"Normally the hospital doesn't encourage our staff to have visitors, Mr.
Luthor. But of course for you we're happy to make an exception." Mr.
Caruthers, Head of Administration for Metropolis General Hospital, glanced
over his shoulder and smiled. "How did you say you knew Dr. Carter?"
"Our families are acquainted," Lex offered. In more ways than one, he thought to himself as he followed the other man down one of the gleaming halls of the hospital.
"She's the most promising of our first year residents," the administrator continued. "Came with glowing recommendations. Of course, as you know Metropolis General hires only the best."
Lex smiled cynically at the sales pitch. Of course Caruthers was more than happy to accommodate his request to meet with Catherine Carter. After all, the hospital featured the state-of-the-art Lillian Luthor Pediatric Ward. LuthorCorp had donated more money to the hospital over the years than Lex could remember. Just another one of his father's charitable projects, with a hefty tax break on the side. Lionel never did anything just for show-there was always a hidden agenda. Always.
Lex thought again of the pictures Art Sandoval had produced at their last meeting. He had been struck by the young man's smile, the way he seemed to interact with his sister in the photographs, as if the two of them were close. But most of all he'd been struck by the fact that Andrew Carter looked like Lionel Luthor. Same pointed chin, same unruly head of brown hair, same wide, smooth brow.
With the information Sandoval provided it hadn't been too hard for Lex to fit the pieces together. In their one conversation about Lucas Lionel had said he'd placed the boy with a "suitable family." He'd laughed at Lex's suggestion that his son would ever have been given to the Kents. No, Lionel might not have wanted the child. But his ego hadn't allowed him to surrender Lucas to any family he considered beneath him in social standing.
Henry Carter had been educated at Princeton, graduating the same year as Lionel Luthor. The scion of an old, wealthy banking family, Carter had returned to a quiet, private life in Central City while Lionel had built LuthorCorp into one of the richest multinational corporations in the world. The Luthor fortune now outstripped the Carter's many times over. But when Lionel had needed to find a place for his illegitimate son, he'd turned to his old acquaintance. Henry Carter's reputation was impeccable; no one would have dared suggest the adoption of his son wasn't on the up and up. Lionel would have been able to reassure himself the child would be raised in surroundings almost--almost-befitting a Luthor. And Lionel had made sure that the paper trail would led, not to the Carters, but to the Kents.
It had all been quite smoothly done, really. If Lex wasn't so angry he would have complimented the old man on his ingenuity.
Of course Lex didn't have hard proof of any of it. Yet.
"This is the staff lounge for our doctors, Mr. Luthor. The nursing staff has their own the next floor down."
The administrator looked pitifully hopeful for some feedback from his patron, so Lex nodded approvingly.
Beaming, Caruthers opened the door. The lounge was spacious, with windows that let in some of the day's fading sunlight. But clearly the doctors weren't big on housekeeping. Newspapers and magazines lay strewn around the room on chairs and tables, and a large ashtray overflowed with cigarette butts. The only people on the room were two male doctors, who hurried out of the room as soon as they saw their boss, and a young woman who was putting things away in a battered metal locker. She spared them only a glance, nodding politely.
Caruthers gestured in her direction and cleared his throat.
"Well, I guess I'll leave you now. Please let me know if there's anything else I can do for you, Mr. Luthor."
"Of course. Thank you for your time."
When the door closed behind the administrator, Lex turned his attention to the other person in the room.
"Dr. Carter?"
The young woman glanced up with a frown. Dressed in street clothes, she was trying to fold her scrubs and white coat.
"Yes?"
"Catherine Carter?"
The frown deepened.
"Yes. Did you need something? I'm off duty as of ten minutes ago."
"No, I wanted to speak to you, if you have a moment. My name is Lex Luthor."
The woman's dark blue eyes widened a bit, and she stopped struggling with the ugly green fabric. She looked at him skeptically.
"As in.?" She trailed off, but pointed at the ceiling in the general direction of the pediatric ward.
"That's right."
"Oh." She still seemed puzzled, but obviously didn't want to offend a potential donor. "What can I do for you?"
"I believe you and my father are acquainted."
She shrugged. "Not really, no. But I believe he knew my stepfather, Henry Carter. I may have met him once or twice."
The doctor went back to sorting through her locker until she produced a backpack and a set of keys.
"I was very sorry to hear Mr. Carter had passed away."
"Thank you, I guess." She regarded him steadily for a moment, but when he didn't continue she sighed.
"Look, Mr. Luthor, I don't want to be rude but I've been on my feet for the last eighteen hours and I'd really like to go home. So if you have a point, I'd appreciate it if you'd get to it."
Lex smiled. "I wanted to talk to you about your brother."
"A.J.?" Clearly alarmed, she slammed the locker shut. "What is it? What's wrong?"
A.J., huh? It was as good a name as any, he guessed.
"I'm sure he's just fine," he soothed. "I didn't mean to upset you. But this is rather important, and it does concern him."
She set down her backpack on the table.
"I'm sorry. Please, go on."
"It's rather complicated, I'm afraid, and there's no really easy way to explain. Andrew-A.J.-is adopted, correct?"
"He is."
"You might not be aware of this, but a few months ago he sent an application to an organization that helps adoptees locate their birth parents."
Catherine pulled a chair out from the table and sat down.
"Of course I'm aware of it-he's still a minor, so I had to sign it." She rested her chin in her hand. "How did you know about that?"
Lex took the chair opposite her.
"For some months now I've been trying to locate a child given up for adoption. Lucas Luthor."
She raised her eyebrows. "A relative?"
"My half-brother."
Frowning again, the doctor shook her head. "Wait, you think A.J. might be this.Lucas?"
"Lucas Luthor was born on August 4, 1986, here in Metropolis." Lex could tell by the way she blanched slightly that she recognized the date. "Unfortunately, I don't know any more about him than that, but your brother is the closest I've come so far."
"There are dozens of boys-maybe hundreds-- born in a city this size every day." She smiled ruefully. "I've helped deliver some of them. The odds that A.J. is who you're looking for."
"But not dozens of boys adopted into families connected to my own," Lex corrected. He leaned forward a bit.
"Did your parents ever say anything to either of you about A.J.'s birth parents?"
Catherine was thoughtful for a long moment.
"Only that he was born here. Of course, A.J. was only ten when Henry died, but still." She frowned at his expression. "And believe me, if my mother knew anything about A.J.'s biological parents she would have told him by now. Amber doesn't keep secrets very well."
Lex sat back in his chair. Henry Carter was no longer alive to ask about his son's adoption. Even if he had been, the odds that he would have been honest with Lex were slim. Lionel refused to admit Lucas was even alive. That left him with only one other recourse.
"There's one way we can be sure. I want A.J. to have a DNA test."
Dr. Carter stood up. "Look, maybe my brother is the kid you're looking for, but it's far more likely that he isn't. Either way I can't make a decision like this for him."
Lex thought again of the photographs. She had seemed genuinely fond of Andrew, and he had to admit that if their roles were reversed he would be just as concerned about possibly turning the young man's life upside down.
"I didn't expect that you would. But I want you to talk to him. Tell him what I've told you, and see if he's willing to take the test. If so, we'll both take it, and then we'll be certain." Lex stood, too, and gave her his card.
"This is very important to me," he explained in a softer tone. "I don't want to disrupt A.J.'s life any more than I have to. But I may have a brother out there, and I won't rest until I've found out what happened to him."
She studied the card for a long moment.
"And if he is your brother? What then?"
Lex shook his head. "Let's see what the test results say first. Then he and I can decide where to go from there."
Catherine put the card in her pocket.
"Look, I won't make any promises. But I will talk to him."
He nodded. "I'd appreciate it. Please let me know as soon as he's reached a decision." He walked to the door, then turned and smiled. "It was nice meeting you, Dr. Carter. I hope we'll meet again sometime soon." ***********************************
"Clark, hand me the bucket of water, would you?" Pete Ross barely glanced up from where he was scrubbing his car's white wall tires.
With a grin, Clark handed the bucket to his friend, deliberately sloshing a lot of the water over the rim.
The other boy stood up, pulling his sopping wet t-shirt away from his body. "Oh, man. You're dead now, Kent. This is war." Pete picked up the soapy sponge and hurled it at him, but Clark sidestepped it easily.
"Hey, no super speed stuff, Clark. That's cheating."
"Yeah? I didn't hear you call the rules."
"My driveway, my rules," Pete grinned.
"When I gave up part of my Saturday to help you wash your car? That's gratitude."
"You're helping me because this is the closest you've got to your own set of wheels, and you know it," Pete teased. Both boys knew perfectly well Pete had gotten his car only out of sheer luck: his oldest brother Jim had bought the car in high school, lovingly restoring it to its 1960s glory in auto shop. But now Jim was the proud father of two, and the car was too small for his growing family. So he had entrusted it to the care of his youngest brother. With threats of dire consequences if Pete didn't take good care of it. Hence the weekly washing.
"Hit a man when he's down, why don't you. I'm still mad about that truck Dad wouldn't let me have."
Pete rolled his eyes. "Let it go, man. That was, like, a year ago. And nothing but bad mojo could come from something a Luthor gave you. Trust me on this one."
Clark bit his lip before he jumped to Lex's defense. His continuing friendship with Lex remained a big sore spot with Pete, one that he tried not to push.
"Maybe now that my mom's working we can save up for another truck," he suggested instead.
"And speaking of working moms, here comes the esteemed Judge Ross." Both young men stepped aside as Pete's mother swung her Ford sedan into the driveway.
Kate Ross, an attractive woman Martha Kent's age, smiled at both of them as she got out of the car with a stack of papers in her arms. "Will you two ever get through a car wash without throwing water at each other? Honestly, you'd think you were both still eight years old."
"Hey, Mom." Pete blushed slightly when his mother kissed him on the cheek.
"Working on a Saturday, Mrs. Ross? Is that legal?" Clark teased.
She kissed him, too. "Oh, as usual the county's running a backlog of cases. Just doing my duty by my constituents."
"C'mon, Mom, you get elected by a landslide every time. I don't think your constituents would care if you took the weekend off."
"I'm a constituent, and I don't mind," Clark offered.
Pete grinned. "See?"
"Yes, yes, you're both very amusing, but I need to get dinner started."
Retrieving the bucket, Pete shook his head. "Dad's got it covered, Mom. Since he actually took the day off and all."
Judge Ross' relief was visible.
"Oh, good. I've been wracking my brain all the way home trying to come up with something to feed you two."
"Us three," her son corrected. "Dad invited Clark, too."
"That's nice," she said absently. "Well, maybe I can set the table or something. Go easy with the water, boys; we don't need another drought."
The two friends watched the Judge disappear into the house.
"Has your mom come home looking that tired yet, Clark?" Pete said absently.
Clark shook his head. "Not yet. But her job's not as tough. She only has to put up with Lionel Luthor. Yours has to fight for truth and justice and all that. Man, I'd hate having to make those kinds of decisions."
"Then never go into law, Clark. Stick with Chloe and be a newspaperman. Or marry Lana and run the Talon. But stay far away from the courtroom. Believe me, with two lawyers for parents I hear more about what's just and what isn't than any guy should have to put up with."
The taller boy grinned. "C'mon, Pete, don't be so negative. I thought law was kind of a tradition in your family."
"Yeah, maybe, but you won't catch me doing it. No way do I want that kind of pressure."
Clark nodded. "Uh huh."
"I'm totally serious. If you ever catch me in law or politics I give you my permission now to crush my skull. You'd be doing me a favor."
Shaking his head, Clark refilled the bucket with water from the hose. Pete had always had a tendency to play down how smart he was, probably because he was the youngest of five very accomplished, very smart kids. Pete had opted to become the funny one instead. Clark knew he'd be great at whatever he chose to do in life. Even if what he chose to do was to become yet another Ross lawyer. Or even another Judge Ross.
He couldn't quite picture his friend doing something that dignified.
But then, you never knew. *************************************************
A.J. stared at his reflection in the mirrored elevator doors. The same reflection he'd seen every morning stared back at him. Like most adopted kids he's always wondered idly where his nose had come from, what side of the family had passed down their eye and hair colors to him. But now that he had a shot at finding out, he wanted nothing more than to run screaming in the other direction.
"Are you ok?" His sister asked, glancing over at him. "You look a little queasy."
"I feel a little queasy," he retorted as the elevator slid to a stop. "How would you feel if Jack Thibodaux suddenly reappeared in your life?"
At the mention of her biological father, Catherine frowned. "Surprised. Shocked." Then she smiled a bit. "And maybe a little nauseated."
"See? Now you have an idea how I feel."
They both stepped out into the small lobby.
"Plush, isn't it?" Catherine offered in a hushed tone.
He wished he was in a better mood to appreciate being in the landmark Armory Building. It was in his art history textbook at school, for god's sake. He should have brought his sketchpad to pick up some of the interior details. But, then, he hadn't been thinking too clearly ever since his sister had sat him down and told her about her meeting with Lex Luthor.
A.J. had never really expected anything to come of his first, tentative search for information about his adoption. Searching, even with the approval of his mother and sister, still felt vaguely disloyal, and the last thing he wanted was to find out that his birth parents didn't want to hear from him. That was why he'd only written to a few places. Just to see. It had never occurred to him that he might turn out to have another sibling-a brother-out there.
Be careful what you wish for; you might get it, his mother liked to say. He had never appreciated the wisdom of that saying until now.
"Let's get it over with," his sister suggested. "Then you'll feel better."
He wasn't sure he agreed, but he allowed himself to be towed to the double doors. No sooner did she knock than the doors swung open and a man in a suit greeted them.
"Dr. Carter, Mr. Carter. Please come in."
Catherine glanced over at her brother and shrugged, following the man into the apartment.
Both of them took in the enormous living room, with its expensive leather furniture and sweeping views. Carefully lit paintings decorated the two interior walls, and A.J. was pretty sure those were in his art history textbook, too. Unfortunately he couldn't think straight enough to remember the artists' names.
"Dr. Carter, I'm pleased to see you again." A younger man detached himself from the two other people in the room and approached them. He and Catherine shook hands, and then he turned with a smile to A.J.
Catherine smoothed over the brief silence.
"A.J., this is Lex Luthor. Mr. Luthor, this is my brother, A.J." He wasn't sure, but he thought he detected a slight edge in Cate's voice at the word 'brother.' A.J. nodded politely, unable to think of anything to say.
"I'm pleased to meet you, A.J. I've heard a great deal about you."
"Hey," was all he could come up with in response. Since his brain seemed to be failing him, A.J. opted to study Lex. Catherine had given him a pretty accurate description of the Luthor heir. Tall, but not much taller than him or Cate. Lean, with expensive-looking dark clothes. His bald head would certainly make him stand out in a crowd, although in a weird way it seemed to suit him. What really struck A.J. about him, however, were his eyes: a pale shade of blue, one that could look green or gray depending on the light. Sort of the shade of blue you'd get when a lake iced over in winter. A.J. had spent a lot of time thinking up an analogy for that color, because his eyes were the same shade.
"This is my personal physician, Dr. Means," Lex gestured to a dark haired man, "and Mr. White is one of my lawyers." The man who had opened the door nodded.
"Why do we need a lawyer?" Catherine asked.
"Oh, just in case, Dr. Carter," White smiled.
His sister was never one to be put off with a pat answer to a question.
"Just in case what?" she frowned.
A.J. squeezed his sister's arm.
"Don't worry about it, Cate. Let's just get it over with, ok?"
She gave him a long look from under her lashes, but finally let the matter drop.
"I'm sure that as a physician herself your sister has explained the procedure to you," Dr. Means spoke up.
"Yes."
"Of course, these tests are usually easier with a sample from a parent, but since that isn't possible in this case I've already taken a sample from Mr. Luthor. That will be compared to yours for any genetic similarities."
It was on the tip of his tongue to ask why that wasn't possible-last he'd heard Lionel Luthor wasn't dead-but A.J. held back. Odds were they weren't related anyway, so what difference would it make?
"Got it."
He sat in the chair next to where the doctor had laid out a series of long cotton swabs and other paraphernalia. In retrospect the whole thing seemed anti-climactic--just a few sweeps with a swab against the inside of his mouth and it was over.
"That's it?"
"That's it." Dr. Means carefully placed the sample into a glass tube. "Results might take several days, so if I were you I'd go home and relax."
A.J. could have slugged him. How was he supposed to relax when he was this close to finding out who his birth parents were? Was this guy his brother? Or would he have to go back to wondering where he'd come from?
He must have been scowling, because his sister spoke up.
"I'm sure you'll let us know as soon as you can. I guess we can go, then."
A.J. stood up, and Luthor looked at him seriously.
"Thank you for agreeing to do this, A.J. I appreciate it."
"No problem. I guess it's the only way to know for sure, right?"
"I guess so," the other man nodded.
A.J. had never felt so uncomfortable in his life, and he knew everyone else in the room felt the same way. The whole thing was so ridiculously awkward he almost laughed. Almost.
He politely shook hands with Lex, and then the lawyer, White, escorted them out again. It wasn't until they were back in the gleaming elevator that Cate spoke up again.
"Well?"
"He has my eyes. Or I have his. Or something like that."
His sister laid a gentle hand on his arm.
"I know. I saw it, too.
"Our families are acquainted," Lex offered. In more ways than one, he thought to himself as he followed the other man down one of the gleaming halls of the hospital.
"She's the most promising of our first year residents," the administrator continued. "Came with glowing recommendations. Of course, as you know Metropolis General hires only the best."
Lex smiled cynically at the sales pitch. Of course Caruthers was more than happy to accommodate his request to meet with Catherine Carter. After all, the hospital featured the state-of-the-art Lillian Luthor Pediatric Ward. LuthorCorp had donated more money to the hospital over the years than Lex could remember. Just another one of his father's charitable projects, with a hefty tax break on the side. Lionel never did anything just for show-there was always a hidden agenda. Always.
Lex thought again of the pictures Art Sandoval had produced at their last meeting. He had been struck by the young man's smile, the way he seemed to interact with his sister in the photographs, as if the two of them were close. But most of all he'd been struck by the fact that Andrew Carter looked like Lionel Luthor. Same pointed chin, same unruly head of brown hair, same wide, smooth brow.
With the information Sandoval provided it hadn't been too hard for Lex to fit the pieces together. In their one conversation about Lucas Lionel had said he'd placed the boy with a "suitable family." He'd laughed at Lex's suggestion that his son would ever have been given to the Kents. No, Lionel might not have wanted the child. But his ego hadn't allowed him to surrender Lucas to any family he considered beneath him in social standing.
Henry Carter had been educated at Princeton, graduating the same year as Lionel Luthor. The scion of an old, wealthy banking family, Carter had returned to a quiet, private life in Central City while Lionel had built LuthorCorp into one of the richest multinational corporations in the world. The Luthor fortune now outstripped the Carter's many times over. But when Lionel had needed to find a place for his illegitimate son, he'd turned to his old acquaintance. Henry Carter's reputation was impeccable; no one would have dared suggest the adoption of his son wasn't on the up and up. Lionel would have been able to reassure himself the child would be raised in surroundings almost--almost-befitting a Luthor. And Lionel had made sure that the paper trail would led, not to the Carters, but to the Kents.
It had all been quite smoothly done, really. If Lex wasn't so angry he would have complimented the old man on his ingenuity.
Of course Lex didn't have hard proof of any of it. Yet.
"This is the staff lounge for our doctors, Mr. Luthor. The nursing staff has their own the next floor down."
The administrator looked pitifully hopeful for some feedback from his patron, so Lex nodded approvingly.
Beaming, Caruthers opened the door. The lounge was spacious, with windows that let in some of the day's fading sunlight. But clearly the doctors weren't big on housekeeping. Newspapers and magazines lay strewn around the room on chairs and tables, and a large ashtray overflowed with cigarette butts. The only people on the room were two male doctors, who hurried out of the room as soon as they saw their boss, and a young woman who was putting things away in a battered metal locker. She spared them only a glance, nodding politely.
Caruthers gestured in her direction and cleared his throat.
"Well, I guess I'll leave you now. Please let me know if there's anything else I can do for you, Mr. Luthor."
"Of course. Thank you for your time."
When the door closed behind the administrator, Lex turned his attention to the other person in the room.
"Dr. Carter?"
The young woman glanced up with a frown. Dressed in street clothes, she was trying to fold her scrubs and white coat.
"Yes?"
"Catherine Carter?"
The frown deepened.
"Yes. Did you need something? I'm off duty as of ten minutes ago."
"No, I wanted to speak to you, if you have a moment. My name is Lex Luthor."
The woman's dark blue eyes widened a bit, and she stopped struggling with the ugly green fabric. She looked at him skeptically.
"As in.?" She trailed off, but pointed at the ceiling in the general direction of the pediatric ward.
"That's right."
"Oh." She still seemed puzzled, but obviously didn't want to offend a potential donor. "What can I do for you?"
"I believe you and my father are acquainted."
She shrugged. "Not really, no. But I believe he knew my stepfather, Henry Carter. I may have met him once or twice."
The doctor went back to sorting through her locker until she produced a backpack and a set of keys.
"I was very sorry to hear Mr. Carter had passed away."
"Thank you, I guess." She regarded him steadily for a moment, but when he didn't continue she sighed.
"Look, Mr. Luthor, I don't want to be rude but I've been on my feet for the last eighteen hours and I'd really like to go home. So if you have a point, I'd appreciate it if you'd get to it."
Lex smiled. "I wanted to talk to you about your brother."
"A.J.?" Clearly alarmed, she slammed the locker shut. "What is it? What's wrong?"
A.J., huh? It was as good a name as any, he guessed.
"I'm sure he's just fine," he soothed. "I didn't mean to upset you. But this is rather important, and it does concern him."
She set down her backpack on the table.
"I'm sorry. Please, go on."
"It's rather complicated, I'm afraid, and there's no really easy way to explain. Andrew-A.J.-is adopted, correct?"
"He is."
"You might not be aware of this, but a few months ago he sent an application to an organization that helps adoptees locate their birth parents."
Catherine pulled a chair out from the table and sat down.
"Of course I'm aware of it-he's still a minor, so I had to sign it." She rested her chin in her hand. "How did you know about that?"
Lex took the chair opposite her.
"For some months now I've been trying to locate a child given up for adoption. Lucas Luthor."
She raised her eyebrows. "A relative?"
"My half-brother."
Frowning again, the doctor shook her head. "Wait, you think A.J. might be this.Lucas?"
"Lucas Luthor was born on August 4, 1986, here in Metropolis." Lex could tell by the way she blanched slightly that she recognized the date. "Unfortunately, I don't know any more about him than that, but your brother is the closest I've come so far."
"There are dozens of boys-maybe hundreds-- born in a city this size every day." She smiled ruefully. "I've helped deliver some of them. The odds that A.J. is who you're looking for."
"But not dozens of boys adopted into families connected to my own," Lex corrected. He leaned forward a bit.
"Did your parents ever say anything to either of you about A.J.'s birth parents?"
Catherine was thoughtful for a long moment.
"Only that he was born here. Of course, A.J. was only ten when Henry died, but still." She frowned at his expression. "And believe me, if my mother knew anything about A.J.'s biological parents she would have told him by now. Amber doesn't keep secrets very well."
Lex sat back in his chair. Henry Carter was no longer alive to ask about his son's adoption. Even if he had been, the odds that he would have been honest with Lex were slim. Lionel refused to admit Lucas was even alive. That left him with only one other recourse.
"There's one way we can be sure. I want A.J. to have a DNA test."
Dr. Carter stood up. "Look, maybe my brother is the kid you're looking for, but it's far more likely that he isn't. Either way I can't make a decision like this for him."
Lex thought again of the photographs. She had seemed genuinely fond of Andrew, and he had to admit that if their roles were reversed he would be just as concerned about possibly turning the young man's life upside down.
"I didn't expect that you would. But I want you to talk to him. Tell him what I've told you, and see if he's willing to take the test. If so, we'll both take it, and then we'll be certain." Lex stood, too, and gave her his card.
"This is very important to me," he explained in a softer tone. "I don't want to disrupt A.J.'s life any more than I have to. But I may have a brother out there, and I won't rest until I've found out what happened to him."
She studied the card for a long moment.
"And if he is your brother? What then?"
Lex shook his head. "Let's see what the test results say first. Then he and I can decide where to go from there."
Catherine put the card in her pocket.
"Look, I won't make any promises. But I will talk to him."
He nodded. "I'd appreciate it. Please let me know as soon as he's reached a decision." He walked to the door, then turned and smiled. "It was nice meeting you, Dr. Carter. I hope we'll meet again sometime soon." ***********************************
"Clark, hand me the bucket of water, would you?" Pete Ross barely glanced up from where he was scrubbing his car's white wall tires.
With a grin, Clark handed the bucket to his friend, deliberately sloshing a lot of the water over the rim.
The other boy stood up, pulling his sopping wet t-shirt away from his body. "Oh, man. You're dead now, Kent. This is war." Pete picked up the soapy sponge and hurled it at him, but Clark sidestepped it easily.
"Hey, no super speed stuff, Clark. That's cheating."
"Yeah? I didn't hear you call the rules."
"My driveway, my rules," Pete grinned.
"When I gave up part of my Saturday to help you wash your car? That's gratitude."
"You're helping me because this is the closest you've got to your own set of wheels, and you know it," Pete teased. Both boys knew perfectly well Pete had gotten his car only out of sheer luck: his oldest brother Jim had bought the car in high school, lovingly restoring it to its 1960s glory in auto shop. But now Jim was the proud father of two, and the car was too small for his growing family. So he had entrusted it to the care of his youngest brother. With threats of dire consequences if Pete didn't take good care of it. Hence the weekly washing.
"Hit a man when he's down, why don't you. I'm still mad about that truck Dad wouldn't let me have."
Pete rolled his eyes. "Let it go, man. That was, like, a year ago. And nothing but bad mojo could come from something a Luthor gave you. Trust me on this one."
Clark bit his lip before he jumped to Lex's defense. His continuing friendship with Lex remained a big sore spot with Pete, one that he tried not to push.
"Maybe now that my mom's working we can save up for another truck," he suggested instead.
"And speaking of working moms, here comes the esteemed Judge Ross." Both young men stepped aside as Pete's mother swung her Ford sedan into the driveway.
Kate Ross, an attractive woman Martha Kent's age, smiled at both of them as she got out of the car with a stack of papers in her arms. "Will you two ever get through a car wash without throwing water at each other? Honestly, you'd think you were both still eight years old."
"Hey, Mom." Pete blushed slightly when his mother kissed him on the cheek.
"Working on a Saturday, Mrs. Ross? Is that legal?" Clark teased.
She kissed him, too. "Oh, as usual the county's running a backlog of cases. Just doing my duty by my constituents."
"C'mon, Mom, you get elected by a landslide every time. I don't think your constituents would care if you took the weekend off."
"I'm a constituent, and I don't mind," Clark offered.
Pete grinned. "See?"
"Yes, yes, you're both very amusing, but I need to get dinner started."
Retrieving the bucket, Pete shook his head. "Dad's got it covered, Mom. Since he actually took the day off and all."
Judge Ross' relief was visible.
"Oh, good. I've been wracking my brain all the way home trying to come up with something to feed you two."
"Us three," her son corrected. "Dad invited Clark, too."
"That's nice," she said absently. "Well, maybe I can set the table or something. Go easy with the water, boys; we don't need another drought."
The two friends watched the Judge disappear into the house.
"Has your mom come home looking that tired yet, Clark?" Pete said absently.
Clark shook his head. "Not yet. But her job's not as tough. She only has to put up with Lionel Luthor. Yours has to fight for truth and justice and all that. Man, I'd hate having to make those kinds of decisions."
"Then never go into law, Clark. Stick with Chloe and be a newspaperman. Or marry Lana and run the Talon. But stay far away from the courtroom. Believe me, with two lawyers for parents I hear more about what's just and what isn't than any guy should have to put up with."
The taller boy grinned. "C'mon, Pete, don't be so negative. I thought law was kind of a tradition in your family."
"Yeah, maybe, but you won't catch me doing it. No way do I want that kind of pressure."
Clark nodded. "Uh huh."
"I'm totally serious. If you ever catch me in law or politics I give you my permission now to crush my skull. You'd be doing me a favor."
Shaking his head, Clark refilled the bucket with water from the hose. Pete had always had a tendency to play down how smart he was, probably because he was the youngest of five very accomplished, very smart kids. Pete had opted to become the funny one instead. Clark knew he'd be great at whatever he chose to do in life. Even if what he chose to do was to become yet another Ross lawyer. Or even another Judge Ross.
He couldn't quite picture his friend doing something that dignified.
But then, you never knew. *************************************************
A.J. stared at his reflection in the mirrored elevator doors. The same reflection he'd seen every morning stared back at him. Like most adopted kids he's always wondered idly where his nose had come from, what side of the family had passed down their eye and hair colors to him. But now that he had a shot at finding out, he wanted nothing more than to run screaming in the other direction.
"Are you ok?" His sister asked, glancing over at him. "You look a little queasy."
"I feel a little queasy," he retorted as the elevator slid to a stop. "How would you feel if Jack Thibodaux suddenly reappeared in your life?"
At the mention of her biological father, Catherine frowned. "Surprised. Shocked." Then she smiled a bit. "And maybe a little nauseated."
"See? Now you have an idea how I feel."
They both stepped out into the small lobby.
"Plush, isn't it?" Catherine offered in a hushed tone.
He wished he was in a better mood to appreciate being in the landmark Armory Building. It was in his art history textbook at school, for god's sake. He should have brought his sketchpad to pick up some of the interior details. But, then, he hadn't been thinking too clearly ever since his sister had sat him down and told her about her meeting with Lex Luthor.
A.J. had never really expected anything to come of his first, tentative search for information about his adoption. Searching, even with the approval of his mother and sister, still felt vaguely disloyal, and the last thing he wanted was to find out that his birth parents didn't want to hear from him. That was why he'd only written to a few places. Just to see. It had never occurred to him that he might turn out to have another sibling-a brother-out there.
Be careful what you wish for; you might get it, his mother liked to say. He had never appreciated the wisdom of that saying until now.
"Let's get it over with," his sister suggested. "Then you'll feel better."
He wasn't sure he agreed, but he allowed himself to be towed to the double doors. No sooner did she knock than the doors swung open and a man in a suit greeted them.
"Dr. Carter, Mr. Carter. Please come in."
Catherine glanced over at her brother and shrugged, following the man into the apartment.
Both of them took in the enormous living room, with its expensive leather furniture and sweeping views. Carefully lit paintings decorated the two interior walls, and A.J. was pretty sure those were in his art history textbook, too. Unfortunately he couldn't think straight enough to remember the artists' names.
"Dr. Carter, I'm pleased to see you again." A younger man detached himself from the two other people in the room and approached them. He and Catherine shook hands, and then he turned with a smile to A.J.
Catherine smoothed over the brief silence.
"A.J., this is Lex Luthor. Mr. Luthor, this is my brother, A.J." He wasn't sure, but he thought he detected a slight edge in Cate's voice at the word 'brother.' A.J. nodded politely, unable to think of anything to say.
"I'm pleased to meet you, A.J. I've heard a great deal about you."
"Hey," was all he could come up with in response. Since his brain seemed to be failing him, A.J. opted to study Lex. Catherine had given him a pretty accurate description of the Luthor heir. Tall, but not much taller than him or Cate. Lean, with expensive-looking dark clothes. His bald head would certainly make him stand out in a crowd, although in a weird way it seemed to suit him. What really struck A.J. about him, however, were his eyes: a pale shade of blue, one that could look green or gray depending on the light. Sort of the shade of blue you'd get when a lake iced over in winter. A.J. had spent a lot of time thinking up an analogy for that color, because his eyes were the same shade.
"This is my personal physician, Dr. Means," Lex gestured to a dark haired man, "and Mr. White is one of my lawyers." The man who had opened the door nodded.
"Why do we need a lawyer?" Catherine asked.
"Oh, just in case, Dr. Carter," White smiled.
His sister was never one to be put off with a pat answer to a question.
"Just in case what?" she frowned.
A.J. squeezed his sister's arm.
"Don't worry about it, Cate. Let's just get it over with, ok?"
She gave him a long look from under her lashes, but finally let the matter drop.
"I'm sure that as a physician herself your sister has explained the procedure to you," Dr. Means spoke up.
"Yes."
"Of course, these tests are usually easier with a sample from a parent, but since that isn't possible in this case I've already taken a sample from Mr. Luthor. That will be compared to yours for any genetic similarities."
It was on the tip of his tongue to ask why that wasn't possible-last he'd heard Lionel Luthor wasn't dead-but A.J. held back. Odds were they weren't related anyway, so what difference would it make?
"Got it."
He sat in the chair next to where the doctor had laid out a series of long cotton swabs and other paraphernalia. In retrospect the whole thing seemed anti-climactic--just a few sweeps with a swab against the inside of his mouth and it was over.
"That's it?"
"That's it." Dr. Means carefully placed the sample into a glass tube. "Results might take several days, so if I were you I'd go home and relax."
A.J. could have slugged him. How was he supposed to relax when he was this close to finding out who his birth parents were? Was this guy his brother? Or would he have to go back to wondering where he'd come from?
He must have been scowling, because his sister spoke up.
"I'm sure you'll let us know as soon as you can. I guess we can go, then."
A.J. stood up, and Luthor looked at him seriously.
"Thank you for agreeing to do this, A.J. I appreciate it."
"No problem. I guess it's the only way to know for sure, right?"
"I guess so," the other man nodded.
A.J. had never felt so uncomfortable in his life, and he knew everyone else in the room felt the same way. The whole thing was so ridiculously awkward he almost laughed. Almost.
He politely shook hands with Lex, and then the lawyer, White, escorted them out again. It wasn't until they were back in the gleaming elevator that Cate spoke up again.
"Well?"
"He has my eyes. Or I have his. Or something like that."
His sister laid a gentle hand on his arm.
"I know. I saw it, too.