CHAPTER 9: Compass

33.1 Facility- Reeves Dam

¨I´m not sure if I should allow this, Mr Luthor, ¨said the orderly.

¨You´ll do as I say if you want to secure your family´s well-being. You may not know me, but I´m a Luthor, and we never issue hollow threats, Mr Geoffries, ¨stated Lucas, and saw the orderly flinch. ¨Open the damn door. ¨

The youngest of the Luthor brothers stepped into the room and couldn´t help but smile at the scene before him.

¨Leave us alone, ¨he ordered the other man. ¨Lex certainly knows how to treat his guests, ¨he smirked, looking at the brunette woman in her late forties.

¨Who are you? ¨ was the woman´s answer.

¨A friend, ¨he smiled.

¨You´re one of them, aren´t you?¨she added, looking at him speculatively.

¨One of them? ¨he frowned.

¨The Luthors. I can smell them from afar. The same cocky attitude and superior airs. Although Alexander´s got a hell of a lot more class than you do. Which one are you? Lionel´s bastard son? ¨

¨My, my, Mrs Sullivan. Now I know who Chloe takes after. You certainly have a sharp tongue, ¨he laughed.

¨What do you want? ¨ she blurted with burning eyes.

¨I´m here to help you. ¨

¨Help me? What´s in there for you, Mr Luthor?¨

¨Did you know that your daughter´s living with the devil? ¨

LEX´S PENTHOUSE- METROPOLIS

¨Why, Lex? Why make her part of the project? ¨she shook her head.

¨It wasn´t what I had in mind, believe me. When the doctors started working on her case we were just concerned about finding a cure to what was causing her catatonic spells, ¨he explained, sitting down on the sofa.

¨You didn´t know about her power? ¨she asked, sitting across from him.

¨It wasn´t in her medical records, Chloe. Her case certainly intrigued me, and seeing you´d done so much for me coming forward to testify against dad in court, I thought I could repay you somehow by helping your mum get better, ¨ he answered, locking eyes with her.

¨Why didn´t you tell me? ¨she asked reproachfully.

¨I didn´t want you to put your expectations too high. ¨

¨I assume her treatment´s worked if you´ve made her part of the program. ¨

¨You´ve got to understand, Chloe, that everything I´ve done is to help her channel her power and put it to good use. ¨

¨And what´s that good use according to you, Lex? ¨

¨She can control the most dangerous of criminals with her mind, Chloe. Don´t you think that´s a power worth killing for? ¨

¨But why Morpheus? ¨

¨We needed to make sure the project didn´t get out of our hands. The subjects of this project are able to enter a person´s psyche while he´s sleeping and interact with him in his dreams. It´s an amazing gift. These people make the ultimate spies, but they need a tight leash or they might become dangerous. ¨

¨How? ¨she frowned.

¨They can kill people in their dreams, ¨he stated matter-of-factly.

¨What? ¨asked an outraged Chloe.

¨The government had a project called ¨Dreamscape¨ in the 70s which was discontinued at the end of the Cold War. We resurrected it, renamed it and found the way to keep the destructive variable out of the equation. The serum my research team managed to produce from your mother´s blood is 100 effective when inoculated. ¨

¨What would happen if they weren´t injected the serum in time, Lex? Would they become killing machines? Have you thought of the ethical ramifications of this program? ¨

¨I´ve thought about it, but I believe the end justifies the means. Think of all the wars that could be stopped, all the lives that could be spared, Chloe, ¨he answered passionately.

¨I´m a member of Greenpeace, Lex, and I´ve taken part in quite a number of rallies- even in one that marched to the UN, but I´m not that naïve and I can´t believe you are either. I love you, Lex- you don´t know how much- but you need a compass, and I don´t mean a compass like the one Jonathan Kent gave you for your wedding to that bitch of Helen Bryce, ¨she stated, looking at him with a sad smile before getting up and walking to her bedroom.

¨Chloe, ¨called Lex, leaving the sofa. ¨I... ¨

¨You don´t need to answer, Lex, ¨she told him, trying to hide her pain behind a Sullivan smile. ¨I know you don´t feel the same way about me. I´m used to it. Clark Kent, remember? Years of experience, ¨she finished with a fake smile.

¨Chloe... ¨he started, starting to walk towards her.

¨Stay there, Lex, please, ¨she stopped him, putting up her hands. ¨I don´t want to make a fool of myself and, God knows, I don´t want your pity, ¨she ended, turning round and rushing into her room before breaking into bitter tears.