What an interesting development. I love how Lois was fired and Chloe finally got out of the basement. You go girl. Lois stinks and never should have had the job in the first place. When Chloe was thanking Bruce was she talking about him or Lex? I was confused by that thank you. I can't wait to see how she confronts Lex later.
"Everyone seems normal until you get to know them. "
ROTFLMAO! It was really a LOT of fun seeing how enraged and vicious Chloe was once she had gotten over her shock over everything Lex has just revealed to her. I would have LOVED some more elaborate descriptions of plans of vengeance that Chloe was plotting. Actually, it would have been fun to see Chloe carrying out one of her elaborate plans, ROTFL!Chloe had gotten her wits together enough to tell Lex off, only to find out through Grant that the interview wasn’t going to happen. She stayed long enough only to let Grant know that Lex had informed her of their association and she would be taking the weekend off while she decided how to handle this knowledge. Chloe had spent that time formulating everything she wanted to say to Lex about once again screwing with her career. She had also gone through several elaborate methods of torture. One involved using extra strength Rogaine on him just so she could pull out his newly grown hair.
Heh. It was fun seeing Chloe venting her deep inner-rage by plotting against Lex, but it was also interesting to see Chloe thinking, contemplating and trying to reason out Lex’s motivation behind destroying her career. It was good to see that she wasn’t going to fall into lazy thinking like ‘he did it to be vindictive, he needed no better reason’. She actually knows that Lex had some deep-rooted reason for taking these actions, and she was trying to deduct what they were.So it wasn’t about him. It was about her. Her writing. If he wanted her, did he expect her to quit her job and rely solely on him? No, he knew she wasn’t that woman. If he liked her, then he had to respect the fact that she didn’t rely on a guy to make her who she was. So why did he have to try to ruin her career?
It was bad enough that she was censoring herself for Clark’s sake. Lex had been right in that her writing had suffered since her Torch days. She knew that, but she had a duty to Clark. She had to help him with each week’s crisis and then she had to make sure no important knowledge that could hurt him got into the paper. She passed over countless stories that she never would have ignored a few years ago. And until recently any normal coverage that she had done for the paper had not been given her expert skills. She was doing what she needed to keep the job she had, not get the one she wanted.
She’s actually doing a good job in figuring out Lex’s motivations… NOT that any of them excuse him sneaking around and sabotaging something so important to her behind her back, but if she knows WHY, she can make sure he doesn’t do it again.
yeeouch! I didn’t really consider Chloe having this reaction, but of COURSE she would be freaked out by how easily Lex was able to mess up her life without her even suspecting him to be responsible. She’s right in being scared that, if he decided to do it again, she wouldn’t be able to catch him, much less stop him.More than anything, she was scared to know that Lex had so much power in her life without her being aware. Made her wonder what else he had planned for her. Would she be able to stop him before he went too far?
Huh! It seems like Lex and Chloe are going to have some trust issues to sort out before they can get together… AFTER she finishes screaming at him of course, LOL!
Oh, Lois! you, you…! I don’t want to say the word, because it’s too horrible, but it certainly SEEMS like she was trading sexual favours (or the ‘promise’ of sexual favours) in return for keeping her high position post at the DP. And then, after Grant was fired, she decided he wasn’t ‘useful’ to her anymore, so she dropped him. I am VERY disappointed in Lois, and Chloe should be livid with how incredibly manipulative and morally corrupt Lois allowed herself to become.“No. We broke up last ni…um, weeks ago. There’s no reason now. Besides he’s probably going to move on and find a new paper.” Lois turned back to her computer and avoided eye contact with Chloe.
However, she hadn’t fooled her cousin. “You didn’t break up with him until last night?”
“No!...Yes, okay, I know you were worried, but I could handle myself. It’s not like it matters now.” She did her best to look busy so the subject could be dropped.
HAH!! Yeah RIGHT! You just ‘happened’ to discover he wasn’t The Guy when he wasn’t useful to promoting your career anymore? I am seriously ticked off at Lois.“That’s not the point. It could’ve mattered. Just because everything miraculously worked out doesn’t change the fact that you lied to me. Damn it Lois, people work hard to get the job you have and you nearly blew it on some guy.” Chloe raised her voice at the end.
“He could have been the guy!” Lois shouted back matching Chloe’s tone.
Oh no she DIDN’T?! She did! I can’t believe Lois had the nerve to throw up THAT horrible, cruel, cutting and ineffective argument against Chloe. What a horrible, nasty thing to say! I was truly hoping something better from Lois, but she’s proved herself to be incredibly petty, vindictive and self-absorbed.“Chloe, you wouldn’t understand. You’ve only had one serious boyfriend in your whole life.”
“Right, because I’m inexperienced in the ways of love that also means I have no concept of logic.” At this point, Chloe had gotten up from her seat and was now standing in front of Lois’ desk.
At least I’m glad Chloe is not letting her get away with these self-pitying statements. Chloe is actually standing up for herself and telling Lois she was behaving like a vapid brat.
This is GREAT! It seems like all that anger towards Luthor is starting to spill out to other people who ALSO deserve a tongue-lashing. It’s fantastic to see Chloe starting to prioritize herself above all the whiners in her life demanding her constant coddling attention.“Because maybe I wanted to prevent one of your silly mistakes so that I wouldn’t have to clean up the inevitable mess.” Chloe felt a little bit of guilt when most of her anger was pent up from not being able to speak with Lex, but she knew that those words had been a long time coming. She was sick of being there for everyone’s problems and not getting the same treatment in return.
I AM still hoping that those people will realize the error of their ways. Once Chloe cuts herself away from molly-coddling them, I’m hoping they will appreciate her more, and actually learn to GROW UP, now that they don’t have her unwavering support bolstering them through their stupid brooding and whining.
I liked Perry immensely! I loved his no-nonsense attitude… not to mention the way he wasn’t allowing Lois to get away with her attitude in front of him. Then again, he was planning on firing her when he summoned her, which means he wasn’t going to be open to her insolent and brash manners.To say that Lois was floored by this assessment of her work would be as much as an understatement as saying Lana liked attention. “Look, Mr. White, I don’t know where you get off criticizing my work when you’ve been here all of five minutes.”
“I get off doing whatever I want with your material because I’ve been in this business for over twenty years and because I’m in charge. And if thought that you were going to continue here, I’d tell you to check your attitude.” Perry stood with his hands leaning on his desk and his head tilting to the door, dismissing Lois.
Finally realizing that he wasn’t going to succumb to her brash charm, Lois decided to try and play ball. “Fine, whatever you want to see in my writing, I’ll make it happen. I’m willing to take any suggestions and criticisms you have.”
OUCH! Harsh! That was a vicious way to fire someone. I’d like to think Perry would have been more diplomatic under different circumstances, but he must have heard about how Lois got herself this job in the first place… hence the reason for his slightly cruel wording.“I suggest that if you want to work for the Daily Planet or any major newspaper in the future, you take some journalism classes. And if you are looking for a good elective, try a keyboarding class. When you go to clean out your desk, send Ms. Sullivan to see me.”
And the hits keep on falling on Lois. I know she deserves all these words… but it’s still pretty harsh. I know that everything Chloe is saying is true, and it’s something Lois needs to know to if she’s going to be pursuing a job in journalism. But giving her a lecture about reality at THIS time might not be a good move. Right now, Lois would not be inclined to listen about how it was ‘her’ fault that she got fired because she employed sexually manipulative means to keep a position she wasn’t qualified for.“I can’t believe he had the gall to bring in my typing into this. What does it matter how long it takes to write a story as long as it’s good?” She threw in the stapler in the box, followed by some pens, not bother to look where they landed.
Chloe had to let Lois know that the job offer from Grant wasn’t honest, but she also had a duty to let her know that she should be more realistic. As it was sometimes prone to do, mockery triumphed over diplomacy. “Well…it’s called the Daily Planet for a reason. Wouldn’t make any sense for the news to be late.”
“So you’re taking his side.” Lois looked up at Chloe, stopping her mission to find a clever way to hide the phone for when she went through the security check.
“I’m just saying that most people have put in the years worth of effort to be here. You can’t expect to pick up a pen one day and win a Pulitzer the next. It wouldn’t kill you to get some more experience and take a few classes.” Chloe knew she was being snide, but her intent was sincere. She didn’t want Lois to give up, but she didn’t want her to think that she could get another reporter job as easily as she got the last one.
I’m hoping that once Lois cools down and stops indulging her self-pity fest, she’ll be more prepared to listen to sense, sanity and reason. She might be more open to acknowledging the mistakes she made, and correcting her behaviour so she doesn’t repeat the same mistakes in the future.
This was GREAT! Not only does Chloe have previous professional interaction with Perry, but he ALSO knows about how and why her journalism career had been derailed due to outside influences. Perry’s going to bend over backwards to ‘make things right’ for her.“Thank you, of course, it wouldn’t have been nearly as good without your exclusive information. And luckily, the bosses here decided that hard hitting news was what the Planet needed.” He gave a hint of a smile before returning to his ‘back to work’ face. “I’ve been reading your work, and I must say that I’m really impressed with your latest efforts. I’m surprised that Gabriel didn’t acknowledge the improvement you’ve made under his reign.” He lifted his eyes up enough just to see if she knew the reason.
Chloe wanted to reveal the truth about Grant, but not before she had the complete story from his mastermind yet. “Yes, I thought I had done good work but you can never tell what one person will favor.”
oh WOW! Within a VERY short span of time, Chloe’s whole life has taken a sudden up-turn. Her father beaming proudly at her, and she has the respect of the journalism community, AND she got herself on the ‘billionaire beat’ with Bruce Wayne AND Oliver.Gabe was more than happy to return the hug. “Because I wanted to tell you the reason for why I’m here in person. Congrats on your promotion, sweetie. You deserve it.” He wore the patented Sullivan smile.
“How? Did you?” She looked at Oliver and then Bruce.
Oliver was quick to inform her, “No, I merely called to request you for reporting on our business deal and that was when Perry informed me that this timed out well because he planned on promoting you.”
“It was all you, Chloe,” Bruce added. The sentiment made Chloe stop and reflect. Something in his voice said that he was told to specifically mention this phrase. She pushed back the feelings that Bruce’s comment had brought forth and got back to the business at hand.
Isn’t it amazing how much her life has improved ever since Lex stopped interfering and sabotaging?I think Chloe might have even MORE cause to be angry and bitter towards Lex after she sees EXACTLY what kind of satisfaction and happiness he’s been keeping her away from.
Oh my GOD! Not only was her professional life getting a new lease, but now she’s also getting a chance to bond with her mother again. Chloe’s life is just… PERFECT now! She has got everything she has ever dreamed of getting.She wiped away some tears and looked up at Bruce. She started to talk but the tears started again. Bruce waited patiently while she calmed herself down enough to speak. “Tell him,” she swallowed the burning lump in her throat and started again, “tell him that this doesn’t change anything, but I’m grateful for what he’s given me.” Her eyes delivered the important words that she could not fully express.
Bruce gave a slight nod to say that the message was received, but said “I don’t know what you mean, but if I did, I believe he would say that he was just returning what was always yours.”
I can see how it would be sweet that Lex arranged for her to have all her heart’s desires… but there’s also something SO immensely creepy about how Lex can wave a hand and take Chloe’s life from plunging despair to perfect contentment and happiness… almost instantaneously. It suggests that he can make her life hell again on a whim. It’s rather frightening to imagine someone having THAT level of control over your life. I would have been seriously freaked out.
heh, despite the creepy implications of everything that happened, I’m glad that Chloe was able to enjoy having everything she deserved in her life. She’s been miserable for far too long, and it’s wonderful to see her getting personal pleasure, satisfaction and enjoyment from life again.Chloe and Gabe had spent hours getting reacquainted with Moira and making sure she was healthy enough to be transported. The time together had obviously been awkward but toward the end, there had been hope that their life could become as normal as possible. They would not have happily ever after, and Chloe wasn’t naïve enough to think that her parents would return to the loving marriage they once had. But Gabe still held onto the friendship and respect he had for his wife, so he was willing to help her.
I was SO angry at Lois when she sounded so incredulous about Chloe getting a promotion at work… as if it was SO unbelievable that Chloe’s deserved a promotion after she has spent so much time honing her skills and proving her competence as a reporter. But then I realized that Lois’s words ‘might’ have had a kernel of truth in them… that Chloe’s work has, lately, been lacking passion and fire… that it’s been ‘safe’ and bland.“Zombies don’t eat the flesh of the living,” Chloe snarked. Wanting top return to the conversation, she added, “And I have been there a lot longer than you.”
“I know that, but you were always so…safe. I bet that’s why I’m out. Lex realized that I was close to something and wanted to stop me.” Lois continued on her conspiracy rant until Chloe snapped.
I know Chloe paid special attention to these words, and I’m sure she’ll find some way to STOP letting her work become so mundane and mediocre just to protect Clark’s secrets. I guess she’ll start concentrating on and prioritising her own stories over being Clark’s research-monkey from now on? It’s going to be difficult for Clark to understand Chloe’s shift in priorities, but I hope Chloe holds steadfast to a resolve to fulfil HER needs first before others.
heh, I forgot about how Lois had basically stolen the story from Chloe. It was pretty despicable of her, and I was surprised that Chloe didn’t give her hell for stealing her lead. Better late than never I suppose, LOL!“Grant fed you a line because Lex was the one who wanted you to have that job. Besides you wouldn’t have had that story if you hadn’t been snooping on my research.” Chloe had been holding onto that resentment and anger for a long time.
heh, it sounds like Chloe is letting Lois in on the WHOLE truth of the situation. As much as Chloe herself knows anyway… It’s a pretty good question on why Lex made a point of getting Lois the position that Chloe coveted (and rightfully deserved). The suspicious, cynical part of me insists that he did it to purposely drive a wedge between the two cousins… so that only HE would be left as the closest person in Chloe’s life, with no other competition.“This doesn’t make any sense, why would Lex hire Grant to give me a job?”
“I don’t know! Because he wanted to piss me off. Because he…whatever the reason, he has it and I’ll found out. But the point here is that you didn’t earn your job so you shouldn’t expect the next one will come easily.” Chloe stood in front of her to make sure Lois paid attention. She softened her voice. “I’m not saying that you aren’t cut out for this job, I’m just not sure if you are ready yet. Maybe you should take this as a sign that you need to take a break.”
It was SUCH a huge pity that Lois didn’t hear a single word Chloe was telling her. I had hopes that Lois would grow up, and the two cousins would be able to reform the bond they used to have.Chloe hadn’t wanted to have the conversation end like that. She just wanted to be straight with her. She hoped to speak to Lois again before she left. She would hate to leave during this uncertainty, but Lois could hold a grudge for a long time. Chloe would not let her life suffer because her cousin couldn’t handle the truth. She should have been the one to storm out when Lois had called her writing safe. It hurt to hear Grant speak that way. It hurt more when Lex had made that same assessment. And she had been worrying about her writing too. She didn’t need someone who based their career on a falling barn door judging her.
I think it was an EXCELLENT decision Chloe made in the end. About moving away from Metropolis. It will allow Chloe a chance to focus on news articles that are not revolving around Clark and the meteor rocks… which means she won’t be stuck trying to choose between loyalty to her friend, and her dedicated to her career and The Truth.However, Chloe had much on her mind and Lois’ petty behavior didn’t top the list. She was going to spend her time in Gotham helping her mother adjust and working on her article. And any of her free time would be reserved for thinking how to confront Lex. She wanted answers but she could wait until she had a few weeks to think about his motives. He made her spend months worrying about her career. He deserved to wait and wonder when, if ever, she would seek him out.
It will also be VERY good for her to get some breathing space away from Lana and Clark… I know that Clark will be there in a seconds whenever he needs her, but perhaps the geographical distance will make him a ‘little’ more capable of functioning without running to her to whine or brood about Every. Little. Annoying. Thing that bothers him!!!
Heh, at least Lana won’t be within whining distance, which is a HUGE plus for moving away, LOL!
Squeee! I’m glad to hear that there is going to be Lex/Chloe confrontation taking place soon. But first, she’s going to give him adequate time to stew and worry over the situation. I can’t imagine any worse punishment for Lex other than being ‘ignored’ by Chloe. I think he would have definitely preferred her coming over to yell at him, as long as he got to enjoy her presence and company. Heh, not to mention that she’s giving herself time to prepare some really vicious, cutting statements to use against him before she finally goes to see him.
I can’t wait to see how the next chapter turns out. Please update soon. I really, REALLY want to see how it goes.
AN: I know I'm a week behind on the episodes, hopefully I'll be caught up before next Thursday. Thank you to skauble for all the wonderful help and for listening to my whining. In my will, I leave you all my socks, including my favorite pair with bananas and monkeys on them that also have eyes on the bottom for some inexplicable reason. And not real eyes in case you were wondering. Skauble improved the Bronte comment among other things. This chapter drove me crazy and I'm not 100% in love with it so if you have questions, let them be known so I can work on improving it. Other than that, I leave you with this thought: Did you ever go into a fight knowing that you were absolutely right only to have everything turn upside down on you?
AN2: Forgot to mention that one line is basically stolen from CheapTrick and another is more or less taken from Practical Magic, and if you encounter anything else that you've seen before then that means it isn't mine.
The Rush
Episode: Persona
Eight weeks and no contact. Lex expected something from Chloe by now. A burst through his door as she called him an ass. An email or phone call to warn him that the shit would soon hit the fan. A brick through his stain glass window with an early copy of her article on how LuthorCorp will be the downfall of mankind. He knew he should have waited around after their no-go interview.
But instead he chose to give her space. He didn’t follow her to Gotham. Didn’t send any of his minions to follow her every move. Didn’t use any of his high quality satellites to zero in on her location.
At least, he knew she would be safe. When Lex had contacted Bruce to give him Moira’s cure, Bruce had promised to protect Chloe. He’d obviously kept his word by the fact that she had arrived back in Metropolis a few days ago.
During her trip, Lex had told himself that reading the Gotham society pages for any news on Bruce dating an unidentified blonde woman was essential to succeeding in business. Actually, it was more for the benefit of his sanity. Reading Chloe’s series in the Gotham Gazette would have seemed legitimate, if it weren’t for the fact that he cared more about Chloe’s enthusiastic writing than concern in rising stock prices for Wayne Enterprises and Queen Industries. He couldn’t be blamed for that. He hadn’t known about the story until Bruce emailed him a copy of the article. As far as Lex was concerned, Bruce could also take the blame for Lex buying several copies of the paper and keeping them locked in his safe.
He had kept himself busy the first few days by setting everything straight for Grant’s departure. The man was going to retire in an Italian villa with enough money to keep him happy. Grant didn’t push the idea that he was a Luthor any further. The hush money had apparently been enough. Not that it would matter anyway. If he came out spouting nonsense about being Julian with no genetic proof, he would soon end up in an asylum. He had done the job Lex had asked of him and deserved no harm. Killing him would have been futile. And not just because Chloe would have made the connection. What was the point in killing something he created? It would mean that Grant’s existence in his and Chloe’s life had been unnecessary. Like a ridiculous storyline in a television show.
The rest of his time had been spent remembering every piece of his last conversation with Chloe. He knew that his throw away comment about generating clones hadn’t meant anything. Just an attempt at returning to their judo. But he couldn’t explain how it felt to hear Chloe say she didn’t think he could do something so senseless. At for the most part it was true. The Super Weses were by no means human. Not even before he added the special powers from that creature were they biologically human. Just very lifelike dolls based on the soldier’s appearance to add a real quality. He had gotten the idea of using the dolls for war after he had several Lana dolls created. Having to spend a week in the girl’s company would have driven the sanest man crazy. He had to suffer close to a year and couldn’t risk showing his hatred. So he developed the dolls for torture sessions for after all the times he had to ensure Lana of his love and how lucky he was to be with her. He’d lost count on how many were destroyed. Ironically, one of his favorite methods was explosion. Letting her think she had secretly gained access to his lab had given him the perfect opportunity to let her get away for awhile so he could stop with the heavy pursuit. And bringing her back with just a few comments here and there was enough to make both her and Clark think he was still interested. Thankfully, it looked like he was getting closer to the point where he could drop it entirely and Lana would forget she even married him. But that would be due more to her track record of ignoring the existence of her past relationships than his skillful planning.
On the few moments he didn’t think about Chloe or work, he let himself acknowledge the developments around him. One was that Clark’s cousin was missing. He made the decision that Kara would become the new decoy to displace Clark’s attention from Chloe. He would have to eventually track her down if he wanted to fool Clark, but that could wait since the hero was taking time to repair the damage of what he like to call Clark’s evil twin. Lex knew that the Clark he met shortly after the day the dam had been destroyed was not the real Clark. Only an idiot or someone with a severe ‘me’ complex wouldn’t be able to tell that there was something wrong with that Clark. And whoever or whatever the false Clark was, he probably only got away with it for so long because his reports on Clark showed Chloe hadn’t had any contact with him before leaving for Gotham. If it had been left up to Lex, False Clark could have taken Lana back to Paris and dropped her off the Eiffel Tower.
While Lex never understood why Clark continually chose Lana over Chloe, he was grateful to see that the fake had the same debilitating affliction. Whether it was due to the fact that Chloe was gone for most of the doppelganger’s visit, or because Lana was an easy target; Lex was grateful that nothing went too far where the blonde was concerned.
Now if she would just get her nice ass in his office.
He dropped his head on his desk and cursed his promise to leave her alone. Never again would he make that mistake.
“LuthorCorp stock must have dipped hard if it causes this reaction in you.”
He knew how crucial the first steps were if he wanted to maintain his ground. He had to be clever when he lifted his eyes to meet hers. “Business is fine, Chloe, I was checking to see if there were scratches on my desk. I’ll have to request the staff to use a better polish.” Admittedly not the best response, but if she wanted a better sparing match, then she shouldn’t have left him for so long. He had to fix this. “Now that that’s done, I have other things to attend to so let’s make this quick.”
“Checking for rips in the felt of your pool table can wait until I’ve said all that needs to be said.” He couldn’t fool her with a nonchalant attitude. She knew he wanted her to be here as much as she wanted answers.
This wasn’t going to be a pleasant sit down conversation. They would have to stand face to face and let their long overdo history play out. Once he was standing in front of her he nodded to let her know he was ready.
Chloe took a calming breath before she started. During her limited spare time in Gotham, she’d tried to imagine how this conversation would take place. She’d start the best way she knew how and if Lex ended up in a coma by the end, so be it. Wouldn’t be the first time. “How do you expect me to believe that you have feelings for me when you tried to take away my career?” She moved closer in order to take in his expression with her next statements. Not wanting to miss the slightest meaning that would appear in his eyes. “You know how much reporting means to me. You know it nearly killed me to think I had lost all hope after everything with your father. And you knew how hard I worked to get back into the Planet!” Her eyes were set, not tearing up, not begging for the answer that would make her the happiest. Just wanting to know his intentions.
Lex didn’t move his body, didn’t want to increase the space between them. Even though the questions and unspoken accusations made him feel uncomfortable, they were valid. He looked down to gather his thoughts, an action that might prove detrimental with anyone else, but he knew she deserved his vulnerability. Looking her in the eye, he admitted, “you’re right, I do know all of that, and I know this is going to sound like I’m telling you the world is flat, but that’s exactly why I hired Grant.” His eyes took on a hardened gaze while he scoffed, “did you really expect that you and Lois were going to become the Brontës of the reporting world? That you two were just going have some friendly rivalry? You let her walk all over you.” Harsh, but true and holding back wasn’t going to help her.
Color flared her cheeks as anger lit up her eyes. She had taken a stand against Lois plenty of times. She couldn’t be blamed if the woman still refused to listen to her. “That is not true…”
“Yes it is!” He tried to grab a hold of her shoulders but she backed off so his hands fell to the side. Reigning in his own anger, he spoke firmly, “if any other reporter had tried to scoop you, you would have spit on their story, written a better one and shoved it down their throat. But this is your cousin so you let it slide. I just wanted to push you over the edge so you’d catch yourself.”
“What in God’s name are you saying?”
“You knew Lois didn’t deserve that job and admit it, her getting ahead, made you want to get back to your old self. You stopped playing down any story that could have been tied to Clark. Reporting became your life again, and not some hobby to pass the time while you waited to play Penny for Inspector Gadget.” As far as he knew, Clark didn’t have any robotic anatomy but the clueless quality fit him to a tee.
“I’m doing what needs to be done. It’s called making a sacrifice. Doubt you’d know anything about it.” Clark needed her and the world needed Clark, if that meant that she had to put her dream aside occasionally then she’d do it, and she didn’t deserved to be lectured on her choice.
Lex wasn’t surprised that she hadn’t relented. Years of making excuses to herself and about others had the damage ingrained in her perception. He wouldn’t be able to make her fully understand in just one day, but he could start. “I know all about sacrifice, but anyone who says they do it for purely unselfish reasons, doesn’t understand the concept. No matter what you give up, you get something for it: gratefulness, respect, love. Tell me, does Clark’s occasional thank-yous make up for the fact that he doesn’t show it often. That when is all said and done, he’d still rather be at home with Lana then helping you save the world.”
As much as she wanted to hit back at him, she couldn’t think of a response. Clark was a friend but more often than not, he had trouble proving it. She could trust him with her life, but rarely with her heart.
Noticing that her response would only be forth coming from her expression, he continued, “If Clark wants to have a boring, normal life and play hero on the weekends; fine. But you aren’t like that. You need that rush from investigating to survive, and you shouldn’t let Clark make you feel guilty when you choose your own life over whatever he’s doing with his.”
“I investigate all the time.” Clark always came to her for information on the latest catastrophe. Yes, that took most her time, but she was trying to find a balance. What was so wrong about not wanting to disappoint her friend?
“But you don’t write about it.” That was the difference between the younger girl and the woman before him. No one should blame her for taking time to better her own life. After all she had done, she deserved to reap benefits. But she wouldn’t, and she needed to see that it was “because you are too worried about what you’ll give away. Lois doesn’t have that problem. Of course, she also stinks which is why I knew she’d be perfect.”
She was getting frustrated with his ‘follow my plan to its outstanding conclusion’ philosophy and wanted to know why Lois needed to be taken advantage and she needed to suffer. “Can you stop being a Luthor for one minute to explain that to me in definite terms?”
This time he grabbed her hand and refused to let her back away. He wanted that connection for as long as he could have it. “If someone who was actually good at reporting came in and got the job, then you’d probably agree that they deserved it. You might even give up. With the way things were going, odds were it would happen eventually.” Smiling in a ‘what was I supposed to do’ manner and shrugging his shoulders, he added, “so I just sped up the process. Only with Lois, I knew she posed no real threat. Grant wasn’t going to remain editor forever and the next guy would correct his mistake. From what I hear, it didn’t take Perry that long.”
Chloe tried to look away but Lex squeezed her hand and moved his head until she had to look at him. “I knew that if you saw your third rate cousin being handed your career on a silver platter, you’d snap back into the Chloe that was geared up for any story. I miss that Chloe. Should be like that all the time. Only more aggressive when you’re just with me.”
His confidence was coming back and she warred with whether to kick him in the groin or throw him up against the wall. Instead she tugged her hand out of his grip. “Cruel to be kind, means that you love me in your world, is that it?”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you are happy, even if means hurting you in the short run.” He’d hate himself each time he had to hurt her, but it was better now than seeing her lose everything in the future.
“So that’s it.” She backed off a few paces and tilted her head slightly. Acidly she spoke, “my life long goal is back on track now, so I should jump into your arms and let you twirl me around while the romantic music swells and the camera pulls back.”
“No, if you were going to jump into my arms, it wouldn’t be just the music that would swell and we wouldn’t waste precious energy on twirling.”
“Stop it, Lex! You can’t distract me with innuendo. I’m not some simpering twit who will giggle and forgive you for everything.”
“You are back to being strong and decisive, and you let people know you mean business. That’s all I want.” She stared at him incredulously until he lamented, “well, it will do for now.”
They still weren’t finished. Lex still had a lot to answer for. “If you really wanted to boost my career then why did you threaten me last year?”
“Did you expect I wouldn’t? Why didn’t you go ahead with it anyway?” She had shown a glimpse of the old Chloe that day and he was testing to see if she would come back full scale. “Like you said my father nearly ruined your career and you stood up to him. He made it impossible for your dad to get a job, he threatened both of your lives, and still you made him stand trial. Even if you were scared of my threat, it couldn’t have been worse than anything Lionel did, so why didn’t you write the story?”
Chloe had trouble looking at him after he called her on what happened, but she didn’t have to say anything.
He thought she was protecting her mom, maybe even Clark, but avoidance said it all. “You people have got to learn that there comes a time when some people can’t be saved from their own stupidity.” Lana was a black hole that sucked the life out everyone and he was going to make sure that her terror stopped affecting Chloe. “Lana’s time is long overdue. The next time that turtle flips on her back, let her stay there and bake in the sun.”
“That’s a really nice thing to say about your ex-wife.” She knew that Lex never had real feelings for Lana. The girl had caused him quite a few headaches, if his no love loss attitude was anything to go by, but it still surprised her that he could speak about her so coldly.
“You know I never loved her.” He wasn’t going to feel bad for the way he thought about Lana. Nothing she had done, had earned her that right. “Lana thinks I’m not capable of love, but the truth is that from the day I met her, I knew it was a lost cause. Still, Clark saved my life and I wanted to help him try and get her. But Lana can’t love anyone who has a mind of his own. Maybe Clark’s finally learned that lesson.”
He walked backed to his desk and lean against it, behaving more relaxed then he would have with anyone else. “I’m not going to apologize for what I’ve done to you. You can’t make antivenin without venom. I hate that I had to cause you distress but I’d do it again knowing the results.”
Lex had made his case and she had to admit that she could understand it. Might even have done the same in the right circumstances. But she couldn’t give into him. “You know this doesn’t change anything between us. I can see your reasons, but it still doesn’t feel right after everything.” However, he did deserve some gratitude even if it wasn’t in full. “I appreciate what you’ve done for my mother but that doesn’t excuse what you did to her in the first place.”
“I know, and I understand that. I just wanted to right that wrong. I hope everything is going well.”
“Yes, she’s…” Most of her time in Gotham was getting to know her mother and accepting that she may never be the way Chloe imagined her for all those missing years, but she had her now and that was what mattered. “She’s recovering and she may never be perfect but she’s better.”
“Well who wants perfect anyways?” Perfect didn’t matter to either of them. They both were people who took what life gave them and did their best to live.
Chloe nodded slightly in agreement. Looking in her hands she remembered the excuse she was going to give for being there before she decided to get to the real reason. “Before I forget, I wanted to return these.” She handed him two brass metal keys. “Lois moved away and I found an apartment in the city so I can be closer to work. So we don’t need to be living above the Talon anymore. Everything’s been moved out and I cleaned so I think that’s all. We should be paid up.”
He stared at the keys. One more connection to her being lost. “Yeah, you’re fine. Well, now that I don’t have tenants to worry about I can close up the shop and move away as well.”
“You’ve thought about that?”
“I know I had the helicopter for transportation, but there became a point when I realized that I could easily make it back and forth, didn’t mean I still wanted to.” Looking her over, he said, “Besides, the only subject I want to remember about this town will be in Metropolis with me.”
“I won’t be with you.” She didn’t know whether to feel flattered or scared that he wouldn’t let the idea of them drop. “We’ll just happen to be living in the same city…again.”
“Sustained me enough all these years,” he smiled to try and lighten the mood but he couldn’t hide the sadness in his eyes.
She was moved but needed to know more since it was obvious he had been in the background of her life. “That’s another thing, just what other instances have you had influence in my life that I should know about?”
He knew she wasn’t ready for everything, but he needed to touch most of the subjects in order for her to start trusting him. “Just that I’ve been around making sure you were okay. I’ve never tipped the scales in your direction so that you’ve gotten anything without effort. Doing so would imply that I didn’t think you could achieve it.” Adamant that she believed he would never allow anyone to think he bought her career for her.
“I know about your power, and if you want my help, I can provide it expecting nothing in return. You should know how to properly harness it. I made sure you weren’t unnecessarily harmed, and it wasn’t under my orders for those people to be killed. I was just trying to help them and you.” He wasn’t in the business of killing people who were unfortunate to have the meteor side effects if they could control themselves. And more than anything he wanted to help her.
“Yes, Level 33.1 is studying people with meteor abilities, but I know the difference between someone who hasn’t harmed anyone with their powers and someone who is a threat to society. Only the threats are locked up. Everyone else is monitored to be ready in case someone ever becomes a threat.” His work was tailored to be a penal system for the dangerously infected. He profited from them but so does the government with their prisoners.
“And yes I do use powers to further my projects. Much like the government studies enemy war capabilities. I’m handling it the best way I know. I don’t know how everything will turn out, but this is what I choose to do. You can’t tell me that you don’t approve keeping this under wraps and doing what is necessary. You and I both know that there is no such thing as right and wrong, just right and someone else’s right.”
Logically, he was being reasonable even if it still seemed ethically wrong. But until she had done more digging of her own, she couldn’t dispute his claims. “Well, then you’ll keep doing what you do, and I’ll keep doing what I do, and time will tell where we all end up.”
She turned to leave but Lex got up to stop her. “Chloe, one more thing…” He wanted her to know that not everything he’d done in secret was questionable. “You know that replica typewriter of the one Nellie Bly owned?”
She stared at him, not believing that he was saying what she thought he was saying. “You didn’t.”
This smile was genuine. “Did you really think that Lois and Clark could think of something so thoughtful and afford it?”
Well that was one small mystery solved. “Thanks.” For the typewriter, for her mom, for always being there.
“You’re welcome, and it’s not a replica.” She stared at him with curious doubt and was only rewarded with smirk and playful eyes. She gave him back a small smile and walked out of his office.
That hadn’t gone as planned but she had gotten answers. Some expected and some not. And as always, Lex kept her on her toes.
But Lex was wrong about one thing. Investigating wasn’t the only subject in her life that gave her that rush. Those feelings for him had always been around. Even after every stunt he pulled. Now, if only she could rationalize why she no longer wanted to feel wrong about them.
TBC
Intersting update....very intersting update.
Wow at least she is talking to him again.
"Everyone seems normal until you get to know them. "
Hoorah to both you and Skauble for getting this chapter out, www! It was a wonderful chapter, and I don’t know why you were not satisfied with it. LOL! And it has happened… more time that I would have liked… to have an argument where I was completely right turned on me. It’s not a nice experienceDid you ever go into a fight knowing that you were absolutely right only to have everything turn upside down on you?
ROFL! It’s really tragic and funny how Lex is actually yearning for a launch of this kind of an attack, as long as it means that Chloe is paying attention to him again. I love Lex when he’s so pitiful and whipped that even being screamed at by his beloved is a sensational, pleasurable experience for him.Eight weeks and no contact. Lex expected something from Chloe by now. A burst through his door as she called him an ass. An email or phone call to warn him that the shit would soon hit the fan. A brick through his stain glass window with an early copy of her article on how LuthorCorp will be the downfall of mankind. He knew he should have waited around after their no-go interview.
LOL! And this is Lex actually trying to be unobtrusive ands respectful of a person’s privacy, huh? ROTFLMAO! There is something so funny about the visual of Lex clutching a newspaper article close to his chest even though it speaks about how rival company stocks have been rising beyond the value of his own company, LOL! Poor Lex! He’s completely gone on Chloe, and will cling to ANY kind of a connection with her.During her trip, Lex had told himself that reading the Gotham society pages for any news on Bruce dating an unidentified blonde woman was essential to succeeding in business. Actually, it was more for the benefit of his sanity. Reading Chloe’s series in the Gotham Gazette would have seemed legitimate, if it weren’t for the fact that he cared more about Chloe’s enthusiastic writing than concern in rising stock prices for Wayne Enterprises and Queen Industries. He couldn’t be blamed for that. He hadn’t known about the story until Bruce emailed him a copy of the article. As far as Lex was concerned, Bruce could also take the blame for Lex buying several copies of the paper and keeping them locked in his safe.
I stopped watching Smallville, although I do have some vague idea on what’s been happening through what people have been telling me. But I’m sure all your readers really appreciate you giving a sane and reasonable explanation to all the inconsistencies that have happened on the show recently. Heh, and I always enjoy a nice round of Lana-bashing, LOL!While Lex never understood why Clark continually chose Lana over Chloe, he was grateful to see that the fake had the same debilitating affliction. Whether it was due to the fact that Chloe was gone for most of the doppelganger’s visit, or because Lana was an easy target; Lex was grateful that nothing went too far where the blonde was concerned.
LOL! It was rather sweet seeing Lex making a vow to ‘never’ EVER make another promise to ‘leave Chloe alone’ ever again, LOL! I think it’s a good idea, because there’s a good chance he might not survive another separation.Now if she would just get her nice ass in his office.
He dropped his head on his desk and cursed his promise to leave her alone. Never again would he make that mistake.
“LuthorCorp stock must have dipped hard if it causes this reaction in you.”
He knew how crucial the first steps were if he wanted to maintain his ground. He had to be clever when he lifted his eyes to meet hers. “Business is fine, Chloe, I was checking to see if there were scratches on my desk. I’ll have to request the staff to use a better polish.” Admittedly not the best response, but if she wanted a better sparing match, then she shouldn’t have left him for so long. He had to fix this. “Now that that’s done, I have other things to attend to so let’s make this quick.”
“Checking for rips in the felt of your pool table can wait until I’ve said all that needs to be said.” He couldn’t fool her with a nonchalant attitude. She knew he wanted her to be here as much as she wanted answers.
I was in ROTFL in hysterics over Chloe snide, returning volley about how, once he finishes checking his desk for scratches, he can amuse himself by checking his pool table for scuff marks, ROTFLMAO! That was a VERY nice hit from Chloe… and a nice way of mocking Lex while letting him know that she didn’t believe his excuse for even a second, LOL!
But it WAS cute how Lex pretended to be casual and blasé about this meeting… as if he wasn’t turning over cartwheels of joy inside, LOL!
ouch! Those were some VERY harsh comments and questions. And I have no doubt that they tore up something inside Lex, seeing those questions asked in such a wretched and heart-sick tone of voice from Chloe. She’s making it clear that he came perilously close to breaking her heart and spirit through his actions, and he’s BETTER have a good explanation about why he felt it was ok to do such thing… to a person that you profess to love! VERY nicely done, www! Chloe attacked Lex in precisely the right way to make him hurt.Chloe took a calming breath before she started. During her limited spare time in Gotham, she’d tried to imagine how this conversation would take place. She’d start the best way she knew how and if Lex ended up in a coma by the end, so be it. Wouldn’t be the first time. “How do you expect me to believe that you have feelings for me when you tried to take away my career?” She moved closer in order to take in his expression with her next statements. Not wanting to miss the slightest meaning that would appear in his eyes. “You know how much reporting means to me. You know it nearly killed me to think I had lost all hope after everything with your father. And you knew how hard I worked to get back into the Planet!” Her eyes were set, not tearing up, not begging for the answer that would make her the happiest. Just wanting to know his intentions.
oh wow, WOW! I am seriously impressed, www! One of the other beefs I had with Lex was the way that he arranged the situation to intensify and worsen the rivalry between Lois and Chloe… that he might have done irreparable harm to their family bond because (as I believed at the time) because he wanted Chloe all to himself.Lex didn’t move his body, didn’t want to increase the space between them. Even though the questions and unspoken accusations made him feel uncomfortable, they were valid. He looked down to gather his thoughts, an action that might prove detrimental with anyone else, but he knew she deserved his vulnerability. Looking her in the eye, he admitted, “you’re right, I do know all of that, and I know this is going to sound like I’m telling you the world is flat, but that’s exactly why I hired Grant.” His eyes took on a hardened gaze while he scoffed, “did you really expect that you and Lois were going to become the Brontës of the reporting world? That you two were just going have some friendly rivalry? You let her walk all over you.” Harsh, but true and holding back wasn’t going to help her.
Color flared her cheeks as anger lit up her eyes. She had taken a stand against Lois plenty of times. She couldn’t be blamed if the woman still refused to listen to her. “That is not true…”
“Yes it is!” He tried to grab a hold of her shoulders but she backed off so his hands fell to the side. Reigning in his own anger, he spoke firmly, “if any other reporter had tried to scoop you, you would have spit on their story, written a better one and shoved it down their throat. But this is your cousin so you let it slide. I just wanted to push you over the edge so you’d catch yourself.”
But now, NOW I see that this kind of animosity was something that always existed between the two cousins, and Lex had only stirred it up to bring this simmering antagonism to the surface to expose it. I can see how he would have been so ANGRY about how Lois was walking all over Chloe, and how Chloe was allowing herself to be treated as a doormat to her brash, demanding, self-absorbed cousin. Lois is NOT a bad person, but she sometimes gets too self-involved to fully understand what’s happening around her, and who she might be hurting with her thoughtless actions. If Chloe had spoken up earlier, Lois would have been contrite, and might even have tried to improve her behaviour… but Chloe remained silent, which didn’t help her OR Lois.
wham! Another good hit from Lex. I am seriously impressed by the way you’ve arranged all of Lex’s arguments, www! His reasoning sounds callous, cold and even a little cruel… but it was ALL born from good intentions, and it all seemed to have worked out for the best in the end.Lex wasn’t surprised that she hadn’t relented. Years of making excuses to herself and about others had the damage ingrained in her perception. He wouldn’t be able to make her fully understand in just one day, but he could start. “I know all about sacrifice, but anyone who says they do it for purely unselfish reasons, doesn’t understand the concept. No matter what you give up, you get something for it: gratefulness, respect, love. Tell me, does Clark’s occasional thank-yous make up for the fact that he doesn’t show it often. That when is all said and done, he’d still rather be at home with Lana then helping you save the world.”
I expected Chloe would make an argument about how self-sacrifice and generosity is an important part of friendship. You have to be willing to give something of yourself to be worthy of a good friend… but that’s ONLY if the friend is giving up an equal part of him/herself in return. I loved how Lex made the argument that Clark was NOT fulfilling his end of the ‘bargain of friendship’. It’s true too!!! Clark has become too complacent about always having Chloe, that he doesn’t stop to think about what would happen if he lost her through his own carelessness.
This was also a valid point! Lex is right about this as well. Chloe has allowed herself to be diminished! She still experiences the passionate thrill of investigation, but all her greatest and most accomplished investigations are being done to benefit someone else… Not only that, but she’s sacrificing her own professional reputation because she doesn’t have time to follow through with her own publishable stories.Noticing that her response would only be forth coming from her expression, he continued, “If Clark wants to have a boring, normal life and play hero on the weekends; fine. But you aren’t like that. You need that rush from investigating to survive, and you shouldn’t let Clark make you feel guilty when you choose your own life over whatever he’s doing with his.”
“I investigate all the time.” Clark always came to her for information on the latest catastrophe. Yes, that took most her time, but she was trying to find a balance. What was so wrong about not wanting to disappoint her friend?
“But you don’t write about it.” That was the difference between the younger girl and the woman before him. No one should blame her for taking time to better her own life. After all she had done, she deserved to reap benefits. But she wouldn’t, and she needed to see that it was “because you are too worried about what you’ll give away. Lois doesn’t have that problem. Of course, she also stinks which is why I knew she’d be perfect.”
It actually seriously SCARY how Lex thought all this out so carefully and followed through with a meticulous plan that covered ALL contingencies on how to jump-start Chloe Sullivan. It’s truly terrifying how he knew how EVERYONE was going to react, and knew exactly what kind of a result he would end up getting in the end.This time he grabbed her hand and refused to let her back away. He wanted that connection for as long as he could have it. “If someone who was actually good at reporting came in and got the job, then you’d probably agree that they deserved it. You might even give up. With the way things were going, odds were it would happen eventually.” Smiling in a ‘what was I supposed to do’ manner and shrugging his shoulders, he added, “so I just sped up the process. Only with Lois, I knew she posed no real threat. Grant wasn’t going to remain editor forever and the next guy would correct his mistake. From what I hear, it didn’t take Perry that long.”
Chloe tried to look away but Lex squeezed her hand and moved his head until she had to look at him. “I knew that if you saw your third rate cousin being handed your career on a silver platter, you’d snap back into the Chloe that was geared up for any story. I miss that Chloe. Should be like that all the time. Only more aggressive when you’re just with me.”
Oh wow!!! Of he had applied this kind of strategic planning to destroying Chloe rather than galvanizing her… I shiver to imagine how Chloe would have stood against Lex if he had chosen to turn his incredible brain against her. I think there’s a good chance that I would have run off screaming at the idea on what this man can do… HAS done… Of course I’d thank him first, but I’d immediately run out shrieking in fear and move away from Metropolis ASAP!
Heh, good thing Chloe is made up of braver stuff than I am… She’ll give him a good tongue lashing about being a manipulative bastard, but she’s not going to run
LOL! It was amusing to see how Chloe’s irritation with Lex was returning in direct proportion to his increasing smugness, ROTFL! I am NOT surprised!His confidence was coming back and she warred with whether to kick him in the groin or throw him up against the wall. Instead she tugged her hand out of his grip. “Cruel to be kind, means that you love me in your world, is that it?”
This was a wonderfully sweet thing to say… well, from the standards of Lex anyway, LOL! I don’t like how there’s a thread of a patronizing tone in what he’s saying… but the truth is that Chloe WAS letting herself become lost. She was losing her identity, and didn’t even realize it. Is it really SO awful that Lex had to grab her and haul her to dry land before she completely drowned? He manipulating her, but he did it to save her.“I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you are happy, even if means hurting you in the short run.” He’d hate himself each time he had to hurt her, but it was better now than seeing her lose everything in the future.
Hmmm, after everything Lex has said… I think it’s good that Chloe has someone in her corner who will provide her with unrelenting support and complete, brutal honestly about herself. In view of his actions, Lex is actually the best and truest friend she’s got right now.
ROTFLMAO! Ok, he’s being far too smug again… I know I said ‘forgive him’, but don’t let him think that he’s right!!! (especially not if he WAS actually right)“So that’s it.” She backed off a few paces and tilted her head slightly. Acidly she spoke, “my life long goal is back on track now, so I should jump into your arms and let you twirl me around while the romantic music swells and the camera pulls back.”
“No, if you were going to jump into my arms, it wouldn’t be just the music that would swell and we wouldn’t waste precious energy on twirling.”
I can tell he’s being completely honest over here. He didn’t go through all this trouble to have Chloe in his debt. In fact, if she threw herself at him because of gratitude, I think that Lex wouldn’t… ok, he would totally accept it… but he wouldn’t be altogether happy about it“Stop it, Lex! You can’t distract me with innuendo. I’m not some simpering twit who will giggle and forgive you for everything.”
“You are back to being strong and decisive, and you let people know you mean business. That’s all I want.” She stared at him incredulously until he lamented, “well, it will do for now.
That’s a very good question. I saw that episode, and I kept thinking ‘those are NOT very scary threats… Ignore him and write the damned story, Chloe’… but Chloe held herself back. Because she was concerned about LANA… of all the *&^%*^&% reasons!!!“Did you expect I wouldn’t? Why didn’t you go ahead with it anyway?” She had shown a glimpse of the old Chloe that day and he was testing to see if she would come back full scale. “Like you said my father nearly ruined your career and you stood up to him. He made it impossible for your dad to get a job, he threatened both of your lives, and still you made him stand trial. Even if you were scared of my threat, it couldn’t have been worse than anything Lionel did, so why didn’t you write the story?”
He thought she was protecting her mom, maybe even Clark, but avoidance said it all. “You people have got to learn that there comes a time when some people can’t be saved from their own stupidity.” Lana was a black hole that sucked the life out everyone and he was going to make sure that her terror stopped affecting Chloe. “Lana’s time is long overdue. The next time that turtle flips on her back, let her stay there and bake in the sun.”
That was hilarious!!! Lana the black-hole that sucks the life, passions and ambitions out of everyone else… Brilliantly apt, ROTFL!
heh, You can’t make anti-venom without venom. Very nice!He walked backed to his desk and lean against it, behaving more relaxed then he would have with anyone else. “I’m not going to apologize for what I’ve done to you. You can’t make antivenin without venom. I hate that I had to cause you distress but I’d do it again knowing the results.”
heh… supplying the cure to Chloe’s mother was one of the few (or the only) non-compromising and CLEAR nice thing that Lex did for Chloe. Everything else was hidden away behind a ‘cruel to be kind’ plot… it was good that Lex could have the chance to lay claim on this ‘one’ uncomplicated nice thing.“Yes, she’s…” Most of her time in Gotham was getting to know her mother and accepting that she may never be the way Chloe imagined her for all those missing years, but she had her now and that was what mattered. “She’s recovering and she may never be perfect but she’s better.”
“Well who wants perfect anyways?” Perfect didn’t matter to either of them. They both were people who took what life gave them and did their best to live.
awww, poor Lex… I felt for him when he had that mournful thought about how he was losing one more connection to Chloe on top of all the others that he’s released already.He stared at the keys. One more connection to her being lost. “Yeah, you’re fine. Well, now that I don’t have tenants to worry about I can close up the shop and move away as well.”
awwww, again more of the woobie-lex… I love it!!!“I won’t be with you.” She didn’t know whether to feel flattered or scared that he wouldn’t let the idea of them drop. “We’ll just happen to be living in the same city…again.”
“Sustained me enough all these years,” he smiled to try and lighten the mood but he couldn’t hide the sadness in his eyes.
heh, this was a VERY good question. Even I’m still leery and wary of fully trusting Lex after hearing about everything he did and everything that he’s capable of doing. If he can manipulate Chloe so easily without her realizing without being a huge part of her life… imagine how much EASIER it would be for him to manipulate and control her if she entered into a relationship with him. She will need some kind of assured promise that he will never even THINK about trying to trick or twist her around like this again. Otherwise, if it pleased Lex to do so, Chloe might end up finding herself quitting her job and becoming a good little socialite wife third time pregnant and wondering how the heck that happened. Scary!!She was moved but needed to know more since it was obvious he had been in the background of her life. “That’s another thing, just what other instances have you had influence in my life that I should know about?”
The whole ‘tagging and/or locking up mutants for the good of the public’ sounds like a gray area in ethics. But as long as Lex doesn’t start abusing the system he’s established, it should be fine… He just needs someone to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t end up crossing the line into abuse and corruption… such as experimenting on mutants who are basically harmless and decent, but just have powers too interesting to resist.“Yes, Level 33.1 is studying people with meteor abilities, but I know the difference between someone who hasn’t harmed anyone with their powers and someone who is a threat to society. Only the threats are locked up. Everyone else is monitored to be ready in case someone ever becomes a threat.” His work was tailored to be a penal system for the dangerously infected. He profited from them but so does the government with their prisoners.
“And yes I do use powers to further my projects. Much like the government studies enemy war capabilities. I’m handling it the best way I know. I don’t know how everything will turn out, but this is what I choose to do. You can’t tell me that you don’t approve keeping this under wraps and doing what is necessary. You and I both know that there is no such thing as right and wrong, just right and someone else’s right.”
ROTFL! It was a wonderful gift, but what a way to find out that Chloe has had an actual, rare museum piece in her possession, and not just a very good copy. I hope she’s been taking good care of it, LOL!Well that was one small mystery solved. “Thanks.” For the typewriter, for her mom, for always being there.
“You’re welcome, and it’s not a replica.” She stared at him with curious doubt and was only rewarded with smirk and playful eyes. She gave him back a small smile and walked out of his office.
Heh… I’d say that Lex has said quite a lot that indicates VERY strongly that he’s genuinely in love with her. Now it’s only a matter of Chloe finding a way to trust him… AND finding a way to make sure he doesn’t pull this kind of a stunt on her ever again without her finding out about it, LOL!That hadn’t gone as planned but she had gotten answers. Some expected and some not. And as always, Lex kept her on her toes.
But Lex was wrong about one thing. Investigating wasn’t the only subject in her life that gave her that rush. Those feelings for him had always been around. Even after every stunt he pulled. Now, if only she could rationalize why she no longer wanted to feel wrong about them.
This was an excellent chapter, www! You covered over a lot of the issues that had been bothering me in previous chapters about Lex’s behaviour. I loved the exposition about his observations and subsequent plotting to get Chloe back to the person she used to be. It was scary, Luthor brilliance at its very best, and I loved reading through it.
I look forward to upcoming chapter. I’m sure you know already about my upcoming trip to Perth, Australia… I’ve been telling everyone that I ‘might’ not have time to review the way I so now. I’ve also been reassuring everyone that, if I do stop reviewing, it will NOT be because of disappointment in the fic, but because of Internet connection problems.
Good luck and best regards.
this chapter fucking rocked. i do enjoy the judo. if only i could see more of it on tv when the show airs but all i get is kk and super girl trying to keep up with Mr.
the end shows some great progress. Chloe is starting to warm to the idea of lex. yet her trip had to leave her with a new friendship. do i see queen or wayne playing a role soon that will only piss lex off.
i can't wait to see how you redo the last show that wasn't that bad but never the less lame and shitty in my eyes. more Chloe acting as watch tower and lex stepping in once she is hurt.
i want some kissing. then some. Please
i loved reading this story, more please
Kirsten
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (R) Update: 2/8/08, Ch.10 (Alternate S7)
I love the story and can't wait for next chapter
AN: I have no affiliation with the products mentioned in this update, but if Hershey’s wants to give me Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, I won’t complain. Chloe may seem a bit mean to someone in this update but considering where the anger is directed, I think you guys might not complain.
The Visit
Episode: Siren
The first thing Chloe did when she got home after work was leave her shoes by the door. Then she changed into a comfortable pair of lounge pants and a tank top. Finally, she collapsed on her bed intending to take a nice long nap before she had to make dinner.
She chose to ignore the boxes piled around her new apartment, figuring she’d be able to find everything much easier when it was inside a labeled box. Some would call it laziness, but she preferred the term decisively reluctant. Besides, she would unpack someday…soon…eventually.
At the moment she needed to unwind from work. She had more time to concentrate on her articles since Perry had revamped the security at the Planet after the incident with the fishnet queen last week. Most likely, it wouldn’t keep people like the Black Canary out, but it did cut down on Clark and Lana coming to her during working hours to run a search. As much as she loved her friends, even the most loyal person would not be able to handle the amount of boundary crossing that those two had done.
Of course, Clark could sneak in if he wanted, but it would have to be an emergency and he’d have to be quick about it if he didn’t want security to kick him out. This left no time for bitch sessions.
She hadn’t heard from him since the newest enemy turned hero left town. More than likely he and Lana had made up. Probably chose to do a quick repair of their problems instead of really questioning the reason for those problems’ existence. At this point, she was just thankful to be out of it, and prayed for a long break before the return.
The sound of the doorbell told her that life was indeed too good to be true.
She slowly pulled herself off the bed, mentally cursing whoever was on the other side. She’d answer the door but she’d take her sweet time doing so. When she had, she immediately wished she hadn’t.
Lana stormed past her, not even bothering to ask for admittance. “I can’t believe you would do something so thoughtless!”
Chloe took a breath but refused to shut the door, she wanted Lana out as soon as possible, especially if this was her attitude. “Hello Lana, nice to see you. Welcome to my new place. No a home warming gift wasn’t necessary.”
“I don’t have time for this. I have an emergency. Lex sold the Talon and they are turning it into a parking lot. Do you know what that means?” She flailed her arms around in the effort to make grand gestures and held her eyes open so wide that she could have been mistaken for a doll.
Despite Lana’s rather obvious attempt at showing emotion, Chloe couldn’t resist the quip. “That there will finally be more parking spaces down town?”
“Chloe!” Lana added a foot stomp to elaborate her frustration.
Chloe shook her head at Lana’s antics. While she was just as frustrated she managed to hide it outwardly except for in her eyes and in her voice. “It’s his business. He can do with it what he wants. You chose to let him buy you out a long time ago. So I don’t see where you get off blaming him or me.”
“You were subletting the apartment from me. You were supposed to let me know.” More stomping.
Chloe laughed at Lana’s audacity. “I’m sorry but since you decided to marry Lex, Lois and I have been paying him rent. That’s how you wanted it. You wanted him to take care of all the business in your life so you could be a leisurely wife. It’s not my fault things didn’t work out for you in that department. I can’t help it that you didn’t think to reverse that decision.”
“That’s not the point, I need your help. You have to write an article to save the Talon.” More arm flailing with a touch of pointing her finger at Chloe.
“I think it was the point. And I’m not going to write anything. The Daily Planet does not care if some small town coffee shop goes out of business. Go to the Ledger if this means that much to you.” Chloe still had the door open so she swept her hand in front of her, hoping Lana would get the message.
No such luck. “I did but they also refused. The lot will be providing parking spaces for the newspaper workers.”
“Well there you have it.”
“How can you be like that? What about all that the Talon meant to you?” Arms stretched widely.
The Talon did hold some memories but Chloe knew that while the world changed she could still have those memories. And when she boiled down her feelings about it, the Talon would just be one of those places she bought coffee and lived for a while. “Let me put it this way. I nearly died more times while working at the Torch and that will always mean more to me then sipping coffee at your Talon. Just let it go. You haven’t been active in that business for years now.”
“But it’s a connection to my parents. You don’t understand. Your parents are still alive.” Lana brought out what she must have thought were her sad eyes. They seemed more dead-like to Chloe.
Even though she had spent time with her parents, Chloe still held on to the lost years with her mother and the separation she had to endure from both of them now because of growing up. Her overwhelming feelings couldn’t stop her from saying, “Technically, one of your parents is too. And if I’m not mistaken you had more of a chance to get to know him then you ever did either of your parents while you were three. Plus the fact that Nell has always been in your life.” She may have gone too far but it was time that Lana realized she had never lived the life of the orphan she claimed to have. “Maybe it’s time you stopped holding on to pointless concrete items and just focus on their memories. They aren’t going to care if an old movie theatre is torn down.”
And apparently what Chloe had said either hadn’t hurt or hadn’t sunk in because Lana moved onto her next defense. “So you just want me to let Lex win. Let him know that he can still affect me. He’s probably hoping I’ll come back to him just to save the Talon.” She stopped to obviously ponder, taking out her new unnecessary reading glasses and placing the earpiece between her teeth like one of her professors had done when he was teaching Astrology or Agriculture or Algebra or something. “I wonder if it could work.”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Had Lana lost her mind so much that she could be this brazen in front of Clark’s best friend?
“I’m not serious. I’ll just let him think he will get me back. Then I’ll ditch him as soon as the deed is in my hands.” Lana smiled as if her plan was pure genius.
“First of all, he already sold it off so even if you tried that skanky scheme, Lex couldn’t help you. Second, I know this is going to be detrimental to your worldly view, but not everything is about you. Lex probably decided it was time to get out of a business that had been bleeding him for years.”
Lana dropped her shoulders and pouted. “You’re right. Going to Lex won’t help. I’ll have to go see the new owner. Do me a favor and don’t mention any of this to Clark. I wouldn’t want him to think that I still had feelings for Lex. This is simply business.” Her look was oddly patronizing, as if Chloe wouldn’t understand the concept but could she please just go along with what Lana was saying.
“Just leave.” Chloe pushed Lana toward the door and out into the hall. Shutting it in her face before she had to hear one more word.
Taking a moment to be thankful that Lana was finally gone and wishing she had her tape recorder because she doubt Clark would believe any of this without proof, she went into the kitchen to start dinner. She had only made it a few steps before the doorbell rang again.
Reaching for the door, she said, “I thought I made it clear Lana that we were done talking.”
“I’ve been called a slew of different derogatory names but that has got to be the worse.” The visitor said with a smirk.
Chloe laughed at his joke but couldn’t let him win the round so easily. “Hello Lex, are you here to bug my new place?”
“Tempting, but I think it would be a waste since Clark would just search and destroy as soon as I leave. Actually, I brought you a house warming gift.” He picked up the rather large basket but made no effort to ask if he could be invited pass the door.
She cocked her head to allow admittance and he followed her to the kitchen where he placed the basket on the counter. She wasn’t surprised to find her favorite coffee, wine and chocolate. Lex had bought what she liked and not what was most expensive. She wondered if he’d gone to the store to buy the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups or had the company ship them personally.
Noticing her staring at the orange and brown package, he said, “Store bought. I actually had to fight one lady off for the last bag. I can see why you like them so much.”
“I’ll write to Hershey’s telling them not to bother with the campaign about the chocolate and peanut buttery goodness. Just say it’s worth the fight. I’m sure they’ll double their profits if you’d reenact the scene for their next commercial.”
“I think I’d prefer ‘Lex Luthor, how do you eat your Reese’s? ...I’d take them all so I could rule the world.’”
“And to think you wasted your life in business when advertising was clearly your niche in life.” She ended with a smile.
She went back to the basket surprised to find: Bactine, Neosporin, Band-Aid adhesive bandages in different sizes, Ace bandages, ThermaCare HeatWraps, sterile gauze pads, adhesive hypoallergenic tape, trauma shears, tweezers, disposable non-latex gloves, swabs, alcohol wipes, saline solution, Hydrocortisone cream, Antihistamine cream, Calamine lotion, Advil, Tylenol, Bayer aspirin, Benadryl, Aloe vera lotion, burn gel, several Epipens, ipecac, and frighteningly what she was sure were military style QuikClots and high volume bandages and gauze.
Upon her questioning glance, he informed her, “This is just my way of saying that I encourage your need to risk your life while investigating. I wanted to buy you full coverage medical benefits but I’d figure you’d just yell at me and I wanted this to be a somewhat nice visit, so I held off. But if you ever need life saving surgery, I will be paying the bill and you can argue with me once you are feeling better.” He finished with a soft smile. “I want you to enjoy your life whether it’s helping Clark or Queen. Or does he prefer you call him Green Arrow.”
Not bothering to question that Lex knew about Oliver’s extracurricular activities, she moved on to her next topic. “So I guess that chase scene last week was for my benefit.”
“Ms. Lance was instructed not to hurt you but we both know the risks we take when working in this kind of business.” He stared at the spot on her cheek where only a slight scratch appeared.
She had heard about Lex’s stabbing and cursed Clark for not bothering to help Lex when he easily could have. “And even if I still had the disk?”
“Nothing, but you did an amazing job of sneaking through my system. My tech geeks have their work cut out for them next time.” She had thought as much so she wasn’t as upset by the loss. She was grateful for Lex’s confidence in her hacking skills.
Lex moved toward the door not wanting to overstay his welcome but not wanting to leave either. “I’ll see you around.”
“See you and thanks for the medical center in a basket.” This time he was rewarded with one of her genuine, bright smiles. He nodded with a smile of his own and a soft look in his eyes before leaving. She shut the door and leaned against it, closing her eyes. With all the emotions Lex stirring within her and confusing her, she was most grateful for that bottle of wine right now.
TBC
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