I would like to start by apologizing for the very long absence in updates. I was pulled away by some unforseen and unavoidable issues. I am back now and as long as there are no more fires to put out I should be more speedy with the updates. Hope you haven't given up on the story and remember to review and let me know what you think...


Lex followed Joshua through the numerous hallways and into too many rooms to remember. If he were to be honest with himself he would have to admit that he was somewhat impressed by what he saw. Joshua had shown him the kitchen and dining hall, the countless studies and living rooms and the courtyards filled with fountain fed swimming pools and various assortments of greenery.

There had been lots of people as well. People everywhere, in the kitchen cooking various dishes that made Lex's empty stomach growl, there were people in the living rooms reading books and watching tv. Some women were swimming in the pool and others were napping in the assorted pillow made beds that lined the corners of the courtyards. Lex noted that they were all well dressed in harem type clothing and decided it was better he didn't know where they all came from or what purpose they served.

The most interesting of places to Lex was the library. He couldn't believe the assortment of books that laced the shelves of the enormous room. Joshua smiled when he saw the look of awe on his face. Lex walked forward and ran his finger down the spine of a few of the books on the shelf in front of him.

"Do you like to read?" Joshua's voice sounded foreign in the quiet room.

"Very much." Lex acknowledged hopeful that he would be permitted the use of this room at a later date. This hope annoyed him because it seemed to mark the first inkling that he was coming to accept his fate.

"Well we will have to see what we can do to ensure you access to this library or at least the books at any rate."

Lex couldn't keep his emotions inside any longer and he lashed out in defiance yet again. "I don't want you to ensure I have access to anything let alone your pathetic library and useless collection of literature. I should be free to come and go and do as I please."

Joshua actually had the nerve to laugh at Lex, which fueled the fire of his temper more.

"Come I want to show you something."

"No!" Lex screamed back.

"No?" Joshua searched Lex's face for a minute. "Fine have it your way then, we'll just go back to your room and occupy our time there."

Lex thought about the ramification of the words momentarily and then motioned for Joshua to continue the tour. The smug look on Joshua's face brought a burning heat to Lex's cheeks as he felt his face burn red with anger.

"Right then, as I was saying, I will see what I can do to allow you time to access this room at a later date." Joshua smiled knowingly as he strolled past Lex and continued through the room.

"Over here is my collection of artworks from the various decades in history. I have a number of Ming Vases, artifacts from the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, mummified crocodiles and a great many more items that I think you may find of interest."

Lex walked down the hallway looking at the assortment of artifacts, status, paintings, glass works and war memorabilia.

"Do you like it?"

"No." Lex tried to keep his answer void of his true feelings. He was in fact in complete and total awe of the collection that he was viewing. He doubted that many people had seen 1/8th of the treasures that lined the walls in this wing.

The fact that Lex was completely enthralled in the items before him didn't go unnoticed by Joshua in the slightest bit. He wasn't however too happy over Lex's continued attempts to be difficult.

"You know Lex not everything here needs to be a fight. You can accept that you are interested and impressed by the collection and not feel guilty that you are enjoying yourself just a little."

Lex didn't respond, he knew there was no need. He continued looking down the hallways until they reached the closed door at the end of the hall.

"What is in there?" Lex asked in curiosity.

"That is the door to my next set of collections. I not only collect items of interest, I also collect species of interest and keep them here. Would you like to see the rest of my collection?"

"It's not like I have somewhere else I have to be." Lex responded dryly to which Joshua laughed.

"Come then let me show you." Joshua opened the door and ushered Lex in.

The humidity and heat hit Lex like a wave when he entered the hallway. The smells were what one would expect to find in a zoo and Joshua must have seen the look on Lex' face as he turned to continue walking in front of him.

"You'll have to excuse the heat. Some of the species in my care require certain habitat requirements." Joshua casually mentioned as they approached the first large set of plexiglass windows.

Lex stood in front of the glass peering into a set of golden eyes from the other side. There in the midst of a heavily treed enclosure were two very large eagles perched on a branch. They were staring intently at the mock forest floor beneath them obviously searching for something.

"What are they looking at?"

"They are watching for their next meal. I have found that birds of prey seem to like the taste of a meal that they have to catch rather than one that is already dead and provided to them. It is their instinct to hunt for their food and it is what makes them feel alive and drives them to continue living. Beautiful aren't they?"

Lex nodded his head staring at the birds and feeling sadness for them that he could somewhat understand given his current captivity. Their enclosure was large and mimicked their natural habitat well but it was hardly the freedom they needed to really spread their wings and soar.

His thoughts were interrupted when the two eagles suddenly swooped down from the branch and dove head long at the ground returning with field mice in their talons.

"We release various prey into the cage every day to simulate the thrill of the hunt and provide them with their food supply. All the windows are one way viewing so we can see them but they cannot see us. This way we do not interfere with their day-to-day interactions. Come." Joshua motioned down the hall.

The next set of windows were a deep aqua marine blue and Lex was surprised to find they were filled with water and various plant life. Suddenly a shark swam lengthwise along the window causing Lex to jump back slightly. Joshua laughed lightly but the laughter was silenced by the look on Lex' face.

"These two sharks were brought in from Australia."

Lex looked at the tank again and noted that there were in fact two sharks, Great Whites to be exact.

"I had them brought in sometime last year. We had some difficulties emulating their natural habitat for the first little while but I think we have the temperature and plant life right now. They seem to be content and are feeding well."

"What," Lex cleared his throat, "What do you feed them?"

"Well that depends." Joshua left the comment hang in the air seizing the opportunity to capitalize on the unspoken threat. "Mostly we feed them live fish from the ocean off the shore of Australia. I throw in chunks of raw meat every now and then to keep up their appetite for blood." He smiled as he turned to start walking again.

This wing of the mansion seemed to carry on forever as Lex followed Joshua from window to window. Joshua had managed to collect a great number of species and always in pairs. He had every type of predator you could imagine. There were leopards, cheetahs, panthers, lions, polar bears, snakes, spiders, grizzly bears, scorpions, owls, falcons and a great many more. They were standing in front of the window looking through at a pair of lions tearing away at the flesh of a gazelle and Lex was shaking his head in thought.

"You don't approve." Joshua noted blankly.

"No, I don't approve." Lex turned to face him.

"A great many things are being accomplished by having these animals here, they are not purely here for my pleasure although that was the main driver to the project."

"What could possibly be being accomplished by keeping them locked up?" Lex tried to keep the hostile tone in his voice from rising.

"Researchers are conducting various research on these animals and are learning a great deal about them. Their habitat requirements, food, what they need for entertainment, what it takes to keep two predatory males in a confined space together without their territorial nature becoming an issue. There is a lot to learn about the complexities of their social hierarchy and their behavioral mannerisms. We are also conducting research into various environmental alterations and the effect it has on the animals."

"Environmental alterations?" Lex looked back into the cage trying to see for himself what environmental alterations could mean.

"Yes, we run a battery of tests on the air quality, temperature and sunlight necessary to maintain the health and vigor of each species and compare them to other species in the same genus. For example the requirements for a leopard are not the same as you would expect for the lynx although the two are from the feline family." Joshua paused briefly to let the thought complete in his guests mind.

"We did have a great deal of difficulty getting two males of some species to share the same enclosure but after some trial runs and some unfortunate losses we found a way to get them to reside together comfortably. We took a meteor rock from around Smallville, heated it up into its liquid form and then evaporated it into a pressurized container. We inject the vapors produced from the processing into the air supply at regular intervals throughout the day. The green meteor rocks seem to have a somewhat subduing effect on the animals. My scientists have recently discovered red and silver rocks and I am anxious to test their effects."

"From around Smallville?" Lex asked. He was fascinated in the research program since he always had a pull towards science.

"Yes, all the rocks we have collected came from locations around the town. That is where I first learned of your father. I looked into his influence in the town and some of his research with the green rocks and the effects on people in Bellreeve. I first learned of you and your relationship with your father when I was over there for business. I believe your picture was in the paper for one of your many outings."

Lex flinched a little at the comment. He had tried to outlive his past and yet it always came back to haunt him. The fact that this man knew so much about him and Lex knew nothing about him was unnerving.

"I do believe that with your coming into the picture I have almost completed my collection for research." Joshua added as he walked to the next set of windows.

"Research?" Lex sounded a bit panicked.

His panic escalated when he saw what was behind the next set of windows. The first window looked into a bathroom complete with a sink, toilet and shower/bath. The second window looked into a bedroom that had a king sized mattress and a bedspread of gold, red and orange silk. The next window showed a living room with a huge entertainment unit, leather furniture, an array of games and books and a kitchenette with a dining table in the background.

"Welcome to your new home."

"Are you-"

"Well not really welcome yet," Joshua interrupted in thought. "There is still the unfinished business we spoke of earlier and you will need to demonstrate that you are deserving of such quarters."

Lex couldn't move, he couldn't breath; he started to hyperventilate but didn't want to do it so as to be obvious to Joshua and his guards. How could this be happening? He couldn't live like this. He had felt sorry for the animals that they had viewed and now he was to become one of them. How many people would Joshua stand in this exact spot with and watch Lex move around inside his cage?

"Are you okay? You don't look well." Joshua asked placing a hand on Lex's shoulder.

Lex pulled away, eyes wild with disbelief. "Don't touch me! Don't you dare touch me!" He started to back away and Joshua motioned to his guards to let him do so. "You can't seriously think that I am going to let you lock me away in some zoo for you and all your sick friends to view."

He stopped short when he collided with the wall. Joshua stepped forward and Lex seized the moment lunging at him full force and tackling him to the ground. He managed a few swings and felt his fist connect more than once before he was forcibly dragged away by the guards. His struggles left him breathless and he was still using every bit of strength he had remaining to fight the arms that held him in place.

He screamed in anger and frustration when Joshua stood up from the ground and approached him. He tried using the only weapon available to him, his mouth, as he tried to bite at anything he could make contact with.

Joshua approached him and casually pulled a syringe out of his pocket. He injected it into Lex's neck and as the serum took affect Lex spat in his captors face. The last think he saw was Joshua reaching up and wiping the spit from his cheek and then everything went black.


Clark had no problems getting into the back room at the bank and accessing Lex's safety deposit box. It seems Lex had thought of everything and had contacted the bank with instructions to allow Clark full and complete access and privacy if he should come requesting it.

The bank manager himself had seen to it that Lex's wishes were carried out. As the door slid closed Clark peered at the small box and wondered what could have been so important and so damaging to Lionel that Lex would have locked it away so securely.

He was surprised that his hands were shaking slightly as he inserted the key into the tiny hole on the side of the box and opened the lid. Inside were a number of envelopes marked confidential. Clark sat in the chair opposite the box and began to open the envelopes and read the content of the letters and records within.

After sometime Clark placed the papers down in front of himself on the table. He ran his hand through his hair. Lex had been right when he had said that the box contained information that his father would find damaging and wouldn't want leaked to the media.

The documents he had just read through proved without a doubt that Lionel had possession of only 48 of the shares to Luthorcorp. The shareholders had held 37 and Lex the remaining 15. Of the 37 of the shares that the stakeholders had bought Lex had managed to secretly acquire 36 in the past few years. That meant that Lex currently held 51 of his father's company. That was enough to be considered the main player for all things related to Luthercorp.

If this were to get out then all of Lionel's business would become Lex's. The paper that had held Clark's attention the longest was the one that read Last Will and Testament. In this document Lex named Clark as the full beneficiary to all his possessions and business holdings.

Clark stared at the papers for a long time wondering what it was exactly that Lex was doing. He figured that this was Lex's way of ensuring his safe return should his father try to get rid of him. As well this would protect Clark from any harm given that Clark's parents would gain from anything happening to him not Lionel.

Clark recognized that he had to approach Lionel with this information and use it as a bargaining chip for Lex's safety but he knew his news wouldn't be well received by the billionaire. As he folded up the papers and secured them in the chest pocket of his flannel shirt he seriously doubted Lex's trust in his ability to pull this off.