Chapter Text
~*~*~*~*~*~
Lex blinked open his eyes and supressed a groan. His head was pounding and felt like it was stuffed full of cotton, while his neck ached something fierce.
...Ah? he thought as he realized he was flat on his side on a white floor. A white floor that felt... odd. Did he have any white floors at the mansion?
He tried to shift himself upright and fell back. ...Huh. The white floor was fluffy.
...I can't move my arms, Lex realized. At first he'd thought they were numb, but he could feel them when he tried tensing his shoulders and flexing his fingers, so that wasn't right...
He tilted his chin towards his chest, despite the twinge that went through his neck at the movement, and stared.
Oh. Well, that explained a lot.
Lex tried an experimental tug or two, just because he was curious. No, they've tied me up quite well in it, he thought of the straitjacket he was currently wearing. I wonder why I'm not more worried. He'd had a very bad experience with straitjackets from the whole Club Zero affair, after all.
...Come to think of it, that rather harrowing experience had also involved ghosts. Tangentially. Somewhat. Almost.
Not quite.
Then again, maybe his lack of fear and panic had something to do with the fact that he had not woken up alone in a room, stuck with only a madman or two for company... in whatever place this was.
Lex tried craning his neck around a bit, slowly, carefully, and then blinked and blinked again.
"Hello there," said the man with brown hair, who came into view and slowly crouched down in front of him. "Looks like you're finally awake."
No, definitely not a madman. Lex was fairly sure they looked much crazier than that.
"Who are you?" Lex croaked.
The man cocked his head slightly. "Come again?"
Lex grimaced, then worked his jaw a few times, swallowed hard. He wanted to be heard properly. He wanted that very, very badly.
Who are you? he tried again.
The man's eyes lit up. "Ah," he said, turned to sit down against the wall. "Sorry about that; very rude of me." He let his legs splay out in front of him, one knee tucked up loosely to his chest. "We should do introductions!"
Lex nodded, or tried to. He grimaced, then shoved himself across the floor like an inchworm, using his legs. Once he managed to get his back against the wall, he slowly shoved himself against it, kicking his legs out and digging his heels into the floor hard until he had enough pressure at his back so that he could squirm his way up the wall.
He was panting slightly from the effort by the time he was done, but at least he was sitting up.
The man just sat there, watching him, waiting patiently.
He turned his head to face the man and sagged against the wall slightly, letting it take his weight. "I'm Lex Luthor," he said.
The man nodded once. "I thought so," he said. "My ex-wife told me earlier."
Lex frowned slightly. "Your ex-wife?"
The man nodded upwards, and Lex turned to see.
...His mother was here, too. She was standing there with her arms crossed, staring down her nose at another woman. Brown-haired, glaring daggers, the woman had her hands on her hips and radiating a very aggressive air.
They were arguing.
Lex blinked and frowned slightly. Why am I having trouble following the conversation? he thought.
"You were drugged," the man said, and Lex blinked as he remembered the sudden unexpected pain in his neck from before, at the mansion. He winced and rotated his head on his neck, trying to dispel a little of the tension, at least.
Lex tipped his head back and stared at the ceiling for a bit, then closed his eyes and tried to get his mental bearings... and failed miserably at his first attempt.
So Lex turned back to the man. For whatever reason, he was easier to focus on, and he seemed to know what was going on, as well.
"Ah, damn, and I'm still being rude," the man said with a slight rueful twist of his lips. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth to--
You're Lewis Lang, Lex suddenly realized, his brain finally kicking into gear.
The man blinked at him, then his shoulders dropped slightly.
"Oh, and here I was going to be all scary and ghostly," he said, sounding a little put out. At Lex's incomprehension, he turned to face him and added, "You know, all wooooooooo," he said, lifting his arms and wiggling his fingers at him, while raising and lowering his eyebrows very quickly several times.
Really, said Lex.
"Mmhmm," said Lewis, stopping his weird motions. "I'll have you know you completely ruined it!"
And then the man crossed his arms in a huff and lowered his chin, staring at him.
You know, Lex said slowly, considering. That sort of look doesn't go over nearly so well without a pair of glasses on your nose over which to stare.
The man let out a sigh and gave up the 'act', slumping sideways against the wall. "I know," he moaned. "Such a bother." He gave Lex a considering look of his own. "Though most people usually don't quite get it when I do that."
Lex just shrugged a little, the entire straitjacket shifting about him as he did so.
"How did you know it was me, anyway?" Lewis asked, looking curious.
Ex-wife, Lex said, with an indicative nod of his head as he glanced up at a still-irate Laura Lang. I finally placed her face.
"But we didn't divorce," Lewis pointed out.
'Til death do you part, Lex pointed out right back. He wasn't a moron.
The spark in his eyes and the sudden grin and laugh he got from Lewis in rapid succession surprised him though.
"Hah! Nobody ever gets that!" he exclaimed, pointing at him. "You're good!" He leaned forward conspiratorilly. "Not quite an ex-parrot yourself, though. You got better."
Lex blinked at him. Then blinked at him again as he processed that.
You have a very twisted sense of humor, Lex informed him dryly.
"So I'm told!" the man agreed happily enough, sitting back a bit again.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Lewis seemed content to just sit by him, not quite shoulder-to-shoulder. He didn't seem inclined to start a conversation unless Lex prompted him.
So Lex went back to focusing on the fight. Lex was still having trouble following the argument the two mothers -- ex-mothers? -- were having out right in front of him.
He got snatches now and again, things like "You shouldn't have--!" and "I wasn't the one who--" and "If you hadn't--!" and "Don't be absurd, you started this--"
But all he really got from it was that Laura was incredibly angry for some reason, and Lillian was for all intents and purposes, dismissive and cooly unconcerned.
"Fine!" Laura ended, throwing up her hands. "I'd think you'd have more concern about-- ____ ___ ___ --but then you'd-- ____ __ ________ ____ _____ ___ _____ --then, wouldn't you!!!"
Lillian scoffed and turned away. Laura stormed over and plopped down right next to him, on the far side of the wall from her ex-husband.
"Honestly, that woman!!" she exclaimed unhappily.
"You've no-one to blame but yourself, dear," Lillian scolded mildly, turning away and wandering farther across the room.
Lex turned his head towads her and blinked. Blame? Lex wondered. Blame for what?
Laura grimaced, then turned towards him a little bit.
"I'm a witch," she said.
Ex-witch, Lex automatically corrected, then he paused as he realized...
"Ugh," he groaned, knocking his forehead down against his knees.
"Lewis!!" Laura scolded.
"But it was the perfect setup!" Lewis grinned. "How could I not! It was so worth it!"
And then he proceeed to grin even wider as he got a pair of scathing glares sent his way; Lex was pretty sure he wasn't alone in his censure. It really had been pretty awful.
"I'm sorry, Alexander," Laura started, looking a little worried.
Lex frowned over at her. Sorry? ...For what? Being a witch? he wondered, confused.
"What?" Laura said, startled. "No!" she exclaimed, then suddenly looked a little off-put.
She glanced over at Lewis and exchanged a long unreadable look with him. Lewis smiled and shrugged. Lex didn't quite follow it, except that Laura suddenly looked very tired, for a ghost.
"Ah, well," Laura said, wringing her hands a little. "I suppose I should start from the start, then."
Please, Lex thought hard.
Laura gave him a weak smile. "You see," she said, "witchiness is a bit... hereditary, and..."
Lana inherited your magic witch-powers but doesn't know it, let alone how to use it properly.
Laura winced.
"Told you he was quick," Lex heard Lewis mutter behind him, sounding almost... proud?
Lex glanced over his shoulder at him for a moment, but then Laura began again.
"Lana isn't really a witch," Laura said. "Not... quite. --She's got a great deal of magical potential," Laura rushed to explain, "but she can't use it own her own or cast spells with it."
"Usually," added Lewis.
Laura sighed.
Halloween had something to do with it, didn't it? Lex realized grimly.
"Yes," Laura admitted. "And I am so sorry," she continued. "I shouldn't have used you like that."
Lex blinked at her. ...Used me?
"Ah," Laura stammered, looking nervous. "What do you remember about the ceremony with Lana...?"
Lex frowned again. I remember the ceremony perfectly well, he told them carefully, realizing that this seemed to be a sore spot for Langs. It's the part after that I can't quite recollect.
It didn't quite escape him that Laura had specified the ceremony, making it clear that she'd known about at least one of the two others, possibly both.
Laura looked too embarrassed -- or possibly ashamed? -- to continue. Lewis cleared his throat and Lex turned back to him. "She sort of..." he made a vague handwavey motion, "possessed you. Just a little bit."
Lex blinked at him. He turned to look at Laura.
"It was only about five minutes or so, I swear," Laura said, biting her lip.
He stared at Laura a long time.
I don't understand, Lex thought. That makes no sense. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the cottony feeling that was still stifling the edges of his thought process. He needed a clear head for this, or a clearer one, at least. Lana wanted to talk to you. Why would she be angry about that?
Laura looked startled.
Did you think it would hurt me when you did it? Lex asked.
"Oh, no!" Laura denied vehemently. "Not at all!"
And you were trying to help her, Lex continued.
"Yes," Laura said.
Would things have gone any better if you hadn't? Lex asked.
"What?"
Lex sighed. If you hadn't possessed me, Lex tried again, would I still have had a problem with the ghosts and whispers the next day? And the day after that? He remembered Friday rather well ...except for the parts where things seemed a little hazy. I was jumping at shadows and feeling nervous as hell all day Friday. It felt like I was being watched, even if I didn't hear the voices until later. Did that happen because... was that worse because you possessed me?
Laura looked startled, then shocked.
Then she looked a little worried, and a great deal reflective.
"I don't know," she said finally. "I think..." She looked up at him grimly. "It almost certainly still would have happened. It would have taken longer, though."
How much longer? Lex asked, wondering, Would I have gotten better... would it have stopped or gone away on its own?
Laura grimaced. "It might have taken a month, maybe. Maybe a little longer, a year on the outside," she told him. "Even if I hadn't... and you'd only done the ceremony with Lana just the once..." She sighed. "That would've been enough to break down the barriers enough that you'd eventually have ended up..."
"All right," Lex said reasonably. "Then it's probably better that you did, because otherwise I'd have had no idea what was going wrong with me." I'd have probably gone insane, or thought myself so, otherwise.
Laura looked unconfortable at the thought.
"Oh, no worries!" Lewis said. "I'm sure we would've come along eventually to help straighten things out."
...Eventually?!?
Lex turned to him and gave that rather discomfiting thought the look that it deserved.
Lewis met it head on with a grin.
Laura sighed.
Well, on to the main question. I understand that what happened to me may not have been preventable--
"Only if someone had managed to stop Lana, or if she'd performed it sometime other than Halloween," Lewis confirmed.
--but is there any way to undo this... spell... or otherwise reverse the effects? Lex asked.
""What? My stunning good looks and wonderful company isn't good enough for you?" Lewis said with a gasp, slapping hand against his chest and feigning an incredibly uncredible amount of shock.
Lex leveled a glare at him. No.
Laura let out a stifled giggle. Lewis didn't bother, letting out a loud "HAH!" and slapping his knee.
"Ah," Laura said, wiping at her eyes. "I'm sorry, I--" She shook her head, then took a deep breath, looking serious and sympathetic. "Unfortunately not. It's not just the spell anymore," she explained. "That stopped once Lana broke the circle and left. But the spell called down upon you has wrought a change in you."
How is that possible?
"It's because you seem to have an affinity for it. If you hadn't..." She shared another glance with Lewis. "Well, suffice it to say that things would not have progressed this far in the first place, and we never would have needed to be having this conversation."
An affinity? Lex frowned.
"Mm, well," Laura began, "you do have red hair. You must have irish ancestry in your line someplace. Those folk tend more towards the spooky side of things than not, at least a little."
"And you've died for a bit and come back and kept going, before --and not just the once, either!" Lewis enthused. "That makes you practically undead already!" he pointed out cheerfully.
"I--" Lex felt a bit disquieted, and not just because Lewis' friendly slap to his shoulder had felt decidedly odd. It had been like touching a cold hand to a cold surface -- an odd sort of pressure, and a temperature variation that intellectually he knew he should've been able to feel. Wait, how do you know about my hair? he asked suspiciously.
"Oh," Laura said. "Well, it's sort of there. --But not there," she added in a rush as Lex looked a little stunned.
...I have ghost-hair?
"Nah," Lewis said. "That's just a witchy thing. You get used to it," he said good-naturedly.
Well, at least no-on else can tell, Lex thought.
"Sure they can!" Lewis said.
What? Lex said, turning to him.
"Yeah," Lewis confirmed. "You have red hair riiiiight there!" he said, and pointed.
Lex reared his head back, then frowned upwards, then paused.
Are you pointing at my eyebrows? he asked, outraged, staring at Lewis in shock.
"Yup," said Lewis. "They're hairs, aren't they? And they look a bit red in color, don't they, dear?" he said across Lex to his ex-wife.
"Ummm," sad Laura, dissembling.
Lex looked between them, and he could feel his eyes widening.
Oh, he thought. Then he felt angry. Oh, son of a--! he half-cursed, kicking a heel against the fluffy padded floor in annoyance.
"Eh, if it bothers you that much, just dye 'em," Lewis waved off.
"I am not dyeing my hair!" Lex insisted, spine ramrod straight, and feeling thoroughly irate. Though, truth be told, he was more angry that... Why didn't anyone ever say anything before!?!
"You ever tell anybody that you didn't like having red hair before?" Lewis asked.
Lex muttered and grumbled under his breath, hunching his shoulders a little and slumping back against the wall grumpily.
"Well then, don't be complaining how your friends don't tell you things if you don't ask 'em to know," Lewis said reasonably. "It's not as though anyone else would have reason to tell you."
"I can't believe this," Lex said tiredly. He tilted his head back and let it thump softly against the wall.
"Well, things wouldn't have been quite so bad if Lillian hadn't--"
"Oh, don't get all holier-than-thou with me, witch--" his mother interrupted.
"--and left you wide open," Laura ended angrily, glaring up at Lillian again, and Lex's brain was spinning from trying to follow the two conversations, not that he'd managed it.
Wait, just.... wait, please, Lex tried. I'm not... I'm not unhappy that I can talk with my mother again!
Laura looked a little shocked, then almost sad.
She took a deep breath, then said, "Well, I suppose I ought to have expected that." She shook her head once. "At any rate, between the dying leaving you with a weaker tether to your own body, and certain family ancestry playing a factor," she said with an eye at Lillian, "especially hers," Laura said in a way that almost made it an insult before continuing, "it would be difficult, if not impossible, to lock down your, ah, talent--"
"Curse," Lillian said dryly.
"--without a very real possibility of making things worse or otherwise driving you completely insane," Laura said. "Either way, you'd need Lana's help, or that of some other witch, and if it was Lana--"
--then it'd have to occur on Halloween, Lex filled in, following the line of reasoning. But besides the fact that Lana's not speaking to me right now, Halloween's almost a year away. I don't suppose you know of any other witches that I could talk to?
"I'm sorry," Laura said. "Witches these days are pretty few and far between."
"You're forgetting the last bit, love," Lewis prodded.
Last bit?
Laura sighed. "You may have noticed how quiet it is here," she said slowly, dissembling.
Yes...
"Well, this is a new wing to the hopsital," Laura began. "There aren't any resident ghosts here."
"And we were pretty circumspect in making our way here," Lewis added. "So we weren't followed or any such nonsense."
"But when you go back to the mansion..." she bit her lip. "It wasn't just you that was... opened up to the other side."
Lex frowned, not getting it.
"The veil got thinned pretty badly there," Lewis supplied. "Even non-sensitives might start to notice things."
Lex sighed. Well, I don't see what that's got to do with me, he said. I doubt I'm getting out of here anytime soon.
"They'll have to let you out, sooner or later," Lewis said with a shrug. "It's not like you're violent or anything."
"No," Lex 'agreed', "I just seem to hallucinate dead people for no apparent reason," he ended, his tone dripping sarcasm.
"Well, it's not like you feel compelled to do what the 'strange voices' you hear tell you to do--" Lewis began.
I had a hell of a time of it Saturday, Lex admitted angrily, with no small amount of shame eating a hole in his gut. And I don't want to be put in that position again!
"Well, you'll get better at it with practice," Laura began.
Better at what?! Lex said. I don't know what I'm doing!
"That's obvious," Lewis murmured, sounding amused.
I don't know how to not listen; I'm not even sure if I can! I'm not even sure what I should be trying to do. Lex ended, shooting a look at him. Can't you just tell me? he asked Laura, practically a plea.
"I'm a witch, not a spiritual medium," she said, shaking her head. "I haven't the first idea how this sort of thing works, just rumors here and there. Nothing specific."
"Then what good are you!?!" Lex exclaimed angrily. You say you're sorry for something you couldn't do anything about, you talk and talk, but you can't undo it, and you-- you can't really do a damn thing!
"I can't even help my own daughter!" Laura said angrily, losing her temper. "I can't even get her to listen to me, let alone keep her safe! Don't you think I'd help you, to clean up this mess she's made of things, if I could?!" she ended, frustrated in the extreme.
"We don't like this any better than you do," Lewis said, sounding resolved. "We'll keep an ear out, and ask around discreetly -- the last thing you need is more attention right now than you're already getting," he said grimly, "-- and we'll help when and how we can, but we can't just wave a magic wand and fix your life for you."
"I'm a dead witch," Laura said. "I had to marshall my strength just to walk here today. I barely had the strength to stay together after the seance. Magic doesn't even work like that when you're alive," she said.
"Yeah," Lewis said. "Believe it or not, I've got a bit more oomph these days than she does, and that's sayin' something."
All the anger just left Lex in a rush. I thought...
"Hey, we're newbies to the afterlife, kiddo," Lewis said. "We don't got a lot of pull or sway. We definitely don't know everything there is about everything... yet," he winked. "But Laura was able to help me stay here with her when I wanted to, and she found a way to keep me from only being stuck to the cemetery grounds, too." He shrugged. "We'll figure something out. It'll take a bit of time, but, well," he smiled, "you're the one who said you didn't think you'd be leaving soon, yeah?"
Lex sighed, and he sighed again as he realized that Laura had gotten up and stomped over to Lillian to go fight with his mother some more.
"C'mon," Lewis said, "it isn't that bad. It could be worse."
How?
"Well," Lewis pondered that one for a moment. "You could still be stuck in the mansion with all those other ghosts wailing away in your ears. Lillian scares 'em off a bit." He glanced up at the two women, then said lowly, "No offense kid, but she gives even me the willies."
So I'll be all right so long as mom stays with me? Lex asked, brightening, feeling as though that might be the silver lining that made the whole thing worth it.
"Er... well..." Lewis said with reserve, scratching his head and looking a little... uncomfortable. "We can't all stay with you all the time. --Not like that, anyway," he amended. "And I don't think you'd want her around all the time. You'll need to figure out how to be on your own without her. You shouldn't rely on... just one person," he ended.
Lex sighed. Sometimes it sucks being an adult.
Lewis chuckled. "No kidding." Then he moved away from the wall to sit in front of him.
Lex watched him carefully, wondering what he was up to.
"So," Lewis said, clapping his hands together. "I bet that straitjacket of yours is causing you no small discomfort, yeah?"
I suppose, Lex half-admitted.
"Well, then let's see what we can do about that," Lewis said matter-of-factly.
Lex blinked at him. You can help me get it off?
"Hm?" said Lewis. "Oh. --No, not like that, not like you're thinking," he said. "I can't move physical stuff. Haven't quite got the knack; certainly haven't been around long enough to try," he said good-naturedly. "No, can't do that. --But," he said, "I did find a guy at the cemetery who used do do magic tricks once upon a time. Loved Houdini and all that jazz. I had him explain it to me," Lewis said, "and I memorized it. So, now I can explain it to you," he offered.
Lex thought about that.
And then he smiled and said, What do I do first?
Lewis grinned.
~*~*~*~*~*~