Walk Through The Fire

Bionic

A/N: I don't own Smallville or any characters and places in the DC universe. Nor do I own the episodes that these chapters are based on and contained.

I also don't claim to be a writer. My inspiration is simply to get a creative outlet going.

I only own Tyla Nevin and what pertains to her character story.

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Lex was in the study when Clark barged in. Tyla had looked up from her book, only to give the other man a questionable look.  At first, he thought that the other man was here for Tyla but with the stern look on his face, he could tell that he was angry about something. It was in the way that Clark bee-lined towards him that the man was going to accuse the billionaire of something. Regardless, he would quip. He never could leave it be. "Clark.... gonna try some small talk first this time?"

"Like how Victor Stone escaped from the lab?" Clark barked, handing a folder to Tyla.

"I guess not," Lex added, getting up to see Tyla open the folder and read through the contents. He had worked with her long enough to know that the confusion on her face would soon dissipate into contemplation. Her mind would already be looking for solutions or mediation. The grey folder that displayed the LuthorCorp logo glared at him. Since her father and brother had left, Tyla took some time off from the business to focus on the upcoming wedding and her powers. Lex took over the company for the time being but the fact that he was going toe-to-toe with Clark again probably meant that she was going to find out sooner or later conflicting minds were at work.

"What do you know about the Machina project? And Cyntechnics?" Clark turned to her.

"Uh.... I bought them out for LuthorCorp seven months ago, but I haven't heard about any Machina project. That company is the leading provider of prosthetics, why?" She looked from Clark to Lex.

"Clark here thinks I had a hand in kidnapping Victor Stone and experimenting on him," Lex said, simply. His tone said to not worry about it but the look that Clark gave her said otherwise. "I told him that we change hands in the company frequently and delegating responsibilities is necessary." He started to walk over to see what was in the folder, but Clark moved between them to allow her to read more. "Clark," he added, exasperated. "I told you I found out about the coup just after you told me about this."

"Wait...there's no consent form for Victor Stone," Tyla looked up. "Lex...this is breaching ethics."

Lex stood there, lowering his head. "The lead scientist, Dr. Alistair Krieg, didn't do it," He replied, ignoring the smug look on Clark's face. "He has a habit of using funding for unethical research. I didn't know that he was going completely rogue until I saw it for myself. He deviated from the main project that you signed off on."

Clark spun around and looked at her. All the research that he and Chloe found didn't tell him that this was originally Tyla's project. "You?"

Tyla sighed. "I didn't buy the company for Machina," she said. "I bought it because I was putting forth a project that allowed amputees affordable and functional prosthetics. I don't even know who this Victor is."

"He was an athlete who should have died in a car crash, but Lex decided that he could take him in to create a living machine," Clark nodded to Lex.

"For the last time," Lex raised his voice. "I had no desire to harass Victor Stone. He's suffered enough!"

"He suffered because of you!" Clark shouted, taking a step closer to size up Lex.

"Boys..." Tyla warned.

"Lex, you were there in the lab, he told me, when they were trying to put a chip in his head."

"I was there to stop Krieg!"

"That's not what Victor said!"

"Hey!" Tyla shouted. With her hands, she balled them into fists and then flexed them. She moved her hands towards either side of the room, causing both Clark and Lex to be pushed to their respective ends before their verbal fight became physical. "Lex, were you there?" She finally asked after the men's shock subsided.

"He was under heavy anesthesia. He must have misconstrued my intentions." He replied, feeling the air around him tighten at his arms. It was as if he was being pulled back.

"Seems to happen a lot to you, doesn't it?" Clark spat.

Tyla then looked over to Clark whose chest tightened. The air pushed him back harder. She wasn't taking any chances to see if his strength would beat her out. "Clark," she took a step towards him. "Where is Victor now?" A look of defiance glared down at her. "Neither Lex and I will find him unless he's injured." She would go instead of Lex if that made the man better.

"He's fine. He's going to live his life now. He mentioned something about leaving Smallville." That was the truth. Clark didn't know what Victor's plans were past the town.

At the other end of the room, Lex scoffed. "You think he would have been better off if he'd died along with his family?" He shouted.

"You always think the ends justify the means, don't you?" Clark yelled back.

"Enough!" Tyla closed her hands and the wind knocked them to the ground. The tension in the air left. "Clark, do you think your way of helping is the only way?" After a while, he shook his head. "Lex may be fumbling but his intentions are good. At least show him that there is another alternative. Some sort of compromise."

Lex got up. "Some miracles have a price, you know," he added. "That doesn't make them any less profound."

"Oh no, I'm not done," Tyla rolled her eyes and turned back to Lex. "When you got the red flag, why didn't you tell me? Did you think there was still something to gain?" Lex shook his head. "We can't run LuthorCorp like you and your father did. That's what got us here in the first place. Even with delegations, even with ethics, reports are reports. You told me that. Even with whistleblowers, we take it seriously." That was the truth. Lex had told her that when he first hired her. He wanted her to be thorough. "There you have it then," she said, tossing the folder on the desk and looking at Clark. "Lex was trying, and you were trying. Both of you just didn't work together. Now can we all be adults now and take that as it may?" She looked over at Lex who rubbed his hand over his mouth.

"Tell Victor I hope he can move past what happened," he finally said. "Assure him LuthorCorp has." He turned to walk out of the study. "You can let yourself out."

He left Tyla rubbing her forehead from the growing headache that pinched at her skull. "I swear...you're going to need to just talk this out at some point because I can't handle being the mediator for you two any longer." She mumbled to Clark. She watched as his face went from stern to fear. "No, I'm not going to tell him your secret but you're going to have to do something about it. He's not stupid, you know? He's gonna find out eventually." With that, she turned and walked out of the study to look for Lex.