The Depths We Sink To (Chapter Twenty)

Still spoiling Hero (unfortunately). It's a bad ep, but has really ended up driving this plot in ways. I still cringe at the product-placement, but the bottom line is it brings home both Lex and Chloe's views on the freaks of the world. When looked at through Chlex lenses, this crappy ep becomes interesting. Who knew?

Chapter 20

You're lost... I can't save you.

"Can't save you," he hissed, jabbing at the button for the top floor. The elevator doors closed and his hands moved to his pocket. "Don't need saving, you..." His eyes widened as he found no wallet. "Fuck!" Maybe it fell out in archives. He wasn't about to go back and look for it. He could send someone or, better yet, call Gina and get a new wallet everything that should be in that wallet back in an hour. He wasn't going back. He was going to his damned office.

He pulled out his phone and dialed her. It just rang and rang. What the f*ck was she doing anyway, taking a long... "Fuck," he muttered again. She was taking a long lunch along with most of his staff because he'd told them to because he didn't want to be disturbed when he had the one thing that could make this sh*t day better.

And didn't even get it! Not with Chloe's sudden turn to holier-then-thou over Pete Ross, of all things.

The door opened on the fourth floor. 

"Oh." An older woman with a mail cart smiled. "Good afternoon, Mr. Luthor."

He didn't answer, just let himself get forced into the corner as she wheeled the damned thing in. He gritted his teeth, thinking of the one thing in that wallet he needed right now. If he had his damned key card, he'd be in his office now, not shoved in the corner, dialing an assistant who wouldn't answer. It only made him angrier when the old lady got out to be replaced by even more people with their "good afternoons" and attempts at small talk. He just gestured to his phone with a glare, hoping that would shut them up.

He didn't want to talk to them. Not to anyone. Not like he could if he wanted to with her sanctimonious words still echoing in his ears, jumbling together.

I didn't even think it consciously, but it was there. This idea that, just by doing it, I'd save you in every way. I think I even convinced myself it had worked somehow.

That still bothered him, on many levels. By doing what? What did she do that was supposed to save him? Did she think her pussy was magical or something? What kind of... No. That wasn't the worst. It was this idea that he needed to be saved at all.

You're lost... I can't save you.

Sounded like Clark with his sad, little cow eyes and bullshit about nothing being lost that can't be found again. The two of them obviously spent too much time together. They were even starting to sound alike.

"Fuck them both," he grunted. A man in an ill-fitting brown suit nearly turned toward him, but seemed to think better of it, stiffening and facing the doors. Good move, Buddy. The mood he was in, he could have that man escorted out with the contents of his desk in minutes. 

He didn't need saving. How fucking dare she... Clark, too, for that matter.

They had no idea. They didn't know what he was doing. They didn't know what he was up against. His eyes narrowed as he changed that line of thinking. Maybe it was he who didn't know what they were doing. A meteor freak and a suspicious young man with a suspicious past and suspicious relatives...

And he needed saving? It might well be that the world needed saving, and from people like them. 

He snapped his phone shut, giving up on Gina. He felt renewed. Her with her sad eyes, trying to make him ashamed of... of what? Of trying to head off a threat? Of trying to make sure the balance of power stayed on the right side? Why was he even listening to either of them? 

He was on a path and he wouldn't be...

His phone vibrated in his hand and he flipped it open. Gina. He pressed talk. "Where the hell are you?"

"Me, Sir?" She asked stiffly. "I'm taking a long lunch, as I was ordered to." He rolled his eyes at her clipped tone. "But there's a sensitive matter that really should be brought to your attention."

"And what is that?"

"Someone's in your office and on your computer, for a half-hour now, according to security. I am always contacted first on these , so I immediately called IT and it seems there is some kind of virus already..."

"Damn it. Why didn't you call me when you first."

"I was hesitant to interrupt you, of course, given your strict orders to..."

"I'll take care of it." He snapped his phone shut, decided he'd deal with her attitude later. As the doors opened, letting the man in the bad suit out, he rushed forward. "Occupied," he said, pushing the button to close the doors before anyone else could fuck up his ascent.

His office. No one but Gina had a duplicate key card. And she wasn't the one with a missing wallet.

He moved up the last two floors uninterrupted. The second elevator seemed to be closing just as he got out on the barren top floor. He rushed to it just as it shut, hoping the bastard hadn't got aw...

He heard the slight clacking of keys and he turned to it. Whoever it was was still there. He crept toward the glazed doors, surprised to see Pete Ross at his desk, looking satisfied with himself. But then, why should he be surprised? It wasn't exactly a secret that Pete Ross had a weakness for Chloe Sullivan. And with all of Chloe's belly-aching about privacy and rights...

He'd be angry, both at the intrusion and the virus that was harpooning his carefully-built new system, but alone time with Pete Ross was, strangely, just what he wanted right now. 

"Please, don't let me disturb you." He smiled as Pete jumped and closed the laptop, striding forward. "Quite the hero these days, aren't you, Pete? Saving Kara. Now I gather you're trying to impress Chloe by erasing any record of her extracurricular projects. I guess things never change."

Pete held his gaze, eyes narrowed. "You're living proof of that."

Now, that was almost unfair. He'd taken Pete's attitude for years and for what? For something his father did to his father. He changed tacts, dropping the sarcasm for some good, old fashioned common ground. "You know, we may have more in common than you think. We both had a friend who let us down, and something tells me you know what it's like to love a woman who's still infatuated with Clark Kent."

He even had him beat there, having two... No. Not love. It was sex with Chloe because there was no way he'd fall into that trap again. It might have been damned good sex, but that's all it was. It wasn't going to cloud his mind or his mission. Not again. Never again.

"Maybe I was wrong," Pete was saying quietly. "Things do change." Pete stood and came around the desk. "You're even more messed up than before."

"I thought an olive branch was a pretty civilized response to breaking and entering." He moved away. "But...however you wanna see it, one truth remains." He turned back. Nothing was going to cloud his mission, he decided. Not even her. Especially not her. "I control Chloe's fate, and if you really wanna be her hero, you're gonna put that amazing ability to work for me." He bent to pick a scan up from his end table. "Now, there's a certain bracelet that I believe is locked in my father's vault. I want it." And that mattered more than anything. His work mattered more than anything. More than her. More than them.

Pete gave him that same sneer. "I'm sure you do. But Chloe wouldn't want you using her job to make me do anything."

"I'm not talking about her job, Pete." He kept his smile in place. It wouldn't do to show any weakness now. "I'm talking about the secret she's been keeping. Do you really wanna be the reason the world finds out that Chloe's a meteor freak?"

He held Pete's stare, hoping it was sinking in. Because he couldn't go on, driving it in further. It might be too obvious he was bluffing. Chloe, Pete,... he wasn't going to let the world find out about either of them. He just needed Pete to do the job. He'd find a place for him when this was over. He had a place now, secure and ready for people like Pete. People like Chloe... 

He refused to feel guilt, but he did feel some level of sadness, being forced to this end, whether now or eventually. It wasn't Chloe's fault she was a meteor freak. But it wouldn't stop him, when it came down to it. if she was a danger...

Never you mind about me... I couldn't hurt anyone if I tried.

No. Despite his suspicions of her and Clark and whatever it was they were in on... He didn't think she'd mean to hurt anyone. He'd seen the way she leapt to the defense of the interns, to Pete...

Just Pete... Just... Tell me you'll leave him alone.

This wasn't for some nefarious purpose. She cared. She really did. Even about him with her misguided ideas about saving someone who didn't need saving. He saw it in her that night. She cared. Maybe too much. Just about the wrong things.

He saw Pete shake his head slightly and felt relief. Pete would go along. He wouldn't have to take action. Not just yet. But he might have to someday. He'd have no choice. There were bigger things at stake here. More important than him or her or them. 

The truth.

*****************

What was the truth? She hardly knew anymore.

Chloe sank to a polished bench in the lobby, watching the people rushing both to and from lunch. She'd moved up this way with some idea of eating, but she couldn't. Her stomach was still roiling after what she said.

She'd said nothing but the truth down there, but to say it aloud was like realizing it all over again.

The truth. She'd saved Lex. And nothing could ever be separate after that. As much as she said things were separate, sex with Lex was tied up with everything she did. She'd set out to save him that night in Lionel's warehouse and not just his body, for Clark's sake. It was for Lex. Why else would she go over there, check on her handiwork. She was nearly hoping, even counting on, him being changed be her, by what she did. And that weekend wasn't something away from this fight. It was the fight. It was all about it. 

She'd just never wanted to let herself hope, but she did hope, all the same. She hoped that being with her had changed his ideas about freaks like her. They weren't all like her. She knew that from years of near-death experiences. But didn't they all deserve a chance to do the right thing rather than locked up, after which they'd surely end up lashing out...

Not her. She knew that. With her power, she could hurt no one.

She'd almost wanted to tell Lex, show him that she was no threat. But she couldn't. She didn't like seeing herself as nothing more than what she could do. She didn't want him to see it. And she was glad now. His response to Pete, who wanted nothing more than to do good, showed her that it didn't matter who she was or what she could do. Even with a power as harmless as hers she'd be locked up, experimented on and she'd be nothing more than a catalyst for Luthorcorp's miracle drug to cure cancer or...

Then again, maybe she was being selfish. If what she could do could help so many, maybe it could be harnessed, marketed to help so many...

She buried her head in her hands. 

She couldn't do it. Couldn't be a product. She was a human being. Pete may see hiding power as living a lie, but if she gave herself up to what she was... it would be so easy to be lost in it. To be nothing more than...

"I want a life."

"Don't we all?" She glanced up as Megan sat down next to her. "I, for instance, just spent my lunch letting my soup get cold as I studied Philosophy only to come back here and fetch coffee and file for four more hours for a two-day a week internship I might lose just because the boss obviously hates me." She sighed and stretched. "You've been here forever. How did you get through your college with this? Between that and classes, I feel like I'm going to drop." 

Chloe smiled, glad to talk about something normal. "I'm still in college."

"But you're here full time. I thought..."

"I take night classes," Chloe explained. "I got my full-time position through Pauline Kahn."

"Kahn." Megan sighed. "I remember her from when I first started. She was such a bitch, such a battle axe before Luthor canned her." Megan sighed again. "I miss her."

"I do, too." She missed Kahn and Peterson and everything that she'd signed up for. Hard-nosed journalists that worked for a paper that once had no agenda, other than the truth. There she went again, with the truth. She missed having a black-and-white truth to cling to. Good and bad, so clearly on their own sides. "I miss so much."

"Chloe?" Megan was leaning into her. "Are you okay?"

She shook herself and pasted on a smile, trying to look somewhere near okay. "I'm fine. Just been a long day."

"Tell me about it." Megan hefted herself and her sagging backpack from the bench. "I feel like it's never going to end." She glanced down at Chloe. "I hope you feel better."

"I'm fine," she called after Megan, even knowing she wasn't. But she'd better start acting like she was. If Megan could pick up, then Clark definitely would when he got here. She'd called him from her desk, surprised when he actually answered. He said he couldn't talk, but he'd be there soon. She knew he would and, if she didn't perk up, he'd pester her until she found herself spilling everything. And she didn't want to. It was over now. She now had nothing to hide. She was finished with Lex. She should be relieved. She should be glad.

She pasted on another smile, trying to put that gladness firmly on as Clark came through the revolving doors.

"I've been trying to get you here all morning, for a guy with your hearing, you've been pretty hard to..."

"I'm sorry," he cut in. "There's been so much going on. Did you know Pete's in town?"

"I know all too well." She moved down the stairs. "The man himself was here, and showing off a new ability."

"Yes. One he got at the Stride Gum factory."

Chloe kept moving down the steps with him. "The Stride gum factory?"

"It was used as an underground venue for bands until it was shut down a few months ago."

"It's already been closed? Maybe next time they won't let the flavor last quite so long." She nearly rolled her eyes at her own words as she moved to the fax machine, picking up one of the applications that had become so common these days. She put it in the IN pile as Clark leaned back, whispering slightly.

"I found the source of Pete's powers. Kryptonite-enhanced gum. I found a whole stockpile of it."

"Chewing gum? Is nothing sacred any more?" Yet she was relieved. If this gum was the source, it wasn't permanent, there was hope for Pete.

"I destroyed it," Clark was saying. "But we have to find Pete. His attitude is changing."

"Ah, so you got a whiff of Pete 'The Boss' Ross, too, huh?"

"If he ingests any more Kryptonite... we both know what happens to people."

"Present company on standby," she muttered. "And since the Go-Go-Gadget Arms has been going public with his abilities, he's gotta be..."

She trailed off as they moved into the bullpen. The screens were flashing and people were milling about. She strode quickly to her desk.

"What's going on?" Clark asked behind her.

Chloe clicked her mouse, her keys. There was nothing but bugs. Literally. Blue scorpions flashed on her screen. "It looks like some kind of virus. My computer's totally fried. And judging from the collective sighs, so is everybody else's." A virus...

Short of a direct it from a massive virus, all of these files will forever be in the clutches of Citizen Lex.

She'd said those words to Pete less than an hour ago.

She turned to Clark. "Clark, I think our new hero went vigilante and wiped out the Planet's server to protect me."

"Hey, guys." She turned in as Jimmy rushed in. "Major scoop," he went on breathlessly. "Pete's headed over to Lionel Luthor's office. He's stealing something for Lex."


**********************


Stealing something for Lex. Pete was stealing something for Lex. Apparently, Jimmy overheard the whole thing when he was bringing Lex his story. She and Clark had assured Jimmy they'd talk to Pete and quickly rushed off to do that... Well, Clark did. After telling her to stay away from this and pretty much depositing her at home before rushing off again.

"Jimmy kept looking at you," Clark had said. "When I asked him why Pete would do it, he looked right at you. Don't you get it, Chloe? If Lex is using your status to make Pete do this, then you have to stay away. Think of what he might do to you to make Pete cooperate."

And she couldn't explain it to Clark. Lex might do a lot of shitty things, but he wouldn't hurt her, not in the way Clark was thinking.

You act like I'm going to lock you away, but you know... You have to know...

And she did. On some level, she knew he wouldn't hurt her. But Pete...

Clark was probably rushing to find Pete there, talk him down. Now she just had to take care of the other party involved. She dialed Lex for what felt like the tenth time, pacing her living room.

She'd been afraid of a story that put Pete in danger, of him locked into a new 33.1. She never stopped to think Lex would try to actually use Pete's abilities. Maybe she should have.

He wanted him to steal something from Lionel. She didn't know what that something was, but she'd be a fool if she didn't suspect it was dangerous for Clark. For all Lionel's talk of reformation, she still didn't trust him. She knew that, much like his son, he might think he was doing what was best. But both Luthor men seemed to think the ends justified the means, no matter how heinous those means might be.

No. She still didn't trust Lionel Luthor. Nearly being blown up could do that to a girl.

But what exactly might Lionel have that Lex would want to steal? And how much might Lex know about that thing?

Whatever it was, Clark would try to stop it his way. But she couldn't just sit around. All she had was her way.

"Lex, it's Chloe," she said on what was now her third message. "I need to talk to you. I... I don't like how we ended things. Please call me."

It was the truth. She'd reacted out of anger and hurt and so much disappointment. She hadn't meant to drive him to prove her right about him.

Then again, maybe she hadn't drove him. Maybe there was no use in trying with him. He'd do what he'd do and she'd do what she'd do. And what she'd do was usually stopping whatever he might do. And that was the point. Just to stop him. Not to save him when she couldn't...

But was that fair? Maybe he had his ideas about the place of meteor freaks in the world. Maybe she had hers. But if he knew... if she could convince him that some were good people, just trying to fit in, if she tried just a little harder to make him see things her way... She didn't have to tell him her secret, but she could try to...

Maybe you're my biggest secret, too.

She closed her eyes, snapping her phone closed. She could still hear the words whispered into her neck, feel his arm tighten around her as he drifted off to sleep behind her. When they'd first started, she'd been in it for sex, rough uncaring sex, only focused on getting off. But there were times when... he could be gentle. Times when he didn't so much grab as caress. Times when she felt more than just wanted. She felt...

No. Not that. 

But he cared what happened to her. He had to, somewhere in there. 

The rings turned to a loud beep again. "Lex, it's Chloe. I need to see you now. Please..."

She wanted to tell him. Maybe not outright, but she wanted to show him he could be saved. Maybe she overreacted about the computers and Pete... No. She hadn't overreacted. She might not have reacted enough at the violation. She left. She gave up on him without a fight. And there was still fight in her.

"Please," she repeated. "Just let me try to..." To what? To save him? Possibly. But she couldn't just tell him that. She tried for what truth she could tell. "Lex, I need to see you."

***************** 

He just couldn't see it. Why would a moderately successful band resort to playing in a closed-down gum factory? Apparently, Pete was some kind of roadie with this whiny, little band.

He felt the vibration of his phone, but didn't hear it over said whiny band, pandering to the crowd outside. He slapped it down again. It had been vibrating on and off for the last ten minutes. Probably Gina, stepping out of place like usual. He'd deal with her later, when he was out of this torture chamber.

Pete seemed to insist on meeting here to make the delivery. He'd get the bracelet and Pete... Well, he wasn't sure what Pete would get. Not his freedom to go off roadying with his new powers. Mark was here to see to that. 

He glanced at Mark, crouching at the side of a crate of gum, his gun at the ready. Lex put his hand up, making sure he knew to stay there for now. Mark looked a little pale, for a black man. He'd remarked that he hated the smell of mint when they first came in. Lex wasn't too fond of it either, but Mark looked nauseated and annoyed. That was just fine. It only insured he'd be more able to put the pressure on, should the time come.

Lex nearly hoped the time wouldn't come. He'd much rather get the bracelet and have Mark quietly step out, gun trained on Pete. The kid might be able to stretch a bit, but that wasn't exactly a match for a Glock automatic. Once the exchange was made, he'd have Pete somewhere safe. Safe for the world and safe for Pete, really.

Whatever she thought, he knew what was best. People with possibly dangerous abilities needed to be watched, studied, after all. He was nearly finished with a better place for all his projects. In the middle of Nowhere, Montana. Pete would be treated well there, provided he delivered. He just had to listen to reason.

He turned away from Mark and the crates he hugged as footsteps finally cut through the inconsequential pop rock he was being subjected to.

"Pete, you're late."

"You're right," Pete said, his eyes hard. 

Now, that wasn't good. 

"I should have done this three years ago."

Pete's hand shot forward across the yards separating them and Lex found himself dragged forward by the neck.

"How many more people are you gonna hurt? When is it gonna end?"

Lex didn't have a ready answer. Even if he did, he couldn't get it past the hand squeezing his windpipe. He was saved from trying by a sudden absence of Pete.

Pete was on the ground, his lip bleeding, and Mark was at his side, a gun trained on Pete. He'd remark how nice it was to have good help for a change, but he had better things to do.

Had to do it the hard way... Suddenly, he didn't give a shit about reasoning with Pete. He was sick of being accused of hurting people when all he was doing was what he could to save the fucking world. 

Lex turned back, stepping on Pete's arm before he could get up. "Where's the bracelet, Pete?"

Mark kicked him for emphasis. Initiative, too. Mark might be one of the better guards he had.

"I never found it!" Pete yelled. "I don't have it."

"Where is it?" Lex repeated.

"I don't have it," Pete nearly whispered. "I don't have it.'

Lex turned away. He sent him to Lionel's vault. It had to be there. Lionel was the only one that could have got to it.

He turned back as Mark pulled Pete up.

"You're starting to try my patience, Pete," he warned. 

"Then bring it on," Pete hissed. "Because the truth isn't gonna change."

Lex was done. He'd tried to play this nicely. "Then maybe we can help," he said, nodding to Mark. 

Mark bent Pete's arms up behind him and Lex flinched for a moment. He could almost see her face, sad-eyed at what he was doing. But it wasn't like she cared for him. It was for this boy. This boy was suddenly the reason. The reason she stormed into his office, eyes flashing with judgment. The reason she walked away from him in the archives, saying she couldn't save him.

This mere boy was the reason for everything and he hated him for it. How petty he'd become.

Pete Ross. Other than Pete always judging him for a last name he didn't choose. He had no reasonable quarrel with Pete Ross. He didn't really want to hurt him. Of course, it was really Mark doing the hurting.

He wasn't doing it.

He was only dong what he had to. The mission mattered. He pulled a chair from the wall and dragged it between the crates, nodding to Mark.

Pete let out another yelp of pain as Mark dragged him to the chair and secured his hands behind his back.

"I don't like this any more than you do, Pete," Lex said, striding way from the sight of it. "But I need that bracelet." He turned back. "Now this is the last time I'm gonna ask you. Where is it?"

"I don't have it," Pete nearly yelled. "I already told ya I don't have it. And I never did."

And it was a lie. He could smell it. "Okay." Lex nodded to Mark. Just a little more pressure...

Mark bent Pete's arms upward. He was yowling in pain now. Lex was never so grateful for loud lead singers that abused their falsetto. He'd tell him to let up as soon as...

Then Mark was gone, flying backwards into a row of shelve. He'd wonder how Pete managed it, but the world suddenly turned upside-down...

******************

Chloe texted Clark again, still pacing. She'd given up on Lex calling her back. Whatever happened had happened already. But every moment Clark didn't text her, her carpet got a new groove.

Clark, what the hell is going...

She didn't even finish typing before a new message popped up.

Chloe, we're fine.

She early stopped pacing until she remembered that Clark's definition of fine didn't always match up with hers.

How fine? she texted.

She didn't have to wait long. We're safe. Don't worry. I'll call you.

She sighed, stilling. That was enough. Except for how she had no idea what happened. Did they get... whatever it was? Or did Lex? And what about Lex? If they were fine, did that mean Lex wasn't...

There was a knock at her door and she relaxed. Answers were here. "About time." She tossed her cell on the couch and strode to it. "And since when do you knock?" she grumbled. She pulled it open. "Mind telling me what's... Lex?"

She caught him as he nearly fell into her.


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