Cherry Wine {lex luthor}

chapter twenty nine

"I didn't." He said calmly. "She won't hit the ground."

I scrambled away, my back hitting the door that I just come through. Lex held out a hand, but I didn't take it. The building swayed almost imperceptibly beneath me, and I cried out in fear.

"I won't hurt you." Lex said. "You're safe. Come stand with me. You'll see what I mean." he held out a hand a gain, and I took it He hauled me to my feet, steadying me as I stumbled forwards.

The storm had gained traction, and rain fell over the bay in a fine mist. The air had gone from cool to chill, and I shivered violently.

Lex snaked an arm around my waist, and held me tightly to him. There was a sound like a cannon, and above us, Superman hovered, his gaze blazing.

"Boy, do we have problems up here!" Lex crowed. "The problem of evil in the world. The problem of innocence. The problem of good. What are we going to do?"

I noticed for the first time the cut across his palm, the shoddy job he had done of bandaging it.

"I'll take you in without breaking you, and I'll protect the girl. It's more than you deserve." Superman said, his voice carrying. "Let her go, Luthor."

"The problem of you on top of everything else. You above all. Because that's what god is. Horace. Apollo. Jehovah. Kal-El. Clark Joseph Kent."

The breath left my body, and I almost fell over in shock. Clark Kent.

It all made sense. Of course it did, I was just too blind to see it. He had talked to me on that bench, at that party, over and over again, because he was worried for me. Because he was the one who hurt me. He was the one who killed my parents.

The world went red.

"You!" I screamed, wrenching myself free. "You killed them. You killed them and your ruined me!"

Clark looked shocked at my outburst.

"Ruth, I didn't-"

"Their blood is on your hands. My blood is on your hands. You are not a god. You are a grim reaper."

Lex caught ahold of my waist again, and pushed me behind him.

"She shouldn't be here, Luthor. She's been through enough." Clark said, landing on the roof. "Look at her."

"I'm dying." I turned to look at him. "I'm dying. Look at me. I should have died with my parents. Now I'm a dead girl walking."

Lex pulled my head into his shoulder, and I cried.

"Do you see what you have done?" He asked. "Do you see the lives you have affected?"

"Why her?" Clark asked. "Why did you save her?"

"Because she asked me to." Lex replied simply. "Now let's get down to business, shall we? I am not a good man. I don't believe in gods. Our beliefs depend on our tribes, Clark Jo, because God is tribal. God takes sides. No man in the sky intervened to deliver me from daddy's fists and abominations, and the man in the sky took Ruth's parents. Irony is a fun little game."

"Leave her out of this." Clark said again.

"I figured out way back that is God is all powerful, he cannot be all good. If he is all good, he cannot be all powerful. And neither can you be. They need to see the fraud you are."

Lex smiled, and pulled away from me. I fell to my knees, the wind and the fear and the overwhelming presence of both men too much.

"And they will, because you, my friend, have a date across the bay. Ripe fruit, his hate. Two years growing, but it did not take much to push him over. Little red notes, big bang, 'You let your family die!'"