EXT. LUTHORCORP BUILDING – DAY
The sun reflects brightly off of the glass sides of the LuthorCorp building, forcing Lionel to shield his eyes as he makes his way from the limousine to the entranceway.
INT. LUTHORCORP BUILDING – LOBBY
Lionel heads straight for the elevator, not even bothering to look up at the receptionist waving him down from behind the front greeting counter. Finally, before it's too late, she stands and speaks up.
RECEPTIONIST
Mr. Luthor...
He doesn't bother stopping, merely picks up his head.
LIONEL
Yes?
RECEPTIONIST Your son is waiting for you in your office, sir.
LIONEL
::confused:: My son?
RECEPTIONIST
Yes, sir.
Thinking a moment, he nods to her.
LIONEL Thank you.
Lionel heads for the elevator.
INT. LUTHORCORP BUILDING – TOP FLOOR
Lionel steps out of the elevator and walks to the office door at the end of the hall. Reaching out for the door handle, he notices the nameplate reads "Lex Luthor" and not Lionel.
He steps inside.
INT. LUTHORCORP BUILDING – OFFICE
Lionel storms into the office, finding it completely redecorated with many familiar items from the mansion, including Lex's desk. The window blinds are all open, allowing an optimal amount of sunlight into the room. Lex sits at his desk, his back to Lionel, staring out of the huge glass windows at the city skyline.
LEX
You know, I've been in this office a thousand times and I've never really ever taken the time to just look out at the city. It really is a magnificent view, an invigorating feeling...
Lex pivots in the chair. He's dressed in an all black suit, a white rose pinned to the pocket.
LEX ... Rather like the Gods, staring down from atop Mount Olympus.
Lionel takes a few steps closer to the desk, but stops short of the chairs lined up opposite Lex.
LIONEL
Taken it upon yourself to do a little redecorating? If you need a place to stay, there's an excellent little hotel down the street. I could put in a call, have you setup in the presidential suite... for as long as you like.
LEX
That won't be necessary.
LIONEL
I thought I told you to stay in Smallville.
LEX
You've told me a lot of things over the years, Dad. I simply utilized my extensive experience in the matter to interpret what you meant, to read between the lines.
LIONEL
And from that you somehow deciphered that I was inviting you to take over my office?
LEX
Not just your office... your entire company.
Lionel slowly, deliberately, takes a seat across from Lex.
LIONEL
You have very selective hearing, my son, not to mention an exceptionally vigorous imagination.
LEX
Oh, don't worry. I refuse to delude myself into thinking that it was out of anything I did. You simply... made a mistake.
LIONEL
And what would that be?
LEX
You made one enemy too many, and you allowed your personal feelings to interfere with business. What is it you always used to tell me? Business is war, and all is fair in love and war. The problem comes, as I have learned so well, when you make enemies in both. That's why it is imperative that you keep them separate or you'll be fighting a war on all fronts.
LIONEL
I trust there is a point to this lecture?
LEX
There is a point... and her name is Martha.
LIONEL
Martha Kent? What does she have to do with any of this?
LEX
The night of the black out, I came home to find that the mansion had been ransacked by a... creature, the likes of which is normally reserved for children's tales and ancient mythology. It tore apart my office and killed one of my security guards, more accurately mutilated him. Yet, after surveying the house, I found Martha Kent in the bedroom completely unharmed. When she awoke, she had no idea how she had gotten there. She had only just been in a car accident, miles away, with the Sheriff and her husband who, incidentally, both wound up missing. Now, of course, Jonathan Kent has been found, murdered, and the Sheriff's whereabouts remain a mystery.
LIONEL
If I didn't know any better I'd say you were accusing me of something.
LEX
Then, of course, there was my second encounter with the creature. How did you get out of that lab, by the way?
LIONEL
Lieutenant Shull is a very resourceful man.
LEX
As you have proven yourself to be as well. Of course, it was you who invited Shull to the lab in the first place, and it was his guard that turned out to be the creature in disguise.
LIONEL
You think that Lieutenant Shull had something to do with all of this?
LEX
I think that whatever that thing was, Shull knew about it, and so did you.
LIONEL
An ignorant conclusion, if not naïve. That creature was quite obviously an alien spy. I already told you, there is a war brewing...
LEX
Yes, that's right, I almost forgot about the alien invaders come to enslave the planet with you valiantly coming to Earth's rescue to form the first and last line of defense. It's truly an inspiring tale of bravado and intrigue, but I have a better explanation.
LIONEL
Oh, I am simply replete with anticipation.
LEX
You knew about that creature because you've been conspiring with the enemy all along. I believe that the reason it left Martha Kent unharmed was because you told it too.
LIONEL
The surrogate mother to our enemy? Even if there was an inkling of truth to this convoluted theory of yours, why would I do that?
LEX
Because you fell in love with her.
LIONEL ::laughs:: Well, bravo! You certainly have figured it all out, then, haven't you? Yes, it's true. Oh, I admit to everything. I conspired with extraterrestrials to murder Jonathan Kent, a farmer, in hopes of stealing away with his widow and starting a torrid love affair with the enchanting Martha Kent. Congratulations, Lex, you've gone straight from fairytale to soap opera, and not a very good one at that.
LEX
You two worked very closely together when she was your assistant. Oh, I'm sure it started out innocent enough, with you furtively doing your best to pry information out of her about her son's secret, about Clark, but then something happened, something you didn't expect. Maybe it was one day when the two of you were sitting out in the sun, she was reading to you from the Economy page of the latest issue of the Daily Planet...
Lex smiles derisively.
LEX
... You were "blind" after all. A gentle breeze blew by and you caught a whiff of her perfume. The scent permeated throughout your nose, left it's imprint on your soul. She is an attractive woman, deserving of a virile man such as yourself. It had been a long time since you had been intimate with a woman.
Lionel nearly explodes out of his chair.
LIONEL
Now, that's enough! How dare you talk to me that way! I am your father and you will show me the proper respect!
LEX
Back at the funeral, you offered her your help. It's not like you to offer charity to anyone.
LIONEL
I felt sorry for her.
LEX
For the mother of your enemy?
Lionel is furious, but he is also caught in a lie. He sits back down.
LEX
She thought you were blind. I wonder, how many times did she catch you staring at her from behind those glasses?
LIONEL
This conversation is over. I want you out of my office.
LEX
It isn't your office anymore, or didn't you catch the name on the door?
LIONEL
I'm afraid you're going to have to do a lot more than switch a nameplate and come in here throwing around fanatical accusations about extramarital obsessions to supercede your old man, Lex.
LEX
Oh, it's already done. Really, I'm surprised you didn't know, though, admittedly elated at the opportunity to divulge the news to you in person.
LIONEL
What are you talking about?
LEX
I'm talking about your mistake. After putting two and two together about you and Martha Kent, it didn't take very long for me to realize you had been less than truthful to me back at the lab.
LIONEL
Everything I told you at the lab was true.
Lex opens the top desk drawer and pulls out an envelope. Opening it up, he pulls the pictures Noah took at Tenshi out of the envelope and shows them to Lionel.
LEX
Except that you neglected to mention the part about your conspiring to produce weapons with Colonel Kalib, the very man that you claimed was an alien invader, along with Clark Kent, bent on taking over the world.
Lionel looks at the pictures, his attention drawn specifically to the one with him, Shull, and Kalib all conversing.
LIONEL
Where did you get these?
LEX
That's not important. What is important is that the United States military has no record of any Colonel Kalib, or Lieutenant Shull, on record. I checked. It was easy enough to do, a simple background check, not a task a resourceful man, such as yourself, wouldn't be equally capable of undertaking.
LIONEL
You knew about Tenshi.
It was a statement of fact, no longer in question.
LEX
Of course, I did, but Bruce Wayne did not, and neither did the world.
LIONEL
You sold Tenshi in hopes of exposing me. Once ownership resorted to Bruce Wayne, he would find the weapons.
LEX
::nods:: And being one of his chief competitors, there is nothing that would please Bruce Wayne more than to see you and LuthorCorp buried under the collective force of the world's governments coming down on you with international conspiracy charges.
Despite the revelation, Lionel leans back in his chair rather comfortably, even smiling.
LIONEL Well, unfortunately for you, that's not going to happen. Your plan was almost foolproof, Lex, but in case you haven't heard, as of late last night Tenshi is back to being the sole property of LuthorCorp. Neither you, nor Bruce Wayne, will ever see the inside of that building again.
LEX
And I'm sure that, just in case I decided to approach the authorities with these rather damning photographs, they would find nothing.
LIONEL
As we have discussed on so many occasions before, I am a very resourceful man.
LEX
But not quite as resourceful as you were, I'm afraid. You see, I knew that you would stop at nothing to keep Bruce Wayne from taking over ownership of Tenshi. You couldn't risk him finding out about your little pet project. That's why you went to him late last night in an attempt to broker a deal, but Bruce Wayne is no fool. He desperately wanted to clear the Gotham markets of all his competition. He was furious when you purchased Tenshi in the first place. That's why he jumped at the chance to buy it from me when I offered it to him. That's also why there was no way he was going to sell it back to you without making you pay for it.
Lionel fidgets slightly in the chair.
LEX
And make you pay for it he did, an exorbitant amount, the kind of money you don't just have stuffed under the mattress. You are a resourceful man, but all of your resources are tied up in assets. The problem was, you needed the money now and the only way to get that kind of money in a hurry was to sell off some of those resources of yours, by selling off stock in your company. Of course, selling off that much stock to buy back a money hole like Tenshi isn't good for business.
Lex picks up an issue of the Daily Planet from his desk and turns to the economy page.
LEX
LuthorCorp stock dropped dramatically, almost sixty-five percent, overnight. Now, you did your best. You tried your hardest, but the money simply wasn't there. You had no choice, and you made a fatal mistake in business ownership. You fell below fifty percent.
Lionel's arrogant smile is now a distant memory, replaced by a creeping angry glower.
LEX
You see, fifty percent is the difference between majority rule and being outvoted at the table. If you own more than fifty percent of a company, it's yours, and no collective arrangement can overrule you. If you drop below the fifty percent line, however, you are vulnerable.
Lex smiles maliciously.
LEX
You just couldn't help it, could you? You tried and you tried. You did everything you could think of, but you just couldn't let Wayne get his hands on Tenshi.
Lex pauses a moment to let it all sink in, leaning comfortably back in his chair.
LEX
Of course, with stock prices at an all time low, I was presented with a unique opportunity. After selling my shares at nearly twice their new value just two days earlier, combined with the money I got in the deal with Wayne Enterprises and a generous loan from the United States government, I found myself with considerable assets which would undoubtedly better serve me if invested properly, like in a company... your company.
Lionel stares intently at his son, deathly silent.
LEX
I now own fifty point two percent of LuthorCorp, making me the majority shareholder. Your company, the one you started, with the money you received from the insurance company after you had your parents murdered, and built from the ground up into a corporate empire... is now... mine!
Lex stands up, placing both his hands on the desk, leaning forward to face his father.
LEX
As of right now, LuthorCorp no longer exists. This is my office, my building, and my company... the new LexCorp.
Lionel glares at Lex for an agonizing eternity that lasts several seconds. Diverting his eyes, he smiles oddly.
LIONEL
So, that's what this was all about? You wanted my company? You have no idea what's going on here, no comprehension, no vision.
Lex stands up straight.
LEX
Oh, I have a vision, and as you can see...
He looks around at the office.
LEX
It's come to fruition rather nicely.
Lionel stands up to meet his son at eye level.
LIONEL And so what? You think any of this is going to last? You're a fool, Lex. Then, you are also correct.
Lionel turns his back to Lex, walking around the chair and back a little ways in the direction of the door. He puts some distance between himself and Lex before turning back around.
LIONEL I did make a mistake. I made a mistake with you. I tried... did I ever try. You just wouldn't listen. You wouldn't listen to ambition. Your mind is limited to what you see around you, to the confines of this steel, and glass, and plaster box.
He raises his arms to the room around him.
LIONEL You think this is power? You think having your name nailed to a door makes you special? You're a product of the times, Lex, a creation of the age of apathy.
LEX
I am your creation, only I turned out better than you expected, more than you could handle.
LIONEL ::shakes head:: No, I'm sad to say that you turned out to be much less. Do you think Alexander the Great would have settled for a simple office building overlooking the city of Thebes, or a temple in Tyre? How many cities do you have named after you, Lex? Alexander the Great had more than seventy.
LEX
You're living in history, Dad.
LIONEL No! I'm living in majesty! This world has become content in its futility. Empires rise and fall no more because it is an age of freedom and democracy. Everyone has a right to their fair share, their equal cut. Men of power have grown content with scraps in a world full of politics. Scholars and diplomats attribute it to evolution, but it is weakness. I raised you to be above that, to strive to be greater than this world, but you have no ambition. You are blind to the inherent opportunity that has been handed to us.
LEX
What are you babbling on about?
LIONEL
You think life is just a game of moves and countermoves. Ever since you were a child, you always reacted and never took the initiative. You want to be a master of the world as it is presented to you, the greatest of all within the rules, within the strategy of the game. I was given the chance to shape the world, to make the game obey me. What I told you was true. There is a war coming. It will be fought here, on Earth, by beings beyond your simple comprehension. Your good friend, Clark Kent, is a part of it, but I'm sad to say he is decisively on the wrong side.
LEX
You have been conspiring with them!
LIONEL I saw an opportunity and I took it. They don't want this planet. They couldn't care less about this pathetic speck of dust in the universe, but they will destroy it to get what they want.
LEX
What do they want?
LIONEL
They want him.
LEX
Clark?
LIONEL
They came for him. That's why they're here. He ran from them, but they found him. It's his fault. He brought them here and now he wants us to fight a war for him, but he is outmatched, outgunned, outmanned, and outclassed in every sense of the word. They will devastate this world to get to him, and out of the ashes a new world will rise.
LEX
Your world...
LIONEL With their technology at my disposal, history and empires will not seem so distant. Yes, I made an agreement with them. Perhaps, I even conspired with them. I made a deal for the world, and all it cost me was one little farm boy from Smallville, Kansas.
Appalled, Lex reaches down under his desk and pulls out the rifle Noah stole for him from Tenshi. He points it at Lionel.
LEX
It'll cost you more than that.
Lionel looks at the gun and laughs.
LIONEL
Put that away. You're not going to kill me, not your own father. You don't have it in you. You never did, otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation. You don't have the gall of your father. You talk about the Luthor stake like it's somehow your rightful claim. There is not Luthor stake. There is only me. There is only your father, my ambition, my strive... something you have never known, and never will.
Lex hesitates, trying desperately to summon to rage inside to help him pull the trigger.
Finally, he lowers it.
LEX
You're right. I'm not going to kill you.
Quickly, Lex raises the gun back up and aims it at Lionel's legs. A steady stream of blue energy emanates from the gun and a block of blue ice crystallizes around Lionel's legs. Lionel screams in agony.
Pulling his finger from the trigger, cutting off the beam with the ice halfway up Lionel's thighs, Lex steps around the desk to survey his work.
LEX
I had the good Doctor Fries modify your little toy here to emit the Static Life molecule in a more concentrated form. He told me it was, surprisingly, a great deal easier than he had originally expected. Apparently, the weapon already worked on a similar energy distribution matrix as his chamber.
Lionel shivers, trying desperately to breaks the ice around his legs with his palms.
LIONEL
Lex... Lex, I am your father. Don't do this!
Lex walks around and behind him, circling his prey.
LEX
I told him that I planned to use it against the creature from the incident at the lab. Of course, I wasn't really lying.
Lex shoots Lionel again, this time in the back. The ice crystallizes from his legs up over Lionel's back and around his arms, forming a claw like shape around him. Lex again cuts the beam, leaving only Lionel's chest and head unexposed.
LIONEL Lex... Lex!
Slowly, Lex steps around to face his father one last time.
LEX
He was more than willing to help me when he found out you were the one who sabotaged his machine, almost killing his wife.
LIONEL I... I didn't sabotage his machine!
Lex feigns confusion.
LEX
You didn't? Hmm... I wonder how he came under that impression, then? Of course, it was my men who built the machine. I suppose it's possible one of them could have had something to do with it. I'll have to look into that.
Lex steps back and raises the gun for one final shot.
LIONEL
Lex, please...
LEX
I'm sorry, Dad. It's only business. Besides, I wouldn't want to be accused of nepotism.
Lex shoots the gun, encasing his father inside a solid block of Static Life ice.
Satisfied, Lex walks back to his desk and taps the intercom button.
LEX Noah, can you come in here, please?
Not a few seconds later, Noah enters the office from a side door. Meeting him half way, Lex hands Noah the weapon and looks back at his father.
LEX
Checkmate.
Lex leaves through the side door.
The sun reflects brightly off of the glass sides of the LuthorCorp building, forcing Lionel to shield his eyes as he makes his way from the limousine to the entranceway.
INT. LUTHORCORP BUILDING – LOBBY
Lionel heads straight for the elevator, not even bothering to look up at the receptionist waving him down from behind the front greeting counter. Finally, before it's too late, she stands and speaks up.
RECEPTIONIST
Mr. Luthor...
He doesn't bother stopping, merely picks up his head.
LIONEL
Yes?
RECEPTIONIST Your son is waiting for you in your office, sir.
LIONEL
::confused:: My son?
RECEPTIONIST
Yes, sir.
Thinking a moment, he nods to her.
LIONEL Thank you.
Lionel heads for the elevator.
INT. LUTHORCORP BUILDING – TOP FLOOR
Lionel steps out of the elevator and walks to the office door at the end of the hall. Reaching out for the door handle, he notices the nameplate reads "Lex Luthor" and not Lionel.
He steps inside.
INT. LUTHORCORP BUILDING – OFFICE
Lionel storms into the office, finding it completely redecorated with many familiar items from the mansion, including Lex's desk. The window blinds are all open, allowing an optimal amount of sunlight into the room. Lex sits at his desk, his back to Lionel, staring out of the huge glass windows at the city skyline.
LEX
You know, I've been in this office a thousand times and I've never really ever taken the time to just look out at the city. It really is a magnificent view, an invigorating feeling...
Lex pivots in the chair. He's dressed in an all black suit, a white rose pinned to the pocket.
LEX ... Rather like the Gods, staring down from atop Mount Olympus.
Lionel takes a few steps closer to the desk, but stops short of the chairs lined up opposite Lex.
LIONEL
Taken it upon yourself to do a little redecorating? If you need a place to stay, there's an excellent little hotel down the street. I could put in a call, have you setup in the presidential suite... for as long as you like.
LEX
That won't be necessary.
LIONEL
I thought I told you to stay in Smallville.
LEX
You've told me a lot of things over the years, Dad. I simply utilized my extensive experience in the matter to interpret what you meant, to read between the lines.
LIONEL
And from that you somehow deciphered that I was inviting you to take over my office?
LEX
Not just your office... your entire company.
Lionel slowly, deliberately, takes a seat across from Lex.
LIONEL
You have very selective hearing, my son, not to mention an exceptionally vigorous imagination.
LEX
Oh, don't worry. I refuse to delude myself into thinking that it was out of anything I did. You simply... made a mistake.
LIONEL
And what would that be?
LEX
You made one enemy too many, and you allowed your personal feelings to interfere with business. What is it you always used to tell me? Business is war, and all is fair in love and war. The problem comes, as I have learned so well, when you make enemies in both. That's why it is imperative that you keep them separate or you'll be fighting a war on all fronts.
LIONEL
I trust there is a point to this lecture?
LEX
There is a point... and her name is Martha.
LIONEL
Martha Kent? What does she have to do with any of this?
LEX
The night of the black out, I came home to find that the mansion had been ransacked by a... creature, the likes of which is normally reserved for children's tales and ancient mythology. It tore apart my office and killed one of my security guards, more accurately mutilated him. Yet, after surveying the house, I found Martha Kent in the bedroom completely unharmed. When she awoke, she had no idea how she had gotten there. She had only just been in a car accident, miles away, with the Sheriff and her husband who, incidentally, both wound up missing. Now, of course, Jonathan Kent has been found, murdered, and the Sheriff's whereabouts remain a mystery.
LIONEL
If I didn't know any better I'd say you were accusing me of something.
LEX
Then, of course, there was my second encounter with the creature. How did you get out of that lab, by the way?
LIONEL
Lieutenant Shull is a very resourceful man.
LEX
As you have proven yourself to be as well. Of course, it was you who invited Shull to the lab in the first place, and it was his guard that turned out to be the creature in disguise.
LIONEL
You think that Lieutenant Shull had something to do with all of this?
LEX
I think that whatever that thing was, Shull knew about it, and so did you.
LIONEL
An ignorant conclusion, if not naïve. That creature was quite obviously an alien spy. I already told you, there is a war brewing...
LEX
Yes, that's right, I almost forgot about the alien invaders come to enslave the planet with you valiantly coming to Earth's rescue to form the first and last line of defense. It's truly an inspiring tale of bravado and intrigue, but I have a better explanation.
LIONEL
Oh, I am simply replete with anticipation.
LEX
You knew about that creature because you've been conspiring with the enemy all along. I believe that the reason it left Martha Kent unharmed was because you told it too.
LIONEL
The surrogate mother to our enemy? Even if there was an inkling of truth to this convoluted theory of yours, why would I do that?
LEX
Because you fell in love with her.
LIONEL ::laughs:: Well, bravo! You certainly have figured it all out, then, haven't you? Yes, it's true. Oh, I admit to everything. I conspired with extraterrestrials to murder Jonathan Kent, a farmer, in hopes of stealing away with his widow and starting a torrid love affair with the enchanting Martha Kent. Congratulations, Lex, you've gone straight from fairytale to soap opera, and not a very good one at that.
LEX
You two worked very closely together when she was your assistant. Oh, I'm sure it started out innocent enough, with you furtively doing your best to pry information out of her about her son's secret, about Clark, but then something happened, something you didn't expect. Maybe it was one day when the two of you were sitting out in the sun, she was reading to you from the Economy page of the latest issue of the Daily Planet...
Lex smiles derisively.
LEX
... You were "blind" after all. A gentle breeze blew by and you caught a whiff of her perfume. The scent permeated throughout your nose, left it's imprint on your soul. She is an attractive woman, deserving of a virile man such as yourself. It had been a long time since you had been intimate with a woman.
Lionel nearly explodes out of his chair.
LIONEL
Now, that's enough! How dare you talk to me that way! I am your father and you will show me the proper respect!
LEX
Back at the funeral, you offered her your help. It's not like you to offer charity to anyone.
LIONEL
I felt sorry for her.
LEX
For the mother of your enemy?
Lionel is furious, but he is also caught in a lie. He sits back down.
LEX
She thought you were blind. I wonder, how many times did she catch you staring at her from behind those glasses?
LIONEL
This conversation is over. I want you out of my office.
LEX
It isn't your office anymore, or didn't you catch the name on the door?
LIONEL
I'm afraid you're going to have to do a lot more than switch a nameplate and come in here throwing around fanatical accusations about extramarital obsessions to supercede your old man, Lex.
LEX
Oh, it's already done. Really, I'm surprised you didn't know, though, admittedly elated at the opportunity to divulge the news to you in person.
LIONEL
What are you talking about?
LEX
I'm talking about your mistake. After putting two and two together about you and Martha Kent, it didn't take very long for me to realize you had been less than truthful to me back at the lab.
LIONEL
Everything I told you at the lab was true.
Lex opens the top desk drawer and pulls out an envelope. Opening it up, he pulls the pictures Noah took at Tenshi out of the envelope and shows them to Lionel.
LEX
Except that you neglected to mention the part about your conspiring to produce weapons with Colonel Kalib, the very man that you claimed was an alien invader, along with Clark Kent, bent on taking over the world.
Lionel looks at the pictures, his attention drawn specifically to the one with him, Shull, and Kalib all conversing.
LIONEL
Where did you get these?
LEX
That's not important. What is important is that the United States military has no record of any Colonel Kalib, or Lieutenant Shull, on record. I checked. It was easy enough to do, a simple background check, not a task a resourceful man, such as yourself, wouldn't be equally capable of undertaking.
LIONEL
You knew about Tenshi.
It was a statement of fact, no longer in question.
LEX
Of course, I did, but Bruce Wayne did not, and neither did the world.
LIONEL
You sold Tenshi in hopes of exposing me. Once ownership resorted to Bruce Wayne, he would find the weapons.
LEX
::nods:: And being one of his chief competitors, there is nothing that would please Bruce Wayne more than to see you and LuthorCorp buried under the collective force of the world's governments coming down on you with international conspiracy charges.
Despite the revelation, Lionel leans back in his chair rather comfortably, even smiling.
LIONEL Well, unfortunately for you, that's not going to happen. Your plan was almost foolproof, Lex, but in case you haven't heard, as of late last night Tenshi is back to being the sole property of LuthorCorp. Neither you, nor Bruce Wayne, will ever see the inside of that building again.
LEX
And I'm sure that, just in case I decided to approach the authorities with these rather damning photographs, they would find nothing.
LIONEL
As we have discussed on so many occasions before, I am a very resourceful man.
LEX
But not quite as resourceful as you were, I'm afraid. You see, I knew that you would stop at nothing to keep Bruce Wayne from taking over ownership of Tenshi. You couldn't risk him finding out about your little pet project. That's why you went to him late last night in an attempt to broker a deal, but Bruce Wayne is no fool. He desperately wanted to clear the Gotham markets of all his competition. He was furious when you purchased Tenshi in the first place. That's why he jumped at the chance to buy it from me when I offered it to him. That's also why there was no way he was going to sell it back to you without making you pay for it.
Lionel fidgets slightly in the chair.
LEX
And make you pay for it he did, an exorbitant amount, the kind of money you don't just have stuffed under the mattress. You are a resourceful man, but all of your resources are tied up in assets. The problem was, you needed the money now and the only way to get that kind of money in a hurry was to sell off some of those resources of yours, by selling off stock in your company. Of course, selling off that much stock to buy back a money hole like Tenshi isn't good for business.
Lex picks up an issue of the Daily Planet from his desk and turns to the economy page.
LEX
LuthorCorp stock dropped dramatically, almost sixty-five percent, overnight. Now, you did your best. You tried your hardest, but the money simply wasn't there. You had no choice, and you made a fatal mistake in business ownership. You fell below fifty percent.
Lionel's arrogant smile is now a distant memory, replaced by a creeping angry glower.
LEX
You see, fifty percent is the difference between majority rule and being outvoted at the table. If you own more than fifty percent of a company, it's yours, and no collective arrangement can overrule you. If you drop below the fifty percent line, however, you are vulnerable.
Lex smiles maliciously.
LEX
You just couldn't help it, could you? You tried and you tried. You did everything you could think of, but you just couldn't let Wayne get his hands on Tenshi.
Lex pauses a moment to let it all sink in, leaning comfortably back in his chair.
LEX
Of course, with stock prices at an all time low, I was presented with a unique opportunity. After selling my shares at nearly twice their new value just two days earlier, combined with the money I got in the deal with Wayne Enterprises and a generous loan from the United States government, I found myself with considerable assets which would undoubtedly better serve me if invested properly, like in a company... your company.
Lionel stares intently at his son, deathly silent.
LEX
I now own fifty point two percent of LuthorCorp, making me the majority shareholder. Your company, the one you started, with the money you received from the insurance company after you had your parents murdered, and built from the ground up into a corporate empire... is now... mine!
Lex stands up, placing both his hands on the desk, leaning forward to face his father.
LEX
As of right now, LuthorCorp no longer exists. This is my office, my building, and my company... the new LexCorp.
Lionel glares at Lex for an agonizing eternity that lasts several seconds. Diverting his eyes, he smiles oddly.
LIONEL
So, that's what this was all about? You wanted my company? You have no idea what's going on here, no comprehension, no vision.
Lex stands up straight.
LEX
Oh, I have a vision, and as you can see...
He looks around at the office.
LEX
It's come to fruition rather nicely.
Lionel stands up to meet his son at eye level.
LIONEL And so what? You think any of this is going to last? You're a fool, Lex. Then, you are also correct.
Lionel turns his back to Lex, walking around the chair and back a little ways in the direction of the door. He puts some distance between himself and Lex before turning back around.
LIONEL I did make a mistake. I made a mistake with you. I tried... did I ever try. You just wouldn't listen. You wouldn't listen to ambition. Your mind is limited to what you see around you, to the confines of this steel, and glass, and plaster box.
He raises his arms to the room around him.
LIONEL You think this is power? You think having your name nailed to a door makes you special? You're a product of the times, Lex, a creation of the age of apathy.
LEX
I am your creation, only I turned out better than you expected, more than you could handle.
LIONEL ::shakes head:: No, I'm sad to say that you turned out to be much less. Do you think Alexander the Great would have settled for a simple office building overlooking the city of Thebes, or a temple in Tyre? How many cities do you have named after you, Lex? Alexander the Great had more than seventy.
LEX
You're living in history, Dad.
LIONEL No! I'm living in majesty! This world has become content in its futility. Empires rise and fall no more because it is an age of freedom and democracy. Everyone has a right to their fair share, their equal cut. Men of power have grown content with scraps in a world full of politics. Scholars and diplomats attribute it to evolution, but it is weakness. I raised you to be above that, to strive to be greater than this world, but you have no ambition. You are blind to the inherent opportunity that has been handed to us.
LEX
What are you babbling on about?
LIONEL
You think life is just a game of moves and countermoves. Ever since you were a child, you always reacted and never took the initiative. You want to be a master of the world as it is presented to you, the greatest of all within the rules, within the strategy of the game. I was given the chance to shape the world, to make the game obey me. What I told you was true. There is a war coming. It will be fought here, on Earth, by beings beyond your simple comprehension. Your good friend, Clark Kent, is a part of it, but I'm sad to say he is decisively on the wrong side.
LEX
You have been conspiring with them!
LIONEL I saw an opportunity and I took it. They don't want this planet. They couldn't care less about this pathetic speck of dust in the universe, but they will destroy it to get what they want.
LEX
What do they want?
LIONEL
They want him.
LEX
Clark?
LIONEL
They came for him. That's why they're here. He ran from them, but they found him. It's his fault. He brought them here and now he wants us to fight a war for him, but he is outmatched, outgunned, outmanned, and outclassed in every sense of the word. They will devastate this world to get to him, and out of the ashes a new world will rise.
LEX
Your world...
LIONEL With their technology at my disposal, history and empires will not seem so distant. Yes, I made an agreement with them. Perhaps, I even conspired with them. I made a deal for the world, and all it cost me was one little farm boy from Smallville, Kansas.
Appalled, Lex reaches down under his desk and pulls out the rifle Noah stole for him from Tenshi. He points it at Lionel.
LEX
It'll cost you more than that.
Lionel looks at the gun and laughs.
LIONEL
Put that away. You're not going to kill me, not your own father. You don't have it in you. You never did, otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation. You don't have the gall of your father. You talk about the Luthor stake like it's somehow your rightful claim. There is not Luthor stake. There is only me. There is only your father, my ambition, my strive... something you have never known, and never will.
Lex hesitates, trying desperately to summon to rage inside to help him pull the trigger.
Finally, he lowers it.
LEX
You're right. I'm not going to kill you.
Quickly, Lex raises the gun back up and aims it at Lionel's legs. A steady stream of blue energy emanates from the gun and a block of blue ice crystallizes around Lionel's legs. Lionel screams in agony.
Pulling his finger from the trigger, cutting off the beam with the ice halfway up Lionel's thighs, Lex steps around the desk to survey his work.
LEX
I had the good Doctor Fries modify your little toy here to emit the Static Life molecule in a more concentrated form. He told me it was, surprisingly, a great deal easier than he had originally expected. Apparently, the weapon already worked on a similar energy distribution matrix as his chamber.
Lionel shivers, trying desperately to breaks the ice around his legs with his palms.
LIONEL
Lex... Lex, I am your father. Don't do this!
Lex walks around and behind him, circling his prey.
LEX
I told him that I planned to use it against the creature from the incident at the lab. Of course, I wasn't really lying.
Lex shoots Lionel again, this time in the back. The ice crystallizes from his legs up over Lionel's back and around his arms, forming a claw like shape around him. Lex again cuts the beam, leaving only Lionel's chest and head unexposed.
LIONEL Lex... Lex!
Slowly, Lex steps around to face his father one last time.
LEX
He was more than willing to help me when he found out you were the one who sabotaged his machine, almost killing his wife.
LIONEL I... I didn't sabotage his machine!
Lex feigns confusion.
LEX
You didn't? Hmm... I wonder how he came under that impression, then? Of course, it was my men who built the machine. I suppose it's possible one of them could have had something to do with it. I'll have to look into that.
Lex steps back and raises the gun for one final shot.
LIONEL
Lex, please...
LEX
I'm sorry, Dad. It's only business. Besides, I wouldn't want to be accused of nepotism.
Lex shoots the gun, encasing his father inside a solid block of Static Life ice.
Satisfied, Lex walks back to his desk and taps the intercom button.
LEX Noah, can you come in here, please?
Not a few seconds later, Noah enters the office from a side door. Meeting him half way, Lex hands Noah the weapon and looks back at his father.
LEX
Checkmate.
Lex leaves through the side door.