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Lex couldn’t help worrying that Bruce was still going to leave again, even after his friend had assured them he wouldn’t. He didn’t know if Bruce really understood how much Lex relied on him. How much he needed his friends and lovers to remind him of the good things about his life.
He hadn’t told his friends yet, but he had heard on the Luthorcorp grapevine that Lionel was up to something in Smallville. It had something to do with the plant, but he wasn’t sure what and without any kind of lead, he didn’t know where he could start looking.
He mulled it over as Clark drove to Smallville a week or so before they were due to return to school.
“You okay?” Clark asked, clearly having noticed Lex’s mood.
“Yeah,” he said. “I think my dad’s up to something,” he confessed. “I’m not sure, yet, but …”
He trailed off, wondering what Clark was staring at as they passed a field. Two SUVs were parked on the side of the road and there were several men scattered around the field, clearly studying something.
“That’s Miller’s Field,” Clark said.
Lex frowned at him, wondering what the big deal was about the field. Clark brought the Porsche to a complete stop and parked it a short way along from the vehicles. Lex noticed a grey-toned van parked a few yards away in the gateway.
Clark explained in a worried voice that the field was where his parents had found his ship fourteen years earlier.
Lex pointed to the van. He’d read the licence plate number and knew who it belonged to, despite there being no markings on the van itself.
“It’s Luthorcorp’s,” he said. “I recognise the registration number.”
Clark looked at him and they both ran toward the field. A man wearing what appeared to be a hazmat suit approached them, hands up. He was dark-skinned with close-cropped curly hair.
“You two can’t be here,” he said.
Lex knew the man. He was a local crackpot who collected meteor rocks, although if he remembered correctly, the man was also a geologist. Was he now working for Luthorcorp?
“Dr Hamilton?”
The man peered at him, then his eyebrows shot up in recognition.
“Mr Luthor?”
Lex tried for a disarming smile. “Lex. Mr Luthor’s my father. You want to tell me what kind of research you’re doing here?” he asked, making it clear he knew it wasn’t any run-of-the-mill study.
Hamilton shook his head.
“It’s just standard testing, uh, Lex. Your father is considering buying this land. It’s standard operating procedure.”
Like Lex would believe that. Another of the men working approached Dr Hamilton, showing him something he’d found. Lex hissed in pain as Clark clutched his arm, clearly not realising he’d used his strength. Clark shot him a look of apology.
“What is it?” he asked, moving out of earshot of the scientists.
“They’re not testing the soil, Lex. They found something. A disk.”
Clark wouldn’t be sounding so alarmed if it wasn’t something to do with his alien heritage, Lex thought, worried.
“Clark, are you sure?”
His friend nodded. “We have to get that disk, Lex. I think it came from the ship.”
Suddenly things began to fall into place. Lionel must have been studying Clark, using Lex’s relationship with him. Still, this wasn’t the right time or the right place to try to retrieve the disk. The scientists were clearly cataloguing their finds. If the disk went missing so soon after they found it, Lex had no doubt his father would connect the dots.
Bruce would know what to do, he thought.
“There’s not much we can do now,” he told his friend. “We’ll call Bruce as soon as we get to the farm.”
Clark still kept staring at Dr Hamilton and the other man until Lex pulled his arm.
“Clark.”
“Uh, yeah. Okay.”
Lex took over the driving the rest of the way to the farm. Once he’d parked, Clark pulled him into the barn. Lex took his cellphone from his pocket and dialled Bruce’s private number. He quickly relayed the problem to Bruce, telling him about Dr Steven Hamilton.
“Okay, give me a day or so to do some research on the guy. You think Lionel’s been investigating Clark because of you?”
Clark had already had the same theory.
“Yeah, it looks like it,” Lex replied.
Martha must have seen the car as she came out to check on them.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
Lex smiled at her sheepishly, then turned back to the phone.
“Bruce, we’ve gotta go. Call me?”
“You know I will.”
Clark glanced at him with a warning look, which Lex took to mean for him not to say anything to his mother about the ship.
“Sorry Mom. We’ll be there in a minute.”
“I made some cookies. Oatmeal raisin,” she added, with a smile at Lex, who grinned back.
Lex went to do some work at the plant over the next couple of days while Clark remained at the farm, doing his chores. They decided to not see each other over that time, hoping it would throw Lionel off the scent, so to speak.
An email arrived from Bruce a day later, telling him he would call in about five minutes. He immediately called Clark, who promised to come right over. He waited with Lex, sitting on the couch as Bruce spoke.
“Dr Hamilton is working at a place called Cadmus Labs. Apparently your father pulled off some kind of scam which bankrupted a rival of his. Decimated the man’s holdings. He’s keeping the lab as some kind of trophy.”
“How did he find out about the man?”
“Same way you did. Hamilton was considered a local crackpot, selling meteor rocks from a stand on his property. Before that, he was a scientist at Met U. Word is, he was kicked out over some kind of scandal. Something about inappropriate relations with a female student. I found out from an ex-colleague of his that that was a whitewash. The man started talking what they claimed was nonsense about the meteors and how they had some mutagenic effect on the locals. Since then, he’s devoted his time to studying the meteor rock.”
Clark bit his lip and Lex squeezed his hand reassuringly.
“So what do we do?” Lex asked.
“I’m coming to Smallville. You and I will do something. Clark, I need you to promise me you’ll stay at the farm. I don’t want you anywhere near this.”
Bruce’s argument was fairly logical as he explained that the disk could be traced back to Clark and the last thing they needed was for Clark to use his abilities in any kind of raid on the labs. He knew they would be breaking and entering but it was the best option.
Bruce arrived a day or so later equipped with a large black duffel bag.
“What’s in the bag?” Lex asked.
“Something I ‘acquired’ from research and development,” Bruce told him with a smirk. “I figured it would come in handy.”
He laid out what appeared to be blueprints on the desk, pointing out an area on the blueprint.
“This is the research lab. It’s lead-shielded, so I’m assuming Lionel keeps meteor rock there. We can bypass security through the back entrance but we’ll have to be quick getting through the door. The shift changes at midnight.”
“How many guards?”
“One.”
Lex frowned at him, wondering why only one guard, but Bruce didn’t explain.
Bruce handed him some clothing in black.
“Go change.” He checked his watch. “We’ll need to leave for Metropolis in about half an hour to make it to Cadmus before midnight.”
Three hours later found them outside the gates of the complex. It wasn’t as big as the fertiliser plant complex, but still large enough that they could slip through the fence without the guards seeing them.
Lex could see a security camera overlooking the entrance, but the fence didn’t appear to be wired up to any monitoring system. Bruce pulled him along the fenceline until they were out of sight of the camera.
“Cadmus isn’t exactly raking in the money,” Bruce explained. “Lionel used it as bait in a scheme to bankrupt Sir Harry Hardwick. Too bad the old man didn’t do his own research or else he would have realised this place is broke. Your father decided to use it to hide away his secret projects but he skimped on security measures. Guess he thought no one could possibly connect some defunct laboratory to them.”
Lex snorted to himself, thinking it spoke of his father’s arrogance. He watched as Bruce began to cut the fence wires and pulled them back so they could slip through.
“Get your mask on,” Bruce whispered. Lex pulled the woollen mask out of his pocket and put it on, covering his bald head and his face. It was simple enough but it would make sure he wasn’t recognised should they run into anyone.
Bruce took the device he’d stolen from WayneTech and inserted what looked like a small plastic card connected by tape to the device into the card reader at the back entrance. There were a couple of quiet beeps and a click. Lex reached for the door.
“Let’s go,” Bruce said.
They moved quickly along the darkened corridor. Lex had memorised the blueprint and led the way to the research lab.
“You find the disk, but don’t forget to take anything else that looks like it could be useful.”
Lex nodded, remembering the plan. They hoped to cover the theft of the disk by taking other things, thinking that Lionel would just think it was a random break-in rather than their specific target. Bruce kept watch while Lex ransacked the lab, making sure to make as much mess as possible.
He spotted the disk mounted beneath what appeared to be a scanner of some kind. He slipped it into the pocket of his backpack, then grabbed anything else within reach.
“Guard’s coming,” Bruce said urgently. “Hurry up.”
Knowing they had run out of time, Lex closed the backpack and ran out. He had no idea how Bruce knew the guard was coming, but it didn’t matter. Together they ran toward the back entry. A yell behind them alerted them to the guard.
The man was armed. A shot rang out, the bullet ricocheting off the wall. Lex ducked and headed down the next corridor, separating from Bruce. The guard pursued him, yelling. His yells were suddenly cut off with a squawk. Bruce had somehow managed to get behind the man and had ambushed him. The guard was out cold.
“Nice,” Lex said.
“Yeah. Come on. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Lex didn’t relax until they’d left the lab several miles behind them. Bruce appeared to be sweating.
“You okay?”
“Yeah,” his friend replied. He turned his head and smiled at Lex. “I’m fine.”
It was almost three in the morning by the time they got back to Smallville. Bruce stashed the backpack and the clothing in the safe in Lex’s closet and they went to bed, only to be woken early by the door crashing against the wall.
“Lex!”
He glared at his father, his eyes barely open.
“Dad!” He made a show of covering his nakedness. Bruce grumbled and shifted in the bed beside him.
“You and your … friend, get up now.”
It wasn’t unexpected. Lex had had no doubt Lionel would be on his doorstep as soon as he learned about the theft. They’d made contingency plans, telling staff they were going to Metropolis to party at a popular nightspot. The club was busy enough that no one would be able to say with absolute certainty that they hadn’t been there. It helped that Lex had paid a bouncer at the club a large sum of money to cover for them.
They dressed and went downstairs to find Lionel pacing in the study. He looked at Bruce in surprise.
“So the prodigal returns,” he said. “Last I heard you were in Asia.”
Bruce shrugged. “I’m back.”
“Yes, so I see. One of my labs was broken into last night.”
Lex frowned at him. “Which one?” he asked.
Lionel studied him but Lex stared back at him evenly, giving nothing away.
“Cadmus.”
“I didn’t know you had a place called Cadmus, Dad. Since I have been away at school for most of the year, I don’t usually keep track of your acquisitions. I have far more important things to worry about.”
“Lex …”
“Dad. Look, I’m sorry about your break-in, but it’s nothing to do with me. Bruce and I were in Metropolis. We were invited to party with some friends at a club.”
Lionel continued to glare at him, clearly hoping Lex would flinch or give himself away some other way. He finally left after an hour, bitterly disappointed.
That evening, after dinner, Clark came over to the mansion. They had told Clark to make himself visible around town and Lex had met him at The Beanery a couple of times. He’d also let it ‘slip’ that Bruce was coming to stay with him for a couple of days and they’d planned on going to Metropolis to party. Lex had hoped it would provide a good enough cover that would convince Lionel they weren’t anywhere near Cadmus.
Clark reported that Lionel had gone to the farm asking about the break-in at Cadmus. Lex was relieved to learn that Clark had successfully lied about it. His friend hardly had the best poker face, but they’d done their best to teach him how to lie effectively.
They sat in the study, talking over what had happened. Bruce smirked at Clark.
“We taught you well,” he said. “Lionel was here, spitting tacks.”
Lex laughed and reached up, tousling Clark’s hair.
“I’d feel sorry for him if he wasn’t such a bastard.” He produced a metal disk from his pocket. He hadn’t had much time to study it, but he did see symbols inscribed on one side of the disk. “What is this thing anyway?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” Clark replied, taking it from him.
“There’s only one way to find out,” Bruce told him. “You need to take it to the ship.”
Clark looked suddenly nervous.
“I don’t know.”
“Clark, you’re never going to find out where you came from if you don’t,” Lex reminded him gently.
“I know, it’s just … what if …”
“What?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t … I don’t know what I’m thinking.”
Bruce looked at him. “Would it help if we went with you?”
Their friend shook his head. Lex understood. This was probably something Clark needed to work out alone.
They continued to talk a little longer, then Lex stretched.
“You don’t have to go home yet, do you, Farmboy?”
Clark grinned. “No. I’ve got a couple of hours to spare. Got something in mind?”
Bruce grabbed his hand. “Upstairs,” he said.
Lex followed his partners up the stairs to the master bedroom. While it hadn’t been decorated as lavishly as Bruce’s room in Gotham, it still suited him with the purple drapes and cover on the bed.
“Purple?” Bruce asked.
“It could be worse,” Lex told him. “It could be Clark with his primary colours.”
Clark growled and kissed him hard, thrusting his tongue in his mouth.
“Just for that, Luthor, you get to be the middle.”
Lex leered at the tall farmboy. “Not seeing a problem with that.”
“I’ve got something else in mind,” Bruce replied.
Lex smirked. “Oh I think I know exactly what you’re thinking,” he said. “Bathroom’s that way,” he added, nodding his head toward the door.
The three of them left the room. Lex turned on the shower, watching as both Bruce and Clark began to undress. They took off their shirts, then paused.
“You gonna watch or you gonna get undressed, Luthor?” Bruce queried.
“I can’t do both?” Lex returned. “I mean, who wouldn’t want to watch the two of you reveal yourselves. You’re like sex on a stick, both of you.”
“Lex, get those clothes off and get in that shower,” Clark ordered, causing Lex to arch an eyebrow at him.
“You ordering me around, Farmboy?”
“If you want what I’m offering,” he said, palming his cock which was already at half-mast, “then I guess I am.”
Grinning, Lex did as he was told, quickly stripping off. He was rewarded with another hard kiss, this time from Bruce, before being pushed into the shower. He stood between the two men, sharing kisses, feeling their arousal pressing against his back and his stomach.
Clark looked at Bruce.
“This is your party,” he said.
“On your knees Farmboy. Against the wall. Facing forward.”
Lex felt himself pushed toward the same wall. Bruce told him to put his hands flat against the wall and brace himself. The Gotham brunet stood behind him while Clark knelt in front of him, clearly understanding what Bruce wanted. Lex watched as the younger man wrapped his hand around Lex’s cock, pulling with firm strokes until the shaft swelled and his balls grew heavy.
Lex turned his head and captured Bruce’s lips in a kiss, feeling the other man press up against his back, his own cock riding the cleft of Lex’s ass.
“Fuck me,” he said. There was really no need for foreplay.
He moaned softly as heat enveloped his cock. He ignored the water raining down over his head, watching as Clark sucked. Bruce once again reminded him to brace himself and he leaned on the wall, already dizzy with lust, waiting as Bruce pushed inside him.
The entry hurt, but it wasn’t too bad. Lex felt himself pushed harder against the wall as Bruce began to thrust slowly inside him.
“Oh god!” Lex cried out, caught between the double stimulation.
It was the first time the three of them had been able to have sex since Bruce’s return from Bhutan and it was almost too good. Lex had to fight not to come in Clark’s mouth.
Bruce pulled out, turning off the shower. Lex frowned at him as he got out, but followed, noting Clark following behind them. Bruce grabbed towels and they dried off before going back into the bedroom.
“I want to fuck you while you fuck Clark,” Bruce told him.
Clark’s eyes had turned almost a dark green with lust. Clearly he liked that idea.
“Get on the bed, Clark,” Bruce told him. “On your back.”
Nodding, Clark did so, spreading his legs.
“Hands on the headboard,” Bruce ordered.
Lex watched as Clark reached above him. There was a slight creak as he gripped the headboard, but it was fairly sturdy.
“Lex,” Bruce said.
Lex didn’t hesitate, getting on the bed and laying in-between Clark’s legs, holding his shaft in one hand to guide himself into Clark’s ass. He kissed Clark briefly and lay still, waiting for Bruce.
The Gotham billionaire’s hand stroked his ass before laying a hard smack on the bare cheek. Lex jerked, making Clark groan with the movement. The mattress dipped as Bruce got on the bed and draped himself over Lex.
His body jerked involuntarily when Bruce thrust inside him, the momentum causing him to thrust inside Clark. Oh, god yeah, he thought and it was the last coherent thought he could remember as Bruce began to thrust roughly.
Clark cried out his pleasure as Lex moved inside him. Lex found himself sandwiched between the two men, his body almost like their instrument. Bruce bit down on his shoulder as his cock rubbed Lex’s prostate. The mix of pleasure and pain sent Lex over the edge. At the same time, Clark clamped down on his cock, his own body shuddering through his orgasm. Bruce yelled, his breathing harsh as he rode out his partners’ climaxes before climaxing himself.
The three of them sprawled on the bed together, their chests heaving. Lex rolled onto his side, feeling Bruce spooned up behind him.
“Ah fuck!” he said, complaining as he rolled onto a wet spot on the sheet.
Clark slipped off the bed and was back within seconds with a damp washcloth, wiping the evidence of his orgasm from their bodies.
“Get back here, Farmboy,” Lex told him drowsily, pulling him back down to the bed. Clark lay beside them, letting Lex wrap his arms around him. Clark kissed him, then kissed Bruce over his shoulder. Lex turned his head for his own kiss from the Gothamite.
“That’s what I call a Lex sandwich,” Clark quipped.
“Hmm.” Lex hummed in response, too drowsy to say anything meaningful.
Lex didn’t hear Clark leaving a short while later.