Part 3 All These Things That I Have Done

iWhen there's nowhere else to run
Is there room for one more son/i

Hidden in the dark lies a past that most would want forgotten. Not Lex Luthor. He lived and breathed the past as if he weren't the man of the future that all of Metropolis touted him to be.

He stood behind the podium in front of two thousand seven hundred eighty four employees of LexCorp Metropolis. "All my life I've devoted to building this company from the ground up," he spoke into the microphone. Lex made certain to look at distinct points in the crowd to make his audience believe that he was making eye contact with each of them. "You have all been witness to my triumphs. When we released Serum 1840 and our production skyrocketed by 68 within one quarter, you were all with me." There was the expected applause. "When we started the factory in Ohio, many of you transferred to better positions there." Again, that applause. To all concerned, Lex Luthor basked.

iOne more son
If you can hold on
If you can hold on, hold on/i

"You were witness even to my great tragedies, and suffered along with me." Hushed murmurs weaved through the crowd. "You've lost family—some in the Smallville plant explosion, some in the malicious arson right here in Metropolis." Lex paused for effect, and allowed the employees to digest his words. "So have I."

He leaned forward, his palms down on the podium. "Many expected to see me crumble," he continued. "Many wondered when I would give the control over to another of my executives." He turned to the four suited men sitting behind him. "They are a fine group of men, to be certain. However I would be remiss in my duties to you, LexCorp employees, if I retreated within myself."

He stepped back from the podium with the microphone in hand, then looked up to the veiled signage above him.

iI wanna stand up, I wanna let go
You know, you know - no you don't, you don't/i

"I present to you the symbol of my undying devotion to this company, and the representation of our mission and vision—the proof that we will rise from the ashes and never ever die, the testament that we are not merely a business but a humanitarian institution." Lex pulled on the rope and revealed the large lit sign. "Phoenix Charities," he hailed at the resounding cheers.

iI wanna shine on in the hearts of men
I want a meaning from the back of my broken hand/i

Lex smiled and waved at the flashing bulbs of the cameras trained on him and the executives.

He needed this. This adulation was exactly what he was looking for. After all, he had not had the best day. Receiving the news of that woman's arrival simply revived everything that he had believed was laid to rest.

Lois Lane was back, and she had taken everything that was meant for Chloe.

There were many things he portrayed to have forgotten.

She would have found it ironic. She had fought so hard against the man he was turning into she must have never expected that it would be her actions that would seal it all.

iAnother head aches, another heart breaks
I am so much older than I can take/i

Lex Luthor smirked at the cameras one last time before jogging down the stairs. On the way back to the building, Lex spied Pete Ross glaring at him from the sidelines where he stood together with the mayor of Metropolis. Lex gave him a curt nod. Pete responded with a blank stare.

He couldn't blame him.

iHe grabbed the chair and threw it towards the dresser, shattering the mirror she used to when she combed her hair every night. Lex growled at the sight of the few remaining clothes she had left behind. He prowled over to them and tossed them into a pile at the center of the room. He lit an expensive lighter and set fire to it.

Lex turned to the picture frames hanging from the wall, of himself and Chloe laughing as if there was no tomorrow. It offended him, because she appeared so in love when the truth was that she could abandon him at any moment she pleased.

And that she did.

With a wide gesture he unhooked the frame and threw the frame against the wall.

The frame dropped behind the rocking chair./i

Imported from Italy, the chair was a gift he had bought her when they found out she was pregnant.

i"Ouch, ouch, ouch!" she gasped.

"Hungry, isn't he?" he murmured with a smile.

Chloe looked up at him. "Reminds me of my appetite when I was a kid." She then turned to look down at the suckling mouth wrapped around her nipple. "Look at him go."

"I'm looking," he assured her. Lex settled beside her on the rocking chair. "Gorgeous."/i

He collapsed into the chair and rocked, trembling for hours until he was as close to still as he needed. That was the moment he stopped thrashing their home and turned his pent up rage towards the real culprit. His man had informed him about who handed Chloe the keys.

iAnd my affection, well it comes and goes
I need direction to perfection, no no no no/i

"Where is she Lana?" he had demanded.

Lana blinked at his words. "What are you talking about?"

iHelp me out
Yeah, you know you got to help me out
Yeah, oh don't you put me on the backburner
You know you got to help me out, yeah/i

"Tell me where she is or I swear—"

"Do you think threatening me will bring Chloe back, Lex?"

Lex nodded at her words. Pete Ross' fiancé had sealed her fate.

iAnd when there's nowhere else to run
Is there room for one more son
These changes ain't changing me
The cold-hearted boy I used to be/i

Day turned to night, and he waited in his house. Lex Luthor sat across the room from the shattered mirror and the pile of charred clothing. The television flickered from high up on the wall. His lips curved when he heard the sirens in the news program. A pale faced anchor spoke on the screen, frantic as she related her breaking news of the mayor's right hand man's house up in flames, his fiancé believed to have been trapped inside.

"We now have confirmation," the brunette continued, excitement creeping into the solemn façade she was putting on. It had to be exciting. She was too used to reporting about biggest cookies and longest hotdogs. "Pete Ross has identified the remains salvaged from the home as Lana Lang."

iYeah, you know you got to help me out
Yeah, oh don't you put me on the backburner
You know you got to help me out, yeah/i

Lex shrugged off the memory. Sooner or later he would be able to walk away from the past. Chloe couldn't haunt him for too long. All he had to do was tie up all the loose ends.

iYou're gonna bring yourself down
Yeah, you're gonna bring yourself down
Yeah, you're gonna bring yourself down/i

Lex entered the elevator and pressed the button for his floor. At the ding, he walked into his plush offices.

iI got soul, but I'm not a soldier /i

He had glass walls to give him an unobstructed view of Metropolis. Now the pest ruined what he paid for. He stopped at the sight. Superman hovered outside, staring at him, watching him.

"When will you cease this obsession?" Lex demanded in a low voice, certain Superman could hear anyway.

"When will you stop yours?" the superhero mouthed.

iOver and out, last call for sin
While everyone's lost, the battle is won
With all these things that I've done/i

Lex turned away from Superman, certain that as always, he would leave. Crime never stopped. Sooner or later Superman would hear a muffled cry and glide down to save the world.

He never stopped. Superman was Metropolis' savior. He would fly off again and save every unimportant soul he could.

iAll these things that I've done
If you can hold on
If you can hold on/i

"Get me Lois Lane's new address here in the city," he commanded. He placed the phone back in the cradle.

iAll these things that I've done
If you can hold on
If you can hold on/i

She came in to her apartment exhausted from her first day in the office. She tossed her bag onto the chair and stumbled towards the small bathroom. She sighed at the sight. There were rings under her eyes. She pulled back the dark hair and turned her face sideways, then squinted. The faint lines were fading now. Soon they would be gone. Soon there would be no more trace, no more evidence.

When all the signs are gone, then she would face him.

She jerked in surprise when the doorbell chimed. "Who the—"

"Lois!" called out the familiar voice. Despite all he'd done and the hatred in his heart, his voice still melted her insides. "Open the door, Lois!" he demanded.

tbc