Chapter 12 - Internship

Lex expected to wait at least a month before he saw Clark again. The last thing he was expecting was for Clark to enter his study the next afternoon.

Lex didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but he couldn't resist asking, "What, you sneak out?"

"I'm not grounded." Clark plunked down on one of the leather couches as Lex made his way over from the desk. "Mom talked my dad out of it, since I saved Earl's life."

"And mine."

"Yeah, but I think that part might have actually worked against me." Clark smiled wryly.

Lex sat down on the couch across from his friend. "Does your dad know you're here?"

"He'll kill me if he finds out."

A mix of emotion flooded through Lex. On the one hand, it was discouraging to have it confirmed that there was nothing he was going to be able to do to win Jonathan's favor. It was also frustrating to know that he was getting in the way of Clark's relationship with his parents. At the same time, it was incredibly validating to know that Clark wanted to be his friend enough to face the risks. "It's good to have you back, Clark. Thank your mom for me."

Clark shrugged. "She got me out of the grounding, but I think she'd still tell my dad if she knew we were hanging out."

"Your parents are good people, Clark."

"I know, but . . . why do they hate you so much?"

"They know my father. They're just trying to protect you."

"Well, they could be a little less protective."

Lex felt his jaw clenching. "I think you should be thankful."

Clark scoffed. "Your mom ever nag you?"

"She's dead, Clark."

His face turned pale. "Lex, I'm sorry—"

"It's okay. It was a long time ago, I was thirteen. And to answer your question—no, she wasn't exactly the fierce protector type. Years of marriage to a Luthor had taken their toll on her. My nanny, though." Lex chuckled and smiled to himself, remembering the way Pamela used to chide him to eat more and dress in warmer clothes. He missed her as much as he missed his mom.

Clark squirmed. "I—I didn't mean to—"

"It's really okay, Clark."

There was a long, awkward pause—Lex wished he hadn't brought any of it up—but then Clark asked, "Have you heard anything about how Earl's doing?"

"He's in the hospital. I spoke to him this morning and told him there were residual airborne hallucinogens from the experiments in Level 3 that might have caused him to see strange things before he passed out."

"So you lied to him?"

"It was kinder than letting him think he was going insane. Or would you have preferred I told him the truth?"

Clark winced, but Lex was confident he'd made the right call on this one. It was the best way to protect Clark.

"So," Lex said, "what's new with you?"

"Oh! I've been wanting to tell you . . ." He glanced back at Lex's desk, squinted for a second, then looked back at Lex. "That's weird, you keep your desk almost empty. A few file folders, one marked 'Earl Jenkins.' A little bit of cash. And you've still got that lead box—I'm guessing it has Lana's necklace?"

Confusion and a bit of fear gripped Lex. "Did you break in here earlier?"

"No. I have X-Ray vision now."

Lex swallowed hard. He didn't want Clark to think he had things to hide, but he ran a plant with over two thousand employees, and the mansion stored personal employee information as well as trade secrets. "That's . . . that's incredible, Clark, but uh, can you control it?"

Clark frowned. "Yes. Why?"

"I, ah . . . I'd appreciate if you ask before looking through my things . . ."

"Oh! Sorry." Clark shifted a little in his seat.

It was quiet, and for a moment, Lex worried he might have offended his younger friend. It had never occurred to him before that he really wasn't sure how to talk to teenagers. He tried again. "X Ray vision. That's amazing. How did you realize you had it?"

Clark perked up. "Actually, it was when I was watching your doppelgänger rob that bank. He—uh, she—had a . . . green skeleton."

Lex blinked, but found he had lost the ability to be truly surprised. "Meteor rock?"

"Yeah. That's why she could throw me."

"Right." The police reports had mentioned that. "Sorry."

Clark shrugged. "Didn't hurt. I used the x-ray vision last night, too, by the way. To find the elevator to Level 3."

"That explains a lot."

Clark nodded, then he looked Lex right in the eyes. "Thanks again for going into the plant last night."

"Again, you saved my life."

"But you saved Chloe, and Pete, and Lana . . . "

Lex shrugged. "Taking care of that plant was my responsibility. Helping me wasn't yours."

"I'm just glad I was able to do anything, with the traces of meteor rock in Earl's skin."

Lex didn't like to think about what would have happened if Earl had been infected by a higher concentration of the meteor rocks. Clark might not have been able to knock him out, and he might have still shot Lex, or his seizure might have destroyed the catwalk, or he might have continued to try to hold Lex hostage for more information from Lex's father—information he'd never receive.

The look on Clark's face was as though he was worried about the same thing. "Um, Lex . . . I was wondering if you could help me with something."

"Sure. What do you need?"

"I want help figuring out what I can do. My dad said he was okay with me running off to save people if I feel like I need to, but he also said I was kind of too young to be making tough calls."

"Okay . . ." Lex wasn't sure if he was the best source of wisdom, but he was willing to hear out the full request.

"Yesterday, I went into that plant blind. And I'd do it again if I had to, but I'd love to have a better idea of what I'm up against. I know the meteor rock makes me sick, and I know it doesn't bother me if it's surrounded by lead, but I don't know . . . like, how close it has to be to affect me. Or how much there has to be."

Lex nodded slowly. "You want to experiment with it?"

Clark shifted forward in his seat a little. "I want to know more about my abilities and my weaknesses. Do you have access to science equipment?"

Lex didn't, not currently, and he couldn't get access without spending a fair amount of money. Of course, what was the point of having money if not to take advantage of opportunities like this? Still, Lex wasn't quite comfortable with what Clark was asking for. "Clark, remind me why your dad's so nervous about people finding out your secret."

"He doesn't want scientists to—" Clark sighed. "Experiment on me."

Lex's brow furrowed. "You realize you're asking me to experiment on you."

"It's different. I know you won't hurt me."

"I will. For whatever reason, those meteor rocks are your weakness. Experimenting with them will be painful for you, there's no avoiding that."

Clark winced. "But you're not gonna take advantage of me or try to do anything I'm not okay with."

"How do you know?"

"I trust you."

"How do you know you can trust me?"

"I'm a good judge of character."

That wasn't good enough for Lex. He needed to know that Clark would be more discerning when it came to trusting people. "You haven't known me for long, Clark, and I've got my father's blood running through my veins. He would have let all of your friends die last night."

"And you saved them."

It was quiet for a moment, then ideas started running through Lex's mind. He didn't want to admit that some part of him had wanted to do this with Clark since he'd first met him. Though he worked in business, he was a scientist at heart—curiosity drove him. Of course, Lex wouldn't have pushed Clark into doing anything he wasn't comfortable with, but now that Clark had asked for it . . . "Okay. But I'm not bringing in an outside scientist."

"Of course not."

"I'll start working on systematizing the experiments. They might take a little time to perform."

"That's okay."

Lex stood and began to pace. "You're gonna need a better cover story."

Clark frowned. "What did you have in mind?"

Lex grinned. "I'd like to offer you a job."

Clark sat quietly throughout most of dinner that night, letting his parents do most of the talking. He really, really didn't like lying to his parents, but his dad hadn't given him much choice.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" his mom asked after he'd been completely silent for a few minutes.

"Yeah," Clark said. "Just, uh . . . I wanted to ask you guys about something."

"What's on your mind, son?" His dad put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Um . . . I didn't tell you before, because I didn't think I was going to get in, but I applied for an internship, and . . . I got it."

His dad blinked and let go of his arm, and his parents exchanged a look. "An internship?" his dad asked.

"Yeah." Clark swallowed. "At Cadmus Labs. They're based out of Metropolis, but they're opening a branch just outside of Smallville, and they were looking for student interns, and, uh . . . ever since I found out where I came from, I've been really interested in knowing more about science, so I applied, and I guess my grades were good enough." Lex had made him rehearse the speech over and over again. It wasn't coming out exactly the way he had practiced it, but he hoped it still sounded convincing enough.

His dad's eyebrows raised. "Well, that's terrific. But, uh—"

"They want me to come in for a few hours after school on Mondays and Wednesdays, starting tomorrow. I'll still make sure to get all my chores and homework done."

His dad nodded. "Would this be for school credit?"

"Uh, no, but it's paid." The hourly rate negotiations had been weird—Clark had actually had to talk Lex down, from forty an hour to twenty. Lex had agreed, on the condition that he was going to make sure Clark was awarded a full ride to whatever college or university he wanted to attend.

"Wow. That's great." Clark's dad put a hand on his arm. "I'm proud of you, son."

"Thanks, Dad." Clark smiled.

They'd bought it. He was free.