Disclaimer: The characters of Lex Luthor and Lana Lang belong to the franchises for Superman ™ and Smallville ™. I do not claim possession of any copyrighted characters. Any and all other characters belong to me and may not be used without my permission.

The premise for this fanfiction involve thematic elements that may not be suitable for young children. Dreams in particular recap memories of Lex's life and also visions for a possible future. Moderate romance in this chapter, along with some threats and violence.

If you read, please review. It inspires me to continue writing.

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The Luthor mansion was an impressive stone edifice, shipped over from Scotland piece by piece and assembled in a town utterly unsuitable for its majestic appearance. Ivy twined its way up the outer walls, joining along the slanted roof and parapets in delicate formations of soft green. Squares of warmly inviting light beamed down onto the driveway and illuminated the elegant figure of Lex Luthor as he assisted his visitor from the Jaguar and followed her up the mansion steps.

Lana had been inside the Luthor residence countless times, but it somehow felt different with this visit. It may have been because of her near kidnaping earlier, or the thundering of her heart when she realized the man who grabbed her had been Lex, or just being here alone with him all night. His presence behind her sent an unwelcome shudder up her spine, but he simply moved around her and opened the door to his office where welcoming flames danced on the grate and the lighting was turned low.

"Make yourself comfortable, Lana, and I'll inform the staff you'll be staying for a few days and to air out a room for you."

She sent a smile his direction which he returned before striding back out the door and down the hallways toward the kitchen where someone was still liable to be awake. The room had always been enjoyable and one in which she had spent much time in the past. She had watched Lex play billiards with Clark and had sat with him on the sofa as he bade her farewell before her Paris sabbatical from the Smallville lifestyle. There had been disagreements and comradery shared in this office and as she allowed herself to relax back into the comfortably overstuffed sofa, her eyes drifted shut in peace, mind slowly unwinding from the tense evening.

She might have been asleep for five minutes or over an hour, but a soft rustle at her side caused her eyes to blink open in kittenish weariness to find Lex gently sliding an arm beneath her legs and another under her back before lifting her into his arms. Her breath caught in her throat and she stiffened before he softly whispered in her ear, "Lana, just relax. You're beyond exhausted and I'm just taking you up to bed. Some suitable nightclothes have already been laid out for you."

His voice was soothing and after a brief moment of asphyxiated fear, she inhaled a hesitating breath before leaning into his warmth and resting her head against his shoulder. He protectively shifted her closer to his heart as he quietly started up the stairs. Nudging the doorway to her room open with his foot, he halted in the frame for an instant. The hall light caught their combined forms and both Lex and Lana stared in silence at the flickering shadow upon the floor. They looked natural together, the light unable to define where one body stopped and the other began.

A warm ambience surrounded them and their eyes met before he stepped through, traversing the burgundy rug spread across the floor, and settling her upon the darkly lined comforter. He stepped backward almost immediately, touching the doorframe with a white-knuckled hand and raising shuttered eyes to meet her gaze for one brief moment.

"Lana, I won't let anything happen to you. So long as you trust me, I can protect you."

Than he slipped through the door, quietly pulling it closed behind him.

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The room was dark, the dying embers giving off little heat and almost no light. A figure residing in the leather armchair remained motionless, his hand listlessly holding a glass of brandy which had not been raised to his lips in several minutes. He had very nearly kissed her, but he could not refute the tangible fear that had lingered in her eyes, if only for a brief moment. Lex wished now, more than ever, that he could remember what Alexander had done to her. He had said something, done something to almost make her draw away from him now.

There had been a time when the trust she held for him was complete, and even though she pulled back, that trust still remained captive in her heart of hearts. Which was why he didn't commit what every instinct had insisted upon. He had stepped away from her, physically and emotionally and though her eyes had revealed amazement, he knew it was the right decision. With Lana he could be more than himself. She gave him the desire to be more; to be better than his heritage and Lex would not, could not jeopardize her faith in him.

Resting his head backwards, he watched the minuscule flames performing their seductive dance upon the hearth, his eyes growing heavy until they finally drifted shut. And than the nightmare began.

The solitary droplets of rain splashed in individual puddles around Lex's feet. His hand tightly clutched the handle to the umbrella which bloomed above his head, and his eyes were unblinkingly emotionless as he watched the casket lowered into the ground. It was poetic justice that there should be a pool of water in the depths of Michelle's grave, awaiting her casket.

Todd's tormented form stood beside Lex for comfort, his shoulders bent and shaking in agonized grief, and numbly Lex reached out and gently laid a hand on his best friend's shoulder. He almost wished that he could mourn for Michelle as her brother did, weeping in anguish at a life lost far before its time had come.

But he could not.

To grieve would deem him a hypocrite.

He had yielded that right when he had waited at the opposite end of the pool as she drowned in his sight. The minister's words fell on deaf ears and when the eulogy ended, Todd clutched at Lex's arm, willing to be lead as if he were a blind man. Lionel Luthor kept his distance, but Lex caught the harsh stare of his father, returning it with one of his own. Lionel had never appreciated the homeless waifs in his home, and now that Michelle was gone, it would only be a matter of time before Lionel removed Todd as well.

Todd murmured softly, almost absently, questions that would not be answered by Lex. "She wasn't the best swimmer, Lex, we both knew that, but she understood the danger of going into the deep end. She never did that before, so why this one time?" Guilt pierced through Lex's mind, but his features stayed impassive as he responded, "I don't know, Todd. Perhaps," the words caught in his throat, "perhaps she was trying to stretch her limitations beyond her ability."

"You were there, Lex."

Sudden anger lit Todd's voice and he whirled to face his friend, not caring that he stepped from the protective cover of the umbrella into rain that ran in rivulets down his face and clothing. "You were there, and you didn't save her! How could you let this happen?" Lex gripped Todd's upper arms tightly, the two of them immovable forces in the gathering rainstorm. "Todd, I don't know how it happened, but it did, and we can't go back." Self-anger caused his voice to raise, directing his fury at an innocent party, "Michelle is gone, Todd, and she's not coming back to you. Blaming me isn't going to help."

Todd pulled away, his eyes turning cold and icy as he stated through gritted teeth, "Lex, did you think I was blind?"

A shiver crept up Lex's spine.

"I knew that Michelle was in love with you. She was innocent, young, and to her you were perfect and incapable of committing any wrong. But I never thought that you would have responded to her. That possibility never entered my mind, but perhaps it should have. Perhaps I should have seen what was happening, instead of willingly blinding myself to the lies and the deceit you had created."

Lex was frozen in the spotlight of Todd's words, barely able to breathe, listening to every word spoken by a man who had turned from friend to foe in the space of five minutes.

Todd leaned in close, his breath hot and terrible against Lex's face as he whispered, "I'm leaving, Lex, but don't think I'll be gone for good. Someday, you will pay for your crime. I'll make you pay."

With the last words, Todd lightly slapped Lex on the cheek, something he had done many times before in jest, but the venom behind the action caused Lex's blood to run cold. Todd turned away from him, his steps decisive and firm and with each move forward a haze of hatred billowed between them until Lex could no longer see his enemy.

The spine-numbing click of an automatic weapon being cocked pulled Lex from his dream, eyes opening to find the room deeply inhabited with twilight and shadows. A cool barrel pressed unwaveringly against the back of his head, just above his spine and Lex froze. No words accompanied the physical threat, but the presence at his back was one Lex remembered well from his past. After an interminable amount of time, a calculating voice finally broke the silence.

"You haven't changed, Lex. Not that I'm surprised. Your wishes and desires are being handed to you on a silver platter at the expense of others who are more worthy, just as they've always been. Tell me, Lex, do you ever think of her?" Todd's words were honestly inquisitive as the rounded tip of the gun left Lex's neck and he found himself able to breathe again. Todd quietly stepped around the front of the chair, his eyes gleaming maliciously as he settled on his haunches in front of the armchair, efficiently blocking any escape. He leaned forward, pressing Lex farther into the seat as the gun moved nearer to his vital organs. Todd rested the barrel teasingly against Lex's mouth, wiping away the delicate sheen of perspiration that covered his upper lip.

"I'm waiting for an answer, Lex."

Unable to turn from the condemnation in Todd's eyes, Lex chose to ignore the cold metal which moved downward to take refuge against his chin. His voice was emotionless as he replied, "Yes, Todd, I think about her, especially now with everything that's been happening. She shouldn't have died and I know that, and I'm sorry."

Todd chuckled, shaking his head at Lex's apology, before shifting the gun barrel to Lex's neck, viciously jamming it against his beating pulse. Lex's teeth clamped together hard as his head was pushed back into the cushions. "Lex, Lex, Lex, I'm not here for you to grovel in anguish at my feet. I don't want your sympathy or your explanations. What I want is much more simple than that. Nothing so elegantly refined as justice. I'm here for revenge, Lex. I'm going to make you take a long, hard look at yourself and than I'm going to hurt you like you hurt me. You may not have dealt the killing blow to Michelle, but you let it happen, and now I'm going to take something precious away from you."

With a free hand, Todd grasped Lex's open collar, yanking him closer as he hissed, "You were on the right track earlier this evening. There's a good chance Lana won't survive this, Lex, but my actions won't destroy her, yours will."

The weapon was pressed tight against his skin, restricting his air flow, but Lex determinedly gasped out, "Todd, whatever I've done is between us. Just leave everyone else out of this. If an innocent is harmed in this warped quest of yours than you will have defiled Michelle's memory. You remember even more than I do how much she despised violence of any kind. Don't do this."

"Lex, you've hated your father for years, despising every method he uses, every nuance of his mind. Just as I've hated you, but in hating you I've become more powerful than you because I know how you work and I no longer care about the consequences to my actions. Whatever happens to me doesn't matter, if I can make you suffer along the way. And during my journey, I've discovered something interesting about you too, Lex. If I can become more evil than the thing I hate the most, than what does that say about your existence?"

Their gazes locked for a brief instant.

Todd's point-blank statement pierced Lex's emotional defenses and he hesitated. A derisive smirk spread across Todd's features. "Well, if I've made you think, than this visit isn't all in vain." He stepped away, backing to the side door, his eyes never straying from Lex's heated gaze. "Say goodbye to her now, Lex because you never know what tomorrow might bring."

Lex vaulted to his feet as an incredible anger swept through the room, powered by and enveloping both occupants. His reply was soft and deadly, the undercurrent an inexplicable warning as he murmured, "Todd, if you harm Lana Lang or anyone else under my protection, I will kill you. Never doubt that for an instant."

"I'm sure you would, Lex, but I don't intend to give you the chance." The door opened with a simple touch, sending tendrils of icy wind sweeping throughout the room as Todd vanished into the night. The entire setting was surreal, impossible to believe, yet the door gaped wide, allowing the night sounds access to the once peaceful room and Lex could still feel the cruel caress of the gun barrel against his neck.

Instinctively, Lex climbed the stairs to the second floor, striding urgently down the hallway and silently pushing open Lana's door. Her slumbering form was facing the entrance to her room, eyes shut in sweet repose and hands angelically folded beneath her chin. His blue eyes softened as he watched her sleep.

His will was weak and he passed through the doorway to her side. Her innocence had always touched a hidden chord within his heart, bringing forth a yearning he had never fully comprehended. He had never been that innocent, even as a child, and now he was to keep watch care over her. A single strand of glossy dark hair spread across her cheek and using one finger, he gently brushed it back behind her ear. She murmured an incoherent response, burrowing deeper into the blankets as she curled into a ball.

Than he pulled away, exiting the room and gently tugging the doorknob shut behind him.