The Heart of a King -- Part 5, X-Ray
By: PepperjackCandy
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Het, Genderbending
Pairing: Lex (sort of)/Clark
A/N: More "um, that would totally not happen like that in real life" here - like, Lex, even a phony one, with a backpack? A red, canvas backpack? Um. No.
========
It was a beautiful, sunny fall morning when Leo Luthor robbed the Smallville Savings and Loan.
First she tried to close her accounts with the bank, and when the bank manager noticed her signing the wrong signature with the incorrect hand, she pulled a gun from her jacket pocket and demanded the money instead.
The false Leo Luthor then grabbed her now-full canvas gym bag and ran out, pushing Clark Kent out of the way as she ran. Only a timely application of superspeed stopped Clark from falling through the plate-glass window of the optometrist's office.
But it didn't prevent the headache he got when his vision suddenly shifted and he found himself seeing the impostor's skeleton. Her green, glowing, skeleton.
Leo arrived at the Kents' just in time to hear Jonathan say, "Clark, I know that she's a friend of yours, but come on. You saw her with your own eyes."
"I don't know what I saw."
Clark's defense of her warmed Leo's heart.
"There must be some kind of reasonable explanation for this," Martha added.
It made her feel better to know that Martha gave her the benefit of the doubt, as well, so she couldn't help herself. She responded, through the screen door, "Me too. I'd hate to think I have an evil twin."
She updated them on what she knew of the investigation - she'd been at a reception for 200 fertilizer distributors at the time of the robbery, so she was cleared. Clark assured her that, though the robber had looked like her, he had known that it hadn't been.
"I promise I'm not a criminal mastermind," she vowed.
"I know. A criminal mastermind would have worn a mask," Clark grinned.
"Or at least a decent-quality stocking over my head," she responded flirtatiously.
As Leo exited the Beanery later that day, she was stopped by a man leaning against her car.
"Roger Nixon, Metropolis Inquisitor," he introduced himself.
"Get off my car, Mr. Nixon," she responded coldly.
"That's a hell of a picture, Leo," he said, showing her a copy of the Inquisitor with a security camera shot of the impostor on it. "You know, it really boosted our sales."
"I've read novels with less fiction than your rag."
"Well, how about this? Is this fiction?" Nixon asked as he held out a slender file folder. "It's your juvenile record. Fascinating reading."
"That record is sealed."
"I'm a resourceful guy," Leo picked up the word Phillip as if Roger had spoken it aloud.
"You print one word about that, I'll sue."
"Lawsuits take years. The genie will be out of the bottle and all the people will know just what kind of person is running the most important business in this one-horse town."
"You know what I think, Rog?" She used the diminutive in response to his calling her 'Leo,' "If you wanted to print that, it would already be in the paper. I think you're looking for a payoff."
"It's a business proposition. $100,000 and these records will disappear forever."
"I'd question your integrity, but you're a journalist."
"You got 24 hours."
Leo took the card gingerly, as if it were a dead fish, and got into her car. "Good afternoon, Mr. Nixon."
At the same time, over at Smallville High School, Tina had cornered Lana.
"How do you like the sweater?" Tina asked.
"It's great. I've got one just like it," Lana replied, trying to keep her voice cheerful while looking for someone - anyone - to rescue her.
"I know. I got it at the same store. I've been going on this shopping spree. Hey, look. I even found this emerald necklace in the antique store."
Lana's heart dropped into her stomach. It looked just like her necklace, "I don't wear that anymore," she told Tina.
"Really? I stopped by your house earlier and Nell said you weren't in the best mood so... "
"I'm fine. Don't worry about it."
"Good, 'cause I need a favor. My mom is moving to Metropolis full-time but see, she doesn't want to pull me out of school. So I was thinking I can move in with you and Nell."
The next afternoon, Leo sat in her office, having a drink with Roger Nixon.
"You're feeling pretty good about yourself right now, aren't you?" she asked, "You'd think with all the money my father's spent, he could make things disappear."
"Maybe he's not as smart as he thinks," Roger replied as he dropped the file onto the table. "The original. Have a nice life."
"If you walk out that door, you may not live to regret it."
"What are you gonna do? You gonna have me killed?"
"Nothing so messy as that. With one call, I can ensure that there will be no record that you actually walked this earth."
"You're bluffing."
"Call your bank. See if your account still exists. That is, if your cell phone hasn't already been disconnected."
"What did you do?"
"Don't worry, Roger. I'm going to give you a new identity. One that's a little less upstanding. Maybe a murderer. Maybe a drug dealer. Either way, you'll lose your job, your house, and your family."
"Look, I'll give the money back. Then we'll be even."
"No, we won't. Because I also know your brother works for juvenile court. What'd you tell him? 'Steal the records and you can make some quick cash'? He could do time for that."
"Leave him out of this."
"I didn't get him involved, Roger. You did."
"What do you want from me?"
"A list of your sources. Not witnesses, just the experts. Scientists, lawyers, engineers. All of them."
Roger looked at her, perplexed.
"And don't try pulling a switch on me. If so many as one of your sources says, 'Roger who?' you'll be setting up housekeeping in Suicide Slum and your brother will serving five to ten at Ellsworth."
"Here," Roger held out his PDA. "It has all of my contact information in it."
"You certainly don't expect me to synch this up with my own computer, do you?" She thought for a moment. "I'll messenger this back to you this afternoon."
"But --!"
"I said that I'll messenger this back to you this afternoon."
Roger, realizing that Leo had him over a barrel, left the room.
In the hallway of Smallville High School, a young brunette in a pink sweater caught up to a handsome blond football player.
"Hey," she said brightly, slipping her hand into the crook of his elbow.
Whitney looked down at her. "What are you playing at, Lana?"
"What?" The brunette looked shocked by the cold reception.
He shrugged her hand off of his arm. "I thought you were panting after Kent now."
Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, "Kent? Clark Kent?"
"I didn't mean Mr. Kent. Jeez."
As Whitney walked away, Tina-as-Lana thought, Clark Kent. So that's the way the wind is blowing. Looks like I'm going to be taking a trip to the Wal-Mart in Grandville this afternoon.
That night, as Lana was visiting her parents' graves, she was visited by a friend.
"Lana?"
She spun around, a broad grin on her face. "Clark! Hi!"
"Whatcha doing?" the visitor asked, walking closer to her.
"You know what I'm doing."
Her visitor looked perplexed.
"Visiting my parents," she indicated their gravestone.
"You know, I think it's time you moved on."
"What?"
"Holding on to your parents' deaths like this isn't healthy."
Lana found herself held in strong - very strong - arms. Their eyes met, and then their lips followed.
The kiss broke with an audible slurping sound, and the visitor said, "You don't appreciate the things you have," the voice turned feminine, "but don't worry, I'll take good care of them for you."
As Lana watched, the visitor's appearance shifted until she found herself looking at Tina.
"Tina! What . . . .?" Her query was cut off, as Tina started to strangle her.
Clark arrived in the cemetery, looking for Lana. Instead, he found Whitney. "Where's Lana?"
"Oh, she's around here . . . somewhere," Whitney responded nonchalantly. "What I wouldn't give to have you following me around like a puppy dog," he said as he snaked an arm out and pulled Clark to him for a kiss.
Three things happened at once; Clark realized that Whitney was kissing him, remembered that Whitney's clothes looked exactly like what he was wearing, and discovered that he couldn't pull himself free of Whitney's embrace without using his enhanced strength. These added up to one conclusion; Whitney wasn't the one kissing him - it was Tina.
Finally, he wrenched himself loose. "Tina! Where is Lana?"
Tina snarled, "She's dead," and launched herself at Clark.
Later, the police loaded Tina into the back of a police car as Lana and Clark answered the police's questions.
Chloe approached them, "Lana," she said with a quick glance at Clark. She handed Lana a tape labeled Graduation Address 1977.
"Oh, my God. How did you find this?"
"If I told you, I'd have to kill you, and it looks like you've had enough trauma for one night," she gave Lana a wan smile which she looked up to include Clark in.
"Chloe, thank you."
"No problem."
The police officer had finished his questions and headed over to Nell for her signature as Lana's guardian. Lana raised up on her toes and kissed Clark on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow? At school?"
"Yeah," Clark nodded, realizing that Lana wanted to be alone to listen to her mom's speech. "See you tomorrow," and with a kiss on her cheek, he left.
By: PepperjackCandy
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Het, Genderbending
Pairing: Lex (sort of)/Clark
A/N: More "um, that would totally not happen like that in real life" here - like, Lex, even a phony one, with a backpack? A red, canvas backpack? Um. No.
========
It was a beautiful, sunny fall morning when Leo Luthor robbed the Smallville Savings and Loan.
First she tried to close her accounts with the bank, and when the bank manager noticed her signing the wrong signature with the incorrect hand, she pulled a gun from her jacket pocket and demanded the money instead.
The false Leo Luthor then grabbed her now-full canvas gym bag and ran out, pushing Clark Kent out of the way as she ran. Only a timely application of superspeed stopped Clark from falling through the plate-glass window of the optometrist's office.
But it didn't prevent the headache he got when his vision suddenly shifted and he found himself seeing the impostor's skeleton. Her green, glowing, skeleton.
Leo arrived at the Kents' just in time to hear Jonathan say, "Clark, I know that she's a friend of yours, but come on. You saw her with your own eyes."
"I don't know what I saw."
Clark's defense of her warmed Leo's heart.
"There must be some kind of reasonable explanation for this," Martha added.
It made her feel better to know that Martha gave her the benefit of the doubt, as well, so she couldn't help herself. She responded, through the screen door, "Me too. I'd hate to think I have an evil twin."
She updated them on what she knew of the investigation - she'd been at a reception for 200 fertilizer distributors at the time of the robbery, so she was cleared. Clark assured her that, though the robber had looked like her, he had known that it hadn't been.
"I promise I'm not a criminal mastermind," she vowed.
"I know. A criminal mastermind would have worn a mask," Clark grinned.
"Or at least a decent-quality stocking over my head," she responded flirtatiously.
As Leo exited the Beanery later that day, she was stopped by a man leaning against her car.
"Roger Nixon, Metropolis Inquisitor," he introduced himself.
"Get off my car, Mr. Nixon," she responded coldly.
"That's a hell of a picture, Leo," he said, showing her a copy of the Inquisitor with a security camera shot of the impostor on it. "You know, it really boosted our sales."
"I've read novels with less fiction than your rag."
"Well, how about this? Is this fiction?" Nixon asked as he held out a slender file folder. "It's your juvenile record. Fascinating reading."
"That record is sealed."
"I'm a resourceful guy," Leo picked up the word Phillip as if Roger had spoken it aloud.
"You print one word about that, I'll sue."
"Lawsuits take years. The genie will be out of the bottle and all the people will know just what kind of person is running the most important business in this one-horse town."
"You know what I think, Rog?" She used the diminutive in response to his calling her 'Leo,' "If you wanted to print that, it would already be in the paper. I think you're looking for a payoff."
"It's a business proposition. $100,000 and these records will disappear forever."
"I'd question your integrity, but you're a journalist."
"You got 24 hours."
Leo took the card gingerly, as if it were a dead fish, and got into her car. "Good afternoon, Mr. Nixon."
At the same time, over at Smallville High School, Tina had cornered Lana.
"How do you like the sweater?" Tina asked.
"It's great. I've got one just like it," Lana replied, trying to keep her voice cheerful while looking for someone - anyone - to rescue her.
"I know. I got it at the same store. I've been going on this shopping spree. Hey, look. I even found this emerald necklace in the antique store."
Lana's heart dropped into her stomach. It looked just like her necklace, "I don't wear that anymore," she told Tina.
"Really? I stopped by your house earlier and Nell said you weren't in the best mood so... "
"I'm fine. Don't worry about it."
"Good, 'cause I need a favor. My mom is moving to Metropolis full-time but see, she doesn't want to pull me out of school. So I was thinking I can move in with you and Nell."
The next afternoon, Leo sat in her office, having a drink with Roger Nixon.
"You're feeling pretty good about yourself right now, aren't you?" she asked, "You'd think with all the money my father's spent, he could make things disappear."
"Maybe he's not as smart as he thinks," Roger replied as he dropped the file onto the table. "The original. Have a nice life."
"If you walk out that door, you may not live to regret it."
"What are you gonna do? You gonna have me killed?"
"Nothing so messy as that. With one call, I can ensure that there will be no record that you actually walked this earth."
"You're bluffing."
"Call your bank. See if your account still exists. That is, if your cell phone hasn't already been disconnected."
"What did you do?"
"Don't worry, Roger. I'm going to give you a new identity. One that's a little less upstanding. Maybe a murderer. Maybe a drug dealer. Either way, you'll lose your job, your house, and your family."
"Look, I'll give the money back. Then we'll be even."
"No, we won't. Because I also know your brother works for juvenile court. What'd you tell him? 'Steal the records and you can make some quick cash'? He could do time for that."
"Leave him out of this."
"I didn't get him involved, Roger. You did."
"What do you want from me?"
"A list of your sources. Not witnesses, just the experts. Scientists, lawyers, engineers. All of them."
Roger looked at her, perplexed.
"And don't try pulling a switch on me. If so many as one of your sources says, 'Roger who?' you'll be setting up housekeeping in Suicide Slum and your brother will serving five to ten at Ellsworth."
"Here," Roger held out his PDA. "It has all of my contact information in it."
"You certainly don't expect me to synch this up with my own computer, do you?" She thought for a moment. "I'll messenger this back to you this afternoon."
"But --!"
"I said that I'll messenger this back to you this afternoon."
Roger, realizing that Leo had him over a barrel, left the room.
In the hallway of Smallville High School, a young brunette in a pink sweater caught up to a handsome blond football player.
"Hey," she said brightly, slipping her hand into the crook of his elbow.
Whitney looked down at her. "What are you playing at, Lana?"
"What?" The brunette looked shocked by the cold reception.
He shrugged her hand off of his arm. "I thought you were panting after Kent now."
Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, "Kent? Clark Kent?"
"I didn't mean Mr. Kent. Jeez."
As Whitney walked away, Tina-as-Lana thought, Clark Kent. So that's the way the wind is blowing. Looks like I'm going to be taking a trip to the Wal-Mart in Grandville this afternoon.
That night, as Lana was visiting her parents' graves, she was visited by a friend.
"Lana?"
She spun around, a broad grin on her face. "Clark! Hi!"
"Whatcha doing?" the visitor asked, walking closer to her.
"You know what I'm doing."
Her visitor looked perplexed.
"Visiting my parents," she indicated their gravestone.
"You know, I think it's time you moved on."
"What?"
"Holding on to your parents' deaths like this isn't healthy."
Lana found herself held in strong - very strong - arms. Their eyes met, and then their lips followed.
The kiss broke with an audible slurping sound, and the visitor said, "You don't appreciate the things you have," the voice turned feminine, "but don't worry, I'll take good care of them for you."
As Lana watched, the visitor's appearance shifted until she found herself looking at Tina.
"Tina! What . . . .?" Her query was cut off, as Tina started to strangle her.
Clark arrived in the cemetery, looking for Lana. Instead, he found Whitney. "Where's Lana?"
"Oh, she's around here . . . somewhere," Whitney responded nonchalantly. "What I wouldn't give to have you following me around like a puppy dog," he said as he snaked an arm out and pulled Clark to him for a kiss.
Three things happened at once; Clark realized that Whitney was kissing him, remembered that Whitney's clothes looked exactly like what he was wearing, and discovered that he couldn't pull himself free of Whitney's embrace without using his enhanced strength. These added up to one conclusion; Whitney wasn't the one kissing him - it was Tina.
Finally, he wrenched himself loose. "Tina! Where is Lana?"
Tina snarled, "She's dead," and launched herself at Clark.
Later, the police loaded Tina into the back of a police car as Lana and Clark answered the police's questions.
Chloe approached them, "Lana," she said with a quick glance at Clark. She handed Lana a tape labeled Graduation Address 1977.
"Oh, my God. How did you find this?"
"If I told you, I'd have to kill you, and it looks like you've had enough trauma for one night," she gave Lana a wan smile which she looked up to include Clark in.
"Chloe, thank you."
"No problem."
The police officer had finished his questions and headed over to Nell for her signature as Lana's guardian. Lana raised up on her toes and kissed Clark on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow? At school?"
"Yeah," Clark nodded, realizing that Lana wanted to be alone to listen to her mom's speech. "See you tomorrow," and with a kiss on her cheek, he left.