tushanshu | video; 001.

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video; 001.

[The video flickers on without any trouble. The console's familiar enough that Lex doesn't have to fumble with it to get it working the way he wants. Behind him is the large space of a luxurious room that obviously originates from the Metal Sector. He couldn't see the harm in letting the, uh, 'citizens' of this In-Between see where he stands on trivial matters like his choice of interior decoration and he'd even gone and tidied up some before the broadcast, or at least that's what it looks like with two small cuts above his right eyebrow nothing but thin red lines now as opposed to the angry marks of earlier.]

[And the young man himself is seated comfortably, leaning to one side, legs crossed somewhere off-screen, left arm propped up on the table where the communicating device rests. A finger twitches and, right, he doesn't have anything around to grab a hold of at the moment. And so he begins to speak.] 'Tu Vishan. An In-Between of life, death, and dreaming.'

[And he has a sort of hushed voice despite the obvious intention to project to, well, the audience. And there's some light in his eyes that signals amusement-- or something resembling it. Excitement is either good or bad, never both. There's no upturn of his lips, no creased brow. He shifts, sitting straighter, peering closer into the camera, damn well expecting someone out there to listen.]

I'm supposed to believe this?

[He expects someone to listen, not to answer, because he just goes on.] The Kedan were generous enough to offer the explanation that I might not be dead, and to be frank, I appreciate any attempt of reassurance on the matter. I'd put more faith in it if I hadn't also heard the turtle had been in danger of dying. Spending the rest of my years aboard an ailing reptile wasn't exactly the life I envisioned. [He can believe abduction and drugs, but no deep sleep of his will ever revolve around an animal so stupid and slow. His voice turns wry. He knows he's not dead. He knows he can't be fully alive. The... Kedan were nothing from his waking world. That could only mean one thing left to figure out.]

[He's still seemingly calm. He's still only just sitting, just talking like he can see the company across the screen already. Like it's only a conference call he's taking from his desk. But now he sighs and he wants to smirk, but he doesn't. And now he'll be waiting for an answer.]

So who's the big dreamer?

[Show yourself, mastermind. A clear challenge, but after a second he tacks on a detail with clear concern and some well meaning urgency.] I also heard something about a clinic in trouble. Is there anything I can do to help?

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[Oh Lex, if you pushed enough, you could probably get a litany of places you've fucked up in her world, as far as she's concerned. However, seeing as her base complaint is a character trait...

Well, she's got something far more interesting to focus on, as her incredulous look implies.]

Not living there? Lex Luthor not overly invested in Metropolis' affairs? [Since he's way too young for the White House... maybe he's too young for the city?] What about your company?

[He gets the hint, okay, no need to keep hitting him over the head with it. When he finds his way back home, he'll find a way to get Metropolis eating out of the palm of his hands if that'll get you to shut up. But Lex has this great selective hearing-- or thinking. And it takes him a moment. Because she'd just said his company and that can only mean LexCorp.]

[That can only mean that fifteen years from now, that was a success.]

[It's shocking to himself, too, how far he's come, how far he'll get.]

You're starting to sound like a reporter. [Seriously far too nosy. He's harboring a temporary dislike for reporters of any kind, anyone who'll match curiosity with his own, but who'll go so far as to make a damned career out of it.]

[Temporary dislike, Luthor? And you haven't even met your world's Lois Lane or the endless trouble she can create.]

I worry why the single largest employer of my home town isn't paying much attention to us, so you assume I'm a reporter?

[So maybe he's just a little bit right--or a whole hell of a lot right. Lois reaffirms her unconscious decision never to tell him about the Luthor presidency of her world, her work against it, and the entire sorry saga.]

I mean, unless you're trying to hone in on another city, I don't know why you'd leave.

['And why bother with anywhere else' goes unstated. She loves her city.]

[He leans in, close, like he's about to tell her some great secret. Only he never bothers to try and encrypt the video, make it private, and he doesn't lower his voice a bit. Afraid of the truth, him? No, never, he'll tell himself after having done this.]

Except I'm not the single largest employer yet. ['Yet', because at first he had hoped and this woman had confirmed. Lex Luthor doesn't believe in fate, but destiny... he chooses it to be so. And his future looks bright as he ever dared dream. Accepting his shortcomings is hurtful. He's eagle-eyed through it all. He wonders if he should slip in his father's name, but that thought is quickly discarded; it never existed. The man wanted to die, fine. He won't be anyone important here.]

I'm currently residing in Smallville. [LexCorp is so fresh, he's almost afraid to think the buyout never happened, that it's a product of this... turtle. Cadmus could have more of a future.] It wasn't my decision to leave Metropolis. But I'm glad I did. [He'll return, yes. Sure. He wants to. Not when he'll be following his father's call, though, never that. He's not a dog. He doesn't come when called.]

[Well, that gives Lois at least a relative time-stamp, if not an absolute... but if she looked surprised before, now she looks even more shocked and perplexed.]

Smallville? Smallville, Kansas? [Okay, so she knows Lex lived there once, but... Okay, yes, she is also very certain now that this is an alternate universe Lex. She's not stupid. But she likes her facts triple-checked.]

Why would you leave Metropolis to live in Smallville, of all places? Even in-laws with the best apple pie only really merit a couple weeks' vacation at most. [Funny, how she speaks of it so... specifically. And knowledgeably.]

[Please do tell him if there's any other state with such a redundant namesake for a simple cow town. But saying that would betray what he'd only just expressed as gratitude for having found Smallville as a home-- and he hadn't been lying about that, not at all.]

[But as Lois grows more theatrical, Lex grows less so. It's a tell that he's still irate, that he's growing more so every time she asks a nonsensical question. But for being out in the middle of nowhere and cornfields, a lot of people have so far known about the meteor capital of the world. Suppose the connections would end up being not so nonsensical at all, and the least Lex can do is tolerate. Yes, Smallville, Kansas. It's a great place, really-- actually. It's the people who make the place. If Rome's demise were its families, the families were Smallville's fortifications. Who needs iron castles when the father and mother and son are all eager to head to the market to bask in the fruits of their toil.]

[Lex doesn't see why he should answer plainly when he's only just resolved to not mention his father. To mention his exile would be... it just wouldn't be happening.]

Sometimes life takes an unexpected turn, Lois, what are you going to do if not make the most of it? Smallville has what I need. [Metropolis has everything he wants.] The apple pies are only a bonus.

[She waves that off--platitudes don't really interest her, and this question does.]

I guess it's not so hard keeping tabs Metropolis even from the Midwest these days, but--

Still. It's Kansas. I've never really understood the attraction. [In Lex's case she's almost positive it's got to be something secretive and bad for Clark's health, but she can't exactly say that out loud.

That, and her Metropolis isn't driving distance from Smallville. As a result, she sounds severely unimpressed.]

['Even from the Midwest'. Well, where the hell did she th--]

[Oh, that can't be right.]

[Lois Lane is from Metropolis, as far as Lex could gather. He can perfectly understand the attacks on Smallville, from an outsider who clearly doesn't know better of the wonders the town holds secret, but then there's... this. This comment that would make Lex's mind churn if only he wasn't positive he's understood geography since it was first taught to him. There's no doubting such a simple thing, but he can very well correct it.]

[He's well above sing song but Jesus, he kind of wishes he wasn't.]

So then why stick around in Metropolis?

[And this would be the point at which she stares and then facepalms visibly.]

Remember what I said about alternate universes? Trust me, you live in a different one from me. If Metropolis were that close to Smallville, I'd be eating at my in-laws' at least a few times a week.

[Not that she really expects him to believe her, of course; Lex has been displaying a healthy skepticism through this whole conversation.

But the idea of Metropolis being in Kansas is a little terrifying, frankly.]

[That's certainly one way to show your discomfort, and as Lex fixes up his sitting he's fairly certain that this is it, their little conversation (having brought as many headaches as it did) is coming to a halt.]

[And it's not the first time he wishes he had something in his hand to move and fiddle with. An empty glass would do just fine. A pen. Anything to move, because he can't just stand and begin to pace around like a caged beast.]

[But it's what he wants, because she's simplifying it.]

If I ever went home with that explanation, I'd be delivered to a mental institution. [Matter of fact, that's all. He's heard the story of the small town pilot who saw an alien ship crash down. He's seen the effects of the rocks which hailed from a different world, what they turn the people of earth into. He's not stupid here, and he's certainly not in denial. But he just wants to know the truth. He just needs to be sure.]

[There's nothing to compare this to. Other's words mean as little to him as he figures his words mean to them.]

[A matter of faith, then? That's tricky. Faith goes against nature; it's why people seek it out inside of themselves. It's a challenge to stay true to what can't be known for certain. Lex relaxes. He hadn't known the tension had been on his shoulders. There is no home to go to. He agreed to believe time had stopped as a result of him stepping away from his... world. This shouldn't be difficult. It's not. It's too easy. There's always a problem when that happens, some complication which slipped through unnoticed. It's the perfect excuse for everything- 'Oh. It's just another world'.]

Edited 2013-07-20 06:40 (UTC)

[Don't worry, Lex, you'll be delivered to a mental institution even without this explanation one day. Your life is just that fun.

Lois, however, is simply shaking her head wryly.]

Given how early things seem to be? I'm not surprised. Just keep an eye on the headlines, Lex.

[Lois has never been one for faith--with two exceptions, to an ideal and to a person--but here, she doesn't need faith to talk about it. Reports from people trusts, her own experiences, and the many totally mad events her world has been through. As it is, she has no problem sounding confident and unconcerned with his belief, or lack-thereof.]

Though I expect you won't see any really weird ones until you get back to the city. The Smallville I know isn't terribly exciting. [But she smiles a little as she says it.] The town, I mean.

[Just in case you were still listening, Clark, no she's not calling you boring.]

It has its moments.

[He's done here, really. As if his dry reply didn't hint at that. She can't tell him to do what he's already doing, or what he's already done. She doesn't get to tell him to return to where he properly yet can't. But there's another 'Smallville' in her life, and she'd mentioned in-laws. He's not sure why he's interested in knowing her husband.]

[She rolls her eyes.]

If you like corn-husking festivals.

[Okay, so maybe she's trying to decide whether or not to actually tell Lex she's married to Clark. She's not sure how much he knows about the town or the people who live there. But then, Lois has never been good at resisting certain kinds of impulses. Besides, more interesting information to be gleaned from his reaction.]

But Martha and Jonathan are worth it. [For a moment she frowns slightly. Jonathan. Dammit.]

[Well, it's a good thing there's nothing to be said about corn-husking festivals. He wants to huff out a breath, tell her they'll talk later (because so sure they will) and cut the feed and maybe sit down in some minutes of silence and regroup his thoughts in pleasant solitude. These are the moments he misses Smallville, nevermind why he was there to begin with.]

[Subdued as he thinks he's become, his eyes snap back up at the mention of Martha and, of course, more importantly Jonathan. He's searching her and he can almost feel her playing him, feeding him small line at a time to see when he'd take the bait.]

Kent?

[They're under his protection, he thinks. They are his interests. And he's suddenly sorry he ever got them involved in the mess back home, back in his 'world', his time, even if he went and fixed the situation.]

Good as they are, I should have known their names would come up eventually. [How do you know them is practically dripping through the unsaid. It's stupid, in a way. It's Smallville. Everyone knew the Kent family. He hates that he's not the only one.]

[Well, that answers that question: did he know them and did he already take an interest in them.

She's not sure how old Clark must be, given Lex's age--and hell, maybe he's just old enough he's left home already--but Clark had told her, once, that he and Lex had been friends... Oh well. Still, her eyebrows go up very slightly.]

It's Smallville, there aren't that many names to come up. But even if there were... [She shakes her head, smiling softly.] They're something special. Do you know them well?

[Sorry, Lex. If you want the answer to how she knows them, you'd better ask directly.]

[There's some instinct of his telling him he's giving too much and getting too little in return- it was vital in the market. This was turning into a failed investment, giving him only things to speculate on. Give him a free afternoon and he would have done that without sharing any information of his own.]

Something like that.

[Because no one's going to know he ran his car into their son-- no one's going to know that their son is harboring some secret, damned if he can figure out what it is, though. And damned if he'll let on the esteem he holds them to, though the nonchalance itself is telling. So he won't utter the words, but the residual feelings are there. Envy's near the top, though that won't impress nor surprise anyone who claims to know Lex as well as Lois does.]

[Envy is indeed quite normal to hear in Lex's voice, when it comes to Clark... or rather, when it comes to the man Lois is married to. It being directed toward Clark Kent rather than Superman, however... that was new. Even if Lex was probably too young for Clark to have made that leap yet, something new.

Anyone envying the farm boy? Well, the world has all kinds.]

They've just got this way of making you comfortable, don't they? Even when they're visiting someone else, they just make everything... [She pauses, searching for the right word.]

[Comfortable, him? No. He could almost bristle, but he doesn't. Lois couldn't possibly know.]

Why are we talking about them, Lois?

[She raises her eyebrows at him incredulously.]

Because they're mutual friends, cross-universe or no? That's what people do when meeting or catching up, you know. Talk about friends or family, the Monarchs' chances of sweeping the World Series, etcetera.

[Because, as ever, something about my husband makes you uncomfortable--but it's not the usual identity that does, and I want to know why it's the farm boy and not the superhero.]

[And what are the odds?]

[What are the odds that, after abduction by a society of aliens who've built their city on top of a turtle's back, he finds a woman from Metropolis who comes from one of his potential futures? She knows him (well, if he could risk a guess), she knows his business, new as it truly was for him. She's been to Smallville, his new adoptive home, she knew the Kents- his family to unintentionally terrorize (come on, even he knows it's true) and look after- quite well. She'd called them by their first names, nothing special there, really, but it was still... what was it, comfortable?]

[It could happen. It just shouldn't.]

[And Lex finds himself searching her features and wondering what, exactly, was so incredulous about this all, why is his welcome so different and personal as opposed to everyone else's.]

[Why was it that Clark Kent always made a presence in his life? In the oddest of situations, the name was there. It should be something he looks forward to, by now. Given track records. It meant Lex was pursing his lips, was trying to keep himself in check. Cross-universe or no, everything could be an act. But that was just paranoia speaking, he knew. He knew.]

They're your in-laws.

[Now, Lex Luthor doesn't waste his time doubting his words. Once he's set on delivering, they come with the certainty that he'll accept any outcome they'll procure. There's an edge to them, though, to match again the excitement behind his eyes. He can hunt for reactions as well as she could, he tells himself. The fact was she hadn't driven the conversation to discuss the Monarchs for the Sharks. A woman from Metropolis speaking from experience that Smallville was good only for short vacations at a time-- who would ever want to vacation in Smallville?]

[The raised-eyebrow look has cooled from incredulous to merely mildly and quizzically amused. Honestly, she hasn't exactly made a secret of it, this whole conversation. And it took him long enough to ask--or in this case, say. Still, it is very like Lex not to make a move he's certain of. That much, at least, is unchanged.]

Yes.

[Lois says it plainly, no superiority or defensiveness or anything--just a fact, and not one she was trying to hide. However, she then eyes him speculatively.]

Though I'm guessing the Clark you know is more than a little young for that time period--is he still in town?

[There's hardly time to take in a breath before he finds himself blurting out,] He's still in high school. [But he'd met the bull of a man Clark was going to become some day-- or. Well. Not met, formally, but through this... network. And he'd been told his friend would marry and. He just hadn't been given a name and she.]

[It's like hours gone to waste when all the Clark he remembers would do is pine and long with Lana.]

[And maybe Lex wishes he could take back what he'd spat out earlier-- and no wonder she laughed at him, and there's this... shadow of meekness come over him, of embarrassed apology, and it's anybody's guess if it's genuine. He'll say it's not to save face, or to be honest. The woman's gorgeous-- who'd have thought. It's really too much for one day.]

[And Lex has to wonder, even now. Why the tension, the circling around? He swallows. Everything about this was uncomfortable, and he'd tried so hard to be happy for his friend.]

Forgive me for speculating, but it may still be a few years before he meets you at all.

[She's from Metropolis. Clark has no business there, and besides. There's Lana and Chloe before her, so far as Lex knows.]

Or. My "world" could blindside us both and spring its own surprises.

[High school? Yeeeeesh Lex is from relatively early in his world's timeline, isn't he? Lois looks surprised for a moment, and then amused once again.]

Probably at least five, depending how old he is. I didn't know him in college.

[Something about her expression makes it clear she's holding back some comment or other--in this case, 'Besides, right now he's busy mooning over red hair all the time, if he's really that young.' But she doesn't want to be unnecessarily catty, and she does appreciate what Lana's done for Kara, at least in their world.

So she'll be quiet--at least, she will be on the subject of Lex's world and Clark's present and future there.

Still, she laughs.]

Experience tells me if there's Lex Luthor and Clark Kent, there will almost hundred-percent guaranteed be a Lois Lane near them. I think it's a law of the multiverse.

[And thank God and Lex doesn't want to look relieved but. But he takes a calm breath anyway. He thinks about apologizing- thinks about how she might have mentioned she was married earlier. So he doesn't. That doesn't mean he feels like a champion after having asked his best friend's wife if she'd be his lover in some alternate universe. It's a young man's regret-- he'll get over it in the next couple of seconds.]

[Because she's laughing again and he's not sure what to do with that. He could relax, and they could be buddies through this all and act as if the tense moments of before hadn't happened. He's trying to be polite now, actively.]

I'll take it you've had multiple experiences with the multiverse.

[That doesn't mean friendly, because a friend would chuckle alongside her. But it's civil, as he tries to wrap his head around it all.]

[Frankly this is a lot more civil than she and the Lex she knows have been in a long, long time--if he'd been overly friendly, she might have suspected some trick up his sleeve. As it is, she will believe he isn't out to try anything this instant. That said, he's still Lex Luthor, and some things he doesn't need to know about, at least not in detail.]

It happens to my life sometimes. Not that I don't mind the occasional stretch of boring, but even so...

[Live without the adventure, the brilliant headlines, the solved mysteries and superheroes and world-changing news?

Without Clark.

Lois' lips curl slightly and her eyes glitter with a grin of secrets and exhilaration she's never lost, not even through the occasional torture and frequent near-death experiences. Not even if it killed me tomorrow.] Wouldn't live without it.

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