Hopeful Idiot

Chapter 17: Enter Lex Luthor

+++++HOPEFUL+IDIOT+++++

Clark poked his head into his boss's office, "You wanted to see me, sir?"

The Editor in Chief was leaning back in his chair, watching a small television placed on a bookshelf. He gestured dramatically to the coverage. "Look at this! People break into a museum in the dead of night, kill two people, and what do they take?" He spun in the chair to face Clark and shoved a sheet of paper in his face. "A worthless piece of rock!"

"Well, sir, if it was in a museum it couldn't be completely worthless," Clark objected, swiftly reading the rather short report. "Would you like me to write an article about the robbery?" His mind already planning to focus more on those killed, people just doing their job, than on the meteorite theft.

Perry shook his head, holding an unlit cigar with one hand, peering almost imperiously out of his floor-to-ceiling window for a couple seconds, then looked back at Clark. "I wanted to give you some advice, Clark."

Clark straightened his spine slightly, but not much. Only enough to show he was paying attention, not enough for an observer to gauge his true height. "Well, golly, Mr. White, I'd be grateful for any advice."

Perry grimaced slightly, "I've been in this news game for over 40 years, son. I got where I am with guts, compassion, elbow grease," he paused to eye Clark significantly, "and something you're sadly lacking in."

Clark blinked, confused. He said the first thing that came to mind. "Humility?"

Mr. White snorted derisively. "Oh, not humility. You have humility in spades. Aggression!" He gestured to the window. "The world runs on confidence!" He looked back at Clark momentarily with a significantly raised eyebrow. "Girls especially like that sort of thing." He went back to the window. "If you take charge, then you let people know who you are. That you won't be pushed around! Why, when I was your age…"

A sharp piercing whine began to slowly drown out the chief editor. Clark put a finger on his ear as it steadily increased in pitch and volume. At a certain point, the volume became high enough that dogs began to howl along with it. However, Perry kept talking—not noticing Clark's behavior since he was still facing the window—oblivious to the noise. So, humans couldn't hear it.

Clark winced as the pitch rose to unbearable levels. Then it decreased for a few seconds. Long enough that he gave a small sigh of relief, but that wasn't to last. He clutched his ears again as the volume increased for several seconds, before it lowered yet again. It repeated that cycle five times before it steadied…and then Clark Kent shot fully upright in shock as he heard the whine begin to speak.

*The only thing alive with less than four legs that can hear this frequency is you, Superman,* said Lex Luthor. A voice he hadn't heard in over a decade.

Clark had often thought back to his relationship with Lex Luthor. As he learned more about psychology and grew in maturity, he understood more about what Lex had to have been going through. What life Lionel Luthor's training and manipulations had forced Lex into. How Clark's constant lying must have seemed to Lex.

Clark had wished, more than once, to have the ability to go back in time and slap his younger self into some sense and convince him to take a leap of faith. Back when Lex was doing his best to work against his father. Back when Lex was trying to be a better man than he was raised. Back when all it would have taken was simple asking and Lex would've dropped everything to help. Back before the black kryptonite.

Other than his parents, nothing else held him to Smallville. Pete had already left after keeping Clark's secret became too much. Chloe was dead. Lana off to Paris for her art.

Lex had been Clark's only friend in those last months of his senior year, but it had been shaky at best, what with Lionel's manipulations, and even that ended after the black kryptonite incident killed a piece of his friend, leaving behind a version of Lex that Clark didn't recognize. And after weeks of trying, Clark had to admit he couldn't fix it. The part of Lex that had been Clark Kent's friend no longer existed, and it was at least partially Clark's fault. It was the last straw, finally convincing Clark to take up the A.I.'s offer.

Clark then spent 10 years learning at the Fortress. He became Superman. Met Lois when she single-mindedly barreled through military forces to the crashed Kryptonian ship in the artic (completely separate from his Fortress). Then General Zod came to Earth. Clark joined The Daily Planet, using the Fortress to forge the documentation necessary; partly due to Lois and partly because of the opportunity to hear about large events (that Superman could then help resolve). And then he met Hope.

Though his life was drastically different, and for the most part he wouldn't change much, he still had to wonder 'what if' when it came to Lex. If only he had known back then…

Lex's voice through the sub-audible frequency jerked Clark out of his reminiscing. *In approximately fifteen minutes, a concentrated liquid form of ricin will be released into this city's main water supply. Conservative estimates put the death toll at 23% in the first two hours, 67% in the first eight hours, and 98% after twenty-four hours. After all, most people bathe or shower once a day, as well as using the toilet several times during a day. Not to mention the ordinary domestic usage of water: cooking, drinking, watering the lawn, et cetera. Ricin inhalation is just as deadly as if its consumed.*

Clark blanched the more Lex spoke. As a reporter, he was aware of some of the more deadly substances Earth naturally produced, and methods in which terrorists could possibly use them. While Luthor was correct in theory, in reality the threat would only last between 2-4 hours before people figured out the source of the problem and shut off the water main. However, that reality still killed over 30% of Metropolis.

Clark left Perry talking to the window, slipping out of the office unseen, all his focus on Lex as Clark made his way to stairwell. His hands shook with the necessity to go human-slow while wanting to speed off as fast as he was able.

*I know that this seems all a bit much for a simple introduction, but how else would I get your full attention, Superman? It wasn't as if you would have accepted an invitation to tea. But a disaster? People in imminent danger? Danger which only you can prevent? Well, I just knew that you wouldn't be able to resist.*

Once he was out of view of everyone in the building and out of camera range, Clark sped to the roof, still listening to Luthor.

*Because you see Superman, I find your very existence offensive.*

Clark changed into his Superman persona while simultaneously flying off the roof, using his hearing to find the location of the frequency transmitter. He knew he was playing right into Lex's plans, but Clark couldn't think of a way out of it. Luthor's didn't bluff, especially Lex. Clark had no doubt that if he didn't show up, Lex would do as he said and thousands of people would die.

*Now, don't get me wrong. I don't find Kryptonians offensive in the least. In fact, your species is quite fascinating. I practically go weak-kneed at the idea of getting my hands on your no doubt extensive knowledge. No, Superman, I find YOU offensive.*

Clark registered as people saw him flying and pointed, trying to wave and get his attention, but Clark ignored them—he knew he may have to deal with the public outcry of this rudeness later, but that would be after he had saved the city—and pinpointed the approximate location. He hovered above it, glaring straight down at it.

*You are offensive to the human race! Doing for them what they could do for themselves.*

He would have to destroy the street and everything beneath (water, gas, sewage, electrical, subway) to get to it directly. Instead, he would be forced to find a way around. Slowing him down. Which of course Lex knew.

*You are forcing them to disregard their own abilities. Making them say 'oh, Superman will help me!' without thinking that they could help themselves. You are raising a generation dependent upon YOU!*

Liberally using his x-ray vision to find an alternate route, Clark shot off to a manhole cover only 650 feet away. He caught the cover, jumped down and recovered the hole (for it was a street and people were driving on it when they weren't gawking at him) with barely a thought.

*You to save them from a plane crash, a blazing fire, or a robbery. You to hold their hand to cross the street. To save them from their own stupidity! As if they could do nothing to prevent the set of events or to protect themselves!*

He landed in a service tunnel lined with pipes to who knew what, many labeled with stickers announcing their toxicity (only one) and heat (over half), as well as which direction the substances inside were travelling. He disregarded them all and headed for the transmitter.

*They are completely ignoring the policemen and the firemen who rush to save them regardless of their own personal danger. Danger which you are not subject to! They ignore the sacrifices of the doctors and nurses who put them back together.*

Halfway down the tunnel, Superman stopped as a slight whirring noise alerted him to several gun turrets appearing out of their hidden locations. Another small adjustment to his sight let him see the turrets laser pointer guidance system; which he then put up his hands to allow the rapid-fire hollow-point armor-piercing rounds to hit solidly and drop to the floor, rather than ricochet and hit one of the many pipes around him, possibly doing more harm than he knew. The turrets ran out of ammunition and he kept going.

Throughout all this, Lex continued. *So then, Superman, I want to destroy you. However, I can't do that in the normal manner, can I? Bullets simply bounce off your impressive muscles.* A pause. *Have you thought of how much you are flaunting your physical prowess with that outfit? I wonder how many females are dreaming of you instead of their husbands. Perhaps the population increase will drop with you out there as an unobtainable female enticement.*

Another whir of sound and Superman stopped, crouching slightly on instinct as flamethrowers covered his cape with napalm and lit it. He waited until their containers were empty before using his super-breath and cold to rid the area of oxygen long enough for the fires to go out. Napalm fires were no joke and the surrounding pipes were full of unknown contents, many of which may not react well to such a blaze. Clark made a mental note to inform the local firemen about the substance so that the remaining napalm could be safely cleaned.

*Fire obviously won't work, regardless of temperature. I wonder if you could withstand the earth's core, Superman?* Another pause. *A thought for another time. For now, shall we try reaching absolute zero? Kelvin of course.*

As Lex spoke, Superman managed to reach an odd cylindrical compartment with a walkway over an abyss. Obviously trying to trap him and keep him in a specific placement for whatever Lex had thought of next. On cue to Luthor's words, strong blasts of frigid air, colder than he had ever experienced (including the vacuum of space and the arctic mid-winter) covered his entire frame. For several long seconds, Superman was forced in place due to the shock to his system. With no mental preparation, the surprise froze him. However, his mind was still perfectly active (if slower due to the temperature) and he was able to switch his gaze to heat while increasing his internal body temperature to crack the ice, shake it off, and walk out.

*So difficult to get a biological sample, or I would have a chemical restraint for you to test as well.* An audible sigh. *You do seem to be unkillable, don't you Superman? You test my ingenuity!*

Next it seemed that Lex was only hiding behind a rather thick shield of a blend of metallic alloys. Three doors to be precise. Superman internally rolled his eyes and punched his hand through the middle of the first, then peeled back the tears until it was large enough for him to fit through.

*Which is, of course, certainly not a bad thing. Unfortunately, there is only one me. The human race as a whole do not find enjoyment exercising their cranial capacity.*

Another door, of a different metal. This one incredibly more dense than the first.

*Rather, they are simply living their lives day to day. One after another with no thought of the future. Of the danger. They look at you as a savior, never realizing the truth.*

Clark finally got through the last layer of armor, and then was confronted with a strangely wooden door with a doorknob he politely used, and stepped through. "What truth is that?" He walked into what looked like Lex Luthor's personal study, complete with Brobdingnagian desk, a wall of monitors, and shelves upon shelves of very old, very expensive books across a wide range of subjects. Just looking at it brought back memories of simpler times.

"That you are a CRUTCH! An impediment to their very nature! A psychological hindrance, obstructing their ability see their own potential. Their own possibility! You are encouraging a state of learned helplessness and it disgusts me."

Superman glared. "Is this what a warped brain like yours finds entertainment? By planning the deaths of thousands of innocent people?" How had his friend fallen so far?

Lex smirked, "Certainly not. By actually killing thousands of innocent people." He flicked a switch and one of the monitor screens blazed to life. "I knew that if you could go through burning buildings without incident and could survive the vacuum of space with nary a cold, that my ability to kill you would be greatly hindered without biological analysis."

The monitor reflected as an underground missile silo was uncovered, dust raining down on the rather large rocket contained within.

"However, there is one sure-fire way to destroy you," Lex grinned at Superman confidently, "and that is through your inaction of a tragedy." He flipped over a lid of a box by his side that Superman hadn't previously noticed (his attention on the screen and Lex). Inside lay a glowing green crystal on a heavy chain.

Instantaneously, Superman felt the effects of Kryptonite on his system. Weakness. Lethargy. Nausea. His vision began to blur around the edges and he fell to one knee.

Lex's smile became almost wistful as he crossed the room and knelt beside his once-friend, putting the necklace around Superman. Watching as Superman cried out softly in pain and fell backward in a futile attempt to get away from the stone, Kryptonite held on his chest by gravity. "Making you a martyr is counter-productive, but making you choose? Forcing you to watch, then letting the world know of your choices? Oh yes, that will work just fine. They'll hang you like a scarecrow."

Superman looked at what had once been his friend. "You remember." He used what strength he had to turn. Not much, just enough for the meteorite to no longer have direct skin contact.

"Of course I remember, Clark." Lex shook his head. "I was missing almost 4 months of memories after Lionel put me into Belle Reeve. I put a great deal of time, effort, and money into developing a way to regain what I had lost. It took 17 months, but I finally succeeded. When I did, you were already gone and your mother refused to say when you would be back. After five years, I convinced myself that you had gone off to see your former planet for yourself and possibly wouldn't be back in my lifetime. After eight years, I thought you may have died from some unknown cause. Cue my surprise when 'Superman' claimed the sky." He raised his eyebrows. "Having known you, it didn't take my considerable intelligence to connect Clark Kent to Superman. It wasn't as if you went out of your way to come up with a clever disguise."

Superman closed his eyes in despair. "My mother…" he whispered.

"Oh, don't worry, Clark. I have no plans for Martha. She's inconsequential in comparison to the real prize: you." Lex lowered his head to a more comfortable position, gazing at Superman with a peculiar expression; almost sad, almost regretful. "I don't lie to you, Clark. I never have." He paused. "That includes today." He gestured with his chin to the monitor. "Superman is a hinderance to the human race as a whole and I have to get rid of him. That is a tactical low-yield nuclear weapon set for the coordinates of the San Andreas Fault. Or, more accurately, approximately 1.182 miles beneath it. The result should be a cascading ripple effect along the Fault, 9.3 or higher on the Richter scale. The devastation will be catastrophic."

"Why?" Clark whispered, feeling despair unlike he'd felt in a long time. "Lex, why?"

"I can't make Superman a martyr. But if I could perhaps make Superman bleed? Not physically, for that is short-lived—a limited number of people would see it; limited number would believe it—but if I can puncture that solid reputation of yours, that is even better than injuring you. I need to shake their absolute belief in you, Superman. I have to make them doubt. Otherwise, the human race will wither, stagnate and die within three generations."

Clark felt a tear slide down his cheek as he was forced to watch, exactly as Lex designed, as the warhead went down beneath the California desert. Warheads either detonated on impact or were detonated prior to impact. Lex had to pre-drill the hole necessary to accomplish his goal. Otherwise the nuclear blast would have impacted on the surface and the force of the blast would be outward, and not down as Lex wanted.

As it was, Clark had no doubt that Lex had thought of everything needed to get his desired result. The monitor flashed a pure white as the bomb went off. Clark made a small noise of despair.

A red light began to flash. Lex smiled. "Ah, and there goes the ricin." He saw Clark's expression and the smile widened. "I didn't say that it wouldn't go into the water supply if you came, after all Clark. I said in approximately fifteen minutes, it would go into the water supply. Not 'if'."

"God, Lex, why?!"

Lex actually looked regretful. "Because you have to choose, Superman. No matter what you chose, it had to go badly. For the good of all." He reached down and gently tugged off the Kryptonite necklace. "If you can make God bleed, people will cease to believe in Him." He placed the meteorite in the same lead box as before and closed the lid.

It took Clark several seconds to get his feet back under him and regain his strength. "What happened, Lex, to make you become…this?"

Lex Luthor looked back at his old friend and felt something akin to depression. For in front of him was his salvation and his downfall, all contained in one red-yellow-blue ridiculous outfit. "You." It was the only answer he had to give. The day he ran over Clark with his car was the best and worst day of his life…he just hadn't known it at the time. If he had, Lex would've ensured it never occurred.

"I'll be back, Luthor," Superman promised darkly. Then he shot off as fast as he dared, back down the tunnel the way he'd come, careful not to go so fast as to rupture any of the pipes. He still didn't know what was in them or what damaging them would do.

Lex nodded. "I have no doubt of that, Superman. I have no doubt of that."

+++++HOPEFUL+IDIOT+++++

Superman's first stop was Metropolis' water main. It was the closest to his position. He located the release mechanism, saw that it plainly said RICIN, and left it out where the next serviceman would easily see. He used his heat vision to weld the water main into 'OFF' and flew off again, towards California. It would take them hours to find out why the water was cut, then hours longer to attempt to rectify a solution to turn it back on. Superman would be back by then and could hopefully help filter it all. Or possibly drain it fully, then refill the reservoir at worst.

His hearing was straining at its highest receptibility as he flew. It was how he heard the loud cracking of a lot of concrete. A dam breaking. By the time he reached it, it was already beginning to come down. He raced as fast as lightning itself to use his heat vision, melt the concrete at the edges, then blew cold on it to solidify it as quickly as possible. It was only a stop-gap fix-it measure, but the town in the valley below would be saved until professionals could come.

Fortunately, every building in California and beyond were certified to withstand strong earthquakes. Once the first notification went off, people were trained on how to react during an earthquake and did as they were instructed since childhood.

Superman therefore had only to worry about the people outside. Which, unfortunately, were quite a few. Several raised highways cracked, broke and fell. Bridges tore. Cars fell into the crevasse that was now going to be a permanent fixture of the west coast.

Suddenly, he heard a sound that he couldn't at first identify. It was a sharp, piercing whistle; forceful and demanding. It was designed to get his immediate attention, but it was on a different frequency than Lex's…not a human frequency. It took a precious three seconds for him to understand that it was Hope's distress signal.

Three seconds to remember that Hope had been in the California desert on Lois' latest investigative article. An article about a dam possibly making cuts detrimental to safety.

"Rao, Hope!"

He shot off at the same time that the distress beacon began to pulse through his mind. He pushed himself faster than he had ever done so before, but he was hundreds of miles away. It took 63 precious seconds to get to the source of the broadcast. "Hope! HOPE!" he yelled.

"Here!" Lois' voice came immediately.

He pinpointed that Lois' voice came from under a pile of debris that could only be the remains of an old building. In front he saw what remained of a vehicle, half buried in the crevasse.

Using his x-ray vision and massive strength, he located which pieces he could pull and toss with reckless abandon and which were load bearing and which were holding the two women in place. "Lois!" Why wasn't Hope answering him? His guts twisted in dread.

"Clark! Here!" Lois shouted.

He got the final piece out of the way and immediately scanned them both. Lois had a split fracture of her left femur, cracked right pisiform, triquetrum, lunate, and cracked ulna, plus two cracked ribs. Then he shifted his vision to Hope and he blanched.

She was painfully pale from blood loss. Some glass had fallen on her, cutting her scalp rather badly, but it was the piece still lodged in her side that was the most worrisome. It had pierced her right lung and was dangerously close to her heart. She also had her share of broken bones, but it was the blood loss and that piece of glass that were endangering her life.

He looked up at Lois and wondered how to carry them both with them being so injured that they couldn't hold onto him.

Lois however, came to the rescue. "I'm fine. Take Hope, get her stable, and then come back for me."

"Thank you," he told her sincerely.

"I expect an awesome birthday present for this." She was joking and they both knew it, but he appreciated her attempt at levity.

He pulled off his cape, wrapped his Hope with it to shield her from the winds, then pulled her into his arms bridal style, and flew off as fast as he was able to his Fortress.

Almost before he was inside, he was shouting. "Medical emergency! Kryptonia-Human hybrid!"

The A.I. Jor-El flickered into existence even as a section of the medical wall was extending. "Put her in the capsule, my son. Was she given anything?"

"Lois probably used something, but I didn't think to ask." Clark finished laying Hope on the pallet and stepped back as the lid slid shut, went opaque, and the medical equipment went to work. "I have to go back. Will Hope…?" he couldn't even verbalize the question.

Jor-El nodded simply. "Your mate was found in plenty of time. She will be back to fully functional capabilities in 2.53 hours."

"So long?" Clark felt sick.

The A.I. raised an eyebrow. "It will take two hours to knit the six bones she has broken. If she were still human, the circumstances would be vastly different." He nodded decisively toward the entrance/exit. "Go, my son. I will ensure the safety of your mate until your return."

Clark nodded, feeling his body relax slightly. "Thank you, Father. For everything." And he flew back off to continue helping those trapped in wreckage by the devastating earthquake. It would be a long time before he questioned the A.I. on a 'mate' issue. Jor-El had been evasive, but his intention had been clear: if Hope had still been fully human, she would be dead.

Clark didn't know what he would do in such a situation. He had a feeling he wouldn't have been able to prevent himself from doing something unforgivable.

Even so, Clark felt the urge to do something horrible to Lex Luthor, for his actions had cost 1,853 people their lives. 97 people in Metropolis from the ricin before he'd managed to turn off the water main, the rest from the effects of the earthquake. Hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.

+++++HOPEFUL+IDIOT+++++

For his part, Lex Luthor watched the news broadcasts and quietly began to fume. The earthquake was deemed as an Act of God and the insurance companies paid. The ricin had been shut off so quickly that barely anyone noticed. The ones that did called it an act of terrorism, but expounded on Superman's quick thinking that saved the city as a whole.

Since Superman was seen as both saving those trapped and then working to rebuild, his reputation remained as squeaky white as ever.

Lex acknowledged he'd have to change tactics if he was going to ruin Superman. He reached over and pressed a button that automatically rewound and began to once again play a segment of footage. A satellite had been tracking Superman's movements and Lex saw the moment that Superman paused, his lips moving in only two words, before shooting off in the exact opposite direction to his original course. A lip-reading program was pulled forward and Lex raised his eyebrows at the words.

'Rao' was a Kryptonian expletive as far as Lex could guess. But 'hope'? That was quite specific. And based on where the cameras found him next, Hope wasn't a word, but a person. A very specific person. One that was significant to Superman.

He zoomed in on the two dirty redheads barely seen among rubble, but the image pixelated before he could see any detail. However, he had people for such things, didn't he?

It was by pure accident that he picked up a particular cup. A cup with a small residue of ricin. He was convulsing and dead within five minutes of consumption.

Which put an entirely new set of contingency plans into motion when Mercy Graves found him upon delivery of his dinner…

Lex Luthor was dead.

Long live Lex Luthor.

+++++HOPEFUL+IDIOT+++++

Finished: 9.28.2020 Wordcount: 4735

Okay, I decided to toss out a lot of stuff from the Smallville 'verse. Basically, only keeping the broadest of strokes for seasons 1-4. Most does not occur. It's all I could think of that would semi make this work with the other movie sets.

Please tell me what you think, but constructive criticism please. I know it's not perfect. No beta, all mistakes are mine. Just needed a bit of a pick-me-up before tackling the next stack of paperwork. ^_^ What do you think of my version of Lex?