Claire quickly realized on her way to Gotham City that keeping secrets from Lex felt even worse now than it did before - but this time, at least, it was for a good reason. Wasn't it? This time she was deceiving him to protect him. That was different. It had to be.

She pulled up as directed in from of Cafe Trevino, and it appeared that the concierge at the front of the house had already been expecting her, as he immediately came over and nodded in greeting, almost bowing. There was a brief moment where Claire realized that this is was power felt like - people knowing you, recognizing you, walking you through large crowds of people who once would have thought they were better than you. But in the next instant, Claire realized that she was not sure if she liked this feeling. She didn't like the attention it drew, even in passing, and was fully relieved when the concierge opened the door to the private dining room in the back, which was already inhabited by one other person.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me," Bruce Wayne said, seated at the table where it appeared he had already been served with hors d'oeuvres and sparkling water. Claire walked into the room and allowed the concierge to shut the door behind her, leaving her feeling caged in with none other than the very person who had started all of this.

"I took it as a good sign that you sent me a message instead of, you know, kidnapping me again. Or breaking into my living room," Claire deadpanned, walking over and taking the seat across the table from him. "I'm of the belief that progress should be rewarded."

There were multiple things in Claire's response that made Bruce fight back the urge to cringe. First, the fact that breaking into her living room now no longer meant a dingy downtown apartment - it meant Luthor Mansion. Second, the fact that while she had never lacked biting wit, he could hear small inflections in her voice that suggested Lex Luthor might in fact be rubbing off on her. Rather than outwardly reacting, however, he reached over and poured some sparkling water into the empty glass in front of her, weighing her response to being in his presence again.

"This wasn't an act of kindness on my part. I figured," Claire began again, keeping her eyes on the glass with a level of suspicion that Bruce found both unexpected and understandable, "that the closure on this whole debacle would be helpful for me."

"This isn't about closure," Bruce said flatly. "I know what you've been doing, Claire, and I'm concerned -"

"I don't need your concern," Claire replied in an equally frigid tone. "I don't need a - a father figure, Mister Wayne."

"I get it. You're a grown woman. You know exactly what you're doing," Bruce answered with a roll of his eyes. "Straight out of the Lois Lane, Diana Prince playbook. I've heard this speech before, I understand."

"No, Mister Wayne, I don't think you do," Claire said, sliding the glass away from her. Her gaze grew steely in anger, and she leaned her forearms against the table so she was also leaning closer across the table. "You placed me in this position, Mister Wayne - right where I am right now. But you also told me that I... what was it?" she asked, pretending briefly not to remember. "That's right. That I always had a choice. Well, I made it, Mister Wayne. And none of this would be possible if not for you."

Bruce clenched his teeth as Claire got up from her seat, prepared to walk out of the restaurant altogether. He hadn't expected a warm reception from her, given the circumstances, but he also had not expected nearly this response. The fact remained, however, that he couldn't let her leave without having fulfilled his objective - he would not have gotten involved if he had the intention of failing. It sickened him and it exhausted him, but for a moment, he forced himself to slip into the Bruce Wayne that the public knew.

"Miss Branigan," he said clearly, and hearing her voice spoken with such a shift in tone caused Claire to turn around with an irked eyebrows. "Before you go, I should probably let you know that I'm very good friends with the owner of this restaurant."

"Good for you."

"See that right there?" Bruce said, shutting one eye and making a gesture as though he were aiming at an intricate vase placed on a small decorative shelf. "That's a camera. And that's a camera," he said, shifting his gaze to an ornamental piece perched right about the doorway Claire was heading for. Claire's eye immediately narrowed and she turned so that her entire body now faced him, her arms crossed over her chest.

"If you hear me out, just for a few minutes, then the footage goes away," Bruce began again, inwardly cringing at having to be this person. "Otherwise... I know there's nothing particularly incriminating about this meeting, but I think the Metropolis Daily Enquirer would be more than happy to make conjecture about what half of the new face of healthcare in Metropolis is doing on a cozy private lunch with Bruce Wayne. Mister Luthor and I have a bit of a friendly rivalry going on. Not sure if you were aware."

Bruce could immediately sense Claire's hackles raising, and could immediately feel his own sense of disgust with himself elevating as well. Her lip curled into a sneer, and angrily, she paced back over and yanked the chair away from the table, taking a seat and crossing her arms again.

"Some things just don't change, do they?" she asked in enraged disbelief. "So much for heroes."

"I'm not a hero. Not anymore," Bruce interrupted, relieved at the very least to be able to drop the facade, allowing his expression again to go practically blank. "I walked away from that."

"Really? I couldn't tell."

He grimaced and willed himself not to lose his temper with the younger woman - Claire, Bruce reasoned, had every right to be furious. He hadn't planned this conversation going well, only for it to be carried out to the end. This wasn't about closure for her. As selfish as it was, it was intended to be closure for him.

"You made a decision. I get that," Bruce said, leaning across the table with his forearms resting against the edge. "But on principle, I can't allow you to make it without knowing what's happening."

"I think I'm good with the Sparknotes version. Superman's dead. Batman wants revenge. Claire is accessible. Lex is an easy target," Claire prattled off with feigned nonchalance. "I don't need more explanations."

"Your Sparknotes needs updating," Bruce said, shoving his tongue into his cheek and hesitating briefly before continuing, wavering in light of what he knew Claire would do with the information - but it was information she had a right to, because she was right. He had brought her into this. "Superman is alive."

He could deduce just how innocent Claire was, despite her biting sarcasm, by the unfiltered nature of her responses. With only that short statement, Claire's rage melted into a look of utter shock and confusion, her brow knitting as she tried to understand. It was in this moment that despite what he felt he was doing to her, he felt a sense of camaraderie with her - Claire, too, was another mere human caught up in a world that was becoming far too big for her. He knew that look. He knew that feeling.

"You don't want to admit it, but you know that this is going to drive Lex Luthor over the edge when the world finds out that Superman isn't dead," Bruce said knowingly. "And the world will know, Claire. Because that's what Superman is. This won't stay a secret for long."

"Well, since you're such good buddies with him, maybe you can convince him to just live a regular life like the rest of us," Claire said before really putting any thought into her words, speaking straight from the gut rather than from the brain. "Metropolis is getting by just fine without him -"

"The whole world is going to need him. Soon. I don't know when," Bruce said, his jaw slightly clenched. "Something is coming, and Luthor knew about it before anyone else."

At this, Claire tensed because she knew that she could not dispute this claim. She knew that what Lex had seen or heard of thought he had seen or heard on the Kryptonian ship, and she had heard him say himself that he too felt something was coming - hearing this same claim coming from Bruce Wayne merely cemented the idea that it was not all just some figment of imagination. She first looked upward, then down at the table, rubbing the back of her neck. It was real. It was happening. As much as she hated to admit it, Bruce Wayne was right that this was not something Lex could take lightly.

"Whatever it is, it's called Darkseid," Bruce said in a hushed tones, leaning across the table towards Claire. "And the only way it gets to Earth is by way of this. But this one is damaged. He needs a host - he wanted that host to be Superman, but he failed because he wasn't willing. He's not that kind of person. But it's only a matter of time."

Claire looked up to see Bruce producing his cellphone and turning the screen towards her to reveal a slightly blurred screenshot of the Mother Box taking over the body of Victor Stone. She gulped hard and clenched her eyes shut for a moment before finally making eye contact with Bruce again. "Why are you telling me this?" she asked, shaking her head in disbelief. "I'm done with all of this, Mister Wayne. I didn't want -"

"I don't trust Lex Luthor as far as I can throw him," Bruce said honestly. "And I don't know if he has anything to do with this. Chances are, you don't either. But this is a Mother Box. And if Lex Luthor gets his hands on one -"

"Lex is trying to get his hands on a lot of things, but that's not one of them," Claire said with more confidence than she actually felt. "He's been through enough horrors on this planet to focus on things from others - and I'm not going to pretend you didn't contribute to that."

"I'm only telling you this because if you're going to make this choice, I won't allow you to make it without knowing the truth -"

"You won't allow me to!" Claire repeated in a shrill, mocking voice. "Mister Wayne, I hate to break it to you, but I'm not under your control anymore."

"Point taken. But do me one favor," Bruce said, again shifting to a tone of feigned calm. "I have one question for you to ask Lex Luthor, and if he gives you an honest answer, see if it changes your mind."

Claire went silent, admittedly wondering what question could in Bruce Wayne's mind be so vast a paradigm shift that it could change everything. Sensing the moment of vulnerability, Bruce leaned slightly closer and tilted his head to one side.

"Ask him what happened to Mercy Graves."

"That's a stupid question," Claire sneered with a roll of her eyes. "She died in the explosion. I already know -"

"Ask him why he let her die." And at this, Claire again froze, her sneer still frozen in place in Bruce's direction while she shook her head in disbelief. "You know what he's done, Claire. You know what he's capable of."

"I know what you're capable of too," she retorted, gently irking an eyebrow and fearlessly leaning back across the table in response. In this moment, despite the fact that she was a mere human - a mere mortal - he saw a glimmer of Diana Prince in her. He saw a flash of the same daring, the same gall. He saw even more of it when she slowly, gracefully got to her feet and tilted her head gently to one side. "And you know I'm going to tell him all of this, no matter what you threaten me with. You know that."

"There are no cameras, Claire," Bruce admittedly, shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose. She looked genuinely surprised, blinking in disbelief as though unsure of whether or not to accept the explanation. "You're free to go."

"I always was. I guess I just wish I'd figured that out sooner," she said with a surprising gentleness to her voice when she regarded him for a moment before nodding and turning on her heel. She made her way purposefully toward the door, but found when she pulled it open that her way was blocked by a taller, olive-skinned woman. The woman from the car, the same woman she had seen with Bruce Wayne before. Bruce sat up in surprise at the sight of Diana Prince in the restaurant as well.

"I'm glad to see you well," Diana said with a nod, glancing over Claire who simply nodded back wordlessly and hurried off, seemingly in awe of the woman. Diana watched Claire leave for a few moments before stepping into the private dining room with Bruce and closing the door behind her. "You're losing your touch, perhaps. You're relatively easy to track down these days."

"How'd you manage?" he asked, nodding to the chair which Claire had just vacated. Diana obliged, taking a seat and crossing her legs smoothly, quirking one side of her lips into a grin.

"A certain butler with unlimited access to your calendar."

"I figured as much," Bruce confirmed, begrudgingly smirking in response. "Alfred's grown unreasonably fond of you."

"If it's all the same, Bruce, I'd like to cut to the chase," Diana answered shortly. "You are not going to walk away from us. Not now that we know what's coming."

"This is beyond my level of expertise. I'll leave it to all of you more qualified -"

"Say the word metahumans and I swear by the gods, you will regret it," Diana interrupted with arched brow, only half-joking. However, after a few moments' pause, a small smirk played at her lips - because she knew that one way or another, she was going to come out of this discussion victorious. "You're not walking away from what you built, Mister Wayne. I'm afraid I will not allow it."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you in the flesh, Leonard. Lenny. Can I call you Lenny?" Lex asked with a facetious grin, pouring the man a drink while they took a seat in the study of Luthor Mansion. "Of course I can. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me."

"A criminal record and a moral compass aren't mutually exclusive, Mister Luthor. I'm a man of principle. You spent two million dollars to get me out of jail, and the least I could do is find out why."

While Lex remained nonchalant about the meeting he'd arranged, it was in fact a more delicate operation than he would admit. Back on his first foray into Central City with Claire, when he'd given Lubrano the bail money, Snart had also been instructed to a particular meeting place and time where once the dust had settled and if he so chose, a private jet would be waiting to escort him to Metropolis.

"Well," Lex said, walking over and offering Leonard the glass of bourbon, keeping one for himself as well. "You came all this way, so I'll cut to the chase. You have a nemesis," he said with a knowing, almost teasing grin. "And your nemesis is now bosom buddies with someone with whom I myself have a great deal of bad blood. So naturally -"

"So naturally, you think it's that simple?" Leonard asked skeptically. "You think that -"

"I think that you're an intelligent man. An inventor," Lex said plainly, nodding in slight deference to the man in front of him. "And the things you've managed to invent while in hiding, with such limited resources, is astonishing. Just astonishing. Which is why I want to back your work with the full support of LexCorp's research and development division."

"The catch, Mister Luthor."

"No catch. Just a favor that I think you'll be more than willing to do me once you know that Barry Allen is now under the wing of Wayne Enterprises as a part-time consultant. Jet-setting, hotel suites, hefty paycheck for spending the weekend schmoozing with Bruce Wayne's business partners -"

"And why would I care?"

"Because, Lenny," Lex said, reaching over and clapping a hand onto Leonard's shoulder with feigned warmth. "Bruce Wayne is Batman. The Bat of Gotham. The Dark Knight."

Leonard Snart's eyes narrowed. While it was not a matetr of personal acquaintance, the reputation of the Bat spread far beyond Gotham, and the idea of Barry Allen having a friend in such a high place was - as Lex had already foreseen - enough of a threat to make Leonard Snart feel somewhat more compliant with his ideas.

"I know about your little secret club back home. The Rogues, is it?" Lex asked, his brow furrowing as though he didn't know the answer to the question, though he fully well did. He cleared his throat and took a drink from his scotchglass before continuing. "I think it's noble, what you all do. Robbing from the rich to teach them a lesson about indulgence and -"

"We steal from people like you, Mister Luthor."

"Yes, and by all means, take something on your way out," Lex said, making a wide gesture, careful not to spill his drink. "I'd advise you to stay away from the heavy things, just for the sake of fuel economy on the flight back to Central City."

"You're insane."

"Yes, that's well-documented by now, isn't it? Mm." Lex smirked mischievously, cocking his head to one side. "But that's besides the point now. The point is, someone you hate - and I genuinely don't want or need to know your reasons - is now part of a team of very powerful people. And this team of very powerful people requires a team of more very powerful people to counter it. See, I'm a man of principle too, Lenny. And the principle I value is is balance. Order. And if you'll agree to help me maintain that, then I think you'll find that I am a very valuable friend to have."

Leonard Snart did not agree immediately - but he also did not refuse, and Lex was of the belief that making the opponent hesitate was the first step to wearing them down, and wearing them down was consequently the first step to victory.

"Take your time, have a couple more drinks, make yourself at home," Lex said with deceptive calm in his voice, walking over and taking a seat himself, picking up a remote control which powered on a repurposed television made to look like an old wooden set. "We've got time."

When he turned on the television, however, the sight on the screen caused him to take a brief moment of pause himself when the video footage was of a traffic jam, zoomed in on the cars all at a complete halt.

'This is footage from a couple of hours ago on the Metro Narrows Bridge where a biohazardous waste spill brought traffic to standstill on the Metropolis-bound side," the voiceover from a reporter recited primly. "Commuters trying to get into Metropolis from Gotham City were stopped for an entire ninety minutes before the spill was finally able to be cleaned up."

And there in the middle of the traffic jam was Claire's car. And Claire. Lex quickly put two and two together that while he had assumed Claire was at work - he had specifically planned this meeting when he knew that she would likely be busy - she was in fact coming back from Gotham City. Claire was in Gotham. Claire had gone to Gotham without his knowledge.

"Mister Luthor?"

Lex snapped out of the slight distracted daze he had gone into at the sound of Leonard trying to get his attention. For a moment, Snart eyed Lex with scrutiny, seeing that in a few brief moments, something in him had shifted. This, however, did not appear to have worked against Lex, as Leonard Snart gave a slow, approving nod.

"In exchange for me helping you maintain balance against this team of... superheroes," Snart said, repeating to ensure he was understanding the deal being placed in front of him, "I receive access to any facilities I want to create the tools I need. Am I missing anything?"

"No, sir, you are not. It's a simple bargain," Lex said, putting the grin back onto his face and shrugging with a strange sort of boyish innocence. "And quite possibly the beginning of a very productive friendship."

"Don't push it -"

They were interrupted by the creaking of a door hinge, and Lex suddenly got to his feet in time to see Claire walking in the door, past the entrance to the study, and freezing at the sight of the fact that she had not come home to an empty mansion. For a short moment, despite the fact that Claire didn't know just how much Lex knew, there was an electric silence that fell between the pair. Leonard, however, stood up and glanced back and forth between them.

"You've got yourself a deal, Mister Luthor. And it also looks like you've got yourself a real looker of a girlfriend, so I won't keep you any longer," he said with a smirk, walking towards the door and pausing next to Claire who seemed only to recognize him in that very moment. "We'll save the introductions for another time," he said with a nod in Claire's direction before walking away, out the front door.

"That's the robbery suspect from Central City," Claire said in a shocked tone, her eyes wide as she glanced back over her shoulder once Leonard was already gone. "You're working with him?"

"Mister Snart and I are pursuing a lucrative joint venture," he said with a vague, distant grin, and the mere tone of his response was enough to alert Claire that he was not interested in explaining himself because he had something else that he was set on discussing. "Now, the million dollar question," Lex said, grabbing a new glass and glancing between the two liquor bottles, deciding which to pour out for Claire - the bourbon or the butterscotch Schnapps - before eventually settling on the latter. "Where were you this afternoon?"

Lex expected that she would say she had been at work. He was prepared, mentally organizing the litany of evidence against her, ending with the fact that he had seen her car in the traffic jam on the news coming back into Metropolis. He was prepared for her to lie because he knew that he had a weapon against it. He was, however, unprepared for the answer she did provide.

"I was in Gotham," she said calmly, walking over and picking up the glass Lex had poured for her. Lex, however, was torn between relief and a brand new, enraging suspicion.

"In Gotham," he repeated, swirling the contents of his glass and looking down before turning his gaze upward to her. "Paying an old employer a visit?"

This could have been one of two things - visiting the clinic, or visiting its owner. Claire paused for a moment, moving her tongue in her cheek as she mulled over her answer. Her hesitation only seemed to irk Lex even more.

"What were you doing there?" he asked, concealing the impending transition of his voice into a snarl. "Claire -"

"I was meeting with Bruce Wayne," she said honestly, causing Lex to sharply tilt his head and narrow his eyes as he processed the revelation. But she was honest. She told the truth fearlessly, and that was not the sign of someone who felt guilty about what they had done. "He asked to meet with me."

"How kind of him to ask this time," Lex said, his upper lip curling into a sneer as he shifted his weight. "Claire, I don't think I need to remind you -"

"I didn't meet with him out of friendship," Claire said in exasperation. "I met because he said it was important - and I think it's going to be important to you too."

"The only thing of value coming from the mouth of the Bat would be news that he plans to pull out of Metropolis for good."

"This is bigger than that."

"Nothing is bigger than -"

"Superman is alive."

Lex gulped, his expression going sickly pale at the sound of the statement, spoken in true Claire fashion. Calm. Composed. In her eyes, he could practically see his own reflection, see the way his body reflexively crumpled as though he were something small and insignificant just at the knowledge that he and Superman still existed on the same planet.

"That's impossible," Lex said, his face contorted in a strange mix of paranoia and rage. He was dead. Superman was dead. There could be no alternative answer besides this because Lex had dedicated so much effort, so much planning, had suffered so much to see this order restored. "How could he possibly -"

"I don't know," Claire lied - she felt her stomach churn at the fact that this lie came so easily. But she had already decided that Lex did not need to be privy to all of the information that Bruce Wayne had imparted, even if only for his own safety. All of this talk of threats and dangers from other planets would send him over the edge, if the knowledge of Superman's survival did not do so already.

Claire was not willing to do damage that she couldn't fix.

"He said that I deserved to know," Claire continued, gently shifting her own weight. "Said that I didn't know what I was getting into with you."

"And your response?"

"That I'm a grown woman and that he doesn't control what I do."

"Good."

Despite the brief, terse response, Claire's declaration of loyalty was perhaps an even greater shock to Lex, who had yet to fully come to terms with the idea that Claire was genuinely loyal to him - loyal to him, even at her own expense. He gulped, still appearing as though he would be sick at any moment, looking down at the contents of the glass in his hand.

One more enemy who could come for him at any moment. One more enemy who was stronger than him. Greater than him. His grip tightened around the glass, his knuckles going as pale as his face, his hands shuddering. However this had happened, whatever had brought Superman back from the dead, it no doubt meant that the probability of impending doom around every turn was even greater.

Bruce Wayne had his merry band of heroes - and now, Clark Kent had come to join them. It meant simply that Lex Luthor needed to rise to the occasion, now on a tighter deadline than he'd foreseen. His sins, sins he did not even see as sins, were coming home to roost.

Claire, however, felt for the first time a sense of worry for her own well-being - because she, too, was only human. She, too, was vulnerable, and very explicitly chosen a side where her protection would be very limited. It now became fully clear to her that to side with Lex was to be against Batman - and against Superman. Choosing Lex meant choosing to be on the bad side of some of the most powerful beings on Earth. At the very least, she decided, Bruce Wayne had been correct about one thing. She deserved to know what was happening. She deserved to know the trap she may have willingly stepped into.

"Bruce Wayne also suggested I ask you something."

"Mm. Did he?" Lex asked, looking up and seeing that for the first time, it was Claire unsurely averting her gaze - and he for the first time, he felt a real sense of fear that Bruce Wayne had gotten into her head, that he had planted a seed that would turn her against him. Finally, however, she managed to overcome whatever plagued her, looking up and again meeting Lex's eyes.

"What happened to Mercy Graves?"

"She died," Lex said matter-of-factly, though his grip on the scotchglass in his hand flinched. "In the explosion at the -"

"You know what I mean, Lex," Claire said calmly, her eyes briefly fluttering shut as she realized from Lex's reaction that she had veered irrevocably into the path of an answer she would not be happy to hear, whatever it turned out to be. "Why did you leave her there to die?"

"Because," Lex said, raising his eyebrows. "I could tell that slowly but surely, she was starting to get greedy. I could see it in her. And she was too close to the core to take even the slightest chance -"

"Sort of like me."

"No," Lex said sharply, gesturing with his index finger and shutting his eyes in exasperation as though Claire were a whining, uncooperative child. "No. Not like you. You're different."

"I'm different?" Claire asked incredulously. "I'm different? That's all you have to say, Lex, is that I'm different?"

"I could see in her that in time, she would come to relish the power that came with what we were doing - power that was never meant to belong to her," Lex said matter-of-factly, circling Claire. She could see the slightly frenzied look to him, the cumulative effect of all that had been said and learned, but this time she could not bring herself to stop the conversation solely for the sake of protecting him from this distress. This had to happen. This had to be laid out into the open. "But you, Claire," Lex began, stopping in front of her and leaning in close to her face so that there was no way for her to avert her gaze without moving away from him - without conceding. Concession was something that Claire Branigan simply did not do.

"I've handed you power. I've handed you the means and the knowledge and the freedom to control everything I have built. If I'm the king of Metropolis, then the city sees you as its queen, and everyone knows that the queen is where the power lies," he said, wagging his finger before planting his hands on his waist. "And not once have I seen the slightest inkling that you've come to love the power that you have. On the contrary," he said with a slightly higher-pitched lilt in his voice. "I don't get the impression that you want it at all. There are many kinds of power. Influence. Money. Vengefulness. Superhuman strength. But if you don't love power in any of those capacities," Lex said, pausing and giving a shrug and a melodramatic sigh. "Then you are not a threat to me."

"Heartwarming. I feel so very special now. I'm so glad that you see me as benign," Claire said with a slight sneer before rolling her eyes and starting to walk away - most likely to the balcony, or somewhere else to sulk. Lex, however, caught her by the forearm - a motion he had not made in a good while, because conflicts such as these had been so seldom in recent weeks - and pulled her back so that their faces were mere centimeters apart.

"I'd be lying if I said you were still my only ally," Lex said in a near-whisper, knowing that there was no use in trying to gloss over the meeting Claire had walked in on a matter of minutes earlier. "But suffice it to say, you are my most important ally. And now more than ever, now that he's back... I am not going to lose you."

He released his hold on her arm, and his eyes slowly scanned over her face for some indication of a response - some kind of sign that she was understanding not only what he said, but what he meant by it. Claire gulped gently, and for a brief moment, it looked as though she had something to say, but she bit back the words as though she had thought better of it. Instead, she shifted and drew herself up to full height, taking a steadying breath.

"If you were going to lose me... as an ally," she specified pointedly, the sharpness in her voice indicating the deeper implications of the statement, "it would have happened a long time ago. But I haven't gone anywhere. And I'm not going anywhere except to bed," she said matter-of-factly before turning on her heel and walking out the door to the study, towards the stairs. She stopped in her tracks when she did not hear footsteps following her, and she turned back around to see Lex still in the study, now having turned around to stare at the painting on the wall - the Gustave Dore print turned upside down. "Lex," Claire called out in a voice that was quiet but firm.

Lex seemed, for the first time in a long time, entranced by the painting, and Claire felt herself tense as she realized this was all to do with Superman being alive. Superman being alive meant that Lex was small again. He was powerless. Insignificant. "Lex," she called out again more firmly. He let out a choked, cough-like laugh.

"I'll only be a minute."

"If you're not upstairs in twenty, I'm coming back for you," Claire stated. While Lex did not turn around or acknowledge the statement, she saw his tense shoulders relax slightly upon hearing the words. I'm coming back for you. She let out a sigh and shook her head, starting upstairs. Twenty minutes was enough time to get dressed and let her hair down, at the very least, before she would have to double back and find a way to drag Lex away from his father's study - from his place of power.

Upon changing and getting out of the master suite bathroom, however, Claire found that Lex had already made his way into the suite and fallen asleep on top of the covers. The sight was a welcome one - one that Claire hadn't expected. She had half expected Lex to stay awake, pacing his father's study all night. Shutting off the light, she slowly, lightly clambering into bed as well, reaching over and gently brushing the hair from his face now that he was asleep and unaware of the gesture.

"For what it's worth," she whispered, unsure if any bit of it would be heard in Lex's sleep. "No one will get to you without getting through me first."

A/N

Phew! Longest chapter yet, so if you made it this far, thanks and kudos to you! I know this was a lot to put into one chapter, but it just didn't feel right to split it up while I was writing.

Nothing much to share this time, just going to rest the brain before tweaking the next chapter for posting. As always, thank you all endlessly for all of your feedback! Until next time, cheers!