Endless Legacy (DC Comics)

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Lucien buys into Clone Lex's hype.

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Every instinct he has is screaming at Lucien that this is a trap. The clone of his father was clearly preying on his long unresolved daddy issues… or something. ‘Lex Luthor but actually a good man and an even better father’ was a fantasy, a pipe dream, a complete and total load of bullshit.

On top of that, he can positively feel the eyes of his companions boring into the back of his skull. Blackfire… Lucien doubts Blackfire will care what he does next. If it all turns to shit because of his choices, she’ll definitely be pissed at him, but otherwise she’s his ride or die… with him until the end and thanks to his abilities, beyond even that.

Supergirl, on the other hand, is not nearly so easy. The blonde had already put her trust in Lucien by not making a move when they first realized they were traveling under Red Sun Lamps. By this point, she was properly sapped of strength and no doubt feeling somewhat helpless. Seeing Lucien hesitate like he currently was… probably wasn’t what she wanted to be witnessing right now.

And then there was Mercy. Lucien can see the unconscious woman out of the corner of his eye, dangling from her restraints even now. Mercy Graves was loyal to his father above all else… his real father. But was his real father even still alive under Brainiac’s influence, or was his clone correct in saying that Brainiac was just wearing Lex Luthor’s personality like a stolen face?

… In the end, did it really matter? Mercy’s loyalty to the man aside, was the original Lex Luthor really worth saving? Lucien’s impulse was to say no… and even thinking about it for longer than just his first impulse didn’t really cause that answer to change. Still, there was no doubt in Lucien’s mind that Mercy would be very displeased with him if he chose to side with the very same clone who’d captured her and held her prisoner.

Everything was pointing at this being a trap that he should in no way walk face first into. Everything about this situation screamed that he shouldn’t trust his father’s clone, nor should he work with him at the expense of his other allies.

And yet… and yet… Lucien believes him. He believes Clone Luthor for some reason. He can feel the man’s sincerity and actually thinks the clone of Lex is telling the truth as he sees it. More than that, even if the chip in the clone’s head IS a control chip of some sort instead of just a kill switch… Lucien is uniquely positioned to help either way, isn’t he?

Mouth dry, Lucien nevertheless steps forward and begins to reach out to take the outstretched hand in front of him. Only, before he can do so…

“Lucien?! What are you doing?!”

Supergirl finally breaks her silence, sounding downright scandalized. Looking over, he sees anger in the blonde’s eyes, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. If she had her full Kryptonian Powers… there’s no doubt in his mind that she would have already attacked. But because she’s been weakened down to the level of a normal human, she can’t do anything.

In the end, Lucien just smiles at her and shrugs.

“I trust him.”

Then, turning back to his father’s clone, he reaches out and grabs his hand. Nothing happens from Clone Luthor’s hands. No trap is sprung as Lucien squeezes down. With a flex of his power, Lucien locates the nanochip in the other man’s brain in mere moments, reveling at just how far he’s come since the last time they touched.

Then, he disables the nanochip and pulls it out of Clone Luthor’s head, depositing it in the other man’s palm as he pulls his own hand away. There’s a pause as the clone of his father looks down at his hand. His human eyes can’t exactly make out something as small as the nanochip, but Lucien can tell that he knows exactly what was just done all the same. Slowly, looking up into his eyes, Clone Luthor nods appreciatively.

“You’ve made the right decision, son. You won’t regret this.”

Lucien just huffs.

“I hope not. Also, we need a better name for you. I can’t just keep calling you my father’s clone or ‘Clone Luthor’ in my head.”

The clone raises an eyebrow at that, his jaw clenching for a moment before he smiles a winning smile.

“I prefer Lex. I have just as much right to the name as the original… if not more so. But I can see how it might be confusing seeing as your biological father is still alive. For the time being, feel free to call me… Clex.”

Clex. Well, it’s rather simple, but then simple can be good sometimes. Lucien nods, watching as ‘Clex’ turns back to the bank of consoles he’d been laboring over when they arrived.

“Now that I’m free to act… it’s time to show Brainiac he’s not quite as smart as he thinks he is.”

As Clex’s fingers fly across the interface in front of him, Supergirl stomps up to Lucien’s side.

“What the hell have you done?”

Glancing over at her, Lucien shrugs.

“Freed him so he could fight alongside us.”

Supergirl’s jaw clenches.

“… And if he turns against us? What then?”

Smiling thinly, knowing full well that his smile doesn’t reach his eyes, Lucien shakes his head.

“Then I’ll deal with him myself.”

It’s clear she doesn’t quite know how to respond to that. Instead, the disguised superheroine stomps away from him and over to Clex.

“What exactly are you doing right now?”

Clex’s hands don’t stop moving for even a moment as the clone glances over at her and hums.

“Ah, Supergirl was it? I suppose I have the red sun lamps in the ceiling to thank for why my head is still on my shoulders.”

Supergirl sputters, freezing up at being caught out. She looks even more caught off guard when Clex pushes a button and suddenly the lighting in the massive laboratory changes ever so slightly. Compared to the corridors they’d taken to get here, the red sunlight in this massive room wasn’t nearly as noticeable… but now that it’s gone and the only light is normal artificial lighting, the absence is far easier to see.

While Supergirl’s mouth is opening and closing like a goldfish at Clex’s altruism, Blackfire makes her way to Lucien’s side as well, keeping her voice low.

“So… we’re doing this now, huh?”

Lowering his voice in turn, Lucien nods, even as he doesn’t take his eyes off of Clex and Supergirl.

“Yep, guess so.”

“… So what sort of failsafe did you give him? Some sort of brain tumor that will burst in a few days without your help? Or maybe super cancer that only you can cure later on?”

What? Lucien looks over at Blackfire incredulously. Sometimes he forgot she was a villainess. Still, really?

Of course, the feeling seems to be mutual. Once she realizes he didn’t do either of those things, Blackfire’s own expression turns just as incredulous.

“Seriously?”

That was Lucien’s line though! What was the point of trusting ‘Clex Cluthor’ if he was just going to hold certain death over the clone unless he did Lucien’s bidding? Lucien wasn’t that much of a bastard… or at least, he didn’t think he was. He would deal with Clex’s not-so-inevitable betrayal after it happened, not before. Sighing, Lucien just shakes his head.

“A failsafe like that would be a self-fulling prophecy, Blackfire. Even a ‘good’ clone of my father wouldn’t take too kindly to being shackled in such a way… it would only end in tears.”

Or maybe not tears, because Lucien certainly wouldn’t cry over his father’s clone dying and he wasn’t sure anyone else would either. But it would certainly end in bloodshed if he tried to collar Clex. The man might be better than his original, but he was still an A-type Personality through and through. As evidenced by the way he was so easily handling an increasingly flustered Supergirl.

“I asked you a question! What are you doing right now?!”

By this point, Supergirl has her hand on Clex’s arm… but far from being upset by this like the original Lex Luthor would be, Clex looks amused more than anything. Though that might be at least partially because, as far as Lucien could tell, Supergirl still doesn’t have enough strength to stop Clex if he wanted to break free of her grasp. Just turning off the red sun lamps is one thing, but for Supergirl to get her abilities back in full would likely require exposure to yellow sunlight for at least a few minutes.

“… When Brainiac decided he was going to conquer Earth under the guise of ‘deserving’ it because he was now joined with my predecessor, he contacted me about turning LexCorp’s rather vast resources towards… preparing the field so to speak. It may or may not surprise you to know just how deep into numerous pies our fingers reach.”

Looking to Lucien, Clex gives him a grateful nod.

“As I said previously, I likely would have had to sacrifice my life in order to defy Brainiac’s next set of orders… since they would have entailed effectively either shutting down Earth’s defenses or turning them against the Justice League to hit them from behind right as they were preparing to meet his fleet.”

Supergirl stiffens up at that, looking quite alarmed. Clex just smiles.

“That will no longer be necessary. Brainiac has no power over me anymore… which means I don’t have to worry about him discovering my true loyalties ahead of time. I’m currently working carefully to prepare things for the exact opposite of his plans. Earth will rise in its own defense alongside our heroes and heroines in the Justice League… and LexCorp will be leading the charge. Of course, it would still be best if Brainiac didn’t realize my betrayal until it was too late, which DOES require a certain degree of focus.”

Here, Clex gives Supergirl an incredibly dry look.

“As such, I’m going to have to ask you to make a decision, Supergirl. Either unhand me, in which case I will provide a swift path to the surface so that you may join the rest of the League in defense of our planet… or stop me, if you can. There can be no half-measures at this point in time.”

Grinding her teeth together, it’s obvious Supergirl is incredibly torn. She snarls as she glares at his father’s clone.

“You might be a clone, but you’re still a clone of Lex Luthor. Earth this, Earth that… I can read between the lines ‘Clex’. We stop Brainiac today and tomorrow you’re right back to trying to kill us Kryptonians just because we’re not human. Because we’re better than you and you can’t stand it.”

Far from looking angry, Clex just looks amused.

“Are you? For all your supposed superiority, you’re willfully blind to the facts, Supergirl. And the facts are thus… since taking the place of my predecessor, I have not made a single plan in regard to you or Superman. I have not endeavored to stop your heroic efforts or trap or kill either of you at any point. As I told my son, I am not the original Lex Luthor… I am better. I am the Lex Luthor who is capable of focusing on what actually matters.”

Shrugging, Clex chuckles darkly.

“Besides, if I really wanted you dead, I would have left the Kryptonite countermeasures in the ceiling lights instead of replacing them with red sun lamps months ago. You may have trouble accepting this… but you and Superman are not MY enemies.”

Reaching over, Clex presses a button and a nearby section of the wall slides open.

“Through there you’ll find the fastest way to the surface. Brainiac’s forces are engaging the Justice League within the next fifteen minutes and he will send my marching orders in the next ten. If you want to be able to regain your strength and take part in the battle for Earth… you should go now.”

There’s a long pause as Supergirl visibly struggles with her options. And yet, in the end… she makes the same decision Lucien did, albeit with a lot more coercion involved. She decides to trust Clex, at least for now, and lets go of his arm. Throwing Lucien and Blackfire one last look, the blonde heroine rushes for the exit, clearly intent on getting out, getting her Kryptonian abilities back, and getting her costume back on so she can take part in the upcoming battle.

Lucien watches her go for a moment, feeling a little bit bad over how things had turned out. But at the same time, he can’t quite bring himself to regret his decision. So far, anyways.

“You’re welcome to join her and the rest of the League if that’s your preference, son. Or… you could stay down here and help me. I leave the decision in your hands, though either way we have much to talk about.”

Blinking, Lucien turns his attention back to Clex. Just from the clone’s tone of voice, he can tell that the man wants him to stick around. That would seemingly run counter to the slim possibility of this still being a trap. After all, if it were all just a trick, wouldn’t Clex want to trick him into leaving like he had Supergirl?

As well, Supergirl clearly hadn’t expected them to follow her either. On the one hand, that might be because she no longer considered them allies, but there was also the distinct possibility that she figured they would stay behind to make sure Clex didn’t betray them. Even still, Lucien and Blackfire did have enough power to potentially help in the battle above…

He could split the difference. Send Blackfire up while he stayed behind and helped Clex. But that would leave him all alone with his father’s clone, wouldn’t it?

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The Vote:

[ ] They aren't heroes, let the Justice League handle Brainiac directly while he and Blackfire stay down here - 17%

[ ] He can't leave it alone, go up after Supergirl with Blackfire and join the League's efforts - 23%

[X] Split the difference, send Blackfire up after Supergirl while Lucien stays down here with Clex - 60%

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​A/N: Please check out my newest daily updating project The Age of Chaos (Original Fantasy) if you have a moment!

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