The Showdown #2 The lies of the Lost

Chapter One

The sound of his own shoes couldn't help but distract him, as he paced back and forth, in what he thought was a sharp circle. Kicking out with his heels to stop himself, Lex stood frozen in the middle of the floor. He felt betrayed, and coursing through his veins was nothing but anger. Anger toward one person. One person, he thought, was his only loyal friend. He hated the way he was acting, as it only brought him disgust. He had to learn the truth by himself. His so-called friend? Never even thought to tell him? Alone and in anger, he sat, for hours at an end, in that hospital bed, where he had been put there, by that particular person, who caused him another accident! But instead of coming clean. Denied everything in a smoke of lies. Left to sit alone with what he just discovered, instead of telling him the truth, it had been written in the back of his mind. Clark Kent was nothing more than a test subject.

Deep down, Lex knew there was something more to him, something more he didn't trust to tell anyone. Even the person, he thought the greatest of. Lex was always secretly jealous of Clark, he had everything he ever wanted, and wanted nothing in return. Even when Lex tried to offer him something after the events of the bridge. The first accident where Clark had been involved, and the first to start his strange conclusions, that Clark wasn't just normal. There was something more. And now Lex had finally seen it. Finally, realized. Or? He'd finally been able to see the face of the person who was always there, during accidents and crimes. Lex finally knew why. Cause he was saving them? Or was his true nation, not to save them, but to cause them? Lex had so many thoughts and conclusions in his head, all at once, he wasn't sure what to really think about. He thought he knew who Clark was, but now over come with thousands and thousands of questions, how could he focus on what was truly important, and what was really going on during those days? The days he and Clark talked, laughed, and shared a moment. Was any of that truly real? Or did Clark have something deeper, and much darker in the back of his mind.

As Lex made it down the rest of the hallway, the dark flickering lights underneath him, making it seem much darker in the room, then it was, he slid a pair of doors open, as quickly as he could. Impatient, as he saw all the faces of his staff. He knew what he must do; he knew what needed to be done. Clark was a danger to everyone on earth......and he needed to be stopped.

At first, Lex had no intention of killing Clark, he just needed something to weaken him. And as more and more research from that day, with the meteor shower, he concluded how he would achieve his goal.

''Would you like to see our progress, so far, Mr.Luthor?'' spoke the voice of one doctor.

''What do you got for me?'' Lex asked, as he walked close beside the tall man, wearing nothing but a long lab coat, that went almost all the way to the ground, and matching gloves to match. As Lex stared at everything that passed him, beakers filled with different colored liquids, needles, sharp tools, and enormous machines, that needed so much power to make them work, he was sure his bank account would be drained after his large project, took off.

''We've put together the fragments of DNA you sent us, but we seemed to have fun into some problems. It is an exact copy? All except three important things.'' the doctor said nervously, sweat forming around his forehead.

''Which is?'' Lex replied impatiently. Staring right through the layers of thin glass, he smiled at what he was seeing. The project already looked successful. The vessel wasn't missing a single detail. It looked just like the genuine thing, the genuine thing.......as Lex took in the vessel's image from through the layers of the glass wall. He returned his attention to the nervous doctor.

''It looks fine to me? What's the problem?'' he repeated. ''And please answer a little faster this time, doctor? I'd like to get on with the next step.''

''Well? About the three important components?. On the outside, the vessel seems fine....he is an exact match of the picture you showed us, and even with the small remaining DNA we had left, it still possess every single component of the authentic thing. But lacks, the need to breathe, eat, even sleep! It carries almost nothing from true human behaviour. It cannot speak or even feel. We've been trying everything we can to make it better, but we lack the equipment and knowledge to do anything. I'm sorry, Mr.Luthor.'' the doctor whispered.

''Is that all?'' Lex asked.

''Is that all? What do you mean? You're not angry? The vessel isn't anything how you wanted. Are you sure you don't want us to just try again?'' the doctor asked.

''I'm sure. It's better this way, it won't get confused by useless emotion, and without the need to breathe, that would mean it doesn't have a heart? Right?''

''That is correct.'' the doctor nodded.

''That would mean that it won't be easily hurt or killed. I'm afraid my old friend is going to have a troublesome time taking it down. Wouldn't you say, doctor?''

The doctor stared at him with confused eyes. Unsure if he should agree or not, the doctor nodded. A slow nod, but still a nod. As Lex turned his attention back into the room in front of him, eyeing past the glass wall again, he let out a slight chuckle. ''And you made sure it shares those ''special components'' I asked for?''

''Yes, we tested it all before you got here. Some of our workers won't be able to come in, for quiet a while, because of several broken bones, and brushing, but they hope everything is to your liking, Mr.Luthor.''

''And no one besides everyone in this room knows about what we've been doing? Not even my father?''

''Not even your father. We take our confidential requests very seriously, Mr.Luthor. The operation is remaining a secret, just like you asked.''

''Good, good. When can we start further testing? There can't be any time, for glitches, we must sort everything out, before operation!'' Lex shouted, a gust of anger washing over him, as he stared blankly as the vessel's face. Everything he asked for, all perfectly placed into one very important clone. One that he was excited to unleash on anyone who stopped him. The monster from another planet needed to be stopped. He wasn't a hero,.....For all Lex knew, it had been all his fault. The first meteor shower, and probably the second one as well. Either way he was responsible for taking Lana away from him. The love of his life, and his passion. Broken up and left to rot, Clark was to blame.

''Mr.Luthor? Are you there? Operation can start in less than two days? Is that enough time for you? Or do you need it done sooner?'' the doctor asked.

''Two days is fine, it'll give me enough time to think about the second stage. But I won't bore you with any further information, doctor. We can discuss everything at a later time. I must be getting back to the mansion, before my father can snoop his nose into matters that doesn't concern him.'' As Lex finished his sentence, he hadn't even noticed his voice grew deeper the more he spoke of his father. So much abuse had gone into his childhood, so much abuse, and rivalry he knew Clark never had to go through? Never.....heartbreak and pain was all Lex knew. Exposed to it at a very young age, Lex knew what he was doing wasn't considered murder. Not when Clark was responsible for so many innocent lives being destroyed, when he came down in that meteor shower. Lex had everything painted out in front of him. The ship, the key? The weird symbols? How Clark was everywhere and nowhere? The day he'd almost ran into him, when he found him, supposedly sleepwalking? Or so Clark made him think.

Lex had been forced to live with so many lies, he no longer cared for his actions, he only cared for what he thought he needed to do. Whether that mean't he had to get his hands dirty or not. And he was willing to not only get his hands dirty with mud, but to have his hands stained with blood if that was what it took........