Story Ten - Voting ineligible
Lionel Luthor smiled slightly. It was an odd thing to do given that he was standing in a courthouse, waiting for his trail to resume. And yet he couldn’t deny that he was pleased as he watched his son standing close to his partner is crime - or exposing it - his hand resting comfortingly on the shoulder of the small blond.
As Lex looked up, Lionel waved him over, wanting a moment with the boy before they became adversaries once again.
“It’s fascinating, isn’t it,” he asked as Lex joined him, but his gaze was on fiercely determined figure of Chloe Sullivan. “It’s as if she were born to be a Luthor.”
He knew Lex wouldn’t take the words as the compliment that they were. He also knew that they were more true than he would ever know; ever be allowed to know.
Chloe Sullivan – but not a Sullivan by birth, she was one of the seventeen surviving children from Project Juno. Begun soon after the birth of his son, it was designed to create for Lex the perfect mate. Lionel had worked too hard to build all that he had from nothing, to amass the vast amount of wealth and power he wielded, to place the fate of his empire at the mercy of a young man’s hormones and random attraction.
To that end, he had assembled a team of leading scientists in the field of genetics and set about engineering a myriad of women, all designed to be attract his son on a basic, biological level, while each having distinct traits that would suit whatever turn his personality took. Composed of two generations of subjects, there were those crafted at the beginning of Lex’s life and those designed when he was five years old and had begun to show the unique facets of his nature.
Brunettes, blonds, red-heads; tall and winsome to small and voluptuous; there were a wide assortment of specimens to play to a young man’s baser desires. But more importantly were the various character types, the personalities of the subject. From passive acceptance to aggressive dominance, they covered the spectrum. For, although Lionel had every hope that Lex would choose a strong woman who would fortify the Luthor gene pool, he had to be prepared should he choose poorly and attach himself to one who would dilute the drive and intelligence, the cunning and instinct that had made their family a force to fear.
And, should Lex be drawn to such a weak partner, Lionel had ensured, by crafting his own, that her genes would remain passive. In doing so, he guaranteed himself of untainted grandchildren with which to begin again.
Throughout the years, Lionel had exposed his son to the women that he had shaped. He’d been drawn to all on the most basic of physical levels, yet few had stood the test of time and developed into deeper relationships. Those that had had ended badly – in emotional implosions, murder attempts, or Lex’s eventual cool dismissal. And as the numbers dwindled, Lionel had had no choice but to exile him to Smallville and tempt him with the final two women made entirely for him – Chloe Sullivan and Lana Lang.
Two more different specimens there could not have been and Lionel knew that his choice would reveal the truth of his nature, the strength of his character. And it was clear to him, as he stood watching his son’s eyes continuously stray back to the blond, that his choice had been made. Of course, Lex seemed unaware of his subconscious decision, but it did not escape Lionel’s notice that he had spent all of his time in Smallville pushing the fragile brunette away; either by foisting her off on the Kent boy or by helping her in her move out of the country. And yet the feisty blonde he had searched out for the intellect that let her see beyond the illusion of small town innocence, and now had bound her to him with vows of protection and promises of partnership.
Despite all of Lex’s both romantic and sexual exploits, it was the deepest relationship he had ever shared with a woman. No one had ever stood beside him, ever offered to be a harbor in the stormy existence that was his birthright as the bright young reporter had.
As if to prove the point, Lex cut into his musings, “If you touch her, I’ll kill you.”
Lionel could see that he meant it and, quite frankly, he couldn’t have been happier. Despite the trouble she had caused him, he knew that Chloe’s genes were strong and would enhance his line for generations to come.
He watched as Lex’s eyes soften and turned to see Chloe, a tender and concerned look for his son lighting her features before she turned to shoot daggers in his direction in what was clearly a threat as serious as Lex’s has been. And he knew it was genuine; wasn’t fool enough to underestimate her again.
As Lex turned to leave, Lionel called to him, “I’d wish you good luck, son; but it seems that, where it matters, you no longer need it.”
The look of confusion that that met his declaration brought a smile to his face as he settled into his seat. And who knew, if they all lived through the coming conflict, maybe he’d have those grandchildren sooner than he’d thought.
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