Mama Gotham

Raw Materials

Alyssa had never been a that close with the Kents during her time in Smallville. Sure she knew them; Clark was one of Chole's closest friends, so he was occasionally around when Jerome spent time with the blonde. Martha Kent made the best pie in the history of pie, and Alyssa had always made sure to pick up several on her trips to the farmer's market. Johnathan Kent was on the list of people Alyssa had a hot/cold relationship with. He didn't like her; something about not trusting someone who shows up with a lot of money and an iffy backstory – she had been very vague in her answers as her real past wasn't something the sweet people of Smallville would take well to – but underneath all his country stiffness, he respected the woman and received the same respect back.

Being a tad sensitive to odd behavior, Alyssa had caught on quickly that Smallville was not what it seemed. Only she could pick a random small town off a map and have it be the weird capital of the world. Still, she had abandoned the town not long after Lex had moved in, so hadn't really worried herself over the odd green rocks and the effects they seemed to have.

"Mr. Kent!" she called, walking carefully through the rubble the tornado had caused. She and Lex had run into Martha at the hospital, and since Lex and Clark had become such good friends, had volunteered to help the boy find his missing father.

Lex turned his flashlight upwards, finding a silver car wrapped around a tree at least ten feet off the ground.

"Do you know who's car that is?" Clark asked.

"No. But I think we can cover more ground if we split up."

"Yeah." he nodded. "I'll meet you guys back here in a half hour?" he phrased it like a question, but didn't wait for an answer before running off.

"Why aren't you going?" Lex asked Alyssa.

"Because I know when you're lying. Who's car is that?"

Her brother hesitated and sighed. "His name's Roger Nixon. He's a reporter for the Metropolis Inquisitor."

"And he's in Smallville why?" Alyssa raised an eyebrow.

"I hired him to get information on Clark."

"He's a farmboy, what information could there possibly be?"

"Alyssa you were there that day. When my car went off the bridge." He reminded. "I've gone over it a thousand times, and there's no way you and I should be alive. Every expert I've had look at the wreckage is certain I hit him dead on a sixty miles an hour! Aren't you curious what happened?"

She scoffed. "Alex, stuff like that is above my paygrade and below my level of wonder. We're alive. Why is that not good enough?"

"You're telling me you think what happened was normal?"

"Normal?" she laughed. "I moved from Gotham to Smallville and back again. The word normal stopped being in my vocabulary a long time ago. Of course I don't think it was normal. I just haven't over-analyzed it, like you have."

Lex sighed. "I can't just let it go....You know I'm not wired like that."

"I do." Alyssa nodded. "And I get it. Its just that I'd pick happiness over the truth any day of the week."

*******

Lex Luthor had always been a closed book. No matter how close he got to someone or how much he trusted them, there were always things he kept hidden; for example the investigation he'd done into Clark, despite claiming the farm boy as his friend.

Alyssa Connors was the only exception to this bad habit. Lex may have been overly suspicious, but he prided himself on knowing when he was being lied to; and he never once got that impression from her. Of course it worked both ways; she could always tell when he was lying, not that he'd ever been able to lie to her. There was something about the faith and security she offered that made him want to be worthy of it. He had never doubted Alyssa's loyalty to their friendship, and never once thought that she'd use the secrets he had shared against him, but there were times when it all seemed too good to be true, when he was convinced he had dreamed her up.