It was the perfect plan. Flawless. Precise. There would be no one to stop him this time. The great Lex Luthor was going to win, once and for all. In one final swoop he would be rid of the one thing that had stood in his way time and time again. Superman. He would bring the world's greatest hero to his knees, and then he would make him beg. Segeeth would finally make his presence felt, and the world would bow down to the man who had, once and for all, destroyed the great threat that Naman, Superman, Clark Kent, faced to the world. He would be hailed a hero, and the cycle of lies and betrayal would finally be complete. Hew would finally have his revenge and justice would prevail.
Lex smirked at that word. Justice. Truth, Justice, and the American Way. His smirk transformed into a chuckle. What a load of crap. He had instantly seen through superman's charade. While the general public had seen him as a savior, Lex Luthor had seen him for who he really was: a conqueror. And after today, in only a few moments, the world would know this reality as well as he did. He would show the world what Superman truly was about, and then he would rid the world of the tyrant for good. And there wasn't a being in the universe that could stop him.
Yes, Superman would die. But first, he would suffer. Suffer as he had been made to suffer. He would strip him of everything that he had, of everything that he cared about, and then he would die. And when the smoked cleared, Lex Luthor would be the only one standing He would be given the place in the world that he had always deserved, the place that Superman had so easily attained. He would have the people's hearts. And once he had there hearts, he could do anything.
Lex's eyes drifted down to the two people below him, and he savored what he saw. Hopelessness. That was the only way to describe it. Clark Kent, one of the most powerful men in the universe, and Lois Lane Kent, the only woman to ever truly escape his grasp, were both overcome by complete and utter hopelessness. They knew what was to come. He had, only an hour earlier, explained everything that was about to happen to the both of them in excruciating detail. He hadn't left anything out. And there was no reason to. His plan was perfect, and they knew it. There was no escaping what was about to come. The fates that awaited both of them were gruesome, and both knew that he would get away with it all, and worse, would be loved and praised for it. Not for what he actually did, of course, but for what the public would believe he did.
Lex once again reviewed the plan in his head, marveling at his own genius. It was so perfect, and what's more, it would be fun. He especially would enjoy ravaging Clark's wife right in front of him, all the while knowing that he could do nothing to stop it. He would finally have everything that Clark had simply been given or always had. Clark would be left with nothing, and then he would become nothing.
Motion from the two cages below brought Lex from his thoughts. Both Clark and Lois had stood up, and each one leaned against their cage, stretching one arm through the small gap in the bars and reaching towards each other. The cages were about four or five feet from each other, and the space between them was just small enough so that Lois and Clark's index fingers could touch, but just barely. Yet that simple touch was enough to lift the despair and hopelessness from their eyes, which was replaced by sadness and love. Clark looked deeply into Lois' eyes, his own eyes filled with tears and a sad smile on his face. Lois looked back into those baby blues just as deeply, with the same sad smile and the same tears filling her own eyes. It was a look for the record books, as if each of them was re-living the events of their life together, from the time they first met twelve years ago in a cornfield in Kansas, all the way to the events leading up to that very moment. It was a mixture of joy, grief, happiness, contentment, sadness, heartbreak, desire, and, most importantly, love. All of their good times, all of their bad times, all of their fights, all of their flirting, all of their kisses, all of their struggles, everything that thy ever shared together, all of this was brought together in one look.
Their looks suddenly changed to looks of pain, as the bars from their cages caught up to them. Clark's cage was coated with Kryptonite, and the bars of Lois' cage were heated to a painful temperature, with technology that even Clark's super breath couldn't cool. Still, they kept their hands in place. This was their moment, their last moment together, and they would make it last as long as they could.
The looks of pain on their faces soon progressed into cries of pain, yet still they held their arms outstretched and their eyes on each other. These cries then changed to screams, as the pain increased. The tears were falling fast on both of their faces, yet both knew the tears were not from the pain. No, these were tears of grief. They were going to lose each other, and that thought alone hurt them far more than the physical pain that was coursing through their bodies.
Through his sobs and screams, Clark Kent managed to say the words Lois knew so well, yet would likely never hear again. "I love you so much, Lois"
"I'll love you always, my Smallville," Lois said through her own pain and tears.
It was their goodbye, and they both knew it. Their fingers parted, and both of them collapsed to the ground inside their cells, their pain becoming too much for them and the fate that awaited them both becoming too much for either to bear. The thought of another man, especially a man as evil and twisted as Lex, touching Lois was nearly enough to kill him right there, and the thought of what Lex's actions towards herself would do to Clark, combined with the knowledge of the end that awaited him afterwards, was nearly enough to kill Lois right there as well. Both of them left this world, going to the only place left where they could be together forever: their dreams.
Lex viewed the whole exchange with an unreadable face. No form of emotion was visible. Not anger. Not pleasure. Not hatred. Not even shock. To an outside observer, Lex would have seemed to view the whole exchange with as much interest as someone staring at the bathroom tiles. But that outside observer would have been wrong. Somewhere, deep, deep inside Luthor's very black heart, something cracked. It wasn't a large crack by any means. In fact, it was very small, much like a small crack in a car windshield after being hit by a small rock.
The small crack in Lex's heart occurred in a place that even he didn't believe existed anymore: a very small piece of humanity. It was a very small weakness, hidden away very deeply, where no one would suspect to look for it. But this crack grew larger. And larger. And larger. It was almost as if some outside force was trying to get in, as if his car had plunged beneath the water, after spinning off a bridge at sixty miles an hour, leaving him trapped inside. The water was slowly seeping in. It seemed that his death was approaching him. The crack began to expand even further. The windshield wouldn't hold that much longer. There would be no escape for him this time. The windshield then gave in, allowing the water from outside to rush in, drowning him. And in that instant, the man that was made on that fateful day died. And a new Lex was born.
A tear fell from Lex's left eye, slowly crawling its way down his cheek. Soon another fell. Then another. The tears began to flow freely now. He fell to his knees, and cupped his head with his hands. And there he stayed, for a little over an hour, a broken man. He had witnessed a love so pure and so great, that it had touched even him, the man with a heart of steel. His master plan slowly played through his head again, only this time it was not pleasure that took him by storm. It was guilt. Guilt and Shame. He had been about to break apart the greatest love the world had ever known. And all for what? Power? Revenge? What kind of a man had he become?
The tears suddenly stopped. Lex focused his mind, willing it to think clearly. He stood up, wiped his eyes dry with his shirt, and determinedly strode down the stairs to the two cages below. He pulled out a remote from his pocket, and pushed a single button. The cages deactivated and rose to the ceiling. He hurriedly rushed down to check Lois' pulse, and then Clark's. Both were weak, and seemed to be getting weaker by the moment. This was not a good sign. While he could understand that Lois might have been injured, Clark should have begun to stabilize once the Kryptonite was removed. Either way, this was not a good sign. He removed his cell phone and dialed the familiar number. It was time to fix this.
Clark awoke, even though he didn't want to. He didn't want to live anymore. Not without Lois. What Lex was going to do to her…he couldn't, he just couldn't watch. He wanted to die. He wanted to die for her, to spare her from everything. He would have gladly done so, if Lex had given him the choice. But no choice had been given. Only the truth. The truth of what was about to happen to them both. And it was too much for him to bear.
Clark focused his thoughts on Lois. He imagined her beside him, in his arms. Her head would rest beneath his chin, and the scent of her hair would fill his nostrils. Her back would rest against his chest, his arms would envelope her, and her hands would be in his. She would caress his hands with hers as she usually did, even when she was asleep. And he would listen to the slow, steady rhythm of her heartbeat, and allow himself to drift to sleep. It was so familiar, so right. They belonged together, and should be for all time. Their love had overcome so much already. If only it could overcome one more obstacle.
He heard a faint whisper. "Clark." The human ear would not have been able to hear it, but he had no human ear. It was her voice. Her magnificent voice. It always gave him strength, even now. Strength enough to open his eyes, which would dispel the vision in his mind. But it didn't. He blinked several times, and looked down again. It was Lois. She was here. With him! In their bed. Joy filled his heart, and he hugged her tightly and kissed her on the head. Tears began to fall from his eyes. Again. Only this time, they were tears of joy, not pain and loss. He didn't know how, but she was here. She was safe. She was with him.
His affections woke her, and she turned to face him, tears of surprise and joy filling her own eyes when she saw him. Lois' face moved to his, and they kissed, deeply and passionately. It was the kiss neither had ever thought they would share again. It was their kiss. And neither of them wanted it to end, fearing that reality would settle in and they would wake up from their shared dream if it ended. But for the second time in so many moments, it didn't. This was real. She was real.
Upon ending the kiss, they sat up and held each other, and cried together. Clark needed Lois, and Lois needed Clark. They had been through so much in the past day. Too much for either of them to handle on their own. And so the two to of them lent strength to the other, helping them to recover from what had happened, from what they had almost lost. He wasn't sure how things were okay, but they were. Everything was always okay when Lois was in his arms.
Through his tears, he noticed a note on the nightstand. The large 'L' on the front of it signaled to him that it was from Lex. He rose from the bed, picking up Lois in his arms. He still wasn't ready to let her go. Lois noticed it too, and she picked it up and opened it, positioning it so that both of them could read it.
If you are reading this, then my plan worked. No, not that plan. My new plan. I had an epiphany when the two of you were passed out. It is ironic that it took an act of love to break me, as it seems that has been the one thing in my life I have not ever been able to earn. I know you will not believe me when I say that I have changed, so I'm not going to tell you that. I am going to tell you that you are safe from me. Forever.
I gave LexCorp to Bruce Wayne today. Sold him my shares for pennies each, then donated what money I had left to charity. Call Bruce. He'll fill you in. And you two get the exclusive. My gift to you, although it doesn't make up for anything. I'm going to disappear for a while, although I know Superman can track me down if he wants to. If you want revenge, I wouldn't blame you. I deserve the worst after what I almost did. I just hope that the 'Truth, Justice, and the American way' that you stand for will be put aside for the mercy that I know you two are capable of.
My doctors examined both of you after you passed out. You both should have been fine, save for some outside damage. But your pulses just kept getting weaker. The doctors didn't know what was wrong. But I did. You two love each other, and the pain that you knew I was going to cause must have been too much for you to bear. I guess death is preferable to the alternative.
Lex Lex looked down at the day's headline: "Superman Helps Lex Luthor Reform, Charities Benefit, by Lois Lane Kent and Clark Kent". He smiled. This could turn out even better than he could have ever hoped for. The one thing that he wanted more than anything else in the world appeared to be a possibility. He might just be able to have the greatest thing in the world: the friendship of Lois and Clark.