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Songs in the Key of Longing - Chapter Two
Waking up from the nightmare didn't improve things much.
Lex heard the clink of chains rattling around his wrists and ankles and couldn't help the low groan that escaped. A bad dream, that's what this had to be but when he dared to open his eyes a crack and squint through the gloom of the castle's huge wine cellar he saw a familiar visage.
His own.
Not exactly his own -- Alexander's to be precise. Unfortunately, the visage was smiling wildly. "You are pathetic," Alexander purred, almost lovingly. "So predictable too."
Lex grimaced, but rattled one of the chains defiantly. He was good at defiance. He'd had a lot of practice at it. "And you're not?" he rasped. "I think we've been through this scenario before."
"Not exactly," Alexander corrected. He nodded toward a nearby corner, where to Lex's horror, he saw a slumped-over body, chained as he was. "You have company this time."
"Clark?" Lex gasped, automatically crawling over the dirty floor toward his friend. The chains stopped him just before he reached his destination and Lex tugged furiously on them, trying futilely to gain another foot or two. "Clark!"
"Not the best company, true, but I'm sure you two will have plenty to talk about during your extended stay." Alexander smirked. "Because Clark really has the most interesting tales to tell ... when he's in the mood for sharing them."
"Let him go," Lex pleaded. Normally, he never begged, not even for his own life, but this ... this was Clark. He had to try. "He's just a kid."
"Oh, please," Alexander said, examining his shirt cuff with a bored expression. "Even you don't believe that. Besides, I have actual proof that our dear Clark, captain of the local football squad, hopeless farmboy and all around good guy is much, much more than just a kid. But, don't take my word for it. Someone else is here who knows him much better than I do. Ask him about our Clark."
"Who? Who's here?" Lex asked, his skin growing cold with dread. This couldn't be good. "Who's here!" he cried out. "Come out and let me see you."
A tall figure stepped out from the dark shadows. "You rang?" it rumbled and Lex nearly passed out at the sight.
It was Clark. But ... it wasn't Clark. The eyes, they were different somehow. Hard and glittering and cruel, with a distinctive red tint tainting the whites.
Shocked, Lex glanced at the Clark on the floor beside him, then back up to this different Clark. "Who ... who are you?"
The red-eyed Clark smiled. "Who am I? Or what am I? That is the real $64,000 question. But as for my name ... I like to go by Kal. It has a better ring than 'Clark', don't you think?"
"He doesn't think," Alexander interjected with a short laugh. "That's his problem."
If Kal was impressed or intimidated by Alexander, he certainly didn't show it, Lex noted with some hope. "Kal, listen to me," he told the Clark clone carefully, nodding toward Alexander."You can't trust him. He's a liar, a cheat and a murderer. I should know, he's lived inside of me for my entire life. If you side with him you're taking your life into your hands. Don't do it."
A slow smile curved Kal's lips. He raised his arm and in his hand was a thick iron bar, a leftover from some renovation or another Lex recently had done. With the slightest squeeze of his fingers, the bar bent, then broke in half.
"I don't think his personality flaws are going to be an issue," Kal said, letting the pieces of iron fall to the ground where they landed with a clank!. "Besides, no one's perfect."
He laughed loudly at this. Alexander joined in and Lex swallowed the bile rising in his throat. "You're not going to get away with this."
"We don't plan on getting away with anything, Pinky," Alexander said, patting Lex on the head, then jumping out of the way of a furious punch Lex threw his way. "That was my mistake the last time. But now, with Kal by my side, we can just take over this planet without all the preambles. Laws don't apply to us. Nothing applies to us anymore."
"I think you're going to find world domination more difficult than you think," Lex replied. "And if the world fighting back isn't your undoing, sharing it with him definitely will be. We were never very good at sharing, were we, Alex?"
"I almost feel bad for you, Lex. This has been your plan all along, to rule the world, you just didn't want to admit it. And now, you're going to miss all the fun," Alexander said, ignoring his last remark. "Maybe I'll send you a postcard from the White House. It'll say: 'Wish you were here -- NOT!" he laughed.
"Are we done here?" Kal asked impatiently. "I don't see why we can't just get rid of them."
Alexander sighed deeply. "Good thing you're not the brains of the operation, sweetheart. How about letting me do the thinking and you stick to the heavy lifting. Okay?"
Kal's eyes narrowed dangerously, but he didn't reply, Lex noticed as a little bit of hope rose in his heart. "You can't get rid of us because there's no guarantee you'll survive our deaths," Lex said quietly. He looked up at Kal, keeping his tone even. "I don't know if he's mentioned that to you. There are probably a whole bunch of things he hasn't told you. There are probably things only Clark can tell you, things that I can't. It's in your best interest to keep us both alive ... Kal."
But Kal only rolled his eyes impatiently. Lex noted that Clark's other half didn't seem particularly evil, persay, but he was impatient -- and ambitious. Greedy too, maybe, but there was a slim hope this one could be reasoned with, at least more readily than Alexander.
That was if a being with such incredible powers would ever bother to listen to the puny creatures surrounding him.
God, Clark, Lex thought miserably. Why didn't you tell me?
"Come on," Alexander said, with a tug to Kal's sleeve. "The world awaits."
Kal glanced between Clark and Lex. "Do they have whatever it is they need to stay alive?"
"More or less," Alexander shrugged, tapping a bucket filled with questionable liquid with his foot. Next to the bucket was a box, filled with various mangled foodstuffs. "It's not gourmet fare, but Lex is good at slumming it. Aren't you, Lex?"
Lex didn't answer him. He kept his attention focused on Kal. "I don't know how badly Clark is hurt. You might want to ascertain that before you leave."
Kal snorted. "He's tougher than he looks. I'm sure he just got the wind knocked out of him. He may be a wimp, but he's a special kind of wimp." He turned to Alexander. "Let's go. I'm tired of waiting."
"Of course you are," Alexander replied smoothly, taking Kal by the elbow and leading him from the cellar. "Now, about that speed of yours ..."
The echo of Alexander's voice faded along with their footsteps. Lex forced himself to bite back a scream. His heart was pounding and he had to order himself to calm down -- to breathe -- before panic set in. He had two lives to save, that was if Clark was even ...
"Lex?"
Weak voice, but Lex's heart soared at the sound of it. "Clark," he said softly, edging toward his friend. He reached out and was able to touch the tips of his fingers which he held onto like a lifeline. "It's okay. I'm going to get us out of here. You rest, save your strength."
"What happened?" Clark tried to sit up, but slumped back down with a groan. Bewildered, he looked at the chains around his wrists. "What's going on?"
"There was another accident in the lab ..." Lex started to explain, but stopped mid-sentence, as he noticed something on Clark's face.
It was a spot of green fluid. Glowing green fluid.
Running down his cheek like a tear and Clark shut his eyes tightly and moaned. "Lex ... I ... I don't feel very good. I ... feel like I'm going to die."
tbc ...
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