A.N.: Okay okay! Here's some more! I have a whole game plan now, so who knows how long this will go for! Yay! More distractions from classwork....
Lex grumbled deep in his chest as they prepared to lower his body into the liquid memory vat. It was strangely warm and thick, coating his body like a gelatinous second skin. Unfortunately, a necessary annoyance. Chloe’s taunting had all but pushed Lex over the edge, reaffirming the importance of regaining the memories lost to him from those few weeks. It’s amazing what unlimited resources and funding can do for scientific memory development on last minute notice. His breath caught as he was completely submerged, and he counted to ten in his head to clear his thoughts before the memories came flooding back.
“So my father arranged a green card marriage.” So far this was fairly typical. He was in his office, a place where he spent a fair deal of his time. But wait, his vision spanned out from the file in front of him up to a girl. Chloe was leaning forward onto his desk, blonde hair flipped out at the ends, the look in her eyes making her seem even younger than she already was, full of a strange mix of fear and the excitement of a new story.
“Yeah. Now, I tracked down the groom so I could ask him what he knew.”
“What'd the lucky guy have to say?”
She rolled her eyes up to the ceiling as if she were determining how to word her response. “It wasn't really what he had to say. It was more where he said it.” She spoke carefully. “He plays watch dog for the old Metron Pharmaceuticals building.”
“That's been shut down for seven years.” Metron had been a sub-section under LuthorCorp, and after years of watching its failure slip past his father’s radar, he had seen to it that the department be closed. He had signed the pink slips and locked the gates himself.
“Yeah, that's what I thought. But while he was in the process of telling me to get lost, I swear I saw what I think was a delivery truck pulling around back.” She watched him anxiously, checking in to see if he believed her and clearly anticipating further argument. Instead, he nodded solemnly.
“My father's been strangely stubborn about liquidating that property. Every market indicator says to sell, but he insists the neighborhood's about to be revitalized.” He liked the smile that spread across her face at the immediate acceptance of her theory.
“The only thing being revitalized in that neighborhood is the graffiti.” She said with a hint of humor. “Now, I think I can make some headway if you'll just come along with me...”
“Chloe, I think I should take it from here.” His voice came out sharper than he had intended it to, and he winced inwardly at the reaction it was sure to provoke. Chloe forced a smile over a look of obvious annoyance. ‘Oh great, here comes the female empowerment diatribe...’
“Lex, I'm perfectly capable-”
Lex jumped in to stop her. “This has nothing to do with your capability.” He reassured her. “I'm worried about your safety.” Chloe’s smile faded and she looked at Lex with some kind of emotion displayed on her face, something he couldn’t put his finger on. It made him feel uncomfortable, so he pushed it out of his mind and continued speaking. “When my father's involved with covert research, people tend to get hurt.”
Lex looked back at Chloe, relieved to see whatever feeling she had been experiencing before had erased its presence from her face. She looked professional and businesslike as she nodded in silent agreement. When she left his office, without another word, he suddenly placed the expression. Gratitude.
Lex shot up, his back arching painfully as he gasped for breath. Once he had moved through the shaking, panic-driven post-treatment phase, he was released from the glass testing area and given a towel to dry off with. He replayed the memory in his head, then filed it away for later use. Even though this certainly couldn’t be the big secret he was looking for, he somehow knew inherently that keeping track of Chloe and her involvement with himself and his father could only be helpful in the end.
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