Now
A cold blast of wind gusted through the cemetery, rattling the dead
leaves that still clung to the trees and sending the majority of them
skittering down to mingle with the dry brown grass. Out of the corner
of his eye, Clark could see Lex's rigid profile. He was waiting for an
answer. It was easy enough to give, over the years Clark had thought
about it many times. Would Chloe want to see this? To bear witness to
what he and Lex had become?
"After all the things you've done, all the lives you've destroyed in
the pursuit of power and money, you still have to ask that question?"
Clark gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He wouldn't fight
here, at least not physically, it would be an insult to Chloe's memory.
She had tried so hard to mend their ruptured friendship.
"It would be different if Chloe were still here. If she was alive, I
would have something else to live for." Her smile, her laugh, the way
her eyes darkened with desire and her skin flushed when he touched her.
Lex had lived for all those things. Now he lived for nothing except
hate.
Clark snorted in derision. "That's an awful lot of responsibility to
put on one person. It's also a poor excuse." Clark turned and glared
at Lex. "Chloe couldn't change who you are. You're selfish, greedy,
and an evil, manipulative bastard. You couldn't have hid that from
Chloe forever and the truth would have hurt her just like it has hurt
your other wives."
"I never hurt Chloe. The only one who ever hurt her was you." Lex's
accusing gaze pierced through Clark like shards of ice. "You ignored
her feelings for you when you were both in highschool. Openly panting
after Lana Lang without a second thought about how much pain it caused
your best friend. And then, when she was finally happy, you
condemned her for it and turned your back on her."
"No." Clark shook his head. "No. I never turned my back on her. I
loved Chloe. She was my best friend and no one could replace her."
It was Lex's turn to snort. "And what do you call Lois Lane? She's a
cheap imitation of Chloe, a pathetic clone you use to enact the life
you think Chloe should have led with you."
"You're one to talk. If you loved Chloe so much and her death
devastated you so badly, how do you explain the four failed marriages
after her? And what about number six? Isn't that happening in a few
days? Are you trying to find Chloe again in one of them?"
"My ex-wives and current wife-to-be are nothing like Chloe." Lex
turned back to stare at the headstone. It wasn't exactly true. His
second wife, Laurissa, had been a bit like Chloe. She had been sweet
and intelligent and she had loved him. Her only fault had been that
she wasn't Chloe. In the brief moments when the seemingly unrelenting
rage for the universe that he felt exhausted him and actually let up,
Lex felt guilty for punishing Laurissa for that fault. She had ended
up having a nervous breakdown and while she was institutionalized, Lex
had divorced her so he could marry his third wife - Victoria Hardwick.
His fourth and fifth wives were much like Victoria. They had all
wanted his money, his power, not him. Unlike Laurissa, they hadn't
minded that he closed his eyes when he touched them. That he
remembered Chloe while he had sex with them and that it was her name
he whispered or screamed. "They mean nothing to me as Lois means
nothing to you."
"I love Lois," Clark stated automatically. He shifted uncomfortably
and pushed his glasses up on his nose. "But she has this thing for
Superman...."
"Oh, please, Clark, subterfuge has never been your forte." Lex
smiled sardonically. "I think the glasses you've never needed prove
that you don't do disguises well. Were they out of the fake noses?
I know you are Superman. My do-gooding nemesis."
Clark swallowed nervously. He looked around for any goons with
kryptonite, but they were still alone. "How long have you known?"
"Always." Lex's smile softened in amusement. "The glasses never
fooled Chloe either. She was a better reporter and friend than you
thought, Clark."
Continued....
A cold blast of wind gusted through the cemetery, rattling the dead
leaves that still clung to the trees and sending the majority of them
skittering down to mingle with the dry brown grass. Out of the corner
of his eye, Clark could see Lex's rigid profile. He was waiting for an
answer. It was easy enough to give, over the years Clark had thought
about it many times. Would Chloe want to see this? To bear witness to
what he and Lex had become?
"After all the things you've done, all the lives you've destroyed in
the pursuit of power and money, you still have to ask that question?"
Clark gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He wouldn't fight
here, at least not physically, it would be an insult to Chloe's memory.
She had tried so hard to mend their ruptured friendship.
"It would be different if Chloe were still here. If she was alive, I
would have something else to live for." Her smile, her laugh, the way
her eyes darkened with desire and her skin flushed when he touched her.
Lex had lived for all those things. Now he lived for nothing except
hate.
Clark snorted in derision. "That's an awful lot of responsibility to
put on one person. It's also a poor excuse." Clark turned and glared
at Lex. "Chloe couldn't change who you are. You're selfish, greedy,
and an evil, manipulative bastard. You couldn't have hid that from
Chloe forever and the truth would have hurt her just like it has hurt
your other wives."
"I never hurt Chloe. The only one who ever hurt her was you." Lex's
accusing gaze pierced through Clark like shards of ice. "You ignored
her feelings for you when you were both in highschool. Openly panting
after Lana Lang without a second thought about how much pain it caused
your best friend. And then, when she was finally happy, you
condemned her for it and turned your back on her."
"No." Clark shook his head. "No. I never turned my back on her. I
loved Chloe. She was my best friend and no one could replace her."
It was Lex's turn to snort. "And what do you call Lois Lane? She's a
cheap imitation of Chloe, a pathetic clone you use to enact the life
you think Chloe should have led with you."
"You're one to talk. If you loved Chloe so much and her death
devastated you so badly, how do you explain the four failed marriages
after her? And what about number six? Isn't that happening in a few
days? Are you trying to find Chloe again in one of them?"
"My ex-wives and current wife-to-be are nothing like Chloe." Lex
turned back to stare at the headstone. It wasn't exactly true. His
second wife, Laurissa, had been a bit like Chloe. She had been sweet
and intelligent and she had loved him. Her only fault had been that
she wasn't Chloe. In the brief moments when the seemingly unrelenting
rage for the universe that he felt exhausted him and actually let up,
Lex felt guilty for punishing Laurissa for that fault. She had ended
up having a nervous breakdown and while she was institutionalized, Lex
had divorced her so he could marry his third wife - Victoria Hardwick.
His fourth and fifth wives were much like Victoria. They had all
wanted his money, his power, not him. Unlike Laurissa, they hadn't
minded that he closed his eyes when he touched them. That he
remembered Chloe while he had sex with them and that it was her name
he whispered or screamed. "They mean nothing to me as Lois means
nothing to you."
"I love Lois," Clark stated automatically. He shifted uncomfortably
and pushed his glasses up on his nose. "But she has this thing for
Superman...."
"Oh, please, Clark, subterfuge has never been your forte." Lex
smiled sardonically. "I think the glasses you've never needed prove
that you don't do disguises well. Were they out of the fake noses?
I know you are Superman. My do-gooding nemesis."
Clark swallowed nervously. He looked around for any goons with
kryptonite, but they were still alone. "How long have you known?"
"Always." Lex's smile softened in amusement. "The glasses never
fooled Chloe either. She was a better reporter and friend than you
thought, Clark."
Continued....