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The sound of strong footsteps against the tiled floor echoed and bounced off the white walls. A grunt escaped the man as he rounded the corner, marching his way down the corridor.
Lex had been typing away at his computer when the red alert appeared on the corner of his screen. Silent yet displaying the problem that was occurring. He had taken one look at the message and promptly stood up, sighing on his way to the door.
It had been a long day.
From half-resolved contracts to disgusting coffee. Nothing had gone right. Lex had quite literally woken up on the wrong side of the bed. Not to mention, the still growing stack of files on his desk that he needed to work through. He had skipped lunch just to make up for the time.
Mercy had not looked pleased.
Well, it wasn't his fault that the latest batch of medicines were labelled wrong, so they ended up in the wrong country. Especially since he already fired the guy in charge.
Currently, it was 11 o'clock at night and while, like all his other employees, he should've been at home ready for bed, he chose to stay in his office, purely to get rid of the last remnants of files he had to get through.
And it was a beneficial decision. Clearly, some idiots don't understand how severe the security is at LexCorp. Or, maybe they do, given how far they got in before the systems recognised the intruders.
The alert had given the current location of the trespassers; the 7th bioengineering lab.
LexCorp had been hosting the final year Metropolis University biochemistry and aerospace engineering students and aiding them with their final projects. Providing them with any resources they would require for experiments and research.
Thus, a few of the labs and workshops were freed for the students to work on their respective research with the least amount of disturbance.
Lex had obviously done this to steer the company's reputation towards the better side, trying his best to avoid the heat of journalists knocking on his door. Under any other circumstances, he would have never given up so many resources to them. Yet, here he was.
However, it didn't mean that he wasn't going to take some of their research for… personal use.
The lab that was under attack also happened to be one of the labs he was renting out. So, while nothing majorly important was being raided, he still had a duty to keep their projects safe. Besides, those were his own resources. He didn't want them to go to waste.
Which is how he ended in front of the lab, a migraine starting to brew in the back of his head.
The probability of the intruders still being inside the lab was high. Ever since he upgraded the security, the blaring alarm had been quietened to only a warning sign sent to high-ranking employees, and the doors would automatically lock, only opening if a pass was authorised.
Distractedly, Lex pressed his ID card against the scanner, waiting for the green light, which directed the door to open. He stepped in and scanned the room with a tired gaze, the door closing behind him.
The first thing that registered into his brain was that the lab was an absolute mess. Sheets of papers and pens were strewn about, knocked off the table and landing anywhere except the pen pot.
Test tubes, microscopes, and other equipment were mostly fully intact, thank God, yet not in their designated spots. They were haphazardly placed in random spots, as if there was an attempt to make the room look similar to its previous state.
However, a single test tube rack had fallen over, spilling the contents of it onto the table and dripping down the other side. One of the test tubes had a crack on the side, and another was in pieces on the floor.
Even more, the whiteboard in the corner had been covered in childish doodles and drawings, making the calculations and findings written underneath almost incomprehensible.
Lex internally felt sorry for the poor kid who would have to rub the entire board and start again. Well, to be fair, if they were smart enough, they would have back-ups.
But that thought was quickly halted when he caught sight of a blur of white and red. He followed the blur as best as he could, finding a long, black cape and a mop of blonde hair.
Impulse, Robin, and Wonder girl stood on the opposite side of the lab. Ready in a fighting stance, aimed straight at Lex. The older man raised his eyebrow in question, his migraine starting to get worse.
“What are you doing here?” Lex asked, clear and straightforward.
He knew that Conner had a habit of letting his friends visit the company every once in a while, mostly to clear any suspicion under Lex's name but also to pick up a few things from Lex. But they themselves would never enter LexCorp of their own violation unless Conner was with them.
So where is Conner?
“Well?” He prompted when none of them answered him, watching as they shared a hesitant look between themselves.
They were lucky that they caught him on a day that he was well beyond exhausted. He was even willing to let them go as long as they told him what went wrong and who caused such chaos.
Still, none of them talked.
Lex clicked his tongue, slightly irritated, he questioned instead, “Where's Conner?”
The three immediately tensed.
Lex narrowed his eyes, ready to say something when he caught in the corner of his eyes. He looked down to see a black cloth next to the table with the fallen over test tubes. Finding it odd, Lex glared at the cloth, daring it to move.
When it didn't, he turned his attention back to the teenage heroes, a query ready on his tongue before the cloth moved again. Lex snapped his head to the cloth, watching as it slowly crawled towards the other table. Abruptly stopping when it bumps against the table leg.
And he hears a whine.
Lex, startled and curious, takes a step towards the cloth until he is beside it. Slowly, he crouches down and carefully pokes it. The feeling of something soft and squishy pulls him out of his inquisitiveness, and he hastily yanks the cloth off the thing.
A collective gasp echoes in the lab, looking down at the tiny human whose face was still covered by the suit.
“What the-” Lex began but interrupted himself when the baby ripped the suit off its head and looked up at him with wide eyes.
The kid couldn't have been older than 2 years, a mess of black curls on his head and soft, chubby hands. Squishy, rosy cheeks, round blue eyes, and a small button nose.
Lex watched, flabbergasted, as the child stared at him with the same intensity.
What the hell?
He twisted his head to look at the trio again, ready to ask about the child when the toddler jumped onto him. Lex blinked twice, moving his hand to get the kid off him when–
“Mama.”
…..
Ok, what the fuck.
Lex Luthor was many things. A CEO, a villain, hell even a good employer every few days. But a mother? Absolutely not.
“I'm not your mother, kid.” He placed his hands around the toddler and tried to pry him off, but when it didn't work, he tried with much more force to no success.
Stopping for a second, he blinked down at the kid. 2 year olds are not this strong.
“What the hell? Get off me!” Lex tried shaking the kid off, but he held on tight to his shirt, firmly shaking his head no.
Blue eyes looked up at Lex, “Mama.”
Lex huffed annoyingly, ready to let out profanities that no child of his age should hear. But then he heard someone clear their throat.
Glancing up, he noticed Robin stepping forward with caution, the other two trailing behind him.
“You might not wanna do that,” Robin suggested, slowly approaching the two. “If you want to keep your clothes intact.”
Lex scoffed, “whose kid is this? And I want a straightforward answer.”
Robin paused for a second, registering the question, “well, technically, he's yours.”
“No he's not. Just because he's calling me mother doesn't mean that I am.” Lex stood, using the loose cloth as a covering for the toddler.
“Actually he's calling you ‘Mama’,” Impulse pointed out, immediately receiving a sharp glare, hastily adding “not that it matters.”
“I mean, that's Conner.”
Lex stared at Robin, dumbfoundedly. He looked down at the koala-like child, then back at Robin.
Admittedly, Lex has not made many mistakes in his life. Especially not when it concerned the one project he spent billions on to create the deadliest bioweapon. He's quite sure that Conner was born a teenager, at least.
No, scratch that. He's 100% certain that Conner was born a teenager.
He had seen it himself when the boy had stepped out of the growth tube. Standing tall and clearly, closer to the age of 15. Even if his mental age was way below.
This baby was not Conner.
“I may not be the most present in my son's life, but I am certain that he was born a teenager. So cut the crap and tell me who this kid is. I won't ask again.” Lex watched his words, very much aware that Not-Conner was listening.
“He is Conner,” Wonder Girl emphasised, “there was a bit of an accident. But that's definitely Conner.”
Lex narrowed his eyes, “what accident?”
The three shared a look again, having a silent discussion between themselves. When they made their decision, Robin sighed and took the lead.
“We wanted to check on the students' projects to make sure you weren't using it as a cover-up. So, I asked Conner if he could let us in. We were just meant to be looking at their research, nothing else. But then, Impulse got hyper and accidentally knocked over that rack.” Lex glanced over at the fallen rack, motioning for him to continue.
“Obviously, we tried to fix it, but instead, some of it fell on Conner, and the next thing we knew, he was gone. That's when you entered.” Robin concluded.
Processing the information, Lex took a deep breath in, “you're telling me that my son, the one I spent billions of dollars creating, is now a 2 year old toddler? Because of some solution a student made?”
The three nodded. Lex groaned.
His migraine was getting worse by the second. Bringing a hand up to rub at his forehead, he could imagine just how well Superman was going to take this.
The now identified Conner looked up at him, fingers clinging to his three piece suit.
Well, he guesses he sees the resemblance now.
Same unruly curls when he didn't have it styled. Same blank look as if nothing was going on in his brain. And of course, the same shade of blue eyes that Superman has.
Conner placed his chubby fingers on Lex's cheeks and mustered as much seriousness as a 2 year old could, “Mama.”
Lex groaned loudly, ignoring the snickers from the other three. Was that the only word he knew? Certainly, Lex had developed his brain enough to handle more complex vocabulary.
He's not even Conner’s mother, for Christ's sake!
That honour belonged to someone like Martha Kent or even Lane. With how much they take care of Conner, you'd think that Conner would call them mom first. But no.
“I'm not your mother.” Lex rubbed his eyes, holding Conner securely and wrapping the cloth better around him.
Conner simply shook his head and insisted, “My mama!”
At this point, Impulse was shaking from holding his laughter while Wonder Girl held onto him to stop her own giggles. Robin had strongly maintained his poker face, but Lex is certain that the camera in the mask is recording everything.
Lex had to fix this. There is no way that he would ever let his greatest achievement be reduced to a… toddler.
He had to find the student and assign them to make a reversal immediately. Regardless of the time. Based on that, he could debate whether he would offer them a job or ruin their life.
Right, he would need to find which students were assigned to this lab and bring them in first thing tomorrow morning. Maybe if Mercy was still awake, she could get them rounded up within minutes.
Then, he would have to hand over a few of his own scientists to speed up the process. The quicker, the better. He doesn't want to take care of a toddler. Much less a kryptonian toddler. The amount of damage would be money draining.
Conner whined from the lack of attention. Moving in his arms to catch Luthor’s eyes. Lex watched as the toddler wiggled in his arms and slapped his small hands against Lex's cheeks. Thankfully, his powers hadn't fully settled in. Otherwise, Lex would've looked no different from that one Van Gogh artwork.
“Mama, mama.” Conner babbled with a certain persistence Lex is sure he got from Superman.
“Not. Your. Mother.” He pointed out while leaning away from the possibly destructive hands.
Baby Conner didn't like no for an answer, apparently, because in the next second, fat tears formed in his eyes. They fell down his cheeks as he wailed, eyes scrunched up and face turning redder by the second.
“Oh for fu–”
“What's happening here?” Oh great. Join the party.
Behind him, at the entrance, Superman stood in all his red and blue Kryptonian fabric glory. Cape flowing behind him as he hovered. He scanned the room quickly before landing on the crying child in Luthor’s arms.
Lex, who was also trying to console the tearful child, bouncing him lightly in his arms and muttering short assurances.
Clark stared on in confusion, questioning the other three about the situation with his eyes. Only to receive shrugs and sheepish smiles, which only added to his bewilderment.
Finding no help with them, he turned back to Luthor, “Lex, what are you doing?”
“What does it look like I'm doing?” Lex snapped at him with a scowl, “trying to get this little thing to quiet down, obviously.”
“I can see that. But what happened here?” He asked, referring to the cluttered lab.
Clark had known Lex long enough to gather that the man was all about tidiness and having designated spots for everything. He preferred having order in his life even if it meant disordering others.
This lab was the complete opposite of that.
Lex huffed and nodded his head towards the trio standing next to him, “how about you ask these demon spawns while I do this.”
Taking no offense to the insult, Impulse zipped to Superman, offering him a brief summary, “Well, long story, but basically, Conner and a student's project mixed, and now that's Conner.”
Clark followed his pointing to the baby, now softly hiccuping, and his jaw dropped.
“Ok, uh. You guys can leave. I'll, umm, deal with.. this.” Even though he didn't sound very convincing, that was all it took for the three to leave the lab.
Knowing Tim, though, he most likely installed cameras and microphones in here before they left. That kid's too much like Bruce.
Superman quietly approached Lex, hovering slightly above the ground, eyes stuck to Conner as his tears gradually stopped. The small boy rested his face against Lex's chest, tiny sniffles escaping him. Lex was rubbing his back while softly shushing him.
Clark found it strangely domestic, a sense of bliss covering the two.
Lightly, he cleared his throat, gaining Lex's attention, “I'm afraid you are going to have to hand him over.”
“Sure, if you can take him,” Lex mocked.
Clark frowned, “Please, Lex, let's not make this harder than it needs to be.”
“No, I mean he's got a tight hold on my shirt.” Lex gestured to the way Conner's hands were snug against his suit. “See.”
Clark oh'd and muttered a quick apology.
“I'll see if I can pry him off.”
“As long as you don't rip my shirt, it costs more than everything you own.”
Heeding the warning, Clark moved to get Conner off when the boy looked straight at him. He watched as Conner’s face brightened with joy and exclaimed, “Dada!”
The toddler wiggled his way out of Lex's arms, tiny hands outstretched towards Clark, clearly asking to be held. Lex could not have been happier as he handed Conner over, patting down his suit.
“That was easier than expected,” Clark remarks smugly, Lex rolling his eyes in response.
Clark adjusted the boy until he was wrapped properly with the cloth and comfortable in his position. Conner's hands explored the Superman suit, absently nibbling on the cape.
“So, do you know how to get him back to normal?” Clark raised an eyebrow, noticing the huff Lex let out.
“I'll figure it out in the morning and inform you.” He collected the papers on the desk before walking towards the door, Clark following him out.
Conner let out a yawn and snuggled against Clark's chest, burying himself into the warmth with his hands resting around his neck. Clark felt his breathing steady out as the half-kryptonian fell asleep, slow rise and drop of his stomach.
Lex spared them a glance before tipping his head towards the exit. The kryptonian nodded, silently thanking him before flying out towards his apartment.
Releasing a breath, Lex relaxed, migraine lightly subsiding. He took a peek at the research in his hand and instantly decided he wasn't awake enough for it. There was no point in going back to his office now. Instead, he headed home.
What a night.
—-
Turns out, it wasn't even hours later that he would see Conner and Clark again.
It's 3:17 when he hears the knock. Naturally, Lex was a light sleeper, so he easily woke up at the sound. Blearily, he looks up at the ceiling before shifting his gaze to the window.
Superman. At his penthouse. At 3 o'clock in the morning. With a crying baby in his arms. Looking like he hadn't slept a wink.
Each sentence sounded even more bizarre than the previous one.
Somehow, even while being sleep deprived, the superhero was too respectful to just break into his house. Not counting the amazing amount of alarms he would trip.
Standing up from his bed, Lex turned on his bedside lamp and staggered his way over to the door that connected to the balcony. He opened the door and watched as Superman floated in with a sobbing Conner, now dressed in a baby blue onesie.
Conner had been silently crying until he caught sight of Lex, after which he let out inconsolable wails. His hands reached out to Lex, body wriggling away from Superman's grip.
“Mama! Mama!” He cried out until Lex took him from Clark.
Instantly, he wrapped his arms around Lex's neck, hugging himself close to Lex. He rubbed his cheek against the older man's chest and clutched his silk pyjama shirt.
Vaguely, Lex heard a broken ‘don't leave’, making his heart clench.
Lex held him tight, tenderly rubbing his back. He walked around the room on instinct, quietly reassuring Conner of his presence. Only slowing down when the toddler's breathing evened, indicating that he fell asleep.
Clark had floated himself over to the couch and dropped himself on it once Conner was taken from him. The kryptonian melted against the fluffy pillows straight away, relaxing his muscles. His eyes, however, trailed Lex around the penthouse.
He noticed how gentle yet firmly Lex held Conner, as if he thought he would drop him. The way he spoke delicately, the way his palm gently massaged his back, the way Conner nuzzled closer.
With the backdrop of the city lights, Clark found the scene almost serene.
Lex had never been the biggest paternal figure to Conner. They had a dysfunctional relationship that only the two of them could understand and live by. And with complete honesty, Clark didn't want to know what made it work.
Conner was never too bothered by it, and Lex had given his villain persona a break, choosing to use his intelligence in other situations instead. Clark couldn't have been more satisfied.
However, it didn't mean that Conner didn't want some semblance of a father-son relation with Lex. Though, it's really more like creator-innovation but the same principles.
Lex, for his part, never pushed. Either that or he was too busy.
Given the fact that they were on opposing sides for the most part of the past few years, safe to say it was a rocky start. But they found their way eventually, at least Clark thinks.
Although, taking in the current scene, maybe Conner had a bigger attachment than he let on. Or maybe it's just because he accidently imprinted on Lex. Like a baby duck.
Regardless, Clark followed the way Lex rounded the coffee table and strolled near the floor-to-ceiling windows before turning the corner and approaching the couch.
“You look like hell.” Lex whispered with a sly smirk.
“I've had better nights.” Clark muttered back, resting his head on the back rest. They let the silence linger for a second before he continued.
“He woke up about half an hour ago? I think? Started absolutely bawling his eyes out, calling for you.” Clark looks at Lex pointedly. “I tried to calm him down. Didn't work. Tried to rock him to sleep, also didn't work. So, I just gave up and came here.”
“He's calling for his mother. I am not his mother.” Lex turned his face away from Clark's staring.
“Ehh, same diff,” the kryptonian replied with a smirk.
Lex lightly glared at him, “you didn't bother changing?”
Clark glanced down at his yellow sleep shirt and boxers. “Nope. Too sleepy.”
Lex scoffed, “you should get rid of that shirt. Yellow isn't your colour.”
“Thanks. I'll keep that in mind,” Clark chuckled, stretching his limbs over the couch, taking up the entirety of it.
Lex watched the man get comfortable before walking to his king-size bed. He tried to lay Conner down, but the boy immediately got fussy and clutched his shirt harder in both hands. Sighing, he took a quick look at the superhuman on his couch before moving to one of the cupboards.
With much struggle, he pulls out a white cotton blanket with one hand and throws it in the couch's general direction. A singular grunt from Clark indicates to him that he hit his target.
Satisfied, Lex walks back to his bed again and carefully lies down, mindful of Conner. He drapes the covers over them and turns off the bedside table lamp.
Conner still hasn't let go of his shirt, firm fists clinging to him. It reminds him of when Conner was still in the growth tube. The way his hands always looked like they were clutching onto something, even in his deep sleep.
Back then, he would feel a sort of foreign feeling whenever he looked into the tube. As if he wanted to reach in and take him out, hold him in his arms like he is now and never let go.
Maybe that's what Conner was reaching out to. For someone to embrace him and keep him safe and warm. After all, he was just a baby. Just a tiny little thing, even with enhanced growth.
Conner was so small back then, just like he is now.
But he can't be like this forever. Come tomorrow, he'll have to find a cure. A way to reverse the effects and to get him back to normal. Then, they would revert back to their previous lives. Conner being off somewhere playing hero and Lex living in his office, watching the numbers go up and down.
For now, though, Lex decided to sleep. To relish the time he had with his only son.