Summary: Clark goes to bed after a *very* long day, only to be awakened by 
two familiar faces
 in need of an explanation. Smallville/Justice League crossover.

Disclaimer: All of these characters remain the property of their 
owners/creators--it's just fun to
watch Clark squirm sometimes.

Rating: T, for themes.

Time Frame: Just after the events of "Hereafter," and assuming that the past 
interaction
between Clark Kent and Lex Luthor, along with Lex's personal history, is 
consistent with the
 events of the first two plus seasons of "Smallville." (spoilers!)

Archiving: Be my guest, but e-mail me (eilandesq@hotmail.com) to let me 
know. . .I like to know
 where stuff I write ends up and I might want to see what else you've got.




SIX BITS



Clark constantly ran into people who assumed that Superman was completely 
without limits to
 his stamina, and that the world itself might crumble before he ever needed 
a decent rest after
 even the most arduous labors. He knew better--since he had last rested in 
his own bed, he had
 fought one long battle, been whisked to the future by a device that its 
creator did not even
 understand, fought for weeks in a hostile environment without the use of 
his powers, then
 returned to his time to deal with an old enemy--who had been the one who 
allowed him to
 return to repair things in the first place.

In short, Clark had just completed The Day From Hell--and he was ready to 
collapse. He took a
precious few seconds to change into his pajamas, then stumbled forward and 
collapsed onto his
 bed. He was asleep before the vibrations in the bedsprings from his landing 
faded.

Dreaming was one of the most pleasant things about sleep for Clark--he was 
having a dream
about the first time he flew over Smallville when the sound of a bell going 
off intruded into the
 experience of sailing above the cornfields and slipping through the clouds. 
He tried to ignore
 the sound, but it persisted, and he eventually gave up and opened his eyes. 
A glance at his
 clock-radio told him that it was mid-morning, and that he had been asleep 
for six hours. * A
bit extravagant--two usually does it for me. I must have really been wiped *

The doorbell rang again, and Clark looked at the door in annoyance and 
pulled on a robe. With
 the automatic gesture of someone who had performed the same act thousands 
of times, he
 slipped on his glasses and smoothed away the S-curl that was one of the 
more significant
 trademarks of Superman. Satisfied, he walked to the door and pulled it 
open. He stared for a
 moment, then managed a smirk as he commented, "You two aren't exactly who I 
was expecting
 to be standing outside my door."

Lois raised an eyebrow and replied, "We've all had a lot of nasty surprises 
to deal with in the
 last few days, Clark." She barged in past him without being invited, and 
Clark blinked as she
 called out to the other visitor: "So are you just going to stand there or 
come in, Lex?"

Luthor looked at Clark and said simply, "I was hoping for an invitation, 
actually--as a courtesy
 to an old friend, of course."

Clark stared at the older man. Lex had *never* publicly acknowledged his 
friendship with Clark
 in Smallville since the two of them had left for Metropolis almost a decade 
before, though the
 information was there for anyone who chose to seek it out. Since that time, 
Lex had treated
him with mechanical courtesy, but little affection. He inclined his head and 
replied, "Come in, Lex."

Lex walked past Clark and over next to Lois, where he joined her in looking 
at Clark rather
 intently. Clark had been the subject of nasty glares from one or the other 
of them many times
 over the years, but having both of them do it at the same time was making 
him edgy. He coughed
 self-consciously and asked simply, "I don't suppose you'd like to tell me 
what you're doing here?"

Lex folded his arms, and Lois snorted, "Clark--you're not going to try to 
tell us that you aren't
 aware of what's been going on here for the past week, are you?"

Clark smiled inwardly--this game he knew how to play, from long and well- 
earned experience.
"Of course I do, Lois--I had to leave town suddenly to follow a lead on an 
industrial dumping case
I've been working on, and my rental car blew a tire on a bad road and left 
me stranded out in the
 middle of nowhere in an area with no cell service. By the time I was able 
to walk back to the
 nearest town, everything had happened, and I didn't see any point in making 
a spectacle of myself
 when more important things were going on. I've been resting for the past 
few days, and I was
 going to call Perry later today with an update on what I had found out 
about the dumping situation."
 Which was true enough--he *had* found a major lead on the story just before 
receiving the call
 about the rampaging villains in Metropolis.

Lois smirked. "Uh huh--and your folks and your old girlfriend from high 
school just happened to show
 up at the memorial service without you being there with them?"

Clark shrugged. "Superman knows all three of them--he probably left 
instructions to invite them to
 the services in the event of his death. Wasn't Supergirl sitting with 
them--perhaps he asked her
 to bring them?" Lois nodded, and Clark added, "There you go--very simple." 
Lois looked unmoved,
and Clark decided to change tactics. He turned to Lex and asked, "So why are 
you here, anyway?
One little apparent death for your arch-nemesis, and you show up on my 
doorstep to listen to Lois'
 half-baked theories that I'm Superman? I'd think that a man with a new 
lease on life would have
 better things to do with his time."

Lex smiled, and Clark shivered inwardly--it was the old Lex smile from 
better times between the two
 of them, when he had no doubt that the older man was his friend and would 
move Heaven and Earth
 to get him out of a jam. He kept his composure with considerable effort as 
the former industrialist
studied him and replied, "You gave me quite a run over the years, Clark. I 
always knew you were special,
 but you did a masterful job of throwing me off the scent of the real 
story--and for what it's worth,
 I understand why you did what you did. I never trusted you with all of *my* 
secrets either. Be that as
 it may, the game's up, Clark--you're caught, and you might as well come 
clean. You owe both of us that
 much."

Clark blinked. * You're bluffing with a busted flush, Lex * He smirked at 
his old friend and commented,
"Lex, if I really were Superman, would you really expect me to fold up that 
easily?" He noticed Lois walking
 over to the bathroom, but ignored her as he continued, "I've given 
perfectly reasonable explanations for my
 absence and the events of the funeral that don't involve me being 
Kryptonian, and I'm really beginning to
 get annoyed at--"

"Smallville."

Clark heard Lois, but he was too caught up in the intensity of speaking to 
Lex to decipher the tone in her
 voice as he continued, "You used to hold me in higher regard, Lex--I'm a 
bit insulted that you'd think that
 I'd roll over and play dead based on a couple of simple coincidences--"

Clark flinched as Lois whistled loudly, and he turned to snap at her for 
being rude. . .

 . .only to find himself staring into a large hand mirror, which revealed 
that he was still wearing the full
 beard and long hair that he had grown in the future--since he had neglected 
to dispose of the evidence
 before collapsing into slumber the night before.

Clark blinked, then grimaced as he forced himself to look at the smug 
expressions of the woman he loved
 and the man who had been both his best friend and his worst enemy. He took 
a deep breath, then said
 simply:

"It's the little things that always get you. . .anyone for pizza? This story 
is going to take a while."

*


As always, comments are welcomed and desired. 


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