Using his speed, Clark got them past the security guards and cameras and into Lex's office. They had to be more careful here, they definitely didn't want to be seen this time.
Lex wiggled out of Clark's arms reluctantly. He held a finger to his lips. "Check for bugs," he murmured under his breath. Widening his eyes, Clark nodded and scanned the room. "All clear," he said quietly. "Okay, let's get this done quickly and get out of here," Lex started, "Can you set these down on Level Three, while I get rid of a few things in here? I want to make it look like I've been targeted too." "Sure," Clark said with a nod, taking the bag Lex had brought with them. "Don't let anyone see you, and if there's any kryptonite, call me straight away, okay?" Lex said seriously. He was extremely worried about the sheer amount of the meteor rock his father seemed to have stored all over the place. "Don't worry, I'll be fine," Clark said softly. "Now get vandalising." Lex grinned and Clark gave him a quick kiss before running through the plant and down to Level Three. There were few personnel down there as Clark scanned the area. The elevator still came out near the walkway where he'd nearly lost Lex, but there was no drop this time. The whole section had been blocked off into rooms, the walkway merely led to the other side where steps went down to floor level. Still, it made Clark shiver a little when he remembered how close it had been, dragging Earl and Lex back from the edge, kryptonite making him weak, the walkway collapsing... That had probably been the first moment that he'd realised he felt more for Lex than he really should have, and the first moment he'd shoved those feelings away and pretended they weren't there. Clark sighed and shook himself. He had to move, or risk being seen. Running fast across the walkway and down the stairs, Clark slipped into the first little room that he'd seen was empty. He quickly checked for any information he might need to memorise, then set one of the devices under the desk. A noise in the tiny corridor had him spinning round, heart in his throat, and he quickly scanned the wall. "Oh fuck," Clark groaned, and he looked round in a panic for somewhere to hide. He dived over a counter in the corner just as the door opened and Clark pressed himself back against it, holding his breath. "This has already set me back years, Dominic," Lionel Luthor snapped. "So much research, destroyed!" He sighed, "I know Lex is behind this somehow. He may claim to have an alibi, but he was seen by that guard along with the Kent boy." Clark winced. That's all he needed, Lionel Luthor taking even more of an interest in him. "It's not the first time someone's impersonated Lex though, Sir," Dominic replied. Lionel laughed. "You're not actually defending him are you, Dominic?" he said disbelievingly. "No, of course not," Dominic said hurriedly, "But it is true." "No. First he defies me with the plant, then LexCorp," Lionel snorted derisively, "And now this. He has gone too far, Dominic, he will have to be replaced." "But, Sir," Dominic sounded horrified, "Lucas is..." "Not Lucas!" Lionel snapped, "I have other plans for Lucas." "You mean... oh, but Mr. Luthor, it's not ready," Dominic gasped. "Well it had better be ready soon," Lionel snapped, "I thought the blood sample was improving generation." "Oh, it is, Sir, it is," Dominic reassured him. "Good." Lionel moved towards the door. "I want to see personally to the security of the facility down here, then we leave for Metropolis. Get on the phone, make sure my security measures are being implemented, and make sure the most important labs are ready to move by morning." "Yes, Sir," Dominic replied. Clakr breathed out heavily in relief as they left the room. He was shaking with anxiety and anger. Replace Lex? And what was the 'it' they were refering to? He didn't even want to think about the words blood sample. Lex, he thought, concentrating hard, Your father's here, be careful. Okay, was the brief reply. Clark nodded to himself and carefully checked the room before he came out from behind the counter. Quickly, he speeded through the rest of the rooms, avoiding scientists and guards, grabbing files and setting bombs. He didn't want to waste anymore time, he wanted them out of there! Speeding back to Lex's office, Clark found it empty and completely torn apart. Lex! he called in panic. Men's room, Lex's voice resounded in his head. Men's room? Clark blinked in confusion. Hiding, Lex chuckled. Oh. Clark checked the corridor, then ran for the bathroom. He found Lex in one stall and sighed in relief. "All set?" Lex asked. Clark nodded and picked up his lover without a word. His heart was still pounding from finding Lex gone. "Clark?" Lex frowned. Clark seemed extremely tense. "What's wrong?" "I just had to listen to a conversation between your father and that freak P.A. of his about them replacing you and then I come back and you're gone!" Clark snapped, left over fear clutching at his heart and making him angry, "You should have told me you were hiding." "Clark, I'm sorry," Lex gasped in horror. "I didn't... I mean, I just thought you'd call me." He paused to kiss his lover hard. "What do you mean, replace me?" he asked with a frown. Clark sighed, "I don't know. At first I thought he meant Lucas, so did Dominic, but he didn't. Dominic said something about 'it' not being ready." "It?" Lex shook his head, "What does that mean?" "I don't know!" Clark exclaimed in frustration. Lex stared up at his lover worriedly. "Are you sure this isn't too much for you?" he asked quietly. Clark sighed and took a deep breath, trying to relax. "I'm sure. I'm just really worried about you now. What if... what if he tries to get rid of you?" "He'll have to find me first," Lex replied firmly. "Don't worry, it takes a lot to kill me now, and drinking your blood seems to have made me stronger than the average bear." He winked. Clark couldn't help a small chuckle. "Shut up, that's not funny," he said with a pout. "Seriously, Clark, I'll be fine, okay?" Lex whispered softly. Clark chewed on his lip, still worried, but he smiled tightly for Lex, "Okay. Now, can we get out of here?" "Definitely," Lex replied with a nod. Clark superspeeded them back out of the plant and on to a quiet field behind the last lab they'd found out about. "Your Dad's heading here," Clark said quietly, scanning the building. "Shit." Lex grimaced, "Okay, give me a minute." He took out his cell phone and dialled a number. "Sullivan, yes, Lex here. Listen, I've just received a bomb threat. Under the current circumstances, I think you should evacuate the building. Yes, speak to him would you?" Lex sighed. "Okay, that should delay Dad and get everyone out of danger. The timers will take care of the rest." Clark nodded. "What can you see in there?" Lex asked. "Not much on the ground floor, I think it must be below ground, but I can't see," Clark reported. "Right, let's go then," Lex sighed, trying to gear himself up for it. He wasn't sure, but Lex was worried this would be a difficult one for Clark, one he would try to prtect his lover from. "They're going to be on the alert now, I think I'm going to need you to get in, knock them out and bring them out here. I'll deal with whatever's down there." Clark frowned, feeling that Lex was trying to protect him from something, but he couldn't determine what. "Okay," he said slowly. Methodically, Clark ran in and out, carrying an unconscious body with him each time he exited. They didn't stand a chance. He could run right up to them and knock them out before they were even aware he was there, let alone see him. It wasn't until he reached the lab that he realised what Lex was trying to hide from him. He pushed at the door, gasping in horror at all the small capsules containing clones of the little girl. And beyond it, a hidden room where he could see Emily playing with a rabbit. "Oh no," he whispered. Carrying the last guard, Clark ran back to Lex. "Clark?" Lex said cautiously, seeing the expression on his lover's face. "We can't, Lex," Clark gasped, "They're just kids, innocent victims of your father." "Not so innocent, Clark. Emily tried to kill two people, remember?" Lex pointed out quietly. "She has no conscience, she's dangerous." "We can't just kill them!" Clark said desperately, clutching at his lover's arms. "What else can we do, Clark? If we leave them alive and my father gets hold of them, God only knows what he'd do to them and with them," Lex said, frowning painfully. He didn't want to do this either, but he couldn't see any other way. Choking back tears, Clark squeezed his eyes shut. "There's two fully developed clones, can we at least save them? Please, Lex, there must be somewhere we can take them, that they'll be safe from your father," he begged. Lex sighed. He could see how upset his lover was getting. "Where can we take them, Clark? Who would be safe from them?" "The pack?" Clark suggested in desperation. Clenching his jaw, Lex nodded, giving in, even though he felt it would probably be a mistake. "Okay," he said quietly, "Let's go. You get the girls, I'll set the rest of the bombs." "Thank you!" Clark exclaimed in relief, "Thank you, I love you." He kissed Lex softly. He knew his lover wasn't a heartless killer and he knew Lex felt they had to destroy every part of his father's experiments, but he couldn't bear killing all those clones. They hurried back into the lab where Lex helped him get the first girl out of the capsule she was lying in. Then he went to the hidden room while Lex set the last of the bombs. Clark opened the door carefully. "Hi, Emily, do you remember me?" She frowned at him. "You're Lana's friend. You're mean, I don't like you." "Well, I'm sorry if I was mean," Clark said with a smile, "But you scared Lana." "Good, she was a bad friend," Emily huffed. "She didn't mean to be, Emily," Clark said gently, "Now, would you like to get out of here, visit some nice people with kids you can play with?" She smiled suddenly and nodded. "Can I bring my bunny?" she asked. "Sure," Clark agreed, "Come on, let me carry you." "Okay." She held her arms up for him and Clark hefted her up. Returning to the main lab, he found Lex waiting for him, the other Emily in his arms. Lex smiled softly. "Okay?" "Yeah," Clark replied. "Hey Emily, do you remember Lex?" "Yes," she nodded, "You have a mean daddy." Lex snorted, "That's right, a very mean Daddy. Clark, let's go." Nodding, Clark led the way outside. "I'll run the girls to Metropolis and come back for you," Clark said smiling regretfully. He hated being away from Lex at all. "Okay, love," Lex nodded, "I'll wait at your parents' place." Clark nodded, taking the other girl into his arms with Emily. "Is she my sister?" Emily asked curiously. "Yes, sort of," Lex replied. "I didn't have a sister before," she said with a frown. "Your father made her specially for you, so you could play together," Lex said quietly. "Oh," she smiled, "Okay." "See you soon." Clark leaned over to quickly kiss Lex. "Yeah." Lex watched Clark disappear and sighed. He turned and used his own enhanced speed to run away from the lab before it blew up. @>*~ He knocked nervously on the Kents' door. They hadn't exactly parted with Jonathan Kent on the best of terms. "Lex!" Martha exclaimed, standing to the side to let him in. "Where's Clark? What's going on?" "Clark's on his way, Mrs. Kent," Lex said reassuringly, "I'm meeting him here." "What's been going on?" Jonathan snapped angrily, stalking into the kitchen. "There's been reports of terrorist attacks at the castle, plant and LuthorCorp. What have you been doing?!" "Anything and everything necessary to stop my father," Lex said quietly. "Blowing buildings up?!" Jonathan exclaimed. "Blowing labs up," Lex said firmly, "Unless of course, you think it's okay for my father to experiment with clones, Wolfbreed and kryptonite?" he said sarcastically. "Well uh... oh," Jonathan spluttered, "I guess... people have died!" he said accusingly. Lex sighed, "Yes, I expect some have, but not nearly as many as my father will claim. We did everything we could to make sure the buildings were clear first." Jonathan shook his head and Martha glared at him. "Lex, won't you sit down?" she offered. "Thank you, but I can't," Lex replied. He was too tense, too worried. Finally, his cell phone went off and Lex answered it. "Marina?" "Hi, Lex, well it's done," she started, "Clark's just left by the way, the girls are in bed." "Oh good," Lex sighed in relief, "How did the strikes go?" "All according to plan bar one. I'm afraid one of the pairs got a little over-enthusiastic. They went in before setting the alarms off, they had to kill a couple of guards." Lex closed his eyes and nodded regretfully. "We knew the risks. Is the pack all okay?" "Yes, fine. Actually, I wanted to thank you, Lex. This had been good for us. It's been too long since we did something outside the bounds of tradition." "Well, I'm glad something good came out of it then," Lex said with a smile. "We'll come for the girls tomorrow, I expect." "Okay, see you then, Lex." She hung up and Lex put his phone away. He tried not to pace, but he needed Clark to be there and safe before he could stop worrying. @>*~ Metropolis had been utter chaos. Sirens blaring all over the city, traffic backing up for miles in all directions. Clark was glad they hadn't been in the city during the pack's strikes. He just wanted to get home now and not worry about anything but Lex and his parents. Clark speeded back to the farm and clambered the steps eagerly. Inside, his parents were sitting down looking wary and anxious and Lex was pacing. He saw his lover look up and he smiled. Seeing Clark safe just seemed to undo something inside Lex. All the stress and tension that had been keeping him on his feet, stopped working and suddenly just made him feel exhausted. Lex sagged and stumbled over to his lover. "Whoa," Clark gasped. Lex nearly fell into him and Clark lifted him into his arms, "Lex?" "Clark," Lex sighed, closing his eyes, finally relaxing in his mate's warm embrace. "Is he okay?" Martha asked quietly. Clark shrugged. He sat on the couch, holding Lex carefully in his lap and against his chest. "Lex, when did you last feed?" "Afternoon," Lex murmured. He was so tired, Lex felt like he could barely move. Clark frowned. Too long really, especially with the extra stress and running around all night. He lifted Lex's head to his neck, cradling the back of his skull gently. "Come on, Lex," he whispered. Clark glared at his father, daring him to comment, but both his parents simply looked stunned when Lex bit into him with a quiet whimper. Letting his eyes drop closed, Clark concentrated on not getting turned on in front of his parents. Lex groaned quietly, shifting in Clark's lap to wrap an arm round his lover's neck as he pressed his mouth harder against his skin, sucking urgently at the rich, thick blood. It was strengthening, comforting... a relief after the events of that long night. He eased back slowly, lapping the last of the blood before he kissed Clark's neck. Moving his arm, Lex offered his wrist to his lover. Flicking a quick, nervous glance at his parents, Clark caught Lex's arm and pressed his wrist to his mouth. He ran his tongue over the fluttering vein, then bit into the soft, smooth skin with a quiet moan. "Clark!" Jonathan gasped, standing abruptly. Lex turned his head from watching his lover and growled menacingly. "Jon, sit down," Martha whispered, "Now!" Jonathan glared, first at Lex, then at his wife, but he did sit down and Lex relaxed again. Licking up a dribble of blood that had escaped down Lex's arm, Clark let go with a sigh. He felt... better. Just a couple of mouthfuls of Lex's blood made him feel even more connected with his mate. Stroking the back of Lex's neck, Clark urged his lover up for a soft kiss. "Okay, that's enough," Jonathan snapped. "I don't know what's worse; seeing Clark let you feed off him, Clark drinking your blood, or this, but it stops now!" Lex ignored him, fully intent on marking his territory against the other dominant male in his mate's life. Clark was his now and his father had better accept it. Pushing his tongue between Clark's lips, Lex tugged his lover closer as he made a leisurely tour of the inside of his mouth. Clark moaned helplessly, sucking on Lex's tongue gently, lapping against it and his lover's lips. "Enough!" Jonathan thundered. Clark jerked back in shock and automatically tightened his hold on his lover when he felt Lex's fury. Lex snarled, struggling against his mate's arms. This human needed to learn, Clark belonged to him. "Dad, back off," Clark snapped. Lex, please calm down, he thought quietly. Growling more softly, Lex turned his attention back to his mate. "Mine," he murmured. "Yours," Clark confirmed, meeting Lex's eyes carefully, then dropping them. Lex finally relaxed back to himself and he slipped off Clark's lap onto the couch next to him. "You're not a possession, Clark," Jonathan said harshly. "That's right, he's not," Lex said raising an eyebrow, "But he is mine, and I am just as much his." Clark grinned happily. "Dad, we tried to explain. Lex is the dominant mate... I guess it's the wolf heritage, but that's the way it is. I'm happy." "How can you be happy?" Jonathan suddenly sounded tired and sad, "You're only seventeen, you're too young for a commitment like this." Martha frowned at her husband, but looked at Clark, waiting to hear what he had to say. "Why?" Clark asked in confusion, "I'm seventeen, therefore I can't be in love? I'm sorry, Dad, but it's just the way it is, we're mated until one of us dies, which is unlikely to happen, so please, just accept it." Clark's parents looked at each other and Lex was surprised to see Martha Kent raise her eyebrows and nod her head. "Fine, I'll try," Jonathan sighed. Clark breathed out heavily in relief and smiled gratefully at his mother. "Are you two going to stay the rest of the night..." she checked her watch, "Well, morning? You look like you could use some sleep." "Thanks, Mom," Clark said quietly, "Lex?" "Sounds great," Lex sighed tiredly. "Mrs. Kent, if you'd be so kind as to wake us at nine?" "Certainly," Martha smiled gently. "Clark, are you okay, honey?" "Yeah, Mom." Clark smiled and got up to give her a hug. "Thank you. We did what we had to, you know?" he said, hoping she understood. "I know." She smiled a little more sadly and a bit regretfully. "I just... you're my baby and now you're all grown up. I want to be sure you're happy." "I am," Clark whispered, kissing her cheek. "Dad, are you going to be all right?" Jonathan sighed. "You're my son, Clark, I love you. As long as Lex doesn't hurt you," he stared seriously at Lex, "I'll be okay." Clark smiled, feeling a lot better. Lex stood up beside him, resting a hand on the small of his back. "I could never hurt him, Mr. Kent," Lex said quietly, "At least, not deliberately." Jonathan nodded. Clark turned to him and picked him up. "Hey," Lex pouted, "I think I can make it up the stairs." "I'm sure you can," Clark responded with a laugh. "But you're still going to carry me?" Lex asked, smiling ruefully. "Yup." Clark nodded. You nearly collapsed, he thought carefully, Let me look after you, okay? Lex wrapped his arms round Clark's neck, realising how worried his lover had been and that he needed to reassure himself. Okay, he replied. In Clark's bedroom, they stripped down to their boxers and crawled into Clark's old bed. It was small and rickety, but they were both glad to be able to curl right up together. Lex was asleep as soon as he lay his head on Clark's chest, but it took Clark a little longer. It had been a long few days; they'd done so much in the short time they'd been mated. Huge, life-changing and incredibly important things. Lives had been lost, but like Lex said, it was a war. A war that hadn't ended yet. Neither of them had mentioned it, but Clark knew Lex was worried about facing his father, that they hadn't found the sample of his blood, and now the replacement for Lex he'd overheard Lionel talking about. It worried Clark too, but he was glad they were together and would share those worries. He wanted nothing more than to help support his lover. Lex moved, his hand coming up to stroke Clark's cheek. "Sleep, love," Lex whispered. He was mostly asleep himself, but the churning of Clark's thoughts at the edge of his consciousness was disturbing him. "Worry tomorrow." Clark sighed and kissed the top of Lex's head. "Sorry," he whispered. Closing his eyes, Clark let himself drift.