The snow continued to fall. The soft flakes held no bias as to where they
fell either. Snow drifted downwards onto fields, houses, and even Scottish
castles. The wind howled in anticipation of the continuing storm and
slammed against anything it could find. Snow fell down so fast that a
'white-out' was declared by the local weathermen.
Alexander "Lex" Luthor stared out the large stained-glass window of his office and sighed. For the past twelve hours he had been trying to organize the fertilizer plant's production schemes. Despite the terrible weather, workers continued to do their jobs, even now. The bald billionaire smiled despite himself. Christmas was only a few days away and instead of thinking about family he was compiling how much crap the fertilizer plant had produced.
Lex scoffed angrily and shuffled away from the window. Sitting in his high- back leather chair, he tried to forget his worries. Swiveling around in the chair, he looked at the items that adorned his study. Countless works of art were framed along the oak paneled walls; more were in his safe room.
Towering shelves contained books he'd read again and again. Rand, Sun-Tzu and Tolstoy were just a few of the authors that Lex had enjoyed reading. An ancient grandfather clock softly ticked back and forth in one corner. It's raised Arabic numerals indicating that it was well after one-thirty in the morning.
Lex sank deeper into the leather chair and tried to picture what the Kents would be doing for Christmas. He smiled as the image unfolded in his imagination. On Christmas morning, Clark would come bounding down the stairs in flannel pajamas and launch himself at the tree like an overgrown child barely containing his happiness.
Chloe, Pete and Lana would probably be there with him, smiling and laughing with each other and trying to decide who should open gifts first. Mr. And Mrs. Kent would make them hot chocolate and cookies and laugh with the teenagers as they pretended to be five-year-olds. Lex's heart pounded painfully in his chest.
He wanted so desperately to be a part of that world. He wanted to know what it felt like to actually be happy when you were around relatives. To know what it felt like to have real friends. Friends who never judged you or berated you. Friends who were always there for you. Lex smiled and realized that he already had apart of that dream. Clark was his one true- blue friend. Clark never judged Lex, or berated him for something underhanded he was accused of. Clark was just a friend, No, a brother.
Lex was snapped violently out of his daydream by the grading voice of his father, Lionel Luthor. "Lex, I hope it isn't past your bed time. You wanted to see me?" Opening his eyes slowly, Lex saw that his hopes had been false. His father really was in the room with him. Lionel shook his head at the younger Luthor.
Lex squeezed his eyes tightly shut for a moment, trying to ready himself for another battle of wits and sarcasm. He wished to God almighty that just once, he could be with his father without having contempt and anger pass back and forth between them. Rubbing his baldhead in frustration, Lex pushed himself away from the chair and stood to face his father.
Lionel felt his anger swell. "I see that you've sunken more of my money into that little coffee shop. What is it called? 'The Token'?" The elder Luthor shook his head and unbuttoned the Armani coat that hung around his shoulders. A large fire was burning in the marble fireplace and Lionel stood before it, his palms held out greedily absorbing the heat.
Lex suppressed an angry shout. "The Talon. It's called the 'The Talon.' Tell me, 'Dad', to what do I owe this unexpected visit?" The younger Luthor made it a point to lock eyes with his father. Looking away from someone's gaze was considered a sign of weakness, especially among family.
Lionel rubbed his hands together and wrapped his coat around his gaunt frame. "Why the hell is it so cold in here? We have billions of dollars and we can't keep one room warm. Tsk." The elder Luthor continued to whine, but Lex tuned him out, waiting for the real reason for his visit.
Finally, Lionel got to the point. "I warned you before about staying away from the Kents. Did I not?"
Lex nodded absently.
Lionel continued. "And yet you continue to see them? You're really making me angry with this rebellion of yours. First, you dump every ounce of LuthorCorp stock you own and then you fund this ludicrous idea of yours. LexCorp? You can't be serious. Why don't you just accept your offered position at LuthorCorp and leave this one-cow-town and the Kents behind?"
Lex smiled thinly. "First of all, I don't want anything to do with LuthorCorp. LexCorp is bringing in more investors by the minute. Apparently, you've pissed off quite a few people during your reign. Secondly, I like the Kents, a lot. Clark is the first friend I've had that actually likes to spend time with me. He's not some gold digging weasel like your 'friends'." The younger Luthor smiled at the look of consternation on his father's face.
Lionel snorted. "Let me get this straight. You're throwing away a chance to be the future head of a multi-billion dollar empire for the friendship of one 15-year-old hick? Are you insane?"
Lex shook with anger. "Semper Idem! It's always the same with you. You just can't resist criticizing me can you? If it's not the Fertilizer Plant then it's my personal relationships. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you liked me better with a nostril full of powder or a vein full of poison. I've made a life for myself here and I have real friends. I'm not going to throw that all away just because you're afraid that I'll surpass you."
The elder Luthor spat at his son. "Quo usque tandem abutere, Alexander, pateintia nostra? (How long now, Alexander, will you abuse our patience?) You were a disgrace to me then and you're even more so now. You're fooling yourself about LexCorp, it's too small to do anything."
The younger Luthor sighed, tired of his father's arrogance. "Omnium rerum principia parva sunt. (The beginnings of all things are small.) LexCorp is growing steadily. Soon it will be a top contender with LuthorCorp."
Lionel spat again. "LuthorCorp will fall to no one. Especially not some sniveling little ingrate who's mad at his daddy for not paying enough attention to him."
Lex actually laughed at that comment. "Nihil tam munitum quod non expugnari pecunia posit. (No fortification is such that it cannot be subdued with money.) Don't get arrogant dad. Even as we speak, investors are being pulled away from LuthorCorp and towards LexCorp. I think you'll be asking me for a job soon."
Lionel took an angered step towards his son. "If that mother of yours' was still alive, she'd be ashamed of you."
The younger Luthor's blood began boiling. He took a step towards his father. "De mortuis nil nisi bonum. (About the dead say nothing but good.) Don't you dare bring her into this. She'd be proud of me for trying to distance myself from the stink that comes with the name Luthor."
Lionel grew weary of his son's obstinate behavior. "Enough Latin. You've had your chance Lex. You don't want LuthorCorp, fine. Just don't expect me to come running to save you when the fertilizer plant goes under and your investors abandon you. In the end, Lex, you can only trust family." The elder Luthor buttoned his coat and walked arrogantly from the room.
As Lex watched his father go, he decided to give Lionel one last verbal kick in the balls. "I'll be sure to tell grand-father you said that!" The younger Luthor laughed lightly as his father slammed the door shut behind him.
Once the energy in the room had evaporated, Lex strolled back to his seat and peered out his window again. His eyelids grew heavy and he drifted off to sleep in his chair, dreaming of finally being free of his father's influence. Of finally being free...
It wasn't long after he had fallen asleep that his cell phone started chirping.
Miles away from the castle, under a pile of freezing snow, Clark and Chloe sat, laughing their asses off. They sat side by side in the front of the truck, watching a DVD on Chloe's laptop. At the moment, a small chauffer was beating up Jim Carey.
Chloe giggled again. "You want some more iced coffee, Clark?" She hadn't realized it when she left her house hours earlier, but packing the thermos and junk food had been a lifesaver. The only other food in the truck was a bunch of smoked Elk-jerky that Clark loved chewing on. Chloe still gagged a little bit when she watched her friend swallow the masticated elk strips.
As she poured the last of the ice-cold coffee into the thermos top, Clark snuck another peek at her. For some reason, down here in the quiet snow, Clark finally appreciated how amazingly beautiful Chloe really was. He loved everything about her. Her beautiful, soft green eyes. Her cute little nose and the way her nostrils flared when she was angry or excited. And her lips...oh God...Clark wanted those lips. He wanted to kiss them and chew them and do a thousand other things. Sometimes he wished he could just get over himself and ask Chloe out on a date. If only...
"Earth to Clark! Hey farm boy, would you quit looking at me like that please?" Chloe waved her hand in front of Clark's eyes.
Clark snapped out of his daydream. "Sorry, I was just, ah, thinking about something."
The blond smiled and bit into a Twizzler. "Well, that's a first. Please Clark, do tell. Is it about a certain mystery girl?" Chloe felt her heart pound a little harder.
Clark reached out and turned down the speakers of the laptop. "I was trying to remember if my powers ever disappeared before without the meteor rocks or being struck by lightning. I can only remember one instance."
Chloe shoved the rest of the Twizzler in her mouth and spoke. "Well? Come on Clark, I already know about your powers and what you've used them for. Don't go all tight-lipped on me now."
Clark smiled awkwardly. "Sorry. Well, do you remember when my folks and I went to Alaska to visit my grand-pa? That was in November of last year. For some reason, he keeps a cabin up in Barrow and he insisted that we stay with him. I thought it was really interesting since we were less then 800 miles from the North Pole, so we all agreed."
He paused to take a bite of Elk-jerky before continuing. "What was weird was that when we got there, I started feeling weaker. After two days, I could barely move. My grand-pa tried to take me to the hospital, but my parents convinced him that I just needed to breathe in some Kansas air and then I'd feel better. I think my dad just wanted to get away from my mom's dad. It was funny watching them bicker over everything. Anyway, we took the first flight home. Once I got on the airplane and we rose above the clouds, I felt better. I think my powers were affected by the cold air or something."
Chloe snorted at him. "Clark, use your head for a minute. First of all, Kansas gets damn cold in the wintertime. If your powers are affected by the cold, then why haven't you ever lost your powers during the cold season? And your head healed after we were under the snow, right? So that can't be it."
Clark nodded, his mind groping for an answer. "Well, what else does being trapped in this truck and Barrow, Alaska have in common? If it's not the cold, then what?"
Chloe sucked down the last of the iced coffee and tapped her lower lip in thought. "Barrow, Alaska. Hey, you said you were there in November, right?" Clark nodded, waiting for Chloe to get to the point. "Pete gave a speech on Alaska last year. You remember. He said that parts of Alaska don't receive sunlight for up to two months at a time. Sunlight, Clark! That has to be your power source. That would explain why you felt so weak in Barrow and why you're normal now."
Clark nodded, deep in thought. "That makes sense. Sometimes, when I really exert myself, I do feel better when I stand in sunlight. But, if sunlight gives me my powers, why did my head heal after we were under the snow?"
The blond next to him shrugged. "Hell, I don't know Clark. Maybe you store the sun's energy like a battery and can go for a while without needing sunlight directly on you. Ha! You're like that copper-top rabbit. You keep going and going..."
Clark snorted. "Very funny. So, once I'm in the sunlight again, I'll recover and my hand will heal. That's the best theory I've heard all day. But what do we do in the meantime?"
Chloe reached out and turned the volume on her laptop back up. "We sit and wait. Now shut up, Irene is about to kick the shit out of Hank." Clark laughed and put his arm around his friend pulling her closer to him. Chloe sighed and rested her head against Clark's shoulder, never wanting this time to end.
Above them, the snow kept falling...
A/N: Hey Kids, I hoped you liked this chapter. In case you were wondering just what the hell was up with the Lex/Lionel yelling scene, well, I've been tinkering with the notion of continuing this story. What do you think? Should this be a continuation or a one-timer? I've read stories before where the author dragged a good idea into several sequels and just ended up looking like dumbass. Okay, granted I'm already a dumbass, but I don't want to bore you with sequels.
So the choice is yours. When this story is over, is a sequel wanted? Also, thanks to 'Deanz' for beta-ing for me. D, you are one fine looking person. Damn...
Alexander "Lex" Luthor stared out the large stained-glass window of his office and sighed. For the past twelve hours he had been trying to organize the fertilizer plant's production schemes. Despite the terrible weather, workers continued to do their jobs, even now. The bald billionaire smiled despite himself. Christmas was only a few days away and instead of thinking about family he was compiling how much crap the fertilizer plant had produced.
Lex scoffed angrily and shuffled away from the window. Sitting in his high- back leather chair, he tried to forget his worries. Swiveling around in the chair, he looked at the items that adorned his study. Countless works of art were framed along the oak paneled walls; more were in his safe room.
Towering shelves contained books he'd read again and again. Rand, Sun-Tzu and Tolstoy were just a few of the authors that Lex had enjoyed reading. An ancient grandfather clock softly ticked back and forth in one corner. It's raised Arabic numerals indicating that it was well after one-thirty in the morning.
Lex sank deeper into the leather chair and tried to picture what the Kents would be doing for Christmas. He smiled as the image unfolded in his imagination. On Christmas morning, Clark would come bounding down the stairs in flannel pajamas and launch himself at the tree like an overgrown child barely containing his happiness.
Chloe, Pete and Lana would probably be there with him, smiling and laughing with each other and trying to decide who should open gifts first. Mr. And Mrs. Kent would make them hot chocolate and cookies and laugh with the teenagers as they pretended to be five-year-olds. Lex's heart pounded painfully in his chest.
He wanted so desperately to be a part of that world. He wanted to know what it felt like to actually be happy when you were around relatives. To know what it felt like to have real friends. Friends who never judged you or berated you. Friends who were always there for you. Lex smiled and realized that he already had apart of that dream. Clark was his one true- blue friend. Clark never judged Lex, or berated him for something underhanded he was accused of. Clark was just a friend, No, a brother.
Lex was snapped violently out of his daydream by the grading voice of his father, Lionel Luthor. "Lex, I hope it isn't past your bed time. You wanted to see me?" Opening his eyes slowly, Lex saw that his hopes had been false. His father really was in the room with him. Lionel shook his head at the younger Luthor.
Lex squeezed his eyes tightly shut for a moment, trying to ready himself for another battle of wits and sarcasm. He wished to God almighty that just once, he could be with his father without having contempt and anger pass back and forth between them. Rubbing his baldhead in frustration, Lex pushed himself away from the chair and stood to face his father.
Lionel felt his anger swell. "I see that you've sunken more of my money into that little coffee shop. What is it called? 'The Token'?" The elder Luthor shook his head and unbuttoned the Armani coat that hung around his shoulders. A large fire was burning in the marble fireplace and Lionel stood before it, his palms held out greedily absorbing the heat.
Lex suppressed an angry shout. "The Talon. It's called the 'The Talon.' Tell me, 'Dad', to what do I owe this unexpected visit?" The younger Luthor made it a point to lock eyes with his father. Looking away from someone's gaze was considered a sign of weakness, especially among family.
Lionel rubbed his hands together and wrapped his coat around his gaunt frame. "Why the hell is it so cold in here? We have billions of dollars and we can't keep one room warm. Tsk." The elder Luthor continued to whine, but Lex tuned him out, waiting for the real reason for his visit.
Finally, Lionel got to the point. "I warned you before about staying away from the Kents. Did I not?"
Lex nodded absently.
Lionel continued. "And yet you continue to see them? You're really making me angry with this rebellion of yours. First, you dump every ounce of LuthorCorp stock you own and then you fund this ludicrous idea of yours. LexCorp? You can't be serious. Why don't you just accept your offered position at LuthorCorp and leave this one-cow-town and the Kents behind?"
Lex smiled thinly. "First of all, I don't want anything to do with LuthorCorp. LexCorp is bringing in more investors by the minute. Apparently, you've pissed off quite a few people during your reign. Secondly, I like the Kents, a lot. Clark is the first friend I've had that actually likes to spend time with me. He's not some gold digging weasel like your 'friends'." The younger Luthor smiled at the look of consternation on his father's face.
Lionel snorted. "Let me get this straight. You're throwing away a chance to be the future head of a multi-billion dollar empire for the friendship of one 15-year-old hick? Are you insane?"
Lex shook with anger. "Semper Idem! It's always the same with you. You just can't resist criticizing me can you? If it's not the Fertilizer Plant then it's my personal relationships. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you liked me better with a nostril full of powder or a vein full of poison. I've made a life for myself here and I have real friends. I'm not going to throw that all away just because you're afraid that I'll surpass you."
The elder Luthor spat at his son. "Quo usque tandem abutere, Alexander, pateintia nostra? (How long now, Alexander, will you abuse our patience?) You were a disgrace to me then and you're even more so now. You're fooling yourself about LexCorp, it's too small to do anything."
The younger Luthor sighed, tired of his father's arrogance. "Omnium rerum principia parva sunt. (The beginnings of all things are small.) LexCorp is growing steadily. Soon it will be a top contender with LuthorCorp."
Lionel spat again. "LuthorCorp will fall to no one. Especially not some sniveling little ingrate who's mad at his daddy for not paying enough attention to him."
Lex actually laughed at that comment. "Nihil tam munitum quod non expugnari pecunia posit. (No fortification is such that it cannot be subdued with money.) Don't get arrogant dad. Even as we speak, investors are being pulled away from LuthorCorp and towards LexCorp. I think you'll be asking me for a job soon."
Lionel took an angered step towards his son. "If that mother of yours' was still alive, she'd be ashamed of you."
The younger Luthor's blood began boiling. He took a step towards his father. "De mortuis nil nisi bonum. (About the dead say nothing but good.) Don't you dare bring her into this. She'd be proud of me for trying to distance myself from the stink that comes with the name Luthor."
Lionel grew weary of his son's obstinate behavior. "Enough Latin. You've had your chance Lex. You don't want LuthorCorp, fine. Just don't expect me to come running to save you when the fertilizer plant goes under and your investors abandon you. In the end, Lex, you can only trust family." The elder Luthor buttoned his coat and walked arrogantly from the room.
As Lex watched his father go, he decided to give Lionel one last verbal kick in the balls. "I'll be sure to tell grand-father you said that!" The younger Luthor laughed lightly as his father slammed the door shut behind him.
Once the energy in the room had evaporated, Lex strolled back to his seat and peered out his window again. His eyelids grew heavy and he drifted off to sleep in his chair, dreaming of finally being free of his father's influence. Of finally being free...
It wasn't long after he had fallen asleep that his cell phone started chirping.
Miles away from the castle, under a pile of freezing snow, Clark and Chloe sat, laughing their asses off. They sat side by side in the front of the truck, watching a DVD on Chloe's laptop. At the moment, a small chauffer was beating up Jim Carey.
Chloe giggled again. "You want some more iced coffee, Clark?" She hadn't realized it when she left her house hours earlier, but packing the thermos and junk food had been a lifesaver. The only other food in the truck was a bunch of smoked Elk-jerky that Clark loved chewing on. Chloe still gagged a little bit when she watched her friend swallow the masticated elk strips.
As she poured the last of the ice-cold coffee into the thermos top, Clark snuck another peek at her. For some reason, down here in the quiet snow, Clark finally appreciated how amazingly beautiful Chloe really was. He loved everything about her. Her beautiful, soft green eyes. Her cute little nose and the way her nostrils flared when she was angry or excited. And her lips...oh God...Clark wanted those lips. He wanted to kiss them and chew them and do a thousand other things. Sometimes he wished he could just get over himself and ask Chloe out on a date. If only...
"Earth to Clark! Hey farm boy, would you quit looking at me like that please?" Chloe waved her hand in front of Clark's eyes.
Clark snapped out of his daydream. "Sorry, I was just, ah, thinking about something."
The blond smiled and bit into a Twizzler. "Well, that's a first. Please Clark, do tell. Is it about a certain mystery girl?" Chloe felt her heart pound a little harder.
Clark reached out and turned down the speakers of the laptop. "I was trying to remember if my powers ever disappeared before without the meteor rocks or being struck by lightning. I can only remember one instance."
Chloe shoved the rest of the Twizzler in her mouth and spoke. "Well? Come on Clark, I already know about your powers and what you've used them for. Don't go all tight-lipped on me now."
Clark smiled awkwardly. "Sorry. Well, do you remember when my folks and I went to Alaska to visit my grand-pa? That was in November of last year. For some reason, he keeps a cabin up in Barrow and he insisted that we stay with him. I thought it was really interesting since we were less then 800 miles from the North Pole, so we all agreed."
He paused to take a bite of Elk-jerky before continuing. "What was weird was that when we got there, I started feeling weaker. After two days, I could barely move. My grand-pa tried to take me to the hospital, but my parents convinced him that I just needed to breathe in some Kansas air and then I'd feel better. I think my dad just wanted to get away from my mom's dad. It was funny watching them bicker over everything. Anyway, we took the first flight home. Once I got on the airplane and we rose above the clouds, I felt better. I think my powers were affected by the cold air or something."
Chloe snorted at him. "Clark, use your head for a minute. First of all, Kansas gets damn cold in the wintertime. If your powers are affected by the cold, then why haven't you ever lost your powers during the cold season? And your head healed after we were under the snow, right? So that can't be it."
Clark nodded, his mind groping for an answer. "Well, what else does being trapped in this truck and Barrow, Alaska have in common? If it's not the cold, then what?"
Chloe sucked down the last of the iced coffee and tapped her lower lip in thought. "Barrow, Alaska. Hey, you said you were there in November, right?" Clark nodded, waiting for Chloe to get to the point. "Pete gave a speech on Alaska last year. You remember. He said that parts of Alaska don't receive sunlight for up to two months at a time. Sunlight, Clark! That has to be your power source. That would explain why you felt so weak in Barrow and why you're normal now."
Clark nodded, deep in thought. "That makes sense. Sometimes, when I really exert myself, I do feel better when I stand in sunlight. But, if sunlight gives me my powers, why did my head heal after we were under the snow?"
The blond next to him shrugged. "Hell, I don't know Clark. Maybe you store the sun's energy like a battery and can go for a while without needing sunlight directly on you. Ha! You're like that copper-top rabbit. You keep going and going..."
Clark snorted. "Very funny. So, once I'm in the sunlight again, I'll recover and my hand will heal. That's the best theory I've heard all day. But what do we do in the meantime?"
Chloe reached out and turned the volume on her laptop back up. "We sit and wait. Now shut up, Irene is about to kick the shit out of Hank." Clark laughed and put his arm around his friend pulling her closer to him. Chloe sighed and rested her head against Clark's shoulder, never wanting this time to end.
Above them, the snow kept falling...
A/N: Hey Kids, I hoped you liked this chapter. In case you were wondering just what the hell was up with the Lex/Lionel yelling scene, well, I've been tinkering with the notion of continuing this story. What do you think? Should this be a continuation or a one-timer? I've read stories before where the author dragged a good idea into several sequels and just ended up looking like dumbass. Okay, granted I'm already a dumbass, but I don't want to bore you with sequels.
So the choice is yours. When this story is over, is a sequel wanted? Also, thanks to 'Deanz' for beta-ing for me. D, you are one fine looking person. Damn...