Author's Notes: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter. I really am enjoying writing this. :-)

To "rfg" who asked about AUs where Lex doesn't lose his hair... I really can't speak for anyone else, but I suspect a lot of the people writing for SV think the hairless Lex is sexy. I know I do. ;-) It's also one of the most defining moments in Lex's life, so it's pretty important to the fanfic writers. But if I ever hear of an AU where he doesn't, I'll let you know.

The Author :-)

Part 1

(Metropolis International Airport, 1997)

Lex Luthor strode through the crowd milling about the lobby with the air of a returning prince. In every respect, he was, and the crowd--which parted before him as the Red Sea parted for Moses-- seemed to know it. People who recognized him as he breezed towards the glass-plated doors and the limousine that awaited him paused to look upon him with awe and amazement. Those who didn't know him on sight paused, as well--eyes drawn to the charismatic personage and the entourage that followed behind him.

Lex ignored the stares; he'd become all too familiar with them during the course of his life. He knew what each look meant--awe of his wealth, wonder at his lack of hair, sympathy if they knew why he had no hair. He'd seen them all, plus born the brunt of many others-- the taunting and mocking of fearful children, the scorn of "normal" kids. They were the looks and words that hardened the young heir, made him seemingly impervious to their sting. If he were truly that-- immune--he would never let on. He merely ignored them, motioning to his companions to following him as he pushed past those who would gawk.

Once outside, he halted, waiting for his friends to catch up with the fast pace he'd set. "Here's my ride," he said as they came to stand slightly behind him, as if in deference to him. He motioned to the limo before turning a smiling face to the two women he'd picked up on the flight home from his stuffy British boarding school. He was sixteen and a half; they were more like twenty-one. Both obviously knew who he was, whereas he could care less who they were-- just girls he could smile at, charm a little, and then throw away. Just like Bruce had taught him over the past two years.

He handed a card to the one with the raven hair. "Call me sometime. We'll get together." He kissed each on the cheek, giving them the best flirtatious smile he had before slipping into the limousine.

He settled in to the soft leather of the back seat, still grinning and whipped out a cell phone. His mother had said to call as soon as he was en route. He always tried to do as she asked, especially when it was something so simple as a phone call. It kept her happy and to Lex, his mother's happiness was everything.

*~*

Lex scowled. He hadn't even been home a full day yet and already the summer was full of bad news.

"Lex, honey," Lillian Luthor told him. "I know what you're thinking..."

"No, you don't. You haven't the faintest idea, Mom." His hot retort produced a hurt, stung look on her face and he immediately regretted it. As his expression softened, he went to his mother with out-stretched arms. "I'm sorry. I guess I was hoping I'd actually get to meet this one." He hugged his mother to him, smoothing her hair in a gesture of comfort. She'd just told him that the man she'd been dating for the past six months--Walter--had broken up with her just that morning.

"I know, honey, so was I. You might have liked Walter. He was a good man." She sounded a little sad.

Lex snorted. "And just what excuse did this 'good man' give for breaking my mother's heart?"

Lillian sighed, and Lex thought he knew what was coming before he heard her say "He said he really cared about me, but he couldn't handle the pressures of publicly dating a Luthor."

Publicly--there was a key phrase, and one Lex had heard a hundred times in the years since his mother had set aside mourning in favor of moving on with her life. None of her beaus lasted very long-- Walter made it longer than most--under the intense scrutiny of the media, who seemed to think it was very important that the whole world knew who was going to fill the romantic void in Lillian Luthor's life. Lex wasn't sure, but he had an inkling that the void wasn't made so much by his father's death as it had been fabricated by years of media meddling. Too many cameras taking too many pictures and too many reporters asking all the wrong questions at all the wrong times.

Sometimes, he wondered what life would have been like had his mother ever remarried. Would he have liked his stepfather? Would he have had siblings? A brother would have been nice, or even a sister he could have spoiled rotten and protected at all costs. People to share life with. But these were things they'd both been denied, and personally, Lex blamed the press and the "fame chasers" for pushing away all his mother's best prospects. All the ones whom she really cared for--with whom she might have been happy--had been put off by the attention. Lex couldn't say he blamed them, really. He hated it, too, and would gladly stand aside and let someone else have the spotlight if he could... if the media would let him.

"Maybe a 'good man' isn't what you need, anyway, Mom," Lex replied flippantly, trying his best to make her smile again, like she had when she saw him standing in the foyer upon his return... before she told him he wouldn't be meeting the infamous Walter. "Maybe..." He grinned a little. "Maybe what you need is some scoundrel to sweep you off your feet and leave you reeling." He faked a leer, and Lillian's hands flew to her mouth to cover a gasp of feigned shock.

She gave a small laugh that warmed his heart before shaking her head. "I had a scoundrel once," she told him. "The worst sort, too. He gave me you." She reached out to smooth a hand over Lex's cheek, seeming ready to wax sentimental about his father. Lex had few memories of Lionel Luthor left, and most of them were unpleasant in a vague way he couldn't explain. The vagueness, however, made it hard for him to hear her say what he knew was coming next. "You get more like him every year, you know. So handsome and smart." Lex frowned as he followed her out to the terrace for lunch. He didn't see the resemblance at all. He looked more like his maternal grandfather than his father, if the family photo albums Granny Latrobe liked to show him each summer were any indication.

Speaking of Granny Latrobe...

"Mom," Lex began as he waited for her to be seated before sitting down at the table himself. "I was wondering..."

"Yes, Lex?"

"...about this summer. Is it absolutely imperative that I join you in July for the Latrobe reunion this year?" He almost hated to ask, as he knew she valued the time they spent together with the family. Already he could see the disappointment pooling behind her eyes.

"Have you made other plans, Lex dear?" she asked, bringing her teacup up to her lips and taking a sip.

"Not... yet" he admitted. He hadn't said yes to anything, but he wanted to.

"Tell me, then," she commanded gently. "What is it you want to do instead of joining me on the lake."

Lex shifted under her gaze. "Bruce invited me Gotham for the summer," he told her.

"Bruce? Do I know this boy?"

Lex gaped. "Yes, of course, Mom. Bruce. Wayne? Wayne Enterprises--our biggest competitors? I go to school with him?" We do all that stuff together you never want to hear about--like the street racing and gambling and chasing after the same girls, he added mentally.

"Oh, yes! Thomas and Martha Wayne's poor dear orphan. Such a sweet boy!"

Lex smiled. His mother liked Bruce, even if she didn't have the faintest idea what he was really like. "Right," he said, "that Bruce. Anyway, he invited me out for the summer and I'd kind of like to go." The statement was laced with hopeful schmooze.

"You won't be just hanging out or doing anything unmentionable, will you?" his mother asked, and Lex could hear the hints of acquiescence in her voice. He smiled--unmentionable was what Lillian Luthor called all the stuff she didn't want to hear that he'd done during the year. All the things he and Bruce did for fun, in fact.

He shrugged, not committing himself to a yes or no answer. "Bruce has a project he wants my help with," he offered instead.

"Project?"

"Yeah," here Lex laughed just a little. "He has this crazy idea that he can build a remote controlled car run entirely on voice recognition. He wants me to help him test the theory."

His mother smiled a little. "Well, I suppose if it's in the name of science I can't really say no."

"Thanks, Mom." Lex leaned across the table to kiss her cheek. "I'll call Bruce later to confirm."

"You boys will stay out of trouble, right?"

"Of course," Lex told her, giving her his best Luthor smile. He was fairly certain they would be using real cars to experiment on, as Bruce had a whole fleet of them at his disposal, but Lex wasn't about share this information with Mom. She'd have a heart attack for sure.