Hey, guys!
It's been SO long, but the newest chapter is finally ready. I also have a decent plan going forward, so updates might happen regularly again after I get my new charger.
But anways, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Fourteen.
Lex sipped from his glass of champagne and tried to look interested in the gala he was at.
The last thing he wanted to do was be at the WylieTech gala, but he didn't have a choice anymore. He needed to put up a front and he couldn't take any more time away.
Alistair walked up to the podium and cleared his throat. The room silenced around him.
"Welcome, friends," he said. "Thank you for coming out here tonight to join me in the unveiling of WylieTech's newest project."
Lex watched as the room around him smiled a bit wider and leaned in a bit closer. Alistair had that sort of effect on people. He was the most charismatic person that Lex knew. He wondered if that's what had made his father like him so much.
"Project Asclepius, named after the Greek god of medicine and health, will bring just that," Alistair told the crowd. "Project Asclepius aims to heal all illnesses from every corner of the world."
Lex tilted his head. What kind of miracle drug had Alistair run into for Project Asclepius?
"A miracle injection that can heal any illness and bring about peace in humanity's war against diseases," he continued. "Thanks to your generous support and donations, we will all live a better tomorrow. One without diseases."
The crowd began their deafening applause, and Lex slowly clapped along with them. There was something about Project Asclepius that was off. He just had no idea what.
Alistair left the podium, and the people in the room continued to mingle once again. Lex continued to sit in his seat, but if he was being honest, he wanted another drink.
"Alexander!"
Lex took in a deep breath, then put on his best smile. "Alistair," he greeted.
Alistair smiled before sitting down beside Lex. "Its so good to see you," he said. "I trust that life is treating you well?"
Lex set his jaw, then nodded. "It's fine," he told him as he set down the champagne in his hand. "So, how did you do it?"
Alistair tilted his head. "Do what, Alexander?" He asked.
"Project Asclepius," Lex explained. "What kind of deal with the devil did you make to get a miracle drug?"
Alistair let out a chuckle and Lex frowned. There was nothing funny about this situation. A miracle drug that could heal anything was something that humanity had been searching for since the beginning of time. Somehow Alistair had just stumbled upon it.
"You really don't know?" Alistair asked. He sounded shocked, like this miracle drug should be common knowledge.
Lex shook his head. "No?" He said.
Alistair crossed his arms. "Well, that certainly is funny considering you stole it from WylieTech," he told him.
Lex frowned. He hadn't stolen anything from WylieTech? Unless... "The child was never yours," Lex said. "You were hired by my father to work on Project 33.1. You didn't own it."
Alistair shook his head. "It was a partnership. WylieTech and Luthorcorp worked together on that project," he explained. "And you stole from it and shut it down."
"You're not getting the child back," Lex told him. "And the child doesn't have the power to heal. I read the report you sent my father."
Alistair frowned. "Well, certainly not thoroughly enough," he said. "Or did you just not care? Aren't you curious about all of that potential you're missing out on by hiding him?"
Lex was glad he had set down the glass, because he honestly wanted to slam it into Alistair's smug face. As much as he wanted to though, he knew that anything violent he did tonight he would regret tomorrow when it was all over the papers.
"Forgive me if this is a controversial opinion, but I don't think that experimenting on a child is right," Lex said as he stood. He needed to get out of here before he did something he'd regret.
"Ah," Alistair began as Lex began to walk away. "Now I understand why your father tried to have another heir."
Lex spun around. "Excuse me?"
"You aren't ambitious enough, Lex. You need to embrace opportunities with open arms, let your curiosity be free," he told him. "Perhaps... Julian would have been more ambitious. Too bad he died at such a young age, the poor child..."
At the mention of Julian's death, all Lex could see was blue. A blue crib with a blue blanket, a blue pillow hiding blue lips. The blue lips that had been a soft pink. Lex had killed him. He had killed his baby brother.
He took a deep breath that shuddered as he tried to push the intrusive memory away.
"I hope you enjoy the rest of your gala, Alistair," he said. "Congrats on the new project."
He left before Alistair could say another word.
Jonathan and Clark worked in silence.
It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, it was instead a silence of hard work and heavy breathing. There was little time to talk when the horses needed new straw in their pens.
He wished he knew how to help Clark, but he knew that he couldn't. What Clark wanted was his father, and Jonathan wasn't his father. Lex was.
Jonathan put down his pitchfork, then walked over and gently took the pitchfork out of Clark's hands.
"C'mon," Jonathan told him softly. "Time for a break."
The child nodded, then sat down on one of the bales of hay. He was bundled up in a thick coat and there was a hat on his head, but he still looked cold. Winter had come early for Smallville.
Jonathan sat down on the bale beside him, then passed him a thermos of hot chocolate. "Drink this," he said. "It'll warm you up.
Clark began to sip the hot chocolate, and Jonathan sighed before drinking from his own thermos of coffee. The silence was going to kill him. It had been fine while they were working, but now it was too quiet for Jonathan.
"So," Jonathan began, then cleared his throat. "Do you have a favorite horse?"
Clark nodded. "Fancy," he said softly, and Jonathan grinned. Fancy was their brown miniature pony. She had become more temperamental as she got older, but she was never anything less than an angel around Clark. She was the sweetest thing when she was around Clark. He wondered if Clark had gained her trust by sneaking into the sugar cube stash. He also wondered how many of the sugar cubes Clark had eaten if he had found them.
"She's a good girl," Jonathan said. "My favorite is Ace. I can teach you to ride him if you want."
Clark looked up at him, his blue eyes glowing brightly. "Really?" He asked. It hasn't taken long for Jonathan to realize that the kid only spoke in small sentences, but each word was worth a million. He knew what the child had been through. Each word was like a new level of trust to Jonathan.
"Sure," Jonathan said. "It'll need to be a bit warmer out, but if you want to."
Clark grinned. "Thank you."
Jonathan smiled, then watched Clark drink his hot chocolate. He tried to hold back a sigh. It was so easy to keep Clark occupied and happy during the day, but as soon as the sun went down, he was miserable again. He felt useless as the child would scream and cry for his father in the dead of night. It was like a stab to the heart every time.
"Clark?" He began, then looked down at his coffee. "Do you like the farm?"
Clark hesitated before nodding. After a moment though, he spoke. "I want Daddy."
Jonathan resisted the urge to wrap his arms around Clark in a tight hug. In times past, that had just caused an outburst from Clark. "I know you do, buddy," he said.
"Will he be back soon?" Clark asked.
"I don't know..."
"Why not?"
Jonathan sighed. He couldn't tell the child the truth. Telling Clark the truth meant that the child could blame himself or run. He couldn't tell him that Lex wouldn't be back until after he had dealt with everyone who had threatened Clark was gone because it directly put Clark at blame.
"He hasn't told me when he'll be back, kiddo," he said, then stood up. "Well... We should get back to work before Martha finishes dinner and eats the whole pie without us."
Clark nodded, then stood up and grabbed the pitchfork.
After a moment, the two got back to work and the silence enveloped them once again. Only this time, their hearts had sank a little deeper.
So, there's chapter fourteen! I hope you enjoyed! Please follow, fave, and review! I would love to know what you thought!
Thanks for reading! Love y'all!