Fic: Particle Steps (Smallville) Clex w/Conner Part 2/2

[seagull2eagle.livejournal.com]

Particle Steps

Part Two of Two

... ... ...

Clark looked from Hope to Conner to Hope again. "Scholarship," he said dryly. "Dinner."

Conner uneasily shifted from foot to foot. He held the package with his new clothes in his arms and wished he could hide them.

"Lex Luthor will not be happy if Conner does not show up."

Hope was much more stern facing Clark than she had been talking with Conner. Conner could really see her just as sternly facing down Superman without regard to any hero-status, secure in herself and her boss.

"He'll be there," Clark said grimly. "Thank you for escorting him home." He shut the door on Hope and then turned to face Conner.

Conner opened his mouth, but Clark held up his hand. They both waited until they heard Hope walk away and watched with x-ray as she left the building.

"I take it you found Lex." Clark raised his eyebrows.

"Um, yeah. It sort of snowballed."

"It usually does. What's in the package?"

Conner shifted it between his hands. "Uh, clothes?"

"For dinner." Clark nodded, then walked into the family room. "What time do we have to get you there?"

"7 pm... you're not mad?" Conner followed him and put the clothes on the table.

Clark quirked a grin, "I used to accept clothes too. Or borrow them, rather. Told Mom, not Dad. Didn't do it often, but it just didn't make any sense to go to Lex's gatherings in the same one suit I owned over and over again."

Dad looked a little wistful. Kon tilted his head to one side as he watched Clark's expression and the retreat into memory. Gatherings, plural. They'd been going out on dates. Maybe not stated as such, but they obviously had been. And Dad wanted to go on this one but was excluded.

"It'll be okay, Dad."

"Yeah." He forced a grin. "So tell me about it."

As Conner related the tale, Clark alternatively was amused and dismayed. He was particularly interested in how Lex looked and wanted all of Lex's words exactly, which Conner couldn't quite manage but was close enough. The discussion with Hope got a fascinated stare.

Clark turned to the desktop computer and clicked it out of sleep. Then he went through a double set of passwords and brought up a folder of files Conner hadn't seen before. Clark opened one and a diagram of the gun Hope had used came up. "Dual bullets. The gun has two kryptonite bullets inside, separate from the standard cartridge of regular bullets. The switch flips the bullets in the loaded barrel, and then back again." Sorting through the diagrams, Clark showed how the mechanism worked.

Conner leaned in, fascinated. "All of LexCorp security has these?"

"Just Mercy and Hope. Lex doesn't let kryptonite out to those he doesn't trust except when his scientists get infected and go insane, which happens more often than not." Clark shook his head in disapproval. "Some of the walls in LexCorp have layers of kryptonite inside, however he keeps them lead-shielded most of the time. Just activates them if he's annoyed at me." Clark's face stilled as he added, "Or is protecting himself from me. All his panic-rooms have the layers."

"He doesn't need protection from you!"

"How does he know that? How do I? If I get exposed to red kryptonite, or magic, I don't always know what I'll do. Lex is careful, and he reminds me I'm dangerous."

His two dads really had a screwed up relationship. Conner decided not to touch that one. "Do you have everything in there about their defenses?"

Clark shrugged, "It's always changing. Everything we know at the moment. If you're going to be going in and out of Lex's areas, you'll need to know them, too. He wouldn't deliberately use them on you, but if you accidently got into range of the kryptonite, it would be a problem."

Conner didn't want to develop a persona like Clark's where he was clumsy and a little fragile despite his physical strength. It worked to cover up Clark's disappearances and his weakness when exposed to random kryptonite... but Conner really didn't want to be like that. He didn't think he could and have it be convincing. Clark's persona had been reinforced by years of people in his youth wearing kryptonite necklaces, playing with kryptonite dust mixtures, bringing pretty rocks in for show and tell... Dad said he hadn't even known for years just what caused his dizzy spells. Conner, though, had only ever been faced with kryptonite as Superboy. Today was his first experience as Conner Kent. He would, however, have to think something up for the future.

"Any advice for dinner?"

"Try not to cross identities." Clark shrugged. "It's going to be natural to want to talk to somebody who knows, but it's public. For all the restaurant's security, it's still public. You'll have to play with Lex on his level, twisting the words around." Clark's mouth twisted wryly. "Have fun."

"Thanks, Dad," Kon said dryly.

"Do you really like physics?" Clark switched subjects.

Conner nodded. He hadn't thought about it until Hope had worked it out, yet it really was something not just that he knew but that he liked doing. He wondered what sort of fields he could do as both superhero and physicist. Maybe after he graduated he could get a job at LexCorp. Dad Two would let him take off for hero'ing things. Wouldn't he? Maybe.

Dad was trying hard not to ask. Conner thought he'd give him a break and offered instead. "It's not the memories. Or not any specific one. I have a mixture of them, but they tend to be the biology-type ones, playing with slugs as kids..." Conner recoiled from a memory, a couple of them actually... "Setting them on fire with magnifying glasses? Salt? Why would anybody do that to a slug?"

Clark coughed. "One kid tells another, then they do it... morality doesn't come into it until later. Daring each other to lick a slug..."

In some ways, Conner was glad he didn't have a normal childhood if those sorts of things were in it. Shuddering, he switched back to the original subject. "It's the data-dumps, I think. We got stuffed with all sorts of earth knowledge – languages, physics, chemistry... apparently not botany. Or that just didn't take on me. Not all of it did. Stu liked math. He would recite equations to distract himself."

"Stu?"

"My..." It was hard, sometimes, putting clone-relationships into normal terms. "My older brother. He was the next clone up from me, a few weeks older. Mik was my younger. We could see each other in the tubes, and when we'd go out for more tests. We couldn't talk to each other much, but sometimes..."

Clark's eyes went dark with pain. He turned to the computer again, pulling up a file labeled 'family'. Inside was a spreadsheet of DNA sequences, numbers, codes... Kon recognized it as some of what had been in the lab. This must have been what was recoverable. DNA... Conner gulped. He tried not to think much of what had happened to all his brothers, but it was inevitable. It was there in both their thoughts, always.

Kon pointed at the line for ST-13. "Stu." There was no code for Mik on the spreadsheet. "Mik was MK-44. I was KN-5." Nudging Clark away from the keyboard, Conner filled in the rest of the sheet, putting in their names in a new column next to the codes, and adding in those clones he'd known about but weren't listed there. Their names were from a scientist who didn't like the alphabet labels. The naming, though, wasn't done out of kindness. It was more like a farmer who named the chickens in the pen and called for them by that name when one was needed for the stew pot. And done with as little thought.

So many dead. How lucky had Conner been, to be the one picked? To survive. To find a family where the creators had never anticipated one. Superman, fighting him without fighting... being wounded as Kon attacked him yet never hurting Kon. Well, not hurting much. Not like Conner had been hurting Clark. "I don't ever want to hurt you again."

Conner's nightmares were full of it. Attacking Superman, not able to do a thing about it. Not wanting to, wanting to. His body, not his mind. All the clones had had regular training with the control, and in fighting each other. Kon had killed Lan, back when they'd been only a week old. A week before he'd left to fight Superman, Kon had killed Will. He'd come so close to killing his dad...

There were warm arms around him and reassurances of love and want and need in his hearing. His dad wanted him. Despite all that Kon had done, despite being a freak of scientific madness. Superman wanted his son. Superman would fight for his son. Clark would love him. And Lex... Lex somehow wanted him too. How had Kon gone from so little of that in his life to so much? He held his dad tightly and knew he'd never let go.

... ... ...

Conner hovered nervously outside the restaurant, afraid to go in. He wished Dad was here. But Dad had dropped him off and firmly told him he was on his own. It was a gesture of trust, yes, but one that Conner didn't quite want.

"Well, you look spiffy."

As Hope melted out of the shadows, Conner jumped two feet. Quickly, he came back to the ground, hopefully before anybody noticed he'd been in the air just a little too long for gravity. Hope's raised eyebrow told him that she, at least, had noticed.

"Come on, Lex is waiting."

Lex hadn't been there earlier, Conner had x-rayed the restaurant. Back door? "Do you really think I look okay?"

"I said so, didn't I?" Hope quirked a grin. "You're fine. Let's go."

Conner really wished they'd gone for pizza. He could have handled pizza. With a sigh, he followed Hope.

Inside, Lex was at table back in a corner behind a corner. Not quite a separate room, yet fairly private. The pale lady was standing next to him as they talked softly about something.

Lex looked up. "Conner Kent," he identified him. "The scholarship recipient."

Conner hadn't needed the reminder. Well, okay, maybe he did. Lex's speaking had forestalled Conner's more exuberant greeting.

The pale blue eyes slid past him to Hope. Hope shrugged. "He was alone."

A flicker of... relief, regret, went across Lex's face. Conner couldn't figure out which emotion was predominant, and was surprised he was seeing it at all. He guessed Dad knew what he was doing. Lex just wasn't ready to see Clark yet.

Pulling out a chair, Conner sat down, managing to avoid catching the tablecloth or causing any disasters. With a sickened fascination, he eyed the set of silverware in front of him. There were at least five more than he was used to using, and why so many types of forks?

"You can ignore the ones you're not familiar with," Lex said dryly. "The food doesn't care."

Oh, good. Conner gave Lex a relieved grin. "Can I use my fingers?"

"On the finger-food, yes. On the steaks, no."

It was Lex. Despite the fancy surroundings and the whole 'I don't know you' attitude, it was still his Dad Two. Conner relaxed. "Thanks again. I really do appreciate it, and it's just all so cool. So much more stuff there than we were expecting."

Hope cleared her throat and handed Lex a folder, then handed Conner an identical one. Then she nodded to Conner and left. Mercy followed, though Conner saw her settle into a watchful stance just outside their double-corner. Hope was probably going to patrol. Curious, Conner flipped to x-ray until he found her prowling through the kitchen.

A glare that Conner could feel returned him to the table where Lex was frowning at him. Um, yeah, oops. That use of x-ray was probably fairly obvious. Not to mention rude. "Sorry," Conner muttered, flipping open his folder.

Oh. It was his scholarship! Along with 'his' research paper that got him the award. Conner skimmed the details quickly, noting as he did so that Lex was doing the same. There were also notes that the 'selection committee' had made on Conner's paper. Conner was amused to note that he was "brilliant but undisciplined" and "needs training, good potential." He was sure those comments were straight from Hope. He basked in the "brilliant" and chose to ignore the "undisciplined."

Lex snorted. "Undisciplined. That does describe this morning accurately."

"But brilliant!"

"I did read that part," Lex said dryly. "I employ hundreds of brilliant people, it does not make you unique. There are many more I do not employ for that same lack of discipline."

From what Conner knew of Lex's non-legitimate projects, he was pretty sure that Lex employed those folks too. Just not through LexCorp.

Lex caught the look and his mouth twitched in amusement – neither a denial nor an affirmation, as he would say.

"Explain your ideas around the light source."

It was, perhaps, a bit unfair, considering Conner hadn't actually written the report himself. Yet he'd absorbed what was there, and he was actually looking forward to playing this out. Hope had given him enough warning to know that this was fun for Lex too.

"It's based on the previous generation of synchrotron radiation, and—" Conner was off and running.

Lex interjected appropriate questions, drawing out the ideas and probing into Conner's knowledge. Somewhere in the middle of their discussion, dinner arrived that Conner didn't actually remember ordering. It was good, though. Nice large steak medium-rare without a lot of sauce covering up the meat taste. Fancier potatoes than he was used to, but still good. Pepsi on the drink, and Conner eyed Lex at this knowledge of his likes – Dad preferred Coke.

When they switched to dessert, Conner switched topics. This was all well and fun, but there was another agenda he wanted to get to. "So... you knew my dad in Smallville."

Lex paused mid-bite, then smoothly finished, chewing slowly and swallowing. "I did."

"Maybe you can explain something for me..."

"Your father and I ran in very different circles in Smallville and we haven't associated in many years. I may not know what you want to know."

That was bull, but it was public bull so that was okay. Conner shrugged; let Dad Two have the wiggle room, it didn't really matter. "The things I'm curious about are back from when my mom was there too."

Lex picked up his wine glass. "Remind me... who was your mother?"

"Her name back then was Jessie Brooks. She was a transfer student in Dad's sophomore class."

"Ah yes. Jessie... I remember when your dad was involved with her, but I never met her."

Which was pretty much what Lex had said before, but that was okay too since the question wasn't about her. "When my dad saw my birth certificate, he kind of freaked and I was wondering... do you know who Ryan was? I'm named after him, middle name, but Mom never said."

Lex went still, a shadow crossing his face. "He was upset?"

Conner rubbed his nose. That wasn't what he meant to say but it was interesting that Lex was interested. "Well, when Dad saw it, he kind of went a little quiet and a bit still and he got all nostalgic looking. He smiled, but he never said why."

Lex relaxed and reached for his water instead of the wine. "You didn't ask him?"

"It wasn't a good time," Conner said vaguely.

"Ah." Lex took his sip and put the glass down. "I don't know about your mom – she might have had a cousin, or just liked the name."

Conner glared at his second dad.

Lex made a very slight movement of his shoulders, almost too subtle to be called a shrug. "Ryan is not an uncommon name. However, it's possible it could have been for Clark's friend. Jessie was in town about a month or so after it happened, and I'm sure she heard all about it at school, if not directly from Clark. I often wondered if that was why, in fact, Clark behaved so unusually with Jessie. Grief does affect people in strange ways."

"Grief?" Okay, that explained a lot right there. Conner still wanted the full tale.

"A year or so before this, Clark rescued a boy from an abusive couple who were forcing him to steal for them. His name was Ryan and he was a couple of years younger than Clark. They..." Lex paused for a moment and looked away. "They really hit it off. Like long-lost brothers or something. For awhile there, they were almost inseparable, and you could tell for them, it was family. The Kents brought Ryan in and made him welcome."

There was an undercurrent there. "You didn't like him?"

Lex laughed sourly. "I liked him just fine. He was another Warrior Angel fan, and when he was there, Clark smiled."

Conner raised an eyebrow.

"He didn't like me," Lex admitted. "Of course, that was pretty typical. I was a Luthor, after all. Everybody except for my one friend, and I was never quite sure why he liked me. Luthors are not meant to be liked, only worshiped."

Conner's eyebrows were doing a dance up and down, trying to absorb this. The friend, of course, had to be Dad. Dad liked Ryan. Ryan didn't like Lex... Jealous? But twelve... probably not. Well, not that type. Anyhow, Kon just had to address Dad Two's last statement. "Bull."

"Excuse me?" Lex's face did a dance of expressions itself.

"I said bull. There's nothing in a name, it's all in the person, and you're not "a Luthor" – you're Lex Luthor, and I'm sure there's lots of good reasons to like you. So maybe not everybody looks past the money. Doesn't mean they're not there. Even so, ¬friendship doesn't need a reason, it just is."

From the water back to the wine. Lex drank slowly, watching Conner with shuttered eyes. When he finished, he put the glass down. "You are very like your father. Except, of course," he added dryly, "in that you're not trying to tear me apart on paper."

Conner frowned. He wasn't too happy about the put-downs, either to his dad or to his other dad. When Clark had left Lex... was there anybody for him? "Finish the tale," he said shortly.

Lex's mouth twitched. "And bossy. Definitely your father's son."

It was on the tip of his tongue to respond with "and my other father's as well" but Conner stuffed it down before it came out. Restaurant. "I have two parents," he said instead.

Lex tilted the glass at him in salute. "Ryan stayed with the Kents for about a month until his aunt was located and she could take him home. He and Clark traded periodic letters, but they were both boys and teenagers and it wasn't all that regular. A year later..." Lex's mouth tightened. "A year later, he came back. He was having medical problems and his aunt had thought she'd gotten him into a good hospital, but they weren't. He came to Clark, in need of a friend. Clark tried to help, get him better doctors, do something, anything, but in the end, he could only be a friend. Ryan died of a brain tumor."

Conner couldn't find anything to say except, "That sucks."

"Indeed." Lex wiped his mouth with his napkin. "Excuse me for a moment, I'll be right back."

As Lex walked away, Conner finished up his neglected dessert, thinking heavily. Fictitious mom aside, it was Lex who had named him, and he'd named him after Clark's deceased brother. It wasn't that Lex only wanted Conner and didn't want Clark. He wanted Clark too, he just... Okay, Clark was right. It wasn't any sort of conditioning; Lex was simply afraid of wanting Clark. In the tale of Clark and Ryan, there were also the wistful wants of somebody who had only had the main one friend. And that friend had rejected him. Conner sighed. It was going to be more work than he'd thought, to get them back together again. At least Dad Two was seeing Kon, that was a good start.

The dessert was gone and Lex still hadn't come back. Conner rolled his eyes. Okay, he'd seen Lex, past tense. Shoving his chair back, Conner went in search of a restroom.

Fancy restaurants, fancy bathrooms. Conner washed his hands, marveling at what people did with money. He didn't actually disapprove; it did make things nicer. Better than a gas station room.

"So you're Clark Kent's son..."

A dark thoughtful voice had Conner turning away from the sink. He was confronted with an old man with wrinkles in his face and hands, yet his deep-set eyes were clear and penetrating. A quick x-ray showed no weapons.

Conner moved to the paper towels. "I am." There was no reason to deny what was true.

"Dining with a Luthor. Your grandfather would be turning in his grave."

That took Conner a bit aback. True, yes, but this guy just didn't feel like someone who would have known Jonathan Kent. Kon didn't answer, throwing away the wet paper instead.

"I hear you've won a scholarship. Your mother, Molly, would have been proud."

Conner stiffened. "That's not my mother." Yet the name sounded familiar. "Who are you?"

"Nobody important." The man grinned sharply, showing straight white teeth not yellowed by age. "I suspect you will be, though. Get used to reporters, my boy."

The old man left, silently departing while Conner was still deciding if that was a threat or not. Reporters, and his scholarship. Guess Hope had been right about how quickly the word had gotten around. Though weren't most reporters... younger? Well, not all. Look at Perry White.

With a shrug, Conner went back into the restaurant and found the table. Lex was sitting at it, with a data phone out, quietly talking with Mercy while working on something.

"Guess even in the best of places, you can't keep the creepy reporters out of the restrooms," Conner announced cheerfully as he sat down.

All conversation cut out on the instant, then Lex was standing as Mercy raised her hand up. "Perimeter alert, go tidal." With her other hand, she took out a gun.

"What did he look like?" Lex had shifted to where he could see all the entrances, pulling Conner with him.

Conner blinked. "Uh, old. Tanned Caucasian, grey hair short cut, wrinkles, blue eyes, white teeth, dark grey three-piece suit, white inner shirt, black oxfords. He asked if I was Clark Kent's son. Well, actually, he said so."

Lex held up a hand when Conner would have kept going. "That's no reporter," he said grimly. "Mercy, we're going, now."

"Yes sir." Mercy again activated her radio. "Tsunami, we're pulling out. Car at 7." She covered them as they made a quick exit out of a side door Conner hadn't seen originally.

Hope was at the wheel of a nondescript silver Honda. Lex and Conner got in the backseat and Hope drove off.

"What about Mercy?" Conner turned to look out the tinted windows.

"She'll continue to search for him, though he's probably long gone," Lex said grimly.

"Who was it?" Conner faced back.

Lex was silent for a moment, his face lined with worry. "An old enemy of mine. What did he say to you? In detail."

Conner related the incident. As he spoke the name the guy had used for his mother, he realized. "Oh! It was my mom. Or rather it was the other mom, from the other ID." That put a whole different spin on everything. He gulped, realizing the implication.

Unsurprised, Lex nodded. "The Justice League is not as secure as they like to think they are. But then, nobody is." The last was said grimly, almost resigned. "That was a slip on his part. He didn't know about the second identity and was just poking at you. Instead he's revealed his own connections." Lex grimaced, "And he'll now know about mine."

"But all your stuff was so detailed... more real."

"Exactly. Who else could it be? If not the League, it was me. Which now he'll know that we had a connection before this day, and will use that." Lex's face drew down in even more worry lines, tracing out a thousand moves on a three-dimensional chess board.

All of Hope's warnings about keeping Lex safe were suddenly much more real than they had been on a sunny day on the streets of Metropolis. Conner touched Lex's arm. "Are you okay?"

Lex blinked, confusion spreading across his face chased by incredulousness and then wonder. He curved a corner of his mouth up. "I'm fine, Conner. Don't worry about me." The curve went back down. "We might, however, have to cancel the plans for your scholarship."

"Fuck, no!" Conner turned in his seat, facing Lex fully. "DT, if this is going to be one of those pathetic attempts people make to "protect" other people, there's no way in the darkest deepest hell I'm going to let you do that! You're my dad, and pushing me away isn't going to protect me. Cutting me off from you isn't going to protect me. If you try and do that, I will show up at the penthouse. And everywhere else you go. Stalker won't even begin to cover it, if you cut me out of your life."

"If you do that, I will make your and your dad's life a living hell," Lex hissed. "If he thought the last three weeks were bad, I will make them even worse. Aquaman will see Atlantis destroyed, Batman's enemies will all be released from Arkham, Green Lantern will find himself in yellow quicksand."

Conner stared for a moment, then burst out laughing.

Lex glared at him until Conner ran down.

"Oh God," Conner hiccupped, holding his sides. "Is that what you do to Dad? Seriously? Oh, that's good. Oh, he'd totally fall for that. Oh, geez. Yellow quicksand..."

"I can do it," Lex said, anger lacing through his voice.

"Uh huh, yeah, I know you can. But why would you?"

"If you—"

Conner cut him off. "Yeah, yeah, yeah – I did hear you the first time, but if you're trying to protect me, isn't that kind of missing the point?"

There was snickering from the front. "He's got you there, Lex."

"Oh, shut up," Lex snapped. He leaned back in the seat, silently sulking.

"Did you just rename him again?" Hope asked.

Conner looked at the rear-view mirror and met her glance. They grinned at each other. "Nah," Conner said. "I figured DT would be quicker to say than Dad Two all the time."

"And it can be used publically. But what does it stand for in public?"

"Double Trillionaire? Deal Train? Dastardly Trince?" Conner laughed.

"That wasn't a word," Lex muttered. "Look, Conner, I'm serious – this could be bad. Being the son of Superman is dangerous, but your identity as Clark Kent's son is supposed to be safe. By connecting your Kent identity with me, you're bringing yourself into danger from my enemies. You should not have to suffer for my sins."

Conner frowned, watching his other dad. Lex really was serious. Already knowing he wasn't going to take the buy-out, Conner still thought about it, about what it meant for Lex to offer, about the other forces in play on the table. "What did you do with the puppies?" Conner asked.

"What?"

"The illegal cloning labs that you've been shutting down, destroying. Wonder Woman said you'd rescued all the puppies and kittens."

Lex's eyes narrowed. "Wonder Woman..."

Hope cut in from up front, "You know her... the very kind lady who rescued you from the angry Goddesses? Lex, you are not going to even think about doing anything to Diana, or Mercy will be very very angry. And so will I."

Lex tightened his lips and didn't say anything.

"He gave them to various no-kill animal shelters, mostly," Hope answered Conner's question. "Or had Justice do it, rather. The more... uh, special ones are in our labs, but I promise they've got homes as well."

"I'm not leaving," Conner said quietly. "No matter how much you try and push me away, Dad Two, I'll just keep coming back. Let me have the scholarship and the public meetings, and I'll go by your rules for it. Cut me out of it, and I'll make my own."

Lex sighed, closing his eyes. Pain showed on his face, and that was an indication in itself of how torn he was. "All right," he replied just as quietly. "You can look for the details in the mail. If you need anything..."

"I'll call," Conner said, his heart lightening. The seatbelt tugged and he realized it wasn't just metaphorical. He forced himself back down to the seat, reapplying gravity.

With a snort, Lex pulled out a business card and wrote a number on the back. "This one will actually get through. There's no way a general number call would make it to me."

Conner took the card and memorized the number. He would put the card in with his other precious memories, perhaps with Gus. Speaking of which, "I'll take good care of Augustus," he promised.

Lex didn't answer, turning his head away. "We're here. Be careful, Conner."

They were at his apartment building. Conner reached over and gave an unresponsive Lex a hug. "You too, DT. See you later."

He waved at Hope as he got out, then headed inside. He watched through the stairwell as the car drove away. Then he went home.

... ... ...

"Do you know who it was?" Conner asked as he watched Clark pace around the room.

"No." Clark tapped the sketchbook where Conner had drawn the old man as best he could. "I don't recognize him. One of Lex's enemies... but I don't like that reference to my dad, or his interest in you."

"You're not stopping the scholarship program!" Conner growled. He could argue this one just as well with his other dad too.

"No..." Clark said again, but slower. "It wouldn't... at this point, it wouldn't be productive. And I suspect it might be playing into his hands."

"What?" Lex hadn't said anything like that.

"He's Lex's enemy, and he's needling Lex. Appearing in the restaurant, slipping through Lex's security – and believe me, it's hard to slip through Lex's security even with superpowers. Talking to you. Letting you, a new contact, bring the word back to Lex. If you were anybody else, Lex would then be wondering if you were in cahoots with this fellow. From what Lex has been through in his life... all of those close to him betray him, even, or especially, the ones he loves."

Clark started pacing again. "This was done to provoke Lex, to unsettle him, which it did. It also could very well have driven Lex away from you. Lex has Hope and Mercy, but that is a very small number of people he can count on and Hope told you that he keeps himself from being actual friends with them. If we, either Lex or I, keep you from the scholarship... that removes Lex from us. We can't let that happen."

Conner was glad somebody else agreed with him. "What about the Justice League?"

"We don't tell them."

That shocked Conner to his core. "But... security breach!"

"About something that hurt Lex," Clark said softly. "Superheroes are only human, and this... I don't want them to know that you have another identity, a better identity, nor that it was supplied by Lex. Most of them don't like Lex and they won't understand. I don't want to expose Lex to them, not like this."

Which, okay, Conner could understand. But still... "Security breach."

"I'll tell Batman. And I'll tell him why I don't want to tell the others. He'll check into it, discreetly."

"Batman?" Conner hadn't gotten very good vibes from him at the meeting. Well, ever, really. If it wasn't for Tim and Nightwing, he'd have told Clark he wasn't taking any more lessons from him either.

"He's the one person I can be absolutely sure that did not do it. He would never do anything to hurt you, for you are one of the children, and his life is dedicated to helping them."

Conner blinked a few times. "Batman?" he repeated in disbelief. "He sends his children out to fight and die!"

Clark closed his eyes. "Conner..."

"Well, seriously! Why kids?"

"Because they're the only ones he can't say 'no' to. And you're a kid too, by that standard! Tim is older than you are."

"I've been through more, even if I'm not real," Conner said tightly. "He should say no."

Clark eyed Conner thoughtfully. "Is that really what you think? That his assistants have no knowledge of evil like you do? Take a look around Gotham the next time we're there. The whole city is a giant Suicide Slums, and you know how little we've been able to do there. Take a look at the children who come out of SS and tell them to their faces that they don't know evil.

"Batman fights the crime in Gotham because when he was young, he could do nothing about it. Now he can. But he also hears all the voices of those who cry out because they can't... and he remembers what it was like when he was young and could not. Who is he, to deny them their chance to help? It is their choice, and believe me, they do know the risks. Batman tried to say "no" once. Ask Nightwing how well that worked."

Conner grimaced. He still didn't like it. Yes, Tim wanted to be doing all that, but Conner had seen what had happened to one of the other Robins. He didn't want that to happen to Tim. And yeah, okay, he was doing the exact same thing Lex had tried to do to him, that Clark hadn't done, and he really shouldn't be throwing stones considering his own situation. "Okay, fine. But what are we going to do about Lex's enemy?"

After a moment of more watching, Clark flipped one of his hands up. "I'll see what I can find out, but I suspect it won't be much. I don't recognize the sketch, and Lex has a lot of enemies with resources. That's probably not even close to what he really looks like. Lex will be working on it from his end – you know Mercy and Hope won't let go of it.

"In the meantime..." Clark picked up the folder with the scholarship information. "We wait for the next move."

More waiting. Conner flopped down on the couch with a sigh. He hated waiting.

... ... ...

The event was a lot more social than Conner would have expected out of a bunch of nerds. But then, parents of the scholarship recipients were there too. After the tour, they'd been separated out to a reception area in the back away from the experimental halls while the kids got more talks that were specifically addressed to them.

During the initial tour where they'd all been together, Clark had been right up next to Conner, peering with evident fascination at the klystrons and the alignment lasers, asking questions about construction in the earthen berm and then diving into investigating the cooling system. Always making notes on his reporter's pad.

Sometimes, Conner thought it was a little scary how good an actor his dad could be. Superman was a regular advisor at the STARlab Accelerator. Yet Clark Kent had never been near one, and it was Clark with Conner, so Clark asked questions.

Conner glanced at his dad mingling with the other parents, a perfectly normal reporter, slightly nerdy, fitting in with the other proud but puzzled parents of their smart kids.

Then Conner returned his attention to Charity as she told the group of teenagers just what LexCorp provided for them in the working scholarship program. It was all in the material, of course, but she made it engaging and interesting while she talked about it in person.

In their group, there were some seriously bright kids here. Conner had already been drawn into several fascinating conversations; he wasn't bored like he usually was around normal schoolmates. Being with quick minds that were interested in the same sort of things he was... it was like being among the superheroes, or getting trained by Nightwing with Tim beside him. For once, Conner thought that being a normal person might actually be good too. He'd always seen it before as the necessity between the superheroing, not in and of itself a way of life.

There was, though, something about the other teenagers that had him holding back a little. It took him awhile to pin it down and even then he still couldn't figure out a word for it. Dad would have known one. But almost all the other teenagers had an... well, it wasn't quite 'innocence'. It was just that they hadn't known pain yet. Loved by their parents, safe in their homes, raised in a world that protected them.

Conner finally figured out what it was when he met the other two that were like him. The three of them had shadows in their eyes and in their pasts, and they recognized without a word exchanged the same shadows in each other. One of them was Justice's daughter, which was really scary since Lex's Chief Scientist was younger than Clark. On meeting them, Conner also realized how right that Clark had been, about the children of Gotham. They were not sheltered, and Batman was right to let them in. As much as Kon wanted in, so also would they.

After Charity's talk, several scientists came up to describe projects they were working on. Conner was paying rapt attention until he heard Lex's voice.

Lex had initially greeted the group, congratulating the awardees in a group. However he'd then melted away during the tour, disappearing like he'd never been there. Now he was back, talking with the group of parents.

Conner turned to look, hoping... but no, Lex wasn't with Clark. He was on the opposite side, in fact, talking with other parents easily, nowhere near Clark. Conner sighed a little. He'd really hoped... He looked at Clark.

Clark was watching Lex, a wistful expression upon his face. After a moment, he turned his gaze to Conner, meeting his eyes with a rueful smile. At almost the same moment, Lex also turned to Conner.

Blinking, Conner looked between his dads, trying to will them together by sheer force of his wish. Then he gave up and turned back to the scientist. However, he kept his hearing open to Lex, not paying attention so much to the conversations, but following him around by the sound of his voice.

Lex drifted from parent to parent, talking a bit with each one, making his way through the group. Finally, he got to Clark, the last one left. Conner sharpened his hearing, ignoring now the scientist in favor of his dads.

"Conner is a very smart young man. You must be proud of him," Lex finally said after they'd stared at each other in silence long enough for Conner to have glanced around again.

"He is, and I am," Clark replied, his voice warm. He smiled in Conner's direction and Conner remembered to turn back to the scientist. This dual-attention thing was hard to do.

Clark laughed a little, still talking to Lex. "Though I don't know what right I have to be proud. Conner did it all himself. I wasn't even in his life until recently."

"What does that have to do with it?" Lex sounded genuinely baffled.

Conner was curious too. He gave up on trying to listen with his back to them and edged around until he was at the corner of the group and could watch his dads while nominally appearing to be listening to the scientists.

Clark was silent for a moment. "To be proud means taking a share of the credit, that something you have done has accomplished this."

Lex snorted. "As your son would say, bull."

Involuntarily, Clark laughed at the phrase. "Why?"

"I'll admit that there is a certain amount of proprietorship in pride, but this has nothing to do with investments. Citizens are proud of their country, fans of their sports teams, parents of their children, friends of each other. With the object being approved of, the first person feels a type of ownership, true, however it doesn't always exist in equal amounts on the other end. Countries can reject illegal citizens, teams ignore fans, a child despise a parent, a friendship be broken. That doesn't mean pride does not still exist, nor does it negate the accomplishments or lessen them."

Conner had to admit that one. In the cloning lab, the scientists had been very proud of him, and he'd hated that, wishing they weren't. Yet Conner loved Clark's pride and basked in his approval. The pride existed on both sides... and Conner would much rather have Clark's, though Clark had had less to do with his shaping.

Clark's thoughts had been going a different direction, apparently. "You sent me a gift for my graduation." His voice was so low, Conner wasn't sure if Lex could hear it, not having super-hearing like them.

"I expected you to send it back," Lex admitted, obviously having more abilities than Conner knew. Or he read lips.

"Well, you didn't exactly put your name on it..." Clark's mouth curved up in memory.

Lex shrugged. "Still, you knew it was from me."

"Yeah." Clark almost, but didn't quite, reach out to Lex. "Thank you."

Lex didn't answer, yet he also didn't move away. His gaze followed Clark's hand as it dropped back to his side.

Clark's smile grew a notch. "Oh, also, thank you for the kittens – Conner loves them."

Lex blinked a few times. "What kittens?"

"The little calico and ..." Clark trailed off and tilted his head to one side as he studied Lex. "That looks like real surprise."

"It is real surprise," Lex growled. "But I think I know where this blame lies." He turned is glare to an upper platform in the room where Mercy overlooked the group, her watchful gaze not letting a single teenager or parent off the hook.

"I think they're cute, too," Clark purred a bit, bringing Lex's attention back to him on the instant. "Sitting up batting at each other one moment, grooming the next, then all curled up in a pile asleep on each other and us. It's adorable."

Lex was still for a very long moment, his blue eyes yearning but his body not moving. Then he shook himself and switched topics. "I hear you're in op/ed now."

Clark shrugged. "Conflict of interest, with Conner's scholarship and all."

"I... didn't intend that."

"Conner was the one who applied for it." Clark smiled. "And I think I'm happier. It's hard, to always be suspicious of everything and questioning the whys of the world. It might have suited me at one point... but I like having opinions again, real ones, and getting to explore other ideas."

"Really."

"Yeah."

Conner had to turn his full attention to his dads as they gazed into each others' eyes for the longest time. He refrained from yelling, "Kiss him! Kiss him!" though he was tempted to.

Finally Lex cleared his throat. "I need to... I need to go mingle some more. Talk to the others."

"Yeah," Clark said again.

Neither of them moved.

Conner jumped when the group all around him broke up and started streaming everywhere. Some headed for the parents, some for the machines, some for the scientists. Obviously, the last talk had finished. When he could refocus, his dads had moved apart. Lex was, as promised, talking to others. Clark was watching him silently, partially removed from the group. Yet there was a smile on his lips.

Conner threaded through the crowd and hugged his dad tightly. Holding him like he knew they both wanted to hold Lex too. "This is all so neat," he enthused. "Thanks, Dad."

Clark put his arm around Conner's shoulders. "It's all your doing, Kon. I'm really proud of you."

"You encouraged me, helped me, loved me, and didn't say, "no"," Conner answered. "You took the first step and showed me the next, and now we're all walking together."

On cue, as if he could hear, Lex turned toward them. Conner waved at him. Lex grinned and then went back to his conversation.

"Together," Clark repeated softly.

They stood together for a moment, watching their third. Then Conner dragged Clark off to see the Range Chopper Spectrometer. Lex was here, and they would have plenty more opportunities to be together now.

---

END


Story Notes
- I didn't mean to riff off of 'Provoking Clark' but the League meeting does sound a bit like it. Not intentional, I assure you... Lex was just acting out in general and avoiding Superman's area while he did so he wouldn't have to confront Superman.
- There are a lot of other stories that have Clark going into op/ed... I was going to try and be original about it, but it just fits him so well as a more experienced journalist moving to a new role. Original just wouldn't have worked as good in the story.

---

Next Story: Behind the Masks

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[Poll #1644281]

Comments

[jlvsclrk.livejournal.com]

Yay, they're being civil to each other! For Clark, it must be like tempting a feral cat into his home.

[seagull2eagle.livejournal.com]

They've got a good beginning to go off of now, with something more to build it upon. Conner will make sure of that! ^^

[spazlady2002.livejournal.com]

Love it!!!

But I want more! I need Lex to finally be brave enough to have both Clark and Connor.

Thanks for sharing!!

[seagull2eagle.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :) Lex was being pretty brave just to invite them all there, and as long as Clark doesn't make any sudden moves... They'll get there. ^_^ I'm glad you're enjoying it!

[amythest-n-ice.livejournal.com]

Awesome-ness!!! Creepy guy was creepy, Clark and Lex were adorable, and the JL meeting was LMAO funny. More soon please!

[seagull2eagle.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :) Heh, I was debating how much of the creepy guy to put in - glad you liked what was there. And I couldn't help myself on the JL meeting... when Lex gets restless, the whole world suffers! :)

[eternal-moonie.livejournal.com]

I absolutely LOVE this! Well done!!

[seagull2eagle.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :) I'm glad you're enjoying. :)

[phoenixnz.livejournal.com]

I love this. Clark is doing the right thing with the 'small steps' plan. Connor is good at thinking on his feet, even if he is a little impulsive.
This was great.

[seagull2eagle.livejournal.com]

Patience is hard to do! But those small steps will get there there eventually, as long as nothing else interferes along the way. Conner - brilliant but undisciplined. ;D I'm glad you're enjoying it!

[ctbn60.livejournal.com]

*squee*

They are all on the right track. You do know that now that you have created this wonderful world you must continue. Right???

[seagull2eagle.livejournal.com]

Heh, yeah... This particular story is complete, not a WIP, but I have to admit I thought long and hard before sticking the parts in that hint at the long-range plot. I put a few in the last one too, but this was a bit more obvious. I think I'm stuck now, lol.

[maigie2010.livejournal.com]

This was such a satisfying read. I really enjoyed it and felt that it was such intelligent writing. Loved, loved Hope.

[seagull2eagle.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm delighted that you liked it. :) I have a not-so-secret liking for Lex's Minions, so I enjoyed getting to bring Hope into this series. Always good to have more smart, competent women in the show. ;D

[waterrun.livejournal.com]

I really like Conner stories and your's is right up there with my favorites. I like that you've outlined the many wrongs done to Lex and at least your Clark is cognizant of them,regrets them and is trying to atone for them. My God,as much as I liked the early years of Smallville, I often felt like my head was going to explode from the way every single character on the show abused Lex for doing things most of them had been guilty of as well.Lionel, though a true villian was taken into the fold and Clark, don't even go there.I really hope there's more to come right? Thanks for the ride so far.

[seagull2eagle.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :) I wasn't originally planning to do any Conner stories, but I'm really happy I did this series, it's been great working with them as a family (or on their way to it). Reconciliation is really needed, and yeah... I try not to go overboard on the abused Lex part, but OMG, the way the show portrays it... he's no villain. Abused and betrayed, but there's absolutely no logical reason for treating him the way the show did from way early on. I really believe that if the show had been the way they started off as, Clark would never have left him to face all that alone. Clark's character was abused as much as Lex's. :( But that's why we have fic, right? ^__^ We'll make it all better! And, yep, there's still some more to come. ;D

[twilighthdfan.livejournal.com]

Another fantastic addition to this world. Yay! Absolutely loved it. I loved hearing it from Connor's point of view. LOL, at his thoughts of the JL meeting (hee!) and Mercy and Hope being all kick ass and fantastic while protecting Lex (and Connor) was awesome.

And, ooh, who is this mysterious enemy? At first I wondered if it was Lionel once again coming to mess with Lex's life. And, aww, at Connor wanting Clark and Lex together now. Very child-like.

He refrained from yelling, "Kiss him! Kiss him!" though he was tempted to.
LOL. I was thinking that. Fantastic fic, absolutely loved it.

[seagull2eagle.livejournal.com]

Thank you again for making me write this! I've really been enjoying the world a lot more than I thought I would. Characters and places to explore. It was best to switch to Conner for this story... and really interesting. I hope I got his voice okay. :) (I'm waffling on whose pov to make the next one from.)

Hee! {zips lips shut on the enemy} I was sneaking a few clues in on the last story too... ;D Not saying until a future story, though! I like my big reveals. ^^

We'll all yell "Kiss him!" at them, and maybe they'll do it. ;D

I'm really glad you enjoyed it! ^_____^

[jamafanta.livejournal.com]

Fantastic! I enjoyed this series so much. Here via your comment at sv_inquiry (http://community.livejournal.com/sv_inquiry/605277.html). I'm so glad you commented, I would have missed this otherwise!

Do you intend to continue this series?

[seagull2eagle.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :) For as popular a character as a canon Clex child ;D, there need to be more Conner fics, definitely. I'm glad you liked these.

There will be more, yes -- I've got the bug now and the long-range plot. There'll be a short interlude one being posted soon (it's in beta now), and a longer one when I can write it. I've been really busy these last three months, but I'm determined to carve out more writing time now. ^^

[earthseed-fic.livejournal.com]

I followed the link from sv_inquiry. I adore this so much. I am such a sucker for stories that have Clark and Lex reunite because of Conner. If you're keeping a list of folks who really want to see what happens next in this saga, add me to it. I'd love to see Conner get his two dads together (with the help of Hope and Mercy, of course).

[seagull2eagle.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :) Heh, I think part of the problem with the stories is because the ones Asolot did are so darn *good* that how could we possibly write it again? But yes, more stories with Conner in this universe are on the way! ^^

[(Anonymous)]

Wow, I know I came late to the party (here thanks to sv_inquiry), but I really loved this series, and loved your take on all three characters. I truly hope more is in the cards...

[seagull2eagle.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :) I appreciate all comments, and after the initial posting is even more great because I know how rarely people come back to something later. So I'm delighted that you enjoyed it. More is definitely coming! ^^

[niidea222.livejournal.com]

Have you though about another sequel? pretty please?

[seagull2eagle.livejournal.com]

There's a small piece in at beta right now and a longer piece is being worked on! It's coming. ;D

[annakas.livejournal.com]

I loved how all three of them are such science nerds. Adorable.

It's interesting to see their step closer step back dance. Can't wait to see how the three of them slowly fix their relationships and get closer.

Particle Steps, pt 2

[seagull2eagle.livejournal.com]

Born science nerds! ^^

:) For them, it's not just a single step to get there, and there's life in the way as well. I've kindof committed myself to more stories in this now, lol. It could have been quicker, but I don't think I would have believed it as much.