Chapter 2

The bald man – twenty-seven and a multi-billionaire – rubbed his head in mute irritation.  “Miss Granger, I know that you were recommended by a number of people, but I don’t think that gives you permission to overstep the lines and question my authority.”

Alexander – more widely known as Lex – Luthor leaned forward in his chair and eyed the frizzy-haired know-it-all girl seated in front of him with his cool blue – that bordered grey – eyes.  It had only been a week since he hired her and already, she was bringing up numerous items that she considered problems with the way he was holding up the company.

“Do you see how much money you are wasting on these searches for ancient treasures?” she demanded in her serious British voice.  “Millions of dollars could be used for the betterment of the poor all around the world, yet you waste it on some dead stuff that probably doesn’t even exist.  What do you hope to find when you go on these trips?”

“I hope to clear up the past that is murky enough as it is,” he answered matter-of-factly.  “I want to find answers.  Along the way, I pick up a handsome pay as the stuff we find are worth millions more than the expedition expenses are.  You need to look beyond what is there in front of you and search for things yourself.  That way, you feel that you are finding a piece of who you are when you go along.”

“I still don’t understand why we should be wasting our time,” she sighed, slumping in her seat.  She took off her reading glasses and wiped them with a tired look on her face.

“You should come with the group.  I’m sure that you would find many answers to the questions that I can’t answer with words.  Experience, Miss Granger, is the key to success.  The more experience, the farther you go.”

She regarded him with hard brown eyes.  “Very well,” she consented.  “I’m coming with you and – the rest of the motley crew.  I hope that it isn’t a waste of my time as well as everyone else’s.  What are you searching for this time, anyway?”

“The Temple of Thanatos; I’ve sent word to the forty greatest archaeologists in the world and I’m hoping to finish what was started eighteen years ago.  We are all to meet at Metropolis airport in three days.  I believe that’s enough time for you to get your things in order?”

“Oh, of course,” she replied, a small, tight smile gracing her lips.

Hermione Granger – muggle-born witch, and advisor of the economical master of Metropolis, Lex Luthor – finally got out of her seat and nodded at the man before her.  When she was out of his office with the door closed safely behind her, she let out a breath that she had been holding through out the end of their session.  It had taken her every inch of her self-control to stop herself from hexing the muggle she had to follow.  He was quite unreasonable, selfish and how he got as far as he did in his business was beyond her.  All of his choices seemed rash and wrong.  How could the public directly benefit from his excursions?  The money that funded the trip would have been given to charities that needed the economical support.  It was as if the man had lost his mind.

Sighing she walked over to her desk to grab the last of her things before she left the building.  The things he was doing with his money were not her problem.  Her sole purpose of taking the menial job was so that she could access his files, contacts and whatever other resources he had in order to find some way to bring down Voldemort and the rest of the Death Eater group.  She had heard he was secretly working with a very dangerous substance that had mutated and even killed muggles who had been studying it.  Perhaps it had the power to drain the Dark Lord of his powers and finally allow the wizarding world to be free of the fear he had brought to them as well as let them start on a new leaf.

She was struck by the realization, however, that she had taken Mr. Luthor up on the little challenge he had given.  Now she was to accompany him and the rest of the group going on the trip to find the temple, though it clashed with the required mission she was supposed to finish.  Damn, but she truly wanted to show that he was wrong!  That was what got her there in the first place.  Stupid girl, she berated herself as she walked down the sidewalk.  Knowing she had no other choice, she headed back to her apartment to pack her things.

~~ o0o ~~

When his newly-hired consultant left his office, Lex groaned and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.  The girl knew nothing of what it was to be a tycoon businessman.  She expected him to hand out money like candy to children on Halloween.  It wasn’t as simple as that, however.  He knew that giving such a thing directly influenced them to depend on such funds to forever be there in order for their facilities to function.  By allowing them to think of a variety of different ways to work on their own, they would soon be able to circulate money in their little communities without corporate aid from Lex Corp.

He could feel a headache coming on and, buzzed his secretary in.  “Pauline, would you please make me a cup of coffee?”

When she brought him one and had left him gratefully alone, Lex took an idle sip of his drink and could feel the knots in his shoulders loosen. Ever since his father passed away and he had taken over, his life had become more complicated than it already was.  He had thought that his father had an easy job with holding up the business.  All his father seemed to do in his life was just stab others in the back and take over other companies.  Lex, on the other hand, struggled with trying to keep the money flowing in his and, at the same time, keep the community satisfied with his progressing company.  Now with the both corporations under his belt, he had to do the same, only with a very big community and then see to the numerous problems that have sprung up after his father had died.  He was having a wretched time.  The only moments he truly enjoyed were when he got on a plane and flew to another country for at least a month’s time.  He kept up with the company and did his paperwork, but he did them without the yapping workers and consultants there with him to slow him down.

He was really looking forward to the break from all the pointless noise in Metropolis.  Soon, he would have only thirty-nine – actually forty now that his assistant was coming (God, help him) – other people with him that wouldn’t give a damn about him… 

~~ o0o ~~

It felt strange to be waiting by the baggage check-in in a large group to Chloe.  Ordinarily, the place of the dig would already be found and all they would do was meet there and everyone would tally off and go to their assigned job.  Here, the thrill of searching for the answers was akin to that of when she was on the lookout for the truth behind the rumors to a great story.  Not only that, it was far more special because for one, Severus was there and her inner teen (that still had a way of coming out every now and then) loved to bother him – although it wouldn’t be half as bad to get to know other people as well – and for another, she was going the exact route of her mother’s search.  Standing amongst the murmuring throng reminded her of a time when she was back in high school, going on a week without walls trip; interesting, a tad bit dangerous and a great ton of fun.

As she looked around, she noted just how many different nationalities there were present in the group.  There was a mix of German, Egyptian, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Pakistani, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, South African, and of course, British, and American.  The Irish archaeologists were to meet the group once they got to Ireland – or so Severus had said in a phone call the night before.  It was fun to get a whole load of different people and perspectives together, she thought excitedly.  She heard a decisive whistle at that moment and the whole group hushed and turned to the direction that it sounded.  There, in the center of all the attention, was Severus, standing on a platform for everyone to see him.

“I don’t plan on taking role call as I have not done so since I taught eleven-year-old children,” he began in his haughty and bossy manner.  “Everyone got a message saying that they were to be expected at seven a.m. and it is now seven-oh-five.  I gave you a whole five minutes extra, so I don’t expect anyone to come running through those airport doors –”

He was suddenly cut off as a shout was called from not too far away.  The entire group looked to see who it was he had focused his attention to in curiosity.  Chloe noted first, however, how his jaw clenched and his eyes went from intense to blank.  She’s here, was what she thought with an inward grimace as she searched the crowd for the girl he spotted.  She was familiar with that expression; every time her name came up in a conversation that was the first look he’d give before he’d express himself with full-blown animosity.

“I’m so sorry,” Hermione apologized breathlessly as she jogged over, dragging along her luggage behind her.  “The stupid taxi didn’t come until six fifty.  I truly apologize for my tardiness – oh!  Professor Snape!”

He gave her a tight smile.  “Ah, punctual as always, I see, Miss Granger,” he sneered.  “If we were still in school, I’d probably have taken off five points for every minute you missed.”

She blushed as everyone looked at her in a scrutinizing way.  “Sorry again,” she mumbled.

Rolling his eyes, Severus brought everyone’s attention back to him.  “Anyway, as I was saying, you are all expected to be punctual.  After we get our luggage in, we will be boarding the next plane headed to Ireland.  From there, we will go to a small town called will you please listen up?”  The people looked at him curiously, but he merely glared at a certain individual.  There was a mumbled sorry and Severus curled his lips in distaste.  “I am not speaking for the sake of attention.  I am giving out important information that hasn’t been indicated previously.  Again, the town is called Kilcormac, Offaly just off the city of Roscrea, Tipperary.  We are searching for the pieces of the stone block that indicates the exact coordinates of the Temple of Thanatos.  The previous expedition had found one block in England and sent it back to Metropolis.  There were rumors of another piece being in Ireland.  The locals have been mentioning an area that used to have a great castle, but that is now merely a field for grazing sheep.  The majority of the group will be excavating the place while the minority will search the town.  Now, I hope you have all your passports ready.  If you will, please get in line to get your boarding tickets.”

There was a flurry of talking after his speech and a rush to get to the line.  As the people parted, Hermione, angry and humiliated by Snape’s biting comments, made her way over to him and poked him on his arm as hard a she could.  He jolted slightly and looked over to her, raising an eyebrow.  “What do you want?” he asked with a sneer.

“Why did you do that, Professor?” she hissed, her eyes flashing a furious mud brown.  “Seven years wasn’t enough time to humiliate me in front of a group of people that I will be spending at least a couple of months with?  Did you think that I still needed to be berated by the accidents that happen to me?  What is your problem?”

“I see that you have gained a bit of tartness in you over the past few years,” he drawled.  “Did they teach you that in Muggle College?”

“I see that you haven’t changed your cynicism one bit,” she spat back.

“Old habits die hard,” he remarked with a smirk.  “Are you still striving to be a little know-it-all?  Or have you gotten over that?  No, I don’t think so, because know-it-alls will forever be just that.”

“Damn you!  Must you be such an ass all the time?”

“Ooh, Miss Granger, you ought to watch that mouth of yours.  It can really get you in trouble if you’re not too careful.”

Folding her arms over her chest she glowered at him with her hot chocolate eyes.  “I can defend myself, Professor, physically, mentally and magically.  Being a muggle-born has its advantages, I guess,” she spat in an acidic voice, “given that I get the best of both worlds.  You, on the other hand, will always be a narrow-minded wizard who knows only how to cook and wave their stick in the air.”

The potions master narrowed his eyes on the woman before him, his nostrils flaring in silent, barely contained anger.  “How dare you speak to me as if you know me so well?” he snarled in a feral manner.  “I don’t know why you are present in this group, but I warn you, if you don’t stay away from me, by Merlin, I swear that I will hex you to hell and back.”  Wishing he was wearing his robes, he turned and walked away from Hermione, who was partially stunned by his threats.  Recovering she pursed her lips and watched him go.  And back at square one I go once again.

~~ o0o ~~

Steaming from the argument he had just previously, he wove through the crowd in search of better company.  The package he hoped it came in was called Chloe Sullivan.  When he spotted her, he nearly sighed in relief, but at her narrowed eyes, he could tell he was in for some tongue-lashing and had to clamp down the groan that was ready to come out.

“What the hell is with you, Severus!” she seethed when he got close.  “You haven’t seen the woman that you actually think is worth your while for a long time and the first thing you do to her when you see her is tell her off?  That’s ingenious, really.  Nothing like a good criticism to start on the right foot, eh?”

“Oh, do shut up,” he snapped.  “I got enough verbal sparring time with her, so if you don’t mind, I would like to just stand here in silence, thank you.”

“Do you actually like her?”  He shot her an exasperated look at her question.  “Because quite frankly, it doesn’t look like you do.”

“Yes, I do,” he answered gruffly, his body stiff as he was unused to expressing his attraction.

“Then why are you intentionally pushing her away?” Chloe demanded, causing him to groan.  “The last time you saw her, you had told her to go shove it up her friend’s ass.  Now, you humiliated her in front of the whole group.”

“It’s difficult to do anything – to state my aim to someone I would thoroughly like to – ahem – and besides, what am I supposed to say?  ‘Good day, my dear, I am thoroughly smitten with you and I would like it if we were to get a drink at the bar and have a little chat’?”

“You made your intentions obvious to me.  Did I push you away for that? No, I didn’t.  So, why would you think she wouldn’t do the same?”

“That is because the upstanding relationship I have with her right now is different and very difficult.  Have you ever stepped into a man’s shoes and tried to do what I am refusing to do?”

Chloe didn’t say anything after that.  She merely closed her mouth and looked away, hoping to ignore the look of ‘I told you so’ written all over his face.  She took the time to scan the area in search of something that would probably soothe her nerves and the aching in her heart.  As if answering her prayers, a commotion started just outside the airport doors as a flurry of reporters, flashing cameras and shouts filled everyone’s ears.  The entire population of Metropolis Airport stood at attention as the news reporters and cameramen came rushing in, apparently following someone of great fame.  Then came the name – a name that Chloe would never forget; that linked her to the little town of Smallville, the ghost of Clark Kent, Lana Lang, who the love of Clark’s life in high school, and Pete Ross, who was Clark’s best friend; Lex Luthor.  Involuntarily she straightened, straining her body to catch a small glimpse of the man she had known when she was sixteen, the daughter of his plant manager, and he twenty-four, arrogant and struggling against his father’s insistent tries to ruin him.

She hadn’t suspected that the reporters would stop and be shut out of the perimeters of the area.  All of a sudden she was faced with what was definitely the famous multi-billionaire, Alexander Luthor.  His bald head was held high on square shoulders and with a body covered in what she recalled him wearing often when she was still a sophomore in high school.  The lavender color of his long sleeved shirt fit well with the black slacks.  His skin was still pale, she noted quietly to herself.  His back was to her so she was not able to see whether his face was still the same or if it had changed.  She didn’t keep track with the gossip or business – two sections that had his picture plastered to them.  Just as she thought what she did, he turned towards her – away from a formal looking man with a stony face and a hat upon his head (probably his chauffer) – and she bit her lip.  Although she hated to admit it, he still had a nicely structured face.  His eyes still sharp and intense grey orbs while his lips looked more set than they had in comparison to the picture she had in her head of him.  He looked… older was the only way to put it, really.  There was a sense that he had gained much wisdom in the past eight years.  Of course that was ample time to gain a lot of knowledge, though he seemed to be an individual who already fresh from college knew the worst and best of the world.  There was also an unspoken sense of power about him.  It must have come with owning the most powerful business tycoon in the world, she told herself sardonically, almost rolling her eyes as she did.

In her musings, Lex had come close and was just within a few feet before Severus spoke. “Hello, Mr. Luthor,” he greeted in a biting manner, his lips thinned out into merely a white line on his face.

“Professor Snape,” Lex greeted with just as much courtesy as the older man gave him.  Chloe knew that kind of tone as it was used on the occasions that he regarded his father.  “I see you have everything in line for the trip?”

“Yes, and I plan to keep it that way,” he bit out in an acerbic voice.  The contempt for the man was obvious in the way that he almost regarded Lex with an arrogant look and refused to really use a more respectful tone of voice.  The reason why was beyond her.

“How do you know about the expedition, Mr. Luthor?” Chloe asked suddenly, cutting into what was apparently a cold, silent exchange between the two men.

Lex’s eyes flickered down to Chloe and all of a sudden his eyes softened – though it was just slightly, Chloe caught it, sending her blood pounding.  “Well, hey there, Miss Sullivan.  Long time no see.”

The other man’s obsidian eyes flicked down at the blonde standing to the side, who seemed affected by the billionaire’s sudden change of attitude towards her.  He chose to ignore it for a moment and brought their conversation to another angle.  “The two of you know each other?”

She and Lex glanced at each other at the same time, causing a strange tug in her stomach.  There was a slight pause before she answered, “Yeah; while I was in high school, Lex started his business at our town.  I was basically the annoying little reporter that tried to get the inside scoop on all of his company and family secrets.”  She hadn’t taken her eyes off of Lex and by the way that things were rolling, it seemed like she didn’t plan to for a while.

“You were pretty annoying,” the bald man admitted with a small grin.  “But I have to admit that despite that fact, you became very useful for the meteor phenomena that I was so hung up on then.”

“Hmm, I see,” Severus said blandly, though he didn’t really.  He had never heard of any meteor phenomena and why the man would be interested in such a thing was unheard of to him.

“You still haven’t answered my question, Mr. Luthor,” she reminded with an expectant look, trying to ignore her boss as much as possible – though quite unsuccessfully as her eyes flickered every now and then to him after he spoke.

There was a slight upturn of Lex’s lips.  “Still quite insistent I see.  Well, to answer your question, I’m funding this trip.  I was the one who hired all of you.”

Chloe’s eyes widened.  “Really?  I thought you only handled business related stuff.  Is this the first one you’ve funded?”

“No actually.  This is, however the first time that I have gotten you recommended to be a member of the group going on this type of archaeological find.”  His small smile grew a bit as he eyed her more thoroughly.  “I have to say that I’m quite glad that I hired you for the job.”

“Will you be with us on our way there?” Severus interjected quickly, trying to change the subject.  He didn’t like the way the damned man was staring at the girl.  He was not suitable for her and he knew that… the whole world probably knew that.  Lex Luthor was a man of power and had a bad reputation.  It was no good that he was flirting with the girl – the girl who was enjoying the attention immensely.

“I won’t be joining the rest of the crew in business, but I will be riding the same plane.  I feel that it would put me on somewhat the same level as all of you.  However, I think I’ll change my plans in being alone up front,” the bald man replied, glancing at Chloe, who widened her eyes and beamed with obvious delight as she anticipated what he was going to ask.  “Chloe, would you care to join me in First Class?”

She was about to open her mouth when Snape cut in and answered for her, “No, I’m afraid she will be seated beside me, where I can keep watch over her.  Why don’t you have your assistant accompany you instead?”  He gave a cold smile and cocked his head in challenge.

“Okay that’s the last straw, you good-for-nothing schmuck,” Chloe hissed vehemently under her breath shooting daggers at him with her look.  “I’m not a child.  I can very well sit wherever I want to.”

“I made a promise to your father to keep you safe on this trip, and you staying with him is doing just the opposite,” he growled back.

She narrowed her eyes on him and put her hands on her hips.  “Don’t give me that self-righteous crap, you son-of-a-bitch.  I know your ways.  Since when do you keep your promises to anyone but yourself?”

The dark-haired man glowered at her for a long moment and pulled back.  “Very well, Miss Sullivan, go and stay in First Class.  I hope you thoroughly enjoy yourself with this – this boy,” he spat with obvious dislike – no, it was more hate, if anything.  Having said that, he turned with his head held high and stalked back to the line where his luggage was waiting for him.  Feeling slightly drained, Chloe already felt remorseful about having saying those horrible things to him and made a move to go and apologize.  Her pride held her back, however, and she stood with Lex in heavy silence.

“I’ll have one of the stewards handle your check-in,” Lex said after a while and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, squeezing lightly there.  “You can come with me to get the tickets.”

She looked up at him, thanking him wordlessly with a tired, but grateful smile.