Three days had passed.
Three days since Lucinda disappeared.
Three days since the broken door, the blood on the floor, and the empty space where she should have been.
Lex had barely slept.
Every available resource at his disposal had been turned toward finding her. Security footage had been reviewed frame by frame. Phone records had been pulled. Traffic cameras, private surveillance systems, police reports, and LuthorCorp's own network had all been searched.
Nothing.
No vehicle matched. No suspicious transaction had surfaced. No ransom demand had arrived. Whoever had taken Lucinda had planned everything carefully enough to leave almost nothing behind.
And Lex hated that.
He stood in his office with several photographs spread across his desk, staring at them for what felt like the hundredth time.
"Still nothing," he muttered.
Dawson stood a few feet away, looking exhausted enough to consider sleeping underneath the desk.
"We've checked every lead we've received, sir."
"Then check them again."
Dawson hesitated. "We've already—"
"Again."
"Yes, sir."
The door opened and Clark stepped inside.
For once, there was no familiar ease in his expression. His jacket was dusty, his hair slightly disheveled, and there was a tiredness around his eyes that hadn't been there three days ago.
Lex looked up immediately. "Anything?"
Clark shook his head. "I checked everywhere," he said. "The entire town. Farms, abandoned buildings, caves, warehouses, old mines, even the places nobody goes unless they're either hiding something or making very poor life choices."
Lex leaned back slowly. "And?"
"Nothing," Clark sighed.
Lex exhaled through his nose and dragged his fingers over the top of his head out of habit, only to pause halfway when he remembered there was, in fact, nothing there to drag his fingers through.
For a moment, he simply stared at the ceiling.
Then, for no apparent reason, a stupid thought slipped into his otherwise highly educated mind.
"If Lucy were here, she would've laughed at me," he muttered.
A faint, almost reluctant giggle escaped him. It was such a strange sound coming from Lex that Clark actually looked at him.
Despite everything, the corner of Clark's mouth lifted. He stepped closer and placed a hand on Lex's shoulder. "Don't worry, Lex. We'll find her—"
"AHHH!"
Both men immediately turned toward the door. Lionel strode in with the confidence of a man who had personally invented dramatic entrances, his hair bouncing with every step as though it had received its own independent acting contract. His hands gestured wildly while he spoke, making Lex's brows slowly draw together.
Lionel stopped directly in front of them.
"Lex, why haven't you told me about the disappearance of your good friend, Lucy?" he demanded, his tone dripping with exaggerated concern. "I could have helped, son."
Lex stared at him. For a moment, there was only silence... then his lips twitched.
"I believe this doesn't concern you, Dad," he replied calmly, stepping closer. "I have everything covered."
"Oh, but it has been three days, Lex," Lionel cut in, raising a hand dramatically. "Three days. A lot could have already happened to your friend, Lucy Bryce."
Lex's expression hardened.
"Worst-case scenario," Lionel continued, lowering his voice as though deliberately delivering the most unpleasant possibility he could think of, "she could already be dead."
Clark's jaw tightened. Lex's eyes narrowed.
"If you're only here to spit nonsense, Dad," he said, his patience visibly hanging by its last thread, "I would appreciate it if you left."
Lionel blinked, then smiled. "Still sensitive, I see. But you know perfectly well that I have more connections than you could ever have, son. One word from me and Lucy Bryce—"
"If you're here to test your influence over me, Dad, I'm not going to give you the satisfaction," Lex scoffed, brushing past him.
He had barely taken another step when Lionel spoke again.
"Does your pride weigh more heavily than Lucy Bryce's life, Lex?"
Lex stopped. One foot remained suspended for a moment before slowly settling against the floor.
Clark said nothing. His eyes moved between the two men, instinctively sensing that whatever was happening now had very little to do with business.
Lionel turned toward his son, his expression losing some of its usual amusement.
"That woman," he said quietly. "Does she not matter to you?"
Lex's jaw tightened. For several seconds, he didn't answer.
Then he slowly turned his head toward his father, his expression unreadable.
"She matters enough," Lex said quietly, "which is precisely why I don't want you anywhere near her."
Lionel's brows rose. For a brief moment, something unfamiliar tightened in his chest. He couldn't quite identify it, and he certainly wasn't interested in trying.
"I'm only here to offer my help," Lionel sighed.
"If you truly wanted to help, Dad, you could have already done so." Lex turned toward him, his forehead creasing. "So either that is genuinely why you're here, or there's something else you want. If it's the latter, I have considerably better things to do."
Lex turned to leave.
"Lucy Bryce."
He stopped immediately.
Slowly, Lex looked back.
Lionel's expression had become unusually serious. "She was taken by a group of meteor-infected individuals. They're hiding beneath a nuclear plant owned by the Swanns."
"The Swanns?" Lex echoed, surprise briefly breaking through his composure.
"The Swanns have nothing to do with it," Lionel clarified. "This group has been using LuthorCorp resources for their own purposes."
That only made Lex more uneasy. "Where is this plant?" he asked. His jaw tightened when Lionel smiled.
There it was.
The catch.
"I'll give you everything you need to know, son," Lionel said, clasping his hands behind his back. "In exchange, Miss Bryce agrees to be examined in my laboratory."
Lex scoffed.
Of course.
He knew it.
Lionel Luthor did not suddenly develop a generous personality overnight. If he had information, there was always a price attached—and apparently, this time, the currency was Lucinda.
"Mr. Luthor," Clark said, stepping beside Lex and facing Lionel directly. His voice was firm. "Lucy is not some lab rat for you to experiment on."
"This does not concern you, Clark," Lionel said without even throwing him a glance.
"It does. Lucy is my friend," Clark replied. "Now, if she's only going to end up in your laboratory after we find her, then Lex and I will find her ourselves."
Lionel gave a quiet, amused chuckle. "How noble. Two friends marching into danger together to rescue another friend. Very touching."
His smile widened slightly.
"But friendship," he added, finally looking at Clark, "is a wonderful thing, isn't it? Unfortunately, it doesn't come with a map."
Clark's expression hardened.
Lionel turned toward Lex, clearly enjoying himself. "And as I recall, son, you've spent three days searching without finding so much as a footprint."
Lex's eyes narrowed.
Lionel gave a small shrug. "Sometimes, gentlemen, pride is simply another word for refusing the shortcut because someone else owns the road." He tilted his head slightly to the right, a knowing smile tugging at his lips. "Now, what could it be, Lex?"
Lex stared at him for a mere second before turning away and walking out. Clark immediately strode behind him.
"Lex!" he called. "Lex!"
"I have to find Lucy, Clark…" Lex said, his voice noticeably quieter. Something about his tone made Clark anxious. "I just know…"
He paused for too long, leaving the sentence hanging until Clark finally spoke. "Your father can't be lying about the nuclear plant thing, right?"
"My father is a manipulator, Clark. He utilizes deception, false pretenses, and concealment as primary tools for power and control." Lex turned toward him slightly. "Never ever trust a Luthor."
Clark paused for a moment before following him again. "But I trust you," he said almost immediately, making Lex pause slightly before continuing to walk.
It took him three whole seconds before speaking again. "I'm trying to differentiate myself from my father, Clark," he muttered. "So as much as possible, I will never accept any help from him. However…"
His eyes darted toward the parking area, where five black vehicles waited in formation. Several men stood beside them, all dressed in identical black suits, black shirts, black gloves, and polished shoes. Their faces were partially concealed behind dark sunglasses, and not one of them looked remotely interested in small talk. They stood with the unnerving stillness of men who had been trained to notice everything and react to nothing.
One of them quietly spoke into an earpiece. Another opened the rear door of a vehicle the moment Lex approached. The others remained spread around the cars, watching the surrounding area with cold, professional focus.
Clark glanced at them. "Those are your people?"
"Yes."
"They look… intimidating."
"They're supposed to."
Clark looked at the men again. None of them even blinked.
"Do they ever smile?"
"No."
"Talk?"
"Only when necessary."
Clark nodded slowly. "Right."
Lex finally stopped, and Clark stopped beside him. "However," Lex continued, his expression becoming more serious, "if, in the event that I have exhausted all of my resources and still couldn't find Lucy…" He exhaled slowly. "I will have no choice but to accept his help."
"And you'd let him experiment on her?" Clark's brows met.
"Would you rather find her dead?" Lex cut him off. "At the very least, if I accepted Dad's help, he will only get samples from her."
"You know very well that's not the only thing he will do to her. She could be as good as dead," Clark countered. "You know Lucy isn't a normal person, Lex. If Lionel finds anything about her, he would never let her go."
Clark stepped back slightly, his expression firm. "We will find her on our own, Lex. Never give up on Lucy just yet."
Just like that, Clark left.
Lex sighed, his eyes drifting toward the five black vehicles and the men waiting beside them. For three days, he had thrown everything he had at finding Lucinda, and still, there was nothing.
"Where could you be…" he muttered, his voice barely audible. "Lucy…"
•
"Lucy…"
A familiar voice echoed through the dim corridor.
Lucinda's eyes slowly opened. She turned her head, blinking through the haze until she saw a familiar figure walking toward her.
Elizabeth Swann.
Elizabeth smiled faintly as she approached, stopping a shoulder's length away from her. "How are you feeling?"
Lucinda managed a weak smile, though her eyes immediately dropped toward her wrists. Bruises and shallow cuts marked the skin where the chains had held her suspended for what felt like an eternity.
She looked back at Elizabeth. "Better," she murmured. "Considering I was recently scheduled to become somebody's dinner."
Elizabeth's smile disappeared. Because she knew exactly how close it had been.
Three days ago, Lucinda had been hanging helplessly from the chains while the meteor-infected individuals surrounded her.
They had stopped pretending to be human.
Their eyes had become unnaturally bright, their veins glowing beneath their skin as hunger overtook whatever restraint they had left. One of them had stepped forward, reaching for Lucinda as the others closed in.
Lucinda had struggled against the chains until her wrists were raw.
"Okay," she had gasped, breathing heavily. "I officially take back every complaint I've ever made about hospitals."
One of the infected men grabbed her arm. Lucinda screamed but her full-blast scream got cut off when a loud explosion roared.
The doors at the far end of the hideout exploded inward. The impact sent several of the infected stumbling backward as smoke and debris filled the corridor.
Elizabeth stood in the doorway with several individuals Lucinda could tell were from the special forces—at least that's what she read in comics.
The infected barely had time to react before another blast tore through the restraints.
The chains snapped. Lucinda dropped, but Elizabeth caught her before she could hit the floor. Everything had happened so quickly that Lucinda wasn't entirely sure whether she had just been rescued or had finally lost consciousness and entered the strangest dream imaginable. She passed out only to wake up three days later, already in a hospital far from Smallville.
A hospital owned by the Swanns.
A hospital covered with lead to prevent Clark from finding her.
Lucinda slowly sat up on the bed, pulling the blanket over her lap. After a long sigh, she looked up at Elizabeth. "So, am I really not allowed—" She immediately stopped when she saw Elizabeth's expression.
It was the unmistakable here we go again look.
Lucinda swallowed. Right. Three days ago, she had promised. She had agreed to never see Lex again—or any of the main characters in the series. She was supposed to disappear from their lives completely, no matter how much she hated the idea.
She had given Lex her word. She was still supposed to help him with the infected ones, but now she knew that preserving the timeline mattered more than keeping her promises. As painful as it was, she couldn't keep interfering with a story that was never supposed to include her.
"It's for your own good, as well as theirs, Lucy," Elizabeth said in a low tone.
"But..." Lucinda murmured, slowly looking up at her. "What if Lex never turns into..." She stopped when Elizabeth's expression went completely blank.
"You know better," Elizabeth said. "Than to fall in love with a fictional character, Lucy."
Lucinda felt her heart skip a beat. There it was. The truth she had been avoiding.
Of course she knew.
She was falling in love with Lex.
And that was exactly why she had to stay away from him.