Lex Luthor hated psychatrists. Okay, perhaps "hate" was too strong a word. Skeptical, seemed to be more appropriate. Since his stint in a mental hospital sometime ago and witnessing (and sometimes being apart of) the horrors that the doctors inflicted was still something that gave him nightmares. He would do whatever possible to avoid being a bird in the cuckoo's nest again.

That was his mindset for the longest time, until the voices started. Distant but definetely present voices. He remembered the first voice he heard was that of a woman; he had actually thought it was his wife Lana talking in her sleep. He had forgot the incident until the voices started again; this time there was so many at once and they were all loud. As if they were standing next to him.

That was why Lex Luthor, an anti-shrink crusader, found himself on the sitting on the long, leather sofa that had been the cliche of cliches when thinking about psychatrists. Even the doctor himself was generic. A European accent and little beard; the whole works. That was the last time he let Lana choose his doctors.

"So, you hear voices?" Doctor Meyers asked.

Lex couldn't look the doctor in the eye. Embarassment or fear? He couldn't really decide which.

"Yes, I hear voices." Lex said quietly.

Doctor Meyers removed his glasses and crossed his legs. "Alexander, I'm sure that I don't need to tell you that auditory hallucinations are a severe symptom."

"A symptom of what?" Lex asked shortly.

Doctors Meyers shrugged. "Well, there are a multitude of mental illnesses that have auditory hallucinations as a symtpom: bipolar disorder, dissocative identity disorder, PTSD, schizophrenia, dementia. Why, even the simplest things can cause this."

Lex finally looked up, his interest piqued. "It can?"

"Yes. Lack of sleep, anixety, and namely a great amount of stress. Your wife is expecting a child?"

"Our third. We have a son and a little girl. Alex and Lily. This one is gonna be another boy. We were thinking of naming him after one of my friends. "

Doctor Meyers offered a half-smile. "I suppose there are no nerves this time around?"

"There's always gonna be nerves, Doc. Trying to juggle work and family, making sure that Lana is well taken care of, always thinking that if I'm not careful that I'm gonna end up like my own father."

"Your father, Alexander? I've heard nothing but good things about Lionel Luthor. "

Lex gave a mirthless chuckle."Well, don't believe everything you hear. He was a decent father until..this.." Lex gestured towards his bald scalp. "After the accident, he changed. I would have to be at death's door before he even looked my way. Even when he was paying attention, it was only to get his claws into me so I'd be his puppet. I promised myself after Lily was born, that I would never turn my back on my kids or my wife."

Doctor Meyers reached over to touch Lex's shoulder. "Perhaps maybe it's time to stop worrying about being Lionel, and to start being Alexander."

"You think that will make the voices go away?" Lex asked.

"It's worth a shot, isn't it? We can also try some relaxation techinques and some anti anixety medication. If nothing works and more symptoms appear, we could perhaps do further testing for other illnesses."

Lex nodded, but he had tuned the doctor out. The voices were starting again.