Author: Quin Rhodes

Title:  Second Chance

Rating: PG

Pairing:  Clark/Lex

Disclaimer: Not mine, no money, etc.

Feedback address: Quinlanrd@aol.com

Note: part of the ClexFest at: http://www.kardasi.com/Lexclusive/ClexFest

Summary: Clark goes back in time to change the future.

Beta Notes:  My thanks to Mercury for her amazingly quick beta reading of the story.

Challenge: In the future, Clark realizes that if he had told Lex how much he loved/wanted him, the future would not have turned out like Cassandra saw it.  He finds a way to go back in time.

SECOND CHANCE

By Quin Rhodes

Superman stood alone near what had been his childhood home, immobilized by the devastation around him.  His brightly colored suit was in stark contrast to the grey of the field of skeletons that surrounded him.   The entire town of Smallville had been wiped out by some form of radiation similar in many ways to an atom bomb.  The radiation was still too high for anyone else to enter the area, but there was no hurry since there were no survivors.

There was no life of any kind left within the town limits of Smallville, Kansas.  The destruction radiated from the old Luthor Corp Plant No. 3.  Near the plant, everything was dust. Even miles away, there was no life remaining. 

Riley Field was where Superman stood now.  Most of the citizens of Smallville were here in this field.  It had the weekend of Harvest Festival and the town would have been here celebrating.  His parents would have had a booth filled with organic apples, apple pie, and other fall favorites.

His parents were somewhere in this field.  That thought nearly caused the indestructible man to fall to his knees.  What had happened?  He knew that the plant had been converted into a Lex Corp research facility when Lex Luthor had toppled his father’s empire, but Superman knew nothing of the experiments being conducted here.  This had been Lex’s personal playground, and Superman had thought that whatever else Lex might do, he would never endanger Smallville.

He thought he had been keeping a close watch on his hometown, but he had failed.  He flashed back to that innocent time years ago when he had volunteered with Lana Lang and Pete Ross at the nursing home.  The old lady who saw the future, Cassandra, that was her name.  He had almost forgotten the whole thing.  She had seen this.  She had made him see it.  All of his family and friends dead—their graves laid out around him like granite prison walls.   All except for Lex.

Lex Luthor had been a big part of his life at that time, but they hadn’t become best friends yet.  When Cassandra had her vision, Clark had been so rattled by the enormity of it, he had barely noticed that Lex wasn’t one of the graves.  Standing in the middle of all the death that the Lex Corp lab caused, he now knew why Lex hadn’t been included in that vision.

Lex Luthor had become the richest and most powerful man in the world.  There was even talk that he would be running in the next presidential election.  It would be an act of sheer vanity since Clark knew Lex already pulled all the strings in government, but he did tell Clark once that he would like to be President, so Clark didn’t discount the rumors.

Superman had saved so many lives—he had helped criminal masterminds go into legitimate businesses, and had averted both man-made and natural disasters.  But he had failed to save his best friend from his destiny and that failure had destroyed everyone and everything that made life on this planet worth living for him every day.

He had to find some way to change this.  He had to save both his parents and Lex or he might as well find a nice big meteor rock and kill himself.  At this moment, he could find nothing to live for on this Earth.

He took off quickly, flying to the only place that may have answers—his Fortress in the ice and snow near the North Pole.  The Artificial Intelligence would have to help him trace the history of this disaster and find a way back to the critical moment so he could change the outcome.

++++++++

The AI had taken only hours to trace the history of Lex Luthor’s ascension to power.  His Smallville years seemed to be the only anomaly in his path to greatness. 

Superman was not surprised at the outcome of the analysis.  If he had been thinking more clearly, he would have been able to come up with it himself.  Lex had been raised to be a leader—to be Lionel Luthor’s heir, but more precisely to become a reincarnation of Lionel Luthor.  He had fought that path from the beginning, but Clark knew that with each year it had become harder.

When Lionel sent his son to Smallville, he had thought it would be the breaking point.  He was sure that Lex would see the error of his ways and come back to the only option left—back to Metropolis and Lionel’s good graces.  But thanks to Clark Kent, that transformation took many years longer than intended.

Lex had coveted Clark’s friendship, but Clark had never known how much until it was too late.  The AI had just told him what Clark had already known in his heart.  The loss of Clark’s friendship and moral guidance was the end to Lex Luthor’s fight against becoming his father.

They hadn’t had a huge fight or big misunderstanding.  Clark had simply been too scared to ask for what he had always wanted and had let the last chance at happiness for them both slip away. 

It had been his senior year in high school.  Things were going pretty well for Clark and Lex both.  Clark’s grades were up and he had earned a full academic scholarship to Kansas State.  The plant was running so well that Lex was expanding into other areas of the Luthor Corp empire.  He had been spending more and more time in Metropolis, but he had always found time for Clark.  Whenever Clark had called, Lex had dropped everything to be there for him.  Looking back on it, Clark was amazed at how selfish he had been.

Clark had depended on Lex so much during those difficult years, and Lex had never let him down.  Lex had kept things from him, and wasn’t the most honest man in the world, but his lies were nothing when compared to what Clark had asked Lex to believe about him.  Lex had never been a stupid man, but he had ignored so much evidence simply because Clark had asked him to.

When Clark allowed himself to think about it, he had known that Lex wanted to be more than friends.  He had seen the looks that Lex thought he had kept hidden.  Clark thought he might have wanted that too—it had begun with dreams, but eventually those thoughts had been invading his waking moments as well.

When Lex had stopped by the barn that last night, Clark had not known it was to be the end of their friendship. He had known Lex had been under stress at the time, but he thought Lex would have come to him if he needed help.  It came as a huge shock when Lex announced he was moving back to Metropolis at the request of his father. 

At the time, Clark felt betrayed, but tried to hide his feelings and show support for the move.  He offered to help move Lex’s stuff, but of course the millionaire had a moving company for all the manual labor. 

After that night, the friendship the two had shared eroded.  Lex got involved in his father’s businesses and Clark began his college exploration.  Eventually it seemed the greatest friendship in Clark’s life became a distant memory.

As the reporter Clark Kent, he watched the multi-media blitz with interest when Lex Corp toppled Luthor Corp in a hostile take-over.  As the super-hero Superman, he watched as Lex Luthor made shady deals and started pulling the strings of some very influential politicians by less than legal means.  As the ex-friend of Lex Luthor, Clark watched his former best friend succumb to what he had fought for as long as Clark had known him—and become his father.

Now he knew that had Lex stayed in Smallville that night long ago, there was a great probability that he wouldn’t have started down that long path to destruction.  If Clark had told Lex how much he meant to the teenager—that Clark had loved him and wanted to try a deeper relationship, then Lex would have become a completely different person.  The AI from the Fortress had shown him the probabilities, and they were more than good enough to bet the future on.

+++++++++++

Red Kryptonite was the ticket to time travel—in theory at least.  The AI was sure that it could get Superman back in time to within a week of the target date.  Using the alien ship, Superman would be sent back in time to land in the Kents’ storm cellar.  The problem would be coming back to the future.

The plan was to get in and out in one night.  The less the impact of his visit, the better.  He had no idea of how much this little change would affect the future of the world—it was better to keep it as small as possible.  He would target only a day prior to Lex’s leaving.  He could talk to the Clark of that time frame, convince him to go to Lex and confess his feelings, then get out.  He would arrive in the storm cellar, get to the barn and hope that Clark was out there on his own. 

As the AI made final preparations for the journey, Superman changed into jeans and a t-shirt, clothes that would hopefully look less frightening to his younger self. 

+++++++++++++

It was just another night in the barn for Clark Kent, senior at Smallville High School.  He had finished his chores after dinner and gone out to his Fortress to relax and look at the stars before heading off to bed. 

Lex had been acting funny lately, and Clark didn’t know what to do about it.  He was almost ready to take a chance and tell Lex that he wanted to be more than friends.  He was sure that Lex would be open to the idea, but he was still scared of the change in their relationship.

He was shocked from his thoughts when he heard someone cautiously climbing the stairs.  “Dad?  Is that you?”

“Not even close, Clark.”  A tall man with dark hair, wearing a t-shirt and jeans emerged from the shadows below the barn’s loft.  “Hear me out before you go running off, please.”

Clark took a few quick steps back when he realized he was looking at himself.  Not his current self, but an older version of himself.  The man had to be at least 10 or 15 years older than Clark.  “What the hell is going on?”

“I don’t have much time.  I need you to know that the next 24 hours are crucial to your future.  If you want to be happy, you need to tell Lex how you feel—and you need to do it now.  If you don’t, you’ll lose him forever.”

“How did you…What do you…What the hell?”  Clark couldn’t formulate any coherent questions for the intruder.  He had thought that finding out he was an alien was bad, but now he knew he could even travel through time, or at least he would be able to in the future.

“I’m you.  You must have figured that out by now.  I come from approximately 15 years in the future.  Don’t ask anything, I can’t tell you anything.  Just know that if you don’t take me seriously and take that next step that I know you’ve been thinking about for years with Lex, you’ll lose everything you ever held dear.  He needs you, even more than you need him.  You have to show him that he can love and be loved unconditionally.  You have to keep him on the path that he has chosen.  He cannot become his father or all will be lost.”  The elder Clark descended the stairs quickly and was gone, not giving his young counterpart time to formulate any questions.

Clark flopped down onto the ratty couch his Dad had put in the Fortress years ago.  His future self was telling him to confess his love for Lex?  What about all his secrets?  What about Lex’s destiny?  What about Lex’s fame?  How could he avoid the press that came with getting close to Lex?  How could he tell Lex everything?

He had no illusions.  If he confessed his feelings for Lex, he would have to tell him everything.  Clark could not do this half way and if he understood his future self correctly, he didn’t have much of a choice. 

He looked at his watch, 10:30, it wasn’t too late to go to the castle.  He had to do this now, while the memory of his visitor was fresh and his confidence was as high as it would ever get.  He glanced at the farmhouse.  No interior lights were on, so his folks were already in bed.  There was no need to worry them.  He would be back before they woke in the morning.

The cornstalks parted for Clark like the Red Sea for Moses as he raced toward his future with Lex.

+++++++++++++

The elder Clark sped down the stairs, not allowing his younger self a chance to catch his breath.  He quickly found himself in front of his old pod, the basis for what would become the Fortress of Solitude in a few years, once the Kents found out how to get at its secrets. 

At least, that’s how his future had played out.  He had no idea what would be waiting for him even if he successfully made it back to his own time.

He activated the pod using the directions the AI had given him.  Hopefully the computer was right and the pod would reset itself a few minutes after he left.  The light from the pod surrounded him and the wind picked up enclosing him in a tunnel of light and sound.

After a few moments, the tunnel disappeared and he found himself still in the Kents’ storm cellar, but the pod was gone.

He wasn’t sure what to think of that development.  If all went according to plan, he should have been back in the Fortress of Solitude talking with the AI about the new timeline.  He did feel a bit odd, though. 

He was confused.  He had memories of talking with his younger self, and knew that it had been imperative that he do so, but he could no longer remember why or what was so important to risk such a feat.  He also had disturbing images of a field of bones, but he couldn’t remember if that was a dream, a vision, or a distant memory.

All he wanted to do was get back home and get on with his life.  He slowly walked to the opening of the storm cellar and peered out onto the family farm.  He didn’t want to shock his parents if they were around somewhere and he still didn’t know to what year he had returned.

The farm seemed empty and the truck was gone, so he walked up to the house.  Maybe he could find a newspaper or something to give him a clue to what was going on. 

He found a paper on the kitchen table.  The year was the same as the last one he remembered—even the date seemed correct.  He had a vague memory that it should be the weekend of the Harvest Festival, which it was.  His parents must already be at Riley Field.  They always left early to set up their booth and help with anyone else who may need it.  If he hurried, maybe he would be able to see his parents before the festival started.

With every passing moment, Clark was remembering more of his past and losing the fog of the morning confusion.  He had come home last night to help his parents with the Festival—but he hadn’t gone in with them this morning because he needed to finish fixing the fence in the east pasture.  He was going to meet them at their booth as soon as he was finished. 

Clark hurried off to Riley Field, anxious to help his folks and the rest of Smallville celebrate the Festival.

He found his parents setting up their booth next to the other farm fresh products.  “Hi Mom, Dad.  The fence is done, is there anything I can help with here?”

“Hi Clark,” his father greeted him with a smile.  “Could you help me hang this sign?”

Clark took the sign and moved to the front of the booth.  He was so focused on the sign, that he didn’t know that someone had snuck up behind him until he felt hands caress his upper arms before moving to his chest as a slender body pressed against his back and soft lips pressed against his neck.

“Hey, baby.  I was able to get out of that meeting early.  Is there anything I can help with?”

“Hi Lex.”  Mrs. Kent greeted her son’s lover with a smile.  “I’m glad you could make it.  Could you help me unload the rest of the pies?”

Clark turned and hugged his lover properly, dropping a familiar kiss on his lips before allowing him to leave.  He watched Lex put his arm around his mother and chat amiably as they walked to the truck and he knew all was right in his world.

END