lex find themselves leading parallel lives while spending the summer in Metropolis.
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or places contained here in. I just like to take them out and fiddle with them when no one is looking.
E-Mail: ficklemuse02@yahoo.com
Feedback: Replies and reviews are lovely things.
**
By the time Lex arrived home he was exhausted. Mentally. Physically. Richard Reed might be in his eighties, but Lex had no doubt that tonight Richard had won the first round.
"Lex?"
Jesus. Of all the nights for Lionel to decide to wait up for him.
"Dad." He waved off Lionel's inevitable demand. "I don't have the contracts. Richard flat out refused to sign them until you were personally present."
"Lex!"
"Not now." Lex poured himself a glass of water. "I suggested that we call you- but that's not what he wants. He wants you and I to join him and his wife for dinner *next* Sunday." A reluctant smile curved Lex's lips. "And he said to, and I'm quoting him here, 'tell that irasciable father of yours to dress appropriately and for the love of God do something with that hair."
Lionel frowned. "And he doesn't have any other objections to the contracts themselves? He's willing to sign so long as I jump through a hoop for him?"
"Yes. He even seemed surprised at the terms of the contract. And to be honest so am I." Lex took a seat on the sofa. "They're unusually fair for you. Are you sure you're feeling alright?"
"Lex- some day you are going to learn that there are people in this world that I would never cause harm, financial or otherwise to. Richard and Evelyn are two of them."
"What's with the mutual admiration? Evelyn thinks you're the most wonderful man since Santa Claus."
"If things had worked out differently Lex- it's entirely possible that you would be calling Richard 'Grandpa'." Lionel pushed himself to the bar and poured a glass of water. "Their daughter Eloise and I had planned on getting married."
"But instead she married Gabe Sullivan. That had to hurt."
"Not as much as you might suspect." Lionel answered with a far off smile. "You see- two weeks before Eloise called off our engagement and ran off with Sullivan, I'd met your mother at a dinner party. We must have spent the entire night talking and I can still remember her parting words to me as she got on the penthouse elevator. 'I've had a wonderful time Lionel. Call me when you're not engaged to be married anymore.'the way she said it, it was almost as if she knew."
"And when Eloise left- you called."
"That very night. I cared very much for Eloise. She was the second greatest woman I have ever known. But we were more like old war buddies than anything else. We both endured the same tedious upbringing. The same monotonous social functions. The same lessons. The same schools. Eloise would always come and sit by me and do her best to entertain me." He shook his head. "The jokes. They were so Godawful that you didn't have a choice but to laugh."
"Her husband must have kept her repertoire." Lex mused. "What happened to her? I know she died about four years ago- that much is in Gabe's personel record. But there's no mention of how." Lex watched his father's face, surprised to find more than a hint of sadness.
"She was mugged. A couple of thugs grabbed her on the way home from the store one night- from what the police could tell she must have been pushed or tripped and fell, but she hit her head on the concrete stoop in front of the brownstone they were living in. There was significant brain damage. Eventually Sullivan had life support removed. I don't think Richard or Eveyln ever forgave him for it either."
"No. I don't suppose they ever did."
Lionel gave a sly grin. "So Alexander. Care to tell me what the granddaughter of Richard and Evelyn is like?"
"Hell no. And Dad- don't go getting any ideas. Chloe's a kid. A cute kid but still a kid and I don't have much interest debauching virgins anymore."
"Really? Because I can remember a time not so long ago when if asked your favorite pasttimes you would have listed that directly below fencing."
"Very funny." Lex stood up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go to bed. If we're going to do this again next week I'm going to need all the rest I can get."
**
Reed House:
"Grandfather. I don't know if you realize this..." Chloe whispered in the garage. "But that's a Ferrari."
"Very observent. It's a 1972 Dino GTS. It was your mother's. I thought you might like to drive it for the summer."
"Are you KIDDING ME? I wanna MARRY this car. I wanna have little prancing horse babies." Chloe ran her hand lovingly over the hood.
"I'll take that as a 'yes'." Richard murmured wryly. His granddaguther was difficult to follow at times but he was extremely fond of her. Aside from looking just like her mother she had Eloise's beautiful laugh and a passion for living that was infectious.
Although she'd only been home for a day- already it felt like the mansion was having a new life breathed into it.
"YES! It's amazing. I can just *see* Mom in this car. I bet she was beautiful."
"It was hard to see her in it though- she drove like a maniac." Richard leveled a stern glare at his granddaughter. "But you of course won't drive that way."
"Oh no. Of course not." Chloe adjusted the strap of her shoulder bag and bounced across the garage floor. "Can I have the keys?"
"They're in the car." Richard found himself on the recieving end of an exhuberant embrace. "Have a good first day."
"My morning just started out with a Ferrari. It can't be bad after that!" Chloe called scrambling in behind the wheel and leaving Richard to chuckle.
Just like her mother.
**
The Daily Planet:
She should have known. Any time you start out with a Ferrari first thing in the morning- there would be no place left to go but *down*.
Her first day on the job and already she'd jammed the copier.
Got lost three times.
Messed up the ad department's lunch order.
And to top things off- spilled a cold pot of coffee all over Perry White's shoes.
Groaning she lowered her head to her hands on the round table in the intern room affectionately known as 'The Pit'.
"What's the matter Chlo?" An annoyingly chipper voice asked.
"Oh nuthin' Lo." Chloe bit off the rest of her answer, 'nothing that an M-16 and a triple espresso couldn't fix'. Lois Lane was Metropolis' answer to Lana Lang and as much as Chloe hated to admit it, she'd taken an almost pathological dislike to the other intern.
Wasn't it enough that she had ONE Lana Lang in her life without having to put up with Lana's freakish clone as well? It just seemed too cruel for words.
Not to mention the fact that Lois seemed completely oblivious to her dislike. Chloe now knew what it was like to be Garfield when confronted with 'Nermal the World's Cutest Kitten'.
Gag.
"Hey Sullivan!" Looking up Chloe saw Jimmy Olsen- one of the other interns standing in the doorway holding a bouquet of at least five dozen yellow and white roses. "This just came for you."
"Wow!" Lois gasped as Jimmy walked in and set them down in the center of the table. "Who are they from Chlo?"
"She's not telepathic Lois. Let her read the card." Jimmy produced the small white envelope and passed it to Chloe.
With shaking fingers, Chloe pulled out the card and read it to herself. 'Miss Sullivan- I would wish you luck in your newest endeavor but I know that as always you will make your own luck. Best Wishes ~'
"LEX LUTHOR?!"
Chloe whirled around to find Lois standing directly over her shoulder. "HEY!"
"I don't know what's going on in here you three- " Perry White entered the pit and saw the roses. "But apparently I'm paying to all too much."
"They're Chloe's, Boss." Jimmy insisted immediately.
"And they're from Lex Luthor." Lois added with a smirk that made Chloe hate her all the more.
Snitch.
Perry studied Chloe like a bug under a microscope. "You know the Luthors?"
"Um- we have mutual friends."
"Well you're about to get to know him. I was just coming here to decide which one of you would be going to LuthorCorp's unveiling of the new Cardiology Wing at Metropolis General. Since Sullivan here already knows the major contributors I think she's gonna be the one." Perry presented a ticket and a warning. "I'm gonna be there personally with a photographer from the Style pages- what I want you to do is see if you can get some quotes from the guests- about what the new wing means to the hospital, about the public service yadda yadda- and most of all see if you can get an interview with that Luthor kid. Been trying to interview him for about two years now. He's slippery as an eel."
"Tell me about it." Chloe murmured. In spite of her lousy day- Chloe was starting to feel re-energized. She was going to be covering (sort of) one of the biggest social events of the year. And to make it even better- she was going and Lois wasn't.
Maybe there was some kind of karmic justice in the universe after all.
**
Author: AmandaG
Summary: Chloe and Lex find themselves leading parallel lives while spending the summer in Metropolis.
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or places contained here in. I just like to take them out and fiddle with them when no one is looking.
E-Mail: ficklemuse02@yahoo.com
Feedback: Replies and reviews are lovely things.
**
By the time Lex arrived home he was exhausted. Mentally. Physically. Richard Reed might be in his eighties, but Lex had no doubt that tonight Richard had won the first round.
"Lex?"
Jesus. Of all the nights for Lionel to decide to wait up for him.
"Dad." He waved off Lionel's inevitable demand. "I don't have the contracts. Richard flat out refused to sign them until you were personally present."
"Lex!"
"Not now." Lex poured himself a glass of water. "I suggested that we call you- but that's not what he wants. He wants you and I to join him and his wife for dinner *next* Sunday." A reluctant smile curved Lex's lips. "And he said to, and I'm quoting him here, 'tell that irasciable father of yours to dress appropriately and for the love of God do something with that hair."
Lionel frowned. "And he doesn't have any other objections to the contracts themselves? He's willing to sign so long as I jump through a hoop for him?"
"Yes. He even seemed surprised at the terms of the contract. And to be honest so am I." Lex took a seat on the sofa. "They're unusually fair for you. Are you sure you're feeling alright?"
"Lex- some day you are going to learn that there are people in this world that I would never cause harm, financial or otherwise to. Richard and Evelyn are two of them."
"What's with the mutual admiration? Evelyn thinks you're the most wonderful man since Santa Claus."
"If things had worked out differently Lex- it's entirely possible that you would be calling Richard 'Grandpa'." Lionel pushed himself to the bar and poured a glass of water. "Their daughter Eloise and I had planned on getting married."
"But instead she married Gabe Sullivan. That had to hurt."
"Not as much as you might suspect." Lionel answered with a far off smile. "You see- two weeks before Eloise called off our engagement and ran off with Sullivan, I'd met your mother at a dinner party. We must have spent the entire night talking and I can still remember her parting words to me as she got on the penthouse elevator. 'I've had a wonderful time Lionel. Call me when you're not engaged to be married anymore.'the way she said it, it was almost as if she knew."
"And when Eloise left- you called."
"That very night. I cared very much for Eloise. She was the second greatest woman I have ever known. But we were more like old war buddies than anything else. We both endured the same tedious upbringing. The same monotonous social functions. The same lessons. The same schools. Eloise would always come and sit by me and do her best to entertain me." He shook his head. "The jokes. They were so Godawful that you didn't have a choice but to laugh."
"Her husband must have kept her repertoire." Lex mused. "What happened to her? I know she died about four years ago- that much is in Gabe's personel record. But there's no mention of how." Lex watched his father's face, surprised to find more than a hint of sadness.
"She was mugged. A couple of thugs grabbed her on the way home from the store one night- from what the police could tell she must have been pushed or tripped and fell, but she hit her head on the concrete stoop in front of the brownstone they were living in. There was significant brain damage. Eventually Sullivan had life support removed. I don't think Richard or Eveyln ever forgave him for it either."
"No. I don't suppose they ever did."
Lionel gave a sly grin. "So Alexander. Care to tell me what the granddaughter of Richard and Evelyn is like?"
"Hell no. And Dad- don't go getting any ideas. Chloe's a kid. A cute kid but still a kid and I don't have much interest debauching virgins anymore."
"Really? Because I can remember a time not so long ago when if asked your favorite pasttimes you would have listed that directly below fencing."
"Very funny." Lex stood up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go to bed. If we're going to do this again next week I'm going to need all the rest I can get."
**
Reed House:
"Grandfather. I don't know if you realize this..." Chloe whispered in the garage. "But that's a Ferrari."
"Very observent. It's a 1972 Dino GTS. It was your mother's. I thought you might like to drive it for the summer."
"Are you KIDDING ME? I wanna MARRY this car. I wanna have little prancing horse babies." Chloe ran her hand lovingly over the hood.
"I'll take that as a 'yes'." Richard murmured wryly. His granddaguther was difficult to follow at times but he was extremely fond of her. Aside from looking just like her mother she had Eloise's beautiful laugh and a passion for living that was infectious.
Although she'd only been home for a day- already it felt like the mansion was having a new life breathed into it.
"YES! It's amazing. I can just *see* Mom in this car. I bet she was beautiful."
"It was hard to see her in it though- she drove like a maniac." Richard leveled a stern glare at his granddaughter. "But you of course won't drive that way."
"Oh no. Of course not." Chloe adjusted the strap of her shoulder bag and bounced across the garage floor. "Can I have the keys?"
"They're in the car." Richard found himself on the recieving end of an exhuberant embrace. "Have a good first day."
"My morning just started out with a Ferrari. It can't be bad after that!" Chloe called scrambling in behind the wheel and leaving Richard to chuckle.
Just like her mother.
**
The Daily Planet:
She should have known. Any time you start out with a Ferrari first thing in the morning- there would be no place left to go but *down*.
Her first day on the job and already she'd jammed the copier.
Got lost three times.
Messed up the ad department's lunch order.
And to top things off- spilled a cold pot of coffee all over Perry White's shoes.
Groaning she lowered her head to her hands on the round table in the intern room affectionately known as 'The Pit'.
"What's the matter Chlo?" An annoyingly chipper voice asked.
"Oh nuthin' Lo." Chloe bit off the rest of her answer, 'nothing that an M-16 and a triple espresso couldn't fix'. Lois Lane was Metropolis' answer to Lana Lang and as much as Chloe hated to admit it, she'd taken an almost pathological dislike to the other intern.
Wasn't it enough that she had ONE Lana Lang in her life without having to put up with Lana's freakish clone as well? It just seemed too cruel for words.
Not to mention the fact that Lois seemed completely oblivious to her dislike. Chloe now knew what it was like to be Garfield when confronted with 'Nermal the World's Cutest Kitten'.
Gag.
"Hey Sullivan!" Looking up Chloe saw Jimmy Olsen- one of the other interns standing in the doorway holding a bouquet of at least five dozen yellow and white roses. "This just came for you."
"Wow!" Lois gasped as Jimmy walked in and set them down in the center of the table. "Who are they from Chlo?"
"She's not telepathic Lois. Let her read the card." Jimmy produced the small white envelope and passed it to Chloe.
With shaking fingers, Chloe pulled out the card and read it to herself. 'Miss Sullivan- I would wish you luck in your newest endeavor but I know that as always you will make your own luck. Best Wishes ~'
"LEX LUTHOR?!"
Chloe whirled around to find Lois standing directly over her shoulder. "HEY!"
"I don't know what's going on in here you three- " Perry White entered the pit and saw the roses. "But apparently I'm paying to all too much."
"They're Chloe's, Boss." Jimmy insisted immediately.
"And they're from Lex Luthor." Lois added with a smirk that made Chloe hate her all the more.
Snitch.
Perry studied Chloe like a bug under a microscope. "You know the Luthors?"
"Um- we have mutual friends."
"Well you're about to get to know him. I was just coming here to decide which one of you would be going to LuthorCorp's unveiling of the new Cardiology Wing at Metropolis General. Since Sullivan here already knows the major contributors I think she's gonna be the one." Perry presented a ticket and a warning. "I'm gonna be there personally with a photographer from the Style pages- what I want you to do is see if you can get some quotes from the guests- about what the new wing means to the hospital, about the public service yadda yadda- and most of all see if you can get an interview with that Luthor kid. Been trying to interview him for about two years now. He's slippery as an eel."
"Tell me about it." Chloe murmured. In spite of her lousy day- Chloe was starting to feel re-energized. She was going to be covering (sort of) one of the biggest social events of the year. And to make it even better- she was going and Lois wasn't.
Maybe there was some kind of karmic justice in the universe after all.
**