Title: The Long Road Chapter 07
LJ Name: me_ya_ri
Rating: NC-17 (due to disturbing themes—see warning)
Character/Pairing: eventual Clex with background pairings, Lionel, Martha, Jonathan, Clark, Lex, Pete, Whitney, Lana
Length: Approx 4200 of 32,300 words so far
Summary: It's a long road to finding your destiny. You don't always have to travel that road alone but you should be careful who you do choose to travel with.
Warnings: TC, TL, angst by the bucket, terminal illnesses, death, serious injury, child abuse, major guilt trips, drug and alcohol abuse, wanton sexual behavior but I will get them to a happy ending I promise!
A.N.: This is so completely AU. Lex is Kal-El. Clark's the meteor mutant. Readers should be prepared for a lot of Torture-Clark and Torture-Lex in this story. No joke. This one broke my angst-o-meter. Comments (even if it’s just that you read) are much loved and concrit is much appreciated!
Previous Chapters: Chapter 01 | Chapter 02 | Chapter 03 | Chapter 04 | Chapter 05 | Chapter 06

Lex endured his father's sanctimonious advice and kryptonite ring Friday evening. He endured it all of Saturday, during which Lionel flatly refused to tell him why he was there. They had several fights, all of which Lex lost because of the kryptonite and his determination not to commit murder. He was on the verge of breaking the old man's neck despite his resolve by Sunday afternoon so he stormed out and went driving instead of improving the world by removing Lionel from it.

"It would improve the world," Lex muttered as he drove up the Kent's lane.

He wasn't sure visiting without warning was a good idea but Lex wasn't comfortable in town. Too many of the shops sold meteor rock souvenirs. He could hide his responses to the kryptonite but he couldn't hide the way the rocks glowed around him. It was far to difficult to explain so he'd resolved to stay away from downtown as much as possible.

No matter what, he could not stay in the manor any longer. The Kent farm was the next logical choice, other than driving to Metropolis and getting smashed, which would only prompt his father to enact further restrictions on Lex's life. He'd finally gotten where he wanted to be. He wasn't going to risk losing it so quickly.

Jonathan Kent appeared on the porch as Lex drove up. His face went from curious to disgusted as soon as he realized who was intruding into his home. Lex swallowed hard, put on his best cordial but confident expression and got out to smile at Jonathan.

"What are you doing here?" Jonathan demanded.

"Escaping from my father for a little while," Lex said. "He's… being difficult."

Jonathan's face shifted to grim as he studied Lex's face. Lex hadn't been away from Lionel's ring long enough for the bruises to heal. Of course it would likely take several days given that Lex had started wearing his kryptonite-laden watch during his father's visit. He didn't want to accidentally reveal an ability that Lionel didn't know about. He'd grown quite used to not being impacted by the kryptonite within so he knew that he looked pale and shaky. Jonathan opened his mouth to ask the obvious questions that Lex didn't dare answer.

"Do you know where Clark is?" Lex asked, cutting him off before he could speak. "He said that he had some math he wanted me to look at when he visited on Friday."

"He's in the barn, in his loft," Jonathan said, the grimness turning into a displeased glower. He stomped into the farmhouse and shut the door just a bit too firmly. It wasn't quite a slam but it was close enough to convey his irritation at Lex.

Lex didn't allow himself the sigh he wanted. Jonathan's obvious rejection of Lex still hurt though of course he had every right to feel that Lex was a dangerous interloper in his home. Lex mastered his expression before he left his car's side. He didn't want to upset Clark just because he was feeling rejected by the man that should have been his father.

After a minute he went into the barn. He raised an eyebrow at the room that had been created at one end of the barn. It had been built in one of the lofts above the working main floor, enclosed to create a sturdy room. Lex knocked on the door while eyeing the bent nails with amusement. They held some of the siding in place well enough he supposed. It was quite obviously an amateur job. He wondered if Clark had created the place himself.

"Yeah?" Clark said, opening the door. His face lit up like the sun coming out when he saw Lex standing on the landing. "Lex! Come on in. What are you doing here?"

"Visiting," Lex said. He stepped inside Clark's sanctum and gazed around. "Nice. Did you build all of this yourself?"

"Most of it," Clark said. He was studying Lex's face with concern. "Not the barn of course, but Pete and I enclosed this loft and weatherproofed it."

The walls had been covered with a patchwork of various types of boards. It gave the room a pleasantly homey feeling, like something that you might see in a rustic lodge. More accurately, this was what the rustic lodges were trying to invoke with their carefully chosen wood paneling and mock-aged interiors.

One wall had newspaper clippings and photographs pinned to it. Clark's memorial, if that was what it was, covered most of that wall and extended partway up the ceiling. The opposite wall to the clippings was covered with bookshelves holding well-loved science and math books mixed with paperback novels and comic books.

There was an old couch with an old trunk as a coffee table, a battered old armchair and a desk covered with more paperwork of some sort. A battered old laptop sat in the middle of the stacks of paper. A small wood-burning stove sat comfortably near the couch, radiating heat from the fire snapping within.

"It strikes me as a very you sort of room," Lex commented after a moment studying the room.

Clark laughed, grinning at Lex. "I should hope so. It's mine. What happened to your face?"

"My father and I had a disagreement," Lex shrugged casually. "Its not uncommon. He believes that I should be able to defend myself so he does like to test my fighting abilities from time to time."

"You mean he beats you up and you don't want to talk about it," Clark sighed. He sat at his desk, looking up at Lex with sorrow in his eyes.

"You're quite blunt," Lex replied. He didn't confirm the statement. He only raised an eyebrow at Clark.

"I know. Insufficient early socialization according to the school counselor," Clark said. "I was home schooled until I was eight. I only go to school because everyone says I need to learn to be around people my own age. The schoolwork bores me to death. I was beyond most of that before I started school."

Lex paused with his mouth open, unsure what to say to that. He'd had entirely too many school counselors say the same thing about him, though they were referring to his sex, drugs and exceedingly bad attitude. He rather doubted that their reasons for saying it to Clark were anything similar. Instead he turned to the wall of clippings.

"An interesting project," Lex said, gesturing towards it. "What is it?"

"Um, my… memory wall, I guess," Clark said, shrugging. "Chloe has one at school at the Talon where she records all the meteor mutant issues in town. Mine is more focused on the mutants that were taken away. Sorry, I started it before I met you but a lot of it focuses on the activities of LuthorCorp since they take the kids and never give them back."

"You've been investigating LuthorCorp?" Lex asked, rounding on Clark who started and stared up at Lex.

"Yeah," Clark nodded. He had a puzzled frown on his face as if he couldn't understand what the problem was. "Its all stuff that's publicly available. A lot… a lot of people I knew growing up were mutants, Lex. It matters to me how they're treated. I can't change it but I do…" He gestured at the wall as if trying to finds words for his obvious obsession. "I do pay attention to it. No one else seems to care. "

As he gazed at the articles and photos Clark's face matured dramatically. A far more mature look replaced the boyish one. He looked years older and decades sadder. Lex's heart, and unfortunately his groin, reacted in ways that were massively inappropriate for the boy who should have been his little brother. Lex berated himself. Clark was underage, his only friend and not someone who could defend himself against Lionel's wrath.

Worry beat in Lex's heart. Clark was investigating them. He was investigating Lionel. It wouldn't take very much for him to disappear like the others on his memory wall. Lex knew what Lionel would do if he discovered Clark's ability to heal. It wasn't something that Lex wanted added to Lionel's stock of genetic traits. It might be the one thing he needed to make his proposed super soldiers functional instead of worthless. He had no intention of allowing Clark to be taken that way, not that Lex could do much about it if Lionel did take him. The kryptonite surrounding the labs was far too thick for Lex to be able to deal with it.

"You shouldn't do this," Lex said, striding over to Clark's side. "Clark, its not safe. You shouldn't have these here. You need to take it down, stop investigating."

"No," Clark declared, standing up to glare into Lex's eyes.

"You don't know what he'll do to you," Lex said.

"Yes, actually I do," Clark said.

He went to the wall and pulled down an article that had a note scribbled in girlish handwriting. It was the article that Lex had seen all those years ago while on a mission. He'd forgotten the mission but he'd never forgotten the article. It detailed the mass grave that had been found outside of Smallville holding the bodies of dozens of men, women and children. The note said 'This is what happens to the kids?' Lex suspected that it was Chloe Sullivan's handwriting, giving him another person to worry about.

"Then you know that this," Lex passed the article back to Clark and waved at the wall, "is too dangerous!"

"I don't care," Clark said, anger rising on his face at Lex's dismissal of it all. "I can't stop, Lex. There has to be something that can be done to stop this."

"A broken neck might do it," Lex muttered.

His stomach twisted with disgust at the thought of murdering Lionel. He knew that it would end the horrors that Lionel inflicted on the world but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Half of him wanted to see that Lionel suffered for his crimes. The other half simply couldn't abide the thought of murdering another thinking being. He would not become another Zod.

"What?"

"Nothing," Lex said in a normal tone of voice. "Clark, I completely agree that this has to stop. I've agreed with that for a very long time. No one has the power to do it right now. I'm sorry. It's a tragedy in the truest sense of the word but that doesn't mean that you should throw yourself at the same death that they all went to. You need to stop."

Clark stomped back to his wall, placing the article back in its spot. He glared at it for a long moment before turning back to glare at Lex. There was something dark and dangerous in his eyes, something that Lex wasn't quite sure how to interpret. It was as though he was looking straight through Lex or perhaps past him.

"I can't believe you approve of this!" Clark exclaimed.

"Approve of it?" Lex squawked. "I most certainly do not approve of it. It's vile and reprehensible. I simply don't have the power to stop it, Clark. Obviously I don't." He gestured at the bruises on his face. "You can't let yourself get caught up in this. No one will be able to save you if you do, especially not me!"

Clark came over and stood practically nose-to-nose with Lex, glaring fiercely into his eyes. He was a bit taller than Lex and wider in the shoulders. His farm work had obviously graced him with impressive muscles. He smelled of hay and animals and paper and something essentially Clark. Lex's long training as a slut made him want to slide to his knees to worship Clark's body but that would be one of the stupidest things he could do.

"Bugs…" Clark whispered after a second, his lips barely moving and his expression unchanged.

Lex's heart skipped a beat. He turned away from Clark and started pacing, sweeping the walls and ceiling with X-ray vision as he paced. Clark stayed in place, his arms crossed on his chest. There were bugs, one in the wall by the door, one under the floor and another that had a camera watching their entire conversation. Lionel had already gotten here. Lex had said too much without realizing the danger.

He ran over the conversation they'd had, realizing that it might be possible to salvage it yet. He thought that he could take it in two directions, one of which would satisfy his father and one of which would likely get him run out of town on a rail. Seducing Clark—the severely underage, very male Clark—and getting run out of town would not allow him greater access to the caves so he went with what his 'father' would expect.

"What do you want from me?" Lex demanded, making sure that he was placed properly so that the camera could see his cold, angry expression. "I'm doing everything that I feel comfortable with. I will not risk my heath any more than I already do!"

Clark winced, taking in the bruises that marked Lex's face. He was sure that the paleness from the kryptonite in his watch added to the impression that he was severely hurt and trying to hide it. His father certainly seemed to believe that he'd broken several ribs in their last fight. He had of course, though Lex had made sure to remove the watch just long enough to allow them to fuse once his father left the room and he was in a 'safe' place in the mansion.

"I'm sorry," Clark said, looking honestly heartbroken. "It's just… almost every single person I've ever made friends with has been taken away. Well, not Pete or Chloe but so many others. I'm looked down on because I'm too smart and adopted. I sort of… I just want to make the world a better place, especially for the people affected by the meteors."

Lex sighed and rubbed his face tiredly. "The best way you have to do that would be to become a scientist and find a cure. There's… no cure for meteor affliction yet, Clark. They don't come back because they're a danger to themselves and the world."

"You really believe that?" Clark asked, studying Lex.

Lex shrugged. "I've… seen enough to be… cautious… about those with meteor powers, Clark. The insanity rate is sky-high and with those powers they can be truly deadly."

Clark sat in his desk chair abruptly as if he were defeated. He leaned his elbows on his knees and stared out the window at the farm. Lex looked too, wishing that he could say all the things he wanted to say. He wanted to tell Clark that none of the taken survived more than a few weeks at most. He wanted to tell Clark that they died quickly once the experiments were done. He wanted to say that one day Lionel would be executed for his crimes against humanity but he didn't know that was true and it wasn't something he dared say where Lionel could hear it.

"I can't sit here," Clark said, slapping his thighs before standing up. "You want to take a walk? I think better when I'm moving."

"It's better than going back to the mansion and getting into another fight with my father," Lex nodded. He absently rubbed his ribs where they'd been broken. They were still sore but not terribly badly. "I need a break."

"Does he beat you all the time?" Clark asked as he pulled on a jacket.

"No," Lex snorted. "Most of the time we yell at each other and I run off somewhere to get smashed and fucked. That's not possible in Smallville, which is probably part of why he sent me here."

"Yeah, that would get you in serious trouble with the Sheriff here," Clark said. He went so red that his cheeks matched his old jacket. "You're… gay?"

"Bi," Lex said calmly as Clark headed out of the loft. "Male or female, it makes little difference to me."

There were several more bugs in the barn and a couple in the house when Lex scanned it. Lionel had been quite thorough. He must have moved during the night on Friday or Saturday. Clark appeared to pick up instantly when Lex spotted the bugs. He was scarily bright, Lex realized, smarter than anyone he'd ever met. It should frighten him away but Lex didn't run. He needed to be in Smallville and that meant dealing with Clark and the Kent family.

Clark led the way out into one of the pastures, walking slowly while scanning the ground for cow patties. "I don't know anyone else who likes both," Clark admitted shyly.

"Most people find it easier to choose," Lex said with a shrug. He could hear an antenna somewhere close by. It might be a CB but it might also be a directional mike. "I tend to gravitate to males for quick encounters and females for longer things. Eventually I will need to have an heir you see."

"I never thought of it that way," Clark said, cocking his head to the side to study Lex.

"You're fourteen and live in Smallville, Kansas." Lex smirked at Clark's blush. "I'd be surprised if you'd done anything more than occasionally think about it."

Clark laughed, nodding. Eventually they walked down into a hollow between some trees that covered the banks of a little brook. It was beautiful even though most of the leaves had fallen. Lex smiled, enjoying the untouched beauty of the spot. Clark headed to the water's edge, kneeling down to dabble his fingers in the water. Lex joined him, spotting tiny fish swimming in the water amongst green, blue and the occasional red rocks. None of them glowed as Lex approached, thank goodness.

"How many bugs?" Clark murmured just barely loud enough to be heard over the brook's noise and his casual splashes.

"Three in your loft, two in the main barn, one in the kitchen and one by your bedroom window," Lex answered in an equally quiet tone. "I'm sorry. Associating with me has killed more people than I can count, Clark."

"Yeah, well, it's good that I can't die then," Clark whispered, smiling grimly.

"Your parents can," Lex said, giving him a stern look. "So can Chloe and your friend Pete. Be careful. I can't even protect myself. I won't be able to protect any of you."

Clark nodded and stood up, rolling one pebble between his fingers thoughtfully. When he turned towards Lex it was close enough to start glowing. Lex backed off a step abruptly, the disorientation too much when combined with his injuries and the watch. Clark started and tossed the pebble back into the river as if returning it to its home. His apologetic look said to Lex that he'd already figured out his weakness to kryptonite.

"I should stop investigating," Clark said as he turned back towards the farmhouse. "I know I should."

"Why don't you?" Lex asked, watching for cow patties.

"I can't." Clark's expression was a mixture of frustration, obsession and need that would have been more at home on Lionel's face than his. "I just… can't. It's one of the things about me, Lex. I need to know. I need to understand. Mom thinks it has something to do with my intelligence. I've yet to encounter anything that I can't figure out an answer to so when I come up against a social problem that can't be fixed I try and attack it the same way I do math."

"That doesn't work very well," Lex murmured.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Clark groaned. He rolled his eyes dramatically. "Seriously, I know how terrible I am at dealing with people. It's painfully obvious. I try really hard but my mind's going a million miles an hour and I just miss stuff that I would have seen if I'd been paying attention. I can slow down for people I care about but everyone else gets trampled."

Lex laughed. Clark blinked and stared at him, a smile flirting around his lips.

"Sorry, just picturing a herd of bulls with your face trampling everyone on the main street," Lex chuckled.

Clark started laughing too. They were both grinning by the time they made it back to the farmhouse. Lex managed to avoid getting any manure on his shoes. Clark didn't. He'd been laughing too hard to notice one older cow patty. When they got back to the yard Clark's mother poked her head out the kitchen door.

"You are coming in for coffee and pie, aren't you?" she said, raising an eyebrow at Clark and nodding at Lex.

"Its really good pie," Clark said hopefully.

"Then I suppose I have to try some," Lex said.

"Clean your shoes off first boys," Martha said with a huge smile that was nearly as warming as Clark's smiles. "I'll go put the pot on."

They did as directed, coming inside to sit at the homely little table. The pie was better than advertised, with a flakey crust that melted in Lex's mouth. The apple filling was sweet and spicy and nearly as warm as Martha's approval of him. Jonathan still glowered but it seemed that he was more upset about the bruises than about Lex himself.

"I'm asking," Jonathan finally said as he sipped his coffee.

"Honey," Martha scolded him. She put her hand on his arm, looking at him sternly.

"Your father beats you," Jonathan declared. "It's obvious so don't try and deny it. Why the hell do you stay there?"

"I… occasionally… manage to temper some of his worse impulses," Lex said very carefully and very slowly. They were in camera range of the kitchen bug. "And until recently I had no money of my own that wasn't earned in… shall we say less then ethical ways? I'm sure you've seen the news."

Jonathan winced, looking away. Martha looked sickened, as though she couldn't imagine why anyone would do that. Clark just looked intent, as if he were fitting the pieces of a puzzle together in his head. Given who he was, he probably was. Lex was somewhat afraid of what Clark might be figuring out inside that head of his. His healing might not be his true gift. It might be that brain of his.

"I didn't want to believe the reports were true," Martha admitted. Her knuckles went white around her mug.

"There's a lot that didn't get into the news," Lex said in a streak of masochistic honesty. "I… my father and I fight and then I act out. Or we fight and he beats me up. Or we fight and I beat him up but that doesn't happen very often. He's quite the brawler and he cheats. I try and fight with some level of honor. He doesn't. It's all tied up in our less than stellar relationship. I'm sorry but practically everything you've heard about me is probably true."

"How are you going to stop it?" Jonathan demanded. "I can't believe that you'd just keep going back for more."

"I have some vague plans of what I want to do," Lex said. He wished he could say openly what he wanted to do but that wasn't going to happen when their house was bugged. "I've got some money of my own now and I'm looking for investment opportunities my father can't ruin. I will get my independence eventually. It's a matter of time and endurance, I'm afraid."

Jonathan snorted and pushed back from the table. He took his plate and mug to the kitchen, putting them in the sink with more force than was necessary. He started pacing, a thunderous expression on his face. Martha sighed, shaking her head while smiling ruefully at Lex as if she'd been expecting this. Clark looked equally resigned. Lex looked at them, puzzled.

"That's not how it should be," Jonathan declared in the most obvious pontificating tone of voice Lex had heard outside of his father's sanctimonious speeches about familial duties. "Father's don't do to their children. It's, it's, it's wrong!"

He gestured wildly, stomping back towards the kitchen. Lex raised an eyebrow at Clark who ducked his head to hide a grin. Martha raised a hand to hide her grin though the laughter showed clearly in her eyes.

"He gets like this," Clark murmured as Jonathan drew breath to continue his speech. "Nod and agree and it'll be over more quickly."

It turned out to be quite the speech, full of homegrown homilies about the value of familial love and parents raising their children to be good members of society. Jonathan felt strongly about parents setting firm rules for their children but not punishing them unduly. He carried on at some length about how wrong it was to strike a child in anger.

Lex listened with a polite expression on his face while trying not to laugh until he was sick and crying. Lionel was listening. He would hear every single word of Jonathan's speech. It didn't matter if this was a private little rant to his family. Lionel would still make Jonathan, and possibly the entire town, pay for having spoken against him.