Chapter 9 - Two Sides
Martha put the last dish in the oven and straightened up, taking a deep breath. It was going to be a good night. She was going to have her family all together again.
She knew a week wasn't a long time to be apart. When Lex was back on his feet, he'd probably end up getting a job in Metropolis, and they'd be lucky to see him once a month. Clark was almost done with high school, after which he'd go off to college and they'd only see him during school breaks.
Even so, she was happy. She still needed her boys close until she could know they were healed.
Clark and Lex came in through the door to the kitchen. "Hey, Mom," Clark said, and he wrapped his arms around her.
"My boys," she said, hugging him back, before she let go and held open her arms to Lex, who stepped into them with all the stiffness he'd worn for the first few months she'd considered him a part of the family. It took her a great deal of strength not to sigh sadly, and instead to smile warmly.
"I'm going to get unpacked," Lex said, carrying his suitcase toward the stairs.
"Dinner in fifteen," she called after him, then she looked up at Clark.
He was staring at her intently. "Mom, can I talk to you about something?"
"Of course. What's wrong?"
"Well, maybe nothing. But . . ." He shifted his weight. "I'm worried Lex might be different. After everything that happened."
"It changed all of us, sweetheart."
"I'm not talking about that." He winced. "You were working with the team that was researching kryptonite at the labs, right?"
"I'm not working with them anymore." She'd long had to give up that position to focus on her family.
"When you were working there, did Lex ever say anything about experimenting with people who'd been infected by kryptonite?"
"Not exactly." His team of scientists had wanted to forge an alliance with Belle Reve, where many of the mutants were housed, to try to make sense of how the mutations worked and possibly help people who had been infected. The goal was to take some samples, run some basic experiments with the consent of those who still had the awareness to give it. Martha could see why they wanted to do it, but Lex had frustrated them all by constantly turning down their proposals. Apparently, his dark side had all too enthusiastically encouraged him to give in to their requests. Unfortunately, his refusal had stunted all progress on the research.
"I was just over at the mansion. When he left the room to . . . uh, get something, I looked in his briefcase with my X-ray vision."
"Clark," Martha chided. She had taught him better than to invade other people's privacy.
"I know, but we've been working together, I didn't think he'd mind if I looked at his notes. He had some experiment plans laid out. For the kryptonite mutants."
After having spent weeks listening to the research team's frustrations, Martha couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised that Lex had finally decided to give in to their requests, although she had some reservations about what might have led him to that decision, especially since it had Clark looking so concerned. "It's been something his team has been considering for a long time, Clark."
"These plans looked . . . bad."
Martha frowned. "Were they his plans, or were they some of Lionel's old work?"
"It might have been Lionel's. But then, why is Lex carrying it around?"
Martha couldn't get out the words that were on her mind—that Lex might have an emotional need to feel close to his biological father in the wake of the man's death. She couldn't imagine it, but that didn't mean she couldn't understand it. Clark and Jonathan, though, wouldn't understand, so she hadn't tried to explain it. And she was fairly certain that Lex's reactions were subconscious rather than deliberate. It was probably why he hadn't been able to call Martha and Jonathan Mom and Dad since the incident. "I don't know. Did you ask him?"
"No, I was afraid to." His voice lowered still further. "Mom, I don't want to consider this, and I know you don't want to either, but . . . do you think it's possible . . ."
Martha winced. She knew what Clark was going to suggest, and she didn't want to think about it either. She'd had a lot of time to think and reflect on what Lex meant when he talked about his dark side, and she'd even read a couple of psychology books about schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder. His symptoms as he described them didn't quite match any known mental disorder. Lex spoke of himself as if he were two people, but the more she read, the less she knew how literally to take it.
Certainly, Lex was hearing a voice in his head; he felt the distinction between the two sides of himself; he had inner demons that were monstrously stronger than the average person's darker impulses. She had a very good idea of how powerful they were; she was merely growing less confident about what they were. She might have assumed they were Lionel's influence, but according to Lex's confessions, they'd grown stronger in the wake of the Kents lying to him. She didn't think a deep sensitivity to betrayal was a trait Lionel was likely to have displayed in his lifetime.
But Clark didn't need to hear all of that. He had trailed off in the middle of a sentence she wanted him to finish, so she looked him in the eyes and said, "Do I think what is possible?"
"That . . . you know. That Lex's . . ." his voice lowered again, so soft she almost didn't hear him, " . . . dark side took over."
She knew that he would give her a strange look if she asked her next question, but she asked it anyway: "What would it mean for us, if it did?"
"He's pretending to be a part of our family. He's probably selling my blood for a profit. He's looking for those stones of power to . . . take over the world or something, instead of to do something better."
"Stones of power?"
Clark frowned. "Artifacts with kryptonian symbols. That's why he was in Russia. I think he was going to tell you more about it tonight, but . . . maybe not."
Martha took a deep breath. "What do you want to do about it?"
"I don't know. That's why I'm asking you."
Martha nodded slowly. Clark usually went to Jonathan for advice first, but it was pretty clear to her why he hadn't done that this time. "How has Lex been treating you?"
"Well, not too different from usual, I guess. He's listening to my advice about his experiments, he, ah, he's nice to me after I donate blood. And he's been following Dad's rules about that, too."
"Has he said or done anything strange to you?"
"He's been talking back to you and Dad a lot."
"I know." It hurt, but it wasn't any more than Martha might have expected. "But that's not what I asked."
Clark shrugged. "I guess not. I'm just worried."
"I'm worried too, sweatheart. About both of you."
"What do you think I should do?"
She leaned against the countertop. "Stay on your guard. Keep your eyes open. If he's trying to manipulate you, or if he's planning to hurt our family, I trust you won't let him."
"I won't," Clark said.
"But in the meantime? Be kind to him. Be patient. He's hurting right now, more than we know."
Clark's head lowered. "I will, Mom. It's just . . . the projects he's working on might give him a lot of power."
Martha smiled to herself. After spending so many months watching Lex fight desperately for some measure of control over his own life and the protection of his family and friends, she'd stopped thinking of his desire for power as a vice, even though she knew he usually saw it that way. "He already has a lot of power. But so do you."
"He knows my weaknesses."
"And you know his. But more importantly, you both know how to build each other up. You're brothers."
He smiled at that. "I swore to be honest with him. Maybe I should just ask him."
"I think that's a good idea." On the off chance Lex really was acting out of a belief that his dark side had taken control of his mind, she doubted Clark asking a question would change much about the way Lex acted, one way or another. "But you'll be kind to him, right? Don't start with accusations. I've seen you do that before, young man, it won't get you anywhere."
"I understand."
"Just ask him about the files. In fact, start by apologizing for looking through his things without permission, you understand me?"
"Okay."
"Good." She patted his arm. "Now, the family's back together again. We're going to celebrate tonight. Can you help me get the table set?"
"Yes, ma'am," Clark said, and he gave her that winning grin that she had missed so much.
They worked together on setting the table and putting out the food from the oven, then Clark went out to call his dad in from the barn while Martha climbed the stairs to invite Lex down for dinner. Jonathan came over to give Lex a quick hug and a "Welcome back, son," then they all sat around the table.
For a little while, Jonathan chatted about the farm work from the day, Clark talked a little about school, and they both raved about the quality of the cooking. Martha enjoyed listening to the lightness of their conversation, though she kept a careful eye on Lex. When the talk of the day had died down, she asked him, "So, how was your trip?"
"Frustrating. But productive." Lex looked up at Jonathan. "Ah, I guess you want me to tell you, I'm going to be heading out to Egypt next week."
"Egypt?" Clark said.
"Another lead."
Martha cleared her throat. "What's this project, Lex?"
Clark looked up at his mom. "It's not business, exactly. We've been looking into . . . a legend that might have something to do with my birth planet."
Jonathan blinked. "Why is this the first we're hearing about this?"
"Because I wasn't sure if there was anything to it," Lex said, giving Clark a look. "But now we know there is."
Martha could see Jonathan struggling to know how to respond, and Clark's worry was fresh on her mind. "Lex, summer break for Clark starts in a week. Maybe you could wait it out and take him with you."
"To Egypt?"
"Yeah. You have room on your jet, right?"
"Ah . . . I would love to have him, but I wouldn't want to take him away from the farm."
"I think it's a good idea, Lex," Clark said. "Those stones have Kryptonian symbols, and so does that manuscript page you bought in Russia. You might need me with you to find what you're looking for. And my X-ray vision might come in handy, for your search.
Lex smiled a little. "How can I say no to that?" Then he looked up at Jonathan. "If it's okay with you, of course."
Jonathan nodded slowly. "It's okay with me. But I want to hear a lot more about these new projects you're picking up. Before you start traveling around the country to carry them out, if you don't mind, boys."
"Understood," Clark said.
"And you're going to call us every night you're away. Clark, I expect you to do as Lex asks, and Lex, I expect you to take good care of Clark."
"You have my word." Lex nodded.
Martha breathed a sigh of relief. If there was anything going on with Lex—and she was sure there was, though she suspected it had more to do with him being broken than unexpectedly evil—she'd feel a lot better knowing Clark was keeping an eye on him.
Clark began chattering about things he'd learned about Egypt from school, and everyone had started eating again, when the doorbell rang. Clark was the only one whose mouth wasn't full at the moment, and he stood up from the table. "I'll get it."
Martha set down her fork and listened. She heard the door open, and then an unfamiliar woman's voice:
"Hello, Clark. My name is Kara. I'm from Krypton."
Martha's jaw dropped.
