Like slow spinning redemption

Family isn't about whose blood you have. It's about who you care about. -Trey Parker and Matt Stone, South Park


"Just like your father."

"Oh little Alexander! You're so much like your father."

"Look at him, Margaret. He's the spitting image of Lionel."

Every day Lex is reminded of the father he barely remembers. Lionel Luthor has faded with time from the looming shadowy figure of his youth to a vague feeling, a voice, a look out of the corner of his eye in a crowded room, the scent of Armagnac brandy, a way of standing, a manner of speaking. Glimpses of a man taken from him too soon.

But in his new role as the CEO of Luthor Corp, Lex finds that everyone is all too eager to attribute his successes to a man who hasn't been part of his life for more than twelve years. Lex can't even remember first hand the color of his father's eyes much less that his father taught him any profound business secrets.

It doesn't matter though. In Metropolis the Luthors are a dynasty. One that Alexander is expected to pick up and shoulder with grace and dignity.

Metropolis doesn't know the Lex Luthor who was raised on the Kent Farm. They don't realize that the reason young Mister Luthor doesn't eat veal isn't to be an en vogue animal rights activist, but because once you've woken up at 3am to deliver a calf, and spent hours as it made its way into the world it's hard to stomach what it means for that 'veal' to make it to the plate. They don't understand that every time he sees a plate of caviar all he can remember is the twinkle in Jonathan Kent's eyes when he called it 'bait'.

Lex is a Luthor by dynasty. A rich, intricate family legacy that he can never escape from. But he's also a Kent. His ties to the Kents are forged by something stronger than blood and bone. Their ties don't need to be defined, they simply are and Lex values them even more for it.

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I have no idea how the paparazzi got that picture...

1. Ask me three questions you want to know the truth to.
2. I will pick two of them to answer
3. One I will tell the truth about
4. One I will lie about (the last you will have to try and answer for me)
5. Post this in your journal so others can ask you.

OR:


INSTRUCTIONS

01. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me" or something similar.
02. I will respond by asking you five questions of a totally random nature.
03. You will update your LJ with the answers to the questions.
04. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the post.
05. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions etc.

My Personality

Neuroticism	9
Extraversion	81
Openness to Experience	63
Agreeableness	97
Conscientiousness	100

You do not experience strong, irresistible cravings and consequently do not find yourself tempted to overindulge, however you are not generally self conscious about yourself. You get overwhelmed by too much noise and commotion and do not like thrill-seeking activities. You prefer familiar routines and for things to stay the same. You can tend to feel uncomfortable with change. You are tenderhearted and compassionate, feeling the pain of others vicariously and are easily moved to pity, however you are willing to take credit for good things that you do but you don't often talk yourself up much. You have strong will-power and are able to overcome your reluctance to begin tasks. You are able to stay on track despite distractions.

Take a Personality Test now or view the full Personality Report. Chocolate Ugg Boots

Lex was supposed to be working. He had a stack of paperwork up to his neck just waiting for him to dive in. The only problem was - Lex Luthor hated business. Piles of numbers, meaningless memos and never ending meetings added up to a worse purgatory than anything Dante could have come up with. Not to mention the fact that four years of Princeton in biochemical engineering didn't really make him the most qualified to run a company as big as Luthor Corp. But apparently his last name was the only qualification that counted.

But not to everyone. Most of the board thought he was some hayseed moron who was going to kill their profit margin and turn Luthor Corp into the next Enron. He knows some of his employees are hiding things. There are memos that refer to file numbers and folders that never cross Lex's desk and when he asks for them the department heads dance around the issue more gracefully than any ballerina.

He can feel a thudding in the back of his head. It isn't right for him to be so resentful of it. Lex knows he's been given more money than his adoptive parents have ever seen in their lives, more than most people will ever understand and it's his responsibility to use it wisely and make sure that Luthor Corp is everything his father would have wanted.

It's a lot of responsibility for a 21 year old. Especially one who was happiest in a lab surrounded by test tubes and goggles.

His eyes close for a minute but as soon as they do his biological father's voice fills his head.

"Open your eyes Lex. Luthors are not afraid. We don't have that luxury, we're leaders. You have a destiny Lex, you're never going to get anywhere with your eyes closed."

He's about to call it a night when the phone rings. The secretary's been gone for hours so Lex picks it up. "Yeah?"

"Is that any way to answer a phone? Where were you raised?" Jonathan Kent's voice is amused.

"In a barn." Lex leans back against the chair and props his feet up on his desk.

"That's right. How are you son?"

"I'm good. Just...busy. You know, getting settled."

"Uh huh. It's 10 o'clock at night Lex. Even CEOs get to go home. How're you really doin'?"

Lex sighs. There's no lying to Jonathan Kent. He's a human polygraph. "Truth? It's all a little overwhelming. It's a crash course in how much I don't know."

"We knew it was gonna be hard on you Lex. But when you, your mother and I talked about it you had some really good reasons for wanting to take over. You said you wanted to make changes and make Luthor Corp into something you could be proud of. It's bound to be rocky at first. It's a whole new world."

Closing his eyes, Lex leans his head back against the back of the chair. "I can't afford to fail. Not when the board was so vocal about opposing me being named CEO. It's like they're waiting for me to crash and burn."

"Well, you're motivated. That's a start. Now, it sounds to me like you're spinning your wheels. You should be home right now getting some sleep. So why don't you just pick one thing from the pile - one memo that needs writing, a contract that needs signing - anything, pick one thing, do it, then go home, get some sleep and start fresh in the morning."

It sounds good. Too good to be true. But the sound of his Dad's voice is comforting as opposed to Lionel Luthor's voice that just fills him with dread. "I don't know..."

"How do you eat an elephant?" There is definitely a smile in Jonathan's voice.

"What?"

"How do you eat an elephant?"

"...okay. I give. How do you eat an elephant?"

"One bite at a time, son. One bite at a time."

Lex groans. "That's it. I'm burning that book of jokes next time I'm home."

"One bite at a time Lex. That's all. Pick something, do it and go home. I know you can do this son, I have complete faith in you."

It shouldn't get to him the way it does. But every time his dad uses that voice it makes a lump in Lex's throat. "Alright. You win. You'd better get some sleep too, 5am comes too soon."

After hanging up, Lex stares at the phone for a good long while. He doesn't know how Jonathan always knows the right time to call or how he knows the exact thing Lex needs to hear - but he's grateful.

He's also got an elephant to eat.

"Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?" - Pinky and the Brain


"I don't think this is such a good idea Lex."

"Of course you don't, which is why I'm in charge and you're not." Lex surveyed the barn. Lighting: acceptably low, music: acceptably loud, alcohol: acceptably mediocre. He would never fully understand the younger generation's fondness for 'wine coolers' and beer. But he'd attended enough Smallville High soirees to know what was expected. Their parents were gone for a three day weekend for their anniversary which left the field wide open for Clark Kent's coming out party and Lex was going to make sure that it was one none of Clark's peers would soon forget. He'd even managed to convince some of his friends to put in an appearance just to solidify Clark's standing as a member of the social scene.

"Hey Lex, where do you want us to set up the fireworks?"

"Fireworks?!"

Lex was possibly too easily amused when he was high-but listening to Clark cluck like one of the chickens was infinitely entertaining. "Yes Clark. They're bright lights that go 'pop pop pop' up in the sky when you...no, you know what? I don't want to ruin the surprise."

"Le-e-e-x. The whole point of having a party is to not get busted! The police will be here as soon as the first 'pop' goes off."

Lex laid his hand on Clark's shoulder. "You have so much to learn grasshopper before I go away. I don't know if there's enough time to teach you all you need to know but I am determined to try. Clark, there's a whole field of cows between us and our nearest neighbors. Unless Bessie learns to dial a phone, I think we're pretty safe." Not to mention the fact he had a couple of bottles of really good whisky to give to whichever officers responded to the complaints.

"Now would you relax? Would I ever do anything that go you into trouble?"

In 1989 Lionel Luthor took his nine year old son to Smallville on business. While Lionel conducted business with the Ross family, Lex wandered off on his own into a cornfield. A meteor struck leaving Lex in shock in the field, while another meteor crushed his father and Mr Ross.

Lex wandered out of the corn field and into the road where Jonathan and Martha Kent nearly ran into him. Jonathan and Martha put Lex into the truck with them and another little boy they had found. Martha took the first boy home, while Jonathan stayed at the hospital with Lex.

In the chaos immediately following the meteor shower communications in and out of Smallville were difficult, so it was almost two weeks before Lex was identified and his mother was notified. In that time Martha, Jonathan and their son 'Clark' took him into their home.

Even after Lex's mother Lillian came to get him Lex stayed in contact with Clark and his parents with the Luthors spending Christmas on the farm.

Two years later when Lex was 11 years old, Lillian was diagnosed with an untreatable heart condition that didn't leave her much time. Though Lillian had several distant relatives all willing to take Lex in after her death she never truly trusted them and instead made arrangements for Lex to be adopted by the Kents. He was pulled out of Excelsior Prep Academy and enrolled in Smallville Elementary. Lillian moved the two of them out to the farm to help her son get adjusted to his new life, and died the following New Years.

Lex and Clark grew up as brothers - sharing everything from chores to the loft in the barn. They were inseperable until Lex graduated from Smallville High just as Clark was entering his Freshman year. Lex moved away from home to attend Princeton.

When he graduated, Lex came into all of his Luthor Corp shares, and his biological parents holdings in excess of several billion dollars. Realizing that the only responsible way to manage his family's fortune was to be hands on - Lex suspended his graduate studies and in spite of his inexperience, took over as CEO of Luthor Corp to the board's many ... and vocal objections.

He alternates his time between the Kent Farm, Luthor Manor, and his penthouse in Metropolis.