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One More Last Chance...a "Hydro" one-shot

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  • #46
    One More Last Chance - Part VI
    A reworked ending for “Hydro.”


    “Okay,” Lana said, “first we gotta get Chloe in on this. She’d never pass up a chance to take a shot at Lex.”

    “Well, I was actually thinking we might want to get dressed first,” Clark deadpanned as he gestured at the towels they were holding.

    “That brings up another point,” Lana said, as she wrapped a towel around her body. Clark followed suit and then began to re-hang the curtain rod. “I don’t have anything to wear. All of my stuff is still at the mansion.”

    “Tell me exactly where your room is, and I’ll go get your stuff after you call Lex and he leaves the mansion.”

    “Why after?”

    “If your stuff disappears before he leaves the mansion, he’ll know something is up.”

    “Good point.”

    Lana reluctantly ended up dressing herself in the old clothes from yesterday until Clark was able to come up with the rest of her clothes. Knowing what Lana had planned, Clark decided to dress as much like a farm boy as he could manage. So Clark went for a blue-and-white plaid flannel shirt, well-faded blue jeans, a wide tooled-leather belt with western-style buckle, and his nastiest pair of work boots.

    Lana made her first call to Chloe. When Chloe answered, all Lana had to ask was, “How’d ya like to help me humiliate Lex?”

    Chloe, of course, was all up for that, and when she heard what Lana had planned, she chortled with glee. Chloe raced over to the Kent farm so she could hide her car from view and then get set up for her part in the day’s events. After hiding Chloe’s car so it couldn’t be seen by Lex as he drove up, they worked on getting Chloe set up. Once they were happy with their arrangements, Clark picked up Lana and took off, dropping her off at the Talon so she could retrieve her SUV.

    “Go ahead and call Lex,” Clark said, “I’ll be waiting for him to leave before the second ring.”

    Lex didn’t have any meetings scheduled for the morning, so he was immediately available for Lana when she called. This part of her plan relied on her ability to make Lex think she still loved him, and she pulled it off with aplomb.

    Happy to receive her call, Lex said, “Lana! I love hearing your voice. When can I expect you back?”

    “Change of plans, Lex. I’m ready to answer your proposal, but I want to do it someplace special.” Lana’s voice exuded love and contentment. Little did Lex know Lana had to keep a vision of Clark in the forefront of her mind to manage it.

    Intrigued, Lex asked, “Where?”

    Lana’s voice took on a conspiratorial air as she said, “The Kent farm. I want Clark to have to witness everything, from the moment I walk up to the house with you, to the moment where I make my official answer, and anything that might come after that.”

    Lex was getting excited despite his normally blasé outlook on things. It appeared to him that Lana was more than willing to stick the knife in Clark’s chest and twist. Whatever Lana thought, Lex knew Clark was still in love with her. Maybe she’s finally coming around to my way of thinking, Lex thought. That idea of hers is ruthless enough to have been one of mine.

    “What time do you want me to be there?”

    “Are you sure this will fit in your schedule, Lex?”

    “For this,” Lex said gleefully, “I’d clear my schedule no matter who or what was on it.”

    “Good!” Lana said. “Meet me in thirty minutes on the road, right at the edge of the Kent driveway.”

    “See ya then, Lana. I love you.”

    With a vision of Clark in her mind, Lana gritted her teeth and said, “I love you too, Lex.”

    If Lex could have known the evil thoughts running through Lana’s mind as she pressed end, he would have been proud of her for having them, and a bit worried to know he was the focus of them.

    Clark was in position to see Lex’s brand-new silver Porsche Carrera GT go tearing out of the mansion gates. He knew Lana was supposed to give Lex a time that would allow enough time for him to race in and retrieve her belongings so she could dress properly. Maybe he’s got another errand to run first, Clark thought.

    Clark was in and out of the mansion in record time, with all of Lana’s clothes stuffed into two 55-gallon contractor’s plastic trash bags. With those bags over his shoulders, Clark looked like a youthful Santa Claus out for a training run…or, at least he would have, had anyone been able to see him.

    He passed Lex’s $440,000 Porsche like it was sitting up on blocks and delivered the bags to Lana seconds later in the alley behind the Talon. She had moved her SUV back there for privacy.

    Lana told Clark which pieces of clothing she wanted. He used his x-ray vision to locate them inside the bags and then reached inside and yanked them out. While Lana ran inside to change in the women’s bathroom, Clark repacked the bags and stored them in the back of the SUV.

    Like Clark, Lana was going to wear something ‘country,’ sort of like what she used to wear in school. The designer clothes she had worn these past few months were nice, but they came from Lex, and she didn’t want anything in her life that reminded her of her biggest mistake.

    Lana was hurrying because she was pressed for time, so a few minutes later, she walked out the back door of the Talon wearing a cornflower-blue peasant blouse, well-faded jeans, a brown leather belt with a flowery buckle, and brown leather half-boots. She had even used one of her old leather hair bands to hold her flowing brown hair out of her face.

    Clark’s eyes lit up when he saw her dressed like that. It reminded him of simpler times with the girl of his dreams. They shared one fervent kiss, and then Clark had to leave so Lana could set her plan into motion.

    Lana’s SUV was in position at the street end of the Kent driveway with a few minutes to spare. With the Porsche’s V-10 engine giving a full-throated roar, Lana could hear Lex approach before she could see him. Ever punctual, as only the fastest cars on the planet could make him, Lex pulled to a stop right behind Lana’s SUV and climbed out.

    Clark had told her about how early Lex had left the mansion, and when she joined him at the side of the road, she got to see why. Lex had hurried into town to buy two dozen roses which were interspersed with baby’s breath.

    Lana accepted the tissue-wrapped flowers gratefully, but not for the reason Lex thought. This way, both of her hands were full and she didn’t have to hold Lex’s hand for the long walk down the drive.

    When Lex asked her why she wanted to park out here and walk, Lana had replied by saying that she wanted Clark to see them coming and wonder what they were doing. She claimed to want Clark to dread their appearance.

    In actuality, this was the best way Lana had of arranging exactly where the ‘confrontation’ with Clark would take place. It needed to be in a particular spot so that Chloe, who was hiding in deep shadows inside the barn with her best digital camcorder and a parabolic dish mike, would be able to get everything on tape. Lana wanted evidence, just in case things got out of hand. Besides, a tape of Lex getting humiliated like never before might give her enough leverage to keep him off of her back.

    As usual, Lex was wearing the latest in Goth business wear. His suit and shoes were inky black, and his pale blue shirt was unbuttoned at the collar. Lana knew he only wore ties for board meetings during the workday, so she had been unsurprised by his relative informality.

    “Did you enjoy your sleepover with Chloe,” Lex asked. He didn’t like Chloe anymore, but he tolerated her for Lana’s sake. Anyone as close to Clark as Chloe was couldn’t be trusted, couldn’t be liked.

    “Oh yes!” Lana gushed. “It was like old times back in high school when I lived with her. We ate popcorn, drank Diet Coke, and watched our very own Brad Pitt marathon.”

    “That seems a bit pedestrian for you these days.”

    Lana shrugged, “Sometimes the simple things are best. I don’t always have to have a five-course meal prepared by your chef. I’m perfectly capable of enjoying a burger and fries.”

    Lex could feel the slight reprimand in Lana’s voice and hurriedly backpedaled. “I didn’t mean any insult, I just know that these days, you’ve been spending more time at the opera and playhouse as opposed to the movie theater.”

    “Only because you won’t go with me to the movies, since no one important can see us there.”

    Lex winced, both because Lana was one-hundred percent right, and because he didn’t like the direction their conversation was headed. She’s going to accept today, Lex thought, right in front of Clark, so don’t blow it, Dumbass!

    Just as Lex and Lana walked up to the old windmill that sits on the side of the Kent driveway, Clark walked out of the house and started slowly toward them, acting as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing and not happy to be seeing it.

    Lex began to grin like the Lewis Carroll’s Cheshire cat when he saw Clark coming. My victory will be complete, Lex chortled to himself. Lana’s mine and Clark crushed under my heel, all in one fell swoop.

    Clark stopped in exactly the right place and waited with hands on hips for Lex and Lana to come to him. Lana stopped Lex a good ten feet short of where Clark was standing.

    When he had seen the tissue-wrapped roses and recognized them for what they were, it had taken all of Clark’s strength and willpower to keep from doubling up with laughter. It’s awfully good of Lex to help Lana and me celebrate our reunion, Clark thought, but it would’ve helped if the moron cared enough about Lana to know her favorite flowers…they’re IRISES, you jerk.

    “Hi, Lana,” Clark said politely, completely ignoring Lex’s presence. “What are you doing here?”

    “We,” Lana said, pointing to herself and Lex, “are here because I need to answer a proposal, and I needed you to be here.”

    “Okay…” Clark replied cautiously. “I don’t think I’m going to like this, but go ahead.”

    Lana winked at Lex and playfully walked over to Clark’s side. Lex was brimming with confidence. He was already planning what to say to Lana in reply to her acceptance. He wanted to rub Clark’s nose in it, to scream that the best man had won once again, but he decided that since this was Lana’s operation, he would play off of her lead.

    Lana turned to Clark and said, emotions dripping from her suddenly shaky voice, “Clark? I accept, I will marry you.”

    Both men were stunned. Lex wasn’t sure he had heard correctly, and Clark hadn’t known this part of Lana’s plan.

    Lana waited patiently, but heard nothing but the bucolic sounds of a farm at rest. Finally, she became a bit impatient and stamped her foot. “Say something, Clark. I said yes!”

    Still dazed, Clark stepped in and swept Lana off of her feet, spinning her around as they shared a passionate kiss. Lex’s flowers were getting crushed between them until Clark plucked them out of Lana’s hands and tossed them aside.

    “I’ll get you a proper arrangement of irises as soon as I can,” Clark said.

    Unwilling to believe what he had just seen, Lex said, “Hey, Clark, leave off, that’s my fiancée you’re kissing.”

    When Clark and Lana finally came up for air, Clark mocked Lex. “Whose fiancée? I believe she accepted my proposal. That makes her my fiancée.” Clark looked back at Lana. “Isn’t that right, Sugarpie?”

    “Oh you know it,” Lana cooed. “I belong to you, Clarkypoo.”

    Lex couldn’t process, refused to believe, this staggering change of events, but his reactions took over.

    “Clarkywhat?” Lex asked. “Are you out of your mind, Lana?”

    “No,” she said coldly as she looked at Lex. “For the first time in a year, I’m thinking perfectly clearly. I’m marrying the man I love, and that’s Clark.”

    “You’re coming home right now, Lana,” Lex said urgently. “Something’s wrong and I need to have you looked at by one of my specialists.” Lex stepped close to Lana, grabbed a hold of her arm, and began dragging Lana back down the driveway. Lana struggled and screamed but to no avail. She was only able to slow him down, and he ignored her protests.

    Clark had allowed Lex to grab Lana only because they were taping everything. They wanted to have something on Lex to get him to leave them alone, and this looked like a good one. Once Lex had dragged Lana several feet down the driveway, Clark moved behind Lex and effortlessly broke Lex’s grip on Lana’s arm.

    “I wouldn’t touch Lana ever again without receiving her express permission, Lex,” Clark said with a menacing glare. “And given the way she feels about you right now, that might be a long wait.”

    Lex was getting angrier by the second. He knew he was being royally humiliated, but his anger far surpassed his humiliation right now.

    “Think about our baby, Lana,” Lex said, playing what he thought was his ace in the hole. “Will this part-time farmer be able to provide all of the things our baby deserves? Not hardly.”

    Lex was stunned when the mention of ‘his’ baby failed to faze Clark, and Lana’s non-reaction to his appeal to her sense of motherhood was equally as flabbergasting. In fact, Lex thought as he peered more closely at Lana’s face, she seems to be getting pissed off…at me!

    Using the low, icy tones she normally reserved for dealing with guys who just can’t take a hint, Lana said, “What baby?”

    Our baby! The baby you’re carrying in your belly.” Lex was scared now. Lana seemed to suspect the truth, but he had no choice other than to pretend there was a baby. Too much was riding on this to do otherwise.

    With a look on her face that promised a slow and painful death if Lex stepped any closer, Lana said, “Lex, I know the truth. I’m not pregnant and I never was. You lied to me and tricked me into believing I was pregnant with our child, but no more. I know the truth, and the truth has set me free.

    “What I want to know, Lex,” Lana said, “is why you did it? Did you think I wouldn’t stay with you without a baby?” Lex had no answer, at least, no answer that Lana would want to hear, so he stayed silent. “We used to be friends, Lex, and, I’m ashamed to say, even lovers for a short time. That’s all over now. I never want to see you again.”

    That was too much for Lex.

    “You want to know why I did it? Yeah, I admit to having the doctor drug you to suppress your periods after the first time we had sex. I did it to save you from your otherwise unbreakable ties to this lying sack of crap,” Lex said as he gestured toward Clark. “I love you, Lana, and I couldn’t bear to see you throw your life away waiting for Clark to finally treat you the way you deserve. I was willing to do anything to save you.”

    Lana couldn’t believe Lex thought he could actually justify his behavior.

    Her voice filled with disgust, Lana said, “Forget it, Lex. I know the truth now and I’m never coming back to you.”

    “This isn’t over yet!!” Lex screamed. “I’ll prove to you exactly what kind of freak Clark is, and then you’ll come running back to my side!”

    “No, Lex, I won’t. I know what kind of man Clark is…and I know what kind of man you are, too. Clark is the kind of guy that helps little, old ladies cross the street. You’re the kind of guy that would push that same little, old lady into the street just so you could buy her land from her heirs.” Lex tried to protest, but Lana wouldn’t let him. “I know about some other things now, too. I know about the drug you were giving to the residents of the halfway house. No wonder you didn’t want me to work there.

    “I could go on, Lex, but you know what kind of man you are. You don’t need me to tell you.”

    “You can’t do this to me, I’m Lex Luthor.”

    “Yes, you are, and I’m Lana Lang…soon to become Lana Kent.”

    Lex finally realized he had lost. Lost to a mud-footed farm boy who was more than he seemed to be. Lex knew it was over, that he’d never be able to badger or bully Lana into seeing things his way. All of his careful planning had gone for naught. And then, Lex Luthor did the one thing that no one would’ve ever expected.

    He cried.

    He hated it that Lana and Clark were seeing him this way, which made him angry, but it didn’t help him get control of his emotions. Both Lana and Clark were gaping at Lex, unable to believe what they were seeing.

    When Lex cried himself out, he glared at the two of them and said, “You only think you’ve won, Clark. I’ll get you, I swear it! I’ll do to you what I did to your friend Victor Stone. You’ll be put in a lab and experimented on until I find out what makes you tick. You’ll be nothing more than a glorified lab rat!”

    “Nah, I don’t think you’ll do that, Lex,” Clark said, “or else Chloe might have to release her tape.”

    “Huh? What’s Chloe got to do with anything?”

    Chloe took that as her cue and came out of the barn with her camcorder and parabolic mike in tow.

    “This,” Chloe said as she held up her camcorder, “is what I’m doing here. I’ve recorded every action and every word since you and Lana walked down the driveway, Lex. I know the District Attorney would love to get her hands on this. Not only were you making terroristic threats to Clark, but you physically assaulted Lana, the woman you claim to love.

    “And I’m sure the Planet’s gossip column would just love to know you had Lana drugged to make her think she was pregnant. That, combined with the way to cried like a baby, will make you the laughingstock of Metropolis.” Lex began to look paler than usual. “Or, if you want this tape to remain a secret,” Chloe added, “you can just turn around, leave Smallville, and never come back.”

    Lex turned on his heel and marched down the driveway, only pausing for one last look at Lana as he unlocked his car. Then he climbed in, brought the car’s engine to life, and drove out of their lives forever.

    “Thanks, Chloe,” Clark said. “Be sure to put that tape somewhere that Lex can’t get to.”

    “Oh, I will, Clark, don’t worry yourself about that. I’ll make copies and have them ready to send to the D.A. and many news outlets. Still, I was thinking that once I do that, you might want to hide the original tape…up north.”

    “Up north?” Lana asked.

    “Yeah, my real Fortress of Solitude, Lana. You and I have a lot more to discuss, and that’s one of the first on the list.”

    “Good. As soon as I get my SUV back next to the house, it’s story time.”

    “Sounds good to me.”

    As Lana trotted down the driveway, Chloe leaned in and said, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Clark. I have a feeling you and Lana will have a lot to talk about today.”

    Chloe retrieved her car from where it was hidden and drove off just as Lana was parking her SUV.

    “Ready?” Lana asked as she stepped up to Clark and hugged him.

    “Yes,” Clark replied as he returned her hug, “I’m finally ready to share everything with you.”

    Lana stretched up for a kiss and Clark was more than happy to oblige. After a slow, steamy kiss, Clark said, “We’d better stop, or else I’ll need another shower…this time, a cold one.”

    “Nope,” Lana said as she shook her head. “Your next shower will be very hot, and very long, because you will be taking it with me.”

    Clark checked where his mom always parked her car, and was grateful to see she was long gone. He looked back at Lana and then over to the house.

    “Last one in the bathroom is a rotten egg!”

    Lana took off running, and Clark followed closely behind. Once they were inside, he picked her up and carried her up the stairs and into the bathroom, where their clothes came off a lot faster than they went on.

    And as they stepped into the shower, Clark said, “I love you, Lana.”

    “I love you, too, Clark.”




    The End
    I mean it this time!

    Comment


    • #47
      Wonderful ending, Cardinal! Lex had it coming to him, didn't he? I'm glad Lana remembered the proposal that Clark told her about & still wanted to accept HIS proposal instead of
      Lex's. Now we get clana happily ever after.

      Thanks for extending the story for us, Card. Now I'm very eager for the rest of the date in Somebody to Love, & I believe we're expecting a wedding proposal in Bless the Broken Road, right? Soon? PPMS!
      Last edited by SVsleuth; 01-27-2007, 02:02 PM.

      Comment


      • #48
        ooh la la great ending to a great story.

        Comment


        • #49
          Great Job! Lex got what was coming to him! Really liked how Lana stunned both of them by accepting Clark's proposal like that. I'm just a bit unsure that Lex will truly stop he'll probally be trying a way to get the tapes and so forth, but Clark will just have to stay one step ahead of him....you sure it's the end? lol we could always see story time i'm just playing can't wait to see u get back to ur other storys!
          Last edited by NYC300Z; 01-27-2007, 01:18 PM.

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          • #50
            Hey Card, that was really mean!

            And it was all Lana's idea? Are you sure her time with Lex didn't change her just a little bit?

            I'm not sure how they could resist releasing the tape. I'm thinking they could gain the same safety, as well as all the fun of having everyone laughing at Lex.

            Justice can sometimes be harsh...but it can also be fun as well as richly deserved.


            Comment


            • #51
              Well... that was excellent!!!

              laughing.. finally something that the bald one needed for a loong time...

              Well... it's the end of this part of their story...

              and the beginning of another one... one that we will all imagine in our heads...

              Very good work Card...

              Now you go back to your 3 unfinished stories?

              Comment


              • #52
                that was brilliant...

                Comment


                • #53
                  omg that was amazing card!
                  lex luthor cried in front of clark & lana, like a baby... that was soooo funny and extremely embarassing
                  Last edited by kewl; 01-28-2007, 06:27 AM.

                  Comment


                  • #54
                    Another awesome bit of writing by Cardinal

                    Comment


                    • #55
                      that was a great ending to one of your many unbelievable stories

                      Comment


                      • #56
                        Awesome ending i loved it!!

                        Comment


                        • #57
                          Nice ending Cardinal. The Lex-humiliation bit was great.


                          And from the earlier update, I loved that line about WWIII from Martha .

                          Comment


                          • #58
                            YAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                            Comment


                            • #59
                              My wishes were answered. After having my heart broken by the way hydro followed on the show- - - I was hoping someone, anyone, would rewrite hydro into what it should have been. Personally, i think the whole lexana thing was good if Lex was left crying and Clana lived happily ever after

                              Comment


                              • #60
                                I see card forgets to credit someone for doing an earlier version......I wonder who that guy was. I hear he is even more handsome than Clark Kent

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