The sharp knock at the door startled Clark awake, and he felt Chloe jump beside him. "Oh gosh," she whispered sharply, startled and slightly afraid. "Who is it?"
Clark leaned up on one elbow, squinting his eyes at the door. "Lex," he muttered. "Where are my pants?" he asked, not even to Chloe in particular. He looked up at the ceiling as if he just expected them to drop out of the sky.
"Heh, you're guess is as good as mine," she said with a slight laugh. "You were the one who threw them."
"You stripped them off and then proceeded to make my brain short-circuit," he hissed back. "I can't be held accountable for my lack of thought during sex."
She smiled devilishly. "Uhuh."
"Uh, just a mintue, Lex!" Clark called. "Damn it, where are my pants!"
Annoyed, he leaned down off the bed and peaked underneath it. His pants were there, as were his boxers. Who knew how they'd even gotten there.
After putting on his clothes he went, grumbling slightly, to answer the door. "What the hell do you want?" he growled when he opened it.
Lex raised an eyebrow. "I'd like you and Chloe to come to the lab with me."
"Give us a second," he requested dryly.
"Something wrong, Clark?" Lex asked with a smirk. "Is it related to why you're wearing only boxers and why it took you so long to answer the door?"
"I hate it when you know too much," Clark grumbled. "Just a second," he muttered, turning back into the room and shutting the door.
"What was that?" Chloe immediately asked from her position on the bed.
"Lex wants us to come to the lab."
She groaned, turned over, and buried her face in her pillow. "Can't he just go away for now?"
"That's not in his emotional lexicon. Lex never leaves things alone; it's not who he is." He began to move about the room, picking up Chloe's discarded clothing and finally returning to the bed to drop it on her. "Is sex really more important than freeing millions of people?"
She groaned again, but this time turned over and pulled various articles of the clothing on. "Maybe," she muttered grudgingly.
Clark snorted softly while in the midst of putting his shirt on. He loved Chloe, and it was cracks like that that reminded him why. "C'mon," he said with a soft laugh.
She mumbled something inaudible under her breath, but nodded and climbed off the bed to follow him to the door. Lex was still waiting when they got outside. Clark could see the amusement on his face, but he'd expected that. Lex still seemed to be amused by anything that could mean Clark wasn't completely innocent.
"Something funny?" Chloe asked seriously, facial expressions issuing a challenge. Clark knew it was because she had so much pent up emotion and was simply looking for a vent, but it still didn't fail to be amusing and slightly absurd at the same time.
Lex's eyes danced, his amusement increasing at the sight of an agitated Chloe. "Something wrong, Chloe?"
"No," she muttered fiercely under her breath. "Nothing."
Lex shrugged and looked back at Clark. "Anyway, I've got the serum to destroy the aliens ready, but the antidote is still posing a problem."
Clark sighed and ran a hand through his hair. There was no sound save for that and their footsteps echoing on the floors.
"It's not your fault, Clark," Lex soothed.
"I can't hold this back," he said, almost to himself, with a shake of his head. "That's not fair."
"So you're telling us to release a virus that could kill you?" Chloe asked incredulously. Clark could see the lines of wrinkles on her forehead as her brows furrowed in disbelief. He never would have believe that he could find even that sexy.
"I-I don't know," he replied honestly as Lex stopped at a door and ushered them inside.
"Well, I'm telling you that I won't do it," Lex said simply. "Welcome to the lab," he said as means of an introduction, waving his arm in an encompassing sweep.
It was small, but very adequate. In fact, the whole complex was small enough that it would be hard to find. Just because the lab was small didn't mean it wasn't well furnished, though. Lex had really put his wealth to work and done a bang-up job this time, Clark thought to himself. Whatever they needed, this lab probably had it.
That didn't ease Clark's feelings of unease at all, though. He'd never really liked labs, and this wasn't an exception. When Chloe's hand pressed into his he knew that she understood how he felt. He thanked God for her, because he was really feeling kind of nervous.
Lex knew how he felt too, and was watching him carefully. "How's your arm, by the way?"
Clark shrugged slightly. He'd taken the brace off a little while ago since his powers had returned. "Perfect," he replied truthfully.
Lex nodded. "Good. Anyway, I've been working down here on the serum for at least two years, but I finally got it right a short time ago."
"And who did you test it on?" Clark asked darkly. He could only imagine the various means of testing that Lex had done.
"A random alien that I caught and brought down here. As you're suggesting that we wipe them all out that shouldn't be too much of a violation to your moral code."
Clark thought he sensed a slight insult in that. No, he knew he did. "Do you have a problem with my moral code?"
Lex only sighed and pinched the bride of his nose. Clark knew it to be a sure sign of stress. "Never, Clark. But as I was saying, I've developed a serum I'm sure will work. I've also developed an antidote, but I'm not sure that will work."
"You're not sure?" Chloe shot, joining in the conversation. "Then why don't you test it?"
She said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and Clark was very tempted to laugh.
"And how do I do that, Chloe?" he inquired, his voice frustrated.
"Get an alien," she suggested in an exaggeratedly blatant manner. "Inject it with the antidote. See if it gets killed when exposed."
"And to do that I'd have to go back above ground to get one. Then I'd have to cause a stir when it goes missing."
She sighed and leaned back against the wall of the lab. "Then what do you have for a plan?"
He shrugged, and Clark was at first at a loss as to what emotion was playing over Lex's face. It took him a little while to realize it was the emotion that was incited when you realized you didn't have a viable option. It certainly wasn't an emotion Lex displayed much, for he was known for creating options when he didn't have any.
Clark sighed. "You could always use me."
Lex looked at him like he was nuts. "Yeah, Clark, and if the antidote isn't successful then I can watch you die while I'm at it."
Clark sighed again and stared down at the floor, willing himself not to shout at Lex or do something else he'd regret. "You don't have a better plan."
"No plan is better than that," he retorted defiantly, his tone leaving no room for disagreement.
Clark was about to offer a scathing retort to that, but Chloe interrupted him. "He's right, Clark," she said softly.
So, everyone had apparently ganged up on him. Just lovely. "I could go get an alien for you to experiment on."
"No," Lex immediately replied. "Lana has probably informed them about your aversion to meteor rock."
Clark felt like screaming. What was the good of having powers if you couldn't use them?
"Then what do we do, Lex?"
"You let me worry about it."
"I'm not fifteen anymore," Clark growled through clenched teeth. "Don't treat me like that kid you knew in Smallville."
Lex smiled at him softly, and Clark had the impression that Lex was remembering all the times that he'd been that kid—so young and naive. From the expression on Lex's face, no matter how well hidden to just about anyone but Clark, Clark got the impression that Lex missed that boy. Was it possible that he regretted that Clark had lost that innocence, even if he'd still retained his goodness?
"I'm not, Clark," Lex said finally, absentmindedly scratching at his left arm. "Now go get some sleep while I figure this thing out."
Clark knew when he'd been dismissed, so he gently grabbed Chloe's hand and headed from the room. Some sleep sounded good anyway.
-------------------------------------
"I guess even aliens need to sleep."
Clark wondered why Lex could never just seem to shake him gently awake like most people. Why did he always feel the need to offer some random statement?
"You already knew that," he mumbled from where his face was still in the pillow.
"I did have you followed for the good part of five years," Lex replied, and Clark saw his shrug when he opened his eyes. "Of course, you did an annoyingly good job of getting them off your trail so I don't know nearly as much about you as I could."
"Emm, good to know," he muttered, sitting up. A quick glance around showed him that Chloe was gone. "Where's Chloe?"
"Getting something to eat. She originally waited for you to wake up, but hunger waits for no man."
"How's the antidote going?"
Lex sighed. "I've gone over and over the formulas for the antidote, and as far as I can tell nothing is wrong. But if I've made a mistake..."
Clark could hear the pure worry in his voice. It made him more than just a little sympathetic. Had he always been such a burden to those he cared about? "Any news on the search for you?"
Lex chuckled softly. "Our favorite small-town princess has been feeding them annoyingly personal information about me. It seems I haven't changed my habits enough since I've been in Smallville. You, on the other hand..."
"Is that a compliment or your outward show of regret?" he asked tiredly as he pulled a shirt on.
"A little of both," Lex said with a small shrug. "You had to grow up too fast."
That was definitely regret, pure and simple. Clark had never thought he'd see the day when Lex Luthor would be that easy to read. Apparently he just brought out the most vulnerable bits in him. "We all had to make sacrifices, Lex. Chicago was proof of that. We knew we were going to take hits, but we also knew that it would deal some vicious blows to the empire. And it did."
"Was it worth it in the end? Especially having paid with Lois's life?"
"I...don't know," he admitted honestly. "That was a hard thing. And Pete-" For the first time he found himself examining Pete's death. The emotions that he'd built a damn against slowly began to seep forward until they entirely broke through the emotional levees. "I miss him, Lex. He was my best friend for those five years. Well, Lana was too, but I don't think she really was."
"You'll never stop missing your friends, Clark," Lex said gently, sitting down on the bed next to him. "I can't promise you that."
"He died for a good cause. That's what he wanted to die for. We both knew it could have happened. It could have just as easily happened to me. It almost did." The last sentence was said almost wistfully, as if he were lost in memory.
"You know how much it hurts you to have lost Pete?" Lex asked after a moment. Clark merely nodded. It did hurt; it hurt a lot. Lex looked at Clark, his eyes piercing into him. "Then you understand what it's like to loose someone you care about. That's why I won't take a chance with that antidote. The possible sacrifice of your life wouldn't be worth it to me."
Clark could only sigh. Why did it feel like things were always his fault?
