Title: A Thirst for Knowledge
Rating: MA
Content: Chlex
Summary: Set after Lex and Lana's first night together. Lex realizes that Lana is useless in his quest for Clark's secret (besides being annoying). Enter one blond, one plan, and one hell of a lot of trouble.
Spoilers: I reserve the right to use whatever isn't completely stomach turning from any season (which leaves so little to work with in recent years).
Disclaimer: The characters of Smallville belong to their creators, and those who own the rights to them in any form. I am not one of those people. No infringement is intended, no profit is made. Besides, if they were mine you'd be watching this instead of reading it.
Author's notes: Please read - With the exception of taking on Birthday Surprise, I'm not a Chlex writer. My niece roped me into participating in National Novel Writing Month - a challenge in which you try to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. She has the talent and creativity to be a published author so I thought I'd be supportive and give it a shot (sometimes being an aunt sucks). I write in a different fandom, but a friend of mine pointed out that if I tried writing something like this on a subject about which I write normally I'd burn myself out on it. So I thought I'd try a Chlex fic. Here's the catch -
NaNoWriMo is about quantity over quality. So in addition to having no experience writing for this ship, this story is unbetaed and barely edited. I read through it once because they tell you not to bother with a lot of rewrites. So this may, in fact, suck big time.
Also, I missed a lot of Season 5 and I'm not that dedicated to Season 6 (although I keep clogging my DVR with it). And, because this is going to be my only attempt at Chlex I don't see the need for me to torture myself watching all those episodes or reading all of the transcripts in depth as opposed to just skimming them when necessary.
So, to recap – This fic has no beta, little editing, isn't overly burdened by quality, and will remain unfettered by recent canon. Proceed at your own risk! :)
Prologue
Lex turned his head on his pillow and didn't like what he saw.
Lana Lang.
It wasn't Lana, per se that he didn't like. He just didn't like waking up with her.
On the whole she was a good person. Unlike himself, she never really set out to hurt people. It was simply that Lana Lang had a vast sense of entitlement; one even larger than his own could be at times. There wasn't a situation that arose, a set of circumstances in which she was even a minor part, which she didn't honestly believe was solely about her.
It wasn't a hardness of heart, or even an innate sense of unfeeling selfishness that created this self-oriented outlook on life; it was just that no one had ever indicated to her that reality was contrary to the way she saw it. She would wander into an interaction between others, assume that she was either the genesis of the conflict or the essential piece to it's resolution and, no matter how utterly untrue all involved might know this to be, no one ever said as much to Lana. And so, like a child who was told that the color of the sky was red, and thus innocently assigned that descriptor to all things blue, Lana went about her life blissfully unaware that the earth, in actuality, revolved around the sun and not her; and that sometimes she, like everyone, was merely an observer of events and not the center of them.
And this honest misperception of reality made it somewhat regrettable that he had to hurt her. Lex almost wished that she was evil as opposed to being merely too unobservant and imperceptive to see beyond herself. But, realistically, he could hardly stay with her any longer. For now that he'd actually had her, the obsessive fog that had been clouding his judgment was beginning to lift.
At first the plan had been to use her to learn Clark's secret. But over time, as that goal seemed more and more elusive, the pursuit of Lana had simply turned into a way to best the young man who had once been his closest friend. Although he hated to admit it, even to himself, Clark's continued distrust of him made him feel unworthy; a feeling that had been fostered in him by his father since childhood. In the absence of his faith, Lex had chosen to prove his worth by winning the woman Clark loved.
Unfortunately he'd become so driven that the idea of possessing Lana promised far more than the reality could ever hope to deliver. And now, in the crystal clarity that only the morning after can bring, he understood that there was little validation to be found in winning a battle if it didn't lead to victory in the war.
He had completely lost sight of the objective and the price would be high, indeed. Not only had he lost precious time in this deflection from his original purpose, but now he had to handle a rejected lover. Dealing with Lana could stretch one's patience during the best of times; but coping with Lana Lang when she failed to get her way was the kind of unpleasantness that made him think of a head injury with longing. And the hysterics in which she was sure to indulge would be magnified ten times over because he couldn't even soothe her injured pride by allowing her to be the one to break things off. Although it was true that his mind was clear enough to reset his priorities and, once again, construct a viable means to the end of ascertaining the truth that was so clearly being kept from him; he couldn't help but want to assure this particular victory over Clark, seeing that it had needlessly consumed so much of his time.
With endless gratitude and a deep sense of irony Lex knew that his triumph over Clark in this matter came not in keeping Lana from him, but in returning her to him with all due haste.
Lex had no illusions that he might love Lana Lang and could clearly see that neither did Lana care overly much for him. Indeed, they had both been momentarily drawn together by the need, unacknowledged on Lana's part, to punish Clark. Luckily Lex, having far more experience in the darker aspects of human interactions, realized this first. And so, in the end, it would be he that hurt Clark the most in this skirmish.
And doing so, while sure to be unpleasant in the extreme, would be sinfully simple. He merely had to dump Lana; and he needed to do so quickly. Lana was not a woman who could survive long without a man to lean on. If he allowed Lana the opportunity to recognize the lack of any true feelings between them, then she would waste little time running back into Clark's arms. Lex would then become the unwanted castoff; the pathetic substitute who could never truly measure up to the earnest and upright farm boy.
However, if he was the one to end their pseudo relationship then, when Clark ultimately reunited with his first love, it would be widely acknowledged, although certainly never spoken, that Clark was the man for whom Lana had to settle when Lex rebuffed her.
His mouth twisted in a bitterly satisfied smirk and he didn't even attempt to deny how much that thought satisfied something in him. What didn't please him, however, was the fact that he was back at square one when it came to his original goal – exposing Clark.
Not willing to spend another minute in such close proximity to the proof of his miscalculation, Lex slipped silently out of the bed and made his way to the shower to wash away all evidence of his failure.
As the water sheeted off of his hard form, taking the now cloying scent of Lana with it, he let out a heavy sigh. He began replaying the events of the past year, searching for what he'd missed when he'd chosen Lana as the lynchpin of his plan. With a sinking feeling in his stomach he was forced to one inescapable conclusion – His father had been right.
Although it made him sick to admit, Lionel Luthor had tried, repeatedly, to drill into him that his emotions would always be his Achilles' heel, and the bastard's prediction had been unerringly correct. Of course, since his father was the cause of the emotions that were generally at the root of his more misguided actions, it was hardly surprising that the man could foresee the product of his many abuses and manipulations.
Lex realized that he was doing it again; letting his feelings come between him and cold, hard logic. Focusing on the mystery that was Clark, once more, he was suddenly struck with a heady sense of revelation.
The path to getting to Clark wasn't didn't lie with someone who could learn his secret, but through someone who knew it already.
Chloe Sullivan.
Of course, he wasn't an idiot. He'd toyed with the idea before. When he'd dragged Chloe to the cave he'd believed that she knew something about whatever Clark was hiding. But when he'd retrieved her from the Yukon he'd known for sure. Chloe was, if nothing else, intensely curious, to the point that it regularly compromised her safety. If she'd truly had no idea of how she'd been transported to the wilds of Canada, she would have had an endless stream of questions from which the Prime Minister himself would not have been safe. And instead of refusing Lex's attempts at understanding what had occurred, she would have been enlisting his assistance if for no other reason than access to his near limitless resources. Even her anger at being dragged to the caves in the middle of a meteor shower would have been set aside in her relentless quest for the truth.
But Lex had quickly abandoned that line of thought in favor of a strategy involving Lana. It wasn't out of any particular preference for one girl over the other. When all was said and done, his choice was made for two reasons.
First, he'd been sure that if Clark would take Chloe into his confidence then it was only a matter of days, maybe weeks before he told the woman who had always held more importance in his life than the blonde.
His second rationale had to do with his partnerships with both Lana and Chloe, respectively. In the time he'd spent with both women he'd learned that Lana's myopic view of the world made her easy to mislead and, should the situation call for it, manipulate. Chloe, on the other hand, had an ingrained, benign sense of cynicism that was able to allow for the worst while not necessarily expecting it. It encouraged a clever intuitiveness in her that would have made attempts to maneuver her difficult and productive results questionable. Besides, she'd learned the hard way that Luthors were a law unto themselves.
It had just seemed so much harder to wring the truth from Chloe, who was stubborn to the point of insanity – hers and everyone who care for her; whereas Lana would most certainly feel that any action she took was justified merely by the fact that she was taking it. That type of circular reasoning, the basis for many of her choices, made her easy to influence as she was rarely burdened by the distressing thought that she might be in the wrong.
However, much to his continued surprise, Lana had never been invited to join the little club of which Chloe and the Kents seemed to be the only members. He had, at first, believed that Clark would tell Lana the truth as an extension of their increasingly intimate relationship. When that had not been the case Lex had placed himself as competition for the girl's affections certain that Clark would be forced to confide in her to keep her. Still he had remained silent and let Lana go.
But what had stunned Lex, far more than the breakdown between Lana and Clark, an occurrence as regular as the changing of the seasons, was how well Clark had taken what should have been a debilitating blow that would force him to "come clean" in order to win Lana back. Instead, Clark, although alternately angry and morose, simply picked up and went on.
It might have helped shape his strategy if he'd known exactly what had occurred between the two. Unfortunately, his only source of information was Lana and her version had her alternately as the heartbreaker or the heartbroken depending on the day and whether she was in an empowerment or a pity mood.
But more likely that not, knowing would have done little more than satisfy his curiosity. In fact, with Clark able to move on, the bottom had fallen out of Lex's original plan; another reason that Lex had turned, instead, to hurting Clark when it became clear he couldn't expose him. Lex had never handled failure well.
Of course, the only thing he hated more than failure was stupidity, and in retrospect his had been no small thing. However, he consoled himself with the fact that some of the information he'd needed to see how doomed his plan had been from the beginning came only after this lengthy interaction with Lana.
Lex knew from experience, both as a businessman and a Luthor, that weakness derived directly from need. The more a person needed something or someone, the more important it was to them, the less they could stand to loose it. Exploiting anyone's disadvantage was simply a matter of finding that thing that they most wished to keep in their life, that on which they most heavily relied, and discovering a way to take it from them.
He had assumed that was what Lana was to Clark. Unfortunately he had made an all too common error; he had mistaken desire for necessity. Lex had watched as the couple danced around their feelings for years. But only now was he seeing what, in retrospect, was painfully obvious. The recent, short-lived relationship aside, Clark had never really had Lana. They were like ships that passed in the night…and then ran aground. And although Clark had always longed for the town princess, she wasn't essential to his existence because he'd never owned that much of her.
But Chloe…Clark had always had Chloe. Her faith, her loyalty, her love. Even though she had never enjoyed his. No; Chloe was so deeply entrenched in Clark's life, so much a part of who he was that he simply took it as a given that she'd always be there. Much like a child's view of his parents, Clark simply couldn't conceive of the fact that Chloe wouldn't be there when he needed her.
And he always needed her.
And so Lex had finally uncovered, not Clark's secret, but the next best thing – his vulnerability. Frankly, now that he'd recognized it, he felt unbelievably obtuse for not seeing it before this atrocity with Lana. In everything that Clark was, and most likely everything he would become, Chloe had a hand.
Obviously the blonde helped him maintain his deception; that was a given. But there were other, more subtle ways that she had shaped Clark. While it had been his parents that had provided Clark's core values, it was Chloe who, especially after the departure of Pete Ross, taught Clark about friendship. And, if one wanted to be technical about the matter, any influence that Lana had had over his life was also attributable to Chloe, as the brunette would never have remained in Smallville without her generosity. Hell, the girl's influence was so pervasive that he wouldn't be surprised if Clark didn't end up as a reporter.
Lex's mind wandered for a moment as he wondered what it would be like to be the focus of that kind of devotion. It was simply more fuel on the fire of his ever-growing resentment of Clark Kent and, as Lex couldn't afford for his next endeavor to fail as spectacularly as his last, he tamped down any burgeoning jealousy to focus on what his next step would be.
First, he needed to divest himself of Miss Lang. Then, he would need a full proof cover story. And lastly, he required the one thing for which he would have sworn a Luthor would never have a need –
A reporter.
Chapter One
Crap.
That pretty much summed up Chloe's day. It wasn't that something bad had happened; it was that every bad thing that could possibly occur had happened. And just when her belief in the divine had been restored by the very large cup of coffee placed in front of her, her faith was cruelly torn away as she realized that God did not, in fact, exist. Or he did and he just hated her.
"Hello, Lex."
Reaching out, she snatched up the coffee as if, like a mirage, it might suddenly disappear and took a long, bracing swallow. Even the knowledge that this was clearly a beverage of bribery couldn't stifle her small moan of relief knowing that more caffeine was now rushing down her throat to frolic in her beleaguered system.
She knew that the smart thing to do would be to refuse the coffee, knee the man in the groin, and get the heck out of Dodge before her craptacular day took the kind of hellish downturn that only a Luthor could provide. Instead, she took another mouthful of the hot liquid, knowing that Lex wasn't going to go away until he was good and ready, and that an asshole and coffee was better than just an asshole.
Lex nearly sighed as he sat down across from her. Although the downward turn of her mouth made it clear what she thought of his presumptuous behavior, it was obvious that if he waited for an invitation his plans for Chloe would never get off of the ground.
He knew that there was no room between them for the pleasant attempts at conversations or flowery compliments that would have eased the way with Lana. No; although it pleased him as often as it pained him to admit it, he and Chloe were too much alike for her to believe that he was here for anything other than to further his own agenda. And since she was smart enough to deduce that herself, Lex chose to simply sit there, watching impassively as she finished her coffee.
His strategy paid off and he didn't even attempt to hide his self-satisfied smirk, knowing that Chloe would see through any polite façade he attempted to construct.
"What do you want, Lex?"
Polite might be out of the question but sarcasm was not.
"You wound me, Chloe."
"I'm giving it some thought."
Chloe realized how tense she was becoming as their repartee, which had become increasingly acerbic of late, began to grate on her already frazzled nerves.
"Look, just tell me what you want so I can get to the laughing in your face portion of the evening and then enjoy my previous peace and quiet."
Lex was walking a fine line here. If he gave in too quickly she'd become suspicious, but if he held out to long she'd storm out in a whirl of righteous indignation.
"Chloe, don't you think you're being a little paranoid? Maybe I just saw a familiar face and decided to join you."
"No. Really."
She wasn't sure where he was going with this but he had about thirty seconds to get there.
"Why do you automatically assume that I must want something from you?"
He watched as her face twisted comically and her eyes rolled in a clear disbelief of any sincerity on his part. She was a mixture of irritation and insult as she lifted a hand and began to tick of the reasons for her doubts on her fingers.
"Geez, let's review, shall we?"
"One," a finger flipped up. "You've voluntarily came within ten miles of me."
"Two," another finger rose to join the first. "You came bearing gifts."
"And three," the third digit shot up, "You've been here a whole ten minutes now and have yet to bring up the fact that I'm a hopeless spinster, doomed to live a life devoid of companionship."
Lex barely managed to reign in a wince as she threw that particular conversation back in his face. And he had more than a sneaking suspicion that she knew of his remarks to the young photographer, also. He really wished he could take back those words. Not because it obviously angered her and not because it was untrue, but simply because what had been helpful at the time now made things just that much harder. Yet another reason to regret his machinations with Lana.
Though he did have to admit that, while Chloe did lack in the relationship department, it wasn't because of any deficit of allure on her part as he had implied. Rather much of it was her relationship with Clark – too intimate to be strictly friends and too distant to be lovers – that sent confusing vibes to potential suitors who were probably leery of approaching a girl with baggage in the shape of a large, imposing Kansas farm boy.
Objectively speaking she was really quite appealing. In fact, when she was prying into his business affairs or disrupting those of a more personal nature, he could admit that she was precisely what a lot of men were looking for. Although her history had convinced her otherwise, she was truly lovely. She was also bright, passionate and undeniably loyal. A man who won Chloe's love could be assured that he had all of her; everything she had to give. It was a marked difference between the two women in Clark's life. The time he had spent with Lana had often been quite frustrating as she vacillated between himself and Clark. He could only imagine the blow to his pride that would have been had he been foolish enough to have feelings for the fickle brunette.
Of course, soon Lana wouldn't be an issue for either of them. She was the kind of woman who peaked in high school. She was a big fish in her very small pond, but taken outside of that sheltered environment she would never be able to adapt. She was destined to be the girl that people remembered as opposed to the woman people heard about as time marched on. And, on some level, Lana understood that. That was part of why she was unable to function when not in a relationship; generally one that moved far too fast. She needed to find someone to care for her before the boys around her became men, and being a cheerleader and the school sweetheart held little interest.
By comparison, Chloe was a woman that men tended to appreciate as they matured. He knew that once she began exhibiting the confidence that being away from this small town would give her she would be overwhelmed by men seeking to win her.
And he almost pitied the man who did. No matter how desirable she might be, either now or in the future, Chloe Sullivan was high maintenance. Just keeping her in one piece on a daily basis was probably more than most men could accomplish. Over the years, as he'd gotten to know Chloe, Lex had often viewed Gabe with a slight sense of awe, wondering how on earth the man had survived shepherding the young woman to adulthood.
Although Lex knew that, after romancing a number of women intent on killing him, his glass house left no room for stone throwing at the effort a relationship with Chloe might demand.
"I don't suppose you'd accept a heartfelt apology?"
An embarrassing snort shot from her at the mere thought.
"I might if I believed that you had a heart. But the fact that you'd even entertain the thought tells me that whatever it is that you want is illegal, immoral, or imperiling. Knowing you, my best guess is all of the above."
"We always did understand each other."
Chloe couldn't help but laugh at the mock wistfulness of his statement.
"You're not helping your cause here."
And as suddenly as it had come, the levity of the moment fled and Chloe was once again tired and wary; just wanting to know what was going on so she could figure out how to avoid getting caught up in it.
"Honestly, Lex; what on earth is so important to you that you'd actually lower yourself enough to ask for my help?"
Of all the replies she'd considered, Lex offered her the worst.
"My father."
Everything was perfectly still for a moment as Chloe was transported through time to a day in Lex's study when she'd been the one to ask for his help for this very same reason. And no matter what his agenda had been at the time or what had passed between them since, that meant day something to her that really only the two of them could understand.
Even though it had hurt when Lex had ignored her after everything was said and done, in some ways she had understood; understood it still.
Chloe had once reached into Lex's very soul and compelled him to expose his most hidden desires to the light of day and once the need for them to be together was over his need to not be reminded of his vulnerability must have been strong. In her hands rested the knowledge that Lex was, despite all attempts to deify or demonize him, simply a man, and sometimes - sometimes just a boy who longed for his father's love.
It was one of the reasons that she had forgiven Lex for some of the distance between them. It was also why she kept trying to steer Clark away from his rabid belief that Lex was guilty in all things until proven innocent and more towards not a lot, just a little…a tad…hell, right now she'd settle for just a smidgeon of objectivity. Not that she was in any way anticipating an actual change on the part of her best friend. Clark was a great guy with many fine qualities, but a breadth of scope just was not among them.
In fact, if she thought about it, both of her closest friends shared that characteristic. Clark and Lana were extremely narrow-minded in the way that they filtered information. With a slight frown, Chloe wondered if that was what kept pushing them together or what was always pulling them apart.
And so Clark would never understand the bond that existed between her and Lex, despite their animosity. It wasn't friendship; didn't even think that it was respect. It seemed more like a trauma bond forged between two people who hadn't been merely victims of Lionel Luthor, but of his personal fury. It was why Lex had been so angry with her during the meteor shower and why he'd tried to help her when Gretchen's spirit had overtaken her. And it was why she'd most likely end up helping him now.
Well, that and it would probably make a fantastic story.
But it wouldn't do to just give in. That had never been their way.
"What on earth makes you think I want to get involved in the endless pissing contest between you and Lionel?"
She watched the pull of his lips as a knowing smirk curved them.
"You mean besides the chance at a story that would propel you past a number of rungs at the bottom of the journalistic ladder where you currently reside."
God, she hated it when he got all omniscient. Not that she'd ever admit that she'd been thinking the same thing, and with a chuckle she waved away his reasoning.
"I'm not sure that I need your help with that. I used to think that it was just Smallville, but it must be me, because I seem to run into newsworthy trouble every other day. So I'm not sure that career concerns are going to lure me back into the lion's den. Got anything else?"
Sure, she'd pretty much already decided to help him, but that didn't mean she shouldn't see just what he was willing to offer.
Lex tried not to smile as he watched emotions flit across what he was sure Chloe felt was her poker face. It wasn't that Chloe couldn't lie; she could. She had the inherent ability to fold, spindle, and mutilate the truth that all natural born journalists seemed to possess. But he knew that, for Chloe, a lie was something you told, not something you lived; as such, she could engage in temporary acts of dishonesty when necessary, but the majority of times her feelings spilled across her face for all to see, should they bother to look. Not that her friends were particularly observant. Maybe that's why she seemed to labor under the impression that he couldn't read the decision written in her eyes.
Still, there was a difference between wanting to help and needing to, and he'd come prepared to obligate her to his cause.
"You're caution is admirable, Chloe. It's good to see that something positive came from your previous involvement with my father. That tends to be the bright side to lessons learned the hard way, doesn't it? They seem to stick."
There was an ominous pause, and though she knew that it was a ploy to heighten the tension and lend significance to his next words it was still working.
"I'd hate to see Martha Kent learn the truth of Lionel's nature in the same manner you did."
Although he knew that he'd probably had her compliance before, it was always satisfying to Lex to cement a victory. Mrs. Kent was the mom in "mom and apple pie" and if there was ever an absolute justification for Chloe to dance with the devil once again, this would be it.
"What have you got?
Careful not to gloat, Lex lifted his jacket from the chair next to him and pulled a folder from underneath it. He remained silent as she accepted it from him and tucked it into her bag; she wasn't stupid enough to open it in public. A Luthor, even when not embroiled in some sort of nefarious stratagem, always had eyes everywhere. Of course, he'd defy someone to find a Luthor not occupied in just such dealings.
As she stood to leave he settled back into his chair preparing to wait a while longer so as not to cause more of a spectacle by leaving together then the minor stir they might have created already by merely sitting together.
"I'll be home tonight after 9:00."
She didn't acknowledge his comment but he knew she'd heard; knew she'd be there. Chloe was unpredictable in a lot of ways, but her commitment to those she cared about could be depended upon like the rising of the sun.
Watching through the window as her car pulled away, Lex waved over a waitress for a refill and allowed himself a small smile, enjoying the surge of excitement that came with the start of any new challenge.
Chapter Two
As she was shown through the various hallways of the Luthor mansion, Chloe couldn't help but be grateful that Lana had moved out a few weeks before. Although it had meant endless hours of listening to her go on and on about the tragedy that was her life, it was worth the waste of her time if it meant not having to deal with working on anything covert with Lana.
Not that Lana wasn't a capable person, but in these matters her sense of deservedness seemed to get in the way of any sort of subtlety and she tended to just flounce into a situation and demand that people give her her "due". If one could look past the intrinsic self-centeredness in her actions, it would all be very "I am Woman Hear Me Roar"…except that she always had a guy behind her to take care of things in case the whole pouting/eyelash batting plan didn't work out.
At least she gave it a try, Chloe thought. Lana couldn't help it if her attempts a self-actualization left her less like Sally Ride and more like Astronaut Barbie.
Entering through the heavy wooden door, Chloe glanced around the study while Lex finished his phone call, a feeling of déjà vu strong within her. They were back where it all begun, about to untie once more against a common enemy.
As she read through the file Lex had given her she'd realized that even if she didn't feel some bizarre connection to the man before her, and even if she wouldn't do everything within her power for Mrs. Kent who'd been the closest thing to a mother she'd ever known, she still would have been here if for no other reason than that the information she had read in the folder she'd been given still made her slightly sick, hours after she'd read it.
She'd never doubted, even through his supposed reformations, of which she always maintained a level of quiet suspicion, that Lionel Luthor was capable of unbelievable atrocities. But nothing had prepared her for the reports she'd read, the pictures she'd seen, the experiments they'd captured.
BRK2784-D. It was the name of a research drug, designed by scientists at LuthorCorp, to treat various forms of cancer by bonding to the abnormal cells and causing them to liquefy. In theory, the concept was actually quite brilliant.
The drug, given intravenously, contained microscopic beads encasing three distinct components. The first was a binding agent, the second a time release coating, and the third a mechanism of liquefaction.
The binder was engineered to adhere itself to cells. Given that human body had a number of complex defense systems to protect healthy cells and that mutated cells were already under attack, the binding agent was able to affix itself more rapidly to the damaged cells.
As soon as the drug entered the body, the time release coating began to dissolve. Mere minutes after the coupling of the binder to the diseased cell, the protective layer was gone.
At this point the liquefying agent was released and the cell was eaten away from the inside. This component of the drug was very short lived, and dissipated before having a chance to damage healthy cells.
When reading the initial R&D reports, Chloe had been in awe of the intricate timing that had been built into the drug. It was a chemical dance; each element needing to work in perfect harmony with the others with no steps missed, no instant wasted if it were to help and not harm.
But harm it did. Just as she'd known it would when she'd read that the main component of the binder was comprised chiefly of meteor rocks.
From the researchers perspective the reasoning had been sound; but their refusal to understand and to respect the true nature of the meteorites had led to disaster. They knew that the rocks, in whatever form, caused often rapid mutations in those exposed. Based on that information they had theorized that the composite would most quickly penetrate damaged or altered cells not protected by the body's natural defenses. They also believed that the minute amount of time between injection and liquefaction would ensure that no further cell mutation would occur do to the use of the distilled meteors.
They had been correct in every supposition except the last. The Kryptonite used was a condensed form, and therefore it acted upon the body in much the same way that years of exposure to the stones might. Combining it with currently mutating cells had also been a grievous error as they we're already in flux and thus primed for further change.
It had been discovered, within the first few trials, that although the cells dissolved, the addition of the meteors into the formula seemed to preserve some of the altered material of the eradicated cell, leaving the debris free to infect new cells.
Chloe had worked hard to keep from violently retching when she saw the pictures of the animal test subjects from the first attempts; back when BRK2784-D was BRK2784-A. The deformed corpses, features twisted in agony, limbs melded to bodies as their skin cells had actually liquefied their tissue were horrific. And though she was sure that those images would haunt her nightmares for years to come, what boggled her mind most was that the experiments hadn't halted immediately; that they'd continued long enough for formula A to develop into the D version.
And halfway through the testing of BRK2784-C things took an even ghastlier turn as the doctors were ordered to begin human trials. It had been made clear that only tests on human subjects would reveal the inherent weaknesses to humans and, therefore, the quickest way to alter the formula. Although there was some resistance from a few of the doctors, no one seriously protested the edict. After all, defying Lionel Luthor was not the recipe for a happy, healthy life.
And though there were no names on the orders to begin human testing, it was clear that it had come directly from the top. Reading the memo had been like hearing it from Lionel himself. His distinct tone of arrogance for those below him and disregard for the consequences of his actions came through in every word and Chloe knew, without a doubt, that every horror that stemmed from this project could be laid at the door of Lionel Luthor.
And the horrors had come fast and furious. Recruiting of human test subjects began. Economically distressed patients given a terminal prognosis were targeted by LuthorCorp scientists who offered them a single chance at hope through the use of an investigational drug, payment for their participation, and the coverage of all previous and future medical expenses. It was hard to tell which held the most sway – the minute chance at recovery or knowing that they wouldn't be leaving their families destitute due to crushing health care costs.
And so almost every patient to whom the offer had been made had accepted, and not one of them lived to tell about it. Not even the bodies had been left as both the subjects and their families had signed a contract with a stipulation that, because of the proprietary nature of the drug, all bodies, should the patient die, would be returned after cremation. Yet another broken promise as the bodies were kept for further study and experimentation.
In a near state of shock over what she was reading, Chloe had absently wondered what had actually been given to the families by LuthorCorp. In the grand scheme of things it seemed the least of their sins, and yet Chloe couldn't stop dwelling on the fact that over fifty families were mourning over an urn that, for all she knew, contained ash from a common fireplace. It was as if Lionel hadn't been satisfied with killing them, but had also spit on their graves.
When she'd reached the last page of the medical reports for the human trials she knew that the photographic records would be next. She'd seen a lot of things in her time in Smallville, many of them unpleasant in the extreme, but nothing prepared her for the pictures to come. And as her eyes fell on the first among many, she found herself off the bed and in the bathroom vomiting without being aware of moving at all.
After splashing cold water on her face and brushing her teeth, she went back into the room and, without glancing at anymore of its contents, flipped it decisively closed. She'd read all of the information, and, as she knew that the trials were still in a state of failure, the pictures would certainly get no easier to view. So in an effort to preserve what little peace her mind might be able to conjure, she decided that anything she missed of importance Lex could relate.
The sound of a clearing throat jolted Chloe out of reliving the revulsion of earlier in the day and alerted her to the fact that Lex was off the phone and had clearly been waiting for her to rejoin him, mentally speaking.
"I take it you've read the file."
Chloe's eyes narrowed in irritation at Lex's unflappable demeanor over something that had shaken her to her very core. Although she supposed he had had time to reestablish his air of detachment after getting over the initial shock. If anything that Lionel did actually shocked him anymore.
"Yes, and thanks for the warning, Lex. Do you want to pay the cost of my therapy directly or have the doctor bill your insurance?"
The expression of apology sat stiffly on his features and Chloe thought that, while it might be because it was so rarely used, it was most likely because it wasn't exceedingly sincere.
"I am sorry for that, Chloe. If I could have obtained the help I need from you without imparting such disturbing information I would have done so."
"Bull shit. You wanted to absolutely horrify me so that there's be no way that I could refuse to help you. Well congratulations; I'll be having nightmares for weeks. Next time try just asking me first before you move right to the scarring me for life portion of your plan."
Satisfied with having reprimanded him sufficiently, Chloe flopped down in a large leather chair.
"Geez, you can't unsee things, you know Lex. I found that out the hard way when I walked into the Kent's loft to find Clark ushering himself into manhood with the help of an old Playboy…And I would've bet good money he'd be a National Geographic guy."
Lex's face shifted instantly from faux regret to genuine repulsion. That was certainly a picture he'd never needed in his head. Ever.
Chloe's pleased laughter pulled him away from his disturbing tally of just how many times he'd sat on Clark's couch. Clearly she'd felt that she'd gotten the necessary measure of revenge as she was seemingly willing to move on. Shooting her one last look of disgust he turned them to the reason for their meeting.
"Since I've been running LuthorCorp I've had access to a great deal of information that I'm sure my father never meant to reach my hands. Apparently he was running a number of these types of experiments all over the world in LuthorCorp medical subsidiaries where the funding, supplies, equipment…bodies, could all be hidden in the endless reams of paperwork that accompany legitimate research.
BRK2784 was by no means the only drug being tested. However, it was the most devastating to its subjects. I've been shutting down my father's more…personal projects as I become aware of them. I've tried to make sure, for reasons I'm sure you can appreciate, that this is done as discreetly as possible. But news must be traveling fast among those involved in these clandestine experiments because, in the last month, my men have stormed 3 separate labs only to find all evidence of any testing, indeed of any existence at all, has vanished completely.
Maybe I could let this rest if I believed that these trials were being disbanded, but I have reason to believe that's not the case."
Lex pushed a photo across his desk towards Chloe, watching as she gingerly picked it up; still wary from the last pictures he'd given her.
"That's Fredrik Vilhelmsdotter, a Swedish geneticist. Not only was he running the BRK2784 trials, but I have reliable information linking him to nearly all of the covert medical projects my father was funding.
He's the link, Chloe; the common thread. He's been spotted in the vicinity of every one of the labs of which I am aware within weeks of their closure or disappearance. If I can find him then I can locate all of the rogue programs and put an end to this before any more atrocities are committed."
Lex watched her face as she took in the information he had given her. He had always felt a kinship to her in this regard. Of all of the people in Smallville it was only Chloe who thought in a manner similar to his own. It's not that the good townsfolk were stupid; they just felt no need to see things beyond the way in which they first appeared.
But he and Chloe were cut from different cloth. They rarely took anything at face value; absorbing facts and seeing what was missing instead of simply what was there. It was what she was doing now. Dismantling what he'd told her and what she knew independently, and reassembling it into a larger whole. And he had to admit that it was a beautiful thing to observe.
Chloe had always been an attractive young woman. But, because she had lived in the shadow of Lana's generic appeal, she'd never really acknowledged that part of herself or developed it into the potential weapon it could be. Of course, that unawareness held an allure all of its own. However, it was always this side of her that he'd been most drawn to; this part of her that was curious enough to long for the truth, brave enough to pursue it, and clever enough to discover it. The sexiest thing about Chloe had always been her thirst for knowledge.
Sometimes, when he could see the fire for answers burning through her, smoldering in her eyes, he wondered just what she would do to quench that thirst; just what he'd give her to be the one to quench it.
As he watched decision, resolution, and determination play across her face, Lex gave himself a moment to regret that he couldn't use the same method of persuasion with Chloe as he had to manipulate Lana. But just because it would be satisfying didn't mean it would work, and he had long since ceased allowing his dick to make all of his decisions.
The fact was that in order to win her confidence he had given Lana what she wanted – the security and purpose she thought only existed in a man's arms. In order to gain Chloe's trust he would have to use different bait – The enticement of discovery and satisfaction of exposition. Chloe wasn't merely a truth seeker; she was a righter of wrongs. And if he had to give her a few windmills to tilt at then all the better. If she was focused on other things she wouldn't know he'd ensconced himself in her life until he'd already learned what he needed to know.
"Okay, Lex; I just have two questions."
He managed to reign in the urge to smirk, but couldn't help the sardonic quirk of one brow.
"In all my years in Smallville I've never known you to have only two questions about anything."
Chloe smiled at him in acknowledgment that he knew her all too well.
"Well then, I only have two for tonight."
"And they would be…"
"What's in this for you?"
Lex wasn't hurt by the question. He'd been expecting it; would have been disappointed it she hadn't asked. Besides, it would be a shame to waste his perfectly good fabrication.
"I'm sure that you're aware that my father nearly regained control of LuthorCorp recently."
He waited for her to nod, having no doubt that, given her history with the Luthors, she kept up to date with their major dealings.
"I, for obvious reasons, can't let that happen. But I'll need some leverage in order to stop him. Getting hold of Dr. Vilhelmsdotter and his records will give me the upper hand.
There's also the fact that, Vilhemsdotter has been growing bolder. These experiments won't stay hidden for much longer. And when they come to light, I need to be the one directing their exposure. It could be disastrous for LuthorCorp unless I could tie them, concretely, to my father and prove that I had put a definite end to them."
He watched as Chloe rolled her eyes. He knew what was coming next. He was counting on it.
"Of course the fact that these are real people being turned into LuthorCorp lab rats doesn't even make the list, right Lex?"
Striving to look injured, Lex answered the accusation.
"Despite our recent differences, I would hope that you would know me better than that, Chloe. Of course I don't want to see anyone unduly harmed. But I am in charge of a multi-billion dollar corporation. Thousands of jobs depend on me making decisions that are in LuthorCorp's best interest. And those decisions don't just affect the lives of my employees, but often entire economies.
Take Smallville, for example. What would have happened to this town if the factory here had closed? It would have devastated the people, even the ones not working for LuthorCorp. There are towns like this throughout the country, Chloe. I have to think about what's best for all of them when it comes to business decisions."
Finally Chloe nodded, accepting the rational behind his answer, just as he knew she would.
"Alright then; why me?"
Lex knew, when she'd said that she only had two questions that this would be the other one. Chloe and he had never been the best of friends, although they'd shared a certain amount of closeness during his father's trial. And since then they'd had a very turbulent relationship, especially after his dealings with Lana. To top it off, she was an aspiring reporter looking for a big break. It would be reasonable for him to worry that she had her own, less than complimentary agenda.
It was times like these when obsessive planning paid off.
"You know how my father's mind works." He smiled briefly at her grimace. "Not exactly a compliment, but there it is. You understand him – how he thinks, what he'll do – in a way that most people never will. You and I, we're among the select few who have beaten Lionel Luthor and lived to tell the tale. And whether I've mentioned it or not, a lot of that was due to you.
Chloe, you've always had the potential to prevail against my father, you just lack the resources. That's why I need your help, and frankly, that's why you need mine. I know you Chloe; after reading that report you'll never be able to let this go. The best chance either of us has to put an end to these barbarities and bring down my father is to work together."
He paused for a moment and pinned her gaze with harsh intensity.
"Besides, whatever problems we've had, Chloe, I know that I can trust you to be fair. Any other reporter would jump at the chance to bring down all the Luthors at once. I know that, no matter how tempting a bigger headline might be, you'll only lay blame where it's deserved."
Nodding her head, Chloe stood and grabbed the file and the picture of Dr. Vilhelmsdotter and shoved them into her bag.
"Give me a few days and I'll let you know what I've found out."
She was already striding towards the door when Lex called out, "Why don't I give you my private number."
Without stopping, she glanced over her shoulder and shot him a wide smile.
"That's okay; I already have it."
And with that she was gone.
Lex allowed himself a small smile at her parting shot. Even though he'd accounted for the majority of her responses she'd still managed to surprise him. It was exhilarating after the plodding predictability of Lana.
It was nice to once again engage a worthy opponent. Lana thought they were at the same level. They hadn't even been playing the same game.
That's why, with Lana, it had been about preying on her inability to exist without the validation of having a man by her side, while Chloe would require more cerebral measures.
Most of what he'd told Chloe had been true. Of course, what had been a fabrication altered the story dramatically.
Yes, his father had been running experiments, and yes, BRK2784 had been among them. What he hadn't shared was that the projects had been shut down more than a year ago, by none other than Lionel, himself.
Of course, it had been painfully easy to convince Chloe of his father's continued guilt. Not because she was gullible by any means, but because nearly every action in his father's life leant credence to the idea that the man was the vessel of Satan. Combine that with Chloe's personal experiences with the man and her worry for the Kents and it wasn't difficult in the least to lead her to the conclusion he desired.
Still, with someone as naturally clever as Chloe it paid to be careful. Lex had made sure to stick to actual facts as often as possible and slightly altered truths whenever deception became necessary.
He'd altered the timestamps on various photos and the dates of the research documents, and his own people's inability to track down the good doctor assured Lex that the man had either gone deep underground or had been a loose string that his father had "tied" up. Other than that he'd let his father's sins do the majority of the convincing. And it had worked like a dream. Chloe had said and done the things that he needed to put his plans into action. It was as if a weight had fallen from his shoulders and he wasn't sure if it was the beginning of a new gambit or the absence of Lana Lang.
He was fairly sure it was both.
Now he was sure that he'd made the right choice in pursuing this angle with Chloe. It was shaping up to be a win-win situation.
If Clark was upset with Chloe for working with Lex, then he might begin pushing her away. With Chloe's history of rejection by Clark that could be the proverbial back-breaking straw of their friendship. And there's nothing more useful in the world than a woman scorned…as long as you're not the idiot that scorned her.
A furious Chloe, with all of Clark's secrets locked inside of her, would be a perfect weapon in what was fast becoming a war between the two men. Not that he honestly believed that Chloe would sell out her best friend. But anger made people careless and less inhibited; hence crimes of passion.
The other scenario would be that Clark would not protest Chloe's working with him. Well, not enough to deter her. While the two of them remained close, access to one was an avenue to the other.
Besides, Clark was becoming more protective of Chloe everyday. Not surprising when one realized that Chloe had, somewhere along the way, become Clark's portable Martha Kent. Caring and nurturing, endlessly supportive, and entrusted with all of his secrets, Chloe had taken up where the busy Mrs. Kent had recently left off. It made him glad that the two seemed to never be able to get together as the vaguely incestuous vibrations would be disturbing in the extreme.
Frankly, he found Clark's hovering ironic when one stopped to consider that it was she who seemed to be spending the majority of her free time rescuing those around her.
For a while Lex had even suspected that Chloe's heroics might have been the byproduct of some meteor prompted mutation. However, after a little investigating, he realized that it was simply Chloe's rampant curiosity, tenacious nature, and kind heart that led her to hurl herself headlong into even the most dangerous situations.
Although he'd believed that his friendship with Clark would be the stuff of legends, the truth was that Clark couldn't have found a better friend than Chloe if he tried. And for once, Clark was actually been aware of something other than himself enough to realize how little he actually deserved her. Oh, not consciously. Lex wouldn't give him credit for that level of insight. But on some level Clark knew that Chloe could find a superior cohort in a heart beat. It was why Clark always kept a gossamer string wrapped around Chloe's heart.
He didn't do it to be cruel. Clark was no more cruel than he was insightful. But he had what all self-oriented people had; what Lana had – The innate sense of self-preservation that developed when one honestly believed themselves to be the central figure of the world around them.
Clark had lived so long at the mercy of his secrets, always afraid that everyone was trying to steal them from him, that it no longer occurred to him that he wasn't the focus of everyone's lives. Lex understood. He, too, was always guarded, always suspicious of what the people around him wanted from him; their true motivations.
He and Clarks were so alike in some ways. There was a time when, had Clark admitted their similarities, Lex might have been able to put aside the need to learn the truth. But Clark's hypocrisy had not only never wavered, it had grown. The constant lectures on morality might have been borne with grace had Clark had any moral high ground from which to heap them upon his head.
No, Clark, with his universe of black and white and his absolute ethics, spent his time lying and hiding and keeping secrets that, far from benign, put those around him in endless danger. Then the boy had the nerve to revile his friendship as if only the Kents ever had a good reason to lie; a decent rationale for secrets.
Lex hated it. And he was starting to suspect that even if he didn't believe that Clark and his secret were at the center of the majority of the things he had been investigating since arriving in Smallville, he would still be driven to expose his secret to the world simply to see Clark stripped of his cloak of perfection. Idly he wondered if Chloe had ever felt that way about Lana. Sometimes being a perpetual outsider became tiring.
He pushed those thoughts aside before his anger overtook him once again. Rage would make him careless. It was his need to know that would drive him know, to discover, that would shape his plans, guide his actions.
Feeling closer to unraveling the mystery that was Clark Kent than ever before, Lex refocused his mind on LuthorCorp. Chloe would contact him when she found the first clue he'd left her. Until then, as he'd told her, he had a business to run.
TBC...