Chapter 8 - Russia
"They're trying to help."
Lex had just gotten comfortable in his jet on the way back to Kansas. It had been a frustrating trip, and he'd ended up in Russia for eight days, but his mission was successful in the end. The manuscript page he'd gone to St. Petersburg to find was safely stowed in a high-security safe at the back of the plane, at the cost of a small fortune and an evening of pretending to drink while the owner of the document became more and more drunk himself. Lex wasn't sure if the man had woken up this morning with any idea of what he'd agreed to, but honestly, he didn't care.
Lex groaned when he heard his weakness speaking to him. It seemed to take advantage of every peaceful moment he had. "You again," he said. He spoke aloud, because there was no one around to hear him speaking to himself, anyway—the pilot wouldn't be able to hear him over the engines
"You don't have to be so annoyed every time they call."
Lex had almost managed to forget about Martha Kent's phone call the night before. She was worried because he'd said he would only be away for a week, so she had taken it upon herself to ask all sorts of invasive questions about whether he was dressing warmly enough and getting enough sleep with the jet lag. As though he were a child.
He'd resigned himself to the reality that, if he wanted to be able to experiment on and with the world's most powerful being, he had to submit to being grounded and scolded and fussed at by someone else's parents. But Lex was used to pain and punishment. Lionel's gentleness had been so much more dangerous, because it always hid something worse beneath the surface. The Kents' kindness couldn't be trusted, either. Given the opportunity, they'd gladly murder him in favor of his other side. If they had ever understood or believed his other side when he'd talked about who he really was, they probably would have killed him, too.
Building power against that was basic self defense. It was only a matter of time before their arrangement broke down. Lex had to gain what he could from Clark while he still had the chance.
"They want to protect Clark. And they love you."
"No, they love you. You care about that kind of thing. I don't."
"You should. They want you to be happy. And they're going to suspect something if you keep snapping at them."
"Again. They want you to be happy." Lex pushed back at the voice in his mind until he couldn't hear it anymore. It had a point; he needed to be nicer to the Kents, or he was going to lose access to Clark.
The jet touched down on the landing strip just outside of Smallville; the limo was already there, waiting to pick him up. Lex carried his briefcase and the safe with him as he climbed into the limo. The briefcase had his data, notes, and laptop, and the safe had the manuscript—it wasn't safe to allow anyone else to carry them.
When he arrived at the mansion, he found Clark already waiting for him in his study. Lex barely had time to put down his things on the table between the couches before Clark rushed forward and wrapped both arms around him tightly.
For a second, Lex thought something terrible had happened. But when Clark let him go with a couple of pats to the back and a wide grin, he remembered that that was something the Kents just did sometimes. He made himself smile back.
"How was your trip?" Clark asked. "Did you get it?"
"Of course," Lex said, and he knelt down to carefully open the safe, so as not to damage the document. "Any easier to read the symbols from this?"
Clark frowned, focusing on the symbols. "Look deeper," he read.
"What?"
"It—it says to look deeper. Well, some of the symbols do, anyway."
"What do you think it means?"
Clark didn't say anything. He just stared at the map, squinting a little. Then his eyes widened. "There's a second layer."
"A second layer? What does that mean?"
"There's a map hidden underneath the surface."
Lex shook his head. "How do you—"
"X-ray vision, remember?"
Lex slowly let himself smile. He'd been right to get Clark involved in this quest. "Any idea where the map leads?"
"I don't know. I'd have to study it a little more, there might be some clues in the symbols."
"Of course. Take all the time you need."
Clark looked up from the document. "Maybe tomorrow? Mom and Dad miss you. Mom's been cooking ever since she found out you were coming back today, it's going to be a feast tonight. She's worked almost as hard as she did on Thanksgiving."
Lex couldn't help but scoff a little at that. "I was gone for a week."
"You were gone longer than you said you'd be. You're lucky they don't ground you for a month."
Lex would rather that than a feast celebrating the return of a son they'd never speak to again.
"I think they're still having a hard time, after everything that happened with Lionel. They're worried about us a lot more than usual."
"Fine."
"They think you're me. I'd be thankful and happy."
"Everything okay, Lex?" Clark asked.
Lex took a deep breath. "I, ah, feel a little guilty for coming back late. I know I should have called."
Clark clapped him him on the shoulder. "Dad's not upset. You answered the phone when Mom called, that saved you."
"Ah."
"He'll probably remind you about the rules about going out of town, but he's not going to scold you."
"Right. Rules." Lex's jaw pulsed.
"Calm down. They want to protect you."
Lex couldn't see how dictating where and when he could travel did anything to protect him, but he had to take the voice's word for it.
Clark shifted his weight. "Uh. It's been over a week since . . ."
Lex smirked. "You want to make a donation?"
"Just blood. And if we could not tell my dad about the, uh, flashbacks . . ."
"Of course. Have a seat."
Clark could have run home, but Lex insisted on driving him. While he drove, Clark asked him questions about his trip to Russia, but it sounded like Lex had really just gone there on business. Everything he'd done had revolved around getting the document for finding those stones.
His dad's suggestion about having kryptonite in the room instead of using a kryptonite needle had helped a lot. Being near the kryptonite still made him feel nauseated and miserable, and the needle still pinched and stung, but it was nothing like the searing burn of having what amounted to a poisoned needle under his skin. The flashbacks hadn't been nearly as vivid or as agonizing; he hadn't even shed tears. And his older brother still gave him a long hug when it was over and reminded him how much he was helping people. That made Clark feel more than ever like he could handle this.
It was weird that Lex wasn't telling him more stories about Russia, and it was surprising to see him so obsessed with Lionel's projects—he hadn't even asked what Mom had been cooking or baking. It occurred to Clark that he hadn't heard Lex call his parents Mom and Dad ever since Lionel died, but he didn't know how to ask about it, even though it made him sad.
But the weirder part had been some of the things Clark had seen in Lex's briefcase. He'd briefly scanned it when Lex had left to get the kryptonite and needle. There were a lot of data and notes. Some of it didn't look like Lex's handwriting—a lot of it must have been Lionel's. But there was a ton of information about Clark, about the stones of power—including things Lex had never told Clark—and about the meteor mutants. He had to assume the notes on the meteor mutants were Lionel's work, since some of it seemed to have to do with experimenting on them. Clark didn't get to read much, but it sounded pretty bad, from what he could see.
He'd have to keep an eye on it. Lex had been pretty hesitant about taking on all of these projects when Clark had first spoken to him, but based on everything he was carrying in his brief case, maybe he wasn't as hesitant as he'd sounded.
Clark wasn't sure how to bring it up. Maybe he'd talk to his mom about it first. She always knew what to do.
