Title: Useful Arts
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing: Clark/Lex
Categories: angst, future!fic
Length: long
Warnings: n/a

Author on LJ: rivkat
Author Website: http://www.rivkat.com/

Review:
It's the future, which means Lex and Clark are duking it out on a daily basis. That presents a problem for Lex, who wants to be president (not really possible as Superman's personal nemisis). On the plus side, Lex has noticed that Superman seems to have a problem, um, satisfying the ladies (if you know what I mean), and he whips up a Kryptonian version of Viagra in exchange for Superman backing off a bit and for a political endorsement from Clark Kent. Surprisingly enough, Superman agrees and for the first half of the story you essentially have Superman enjoying the wonders of sex from the nearest possible human (Lex). Then, the story takes a very surprising turn (I won't spoil the whys and hows) that results a several-year rift between Lex and Clark and suddenly there's the Justice League and Supergirl and it really does kind of feel like a sequel rather than part of the story, but at least it's a fast, action-paced sequel.

Because of that very dramatic tonal shift halfway through the story (and also because the ending felt rushed and unsatisfying -- damn it, I want my schmoop!), I hesitated before writing this rec. However, in the end the two-part nature of the story (and the ending, *sigh*) are more than made up for by the layered, complex relationship between Clark and Lex and by an excellent turn by the JLA, especially Supergirl. I have a weakness for stories that write JLA characters well and RivkaT does a brilliant job with some of the more underutilized JLAers -- namely, the women. If nothing else, read this fic for a Supergirl that is plausible and likeable and for a Wonder Woman who is actually believable as the leader of the strongest women on Earth.

Useful Arts