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Lex Luthor had found his old notepad again by accident.
It was a snowy Saturday and he had decided to stay inside, riffling through a box he had brought with him to Metropolis from Smallville years and years ago. It was one he had never quite gotten around to unpacking. His Friday had been ruined by Superman destroying one of his labs and the prototypes contained within. The Saturday newspaper had the accompanying other half of the disaster, an article by Clark Kent covering the event with extreme bias.
Lex had been restless and the urge to rip through something could not be contained so he had gone for a sealed box. The green cover of the small notepad had caught his eyes upon opening the box and he had recognized it immediately. The word “WEAKNESSES” was written in capital red letters across the surface.
He knew where and when it was from. It was his and he had started keeping it on the very first year he had met Clark Kent. Early in their acquaintanceship Lex had caught on that Clark was something else. One of his theories had been that Clark was meteor infected and like Lex had powers he could not quite understand or control. Lex just figured while his own were accelerated healing related, Clark had that and much more - especially offensive capabilities such as enhanced strength, and later heat vision and ice breath.
Lex would discover he was wrong about assuming Clark was human, but even with his initial theory he already thought Clark was dangerous. With the awareness of that threat on his mind, Lex had dedicated himself to watching Clark for any weaknesses that could be exploited in case he went rogue and decided it was better subjugating people rather than rescuing them.
Lex was grateful he had not drowned because Clark had saved him but Clark had hidden the detailed truth of the events from him, so Lex had been cautious and resentful. If Clark kept secrets from him then he would keep secrets of his own. The Chamber of Clark Kent was a betrayal but he kept smaller secrets too and a notepad where he wrote down his observations was one.
There was no indication it was Lex’s except for his handwriting - there was no name on it. Nor was there any clear indication it was about Clark unless one knew from context, because his name was not anywhere on its pages either. It was old but Lex wondered if anything could be gleaned from it that he could use to deal with Superman. He had forgotten what he had written. It was from so long ago.
Lex sat at a desk and opened the small, worn notepad. All entries were written as part of a list. He read some random lines.
-Naively believes reality tv shows are real and not scripted
-Gets emotional if a contestant he was rooting for gets eliminated on a reality tv show
Lex frowned. He had expected something more helpful. He thought and the context of the discovery of such “weaknesses” returned to him.
~~
Lex was seated on the sofa in the Kent’s living room. He was on one cushion while Clark was seated on the other, their bodies barely half a foot apart.
It was dinner time and Jonathan Kent had complained about how a family should be seated together on the dining table but he had given in to the idea of eating their food out of a bowls and plates while watching TV in the living room because Martha Kent had said they could.
Like her son, she was enraptured by the reality TV show about a bachelor picking out a fiance from a group of twenty-five women, candidates in an elimination-style show. She sat on an armchair, a forkful of chicken could not find its way to her lips because she was busy watching. Her husband, who had groused in the beginning was in a nearby chair, and likewise had his eyes glued to the screen.
Lex was already jaded by the new at the time TV genre but it was still amusing to see the Kent’s reactions to it. The experience of watching TV together with a family, and to feel a part of it, was more strange and enrapturing to him. Jonathan had stopped bothering to pay attention to just how close Lex was sitting down next to Clark and had even removed the remote that had symbolically sat between them after a button had been accidentally pressed and the channel had changed to everyone’s complaint.
Martha and Jonathan were whispering theories to each other about which woman was likely to not receive a rose from the bachelor at the end and would therefore leave the show. The husband and wife didn’t want to talk too loudly or they would drown out the TV but at the same time there was some heat to their words for they could not wholly agree on who would get eliminated, which was different from who should get eliminated.
Lex for his own part, tried to engage Clark in conversation while Clark’s parents were distracted by their own talk.
“Which woman would you pick if you were the bachelor?” Lex asked.
It took Clark a moment to realize that Lex had been addressing him for he had been watching with schadenfreude as one of the women inexplicably made the bachelor a dish he was allergic to in the ongoing cooking challenge.
Clark had blushed and apologized, mentioning he had not meant to ignore Lex.
Lex said he did not mind, the show was engaging after all.
Clark pointed out a woman with long, dark hair.
He extolled her personality and virtues. She was bookish, sweet and kind. She liked the color pink, kittens and volunteering.
To Lex it sounded like Clark’s attention had been inevitably drawn to the most Lana Lang-like contestant on the show, which made sense because his crush on her was as obvious as a full moon in the sky on a clear night.
“There’s nothing objectionable about her?” Lex queried.
“Well,” Clark said, watching TV. “She looked up what food he liked beforehand and cooked it, that’s kind of…”
“Like cheating?” Lex asked.
Clark nodded.
“Research is fair.” Lex said. “Knowledge helps when dealing with an opponent.”
“He’s not her opponent.” Clark objected. “He’s a possible husband she is trying to win over.”
“But she has a mean streak, and even he could face it.” Lex said, stating a fact. “If others cross her, she gets even.”
Proof showed up on screen. The woman who had previously used the kitchen had intentionally messed up the kitchen before Clark’s favored contestant had been due to use it. It wasn’t clean at all. Later, that woman had found her utensils missing when she needed them.
Clark stared. “She’s usually nice.” He said, mentioning her actions from previous episodes. “This is just…one instance.”
“One?” Lex said, and drawing from his memory named three more instances of the appearance of her dark side in recent episodes and the present one. “You’re ignoring what’s there, Clark.”
“I liked her in the earlier episodes.” Clark frowned, as if preparing to reconsider who he should call his favorite.
“It’s good she knows to stand up for herself, in the earlier episodes she was a bit too nice and it got others thinking they could step all over her. They must be reassessing that now.” Lex said. “But I suppose the appeal for you in those early episodes must be your desire to protect something soft and helpless? Is she less attractive now that there’s claws?”
“Kind of…” Clark admitted reluctantly. He suddenly found the commercials interesting.
“Once bitten it makes sense that she’d bite back.” Lex continued. “In fact, how the arc and script of the show is likely to go is for her to get increasingly devious.”
“Script?” Clark echoed in surprise, turning to face Lex.
“These shows are scripted, Clark.” Lex said in a matter of fact tone.
“But it’s a reality TV show.” Clark said. “Reality.” He repeated.
Lex began to carefully explain how so called “reality” shows were actually scripted like ordinary dramas were and for the same effect of higher ratings and attracting the money of advertisers. The footages were edited out of their contexts to create the story the producers wanted told. Words and reactions were spliced and put together and lines were often fed to participants.
Lex said all this but he utterly failed to convince Clark, who continued to insist the truth was there in its name, Reality TV. The resulting product and its branding was too artful for Clark to disbelieve.
Additionally, Lex’s prediction about the dark-haired woman’s arc would turn out to be wrong as she was eliminated by the end of the episode so there were no more chances for her to appear in the script.
Clark’s eyes had turned shiny and he had to cover his eyes with his hands as he complained and named all the reasons the elimination was unfair and how the bachelor was a loser with bad taste.
~~
Lex stared accusingly at his notepad and his past self. How did this help or even register as weaknesses? So Clark was a bit gullible and got absorbed with TV shows but how did that translate into anything could defeat him?
And that was old Clark. The Clark Kent of the present certainly knew reality shows were fake and scripted. Lex had proof in Clark’s early articles, where he had to dig himself out of the Daily Planet’s entertainment column. Lex did know Clark still got invested in fictional TV shows a bit too much because that strong interest had bled into his articles, which Clark had taken as seriously as his present post. At one point Lex had even considered paying the head writer of a medieval fantasy drama to kill off what he knew was Clark’s favorite character, as retaliation for Superman coordinating with Wonder Woman to destroy a experiment on magic he had under perfect control. He had just wanted to study something that actually did effect Superman and could weaken or even kill him. He needed control of it to save or destroy Superman if he ever had to do either.
Magic was an actual weakness, not what he just read. Lex noticed how filled out the notepad was. What other rubbish was held in the such a record of Clark Kent’s weaknesses?
He read on.
-Can’t handle spicy food
~~
A new restaurant had opened in Smallville.
Chloe was going to write a review so she had gathered a crew to order dishes and sample them with her.
Lex had a feeling he was a buffer because he sat on one side of Clark while Pete sat on the other so neither Lana or Chloe would be seated next to Clark. Back then Chloe had not thought of Lex as possible competition for Clark’s romantic affections at all.
They all ordered curry.
Lex had ordered mild while Lana had selected extra spicy and Pete picked regular.
Pete warned Clark to order mild like Lex or to share it with him while he would split off regular portions for Chloe and take some of the extra spicy curry from Lana.
The suggestions were all sensible and Pete clearly had an idea of who could handle what, but Lex already knew Clark wouldn’t agree because of the fact that Lana was present and there was no way he could impress her if he consumed mild curry.
Pete sighed and shook his head when Clark ordered extra spicy curry, and hearing that Chloe had to cover her mouth to stifle a laugh.
Lana too, was doubtful, for she had raised a perfect eyebrow.
“I’m full of surprises.” Clark said, managing to sound half-confident and then it was Lex’s turn to try and hide a reaction because he was all too familiar with that aspect of Clark.
Lex had signaled for the waiter to accept their orders and the staff went to relay it.
When the food did arrive and it was time to eat, Clark needed his entire glass of water to manage three bites.
He was trying to spoon in rice to offset the spicy dish but that was tough when much of the rice was covered in sauce.
Lex offered his own glass of water once Clark’s ran out, and he had accepted, drinking out of it.
Chloe’s watchful eyes had narrowed.
Clark’s eyes had watered up and thinking about this memory Lex had the thought that just like when Clark had teared up over an elimination on a reality TV show, he was entranced in both instances by how Clark looked when he cried.
Lex remembered that Clark had given up at the fifth bite, and after that he switched his meal with Lex’s.
He had an easier time with the mild curry and that could have been when his friends could tease him but instead the attention had turned to Lex and Lana digging into their extra spicy curries like it was mild.
It became an impromptu competition initiated by both parties as they tried to see who could finish it first.
Lana won by a narrow margin and Lex conceded but she had disagreed, saying she had less because she had given a portion to Pete. Lex counter argued that Clark had already eaten some of what he had.
Clark had been rightfully confused about why Lex had ordered mild curry when he could handle spicier and Lex had thrown back his own words at him - “I wanted to try something different today. I’m full of surprises after all.”
But the truth of it was Lex had ordered it because of the knowledge Clark would need it.
~~
Lex dropped the notepad and massaged his forehead like it was an effective way to chase away his budding headache.
So Clark, and therefore Superman, couldn’t handle spicy food. How was he suppose to leverage this weakness in any meaningful way? Apparently his past self thought it was important enough to warrant noting but reading it now Lex was appalled.
He had expected valuable information. Now all he could think about was throwing paprika powder in Superman’s face.
And there was something else. It was actually outdated information these days.
Lex had spied in on a date Clark had scheduled with Lois Lane.
Clark had arrived late and in that case it was not Lex’s fault. He did not have a monopoly on the crime that went on in Metropolis. He’s tried to in order to control and limit such an enterprise but Superman had disagreed with Lex having a monopoly on anything so he had strong-armed Lex into letting that plan go.
Clark had wanted to give his spiel of lies and excuses but Lois had shut him down, wanting to skip to them ordering food like they should have thirty minutes ago.
Clark had ordered a spicy chicken dish and Lois had commented that she had expected him to order something mild like his personality.
Lois actually was surprised when Clark finished it without much issue or water.
It was then that it occurred to Lex that in the time between Smallville and Metropolis, Clark had built up a higher tolerance for spicy food.
The date went on well and it seemed like Clark would wholly repair the damage done by him arriving late, but Clark left early once Lex remotely detonated an empty warehouse. Clark had one more disastrous date with Lois, which had gone wrong with him ditching, and not because of Lex but because of a natural disaster on the other side of the planet. Following that, they had a breakup.
~~
Lex found it hard to resist the urge to start randomly tearing pages out.
He flipped to the green cover and was reminded of a real weakness Clark Kent had. He had not written it in the notepad, but it was practically present.
Spice did not matter as a weakness, Kryptonite did. But like with the former, Clark had developed a greater tolerance due to repeated exposure. These days, it took larger amounts to have the same affect that once had been caused with less.
During public clashes where Lex did fight Superman, he would have a small ring of Kryptonite and Clark, who was a better actor by now, would pretend that it grounded him and took away all his strength.
Other foes of Superman who managed to acquire a small sample of Kryptonite and attempted the same stunt would find themselves defeated by a far stronger Superman than they had expected or planned for.
Clark was a better actor now. Another thing that likely made some of the so called weaknesses Lex had written down irrelevant.
Lex flipped through the pages and near the beginning his eyes were caught by the word LIAR in caps, taking up a third of a page.
He read.
-An unbelievably bad LIAR
-Apologizes excessively (usually follows lies)
-Related to the incompetent lying:
-He has a useless pokerface.
-He tries but it’s so obvious he’s trying,
-And that’s what gives him away.
Lex skimmed through following few pages, which seemed to hold a treatise on lying and how it should be properly done. It criticized Clark’s technique and his tendency to give any lie to just say something to fill an expectant silence and offer an explanation no matter how weak or far fetched it was, and thinking that was a acceptable substitute for a something plausible and subtle. Lex had written that lies should be prepared beforehand and should cover several possibilities. They had to be rehearsed enough that even you yourself believed it in part, so it would be easier to fool others.
Lex had the feeling he had been really…invested when he originally wrote it. Much of the advice was actually still quite relevant.
But the weaknesses on the pages weren’t.
Lex read more faded entries.
-Nervous when public speaking
-Afraid of heights
Lex laughed alone at his desk, feeling a bit of the insanity some accused him of having.
What mundane and human fears and weaknesses!
And Clark no longer had them.
Superman flew around all the time, on the sky and into space. He doesn’t even blink when he had to address a large group of Justice League members. Lex has looked and listened in on one before, even if he had not been invited.
The Clark Kent that worked at the Daily Planet could even present to boss and colleagues, and could call Lex out in the middle of a press conference, drawing everyone’s eyes to him. It didn’t ruffle him. Any awkwardness was acting.
But Lex recalled the Clark of Smallville that fretted about having to stand in front of a classroom and give presentations. The Clark that needed a practice audience and a guide that could give him feedback, and had chosen Lex, asking for his time and energy. And Lex had gladly given it.
Clark only realized later how that gentle and supportive Lex was just reserved for him once he saw the businessman Lex that did not have patience for subordinates who did not make organized and well-researched slides, and were inadequately familiarized with their topic and ill-prepared for questions.
The truth was bobbing to the surface of Lex’s mind even as he fought against reaching the conclusion.
This wasn’t a secret catalog of a dangerous alien’s weaknesses as much as it was a thing written in plain, legible English, and an outsider reading it could assume it was a small diary, with all of its pages rather intensely devoted to a crush.
The whole thing was a wreck and Lex could not look away. He could not stop reading the words he had put down over a decade ago.
-Gets flustered easily around girls
-Oblivious to people's romantic interest in him
Lex noted that the page was even helpfully dated in a corner. Valentine’s Day.
He brought up the relevant memory.
Chloe had produced homemade chocolate. She had made enough to give everyone in her class in order to disguise that it was actually only for one person - Clark Kent, whom she had given an extra amount to.
Clark had finished his classes without having eaten a single piece.
Lex had offhandedly mentioned he had not eaten anything since breakfast and in response, right in front of Chloe, Clark had given Lex a piece of homemade chocolate with an explanation, saying, “Here, Lex. You like caramel, but for me its too sticky.”
Chloe couldn’t hide her upset expression and Clark had been bewildered as he couldn’t understand why she was.
Lex had to explain to him later.
“Don’t give away the chocolate a girl made to especially give to you, to someone else.” Lex had said. He had left out, “especially not the chocolate from a girl that likes you”.
Clark had frowned and said he had not thought it would be a big deal because Chloe had passed out chocolates to everyone in class so surely she had wanted to share it, and Clark had extra, more than he could eat so he didn’t think he had done anything wrong.
In this case, much like with the reality show argument, Lex simply could not get Clark to agree with his explanation.
Lex had enough. He was done. The notepad was entirely useless but he was still going to read one…more…page.
He snarled at the sensation of getting a papercut on his index finger. He felt the burn and stared at the thin line of red before he raised the finger to his lips, ready to lick at the cut.
But before the finger reached his lips, Superman barged into the room through the open balcony.
“Lex!” He shouted in a voice that was all Clark Kent. His eyes weren’t even blue, but green as they were drawn to Lex’s index finger.
Lex discreetly pocketed the notepad with his uninjured hand while Clark was distracted.
“Why are you here, Superman?” Lex asked, his voice as cold as the snow outside.
Clark rattled off a nervous explanation where part of him wanted to sound authoritative while the another knew his excuse was thin.
Normally, he would not randomly barge into Lex’s home. It was rude and Lex had complained before, but Clark had been listening in on his heartbeat and it had sounded erratic so he had grown worried.
Clark had been tempted to look from where he was but he knew Lex would be angry. Lex would call that long-distance spying and it would have ticked him off, more than the listening that already happened.
The tipping point had been Clark smelling Lex’s blood so instead of checking up from a distance, he had decided to show up so Lex would be aware that he had checked up on him, versus Lex not knowing that Clark had looked.
“Shh.” Lex said with his index finger held to his lips, in a warmer tone. “I understand, Clark. But you have no reason to be here. I received a papercut. That’s all.”
“That’s all?” Clark said.
“That’s all.” Lex said, his voice sharper and daring Clark to even ask why Lex’s heartbeat had been erratic in the first place.
Clark looked like he wanted to ask further but knew it would be trouble for the both of them.
“Okay. I’ll be leaving then.” Clark said.
“You do that.”
“And you should disinfect it properly.” Clark said, for he had noticed Lex lick the cut.
Lex couldn’t even give a response, as Clark had already flown away.
Instead of taking the advice, Lex took out the notebook again and read another ludicrous entry. It gave him the idea for his next project.
—
As expected, Superman discovered his project, but Lex had really been hoping he would discover it after Lex had finished using it in his intended task.
“A time machine, Luthor?” Superman said incredulously. “Really?”
He was staring at the date the machine was set to, and likely wondering if he could simply destroy the machine with his heat vision immediately or if he could not because of some consequence it would trigger.
The year was set to 1957 and the portal was already open and waiting.
Lex was in a space-worthy suit but he could not go into the portal as he was currently being guarded and held back by Krypto the Superdog.
“I’m not going back there to steal nuclear weapons.” Lex said, as if reading Clark’s thoughts. “I can access those easily enough in the present.”
“Then why? What’s significant about that year?” Superman asked, not seriously expecting an answer. He hadn’t even arrived to earth yet and Lex had not been born yet either.
“A rescue mission.” Lex said.
Superman was confused by the answer but he too busy to answer as he was still working, going to uncover a nearby large and suspicious bulk.
It revealed a spaceship that looked big enough to fit three adult humans comfortably.
Superman stared. While the ship clearly had elements of Lex’s own aesthetics and design, the base of it was Kryptonian.
“As I said, I’m trying to complete a rescue mission.” Lex said. “And for that I would need something to put the rescued into, since she can’t survive in space. That was the problem after all.”
“She?” Superman said, his attention back on Lex even as the open time machine portal and the Kryptonian based spaceship also fought for his notice.
“Laika.” Lex said, thinking of the listed weakness he had read.
-Feels personally attacked by books and movies where the dog dies
He remembered Clark’s reactions that he saw personally, such as when Clark left the room during a movie and from what Pete had divulged in casual conversations when the topic had arose. Clark loved dogs and had gotten upset with readings in grade school where a dog dies, such as with Old Yeller and Where the Red Fern Grows. Clark’s face had gotten red and he had told Pete to stop, which Pete did, but only after he finished telling Lex that it wasn’t only dogs but after Clark had read Charlotte’s Web, the Kent Farm had trouble. Just that was enough for Lex to conjure the likely things that had happened.
And upon learning about the Cold War and Laika, the first dog in space, Clark had found new things to be upset about, and worse still Laika wasn’t fictional, but a real dog that had lived and died.
Lex had spoken of science and how it was important to find out about the then unknown effect of spaceflight on living creatures, and it was a needed step before humans could be sent, but Clark wouldn’t hear any of it. The facts to him were that they had sent Laika out to space with no intention for her to return home and live. She was never meant to survive because the while there was the technology to enter orbit, there wasn’t the accompanying development of getting out of orbit.
Lex had made a time machine and spaceship for the express purpose of getting Laika safely back to earth. He explained as much to disbelieving Superman.
“You planned all this…to save Laika?” Clark asked.
“Yes.” Lex said, and it came off smoothly because it was the truth.
The waiting portal hummed ominously.
“You can’t.” Clark said, glaring the machine. “It’s too dangerous.”
“There’s bound to be some problems since I accelerated its development.” Lex admitted. “But the fact is, it won’t close unless something enters it. So let me through.” He vaguely thought about using a Kryptonite beam to levitate Krypto out of his way but Clark would surely get upset.
Clark returned to being Superman, his arms crossed sternly.
“Don’t give me that look, I wouldn’t be rushing my projects if it weren’t for the fact you’d destroy them before any get completed.” Lex said.
“I wouldn’t do that if they weren’t so dangerous!” Superman said back, waving his arms at the violently humming proof right in front of them.
“There’s a non-zero chance it might explode.” Lex said.
Krypto’s ears perked up and hearing that. The large white, cape-adorned dog left Lex’s side and flew right into the portal.
It closed right behind him.
Superman stared mutely at the now empty space Krypto had flown through.
“I don’t think you should destroy my time machine until your dog gets back.” Lex suggested.
Superman glowered at Lex. “Is this part of a bigger plot, Luthor? I waste my time waiting here with you, while something else happens. Or I leave you here alone with it and you do something anyway?” There was an edge to his voice that gave away that he was really upset and worried about Krypto but was trying not to think about or reveal it.
“Would you feel better and safe if I were tied up every which way and couldn’t do anything?” Lex said suggestively and distractingly. He began removing his spacesuit.
Superman’s expression faltered. “Right, and I’m sure there’s no voice activated commands.”
“So you want me to be gagged too?” Lex asked in his clothing that was more casual than Clark had expected.
“No, I - ” Superman was failing to keep his composure, and his answer was disrupted by the sound of an opening portal and two barks.
Standing back in the lab was Krypto and an unmistakable husky-terrier.
Lex pressed a button that revealed a bowl of food and of a larger one of water.
Laika went for the water and Lex immediately began to examine and remove her flight gear. She barked gratefully.
“There’s a bio-field thing. I think Krypto has it, just like me, so that’s why Laika got through the void of space safely.” Clark said, anticipating Lex’s questions. “It kind of transfers - no, expands? To share my resistances with the people I’m near as I rescue them and it protects them from the damage that would normally come with me moving fast and my strength and stuff.”
“Hmm.” Lex said, and that small sound belied a whole box of thoughts Lex had on how such a thing could be explored and exploited.
Krypto for his part, had put thought into his next step and instead of the greater disturbance heat beaming the time machine to pieces would have been, he opted for hitting it with an ice beam before batting the resultant structure and causing it to break into many, many pieces of ice.
It was noisy but instead of fright, Laika seemed to react well to something that reminded her of home.
“Good boy!” Clark said, scratching Krypto’s ear. Krypto barked in contentment while Lex sighed forlornly at the pieces of what once had been a functioning time machine.
At least he still had the -
He looked. Nope, his spaceship was gone too.
“I took it.” Superman explained. It’s Kryptonian so it belongs in the Fortress.”
“Oh? Then this should belong in the Fortress too.” Lex said, reaching for a lead box.
By the time he opened it, Superman and Krypto were already gone. Only Laika remained.
But even she would leave too as Krypto would bring her to the Fortress, an environment that Superman informed Lex she was happy to be in. There was ample food, and there was ice but the interior was actually maintained to be warm but comfortable so she liked it, and there was good company, namely Krypto.
Lex could not help but be jealous that Laika got to enter the Fortress but he could not.
Superman countered with that fact that Laika was a hero and an important figure, the first dog in space, and deserved the honor.
“So? I’ve been in space.” Lex had countered. And in satellites he had designed. Could a dog do that? No.
“She likes Krypto and Krypto likes her so there’s really nowhere else she wants to be.”
“I see how it is.” Lex said. “In order to be allowed into the Fortress I have to be your bitch?”
Superman had fled, a fire elsewhere in the city needed his attention.
—
There was some peace after the time machine incident but it would not last. A week could not go by without there being an event of some kind. Something would happen with the regularity of comics being distributed every Wednesday.
This week Lex had been kidnapped.
His kidnappers were interrogating him. Just with words for now but he did not doubt that enhanced methods could come later.
The three men wanted information. Lex Luthor had been the nemesis of that alien for so long. There was surely something he knew about the Kryptonian that he was not sharing with the world.
They were angry at Lex and wondering at his motives. Maybe he wanted the whole glory of stopping an invasion to himself instead of sharing the information on how to stop beings that could fly and move at mach speeds, shoot lasers from their eyes, and freeze things with their breath.
“I’m afraid the invasion’s already started.” Lex said with a straight face. “He’s invaded my heart.” He wasn’t going to legitimately tell anything to people who had captured him so rudely.
One the men moved to punch Lex in the stomach but stopped at the sight of a bump where a pocket of the jacket was. He pulled out the content instead and Lex could do nothing as he was currently tied up.
He raised the notepad triumphantly because of the promising words on its cover.
WEAKNESSES
“See, he keeps it with him but will not tell us!” Kidnapper #2 said.
“You will be disappointed by its contents like I was.” Lex warned.
They ignored him and it was a bit absurd watching the three man huddling around a small notepad and all trying to read it.
They eventually had to settle for one person saying it aloud but the entries were odd enough that they could not believe each other and would fight over who got to look at it. They even began to skip pages as the one they were on failed to give anything adequate.
“He is afraid of heights?”
“But he can fly!”
“Has trouble falling asleep in beds outside of his own.”
“Falls for cliched plot developments in soap operas.”
“Is a momma’s boy.”
“He has a mother?”
Shit. The last one actually was dangerous knowledge. Lex wanted to not be conscious. It had been embarrassing enough reading it by himself, but to hear someone else say it out aloud? Being knocked out happened enough while he was in Smallville, why not now?
“This is a joke!” The third kidnapper yelled angrily.
There was the limit. Lex waited to be struck with violence but it did not reach him, for Superman showed up at the moment.
Superman freed Lex from the bonds but following that he carried the kidnappers away.
Lex scowled, not expecting it to be that simple for Clark to drag the men away so easily. They had managed to kidnap Lex after all.
Lex was proved right when he caught up to the place they had landed and were fighting.
Clark had knocked out two but was having trouble with the third who had three pieces of Kryptonite, all of it the same large size. One would have been bearable but three was a struggle, and Clark was losing.
There were gashes over his costume and blood was noticeably tricking down his forehead and interfering with his sight.
Lex took out a bag of holding locked to his use, and activated its enchantment, which drew the Kryptonite to him, for that was its sole purpose.
Once the pieces were sealed inside the bag, Superman had enough strength to deal with the enemy that was still standing.
Superman opened his mouth and Lex expected him to comment and complain about the newly revealed secret, but instead he pointed at some ashes on the ground that Lex had not particularly paid attention to.
“I couldn’t save that, sorry. It was destroyed during the fight and I don’t know what it was but if it was important - ”
“It wasn’t.” Lex said, feeling strangely unburdened now that the old notepad was nothing but dust.
He walked up to Clark.
“Are you alright, Lex?” Clark asked. He wiped at his forehead and his fingers came away covered by blood.
“I should be the one asking you that.” Lex scowled, looking at the gashes up close. “Just because you have some resistance doesn’t mean it can’t still kill you.”
Superman didn’t retort as both he and Lex heard the sound of Superman’s allies arriving.
“I suppose they might ask me questions.” Lex said. He should have been long gone by now.
“They won’t.” Clark said, and with that he carried Lex and flew off.
—
Lex found himself transported to the Fortress. He had not spoken with Superman during the journey as Superman had been communicating with his allies.
Clark informed Lex that he was a guest and Clark only wanted to check Lex’s injuries and his own.
Lex acknowledged that he had heard, and looking at Clark’s damaged costume and body he was reminded of a entry from the notepad of weaknesses that had been destroyed.
-Doesn’t have enough regard for his own personal safety.
Some things had not changed. As in Smallville, the same now as Superman of Metropolis. Clark tended to go and rescue people in a way that put their safety in mind well above his own.
Lex set down his bag of holding where they could both clearly see it before he grabbed the items set out by the Fortress’ AI that he could use to clean Clark’s forehead wound.
The AI also helpfully produced furniture that they sat on. Lex could hear that Laika and Krypto were nearby, but in another chamber.
“You’re a bloody idiot.” Lex said as he worked.
“What?” Clark said, not understanding Lex’s tone paired with the gentleness of his current action. “Were the ashes important after all? Are you mad you lost it?”
“No, Clark. I’m upset because I almost lost you, not some small pieces of dead tree!” Lex said, forgetting he was suppose to be careful. His fingers drug into a bruised forearm.
Clark winced and Lex released the arm.
“They were trying to steal some blueprints from you?” Clark guessed, registering dead tree as paper. “I am really okay now, just the sun I got while flying over here already helped alot. But how are you?”
“I’m fine.” Lex said. “You are the problem. You have so many goddamn exploitable weaknesses! Don’t think about me, think about your own safety!”
Clark had the same bewilderment on his face he did when he was teenage boy that could not comprehend teenage girls. He desperately wished he knew why Lex was ranting at him. It was about something he had done. Not thinking about his own safety?
“Lex, you may have accelerated healing but I’m in invulnerable alien.” Clark said, bringing up the term Luthor often referred to him as. “There’s not much weaknesses someone could exploit. If someone’s in trouble of course I’d think of their safety. Much of the time whatever can hurt them wouldn’t even scratch me.”
Lex brought out his Kryptonite ring and equipped it.
The AI grew agitated but Clark warned the system not to do anything to stop, hurt or bother Lex.
“Clark,” Lex said in Luthor’s cold, authoritative voice. “I think you need a reminder that you can get hurt.” He said, though Clark already did recently have such an experience. “You can bleed and you can die.”
Lex dragged the sharpened stone of the ring across Clark’s cheek, scratching it. Clark shuddered but did not move away, even when the fingers moved to his throat and scratched red horizontal and vertical lines there.
“Remember this the next time you want to do something while factoring in someone else’s life without thinking of your own.” Lex warned.
Clark nodded and Lex released him. Lex put away the ring again.
“You make it sound like I have tons of weaknesses.” Clark said. “But I have a few. There’s Kryptonite, a red sun’s rays, and magic, but that’s a pretty big category and - ”
“I didn’t just mean things that can weaken or kill you.” Lex said. “I mean emotions and moods that can’t be seen. Or things you have a softness for that can be exploited. If someone took it hostage you’d be in trouble.”
“You mean like how you were kidnapped today and I barged in without noticing that they had Kryptonite?” Clark asked. “You’re a weakness of mine…” Clark trailed off, not knowing how Lex would feel about being called a weakness, and one that was Clark’s.
Lex wasn’t offended but amused. “I should have put my name on the notepad.” He said, and Clark had heard but couldn’t make sense of the statement without context.
“I wasn’t thinking of myself though it happened.” Lex said. “I was thinking more along the lines of if one of Superman’s enemies kidnapped your mother.”
“What? Who would do that? Who even knows - ”
“I do.” Lex said. “What if I - ”
“I would be worried for you, Lex.” Clark said. “Just because she isn’t currently the Red Queen doesn’t mean she can’t return to it. Do you know how long it took me to convince her to stop?”
Lex winced at the mention of the rogue persona Martha Kent had undertaken to be the leader of a group that had successfully interfered with and countered attempts to place Superman under governmental control when he had been just been starting out and had been distrusted. The atmosphere for meta humans and heroes was quite different today. They were generally trusted, respected and allowed to act with agency. She had covertly worked in part to make it that way, even while being a US senator. Her will had been iron and she had carried it out for the sake of her only son and even in spite of his protests.
“What if someone held Metropolis hostage?” Lex said. “What if someone wanted to nuke it?”
“You’d try to kill them first because you love the city too.” Clark said. “And then I would try to stop you and say you shouldn't kill, but then you would go - ”
“I do whatever I want, you cowardly alien.”
“Exactly.”
“You’re my weakness like I am yours.” Lex admitted. He had cleaned away the last of the blood that had covered Clark.
Clark stood up and left and Lex wondered if Clark had managed to run away while in his own home, but he returned shortly out of costume but in a fresh set of regular clothing, the flannel and jeans he wore on the farm.
He sat back down by Lex and spoke some numbers which Lex realized were the coordinates of the Fortress.
“You can visit any time.” Clark said, “As a friend.”
“I hope you mean boyfriend.”
“Since when were we dating?”
“Since now, because I said so.” Lex said. “I get to see our dogs whenever I want.”
“Alright.” Clark smiled.
Lex smiled too and mentally wrote an entry.
-Can surprisingly be a pushover.