Chapter One:
LEX LUTHOR
It was getting late. The birds had long since gone to their nests in the woods surrounding the Luthor Estate and their chirping was replaced by the melodious sounds of the crickets and insects of the night.
A full moon hung over the large stone castle that was the Luthor Mansion. A collection of ancient stones imported from across the Atlantic Ocean, the Mansion gave the illusion of being in Europe with its high ceilings, maroon-carpeted hallways and enormous chandeliers in the dining room.
Surrounding the large mansion were a few miles of perfectly trimmed and tamed land. It was like a park, but private only to the Luthors. They were – of course – the richest family in Smallville, Kansas.
Along a cobblestone path, surrounded by various exotic trees, a young boy of no older than twelve walked, heading somewhere. He didn't know where yet, but he knew he had to get away from the tension of his father's mansion. He never really liked all the space. It made him feel edgy.
Lex, Lionel Luthor's only son gave a deep sigh as he continued deeper and deeper into the grounds surrounding the mansion. He had to get away.
Tears formed in his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away. It wasn't time to be crying; though he felt in his heart he should be. It was an important night – he couldn't deny that. But this night terrified him.
When he had left the mansion, his mother had been in her room on her large bed, surrounded by nurses and doctors. She was in labor. This was to be her second child.
Lex looked around at where he had taken himself and noticed he was by the pond on the grounds. He usually went there to think about things. The rippling of the water usually calmed him and he felt comforted.
Stop being a baby, he told himself. If his father caught him crying, he'd look like he really was a baby. That was the last thing he wanted.
The pond was quiet save for the sounds of the crickets and the occasional bullfrog. Lex gave a sigh of relief as he found himself alone with only nature to bother him. But, that usually didn't.
Slowly, he made his way to the edge of the water. He loved the deep colors of the water at night. When he was younger, he had been afraid to go near the water's edge at night with his mother because it had appeared to be many miles deep. But now Lex knew better. It was only ten feet deep. His father had had it made for his mother specially.
Looking down into the water, Lex saw his reflection and grimaced. He didn't like his appearance at all. Where he used to have flaming red hair, he now had none. He had lost all his hair that fateful day when the meteors had fallen to Smallville.
His cheeks were red from crying and he wished it would go away. He hated looking emotional around people. They always made fun of him at school for being a sissy and pansy. He couldn't help it if his hair was gone. Was it his fault he had been in the cornfield when the meteors hit?
No, he thought to himself. It was dad's fault.
He remembered how his father had taken him to the cornfields he was buying out to build his fertilizer plant. He had told Lex that it would revolutionize growing crops in Smallville, but Lex didn't understand then how chopping down crops to build factories was going to help make better crops.
He hated being in the helicopter with his father. Lionel had only the best intentions for his shy son, but Lex didn't like heights and didn't see how being up high would help him any.
After landing, Lex had been bored to death by his father talking with the Ross' who owned the cornfields. He didn't mind them, though he'd never really met them. He knew they had a son Pete, who was only a few years old.
It had been boring listening to them talk, so he decided to get away. He usually did, as he was doing this night. He had gone into the cornfields to explore and see what they were like. He'd never really been scared of them, so he thought it was fun to go out and look around. He remembered watching all the old films his father collected where people found crop circles and he wished he could see one for real.
But, he did find something scary in the crop fields that day. A boy had been tied up like a scarecrow with an S painted on his bare chest. He looked tired and beaten. Lex had been horrified and was about to run for help when he spotted something in the sky. It was like a ball of fire, and it was heading right for him!
He ran, but he wasn't fast enough and the blast from the impact of the object hitting the ground caught up with him swiftly and threw him into the air. He had been knocked out, but he decided that was for the best. He wouldn't have wanted to see what was going on.
When his father had found him, the cornfields were flattened and Lex was curled up beneath them, his hair gone as he shivered.
Now here he was. Nervous like he had been once again.
That was why he hated his reflection. He turned away from it and walked back up onto the grassy bank where he sat down and pulled his knees up to his chest.
His thoughts fluttered again to his mother.
Was she all right? Was she finished labor? Had she given birth?
Lex shook them from his head.
It's no use worrying, he told himself as he looked out across the water to the other bank. Fireflies dotted in and out of the trees surrounding the pond. His father had told him not to worry. But, the problem was – he did worry!
He decided to sit and wait a while before returning to the mansion. He had gone a ways out from where the mansion was, so he couldn't see it anymore. It was hidden in the trees surrounding it.
Lex found himself tired now.
How long had he been out by the pond thinking? When he thought about something, time usually passed quickly and he found himself late for something.
Slowly he drifted off to sleep.
"Where is he?" Lionel asked himself as he looked out the window at the dark grounds surrounding the mansion. He couldn't see his son anywhere. He never went out farther than where he could see the mansion.
At least, that's what Lionel thought.
Sighing, he brushed his long brown hair out of his face and tried to shake the unease from his posture. His wife was in labor. She had been in labor for a while. Although he'd already been through this experience before, he still hadn't gotten used to it. It always made him nervous to think about it.
This was to be his second child and he was very anxious. He'd been overwhelmed when Lex had been born. He always pictured himself a father and wanted nothing more than to raise a family and have a good career. He had both as of the moment and was very proud of his son.
He did feel pity for the young boy, though. Lex proved to be shy and nervous most of the time and that wasn't how Lionel wanted his son to be. Lex had no reason to be nervous and he could overcome his shyness with some help.
He was startled out of his thoughts by the cries of his wife. He rushed to the door of her bedroom, but the nurse at the door stopped him.
"You can't enter, sir." she said as Lionel turned away and walked back to the window.
"Damn the waiting," he muttered under his breath. "Why does it have to be so nerve-racking?"
Perhaps that was why Lex had left. He usually found Lex alone when things got heated around the house. He and his wife usually got into disagreements about what happened at school and what Lex should do about it.
Lionel happened to think that Lex should fight back because that's what his father had told him to do. But, Lillian had argued with him, telling him no. Lex should talk things out with the principal and the boy's parents.
Lionel was a man of action and hated confrontations with country people from around Smallville. They all seemed so out of it compared to the colleagues he had worked with in Metropolis. He didn't like getting into disagreements with country hicks who had no idea who they were talking to.
The wait for his next child to be born seemed never ending! When Lex had been born, it seemed to happen in an instant! Lex couldn't be kept in his mother's womb for another second!
But this time it was as though the child within Lillian didn't want to emerge. It was as though it knew it wasn't entering the best of families, so it wanted to stay inside, hidden.
No, Lionel thought to himself. That's not it at all.
He had a way of always thinking things over too much and changing positive thoughts into negative ones. He had seen this in Lex too, though Lex didn't know it. Lionel could read it in his son's eyes. The deep emerald eyes that penetrated all the way down to your soul when he looked at you.
He loved his son. Lex was almost a spitting image of him as a boy and he enjoyed watching his Lex grow up, becoming more and more a man each day.
I wish he were here right now, he thought to himself. He didn't like to admit it, but he needed Lex as much as Lex needed him. They worked off of each other and both enjoyed each other's company. How else was it supposed to be?
Suddenly a loud cry came from the bedroom followed by the sound of a baby's wail.
Lionel rushed to the door and the nurse reluctantly stepped aside as she let him enter the room. Lionel was so excited he could barely contain himself.
The doctors all around the bed before were now huddled around a table where they were cleaning the baby off, making sure it was breathing correctly and wasn't hurt in any way. The umbilical cord was already cut and the child was wailing loudly.
Lionel rushed to Lillian and too her hand. His smile did nothing to change Lillian's exhausted expression. She had been working for a few hours, almost all afternoon.
"Lillian!" he said as he squeezed her hand. She gave a sigh and didn't respond, too exhausted to talk. "Lillian! You did it!"
The doctors came over with the child and placed it in Lillian's arms.
"Congratulations, Mrs. Luthor." one of them said. "It's a boy."
Lionel was smiling from ear to ear, but Lillian showed no emotion at all. Lionel's smile faded slowly from his face as he watched Lillian hold the boy, almost reluctantly as the boy's wailing slowed as he felt the arms of his mother around him.
"What's the boy's name, Mr. Luthor?" a doctor with a clipboard said asked with pen poised.
Lionel looked over at his wife who didn't look like she was going to respond; though they both knew the name they were going to give the child.
"Julian." Lionel said finally. "Julian Luthor."
He looked over at Lillian, looking for her approval, but there was none. She didn't show any signs of life except for breathing. Lionel expected the doctors to write this off as symptoms of exhaustion, but Lionel knew what it was really about. Lillian had told him before that she was content with one child, but Lionel desperately wanted a large family so had convinced her to carry another.
Slowly, he took Julian from her arms and held him, smiling to himself as he watched his new son fall slowly asleep with his little thumb in his mouth.
"Would you just look at him?" he said with satisfaction. "He's so little. I remember when Lex was that little."
Julian moved his arms a little before falling deeper into peaceful sleep.
Lionel wished Lex were there to see his new brother. Lex always talked about wanting to be a brother. Lionel was proud to know that now Lex would get his wish. Lex was a responsible boy and he would prove to be a good brother to Julian. Lionel knew this for a fact.
Lex awoke when it was still dark out. He looked down at his watch and read the time: 12:30.
He'd have to get back. Maybe his sibling was born now. Maybe his mother was out of pain now...
He slowly made his way back down the cobblestone path towards the brightly-lit windows of the Luthor Mansion. The small amount of sleep he had gotten seemed to settle his anxiousness a little.
He was glad to be back inside the warm mansion where the bugs couldn't bite him. He took off his jacket and hung it on the hanger beside the door, trying to be as quiet as he could be.
Slowly, he made his way up the stairs to his bedroom, but stopped when he noticed the new baby's room was brightly lit and that his father was standing in it. Intrigued, Lex walked over to the doorway.
His father turned to spot him and smiled.
"Well, Lex," he said with a grin. "I'm glad you're finally back. Where'd you go, son?"
Lex gave a shrug.
"The pond."
Lionel nodded. He had suspected that.
"Well, come in, son." Lionel said as Lex slowly entered the blue room covered with paintings of ducks and flowers. "Do you want to see your new baby brother?"
Lex felt the excitement flood him once again.
"Baby brother?" he said as he walked over to the cradle where the tiny infant lay.
Lionel smiled and nodded as he showed Lex the sleeping infant.
After a few minutes of admiring the tiny child, Lex looked up at his father with a curious look on his smooth face.
"What'd you call him?"
Lionel smiled as he replied. "Julian, son."
Lex smiled.
He was glad that he finally had a baby brother as his father had promised he'd have someday. Lex felt pride deep in his heart that he now had what many boys at his school didn't have: A baby brother.
"It's getting late, son." Lionel said as he patted his son on the back. "Best if you get to bed. You and Julian can get to know each other tomorrow."
Lex nodded and headed off to his bedroom, taking one last look back at Julian's room before closing his door and turning off the lights.
LEX LUTHOR
It was getting late. The birds had long since gone to their nests in the woods surrounding the Luthor Estate and their chirping was replaced by the melodious sounds of the crickets and insects of the night.
A full moon hung over the large stone castle that was the Luthor Mansion. A collection of ancient stones imported from across the Atlantic Ocean, the Mansion gave the illusion of being in Europe with its high ceilings, maroon-carpeted hallways and enormous chandeliers in the dining room.
Surrounding the large mansion were a few miles of perfectly trimmed and tamed land. It was like a park, but private only to the Luthors. They were – of course – the richest family in Smallville, Kansas.
Along a cobblestone path, surrounded by various exotic trees, a young boy of no older than twelve walked, heading somewhere. He didn't know where yet, but he knew he had to get away from the tension of his father's mansion. He never really liked all the space. It made him feel edgy.
Lex, Lionel Luthor's only son gave a deep sigh as he continued deeper and deeper into the grounds surrounding the mansion. He had to get away.
Tears formed in his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away. It wasn't time to be crying; though he felt in his heart he should be. It was an important night – he couldn't deny that. But this night terrified him.
When he had left the mansion, his mother had been in her room on her large bed, surrounded by nurses and doctors. She was in labor. This was to be her second child.
Lex looked around at where he had taken himself and noticed he was by the pond on the grounds. He usually went there to think about things. The rippling of the water usually calmed him and he felt comforted.
Stop being a baby, he told himself. If his father caught him crying, he'd look like he really was a baby. That was the last thing he wanted.
The pond was quiet save for the sounds of the crickets and the occasional bullfrog. Lex gave a sigh of relief as he found himself alone with only nature to bother him. But, that usually didn't.
Slowly, he made his way to the edge of the water. He loved the deep colors of the water at night. When he was younger, he had been afraid to go near the water's edge at night with his mother because it had appeared to be many miles deep. But now Lex knew better. It was only ten feet deep. His father had had it made for his mother specially.
Looking down into the water, Lex saw his reflection and grimaced. He didn't like his appearance at all. Where he used to have flaming red hair, he now had none. He had lost all his hair that fateful day when the meteors had fallen to Smallville.
His cheeks were red from crying and he wished it would go away. He hated looking emotional around people. They always made fun of him at school for being a sissy and pansy. He couldn't help it if his hair was gone. Was it his fault he had been in the cornfield when the meteors hit?
No, he thought to himself. It was dad's fault.
He remembered how his father had taken him to the cornfields he was buying out to build his fertilizer plant. He had told Lex that it would revolutionize growing crops in Smallville, but Lex didn't understand then how chopping down crops to build factories was going to help make better crops.
He hated being in the helicopter with his father. Lionel had only the best intentions for his shy son, but Lex didn't like heights and didn't see how being up high would help him any.
After landing, Lex had been bored to death by his father talking with the Ross' who owned the cornfields. He didn't mind them, though he'd never really met them. He knew they had a son Pete, who was only a few years old.
It had been boring listening to them talk, so he decided to get away. He usually did, as he was doing this night. He had gone into the cornfields to explore and see what they were like. He'd never really been scared of them, so he thought it was fun to go out and look around. He remembered watching all the old films his father collected where people found crop circles and he wished he could see one for real.
But, he did find something scary in the crop fields that day. A boy had been tied up like a scarecrow with an S painted on his bare chest. He looked tired and beaten. Lex had been horrified and was about to run for help when he spotted something in the sky. It was like a ball of fire, and it was heading right for him!
He ran, but he wasn't fast enough and the blast from the impact of the object hitting the ground caught up with him swiftly and threw him into the air. He had been knocked out, but he decided that was for the best. He wouldn't have wanted to see what was going on.
When his father had found him, the cornfields were flattened and Lex was curled up beneath them, his hair gone as he shivered.
Now here he was. Nervous like he had been once again.
That was why he hated his reflection. He turned away from it and walked back up onto the grassy bank where he sat down and pulled his knees up to his chest.
His thoughts fluttered again to his mother.
Was she all right? Was she finished labor? Had she given birth?
Lex shook them from his head.
It's no use worrying, he told himself as he looked out across the water to the other bank. Fireflies dotted in and out of the trees surrounding the pond. His father had told him not to worry. But, the problem was – he did worry!
He decided to sit and wait a while before returning to the mansion. He had gone a ways out from where the mansion was, so he couldn't see it anymore. It was hidden in the trees surrounding it.
Lex found himself tired now.
How long had he been out by the pond thinking? When he thought about something, time usually passed quickly and he found himself late for something.
Slowly he drifted off to sleep.
"Where is he?" Lionel asked himself as he looked out the window at the dark grounds surrounding the mansion. He couldn't see his son anywhere. He never went out farther than where he could see the mansion.
At least, that's what Lionel thought.
Sighing, he brushed his long brown hair out of his face and tried to shake the unease from his posture. His wife was in labor. She had been in labor for a while. Although he'd already been through this experience before, he still hadn't gotten used to it. It always made him nervous to think about it.
This was to be his second child and he was very anxious. He'd been overwhelmed when Lex had been born. He always pictured himself a father and wanted nothing more than to raise a family and have a good career. He had both as of the moment and was very proud of his son.
He did feel pity for the young boy, though. Lex proved to be shy and nervous most of the time and that wasn't how Lionel wanted his son to be. Lex had no reason to be nervous and he could overcome his shyness with some help.
He was startled out of his thoughts by the cries of his wife. He rushed to the door of her bedroom, but the nurse at the door stopped him.
"You can't enter, sir." she said as Lionel turned away and walked back to the window.
"Damn the waiting," he muttered under his breath. "Why does it have to be so nerve-racking?"
Perhaps that was why Lex had left. He usually found Lex alone when things got heated around the house. He and his wife usually got into disagreements about what happened at school and what Lex should do about it.
Lionel happened to think that Lex should fight back because that's what his father had told him to do. But, Lillian had argued with him, telling him no. Lex should talk things out with the principal and the boy's parents.
Lionel was a man of action and hated confrontations with country people from around Smallville. They all seemed so out of it compared to the colleagues he had worked with in Metropolis. He didn't like getting into disagreements with country hicks who had no idea who they were talking to.
The wait for his next child to be born seemed never ending! When Lex had been born, it seemed to happen in an instant! Lex couldn't be kept in his mother's womb for another second!
But this time it was as though the child within Lillian didn't want to emerge. It was as though it knew it wasn't entering the best of families, so it wanted to stay inside, hidden.
No, Lionel thought to himself. That's not it at all.
He had a way of always thinking things over too much and changing positive thoughts into negative ones. He had seen this in Lex too, though Lex didn't know it. Lionel could read it in his son's eyes. The deep emerald eyes that penetrated all the way down to your soul when he looked at you.
He loved his son. Lex was almost a spitting image of him as a boy and he enjoyed watching his Lex grow up, becoming more and more a man each day.
I wish he were here right now, he thought to himself. He didn't like to admit it, but he needed Lex as much as Lex needed him. They worked off of each other and both enjoyed each other's company. How else was it supposed to be?
Suddenly a loud cry came from the bedroom followed by the sound of a baby's wail.
Lionel rushed to the door and the nurse reluctantly stepped aside as she let him enter the room. Lionel was so excited he could barely contain himself.
The doctors all around the bed before were now huddled around a table where they were cleaning the baby off, making sure it was breathing correctly and wasn't hurt in any way. The umbilical cord was already cut and the child was wailing loudly.
Lionel rushed to Lillian and too her hand. His smile did nothing to change Lillian's exhausted expression. She had been working for a few hours, almost all afternoon.
"Lillian!" he said as he squeezed her hand. She gave a sigh and didn't respond, too exhausted to talk. "Lillian! You did it!"
The doctors came over with the child and placed it in Lillian's arms.
"Congratulations, Mrs. Luthor." one of them said. "It's a boy."
Lionel was smiling from ear to ear, but Lillian showed no emotion at all. Lionel's smile faded slowly from his face as he watched Lillian hold the boy, almost reluctantly as the boy's wailing slowed as he felt the arms of his mother around him.
"What's the boy's name, Mr. Luthor?" a doctor with a clipboard said asked with pen poised.
Lionel looked over at his wife who didn't look like she was going to respond; though they both knew the name they were going to give the child.
"Julian." Lionel said finally. "Julian Luthor."
He looked over at Lillian, looking for her approval, but there was none. She didn't show any signs of life except for breathing. Lionel expected the doctors to write this off as symptoms of exhaustion, but Lionel knew what it was really about. Lillian had told him before that she was content with one child, but Lionel desperately wanted a large family so had convinced her to carry another.
Slowly, he took Julian from her arms and held him, smiling to himself as he watched his new son fall slowly asleep with his little thumb in his mouth.
"Would you just look at him?" he said with satisfaction. "He's so little. I remember when Lex was that little."
Julian moved his arms a little before falling deeper into peaceful sleep.
Lionel wished Lex were there to see his new brother. Lex always talked about wanting to be a brother. Lionel was proud to know that now Lex would get his wish. Lex was a responsible boy and he would prove to be a good brother to Julian. Lionel knew this for a fact.
Lex awoke when it was still dark out. He looked down at his watch and read the time: 12:30.
He'd have to get back. Maybe his sibling was born now. Maybe his mother was out of pain now...
He slowly made his way back down the cobblestone path towards the brightly-lit windows of the Luthor Mansion. The small amount of sleep he had gotten seemed to settle his anxiousness a little.
He was glad to be back inside the warm mansion where the bugs couldn't bite him. He took off his jacket and hung it on the hanger beside the door, trying to be as quiet as he could be.
Slowly, he made his way up the stairs to his bedroom, but stopped when he noticed the new baby's room was brightly lit and that his father was standing in it. Intrigued, Lex walked over to the doorway.
His father turned to spot him and smiled.
"Well, Lex," he said with a grin. "I'm glad you're finally back. Where'd you go, son?"
Lex gave a shrug.
"The pond."
Lionel nodded. He had suspected that.
"Well, come in, son." Lionel said as Lex slowly entered the blue room covered with paintings of ducks and flowers. "Do you want to see your new baby brother?"
Lex felt the excitement flood him once again.
"Baby brother?" he said as he walked over to the cradle where the tiny infant lay.
Lionel smiled and nodded as he showed Lex the sleeping infant.
After a few minutes of admiring the tiny child, Lex looked up at his father with a curious look on his smooth face.
"What'd you call him?"
Lionel smiled as he replied. "Julian, son."
Lex smiled.
He was glad that he finally had a baby brother as his father had promised he'd have someday. Lex felt pride deep in his heart that he now had what many boys at his school didn't have: A baby brother.
"It's getting late, son." Lionel said as he patted his son on the back. "Best if you get to bed. You and Julian can get to know each other tomorrow."
Lex nodded and headed off to his bedroom, taking one last look back at Julian's room before closing his door and turning off the lights.