THE BOY IN THE IRON MASK
Chapter One by Orphieblue
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Lex knew he was in trouble this time.
Real trouble. "I must say you've truly outdone yourself, my son," said Lionel the moment Lex was ushered into his office. "At the ripe old age of fifteen, this will be the third school you've been expelled from."
Lex threw himself into a chair in front of his father's massive desk. Brazenly, he put a Doc Marten-clad foot on the spotless glass desktop and didn't answer. He stared at the far wall with a bored expression, playing mindlessly with the zipper on his leather jacket.
Inside, he was trembling, but Lionel wasn't to know that. Ever.
Lionel turned around, the huge window of his office framing him, the skyscrapers of Metropolis surrounding his shaggy head. "What am I going to do with you, Lex?"
From any other parent that would sound like an exasperated, but loving, admonishment. From Lionel however, it sounded distinctly like a threat.
"You can leave me alone. It's not like those idiots can teach me anything I can't learn on my own," Lex replied, hoping his father couldn't see the sweat beading on his neck.
"You'd love that, wouldn't you? Left to your own devices forever. Unfortunately, that's a luxury none of us, not even a Luthor, can afford." Lionel slid out from behind the desk and put his hands on the armrest of Lex's chair. He leaned over, putting his mouth right up to Lex's ear. "I'm disappointed in you, son," he whispered. "Very, very disappointed."
Lex stiffened. The sweat drops started to roll. "And this is something new?"
"The emotion, no. The level it's obtained, yes." Lionel replied icily. "I'm thinking this calls for drastic action."
The warm, dangerous breath left Lex ear and he exhaled a silent sigh of relief. "What are you going to do, Dad?" Lex sneered. Rather ineffectually, but it was better than letting his voice shake. "Take away my allowance? Send me to my room?"
Lionel smiled thinly. "I will be sending you somewhere. Somewhere quiet. Where you can have time to think."
Something inside of Lex's chest tightened. His father had often obliquely referred to a "psychiatric" solution to Lex's problems, but Lex always held firm onto the belief that his standing as Lionel Luthor's heir apparent would stop any thoughts of putting him away in a hospital or mental facility of some sort.
Lionel hated bad publicity and what could be worse than sending your only child to the asylum? But still, Lex was confounded. Could it be military school, maybe? A boot camp for wayward teens?
He stole a glance at his father, who stood there smiling broadly, as if laughing at his own private joke. "That's great, Dad," Lex said with false bravado. "I could use a vacation. From all this ..." He swept a hand through the air. "A vacation from you would be nice too," he said pointedly, aiming to wound the gleeful man in front of him.
Lionel didn't fall for the bait. He continued to look quite happy. "You think so? We'll see if that's the case once you spend some time there. A few years should improve your temperament, I think."
"A few years where?" Slightly panicked, but Lex couldn't hide it anymore. "Dad, if you put me away ..."
Lionel laughed out loud. "Put you away? You're quite paranoid for someone so young. No, Lex. I'm not putting you away. Just ... aside. For now. Someday, when you've regained your good sense, I might bring you back. Until then, you'll be in a place where you can't hurt anyone of importance, nor yourself."
Put aside. By his own father. For years, and Lex had to swallow past the large lump forming in the middle of his throat. "Where is it?" he asked, defeated. "Or should I ask ... what is it?"
"It's a familiar place. One we visited some six years ago. It wasn't a pleasant visit, but ..."
Lex's eyes went wide with horror. "Not that ... that ... horrible town with the ... the ..."
"Meteors," replied Lionel. He sat in his chair, his hands folded on the desk. He never looked more content. "You are very quick, Lex. I hope you'll apply that fast thinking to your schoolwork in your new school. I think it's called ..." He pulled up a paper from his desk and squinted at it. "Smallville High. Yes, that's it."
Ignoring Lex's loud protests, Lionel hit the intercom on his desk. "Send Romy in please."
"You can't do this!" Lex cried. "I ... I ... almost died there. Mother promised me I'd never have to go back, ever."
"Your mother isn't here to coddle you anymore," Lionel said coldly, as a burly man entered the office. He addressed him over Lex's head. "Ah, Romy. Thank you for joining us. This is my son, Lex."
Lex whirled around, about to yell at the man, tell him to get the hell out of his face when something he saw in the man's eyes stopped him mid-yell. Romy, as his father called him, was beyond formidable, having a good foot and half on Lex, not to mention being built out of what seemed to be two-hundred pounds of pure muscle. His blonde hair was razor-cut short, military style and his eyes were such an icy cold shade of blue, Lex was forced to look away from them.
One of Dad's uber-goons, Lex thought, shrinking back. He'd met a couple of them in the past year, the ones who'd pulled him out of the clubs at six in the morning to make sure he got back home in one piece, more or less. A few times they'd beaten Lex before bringing him to Lionel, claiming the other clubbers did it, always when Lex had been too drunk to protest.
Very few things frightened Lex, but they did.
This one was even scarier looking than the others. "My pleasure, Mr. Luthor. I look forward to being young Master Luthor's guardian and caretaker."
Cold, deep voice. He even sounded dangerous.
"Dad," Lex tried to appeal to his father, swallowing his pride if he had to. "Dad, please don't do this. I'll do anything you want, but don't send me to that ... place ... with this man. Please, Dad ..."
But Lionel was having none of it. He raised his hand, palm outward, in a gesture of finality. "You're going to the country, Lex. You're going to stay there until you graduate high school and that's final." His expression turned softer -- falsely loving. "You've brought this on yourself, son. I tried to warn you about the direction you were headed in, but you didn't listen. Hopefully, Mr. Marchfield here ..." He gestured toward Romy. "Will be able to succeed where I've failed."
"Dad ..."
"Good-bye, son," Lionel nodded at Romy, who took Lex's arm in an iron grip. "Call me when you arrive."
Lex knew better than to try and shake the goon off. Tearfully, he let Romy lead him out the double doors, ducking his head so no one in the office would see him.
"Raise your head and smile," Romy ordered, with a warning squeeze to Lex's arm. "You're a Luthor. Act like one."
Lex stared at him in shock. The painful grip grew tighter. "You're hurting me," he said, breathing hard, as Romy pulled him into an elevator and hit the "down" button.
The floors flew by as Romy gave Lex a gruesome parody of a smile. "You don't know what pain is, Lex." He shook Lex, hard, until his teeth rattled. "From now on, you do as I say," Romy growled in Lex's face. "Your father has paid me excellent money to make sure you toe the line and toe it you will. When we get out of this elevator, you're going to do exactly as I tell you, until the moment you reenter it, three years from now." He shoved Lex for emphasis. "Now smile, damn you. And keep smiling until we reach the limo."
Lex gasped when his shoulder hit the elevator wall, knocking the breath from him. The doors opened and he quickly pasted a smile on his face, ignoring the throb in his arm. Romy lead him out, smiling also, but the death grip on Lex's elbow didn't loosen, not until they reached the black car waiting in front of the LuthorCorp building.
Romy shoved him inside, then took a seat next to the driver. Lex fell, sprawled out between the seat and the floor and before he could claw his way to the door to escape, the locks clicked shut. The tinted windows rolled closed, shutting him off from the driver ... the air ... the outside world all together.
He was as good as imprisoned. Terrified, Lex slide into the leather seat, shaking fingers scratching at the leather as the car took off.
Lionel couldn't be sending him back to that place. He couldn't!
But a few hours later, the corn fields came into view, as did the mansion, and Lex realized Lionel wasn't bluffing this time.
He was exiling his fifteen-year-old son to accursed town of Smallville, under the care of a madman, for God knew how long.
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TBC
Chapter Two: Romy lays down the law. First day at Smallville High and a small accident.