The Incorruptible (PG) One Shot

[Firebunny]

The Incorruptible – One Shot
By: Firebunny
Pairing: Chlex, but not romantic Chlex and not friendship Chlex.
Rating: PG, because nothing actually happens.
Category: Angst maybe. I’m not sure. It’s not a comedy.
Spoilers: I don’t know, sometime after Fracture.
Acknowledgements: These aren’t my characters. Smallville is owned by DC and the CW
Author’s Notes: This was originally part of a longer piece that I never finished because I didn’t like it, except for this chapter. I liked the Lex chapter, go figure.

Word Count: 484



If any proof is needed that Lex Luthor is deranged, it’s right in front of him. Grave robbing, you can’t get more depraved than that.

His eyes travel over the body on the table. How many hours has he spent staring at it?

This is death. No one would mistake it for sleep, the skin gray and cold to the touch. She is motionless, no rise and fall of her chest. And yet Lex is fascinated. He can’t look away.

If any proof is needed that Chloe Sullivan was a saint, it’s in front of him too. Dead three months and her body has yet to start decomposing.

The Catholic tradition tells of individuals so holy, decay can’t touch them. Incorruptibles, they’re called. Even in death they remain pure, unsullied.

That seems to describe Chloe well. She was incorruptible.

People tried to corrupt her. Lex’s father almost succeeded, but in the end he lost and it cost him his freedom.

Lex was never so foolish. He knows better than to waste his efforts on a fruitless cause. But she still held his interests.

He studied her, tracked her. She was the key to everything he wanted. She held the secret he needed to know.

Yet, even dead she refuses to give up that secret.

The cause of death is still a mystery. There are no wounds, no toxins in her system. She’s just not alive.

That could change.

She didn’t keep all her secrets. Lex knows enough. He knows she took his death upon herself. She died for him and then came back to life. It was a noble sacrifice for a sinner like him. He won’t forget it. He’ll keep her safe until she’s ready to return.

And she will return. He’s certain of that.

When she does she’ll try to stop him. She’ll fight against everything he’s worked for. He won’t let her succeed, but he won’t harm her either. He’ll protect her even as he struggles against her. She has earned his protection, unlike other people. Her life is precious to him.

Because it is in her life, her new life, that she will give up that secret.

Or rather, someone else will give it up. The person whose secret she holds, the one who can’t live without her, the one who disappeared shortly after her funereal. He’ll return too. He’ll come back to stop Lex and when he does…

He hasn’t earned Lex’s protection. He has lied to and stolen from and hurt Lex more than anyone else ever could. He deserves the punishment Lex will rain down on him. He will walk into it willingly, if only just to see her again.

Chloe is the key.

She is the secret weapon.

She will bring down Lex’s foe even as she tries to help him.

She may be incorruptible, but with her rebirth comes ruin.

Lex only has to wait.


The End

[superag]

Ok, since we're being remotely religious here....God woman, you are incredibly twisted and I love it! People don't like fics like this but I can just picture him standing over her gray body. Chilling to the end.

[hfce]

Eww that was gross but fascinating. I almost stopped reading but you kept my attention.

[BackupLover]

Wow, this was dark and twisted and... Lex.
I adore the linking of Chloe's purity to both her Catholic roots and her teflon-like ability to stay true. Unlike some raven-haired squirrels we know who dabble in the darkness yet deny it the whole time.

If any proof is needed that Chloe Sullivan was a saint, it’s in front of him too. Dead three months and her body has yet to start decomposing.

The Catholic tradition tells of individuals so holy, decay can’t touch them. Incorruptibles, they’re called. Even in death they remain pure, unsullied.

That seems to describe Chloe well. She was incorruptible.

This section gripped me hard. I adore when authors are able to bring in outside knowledge to a fic and entwine them so perfectly that it just seems right. Lex's thoughts of a saint-like Chloe are accented by the beliefs that he has adopted in his respect and need for her.

She didn’t keep all her secrets. Lex knows enough. He knows she took his death upon herself. She died for him and then came back to life. It was a noble sacrifice for a sinner like him. He won’t forget it. He’ll keep her safe until she’s ready to return.

It's so interesting to see this warped sense of worship that he has for Chloe. The steadfast belief that she's going to come back once more, repeat her pattern of death and rebirth that he himself had started.

She will bring down Lex’s foe even as she tries to help him.

She may be incorruptible, but with her rebirth comes ruin.

Chills, Firebunny. Just... chills ran down when I read this.

The wording you use is always so perfect for the mood you're setting & I'm starting to wonder if you have Lex cooped up somewhere from the on-par descriptions of his moods. He's going to attempt to abuse a phoenix, use her every weakness in obtaining his ultimate goal, but you can't even begrudge him for it when you read the thought process. Bravo!

[xfieldhockeygurl07x]

ready interesting take on the story line. i thought it was very good!

[purplemoon123]

WOW!!!! I have no words. My brain is stuck and can't form coherent sentences. WOW!!! Yeah, that's all I pretty much I can come up with.

Rocio

[westwingwolf]

This is exactly what I wanted to happen on the show, have everyone think Chloe is dead, Lex takes her, waits for her to come back to life, and then uses her against Clark. And Lex is thinking about her just the way he should be. The way that makes sense to his character. Awesome!

[FroggyJump]

Wow that dark but made sense for who Lex can be. Enjoyed it to the end

[kimbo]

That was dark and made a chill run up my spine. Excellent.

[skauble]

I *really* loved this story!

It’s dark and obsessive in a way that I think is very in keeping with Lex’s character at this point. It’s also a very smart plan which I think was missing in a lot of ways from SV in recent seasons. I don’t mind Lex being evil at all, but the term “evil genius” that has always characterized Lex Luthor really needs the genius part present. After all, what kind of match would he be for Clark, once he becomes Superman, if he doesn’t have and *use* his incredible intellect?

So kudos to you for giving us a vastly improved Lex that really makes up for what SV did to him.

His eyes travel over the body on the table. How many hours has he spent staring at it?

This is death. No one would mistake it for sleep, the skin gray and cold to the touch. She is motionless, no rise and fall of her chest. And yet Lex is fascinated. He can’t look away.

I really loved this part. It completely captures Lex’s curiosity and how his need to understand things completely consumes him.

If any proof is needed that Chloe Sullivan was a saint, it’s in front of him too. Dead three months and her body has yet to start decomposing.

The Catholic tradition tells of individuals so holy, decay can’t touch them. Incorruptibles, they’re called. Even in death they remain pure, unsullied.

That seems to describe Chloe well. She was incorruptible.

This was fantastic, too. I’ve always felt that one of the most significant things about Lex is his extreme thinking. He had so much trauma in his life growing up that anyone who shows him genuine kindness and care becomes almost idolized in his mind. It’s why, IMO, he takes what he sees as betrayal so much harder than most people.

You have done a wonderful job showing the kind of emotional instability that is a logical outcome of his upbringing.

She didn’t keep all her secrets. Lex knows enough. He knows she took his death upon herself. She died for him and then came back to life. It was a noble sacrifice for a sinner like him. He won’t forget it. He’ll keep her safe until she’s ready to return.

I think that this might have been my favorite part. I felt really cheated by SV that they never explored this storyline. I know that the season was cut short and then MR left the show, but I think it would have been awesome to have Lex find out both that Clark had poked around in his head and that Chloe had brought him back to life.

When she does she’ll try to stop him. She’ll fight against everything he’s worked for. He won’t let her succeed, but he won’t harm her either. He’ll protect her even as he struggles against her. She has earned his protection, unlike other people. Her life is precious to him.

Because it is in her life, her new life, that she will give up that secret.

This was awesome!!!

This was where I totally fell in love with your Lex.

He’s in awe of Chloe for what she did, he vows to protect her, and yet in his very next thought he plans to use her to do something that he knows will hurt her like nothing else he could do. It’s sick and twisted, yet so within the scope of caring as he understands it that it truly is a wonderful Luthorian move.

Or rather, someone else will give it up. The person whose secret she holds, the one who can’t live without her, the one who disappeared shortly after her funereal. He’ll return too. He’ll come back to stop Lex and when he does…

Clark really does have other weaknesses that can be as harmful to him as kryptonite. It’s good to see Lex moving to exploit them.

He hasn’t earned Lex’s protection. He has lied to and stolen from and hurt Lex more than anyone else ever could. He deserves the punishment Lex will rain down on him. He will walk into it willingly, if only just to see her again.

This is another great characterization of Lex. The way that he manages to justify things in his head so that he’s the hero and not the villain. It’s one of those things that makes him such a wonderfully complex bad guy – the fact that he often honestly believes that what he’s doing is just.

Again, I really, really enjoyed this story. I don’t know if you have plans on following up on it, but it really would be a great lead in to a longer look at the consequences of Lex knowing Chloe’s secret and using her against Clark. Although I would imaging that would end up being a Chlark story. Which I would be totally okay with.

If you do decide to write more and it does take a Chlark direction I would love it if you’d post a note here so that those of us who either multi-ship or who love Chlex interaction even if it’s not romantic can enjoy the story.

~Sarah~