Genius and Madness
By earis
Rated: PG
Pairing: Clex
Genre: Crossover, Angst
Summary: Lex meets his partner in obsession.
Disclaimer: The boys are hos, but they're not my hos. I make no money from this.
Feedback: "Batter my heart, three-personed God; for, you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise, and stand, and o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn and make me new."
- Divine Meditations 14
_ John Donne
Tokyo was different than Metropolis.
Metropolis was a city of spun steel and glass walls, the diamond buckle of the Bible belt. It loomed on the horizon like a giant of business and industry dominating the prairie around it, forcing the landscape into submission. Metropolis was cold, freezing everything that entered it, placing everything in a state of stasis. Metropolis was a five star general in an Imperial Army answerable only to the Emperor. Completely loyal and completely owned, Metropolis belonged to a few ruthless businessmen and bowing to them was the city's way of breathing.
Tokyo was a seductive mistress who liked to play games. The city looked like it was moving, swaying in the night festooned with colored lights and flashing billboards. It was dirtier than Metropolis, but more exciting, filled to capacity with lively people.
The electronic beeps and odd timbre of Japanese filled the businessman's ears as he stepped on the overcrowded train, shoulder to shoulder with some green-haired punk and a woman in a dress suit. They did not move to accommodate him, they did not even know his name. In Metropolis they would have acquiesced and relinquished space to one of their lords, but Tokyo did not bow to American emperors.
Lex Luthor smiled to himself, reveling in the anonymity of the crowd.
When the train halted, Lex forced his way through the moving mass of bodies and wills in order to get off the train and out of the station. When he reached street level he paused, a small island in the middle of a river of motion. Looking up at the strange city, one who didn't even acknowledge his presence, Lex relaxed and all the tension of the day slid from his shoulders. Gone were the long hours of meetings and networking as Lex tried to secure some contracts that would place LexCorp over LuthorCorp, at least in the Far East.
All he wanted now was to unwind in a normal, non-multi-millionaire fashion.
Lex was going to get drunk at a bar.
Turning into the first bar he could find that had some sort of class, Lex sat down at the counter and ordered a sake. As he waited for his drink he took out his cell phone and toyed with the idea of calling Clark. It would be nice to hear his voice; a sweet, if flat, English among the sharp peaks and valleys of the Japanese around him. But in the end Lex decided against it, he couldn't bring himself to listen to the next chapter in the endless Clark/Chloe/Lana saga.
"Mind if I join you, Mr. Luthor?"
Lex whirled around to face the man standing behind him. No one had recognized him outside of the board meetings, but he didn't remember ever seeing this man before. And this was a man one did not forget. He might have been an albino, but to Lex he looked like a pale angel.
He stood tall, maybe as tall as Clark, but there all similarities ended. This man had armour of impeccable white, white trench coat with a white suit underneath, and the only color was a light blue tie that accented the man's eyes. Well, eye, Lex corrected himself, because a sheaf of silver hair fell across his right eye, effectively shielding it from view. It could have been hazel, or violet, or mechanical and Lex wouldn't have known.
Lex gestured and the impossibly pale man took his seat with a powerful elegance.
"How do you know who I am?" Lex dispensed with courtesy, after all he was an American.
The man chuckled low in his throat and fixed his glasses. There was almost a mocking tone in his voice as he said, "I do read the business pages, Mr. Luthor. I am well aware of your rising star in the business world. Furthermore, I am a doctor and had a hand in breakthroughs in the bioengineering technology in which you are so interested." Silver blue eyes met Lex's and Lex felt the potency behind them.
"You mean the cloning techniques, don't you sensei?," Lex remarked. "Yes, I am interested, and if this is your attempt at convincing me of the immorality of my actions, you can leave right now. I already have a highly vocal, external moral compass at home who is far better than you would ever be."
The pale man laughed again, and Lex was surprised to find himself thinking that the doctor sounded positively evil. "You misunderstand me, Luthor-san. I am here to congratulate you on your wise decision. Americans are particularly averse to the blossoming potential of cloning, but you seem to have overcome your culture's prejudices and made a very prudent business deal."
"I condone nothing." Lex stated. "This deal gives me the first chance at any advanced bioengineering contract that come out of Japan. It is as you said, a prudent business deal. Don't you agree, . . . sorry I didn't catch your name, sensei?"
"Muraki. Kazutaka Muraki." Muraki responded. "It seems as if we are very similar beings, Lex Luthor. Both out to make very good deals, especially if they give us the answer to a personal dream. Come now, Luthor-san, I know that, like me, you are a scientist at heart. You want to use the techniques for something more than just making a profit, ne?"
"Perhaps," Lex admitted but didn't tell Muraki any more. He had wanted to somehow use the cloning to find out Clark's secret. It would take only a few cells of skin or hair would be enough to reveal exactly what the boy was. Maybe he could even try to clone the farmboy and create another raven-haired beauty, one more submissive to both Lex's questions and his advances. Clark would not approve of either scenario. But Lex wouldn't do those things if Clark would just tell him whatever secrets he had, trust Lex enough to accept the billionaire into his life for good.
Muraki looked at him, speculating. "You are not having second thoughts, are you Luthor-san?"
Lex sighed, "There is . . . someone at home who would not approve."
Muraki nodded, "And you are doing it for them, are you not?"
Lex couldn't understand why he let this man toy with him. Did this Muraki always walk up to people and expect them to give way to him? Lex was determined that his will was just as strong as the doctor's. Ignoring the last statement, Lex smiled and queried, "Is there anything you would like, sensei? Because, and forgive me if I'm wrong, there isn't any other reason for you to be addressing me."
Muraki's laughter shocked Lex. "So direct, you always want to get to the point. Tell me Luthor-san, do you ever just sit back and enjoy an experience?"
"Not with strangers." Lex made to leave, but Muraki grasped his wrist.
"My reason for meeting you, Luthor-san, is simple. I just wanted the company of a man very similar to myself."
"Get your hand off me, sensei or I'll have you arrested for harassment."
Muraki let Lex's hand go, a bit taken aback at the forcefulness of the other man's will. But he had to speak with the billionaire, had to make a connection. So he abandoned subtlety and said softly, but firmly, "Do you think growing up bald is better than extraordinary coloring?"
Lex froze, here was a statement he had never expected to hear. No one in Japan commented on his lack of hair, they were all too polite.
Muraki continued, "Fathers who used us, mothers who loved us too much, constantly being set apart from the rest of the world by looks, intelligence, wealth, and personality; I said, before, Luthor-san, we are very similar beings." Muraki leaned close and whispered, "Freaks."
Lex shuddered.
Muraki leaned back and asked, "So, what is he like?"
Lex raised an eyebrow.
"Your 'someone', your 'external moral compass' what is he like?"
"How did you know it was a 'he'?" Lex was disturbed by this man. Disturbed and frightened, for no one had ever been able to read him so well before.
Muraki smiled. "I didn't, but now I do."
Lex sighed into his sake, "His name is Clark and he's the most beautiful and innocent creature I know. He saved my life and I would do anything for him, a sixteen year old boy, but he doesn't think of me as more than a friend. He won't trust me with his secrets. I know not what manner of man he is, but I am drawn to him. I spend my time studying him, cataloging his every move, counting every breath he takes, and imagining him moving and breathing for me. I never want to lose him."
Muraki was silent, lost in thought.
Lex smirked, "Have I scared you yet, Muraki-san?"
Muraki slowly shook his head and asked, "What color are his eyes?"
"Hazel, I think. Sometimes, though, if the light hits them just right, they are a beautiful, living green. Like summer grass."
"Mine's are violet."
Lex's head jerked up. The doctor was not looking at him, lost in his own dream world, and oblivious to the emotion in his voice. Lex wondered if he sounded that pathetic when he spoke about Clark. "What's his name?"
"Asato Tzusuki, but he is always and forever my Beloved. Your description of Clark reminds me of him; innocent, beautiful, an extraordinary specimen of humanity. Never mind that he's not human."
"Not human?"
Muraki met Lex's eyes with a sad smile, "I could tell you an amazing story, Luthor-san, but you wouldn't believe it. Suffice to say that there are wonders in this world, and my Beloved is one of the most perplexing."
"I know the feeling." Lex agreed with Muraki, "Clark's true nature remains a mystery to me, and no matter how hard I try I can't figure him out. On the surface, Clark seems simple, but he complicates my life more than anyone else."
"He's your obsession."
Lex nodded. "He's the fountainhead of everything in my life. All my interests and projects are ultimately for him."
"He's driving you mad."
Lex snarled, ready to defend his pride and obsession, "He's the wellspring of my genius, Kazutaka."
The doctor just curved his lips in something that could be considered a smile. "You misunderstand me, Lex. I'm fascinated by your obsession. We are far more alike than even I realized. I would say that we were in love with the same man, if I didn't know that my Beloved was superhuman."
"Clark seems superhuman sometimes. I told you he saved my life."
"Well, that does not require any sort of extra strength. I save lives every day, as a doctor."
Lex ignored the gleam in the doctor's eye and began to explain himself. "Not like him. Clark saves everybody. He's pulled more people out of the way of bullets and burning cars than the Metropolis Fire Department and the Police Department put together. It's like he believes himself to be the Second Coming, Herakles, and Beowulf all rolled into one."
The doctor considered this, propping his chin in his long, pale fingers, and asked, "How did he save you?"
"The first time? Or the fifteenth?"
Muraki's eyebrows shot up, and his lips parted in a surprised exhale.
"I lost control of my car on a bridge. As I plowed through the railing, I saw a person standing in front of my car. He looked so frightened and young. I hated myself for killing him. Everything went black, and I felt like I was flying away, seeing the land below me for one last time. Next thing I know, I'm lying on the ground, coughing up river water, and recovering from the softest kiss of my life. When I opened my eyes, I saw him. The boy from the bridge."
"But didn't you hit him?" Muraki was confused.
Lex rested his elbows on the bar and put his fingertips together. Staring off into space, Lex went through a familiar chant, "He's says I didn't. I thought I did. I trust him more than I trust myself. But the computer simulation points to a miracle, and I can't let that go. All the evidence is adding up. The answer will come soon. I just wish he could trust me enough to tell me the truth."
"Do you want him as a friend or as a test subject?" Muraki's gazed on the man, observing his slow descent to darkness. This man was himself fifteen years ago, stumbling across forbidden knowledge and forbidden desire.
Lex met the man's gaze, "If I can't have one, I'll take the other."
"It doesn't sound like he'll go quietly."
Lex smiled conspiratorially, "He will fight me. You know, I think that's half the fun."
It would be unfair to describe Muraki's laughter as maniacal, but it came close. "They're so cute when they put up resistance. Tzusuki blushes so prettily when he realizes what exactly I want from him."
Leering, Lex agreed, "Clark can blush like no one's business. I bet he could beat your Tzusuki in any cuteness contest. He's like a big puppy."
"I don't know about that, Luthor-san," Muraki said. "Just feed him a slice of apple pie, and Tzusuki sprouts ears and a tail. He's a ball of cute energy after any dessert."
Lex laughed in shock, "Pie? Apple pie is Clark's favorite food in the world. You should see him when his mother makes apple pie. Every other statement out of his mouth is 'Pie'. 'Pie this', 'Pie that', 'Yay!Pie'. He even forgets that my touch is supposed to be repulsive."
Muraki grinned, "I'm sure you never let such an excellent opportunity slip through your fingers."
"I never do. I'll take what I can get from Clark." Lex's face grew serious, " I don't want to give him up."
Muraki nodded, "You want to have a special place in his life, a position that no one else has."
Lex agreed, "I want to be something irreplaceable to him."
There was a long pause as Muraki stared into his sake, elegant fingers running over the rim of the glass. Suddenly, he turned to Lex and asked, "Would you kill for him?"
Lex was a little surprised at the question." I already have. Someone was threatening his family, someone I was responsible for, so I shot the man."
Muraki shook his head. "Not like that. Would you kill innocent people for him?"
Lex was stunned. But the doctor was serious, so Lex asked, "Why? What would the benefit be?"
Muraki smiled, this man was already on his journey and so eager to learn. He asked, "How far would Clark go to protect innocent lives?"
"Excuse me?" Lex gasped in disbelief. He stood up, flung several bills down on the bar, grabbed his coat and said, "I have no time for this."
As he walked out of the room, the Muraki's last words followed him like ghosts, "If you were your Beloved's archenemy, you would mean so much to him. He would never be free of you, he would bound to you forever."
Lex was repulsed. The doctor was mad! And he clearly was a very dangerous man. Lex pitied the poor Tzusuki, beloved by such a monster. And yet, a little voice inside him said, the violet-eyed man was not human. Maybe the two of them did belong together.
Lex flagged down a taxi and returned to his five-star hotel. Disgust and revulsion squirmed in his stomach and wriggled over his skin. He found himself craving a scalding shower and a bottle of brandy, hoping to burn away the residue of filth and rising bile that his evening's company had left him with.
When Lex entered his hotel room, he realized that he had left the TV on CNN. When he crossed the presidential suite to turn it off, the breaking news grabbed his attention. He stood in the flickering blue light of the television, transfixed by the news.
TORNADO HITS METROPOLIS!!!
Hundreds of people had died and billions of dollars had been lost in property damages while he was engaged in verbal judo with a crazed, albino doctor. Lex fell back onto the king-sized bed in disbelief, and than rose up slowly as a special report began to be broadcast.
ANGEL SAVES DOZENS OF LIVES!!!
Story after story of a gust of wind, superhuman strength, and a mysterious savior came flowing into Lex's ears, borne on the television waves. There was only one picture of the angel, taken by a security camera and flashed every minute on the TV screen.
Lex recognized it. He had one just like it at home. A back and white photograph of a blurry shape that looked only moderately human.
Lex knew it wasn't.
iAll the evidence is adding up. The answer will come soon. I just wish he could trust me enough to tell me the truth./i
No. He doesn't trust you enough. No one trusts you enough, because you are dangerous and evil.
iHe's the most beautiful creature I know, and the most innocent. I would do anything for him, a sixteen-year old boy, but he doesn't think of me as more than a friend./i
Oh course he doesn't. He's innocent, you're corruption manifest. You sully him.
iHe even forgets that my touch is supposed to be repulsive.
I'm sure you never let such an excellent opportunity slip through your fingers./i
I take what I can get from, Clark. He will never accept me. I love him, but I want him as well.
iI spend my time studying him, cataloging his every move, counting every breath he takes, and imagining him moving and breathing for me. I never want to lose him./i
Watching isn't enough anymore. I need more. If he won't trust me, than he won't love me.
iI want to be something irreplaceable to him./i
He will leave me. He saved me. I saved him. He can't leave me because we have a destiny.
If he leaves me, he will destroy me.
He may already have.
iDo you want him as a friend or as a test subject?/i
He won't let me be a friend. He won't let me be an ally. I can't lose him.
iIf I can't have one, I'll take the other
It doesn't sound like he'll go quietly
He will fight me./i
No one can fight destiny. Not even with superhuman strength.
We are bound together, soul mates in the truest sense of the words. Our souls rise above all others, beyond good and evil or love and hate. If he won't let me be his love, I'll be his enemy.
I'll be the enemy to the hero, giving him something no one else could.
I'll give him a character, a purpose, and a story.
And when I pile corpses at his feet, he'll know that I'm still here. He'll remember that we are bound together. He'll will understand that if it wasn't for him they would not have died, because I would not have become myself.
And he will break.
And I will be the one who sees him broken.
iHe's your obsession.
He's driving you mad./i
He will be my greatest accomplishment
By earis
Rated: PG
Pairing: Clex
Genre: Crossover, Angst
Summary: Lex meets his partner in obsession.
Disclaimer: The boys are hos, but they're not my hos. I make no money from this.
Feedback: "Batter my heart, three-personed God; for, you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise, and stand, and o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn and make me new."
- Divine Meditations 14
_ John Donne
Tokyo was different than Metropolis.
Metropolis was a city of spun steel and glass walls, the diamond buckle of the Bible belt. It loomed on the horizon like a giant of business and industry dominating the prairie around it, forcing the landscape into submission. Metropolis was cold, freezing everything that entered it, placing everything in a state of stasis. Metropolis was a five star general in an Imperial Army answerable only to the Emperor. Completely loyal and completely owned, Metropolis belonged to a few ruthless businessmen and bowing to them was the city's way of breathing.
Tokyo was a seductive mistress who liked to play games. The city looked like it was moving, swaying in the night festooned with colored lights and flashing billboards. It was dirtier than Metropolis, but more exciting, filled to capacity with lively people.
The electronic beeps and odd timbre of Japanese filled the businessman's ears as he stepped on the overcrowded train, shoulder to shoulder with some green-haired punk and a woman in a dress suit. They did not move to accommodate him, they did not even know his name. In Metropolis they would have acquiesced and relinquished space to one of their lords, but Tokyo did not bow to American emperors.
Lex Luthor smiled to himself, reveling in the anonymity of the crowd.
When the train halted, Lex forced his way through the moving mass of bodies and wills in order to get off the train and out of the station. When he reached street level he paused, a small island in the middle of a river of motion. Looking up at the strange city, one who didn't even acknowledge his presence, Lex relaxed and all the tension of the day slid from his shoulders. Gone were the long hours of meetings and networking as Lex tried to secure some contracts that would place LexCorp over LuthorCorp, at least in the Far East.
All he wanted now was to unwind in a normal, non-multi-millionaire fashion.
Lex was going to get drunk at a bar.
Turning into the first bar he could find that had some sort of class, Lex sat down at the counter and ordered a sake. As he waited for his drink he took out his cell phone and toyed with the idea of calling Clark. It would be nice to hear his voice; a sweet, if flat, English among the sharp peaks and valleys of the Japanese around him. But in the end Lex decided against it, he couldn't bring himself to listen to the next chapter in the endless Clark/Chloe/Lana saga.
"Mind if I join you, Mr. Luthor?"
Lex whirled around to face the man standing behind him. No one had recognized him outside of the board meetings, but he didn't remember ever seeing this man before. And this was a man one did not forget. He might have been an albino, but to Lex he looked like a pale angel.
He stood tall, maybe as tall as Clark, but there all similarities ended. This man had armour of impeccable white, white trench coat with a white suit underneath, and the only color was a light blue tie that accented the man's eyes. Well, eye, Lex corrected himself, because a sheaf of silver hair fell across his right eye, effectively shielding it from view. It could have been hazel, or violet, or mechanical and Lex wouldn't have known.
Lex gestured and the impossibly pale man took his seat with a powerful elegance.
"How do you know who I am?" Lex dispensed with courtesy, after all he was an American.
The man chuckled low in his throat and fixed his glasses. There was almost a mocking tone in his voice as he said, "I do read the business pages, Mr. Luthor. I am well aware of your rising star in the business world. Furthermore, I am a doctor and had a hand in breakthroughs in the bioengineering technology in which you are so interested." Silver blue eyes met Lex's and Lex felt the potency behind them.
"You mean the cloning techniques, don't you sensei?," Lex remarked. "Yes, I am interested, and if this is your attempt at convincing me of the immorality of my actions, you can leave right now. I already have a highly vocal, external moral compass at home who is far better than you would ever be."
The pale man laughed again, and Lex was surprised to find himself thinking that the doctor sounded positively evil. "You misunderstand me, Luthor-san. I am here to congratulate you on your wise decision. Americans are particularly averse to the blossoming potential of cloning, but you seem to have overcome your culture's prejudices and made a very prudent business deal."
"I condone nothing." Lex stated. "This deal gives me the first chance at any advanced bioengineering contract that come out of Japan. It is as you said, a prudent business deal. Don't you agree, . . . sorry I didn't catch your name, sensei?"
"Muraki. Kazutaka Muraki." Muraki responded. "It seems as if we are very similar beings, Lex Luthor. Both out to make very good deals, especially if they give us the answer to a personal dream. Come now, Luthor-san, I know that, like me, you are a scientist at heart. You want to use the techniques for something more than just making a profit, ne?"
"Perhaps," Lex admitted but didn't tell Muraki any more. He had wanted to somehow use the cloning to find out Clark's secret. It would take only a few cells of skin or hair would be enough to reveal exactly what the boy was. Maybe he could even try to clone the farmboy and create another raven-haired beauty, one more submissive to both Lex's questions and his advances. Clark would not approve of either scenario. But Lex wouldn't do those things if Clark would just tell him whatever secrets he had, trust Lex enough to accept the billionaire into his life for good.
Muraki looked at him, speculating. "You are not having second thoughts, are you Luthor-san?"
Lex sighed, "There is . . . someone at home who would not approve."
Muraki nodded, "And you are doing it for them, are you not?"
Lex couldn't understand why he let this man toy with him. Did this Muraki always walk up to people and expect them to give way to him? Lex was determined that his will was just as strong as the doctor's. Ignoring the last statement, Lex smiled and queried, "Is there anything you would like, sensei? Because, and forgive me if I'm wrong, there isn't any other reason for you to be addressing me."
Muraki's laughter shocked Lex. "So direct, you always want to get to the point. Tell me Luthor-san, do you ever just sit back and enjoy an experience?"
"Not with strangers." Lex made to leave, but Muraki grasped his wrist.
"My reason for meeting you, Luthor-san, is simple. I just wanted the company of a man very similar to myself."
"Get your hand off me, sensei or I'll have you arrested for harassment."
Muraki let Lex's hand go, a bit taken aback at the forcefulness of the other man's will. But he had to speak with the billionaire, had to make a connection. So he abandoned subtlety and said softly, but firmly, "Do you think growing up bald is better than extraordinary coloring?"
Lex froze, here was a statement he had never expected to hear. No one in Japan commented on his lack of hair, they were all too polite.
Muraki continued, "Fathers who used us, mothers who loved us too much, constantly being set apart from the rest of the world by looks, intelligence, wealth, and personality; I said, before, Luthor-san, we are very similar beings." Muraki leaned close and whispered, "Freaks."
Lex shuddered.
Muraki leaned back and asked, "So, what is he like?"
Lex raised an eyebrow.
"Your 'someone', your 'external moral compass' what is he like?"
"How did you know it was a 'he'?" Lex was disturbed by this man. Disturbed and frightened, for no one had ever been able to read him so well before.
Muraki smiled. "I didn't, but now I do."
Lex sighed into his sake, "His name is Clark and he's the most beautiful and innocent creature I know. He saved my life and I would do anything for him, a sixteen year old boy, but he doesn't think of me as more than a friend. He won't trust me with his secrets. I know not what manner of man he is, but I am drawn to him. I spend my time studying him, cataloging his every move, counting every breath he takes, and imagining him moving and breathing for me. I never want to lose him."
Muraki was silent, lost in thought.
Lex smirked, "Have I scared you yet, Muraki-san?"
Muraki slowly shook his head and asked, "What color are his eyes?"
"Hazel, I think. Sometimes, though, if the light hits them just right, they are a beautiful, living green. Like summer grass."
"Mine's are violet."
Lex's head jerked up. The doctor was not looking at him, lost in his own dream world, and oblivious to the emotion in his voice. Lex wondered if he sounded that pathetic when he spoke about Clark. "What's his name?"
"Asato Tzusuki, but he is always and forever my Beloved. Your description of Clark reminds me of him; innocent, beautiful, an extraordinary specimen of humanity. Never mind that he's not human."
"Not human?"
Muraki met Lex's eyes with a sad smile, "I could tell you an amazing story, Luthor-san, but you wouldn't believe it. Suffice to say that there are wonders in this world, and my Beloved is one of the most perplexing."
"I know the feeling." Lex agreed with Muraki, "Clark's true nature remains a mystery to me, and no matter how hard I try I can't figure him out. On the surface, Clark seems simple, but he complicates my life more than anyone else."
"He's your obsession."
Lex nodded. "He's the fountainhead of everything in my life. All my interests and projects are ultimately for him."
"He's driving you mad."
Lex snarled, ready to defend his pride and obsession, "He's the wellspring of my genius, Kazutaka."
The doctor just curved his lips in something that could be considered a smile. "You misunderstand me, Lex. I'm fascinated by your obsession. We are far more alike than even I realized. I would say that we were in love with the same man, if I didn't know that my Beloved was superhuman."
"Clark seems superhuman sometimes. I told you he saved my life."
"Well, that does not require any sort of extra strength. I save lives every day, as a doctor."
Lex ignored the gleam in the doctor's eye and began to explain himself. "Not like him. Clark saves everybody. He's pulled more people out of the way of bullets and burning cars than the Metropolis Fire Department and the Police Department put together. It's like he believes himself to be the Second Coming, Herakles, and Beowulf all rolled into one."
The doctor considered this, propping his chin in his long, pale fingers, and asked, "How did he save you?"
"The first time? Or the fifteenth?"
Muraki's eyebrows shot up, and his lips parted in a surprised exhale.
"I lost control of my car on a bridge. As I plowed through the railing, I saw a person standing in front of my car. He looked so frightened and young. I hated myself for killing him. Everything went black, and I felt like I was flying away, seeing the land below me for one last time. Next thing I know, I'm lying on the ground, coughing up river water, and recovering from the softest kiss of my life. When I opened my eyes, I saw him. The boy from the bridge."
"But didn't you hit him?" Muraki was confused.
Lex rested his elbows on the bar and put his fingertips together. Staring off into space, Lex went through a familiar chant, "He's says I didn't. I thought I did. I trust him more than I trust myself. But the computer simulation points to a miracle, and I can't let that go. All the evidence is adding up. The answer will come soon. I just wish he could trust me enough to tell me the truth."
"Do you want him as a friend or as a test subject?" Muraki's gazed on the man, observing his slow descent to darkness. This man was himself fifteen years ago, stumbling across forbidden knowledge and forbidden desire.
Lex met the man's gaze, "If I can't have one, I'll take the other."
"It doesn't sound like he'll go quietly."
Lex smiled conspiratorially, "He will fight me. You know, I think that's half the fun."
It would be unfair to describe Muraki's laughter as maniacal, but it came close. "They're so cute when they put up resistance. Tzusuki blushes so prettily when he realizes what exactly I want from him."
Leering, Lex agreed, "Clark can blush like no one's business. I bet he could beat your Tzusuki in any cuteness contest. He's like a big puppy."
"I don't know about that, Luthor-san," Muraki said. "Just feed him a slice of apple pie, and Tzusuki sprouts ears and a tail. He's a ball of cute energy after any dessert."
Lex laughed in shock, "Pie? Apple pie is Clark's favorite food in the world. You should see him when his mother makes apple pie. Every other statement out of his mouth is 'Pie'. 'Pie this', 'Pie that', 'Yay!Pie'. He even forgets that my touch is supposed to be repulsive."
Muraki grinned, "I'm sure you never let such an excellent opportunity slip through your fingers."
"I never do. I'll take what I can get from Clark." Lex's face grew serious, " I don't want to give him up."
Muraki nodded, "You want to have a special place in his life, a position that no one else has."
Lex agreed, "I want to be something irreplaceable to him."
There was a long pause as Muraki stared into his sake, elegant fingers running over the rim of the glass. Suddenly, he turned to Lex and asked, "Would you kill for him?"
Lex was a little surprised at the question." I already have. Someone was threatening his family, someone I was responsible for, so I shot the man."
Muraki shook his head. "Not like that. Would you kill innocent people for him?"
Lex was stunned. But the doctor was serious, so Lex asked, "Why? What would the benefit be?"
Muraki smiled, this man was already on his journey and so eager to learn. He asked, "How far would Clark go to protect innocent lives?"
"Excuse me?" Lex gasped in disbelief. He stood up, flung several bills down on the bar, grabbed his coat and said, "I have no time for this."
As he walked out of the room, the Muraki's last words followed him like ghosts, "If you were your Beloved's archenemy, you would mean so much to him. He would never be free of you, he would bound to you forever."
Lex was repulsed. The doctor was mad! And he clearly was a very dangerous man. Lex pitied the poor Tzusuki, beloved by such a monster. And yet, a little voice inside him said, the violet-eyed man was not human. Maybe the two of them did belong together.
Lex flagged down a taxi and returned to his five-star hotel. Disgust and revulsion squirmed in his stomach and wriggled over his skin. He found himself craving a scalding shower and a bottle of brandy, hoping to burn away the residue of filth and rising bile that his evening's company had left him with.
When Lex entered his hotel room, he realized that he had left the TV on CNN. When he crossed the presidential suite to turn it off, the breaking news grabbed his attention. He stood in the flickering blue light of the television, transfixed by the news.
TORNADO HITS METROPOLIS!!!
Hundreds of people had died and billions of dollars had been lost in property damages while he was engaged in verbal judo with a crazed, albino doctor. Lex fell back onto the king-sized bed in disbelief, and than rose up slowly as a special report began to be broadcast.
ANGEL SAVES DOZENS OF LIVES!!!
Story after story of a gust of wind, superhuman strength, and a mysterious savior came flowing into Lex's ears, borne on the television waves. There was only one picture of the angel, taken by a security camera and flashed every minute on the TV screen.
Lex recognized it. He had one just like it at home. A back and white photograph of a blurry shape that looked only moderately human.
Lex knew it wasn't.
iAll the evidence is adding up. The answer will come soon. I just wish he could trust me enough to tell me the truth./i
No. He doesn't trust you enough. No one trusts you enough, because you are dangerous and evil.
iHe's the most beautiful creature I know, and the most innocent. I would do anything for him, a sixteen-year old boy, but he doesn't think of me as more than a friend./i
Oh course he doesn't. He's innocent, you're corruption manifest. You sully him.
iHe even forgets that my touch is supposed to be repulsive.
I'm sure you never let such an excellent opportunity slip through your fingers./i
I take what I can get from, Clark. He will never accept me. I love him, but I want him as well.
iI spend my time studying him, cataloging his every move, counting every breath he takes, and imagining him moving and breathing for me. I never want to lose him./i
Watching isn't enough anymore. I need more. If he won't trust me, than he won't love me.
iI want to be something irreplaceable to him./i
He will leave me. He saved me. I saved him. He can't leave me because we have a destiny.
If he leaves me, he will destroy me.
He may already have.
iDo you want him as a friend or as a test subject?/i
He won't let me be a friend. He won't let me be an ally. I can't lose him.
iIf I can't have one, I'll take the other
It doesn't sound like he'll go quietly
He will fight me./i
No one can fight destiny. Not even with superhuman strength.
We are bound together, soul mates in the truest sense of the words. Our souls rise above all others, beyond good and evil or love and hate. If he won't let me be his love, I'll be his enemy.
I'll be the enemy to the hero, giving him something no one else could.
I'll give him a character, a purpose, and a story.
And when I pile corpses at his feet, he'll know that I'm still here. He'll remember that we are bound together. He'll will understand that if it wasn't for him they would not have died, because I would not have become myself.
And he will break.
And I will be the one who sees him broken.
iHe's your obsession.
He's driving you mad./i
He will be my greatest accomplishment