Clara Kent Superwoman

Chapter 19: LuthorCorp

Lex Luthor walked into the main headquarters of Luthorcorp with one thing in mind. He hadn't been here for months, preoccupied with his projects in Smallville, but it seemed his father was deliberately ignoring his calls and e-mails. Either Lionel Luthor's phone was in need of replacement, as well as all his electronic software and staff, or, as Lex suspected, he was deliberately avoiding his only son. So, Lex was resorting to the Luthor standby, he was making a direct assault. He knew his father was manipulating him, as he always did, but for now he would play his game, if it got him what he wanted. Lex had been investigating the break-ins, and it turned out the Kansas based operations of Luthor Corp had not been the only ones to have been targeted. Facilities in Star City and as far flung as Gotham had been affected.

The facilities had only one thing in common; Lionel Luthor had been there in person in the last 10 years. For a multi-national corporation owning thousands of businesses, directly and indirectly, for the CEO to have visited minor factories, offices and businesses was rather unique. If the thieves were looking for something, it was in relation to his father, and possibly an item Lionel had left at a business he owned. Lex wanted to know what that was. What could his father have left at one of these minor facilities that would be worth cross-state, and possibly even cross-continental break-ins?

The receptionist at the desk buzzed him through on sight, in a slightly fumbled movement. She must have been new; the seasoned Luthorcorp employees knew not to show weakness in the presence of one of their overlords. Not that Lex would ever penalise someone for being human, that was something his father would do. Adversely, Lionel didn't want his employees too confident, it undermined his authority.

Spending time anywhere near Lionel Luthor was a dangerous game, Lex supposed that's why his father didn't have friends, he had assets.

Lex didn't want to end up like that.

His lip quirked when he thought of Clara, his closest friend. Most would consider a 25-year-old spending time with an 18-year-old girl was suspect, and even he had to admit that they were rapidly leaving the "Just Friends" line behind. He had felt genuine disappointment when their almost kiss had been interrupted, but it was probably for the best. They were at the beginnings of something great, adding in something physical would only confuse the issues. They needed a meeting of minds before a meeting of...well, they needed to be able to know and trust each other completely, and they'd already come to an agreement about that.

Lex still dreaded the day that Clara would know the whole of him, why he'd come to Smallville, and what he'd done to get there.

Would she be so trusting and sweet then? Or, was her secret something far worse? It was hard to believe.

The elevator doors opened to the executive floor, which housed his father's personal office. The office was equipped with a stunning view of the Metropolis Skyline, Luthor-Tower was the tallest building in the entire city, only rivalled by The Daily Planet. There was a gargantuan desk, dark with sharp angles, his father's style, as well as a bathroom in a side door and a personal safe.

These weren't what interested Lex, his father had security drag him here countless times in his teens, he'd retched into the bathroom toilet more than once. That had happened in his rebellious years, after he came of age he had gone off the rails, a definite case of affluenza, as well as uncontrolled anger generated by what he now knew were repressed memories. His father's computer sat on the desk, it wasn't switched on, which meant his father was most likely not in the building. It would give him a chance to investigate.