Lex moved alone through the manor's corridors in the darkness, carrying a toolbox he had just dug out of the storage room downstairs. He knew he could not leave Lionel's body in the washroom. He had to dispose of it.
He went up the stairs and down another short stretch of corridor, ignoring the intermittent gunfire and screams from downstairs. He made his way to what had once been the reception room. Now, only scorched walls and shattered glass remained.
Lex frowned. There was still one question he had not resolved. Since Clark had possessed abilities beyond those of ordinary people from birth, why had he seemed so weak when he first appeared?
As he considered that question, he entered the washroom. Earlier, he had dragged Lionel's body inside. It now lay slumped beside the toilet. This old man, who had dominated the business world and struggled through commerce for half his life, was no different from anyone else after death.
Lex crouched and looked at Lionel's face, feeling the wounds on his own body throb faintly. He pulled up the clothes on his back, and the moment his fingers touched the muscles around his lower back, a dull ache ran through him.
Lionel had always beaten Lex. Whenever his business went poorly, or someone provoked him, he would casually grab something nearby and viciously strike Lex with it. Even today, after facing Schiller and failing to calm down, Lionel had still left fresh wounds across Lex's back.
Lex murmured to himself, "You know, the hardest part wasn't pretending to be dumb. It was looking like I was in pain when you hit me..."
"Actually, it didn't hurt. That strange liquid seemed to dull my pain and improve my Self-Healing."
As he spoke to himself, Lex took a saw from