Post by Stardrifter on Jun 26, 2011 21:33:40 GMT -5
by
Stardrifter001
Secrets
"I'm sorry sir, I told you Mr. Luthor asked not to be disturbed."
Clark presses his thumb and finger to the bridge of his nose, lifting his glasses slightly, and sighs. "And I told you that if you just tell him I'm here he'll see me."
The secretary just stares back at Clark with a neutral expression. "Mr. Luthor is not to be disturbed."
Taking a deep breath, Clark tries to calm himself. He wants to toss her desk into the wall and burst through the doors, but that's not something Clark Kent is able to do. Clark Kent is just a man. "Look Ms," he pauses to read her nameplate, "Graves. Lex and I are old friends. He asked me to come by after I got to Metropolis today."
Ms. Graves runs a hand through her long brown hair, but her expressionless face never changes. As if she were carved out of marble. "You don't have an appointment."
Clark chuckles to himself and leans over with both hands on the front of her desk. "All right, that's i..."
A buzz from Ms. Graves phone interrupts him. She reaches over to pick it up, her eyes never leaving Clark's, but he's faster. "Ms. Graves desk," Clark announces as he stands up to avoid her reach. The icy expressions finally melts to reveal anger beneath. "Oh hi Lex! It's Clark. I've been trying to explain to your...secretary...that you were expecting me today. Come right in? On my way."
A mischievous grin spreads across his face as Clark hands the phone back to Ms. Graves. She takes it and puts it to her ear. "Sir? Of course." She hangs the phone up and sits back down slowly, composing herself. Her icy expression returns, but the anger in her eyes as she looks at him betrays it. "You may go in, Mr. Kent."
"Thank you, Ms. Graves."
Behind the office doors Clark finds what he would better describe as a gymnasium by the size of it. The walls were covered in pictures from Lex's life. Graduating from Metropolis University, volunteering with the Peace Corp, his relief aid in Louisiana after Katrina. The one closest to his desk showed when Lex and Clark helped tornado victims outside Smallville.
"Nice office Lex," Clark jokes as he walks up to the giant desk. Behind it sits Lex, half dressed in a suit. His shirt only half buttoned and the tie and jacket strewn on the floor. "Think I could rent a corner to sleep in? Five of my hotel rooms could fit in here."
"Har har," Lex mocks as he mills over paperwork. "CEO of a top five Fortune 500 corporation has to look the part. Besides I..." Lex finally turns to look at his friend. "Clark, what are you wearing?"
Looking himself up and down, Clark smiles, "What do you mean?"
"Since when did you need glasses? And the ha..."
Clark's head turns sharply toward a noise. Lex follows his gaze to a hidden side door in a bookshelf as it opens. Out walks trouble.
"Lex can you get a car ready for me?" Lois Lane asks as she buttons up her blouse. "I need to get to the Planet 10 minutes ago."
Lex jumps up from his chair to meet her and puts his arms on her hips. "Honey, your vacation isn't over yet."
"Oh yes it is!" Lois tells him, trying not to smile as he kisses her neck. "It ended when that caped vigilante flew across the morning news! This is the biggest story in the history of Metropolis. Do we finally have our own super hero? I need to be on this. I...who is he?"
Lex and Lois both look over to see Clark staring at them. Clark blushes slightly and averts his eyes, though with supreme effort. He finds it hard to keep his eyes off her.
"Oh I'm sorry Lois," Lex apologizes as he takes her hand to introduce her. "Lois Lane, this is Clark Kent. My best and oldest friend. And your new coworker." Lois does a double take on the last part, prompting Lex to ask, "You did get the job, right?"
It takes a moment for Clark to answer. "Oh...um...yes, yes I got the job." He holds out his hand to shake Lois'. "It's an honor to meet your Ms. Lane. I've followed your work."
"Everyone does." Lois' tone holds a small amount of arrogance and a large amount of truth. "So you're the mysterious Clark. Lex has been raving about you for some time. He's been all a flutter about you moving out to Metropolis. It's been a challenge to get him to think about anything else."
Lex flushes with a bit of embarrassment, turning to kiss Lois again. "Well you always did like a challenge, my dear."
Finally managing to tear herself away, Lois starts walking toward the exit. "The car Lex?"
"Yes dear."
"Nice meeting you Clark," she calls back. "I'm sure we'll have a lot to talk about."
After the door closes, Clark turns back to Lex with a crooked grin. "Nice girl."
Smiling back, Lex playfully punches him in the shoulder. "Don't even think about it. She's mine. Find one of your own."
"Oh I doubt I could find one like her."
"So do I." Lex turns back to look at Clark more carefully. "So what is the deal? The glasses, the voice, the hair, the slouching. Does this have something to do with a certain flying man the news is raving about?"
Suddenly self conscious, Clark stands up straight. "Yeah I was planning to tell you when I got here. I didn't expect to be needed so soon."
"Mmm hmm." Lex leans back on the front of his desk. "So you're really doing it, huh? You're gonna be a super hero? Gotta be honest, I'm a bit jealous. You know it was always what I wanted to be growing up."
"Well I think you ended up pretty well," Clark mocks.
"Yeah, I suppose I did." Lex mocks back. "I mean sure the boss sucks. That guy in charge of Lexcorp, he's so cheap! I really need a raise." The friends laugh together for a moment, enjoying being together after months away. "So what's the deal with the symbol on your chest? Kinda looks like an S?"
"Oh that." Clark unbuttons his shirt to show Lex the symbol. "My parents said it was the only thing in the ship when they found me. I don't know what it means." Lex inspects the symbol. "Speaking of, Lex. Have you found out anything yet?"
"About the ship?" Lex asks, walking around his desk to get his tie and jacket. "Let's go find out."
***
The jail cells slams shut inside the MPD Headquarters. John Corben and his gang are in various levels of disarray after their failed robbery and interrogations.
"What're we gonna do?!" one of the gang asks. "John! What're..."
"Shut up for one!" John yells, rubbing his head. "You guys didn't say anything did you?" When no one answers right away, he looks at them all in the eye. "Did you?!" They all blubber no in reply.
"Good. I told you guys I have friends in high places. We'll be out of this in no..."
SMASH!!
"Time."
The loud crashes continue as the building shakes. They can hear gunfire and people shouting from all around. The gang look at each other, fear in their eyes. John just smiles to himself as he fixes his eyes on the hallway.
Suddenly an officer flies around the corner, smashing into the wall at such a speed it would be a miracle if he survived. The loud crashes get closer and the building continues to shake, until finally a large robot comes round the corner. Clad in gun metal gray, the machine is easily as tall as two men. It has to crouch slightly to fit inside the building. It's arms are covered with an array of weaponry. The head has one giant red eye.
"Oh stop your whining," John yells back at his gang. "This is our ride."
***
The elevator ride is a long one, but what would one expect going from one of the top floors of Lexcorp headquarters to a secret research facility below street level. Once down there, Clark is surprised by the level of security. Lex regularly has to stop for thumb print and even retinal scanners.
They finally reach a large laboratory where Clark can see the spaceship propped up in the center of the room. It's not much bigger than a standard sedan car. It's elevated off the floor with two levels of walkways built around it, allowing the scientists to view it from all angles.
"Here we go Clark." As they enter, Lex calls for one of the scientists. He's a bald black man. Both tall and well built for a man of science, shattering some of Clark's preconceptions. "Clark this is Dr. Irons. Dr. John Irons, this is Clark Kent."
Clark extends his hand, but Dr. Irons looks wary. He turns to Lex and asks, "Who is this? Does he have clearance to be here? He..."
"He has clearance if I say he has clearance!" Lex barks. Dr. Irons seems annoyed, but accepts.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Kent." He shakes Clark's hand, then turns back toward the ship.
"So what have we learned so far?" Lex asks, walking up to inspect the ship himself.
"It's definitely alien. It has some known materials in it, iron, lead, and others. But some of the materials are unlike anything we've ever seen." Dr. Irons goes on, forgetting his annoyance once the opportunity to discuss the ship excites him. "The power systems are all dead. We're trying to find a way to charge them or convert something of ours to power it. There's a limited amount of writing that we've got translators working on. Nothing definitive yet. I'd love to know where we got this from."
Lex replies without looking back from the ship. "You don't need to know where I got this from. Just figure out where it came from and anything else you can."
"Of course sir," Dr. Irons replies, signing some papers that are brought to him by an assistant. "It's only been here a week and we've made some big strides. I'm confident we'll have the answers soon."
Clark and Lex head back to the elevator. Once inside, Clark lets his questions come out. "You're sure no one can trace this back to Mom and Dad?"
"Of course, Clark. Even if they found something, they're all bound by large contracts of silence. If anyone were to leak this out they'd live the rest of their lives penniless on the street. If they find anything that would indicate Smallville or you, I'm the only one who'll know."
Clark paces a bit in the small confines. "Do you think they'll find anything?" He's waited over 20 years, wondering who and what he was. Having someone like Lex with the money and resources to find answers has finally given him some hope that maybe he'll get the answers he seeks.
"I have the world's best scientists working for me. If anyone can find out, it's them."
The elevator reaches the ground floor. Lex walks with Clark toward the exit of the building.
"So what're your plans this weekend?" Lex asks. "Mine went up in smoke. Or rather, in red and blue tights."
Clark looks at Lex with an apologetic look. "Apartment hunting for the most part. Can't stay in a hotel forever."
"I could set you up someplace ni..."
"Thanks but no thanks Lex." Clark pats his friend on the back. "You've helped enough as it is. Dad raised me to make my own way. Just like you did."
"I can respect that." Lex and Clark shake hands as they prepare to go their separate ways. "Want to meet for dinner tonight? I've been looking forward to showing you the sights here in my city."
"Tomorrow night. I've already got plans to meet with someone else."
***
The night air is cool as Lois sits on her balcony in her bathrobe, curled up on a chair with a pad of paper. She stares at a photo of Metropolis' mysterious hero, scribbling on her pad and mumbling to herself.
"Hmm...Lex was right about looking like an S. So what's it mean? Supreme? Stupendous? S...S...Super? That sounds good. Super...Superman?"
"Superman? I like the sound of that."
Lois looks up to see the mysterious hero looking right at her, floating 10 stories up above the streets. He slowly glides over to land on the wall of her balcony, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Superman..." Lois says, barely a whisper. "What...what...um...what can I do for you?"
"Actually," Superman smiles at her. A smile so sweet her breath catches in her chest. "I thought I could do something for you. Perhaps an exclusive interview?"
"Exclus..." It only takes a second for Lois to collect herself and return to her reporter state of mind. "Let me get my recorder."
-to be continued-