Zealous | [SUPERMAN]

Ch.12 - Troubles

"Lex!!" Marilyn stormed through the doors of the billionaire's office despite his assistant telling her he was with a client. The alcohol in her system combined with the anger and embarrassment she felt from Superman's confrontation that morning fueled 'fight me' mood she was in. She was never one for trouble. The young brunette had little to no friends, no family, and preferred to stay at home rather than go out. Trouble only started to find her once she got involved with Lex.

"Lex!!!" Marilyn barged into his office, completely ignoring the fact that she interrupted a meeting between him and four large, scary looking men. "Why is Superman coming to my house saying I'm making a big mistake by making him my adversary??" Lex was surprised at what she was describing.

"Go." He dismissed the men with a wave of his hand and crossed his fingers together in thought.

"Superman came to YOUR house?" He wanted to confirm, wondering if he had heard wrong.

"Superman came to ME, saying I'm making a big mistake by being YOUR puppet-- I'm not a puppet, Lex! You said you were going to help me, you never mentioned I'm going to go toe to toe with a fucking alien sex God!!" Sure, she was angry. But the booze wouldn't let her lie. If Superman wanted to fight her in bed without clothes on, she would challenge him any time anywhere. Lex closed his eyes and sighed-- he had a few plans in store for superman, but not ones he had mentioned to Marilyn. Not ones he had mentioned to anyone. How was this alien always one step ahead of him??

"I didn't want you to find out this way.." Lex sighed, leaning back in his chair. Marilyn furrowed her brow in confusion and sat down across from him. "The truth about the alien will come out soon enough-- I just wanted to protect you from it."

"What?" Marilyn asked. Lex looked her in the eye; his dark hues were serious and somber. He exhaled and turned away from her, pulling a file from out of his desk then sliding it across to her. She stared at it for a moment, unsure if she even wanted to look.

"He's protecting the man who wanted Edward killed." Lex said softly, watching her entire demeanor go from angry to sullen at the mention of Edward's name. "Superman is working for a very powerful man who wanted Edward dead so that he could take over his companies.." Lex went on. "He was going to kill you that night until he saw what power you possessed... I'm not sure of the man's name, but the proof is in the file." Marilyn slid it back over to Lex without looking at it.

"Bullshit." She said immediately. "A man who wanted him dead wouldn't help me dig a bullet out of his skull." Lex felt his blood begin to boil. He was losing his control over her because of an interfering extra terrestrial.

"Marilyn, why would I have any reason to lie to you?" He said innocently, watching her roll her eyes and grab her purse to leave.

"Because you'd do anything to win against him-- give it up. You can't win, and I'm not fighting him for you, case closed." She began to walk, but he would not be ignored. He shot up from his desk and slammed the office door shut, blocking her way as he felt his temper rise.

"Marilyn... If you walkout that door, so help me God-- it'll be the worst mistake of your life." Marilyn had grown completely tired of men threatening her today. His chest was slightly heaving from all the anger built up inside it. He had changed. Through her fear of being alone and her grieving, she hadn't even seen that the last person she could trust was someone she didn't even know anymore. Alexander had been taken over by greed and power. Alexander was gone. Lex had taken over.

"Is that a threat?" She asked boldly, her arm extended out in front of her; ready to shoot the man clear across his own office if needed. He knew what she was capable of, and she wasn't afraid to show it anymore. Lex stepped aside, a disturbingly calm smile resting on his lips.