Superman - Son of Krypton

Chapter Twelve - How To Insult A Rich, Bald Man

Four days later, Lex Luthor returned. Clark tried his best to glare at the man, but soon stopped. It was probably just embarrassing him, he had never glared at anyone before.

"Okay, Kryptonian. Time for some fun."

"How do you know I'm from Krypton. How did you get your hands on Kryptonite?"

"No, no, no," Lex chuckled. "That's not how this is going to work. See, you're the prisoner. So I'm going to be asking the questions."

Clark didn't say anything. Instead, he decided to come up with a way out of his cell. So far, he had nothing. But no cell was impossible to break out of. You just had to be creative enough. Think outside of the box. Or cell.

"So," said Luthor. "Where are you from?"

"You know that already," replied Clark. "Somehow."

"Humor me."

"I was born on Krypton and when the planet exploded, I was sent off in a pod. The only survivor."

"This is good new," Luthor said. "It means we only have to kill one Kryptonian. We still have thousands of other aliens to get rid of, though."

"Why do you insist on killing aliens?" asked Clark. "Some are harmless. Some only wish for peace. Very few are blood thirsty. Even less wish harm on the humans."

"Is that so?" Lex was no longer smiling.

"What business do aliens have with humans?"

"You tell me," said Luthor. "You're the one invading our planet."

"My pod crashed here. Complete coincidence. And I've been helping humans, not harming them in any way. Your quarrel against me is not for humankind. It is for you. You're insecure."

"I am not!" Luthor's cool was slowly slipping away. Clark didn't dare smile, but he had figured out a plan. Or at least half of one. Something shiny was sticking out of Lex's pocket. Something that looked like something Clark could use to make his escape. But how could he get his hands on it?

"You just can't stand the fact that there is things out there more powerful than you are, that can crush you with their pinky finger."

"You wish," Lex snarled.

"No, I know. Do you want to know why aliens have never really attacked humans. Or even acknowledged their existence?"

"Do tell."

"Because human's don't matter. Other aliens see them as weak."

"Humans will be the reason for alien extinction!"

It was Clark's turn to laugh. "No. See, other aliens might not be too happy to hear that. But the real reason humans are still here? Because aliens can't be bothered to attack them. I mean, it would be like declaring war on ants."

"So they underestimate humans, huh? Well, they will see soon enough how wrong they are. And how dead they are."

"I don't think I asked how your campaign went," said Clark. "Did people decide to vote for a kidnapper?"

"No," said Luthor, "people decided to vote for someone that will keep them safe from extraterrestrial threats."

"How many times you rehearse that?"

"You're funny, and I suggest you stop talking before I stop having fun and decide to pull the trigger."

Clark didn't skip a beat. "So, how do you plan to keep people safe from aliens. Your green toys won't work on everyone."

"But it will work on you, and right now that's enough. When more aliens come, we'll be ready for them."

"I doubt that," said Clark. "See, if aliens come here to kill humans, the only person that stands a chance is me. That's just the way it is. You can't deny it. Normal people, you know, the ones that aren't mentally insane? They're warming up to me, seeing me as I truly am."

Luthor nodded slowly. "But not for long. See, we have security footage filming and recording in here. Everything you do and say. And you've been saying some things about humans that people might not like to hear."

This statement stung Clark. It was a setback in his plan. "I have only spoken the truth about what other aliens may think of humans. I have not placed in my personal opinion other than saying that my number one goal is to protect them."

"Is that right?"

"And you've said some things that the people of Metropolis might not want to hear either."

"It can all be edited out," said Luthor, his anger still growing.

"Well," said Clark, "you're going to be awfully disappointed when the citizens choose an alien over your criminally insane psychopathically bald head." Was psychopathically a word?

"That will never happen!" shouted Lex.

"Will it not?" Clark pressed. "Because from what I've been reading, you know, the articles that aren't biased for you, my popularity is going up and yours?"

Clark lowered his chin toward the ground and make a falling sound. Luthor let out a shout and ran into the Kryptonite circle, his hands grasping around Clark's throat. Luthor let out a flurry of punches at Clark's face, each one hitting their mark with a crunch. Lex continued to beat on him for what seemed like forever, punching and punching and kicking and kicking in ways that Clark could see must have been made up on the spot. Eventually Lex Luthor took a deep breath and stepped back. Clark could taste his own blood, strong. It hurt, his punches actually hurt. This Kryptonite must affect Clark more than he thought. Luthor exited, not looking back and Clark.

Clark smiled through the blood. It had worked. In between his fingers, he managed to hang onto the blade of the knife that had been sticking out of Luthor's pocket. He flipped around with enourmous difficulty and began sawing away at the rope binds, feeling the weakness within his veins.

He was not free yet, though, and he could not escape with the security cameras everywhere. Only half of his plan had been completely. Time for part two.