Part 6
He stood outside the French windows of his penthouse and memorized the cityscape before him. Metropolis was a beauty, with its tall lighted buildings that kissed the black sky, and streets that never seemed to lose life. And he, Lex Luthor, was king of it all. Here in Metropolis, he was in his element. Here in Metropolis, money was everything, so Lex Luthor could take what he wanted, and hand over a few bills in exchange.
This was what he was meant to be. He had almost everything he could ever want or need. And tomorrow, everything was going to be as it should be again. She would be back where she really belonged. Who said money can't buy happiness? Lex would prove them all wrong. Investments do work. And because of his success, he would do the impossible. Chloe would be back. They would have a family-a family they should have started long ago had Superman not killed her. Lex might not have been able to save the baby, but there were other chances, other times. As long as he could bring her back.
Something in the sky changed and Lex squinted to focus on the figure approaching. He put down the glass of scotch and stepped aside to allow the man of steel to land on his property.
"Would you care for something to drink, Clark?" came the smooth greeting.
Clark Kent shook his head, half in refusal and half in confusion. "What's happening to you, Lex?" he demanded.
"And are you going to elaborate on this?"
"Lex, you are evicting people from their homes in the middle of the night!"
"Ahh, yes of course. You flew all the way here from Smallville? No wonder your face is so dusty, Clark." Lex picked up his beverage and walked into the room, with Clark following him. "The washroom is that way, but you know that already."
Clark didn't budge. He surveyed his surroundings and was surprised to find that nothing had changed since he had last been there, waiting for Chloe to finish dressing up for the party they were supposed to go to. On the wall still hung a poster duplicate of a famous Luna painting that Chloe bought from the university bookstore. Lex had insisted that they take it down since if Chloe really wanted the picture, he could buy the original nineteenth century painting for her. She had been appalled, saying that they shouldn't take away the artistic treasure from the land of Luna's birth. They would make do with the cheap reprint.
"Haven't had time to hire an interior decorator?" Clark asked quietly. His former friend didn't answer. He merely sat down on a dark green leather couch on the far corner of the room. Clark's eyes narrowed. If he remembered correctly, Lex had wanted the couch moved closer to the bed, on the opposite end. Now the couch remained where Chloe had had him move it so she could dump her bags and papers on it after work. It all made sense now.
Clark strode to the doors of the large closet and threw them open. Lined crisply were Lex's various suits. Folded on the cabinets were his sweaters and shirts. At the bottom, the expensive Italian leather shoes gleamed. Clark hit the white button at the side and the clothes rack rotated slowly, revealing the stark contrast in contents. Chloe's jeans and blouses and jackets and sandals, all in disarray, probably the exact way it looked like when Chloe hastily packed up her things to go to Smallville to visit the Kents and Gabe Sullivan and inform them of their engagement.
Well-arranged scenes played in Clark's mind, of Lex Luthor stumbling into the penthouse he had shared with Chloe after the accident. The closet was still open the way Chloe had left it in her haste. He pressed the button to hide her things, not bothering to touch anything because she might be pissed that he rearranged the mess. Of Lex Luthor being informed over the phone that his fiancé had slipped into a coma that there was little to no chance of waking from, and staring at the cheap poster of a work of art taped up in their bedroom wall. Of Lex Luthor being confronted by Clark Kent and Gabe Sullivan, and told that they would rather take her out of life support than prolong her agony, then Lex's eventual agreement and his collapse onto the couch, crushing folders and papers that she had left lying there.
"What the hell are you doing to yourself?" Clark whispered.
"What the hell are you doing here in our place?" Lex threw back sharply.
"You're ruining your life, Lex."
"Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. I thought you were the one who did that to me two years ago, Clark."
Clark winced at the reminder of his one great failure. "I would have saved her if I could. You know that. I loved her just as much as you did, Lex, maybe more."
In a flash, the millionaire had grabbed Clark's shirt and was hissing right on his face. "You don't know, Clark. You don't say that. You don't have a right to say that!"
Clark could have thrown Lex off him easily, but instead he met his eyes. "Really. Well tell me this, Lex. If you did love her that much then you probably know her so well. What do you think she would say about you evicting children from the only home they know? What would Chloe think about you're doing?"
The fury in his eyes went cold. Lex's grip on him slackened and he pushed Clark away. Lex refilled his glass and fixed his gaze steadily on a blank point in the wall. The shift in the wind told him that Clark had left him alone to his thoughts. He went to the windows to shut them, and Superman, out.
He stood outside the French windows of his penthouse and memorized the cityscape before him. Metropolis was a beauty, with its tall lighted buildings that kissed the black sky, and streets that never seemed to lose life. And he, Lex Luthor, was king of it all. Here in Metropolis, he was in his element. Here in Metropolis, money was everything, so Lex Luthor could take what he wanted, and hand over a few bills in exchange.
This was what he was meant to be. He had almost everything he could ever want or need. And tomorrow, everything was going to be as it should be again. She would be back where she really belonged. Who said money can't buy happiness? Lex would prove them all wrong. Investments do work. And because of his success, he would do the impossible. Chloe would be back. They would have a family-a family they should have started long ago had Superman not killed her. Lex might not have been able to save the baby, but there were other chances, other times. As long as he could bring her back.
Something in the sky changed and Lex squinted to focus on the figure approaching. He put down the glass of scotch and stepped aside to allow the man of steel to land on his property.
"Would you care for something to drink, Clark?" came the smooth greeting.
Clark Kent shook his head, half in refusal and half in confusion. "What's happening to you, Lex?" he demanded.
"And are you going to elaborate on this?"
"Lex, you are evicting people from their homes in the middle of the night!"
"Ahh, yes of course. You flew all the way here from Smallville? No wonder your face is so dusty, Clark." Lex picked up his beverage and walked into the room, with Clark following him. "The washroom is that way, but you know that already."
Clark didn't budge. He surveyed his surroundings and was surprised to find that nothing had changed since he had last been there, waiting for Chloe to finish dressing up for the party they were supposed to go to. On the wall still hung a poster duplicate of a famous Luna painting that Chloe bought from the university bookstore. Lex had insisted that they take it down since if Chloe really wanted the picture, he could buy the original nineteenth century painting for her. She had been appalled, saying that they shouldn't take away the artistic treasure from the land of Luna's birth. They would make do with the cheap reprint.
"Haven't had time to hire an interior decorator?" Clark asked quietly. His former friend didn't answer. He merely sat down on a dark green leather couch on the far corner of the room. Clark's eyes narrowed. If he remembered correctly, Lex had wanted the couch moved closer to the bed, on the opposite end. Now the couch remained where Chloe had had him move it so she could dump her bags and papers on it after work. It all made sense now.
Clark strode to the doors of the large closet and threw them open. Lined crisply were Lex's various suits. Folded on the cabinets were his sweaters and shirts. At the bottom, the expensive Italian leather shoes gleamed. Clark hit the white button at the side and the clothes rack rotated slowly, revealing the stark contrast in contents. Chloe's jeans and blouses and jackets and sandals, all in disarray, probably the exact way it looked like when Chloe hastily packed up her things to go to Smallville to visit the Kents and Gabe Sullivan and inform them of their engagement.
Well-arranged scenes played in Clark's mind, of Lex Luthor stumbling into the penthouse he had shared with Chloe after the accident. The closet was still open the way Chloe had left it in her haste. He pressed the button to hide her things, not bothering to touch anything because she might be pissed that he rearranged the mess. Of Lex Luthor being informed over the phone that his fiancé had slipped into a coma that there was little to no chance of waking from, and staring at the cheap poster of a work of art taped up in their bedroom wall. Of Lex Luthor being confronted by Clark Kent and Gabe Sullivan, and told that they would rather take her out of life support than prolong her agony, then Lex's eventual agreement and his collapse onto the couch, crushing folders and papers that she had left lying there.
"What the hell are you doing to yourself?" Clark whispered.
"What the hell are you doing here in our place?" Lex threw back sharply.
"You're ruining your life, Lex."
"Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. I thought you were the one who did that to me two years ago, Clark."
Clark winced at the reminder of his one great failure. "I would have saved her if I could. You know that. I loved her just as much as you did, Lex, maybe more."
In a flash, the millionaire had grabbed Clark's shirt and was hissing right on his face. "You don't know, Clark. You don't say that. You don't have a right to say that!"
Clark could have thrown Lex off him easily, but instead he met his eyes. "Really. Well tell me this, Lex. If you did love her that much then you probably know her so well. What do you think she would say about you evicting children from the only home they know? What would Chloe think about you're doing?"
The fury in his eyes went cold. Lex's grip on him slackened and he pushed Clark away. Lex refilled his glass and fixed his gaze steadily on a blank point in the wall. The shift in the wind told him that Clark had left him alone to his thoughts. He went to the windows to shut them, and Superman, out.