"Esteemed progenitor by adoption,
"In receipt of your missive, I am reminded of an anecdote you were once kind enough to share with me, one which vividly and memorably described the response of Caterina Sforza to the taking of her sole offspring as hostages." As much as Clark liked the thought of showing Lionel that he wasn't the only one who could be pompous, he didn't want to be *too* provoking. Also, if he was remembering the story right, Caterina Sforza had flashed the opposing army, and he couldn't quite see himself making an appearance outside the windows of LexCorp with...no, while he could imagine himself doing it, he couldn't *see* himself doing it.
He folded the paper into an airplane, tossed it in an elaborate spiral, and incincerated it before it hit the ground. Recycling, he'd decided, just wasn't going to put him in a better mood and he was trying hard to keep from worrying. Lex *hadn't* betrayed them, he was probably playing pool right then, and the League would rescue him. They owed it to him, after thinking he had betrayed them. Probably Lex would even be a bit pissy about it, if he'd just had a good break when they swooped in or was in the middle of a cup of coffee or something.
Maybe he'd even wait until he could talk to all of them before answering Dad's letter. But then, maybe he'd better let Dad know that he'd gotten the letter and was going to cooperate. At least until Lex was out. He tapped his pen on the table, the taste of ink still in his mouth serving as reminder that chewing on a pen when he was kind of shaken wasn't a good idea. The problem was that all his other drafts had either gone too heavily on letting Dad know that he'd play along and not been very annoying at all, or they'd been too heavy on the annoying side. The one that just read, "Dear Dad, Got it. Fine. Whatever. Hi to Lex. See you," for example.
Mom had been really big on helping him write letters when he was upset with somebody. He never actually gave or sent them to people, but it did make him feel better, just like she promised. He remembered those times like they were yesterday, sprawled on his stomach in bed, writing in a notebook, while she sat next to him and rubbed his back or ran her fingers through his hair. Maybe that was it. He'd just say what he was thinking and feeling, just like she said to.
"Dad,
"I really don't think you'd actually hurt Lex, but you're right, I don't want to take the chance. I'll do it.
"I want to hear from Lex soon, to make sure he's okay and that you're not making him be your stunt double or anything. Sometimes he can be a wuss.
Clark."
***
AN: The story about Caterina Sforza is a real story, if not necessarily true. She was a Renaissance ruler who eventually was defeated by Cesare Borgia, but made him fight for his win. During a seige, when the opposing army threatened to kill her sons, whom they had as hostages, she climbed the city walls and lifted her skirt, shouting, "See! I have the equipment to make more sons!" Figuring that they were dealing with somebody who intended to win at all costs and that even if they did win the battle, her army would inflict heavy losses, the army lifted the seige and returned her sons unharmed.
"In receipt of your missive, I am reminded of an anecdote you were once kind enough to share with me, one which vividly and memorably described the response of Caterina Sforza to the taking of her sole offspring as hostages." As much as Clark liked the thought of showing Lionel that he wasn't the only one who could be pompous, he didn't want to be *too* provoking. Also, if he was remembering the story right, Caterina Sforza had flashed the opposing army, and he couldn't quite see himself making an appearance outside the windows of LexCorp with...no, while he could imagine himself doing it, he couldn't *see* himself doing it.
He folded the paper into an airplane, tossed it in an elaborate spiral, and incincerated it before it hit the ground. Recycling, he'd decided, just wasn't going to put him in a better mood and he was trying hard to keep from worrying. Lex *hadn't* betrayed them, he was probably playing pool right then, and the League would rescue him. They owed it to him, after thinking he had betrayed them. Probably Lex would even be a bit pissy about it, if he'd just had a good break when they swooped in or was in the middle of a cup of coffee or something.
Maybe he'd even wait until he could talk to all of them before answering Dad's letter. But then, maybe he'd better let Dad know that he'd gotten the letter and was going to cooperate. At least until Lex was out. He tapped his pen on the table, the taste of ink still in his mouth serving as reminder that chewing on a pen when he was kind of shaken wasn't a good idea. The problem was that all his other drafts had either gone too heavily on letting Dad know that he'd play along and not been very annoying at all, or they'd been too heavy on the annoying side. The one that just read, "Dear Dad, Got it. Fine. Whatever. Hi to Lex. See you," for example.
Mom had been really big on helping him write letters when he was upset with somebody. He never actually gave or sent them to people, but it did make him feel better, just like she promised. He remembered those times like they were yesterday, sprawled on his stomach in bed, writing in a notebook, while she sat next to him and rubbed his back or ran her fingers through his hair. Maybe that was it. He'd just say what he was thinking and feeling, just like she said to.
"Dad,
"I really don't think you'd actually hurt Lex, but you're right, I don't want to take the chance. I'll do it.
"I want to hear from Lex soon, to make sure he's okay and that you're not making him be your stunt double or anything. Sometimes he can be a wuss.
Clark."
***
AN: The story about Caterina Sforza is a real story, if not necessarily true. She was a Renaissance ruler who eventually was defeated by Cesare Borgia, but made him fight for his win. During a seige, when the opposing army threatened to kill her sons, whom they had as hostages, she climbed the city walls and lifted her skirt, shouting, "See! I have the equipment to make more sons!" Figuring that they were dealing with somebody who intended to win at all costs and that even if they did win the battle, her army would inflict heavy losses, the army lifted the seige and returned her sons unharmed.