Summary: Clark watches the last person who truly knew him, Lex Luthor, finally die. Alone and adrift immortality looms ahead of him and he wonders why he must go it alone. Jor-el says it is because he turned against his soul holder or soul mate as humans would say. Turns out Lex wasn't meant to be his enemy but his lover. Clark is given the chance to go back and try again from the very beginning. Can he change the way things happened, can he truly give himself to the one man who could easily break him or will old insecurities hold him locked into a future he doesn't truly want.
Warnings: Male/male slash, strong language, less restrained Clark, murder, and spoilers.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, though I am sure someone has done something similar at least once before.
Chapter Seven
The first half of School Monday was boring but at lunch time the rumors were already flying. The police had shown up to speak to Principle Kwan and the secretary spread the news about the principles son having been driving his car and hitting Justin. There were also rumors about Justin's miraculous recovery and the edition of the Torch was out as well with the front page a glaring headline about the scarecrow tradition and a picture of the students on their crosses in their underwear.
It was beautiful.
The biggest piece of gossip was of The Lex Luthor arriving with a truck full of supplies and workers and disappearing into the Torch office with the school superintendent. The big news wasn't the thousands of dollars of donation to make the Torch more capable than the Smallville Gazette, but the confrontation between the football coach and the superintendent about how those funds should go to the football team. The spontaneous fire caused three burns from spectators before Lex, in a brilliantly captured image from Chloe's camera, put out the fire with an extinguisher.
The coach was burned so badly he was being retired early and he would spend the next few months in a burn unit while the other two burns were only minor and while the two healers obviously wanted to act they held back.
Lex stopped long enough to give Chloe and Clark a short interview about the donation and he ran his fingers over the back of Clark's hand in a hidden intimate gesture. After lunch Cyrus was pulled from school by his caseworker but Clark listened enough to hear that the boy was being given to the elder Kents. After school he hurried to the farm where a very nice black town car with a driver was waiting.
He was a bit surprised by what he found in the house. Cyrus was outside in the loft and the lawyer from Banks and Masters was at their table but so was William Clark, his mom's father. His parents were there as well and his father looked uncomfortable.
"Hey mom, dad, I'm home. Cy said you needed me in here." he made it a question, hinting for his parents to play along.
"Yes Clark come here, there are two men you need to meet." his mother motioned to him. "This is my father William Clark, and this is an associate of his Ian Banks. They came here to discuss some things with you."
Clark nodded to both men before kissing his moms cheek as he moved past her to sit between his parents.
"Hello, I am Clark. How can I help you?" he feigned confusion.
"Hello Clark. I am Ian Banks as your mother said. I work as a lawyer and my office and I deal mainly with high end clients and their affairs. I understand that you were adopted some years ago after the tragedy that struck Smallville."
"Yes I was. The adoption was uncontested and the authorities said they assumed my birth parents had either died in the meteor shower or abandoned me just before it. Why are you here." he allowed uncertainty to color his voice.
"Well yes. I am here to tell you that they were killed in the shower. Your parents were clients of my office and their names were Lara and Jacob Eliot. You were named Kallen Eliot and due to their deaths you are the sole beneficiary of their estate."
"When you say estate do you mean property or finances?"
"Finances. Upon notice of their death their personal property was sold and the balance was given to their estate. Unfortunately you were only found recently. Upon finding you we at Banks and Masters moved immediately to rectify these matters. Your birth parents Will did not specify an age limit upon you receiving the inheritance so it is all coming to you now. While that is unusual it has happened and we at Banks and Masters would be willing to continue to oversee your accounts until you come of age or because of your close adopted familial ties we can transfer care of the account to your grandfather Mr Clark."
Clark didn't try to hide his surprise though he wasn't surprised for the reason they thought. The first time around William Clark was already dead when he first needed to inherit anything as Clark Kent. This passing of the torch was odd but it could just be a professional courtesy between friends. The real issue was in the wording. Oversee your accounts. It seemed like they didn't want a teenager with access to five million and signing whatever papers they had would likely put it into a trust for him under his 'Grandfathers' command. Yeah that wasn't happening.
"Just how big is this estate that I would need someone else to look after it?" he questioned, wondering if they would tell him. Clark Sr. shifted facial expressions quickly before settling back on neutral while Mr Banks obviously didn't want to answer but he finally did.
"The account is for five point two million and some change."
"That is enough to pay of the mortgage on the farm and cover any college I want to go to. I won't have to wait until after college to start my company." he played at excited teenager.
"What company?" William Clark asked gruffly.
"Oh a friend and I are going to create a company with a few designs and ideas we have for clean Eco-friendly energy. With our design we should be able to replace fossil fuels and nuclear reactors world wide in under ten years. Not to mention the formulas for vaccines and genetic defects he already has partway designed. We are going to be billionaires by the time we are thirty but with this money we can be before I am twenty." He played up his pried while the two lawyers looked at him with shock.
"So you want the money to pay off debt and make more money, not for cars and toys and things." Banks clarified.
"Well when I get my license I will get a car, but I would have done that anyways. The fortune just means I can get what I want instead of what I can afford but other than that why should I spend this on something stupid and useless when if I do it correctly I can have a whole lot more to spend stupidly in a year or two." he made his best duh face, like they were the stupid ones.
Clark Sr looked him over approvingly.
"Well that is all well and good Clark, but having a finance lawyer will make things run more smoothly for any board of directors or investors." Clark Sr said.
"I am not going to have investors. If I allow others to put money into my company then I have to take their words into account. I already know exactly where I want my company to go and how I want it run. I have no need of some money hungry bureaucrat telling what I can or cannot do with my own company. It is going to be privately owned."
"That is very difficult for any company to operate as privately owned. The government and other companies have an easier time of pushing them out of the markets." Mr Banks warned.
"Well they can try but honestly my tech is a minimum of fifty years ahead of anyone else and some things that we have workable ideas for are though of as impossible so no one else would even bother working on. Believe me it is going to take decades before anyone can even hope to match me. The government and everyone else be damned. Besides I have a meeting with Bruce Wayne this week to discuss their backing us for a government committee. I was going to sell Wayne Tech one of my designs for start-up funds but with this money I can just partner with him on this patent instead."
"You have been in contact with Bruce Wayne?" William Clark questioned sharply.
"No my business partner and co-founder of Rao Industries has. He will be here in Smallville tomorrow."
"And who is your business partner?" He questioned.
"Lex Luthor. He want's away from his tyrant of a father and he wants to be able to focus on the science instead of the business end."
"You know Lex Luthor? William Clark questioned dubiously. Clark opened his mouth to answer when he heard a welcomed sound. Lex's Porsche coming up the lane.
"I saved his life a few days ago. I had planned to do everything myself before then but when he heard my plans he offered to help finance if he could be a partner and he offered to make the introductions that I would need."
"How did you save his life?" Bank's questioned. One reason Clark and the JLA had used Banks and Masters was because of their hatred of Lional Luthor, which had passed onto Lex once the elder was dead. Obviously the hatred was already in place if the face he was making was any clue.
"One of the hauler trucks from the foundry had some loose wire bales and one fell off the truck. Lex wasn't expecting it and he hit the wire bale and his car flew off Leob Bridge. I was walking home and was right there so I dove in after him. He had knocked himself unconscious in the crash and had already breathed in water by the time I got him out. Without CPR he would have died and stayed dead."
"Who would have died?" Lex questioned as he knocked on the screen door in the kitchen.
"You. I was telling the lawyer about your crash. What brings you by Lex?" Clark questioned as he moved to open the door and let the bald man inside.
"Oh I was coming to tell you that Bruce is going to be arriving tonight instead of tomorrow. In a couple hours he will be at the castle. I came to see if you wanted to join us for dinner?" Lex offered, looking the other two men over curiously. He obviously recognized William Clark but the other man wasn't someone known to him.
"Oh right, Lex meet my grandfather William Clark and a colleague of his Ian Banks. They are here to discuss an inheritance left to me by my biological parents."
"Well welcome to Smallville gentlemen. Clark if you are busy I can just call later." Lex offered motioning to the door.
"Non-sense Lex. They just want me to sign some papers. Once I am done with them I can shower really quick and just ride back with you if you are willing to wait." Clark motioned him to the table.
"Clark are you certain, this is big information to share." his father warned.
"I know, but Lex will know it all later anyways. I will need to show what I can bring to the table for Wayne Tech to be interested in a business deal so Lex would need to know before then. Besides he can look over these papers to ensure I am not missing anything." Clark smirked. It wasn't very nice and he knew Banks and the elder Clark caught the message.
It only took a few minutes and some waffling before the contract was passed to him and Clark began looking it over. As he suspected if he signed it he would be putting control of his account into William Clarks hands until he was twenty-five.
"I thought you said my birth parents didn't put and age minimum on my inheritance?" he questioned.
"Well they didn't but having someone to answer to would be better to prevent you from overspending until you were of an appropriate age to recognize the repercussions."
"I don't need someone else to control my finances. If anyone did it would be my parents, not a man I have never met before and who disowned my mom because she fell in love." Clark made no issue about giving them both droll stares.
"I had my reasons." William said smoothly.
"Well they weren't reasons I can get behind. Take it from someone who would know, family isn't blood its those you choose. My mom didn't do exactly what you wanted and you made your choice to not be family. Now where is the real paperwork because I am not signing this farce."
Banks sighed and tried to convince him for a few minutes more before handing over a much more basic contract. There were two of them. One leaving Banks and Masters as his lawyers but with no control over him or his finances and one leaving William Clark in the same position.
"Mr Clark are you willing to deal with me and your daughter or should I remain with Banks and Masters even though they are stationed so far away?" he questioned.
"I am willing to take the retainer for you. I have no issue dealing with Martha." he sounded old at that. Obviously it had been a while since anyone had opposed him.
Clark nodded and signed the contract that put his grandfather on retainer. Banks handed him a packet which had his account numbers and check books and bank card. It was all in his name and he made a mental note to have them reissued with his mothers name as well. Apparently his account was already active so he wouldn't have to go about setting that up. He would have the farm payed off and every tab on the farm payed off the next day. He knew it was about two hundred thousand dollars of debt so it wouldn't make much of a dent in anything.
He spoke after checking everything over.
"I want to purchase the Luthor fertilizer factory form Luthor Corp. Lex assures me it has been deep in the red for three years. It is a drain on Luthor Corp and Lionel should be willing to part with it for one and a half million because its only worth about one million and he will only sell it if he thinks he is screwing me over. I want to put an offer for one and a half for the buildings and lands. If he refuses I will go up a bit but the location and facilities are honestly ideal. I could build myself for about the same price but I honestly want Lionel's influence out of Smallville."
"I can draw up papers for the offer. How soon do you want to make it?"
"By Friday if you can. I have a negotiator in mind I just need the contracts on paper and a meeting set up for then if you can get the old bastard to agree."
"I can get him to Smallville Clark. You just need the paperwork." Lex offered.
"Alright. I can have the paperwork for you Wednesday baring any unforeseen issues. Should I deliver it here?" the older man questioned.
"If you come in the evening you can bring mom and join us for supper." his mom offered cautiously, obviously uncertain if she would be well received.
Clark watched the older man debate with himself silently before he spoke.
"Your mother would enjoy that very much. We can be here for supper at six on Wednesday. Is that acceptable?"
"That is fine with us. We will be waiting." his mom smiled widely, beautifully.
Lex stood with him while he shook both of their hands and watched them leave. Cyrus came in after the car was gone and Clark zipped around the farm finishing the last two chores he had before hurrying to shower and change.
He slipped on another pair dark wash close fitting jeans and a simple white hanes t-shirt and his only pair of tennis shoes. Lex was waiting in the kitchen with his parents and Cyrus and he gave his goodbyes as they headed to the castle in the corn. The sleek sports car Bruce had driven was waiting in the front circle drive and Bruce himself was in Lex's office library.
"Alexander, your late. I thought you had forgotten me.. oh Hello." the dark haired dark guardian said as he turned to face them when they entered. He hadn't been expecting Clark.
Clark took a moment to check the office for bugs and seeing only a small listening device he moved to it and with both older men watching he pulled it from under the desk. It was a Luthor Corp model and he easily crushed it in front of them both before nodding to Lex.
"Well you are certainly strong aren't you." Bruce said quietly, the look in his eyes calculating.
"Clark is very strong. Clark this is Bruce Wayne, Bruce this is Clark Kent. Now anyone want a drink?" the bald headed older man questioned as he moved to his bar.
"Do you have any juice Lex?" Clark asked as he moved to sit on the couch, ignoring Bruce's presence completely.
"I have an organic apple cider from your mother. Is that alright?"
"Yes. I love moms cider." Clark grinned and reached for the glass Lex poured him. The bald millionaire offered it to Bruce too and he accepted a glass of the drink as well.
"This is really very good Lex. You said Clark's mom made and sold it?"
"Yes. We own an organic farm and we grow apples as part of our crops. My mom makes barrels full of this stuff each year and we sell out within just a couple of weeks. She just made it so if you want some to take back to Gotham you should speak with her tomorrow." Clark finished his glass and set it down on his coaster as Lex moved to sit next to him and Bruce sat across from them.
"I will do that. Alfred will love this stuff."
"I will let her know." Clark smiled his superman smile, he knew Batman hated that smile.
"So Alex, why exactly did you call me to come visit?"
Lex looked sideways at Clark who took the lead.
"Lex wanted to visit with you but I would like to visit with Batman." Clark stated as he sat up strait.
He watched the mask fall into place expertly as Bruce slouched almost imperceptibly, but enough to make a difference.
"Well I'm not sure why you think I can help with that. Everyone knows Batman is just an urban legend."
"Really Bruce?" Clark arched an eyebrow.
"I am not sure where you think you are going with this boy." Bruce turned hard almost instantly. Gone was the affable clueless billionaire and in his place was Batman.
"Not anywhere bad. I want to offer you a place among a team I am putting together. The Justice League of America. Most of us are gifted in some way and while we are all young we want to learn and help. I am capable on my own, I know several fighting styles and if all else fails I am faster than a speeding bullet and stronger than any other being or machine on Earth. The others are all earth teens gifted with extraordinary abilities. Soon enough others like them will be discovered and called Metahumans. I can't physically train then because anyone throwing a punch in my direction is going to break their hand but I have a couple of people lined up to help them learn. Joining the JLA will give you backup if you need it as well as a solid information source and gadgets and tools not available on Earth."
"You keep saying Earth as though you aren't from here." Bruce pointed out, still tense.
"That is because he isn't Bruce. I am sure you remember the meteor shower in Kansas years ago, how they spoke about it being the detritus of a planet?"
"I remember."
"That was Clark's planet. He says it was called Krypton and he comes with some very damning evidence including a spaceship and an alien fortress with technology centuries beyond anything we are even close to." Lex sat forward, his hands folded together in between his knees.
"Are you here for some sort of invasion?" Bruce questioned sharply.
"No. I mean absolutely no harm to Earth or her people. To be honest until about a week ago I thought I was human with just a little extra. There was a type of genetic memory download that my father created to help me understand myself and my people. The download triggered about a week ago and here I am now. I am moving fast because Earth is my home and I want to help her. Soon enough other races and other worlds are going to turn their eyes to Earth for trading and knowledge and even for mating if they wish. Earth is not yet ready but when we help her get that way with the tech that I have and am able to replicate then the world will be safer for it. Without being part of the Galactic force we cant call on them for aide if another hostile planet decides to invade. There are other hostile races and Earth is rich in resources and people. If someone like Black Zero decided to invade I am not sure that even the JLA all together along with the military could fight them off."
"So you want to prepare us for war or sell all of our natural resources to other races?" he bit out.
"No, neither. You need to understand that almost every other race and planet in the Galactic Alliance has moved past the usage of fossil fuels and the destruction of natural resources. The only ones who haven't are those like Earth who haven't had contact with the other races or those who are violent. I want to be able to trade things like apples for some pianna which is similar to corn but has protein and grows in desert areas. With a few crops of pianna we could end child hunger in the world. There are foods on earth that other races don't have and foods on other worlds that you can't even imagine. Not to mention medicine. Penicillin is an earthly creation but there are twenty three known races that are similar enough to humans and Kryptonians that they could use it in its basic form or learn from us how to cultivate it and modify it for their own uses. There was a serum created by a Kryptonian scientist which can modify and alter the male body to allow a man to conceive and carry his and his partners children. Lex already has the formula and has modified for the human form. You are probably going to distrust me for a very long time but I promise that I am not a danger to you."
"You said nothing about war." The dark haired hero pointed out.
"That is because it is a non-issue I hope. I can not say for certain that no one will ever try to invade but I can say that I will fight with earth if they do. As for the learning to fight, well that is because as I am sure you have noticed, the bad guys are getting stronger and more advanced. The police can hardly keep up as it is. Some Meta's, just like basic humans are going to decide the law doesn't apply to them. I am creating the JLA to take on these advanced opponents but also to help in natural disasters and man made ones as well. Imagine there is a mud slide that destroys a village and there are hundreds of people burried under massive amounts of sludge and broken buildings. It would take rescue workers days and even weeks to uncover it all and many who could have been saved would be lost due to starvation or wounds. Now you have me, I have x-ray vision and super-hearing. I can see through the mud to find them in seconds and direct the rescue teams to them and another of the JLA is telekinetic, he can't lift it all at once but he can lift maybe a car sized glob of mud at a time out of the rescuers way. Two of our others can heal with a touch, they can heal almost anything, even mortal wounds so long as they catch it in time. So a disaster that could have killed hundreds now only kills a few dozen. That is what I want to do, that is what I want the JLA for."
"That sounds noble enough. What happens when one of your own goes rogue?"
"Then we stop them and figure out why. See if they can be redeemed or put them away where they can't hurt anyone."
"You mentioned a serum and tech, how do you plan to get that out there?"
Clark turned to Lex who spoke.
"Rao Industires will be opperational within the month hopefully. The leading company in green technology and practices in the world. Clark and I are going to modify everything and produce it for the world including engines that run on sound and light and medicine to save lives. There is a machine he told me about that is like a giant air filter but it pulls every toxic from the air getting rid of pollutions and helping to heal the damage done to the ozone. One in each major city in the world and our ozone will be healed completely in five years. All the smog and acid rain and putrid ground water gone with a little work."
"Is it truly possible?" Bruce questioned, his mind moving to the possibilities.
"I saw the schematics at the fortress. It isn't only possible but easily doable. Think about it no more oil drilling which means no oil spills, no burning coal or destroying the forests and rain forests. Bruce this is the future. One hundred years from no when cancer is all but cured and the world knows about all of this they are going to say wow that Lex Luthor and Clark Kent changed the world. Don't you want them saying your name as well. Even if it is just applying to Wayne Tech."
"So do you want my company involved?"
"Only if you want it. We don't need resources but I figured you would like to join in on a few patents. You can clean up Gotham with this tech. Help your city."
"It sounds doable I suppose. Are you sure you don't need financed?"
"No with Clark and with my inheritance we are fine. What we want is just your political backing for Rao and in exchange we will let you pick two or three patents for you to share. Plus we want you to buy one of the Atmosphere correcters for Gotham. We will give you a big discount because to be frank Gotham needs it. With Wayne Tech deciding to purchase one for Gotham several others will purchase them for their cities as well. Within a month the proportionate number of smoggy, acid rain days over Gotham should be cut in half and within six months the air should be clean and the machine will begin sucking the toxins from around the city."
"And what discount will I get?"
"A free water system. It does the same thing as the air you just put in in Gotham's main water treatment plant and within six months the water in and around Gotham will be completely toxin free."
"I think I want the water treatment patent as one of the ones I can share." Bruce said casually.
Clark smiled at that. Bruce was in.
"And what of the JLA?"
"That depends are any of them trained in self defense of any kind?"
"I think Chloe knows a little but its mainly girl fighting stomp the toes knee them in the jewels and gouge their eyes. The basic rape defense."
"Well it could be worse I suppose. Who do you have in mind to train them?"
"Well I intend for Hawkman and the JSA to help get them in shape."
"What is the JSA?" Bruce questioned.
"The JSA was active about fifteen years ago and they were the Justice Society of America. They stopped criminals both petty and metahuman. A government agency called Checkmate decided they wanted to control the JSA and they tried to. The JSA refused and fought back and so Checkmate framed them and brought them all up on false charges. Checkmate will try with us but I have my AI finding out every one of their operatives and their families. When they come for us I have enough to discourage them, to bring them to their knees."
"You intend to hurt their families?"
"No. I don't hurt innocents. But there are more than fifteen unoccupied islands and remote places that are uncharted and that I can remove their families to until they comply. They don't have to know their families are safe, just that they are missing."
"That is dangerous thinking."
"Not really. I can stop them a few different ways. I can post everything about Checkmate and their actions online along with their agent files or I can simply threaten them into backing off. Either way they will not be an issue."
"I would rather expose them. Threatening their families sounds like something they would do, I would rather not be involved with that. They could actually charge us with that and win." Bruce pointed out calmly.
"Very well I will have information packets prepared for every major news network and newspaper in the world. If they approach us we will take them down peacefully."
"Alright. Now this Hawkman, do you think he is good enough?"
"He isn't as good as you, like me he has the ability to simply power through most things, but he isn't as strong as I am and there are a couple of others from the JSA that I think would do very good jobs. Of course if Batman would like to join in and help train the children then I am certain they could learn faster and be a bit better."
"When are you meeting for the first session?"
"We are meeting just to meet tomorrow. Hawkman and the others will decide if they will help then. You are welcome to join us."
"Where are you meeting?"
"Metropolis. At Carter Hall's museum."
"What time?"
"At six in the evening. I will be running the others to Metropolis after we all go to my fortress and change into our new costumes. Lex will have his comm if he needs us and to help monitor things while we are there."
"Lex is one of the JL?" Bruce thurned to the bald millionaire.
"I am not a hero, not yet. Mostly I will work for Rao and making sure that is handled."
"Understandable. I can show up for the meeting but I don't want them knowing who I am." he glared at Clark for a moment.
"That is your decision. Now It is getting late and I need to make it to the fortress tonight and get everyone's suits and comm's. Are you two coming or staying?"
"I am coming. We need to get started fabricating the crystals for the prototypes and get those built along with the machines we will use for Rao. Plus there was a file about a fertilizer that could help plants grow twice the amount of produce that I wanted to look at." Lex stood.
"I would like to see this fortress of yours." Bruce stood as well.
"Alright Lex if you will drive him I am going to get the key and I will meet you there."
"Alright Clark, I should only take about ten minutes from here. We will see you there."
Clark smiled softly and kissed Lex chastely before speeding away. He heard Bruce exclaim about how fast he was as he went.