The Path Chosen
By Misha
Disclaimer- I totally do not own any of the characters of Smallville (though I wish I owned Lex!), they belong to a lot of people with more money than me. I am not making any money off using them in this story, so please don't sue me.
Author's Notes- This is just a short "what if" story. It's a look at what Clark's life could be like if he and Lex never became enemies. It's based on the theory that he and Lex needed one another to fulfil their respective destinies. In this, Lex doesn't become evil as he otherwise would, but Superman is never created. To learn more, you have to read. It just came to me and I just wondered how things could be and thus this was born. As I've said before I don't know a lot about the "Superman" universe. I don't read the comic books and it's been years since I've seen the movies, so with the exception of "Smallville", I have little knowledge of the characters and their backgrounds. I mean, I do know the basic facts about Superman, I know who Lois Lane is, and that Lex Luthor is the bad guy. But other than that... So, I just made things up. But, hey, isn't that what fanfic is for? Well, that's all for now, enjoy!
Archive- Wherever, just ask.
Spoilers- Everything in Season One.
Rating- PG
"Heading home?"
Clark turned to look at his employer and best friend. "Yeah. Do you mind?"
"Of course not." Lex assured him smoothly. "God, Clark, just because I live at the office, doesn't mean I expect you to. You have a wife and child."
Clark smiled. "True. But what about Clarissa Anderson? I thought she was trying to change your single status."
Lex made a face. "She was. But Clarissa is not my idea of marriage material, sorry. I prefer women who actually posess brain cells."
"Do you have anyone in mind?" Clark teased, amused by Lex's comment about his latest girlfriend.
"No." Lex told him. "I mean, I wouldn't mind somebody, but she has to be special. I guess it takes time, after all, not everyone is lucky enough to find their soul mate when they're sixteen."
Clark smiled again. "I guess not. Speaking of Lana, I'm going to head home, okay?"
"Of course." Lex told him.
Clark turned to leave Lex's office, then paused. "Oh. That reminds me. Did Rachel tell you that she arranged for me to do an interview with the Daily Planet?"
"No." Lex said, leaning back in his desk chair. "But it sounds like it might be good PR. After all, you are the Vice-President of LexCorp."
"True." Clark said with a nod. "I have no problems doing the interview, I just wanted to give you the heads up."
"It's fine." Lex told him. "Who's doing the interview?"
Then he paused, and smirked. "Let me guess, Lois Lane?"
Clark made a face. "How did you know?"
Lex laughed. "Who else? She's definitely like a bloodhound, trying to sniff up something corrupt."
He paused for a moment, unsure if he should say anything. "She kind of reminds me of Chloe."
"Me too." Clark said flatly.
Both men were quiet for a moment. Chloe wasn't a subject that they often spoke about. She represented a part of both of their lives that had been left behind a long time ago.
Lex studied Clark, for a moment remembering the young man that he had been when they had first met.
Clark had been so innocent and wholesome. Not exactly the material for becoming a corporate executive. But then Clark had changed over the years, they all had.
Sometimes Lex felt guilty for changing Clark. For bringing him into his world and eroding a bit of that innocence and goodness.
He often wondered if Clark's gifts would not have been better used doing someone else, but he would never know. This was the path that had been chosen and everyone was happy.
Well, almost everyone.
"Clark." Lex said softly.
Clark shook his head. "Don't. It was a long time ago, Lex. You did what you had to do and if I had wanted to stop you, I would have."
There was a bit of self-disgust in Clark's tone as he stated that fact.
Lex nodded and then smiled. "You should get home."
"Yeah." Clark agreed, turning to go. "I'll see you tomorrow, Lex."
"Of course." Lex said with a smile. "Give Lana and A.J my love."
"Will do." Clark said, smiling once more before he exited the office.
Lex watched him go.
Fifteen years earlier, he had hoped that maybe Clark Kent's innocence and purity would rub off on him.
While, Lex would definitely give his friend the credit for keeping him from becoming a clone of his father, he would have to admit that he had also rubbed off on Clark.
The awkward, naive farm boy who had saved Lex's life all those years ago had turned into a cool, confident business man who knew the corporate game and played it well.
Clark had been hesitant about going to work for Lex at first, but in the end he had agreed, and it had turned out very well. Clark had quickly risen in the company and it hadn't been long before Lex had made him his right-hand man.
Clark definitely had the skill to fulfil the position, but he was also the only person in the entire world that Lex truly trusted, and that was why Lex was glad to have Clark guarding his back.
He smiled in satisfaction. He and Clark made one Hell of a team. Together there was no telling what they would be able to accomplish...
"How was your day at the office?" Lana asked with a smile, as she greeted Clark at the door of their nice, roomy apartment.
"Good." Clark answered, leaning over to give her a quick kiss.
"How was your day?" He asked, as the two of them walked into the living room and sat down on the couch.
"It was nice. Nell and I went baby shopping." Lana said, placing her hand on her stomach.
Clark placed his own hand on top of hers. "Only another month." He said with a smile.
"If that." Lana replied. "After all A.J was a month early and he was perfectly developed. It's probably because of your genes."
"Probably." Clark agreed.
When he and Lana had first gotten married, they had wondered about whether or not they would be able to have children. But with some help from Lex and his scientific research department, it had been possible, and they were now expecting their second child.
Clark had never realized how good it would be to be able to talk to people other than his parents about his secret, until he had haltingly told first Lana and then Lex.
His father had freaked, especially over the last one, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Jonathan Kent still did not approve of Lex Luthor's place in his son's life, but there was nothing that he could do about it. Lex was Clark's best friend and nothing would ever change that.
"Clark?" Clark looked over at Lana and realized that he had missed what she had said.
"Sorry, honey, I was thinking." He said apologetically.
"It's okay." Lana said, being her usual accepting self. "I was just talking about the nursery. We should finish it soon, since we don't know when Laura will arrive."
Clark smiled.
They knew that they were having a girl this time and they had decided to name the baby after Lana's mother. It also helped that the name was fairly similar to that of Clark's birth mother, Lara, which he had discovered several years ago when he had learnt the truth about his history.
In full the baby's name would be Laura Martha Kent, after both of their mothers.
"I'll finish it this weekend." Clark promised. "It's not like it will take me that long."
Lana laughed. "True."
Then she stood up. "I'll go check on dinner, alright?"
"Alright." Clark agreed with a smile. "I'm going to go see A.J."
Lana smiled and stood up.
Clark watched her waddle into the kitchen, before going to see their son.
Two year-old Alexander Jonathan Kent was fast asleep on his bed. One of the problems of Clark's job, was that he often worked so late of hours that A.J was asleep by the time that he got home.
Clark gazed down at his son and smiled. He had lot's of things in his life to be proud of.
But A.J was truly the best thing he had ever done. He was a beautiful little boy, he looked a lot like his father.
They still didn't know if the resemblance was deeper or not. They weren't sure whether A.J and Laura would inherit Clark's abilities. The answer was probably yes, but that the powers might be toned down due to Lana's human blood.
Clark leaned down and kissed his son's forehead, before turning to leave the room.
His future might not have turned out the way he might have expected or the way his parents had wanted, but he had a good life and he was content.
"Mr. Kent, it's good to see you again." Lois Lane said politely as she was shown into his office. "It was nice of you to meet with me."
"The pleasure is all mine." Clark said smoothly. "LexCorp welcomes the opportunity to get the message across."
Lois Lane's eyes were cynical, but she just smiled.
"Then, it seems we're in agreement." She said pleasantly. "Before, we get to the subject at hand, I just have a few background questions."
"Of course." Clark said with a smile.
He listened with one ear as Lois asked her questions and he answered them easily.
He had been prepped for the interview.
Lex told him to give Lois what she wanted and if anything went wrong, well then Lex would go around her to make sure that it stayed out of the paper. But it worked to their advantage to appear media-friendly.
Clark just wished the interview was with anyone other than Lois Lane.
The woman bugged him. Perhaps because she reminded him of Chloe, but there was something else too.
Something about her that tugged at some part of himself that he didn't even really acknowledge.
"How did the interview with Miss Lane go?" Lex inquired later.
"Good." Clark answered. "No problems."
"Fantastic." Lex answered with a nod. "Did you drop the hints that I asked you to?"
"About your running for senate next year?" Clark asked with a smile. "Of course. I planted a few sees in her mind, which I'm sure she'll follow up."
"Good." Lex said with a nod. "I'll make the formal announcement in a few months, but as I said earlier, it's time to start preparing. If I'm elected, I'll resign as President of LexCorp. I'll still be Chairman of the Board and the largest shareholder, but the day-to-day running of the company will fall on your shoulders."
"Of course." Clark answered. He had know that it was coming. Lex had spoken of his plans many times in the past.
"The board members may have a problem with that given how young I am." Clark reminded Lex.
Lex snorted. "You're thirty now. I was only twenty-two when I took over, remember?"
"True." Clark agreed. "But you were prepped from birth to except the mantle."
"And I've spent the last fifteen years training you as my right hand man." Lex reminded him. "You're ready for the responsibility and you'll be good at it, what more could any man ask?"
Clark just smiled. He and Lex had been over this many times. There was no changing Lex's mind when he had it made up.
"I'm honoured you feel that way." Clark said with a smile.
Lex smiled in return. "I always did. I knew that this was the way it was meant to be. I always saw it. You and I teaming up, together we will be unstoppable."
Clark's smile grew as he remembered something Lex had said to him a long time ago.
We have a destiny, Clark. Let's never let anything get in the way of our friendship.
And they hadn't. Fifteen years later, the bond was stronger than ever. It had survived so much.
Clark honestly couldn't even imagine what his life would been like if he and Lex weren't friends. Lex had shaped his future for him.
Sometimes, though, he wondered how things might have been different.
He occasionally regretted not using his gifts to help people, but Lex had convinced him that it was better this way. And, in the end, he had agreed.
Besides, what would he have done, dressed up in a costume and save people? Not exactly his style.
"What are you thinking about?" Lex asked suddenly.
"Something you told me a long time ago." Clark answered. "We never did let anything come between us, did we?"
"No, we didn't." Lex agreed with a smile. "And we're fast on our way to becoming legend, just like I promised."
Clark smiled at the thought. "True."
Lex looked him straight in the eye. "I meant it Clark, and I still do, you and I are a team and together we're going to make history. That's our destiny and I've known it from the moment you saved my life all those years ago."
"Well, who can argue that?" Clark asked with a smile.
He certainly couldn't. Lex was right. They had a lot in front of them.
There were some things in the past that Clark regretted, but he knew that they were necessary and there was no point on dwelling on them.
Clark regretted what had happened to Chloe, but he had tried to warn her and she hadn't listened. She had started the path to her own demise and Clark hadn't been able to stop her. But he was still occasionally haunted by that fact.
And Lois Lane didn't help. She was so like Chloe... And he was afraid that she would meet the same ending. But there was nothing he could do about it.
Still, it made him grateful for Lana.
She might not be as passionate or interesting as Lois or a Chloe, but she was beautiful, adored him, was a wonderful wife and mother and he knew that she would never get into trouble. Lana was the perfect business wife and Clark was happy with that.
Just like he was happy with job and everything else in his life.
Well, except the distance between him and his father. But that couldn't be helped. Jonathan had made it clear that this wasn't the life he had wanted for Clark and that he didn't approve. It was that simple.
Still, this was the path Clark had chosen.
He was no longer the same person he had been back in Smallville, but he believed that he had changed for the better.
All in all, he had no real regrets with the path that he had chosen.
The End