I was a little hesitant to get into this chapter. I had heard about horrible, mind-numbingly stupid happenings on SV, and I didn’t WANT any more details on this ‘plot twsit’ that has been devised. But curiousity dragged me over to this thread, and I am SO glad I took the chance, because this was a WONDERFUL new chapter. You might have started with re-writing SV, I really think the plot has gone down an original and interesting direction. This chapter read well and easily to someone who doesn’t have any real idea on what’s happening on SV now. Excellent work, www. I think you can safely call this an full original fanfic, capable of standing on it’s own now rather than generalizing it as a ‘added scenes’ fic.
Not that there’s anything wrong with ‘Missing scenes’ fic, but those things generally cannot survive without someone watching the specific episode that inspired the fic.
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Lex slowly pulled the pool stick back and pushed forward in a smooth, quick motion to hit the cue ball. He watched as the orange striped thirteen ball rolled then dropped into the corner pocket. He was an excellent player and didn’t need to practice for the anticipated game with Grant this afternoon, but pool always kept his body relaxed and his mind thinking. His preferred method of strategy planning was done while playing billiards.
I REALLY loved this scene. It provided some VERY interesting insight into Lex’s methods of devising new plans as well as relaxing and unwinding. I love this descriptions of Lex being ‘just Lex’, where he’s just spending time with himself, and not doing anything in particular… except for his usual ‘thousand miles per hour’ thinking, LOL!
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It was at this table that he had planned everything to make Chloe see her true self. Ironically, it was also here that he said one of the most hateful statements he ever made to her. But it was true. At that time she hadn’t really had a boyfriend. If she had made any acknowledgement that she was hoping he could have been the lucky guy, he would have stopped his planned and switched gears. He would have reached for her, picked her up, spread her down on the green felt, and not left the room for several hours. He often imagined that scenario when he believed certain strategies didn’t need his full attention.
HOT! I just shivered at the thought that, even while he was mocking, insulting and fighting with her, Lex was fighting back a HUGE wave of lust and desire… and Chloe was only feeling anger, irritation and exasperation… Nothing else!
I LOVE stories where Lex is completelyt obsessively in love with Chloe, and she’s clueless… barely aware of his existence in her life, LOL! It’s just so much fun seeing Lex doing the Luthor version of pulling his hair out in frustration while trying to gain her attentions.
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Together Clark and Lionel had given Chloe a place in Lex’s life. They had also managed to keep her away from him. Grant was going to help get her back, and torturing Lionel with the thought that his prized son was back from the dead was a bonus to all that Lex had suffered.
oooh excellent! THIS was a wonderful way for me to reconcile the unfortunate little tid-bits I had learned about the latest development in SV with everything I know about established backstory involving Lex, Julian, Lillian and Lionel. I loved how Lex had devised this amazingly outrageous scheme to completely disorient and pain EVERYONE in precisely the correct manner. And the scheme was so ridiculous, that no-one would ever suspect that anything this left-field outrageous could be anything by the truth. Clever, brilliant Lex.
I also appreciated the explanation about how Grant was ‘found’ and brainwashed into believing that he was a long-lost Luthor son. He probably didn’t think to question it, because no-one could ‘possibly’ make up something that ludicrous, LOL!
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Since the strategy for this meeting didn’t have his full attention, Lex let his mind wonder to him and Chloe on the pool table. The feel of her wasn’t quite as strong in his imagination but her voicing his name was loud…and frustrated.
He opened his eyes to find Chloe standing in front of him with a mixed looked in her eyes. There was curiosity but also a sense that she knew exactly what he had been thinking. Still wrapped up in the emotions from his vision, he made a move to reach out for her. Thankfully his mind picked up that he was back in the real world, and he saved it by offering his hand out for her to shake in welcome. She refused.
Squeee! I really loved how Lex lost himself so completely in his ‘Chlex fantasy world’ that he came close to touching Chloe in an intimate manner. He’s really far gone one her… BUT he still has enough control to be able to change his gesture at the last minute from the happy grope-fest to a offered handshake.
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“I’m surprised. I would have figured that no matter the circumstances, you would have jumped at the chance. After all, lately I’ve seen a lot more bylines with Lois’ name than yours.” He pretended that he needed to be behind the table to make a shot.
OUCH! Low blow! Chloe is still probably smarting from being delegated as ‘old hack’ by the new editor while her less qualified cousin is sailing ahead without struggling the slightest for HER position.
I admire the way that Lex is scheming and plotting his way into Chloe’s life… BUT he’s doing it by cutting away everything that is important to her. Her friends are one thing… if they are easy to cut away, then they are not ‘really’ worth keeping in the first place… But her JOB???!! I hope Chloe finds out about his manipulations in using his influence to undermine her career and gives him HELL for it.
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“You can’t goad me into feeling bad for Lois’ success. And I’m not going to forget what I have to say to you.”
Now THIS is the reason why Chloe stands out as a real hero amidst all the whiny useless, emo characters on SV. I LOVE the way that she will defend her cousin to others… even if she has her own nasty suspicions about the hows and whys of Lois getting this high flying position at the Daily Planet.
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Still leaning over the table, Lex looked up at her with a smile. “I have no attention in stopping you. Frankly, I’m appalled by what the Planet considers reporting these days. I’ve had much fonder times reading from the Torch.” He completed his shot of the nine ball into the pocket right in front where Chloe was standing.
“Is that your idea of a compliment and do you expect my thanks?”
ROTFLMAO! Ball in the pocket right in front of Chloe? Was he going for a bit of wishful thinking innuendo over there? ROTFL! You kill me, www! His compliment was very sweet, and I’m sure, from any other person, Chloe would have felt warmed by such a statement, but she knows better than to fall for any of Lex’s sweet sounding word-tricks. WE know he’s sincere, but she has good cause to search for double-meanings in everything he says.
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“I don’t believe that. I think you’re trying to make yourself believe it, but it’s just not true. Torch Chloe had drive and passion. Nothing could stop her from getting the story. Planet Chloe will sit back and let some third rate hack take what’s rightfully hers.”
Excellent observation here, www. Now that Lex has mentioned it, I have to admit that he’s right. Chloe ‘used’ to be a highly ambitious, driven truth-seeker, but now that she’s become a ‘secret-keeper’ for so many people, she’s been forced to suppress her drive to prioritize the needs of others above her own needs and instincts.
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“I guess this means you won’t be saying anything until it works best for you.” Lois had better not go against Chloe’s advice. Stopping the relationship now was the only way to ensure that when Lex revealed all, the damage wouldn’t be as bad as it could be.
I was shaking my head ruefully at CHloe struggling and settling on the word ‘tenacity’ to describe Lois’s qualifications at being a reporter. Stubbornness can also be a bad thing because it can prevent a person from being flexible and adaptable.
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“You have that much faith in your cousin.” Just a little bit of doubt in her mind is all he needed to make this work.
“Yes, Lex. I realize it’s a foreign concept to you, but some people can still trust others as long as they’ve earned it.”
heh, niiice work in helping Chloe take some of the lustre off her views of people like Clark, Lana and Lois. It’s true that it’s so FRUSTRATING watching this dear, talented, generous woman wasting her life prioritizing people who are unworthy of her… simply because she views their needs as more IMPORTANT than her own. Lex is genuinely helping Chloe in giving her a more realistic view of the people she regards as her friends.
But, in the end, it’s his motivations that count the most… the truth is that Lex is only trying to separate Chloe from everything else in her own life to FORCE her to regard Lex as the centre of her universe. I really hope she doesn’t fall for this trick. At the very least, I’m still livid about him sabotaging her career through hs manipulations and connections. She worked HARD to get where she is, and he had no right to railroad her like that. I’m really looking forward to seeing her give him absolute hell for his underhanded actions.
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“For your sake, I hope Lois does adhere to your advice. She has easily been given a lot of opportunities that you deserved and never got. I’d hate to think she wasted your life on some unworthy guy.” Just something to make Chloe put more thought into what must have all ready been there.
heh, nice double-meaning over here… I LOVE it when Lex manages to convey a wealth of meanings in the turning of a single well-phrased sentence. He’s so masterfully sneaky, LOL!
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“I didn’t do it for you. I didn’t want it to fuel Lana’s need for revenge anymore than it all ready has.” She wasn’t quite able to look in him in the eye because she had partially done it for him. For his privacy. But she could almost make herself believe it was for Lana. That spying on Lex gave him just as much right to spy on them.
“For the sake of expediency, I won’t voice my repudiation to your claims.”
oooh, that is VERY interesting. Was Chloe concerned for Lex’s privacy on the basis of a principle? Or was she concerned for Lex himself. I know which angle LEX is going to choose to believe, LOL!
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“No, I didn’t expect that Lana would get a temporary meteor infection. I was quite lucky Clark showed when he did and was able to stop her. Is she experiencing any ill effects? If so, my scientists can help her.” He hoped that was subtle enough for Chloe to not call him out on trying to push her, but still remember him when she needed help.
I can see that Lex made a sweet, generous gesture over here… Subtly letting Chloe know that he would be more than willing and able to help her if her meteor powers went out of control. The problem is that Chloe has absolutely NO reason to believe him. The last kind of ‘assistance’ she would remember is being kidnapped, probed and implanted with a homing chip… which targeted her for extermination later. She’d sooner run to Lionel for help before turning to Lex after the experiences she’s been through.
Let’s hope Lex manages to make an offer of help that sounds a ‘little’ more genuine and believable to her.
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“Not like it matters anyway. Clark will still think I’m out to steal his precious Lana from him. He’ll do whatever he can to protect her from me.” That’s why he wasn’t worried revealing what he needed to Chloe. No matter what he said, Clark wouldn’t believe it. He wouldn’t think that Chloe made everything up, but he would claim everything said today was a lie to confuse him. To make him think that Lex was using Chloe to get Clark away from Lana. Lex would be grateful when this whole convoluted mess was done. He and Chloe would celebrate by not leaving the bedroom for a week. He might even persuade her to go a month.
I shivered at the thought of the kinds of ‘persuasion tactics’ that Lex could use to convince Chloe to not leave the bedroom for a whole month. Dammit, www, you’ve got me all hot and bothered now… Now I have to go looking for smut, lol!
I was also pleased that he finally dumped the plan of pretending to be pining after Lana… It’s GREAT to see him going back to Sexy-Lexy who can have his choice of beautiful women… without trying to go after some kind of a high school fantasy of a cheerleader princess.
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“Why does everything have to be about Clark? Or Lana? Or hell even Lois? Do you honestly think I still give a damn about those people? About what they think of me?” What had this town done to her to make her think that she couldn’t be first in someone’s mind?
VERY nice! Excellent way for Lex to let Chloe think over the possibility that SHE can be the centre of the universe… someone’s universe to be exact.
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“My favorite was the one about the wolves in Yellowstone. They had ruled in the valley for years and of course were careful of who could join. There was that one black wolf that tried to mate with the alpha pair’s daughter, but he kept being pushed away no matter how much the young female wanted him. Do you remember what happened?”
“That was years ago Lex. You can’t expect me to remember every detail about everything we watched.” She did remember. She remembered how he felt as they huddled together on her small sofa.
“The alpha pair eventually died off, the pack fought and lost their land and several members to another pack. That black wolf was needed to reinvigorate the ruined pack. He became the leader, claimed his mate and eventually brought them back to their homeland.”
wow! That sound like a VERY interesting show. I’m going to go nuts looking for this specific episode. It sounds like high drama.
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“No. Lana has nothing to do with this. Lana could never be compared to a wolf. She’s more like a horse. Universally considered to be beautiful, but lacking any real sense of self. Can be trained to do whatever trick the owner would want. And willing to let just about any steed mount her.”
ROTFLMAO! Oh dear HEAVENS!!! That was hilarious and spot-on! Brillaint! I loved it!!!
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Chloe back away from the table. “And you are one to talk? With the many women you’ve bedded over the years?”
“The difference is I’ve never imagined myself to be in love with any of those women. Never fooled them into thinking they had my love.”
LOL! Chloe couldn’t just let him get away with this kind of an offensive statement towards a friend and fellow female… no matter how apt it seemed, LOL! I liked that she chided him by throwing back his own lecherous, slutty past back in his face, and how Lex was able to rebut on how, despite being a slut, he was STILL better than Lana.
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“Why would I do that?” His question was leading. He wanted her to know exactly what he was doing.
“To make me question Lana. To separate me from her.” Why? ...Why would he volunteer all of this information? It made no sense. Lex kept his plans to himself. He did his best to keep Chloe out of them.
“And if I separated you from her would it make any difference to what happens to Lana?” Come on Chloe; just make the connection he thought.
“Of course not! She would…would…still have Clark.” His questions were frustrating her. She couldn’t figure out his purpose. Of course Lana would have Clark. She’d always have Clark.
“And what would happen to you?” Deep down she knew the answer, he just needed her to admit it to herself.
“What are you getting at?”
“What would happen to you if Lana and you fought and she turned to Clark?”
“I would be fine. Clark would understand.” She hoped Clark would understand. Thought she wouldn’t bet her life on it.
The thought must have played out across her face because Lex was snide when he answered, “Since you are certain, then I guess there is nothing more we have to say to each other now.”
This part made me want to cry! I wonder whether Lex felt even the ‘slightest’ bit of guilt about hurting Chloe like this… Or was he able to maintain a sanguine calm in his righteous belief that ‘it will be good for her in the long run’? It was just SO sad that Chloe has been forced to face up to the ugly fact that the people who are the centre of her life just DON’T prioritize her the same way. What a horrible thing to admit to yourself.
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He stood in between her and the door and placed a hand on her shoulder. His eyes were the most honest she had ever seen them. More than when he admitted that what he wanted most from Lionel was his love. “Chloe, the point of my story was that the woman I’m interested in has all of the best qualities of a wolf. Her intelligence allows her to think of the perfect strategy for catching prey. She shows extreme loyalty to her pack. She’s careful with her love but when she finds the right mate, she loves him passionately. And like that black wolf, I hope all of my waiting will pay off. I hope she’ll be willing to let me into her life.”
For the first time in all of their encounters, Chloe didn’t have a comeback. She just stood there staring into his eyes, looking for any signs of a trick, finding none she walked out the door. She couldn’t stay there anymore. She had to think. Had to get everything straight in her head. Know her facts, and then she would take the best course of action.
That was closer to a declaration of undying devotion that I’ve seen MTMTE-lex ever come to. But I understand why he can’t come out and directly SAY ‘I want you, I desire you, I love you’ to her. She’d just scoff or laugh in sheer disbelief and run out the door.
I can see all this constant tip-toeing around Chloe’s suspicious wariness if extremely frustrating to Lex. He’s painfully and anxiously waiting for the day when he can just TELL her how much he adores her. When he can be honest with his feelings without Chloe running away in horror and/or disgusted disbelief.
He’s suffering too, and I feel sorry for him…But not so sorry that I don’t want Chloe to give him a HUGE smackdown for his meddling and manipulation of her life, LOL!
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As much as Lex would have wanted her to fall into his arms, he knew it wouldn’t happen. He wasn’t entirely disappointed when Chloe left. For a moment, he thought he saw some acceptance in her eyes. He knew she would have to think about everything he said. Would investigate first before coming to Clark with any thought about Lex’s plans. And when that time came, Lex hoped Clark wouldn’t disappoint.
ooooh, foreshadowing of future events, www? :D It seems like you have an ending set in mind for this fic. I can’t wait to find out what direction to take it into. I think you can let go of following SV episodes and take it to an AU direction now, right? Please update soon.
