Chapter 35:
Lex leafed through the pages of the notebook on his lap, trying to make sense of it all. Of all the things that Rachel had given him, this was the conundrum. It was a chaotic mix of information, with phrases scrawled haphazardly in the margins, little sketches here and there. He was beginning to understand what she had meant when she said her father had started losing it towards the end. Most of what he wrote didn't add up. His handwriting gradually worsened, with some borderline form of dysgraphia. And he was completely obsessed with one phrase above all else.
Green rocks.
It was everywhere. Circled, highlighted, repeated, underlined. Lex flipped another page over at seeing the words, frustration manifesting itself with a twitch under his eye. He had no idea what the words meant, no context clues whatsoever, but somehow it was of utmost importance to Sheriff Harris.
It felt like an intrusion reading it all. Like this was something too personal.
The words I'm not crazy stared back at him on the next page, hearkening him back to Lana Lang's suicide note. Something like that stuck with a person, of that Lex was certain. A flash of a memory sliced through his brain— his mother's body on the pavement, his father's gun on the floor. He shuddered. Suicide was not painless.
He snapped the journal shut with a sigh and glanced out the window of the car nervously. Still nothing. He should probably just jump out, get this over with. Waiting wouldn't make anything easier. He wiped his palms on his slacks. It was a simple enough plan: get out of the car, talk to his girlfriend. Two steps. He shouldn't be so nervous to talk to his girlfriend. She had to know.
He banished the vision of emerald stones from his mind as they popped up. He had to focus. Lex didn't know why Harris' fixation had turned from the case to green rocks, but he knew it wasn't helpful, and right now it didn't matter. What he had should be proof enough that Clark Kent wasn't the altruistic hero he pretended to be.
"On the count of three," he muttered under his breath, fixing his shirt collar. It was going to be a long drive to the Daily Planet, but she had to see. She had to know she was being duped. He stepped out of the town car and around the back, when a movement in his peripheral caught his attention. Lois' form emerging from the doorway to her apartment had his heart fluttering. Nine days was far too long to spend without her.
Then she pivoted, held the door open behind her, and out walked Clark Kent.
Lex froze, rooted to the spot as ice filled up his stomach and spread through his limbs. He stared blatantly, unable to look away as the two ambled casually down the street. His eyes clocked every movement they made— Kent leaning into her with a smile and some unheard line of wittiness. Lois nudged him with her elbow good-naturedly. He responded with a booming laugh and offered up his arm. Lois took it gracefully.
What the hell?
His throat was closing up and breathing was getting harder. Lex rationalized. Lois wouldn't cheat on him. She wouldn't. But he couldn't refute the evidence. There they were, leaving her apartment together in the morning hours and collecting casual touches and they were well within each other's personal space— and this line of thought was getting him nowhere.
The pair rounded the corner of the block, and ice that had him frozen suddenly melted as Lex made a dive back for the confines of his car. His head was spinning, his mouth was dry and his tongue tasted like pennies and left him gagging. Oh God. It couldn't be true. His eyes were tricking him, or he was reading into things... right now, Lex couldn't fathom any situation that would end with the two of them walking down the street together, beyond the obvious. But there was bound to be an explanation. Lois wouldn't cheat on him. Not Lois. Not with him.
Their body language was telling him otherwise.
He buried his face in his hands, pulling at his hair anxiously. This was a nightmare. It was a living, lucid nightmare and he was just sitting there, watching it all happen to him, as if he was a bystander in his own life. A footnote.
"Everything all right, Mr. Luthor? Anything I can help you with?"
Lex scrunched his eyes shut for one moment more to compose himself, and sat up to instruct the driver. "Yes, fine. Will you please take me back home?"
"Already? We just got—"
"Yes, that what I said."
The man shrugged and put the partition back up as he started the car. Lex planted his face in his hands once more, unable to hold up the weight of his head on his own. How could this have happened? His life was finally perfect, he had just about everything he ever could have wanted, and then Clark Kent had to come into their lives.
No more.
He refused to be passive. He wouldn't allow this... this kid to walk all over him. It was time for Kent to learn who he was really dealing with. Lex ran a hand through his hair once more, brushed the few stray hairs that came with it away, and settled back into his seat. "Let the games begin."
*****LnC*****
Clark stood nervously in the conference room, the very spot where he'd accidentally declared his love for Lois just two days ago. What a whirlwind. He couldn't believe it still. She was handling it pretty well, all things considered. Miniature meltdown and binge drinking excluded, they were closer than ever before.
His heart skipped a beat. He hadn't intended to say the words ever, let alone so early. He could hardly wrap his head around the fact that he actually loved Lois Lane. The last thing he expected out of his life was to fall in love. It wasn't something he'd ever imagined for himself, what with how focused he was on avenging his father. But it made every victory with Lex that much sweeter.
His cell phone rang in his pocket, and he picked up the device with no small measure of glee. "Kent."
"We're back in town, sir. When can we meet?"
Clark stilled, glancing out at the bullpen surreptitiously. He almost forgot about Nigel in all the chaos. He rubbed his jawline, trying to come up with an answer. "I'm not going to be available today. Tomorrow morning, perhaps?"
"Whatever suits you. The usual spot?"
Clark winced. Right. Another thing he forgot to check back in on. "Better steer clear of the docks for a while. How about you just meet me at my place?"
"Of course. Is there any reason in particular why?"
"I'll tell you when we meet." A couple of voices in the bullpen drew his attention away from his phone call, and he watched as a group started gathering around the television. He frowned, curiosity getting the better of him. "I'll let you go now, Nigel. Something's going on."
He hung up without any other notice, and made his way over to the group, stopping short just behind Lois. He casually rested a hand on her shoulder as he leaned forward with interest. "What's going on?"
"There's a big fire downtown." Lois didn't bother to look back at him, only recognition of his presence being the brief flinch that ran through her at his touch and the instant relaxation that followed.
Clark bit his lip as she leaned into him unconsciously. What this woman did to him, with even the slightest of motions. God, he loved her. "That's awful."
"Tell me about it. Where the hell is our resident superhero in all this?"
He blinked, spine straightening suddenly as he released her shoulder and leaned away. "What?"
She rolled her eyes dramatically, sarcasm dripping from her tongue. "You know, that one guy, in the cape, flies around? What’s his name…”
Clark rolled his eyes in return. “Ha, ha. Very amusing. What about him?”
“He hasn't done any rescues in a few days!” She gestured broadly at the television screen, not hiding her disdain in the least. “This is a big one, and still nothing. So much for having a superhero around town."
Clark feinted distractedly, brushing his hands across his pants, his sleeves, through the air. "I'm sure he has a good reason. Maybe he's doing rescues somewhere else. Or maybe he has a personal life. We don't know."
Lois rolled her eyes and looked back at him with a disparaging stare. "Yeah, well, this situation warrants a superhero. And we got one. And he's nowhere to be found." She turned back to watch the blaze on the television. "Figures he'd disappoint."
"All right, then, Lois. You're right, of course. You look into it." She shot a toothy grin at him, and he took a step back. "I gotta get going, though. Just got a call from one of my business associates— there's a deal that might be falling through I have to go supervise. So, if you need me, give me a call."
"I think I'll manage on my own, thanks."
Clark grinned and spun on his heel. His grin fell away almost as soon as he was out of sight. Lois' words bothered him. She was right of course. If he was going to play at superhero, he had to make it look convincing. It wasn't right that he just stopped crimes when he felt like it, when he had free time, or when Lois was in danger. He had to be around a little bit more than that.
That was the hard part.
He ducked into the alley outside the Daily Planet and spun into the suit.
