recovering from an ordeal

[slayers_desire]

Clark and April had stayed in her home universe. It had been a day since the whole ordeal with the kidnapping and everything. April was still not talking about anything.

In fact, for the last couple of hours, she had stayed in the guest bed that the others had given the couple.

Comments

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"It could be that," Clark admits. "Or maybe even Lionel - our Lionel - didn't know what it was, and didn't want to risk trying it himself."

[slayers_desire]

April cautiously approached the box. "Should I ask my voices?"

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"If we want to destroy it safely, I think you might have to." Seeing her reaction when she learned what it was, though, he won't make her try unless she wants to do it.

[slayers_desire]

April is still a little jumpy, and she really is putting her trust in her husband's word that it won't activate just by touch. Placing her hand on the Mirror Box, April calls forth her voices. To see what they can tell her.

((let me know, as always))

[kalel_ofkrypton]

What they tell her may not be what she wants to hear. Even after they destroy their mirror box, their world is still open to let Clark Luthor in.

There is good news, however. Without a box on both sides, her Clark will not swap places with his psychopathic alternate.

[slayers_desire]

"No matter if we destroy it or not... Clark Luthor can still access our world. But there need to be a box on both sides, for you to swap places."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

He's not relishing the idea of having his alternate pop into their world again, but then... he has Victor's PINpoint. And he could do so if he wanted to anyway. "Better to destroy it than leave us open to switching places again." At least then he will still be here to defend her and the baby. And anyone else Luthor targets.

[slayers_desire]

"How do we destoy it?" And April hopes he doesn't regret it later.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"I could try breaking it by hand. Or throw it into that volcano you like."

[slayers_desire]

"I shouldn't be near such heat right now. Do your strength thing first..."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"Is this going to explode?" Tess asks. "Because if it is, you should probably take it outside."

"It should be fine," Clark says, but just to be sure, he turns away from the two of them. Any blast from the device will be blocked by his own body.

He opens the case, and removes the mirror box. It feels exactly the same in his hands as the other one did. And instead of twisting the two halves to complete the symbol, he uses all his strength to compact it in on itself.

[slayers_desire]

April bites her lip as she watches him. This should help in future incidents... she really hopes.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

The mirror box splinters like glass in his hands, the shards slipping through his fingers onto the floor. But there is no explosion, just a flash of light from within as it dies. "That was... easy." He'd expected it to be tougher than that.

[slayers_desire]

"It feels too easy." April whispers in agreement.

[smallvillains]

"I'm certainly not going to complain," Tess says after a moment.

[slayers_desire]

"You are not curious about your other life?"

[smallvillains]

"I'm curious. I don't want to switch with another me though."

[slayers_desire]

April nods, understanding that dilemma. She finds a place to sit down. Her hands in her lap, still shaking slightly.

"Maybe Clark can tell you about the other you."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

Clark shifts a little uncomfortably. "Maybe some other time." He doesn't know much about the other Tess, except that his alternate was sleeping with her, and Victor hated her. He doesn't particularly want to tell Tess either of those.

[slayers_desire]

April isn't sure what to say for a long moment. She doesn't know how their lives will change now that Tess knows she is a Luthor.

And there is still that other secret...

"What are you going to do now Tess?"

[smallvillains]

"I guess I'll have to go through Lionel's other belongings and see if there's anything else dangerous lurking in there. There probably are." Tess does not particularly want to publicly claim her Luthor heritage. Her parents didn't want her, and she's gotten along just fine without them.

Although there is still a twinge of guilt, a connection where there wasn't one before, at least not one that she could name.

[slayers_desire]

April remembers how hard it was to know that her parents didn't want her. To find Drusilla and see her as the monster she was...

"Have you gone to their graves yet?"

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"No. Lionel's dead, and I'm fine with letting him stay that way. The Luthor legacy is mine now, and it's time it changed." Most of Tess's ire is reserved for her father. Her mother, who is also dead... not as much, but Tess still hasn't visited her grave either.

"You're making good progress in redeeming the company's name, at least," Clark says.

[slayers_desire]

"But how will you change it if you are uncertain about publicly claiming it?"

[smallvillains]

"I don't have to admit to being related to the Luthors to be the head of their legacy. Everything that Lionel had fell to Lex, which then fell to me. Their money and resources are mine to use however I want, and I want to make things better. For everyone." Including a certain small boy, whose existence still fills her with dread, which she locks away tightly whenever she's near April.