A/N: Soooo, this was the result of me going off and reading every Lex/Kon/Clark fic I could get my hands on. It was going to be a one shot, but it got a little longer than expected sooooo… Three shot, I think?

Follow me on Tumblr. Same user Id as on here. That, and I am 90 percent more likely to respond there :p

Published: 8/2/2018

Warnings: General Smallville spoilers, no particular Season.

Chapter 1

I'm a What Now?

Lex Luthor had been having a good. The key word being 'had'. It had started out so great too. So great that, at the time, he hadn't believed anything could detract from his good mood.

Which, of course, meant the universe had to turn around and bite him in the ass with razor sharp teeth.

Why had it started out great?

Several reasons, really.

First of, Lex had successfully trolled Clark, aka Superman aka Kal-El by infecting the other with radiation only Lex could track, therefore putting a damper on the other's daily life. Annoying Clark was always the highlight no matter what, so this was very, very important.

On top of that, several projects where going along smoothly, Lexcorp stock was up 2 percent, and he'd finally figured out how to shut Tess up. (All it took was a dangerous mix of scotch, a few under the counter medicines, and a small little talisman Lex would never admit to owning, no matter how much he knew for a fact that the occult was real.)

Clark, Lex mused, was not the sharpest tool in the farmshed by far. The other hadn't even figured out that Lex had infected him until Lex had mentioned it. Several hours into the fact.

Lex thumped at one of his journals, the Metropolis sun shining through the windows behind him, illuminating his office space. This here was it. This here was the key. Such a simple key, such a simple thing that had kept Lex in the loop, when all else failed.

True, keeping a physical copy was dangerous, in the case that it got lost, but Lex doubted anyone but him would understand the damn thing. He'd made sure of that.

He'd kept such… Meticulous records after the Asylum. He'd kept some before the fact, of course, but after Belle Reve Lex had been adamant in keeping record on all. Having his memories erased via electroshock therapy by a psychotic deranged father put things into perspective. It really did.

Tess attempting to erase his memories, really, was a useless thing if all it took to remember where a few trigger words and a notebook full of random notations. All it took was a little push, and the memories came flooding back. Maybe not all, but enough. Enough for Lex to fill in the blanks, fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle.

Clark Kent. Kal-El. Krypton. Kara.

Lex thumped that name, eyes narrowed.

Kara…

Looking back, Lex realized that following her lead had been foolish. Something had been wrong. Something had been wrong with Kara, but she had come to him. She had been honest with him, given him the answers Clark had always denied him. The truth.

A truth, given far too easily. Lex could see that now. Whatever he'd come across, it wasn't Kara. Not really. And, trusting her had been a mistake.

Foolish, but what was he to do? Clark had never trusted him. Hell, according to his notes, Clark had taken active action to ensure that Lex had no recollection of Clark's powers, period.

Each event alone could, of course, be attributed to coincidence. All the events, splayed out before him, however, made a deep correlation.

Who did that idiot farm boy think he was fooling?

Still, Lex liked having proof, which was why he rigged a shuttle to explode. True, expensive, but nothing he couldn't afford. Infecting Superman was childsplay. Tracking said radiation was also childsplay. And, after confirming what he had already assumed, Lex had done the good citizen thing and informed Clark of his current infected status.

Lex wasn't sure why the other was so offended. It wasn't like the radiation would hurt anyone. It wasn't even deadly to humans. All it did was mark dear old Kal-El for him so he could see him anywhere within sight of the LexCorp Satellite.

Which confirmed that one Clark Kent and Superman were one in the same.

Of course, this could mean only one thing. Lex was going to troll his old friend to hell and back. It was the least he could do to an annoying lying alien that pretended to be his friend while manipulating him the entire time. Lex had loved Clark like a brother, and Clark had taken that love and twisted it.

Lex was mature enough now to understand that it had been far more complicated than that, but still.

Lex could now see that Clark really didn't have any actual intent to conquer the Earth, but that was also beside the point.

Someone needed to keep that giant lumbering blue Boy Scout in check, and it seemed Lex Luthor was the only one actually willing to do so. He'd told Clark, years ago, that perhaps it was Sageeth, and not Naman, that was the hero of the story. Told Clark, and believed it.

Only a hero would think to stand up to an alien demigod instead of worship the ground the other walked on, like the rest of the sycophants running around this city, with Lois Lane at their head.

Lex would oppose him, even if no one else would.

Hm. And maybe Batman too, Lex thought.

Lex leaned back, considering that factor. Maybe he should get Bruce involved too? It wasn't like Bruce was unreasonable. Out of the entire so called Justice League, Bruce was the most practical out of all of them. Although, considering that the man worked with a bunch of tight wearing adrenaline junkies, that wasn't exactly saying much.

Hm...

… Nah.

Bruce was too soft, Lex realized, and wasn't that ironic? Bruce Wayne didn't seem to understand that, at the end of the day, you sometimes just have to put the rabid dog down. There was a reason Arkham was a giant revolving door of villains entering and leaving.

Besides, anyone who ran around dressed as a giant bat terrorizing people obviously was not in the right mental state. Lex would set a psychiatrist on the other if he didn't suspect Batman was mad enough to twist them to his thinking the same way the Joker had broken Harley Quinn.

Such madness and such brilliance, in combination, was not to be underestimated. Charisma was a powerful thing, one Lex understood all too well.

It was in that moment that the night went to shit. Or, perhaps, in that moment that the night went completely and wonderfully well. Later, when asked, Lex would honestly not be able to give an opinion one way or another.

How?

Simple.

The marvelous hurricane proof windows Lex had just finished replacing after Clark's temper tantrum earlier were imploded in a cacophony of shattering glass.

Spinning in his chair, Lex turned, eyes wide.

No…

Impossible.

Lex's eyes darted to his computer screen of their own volition.

Sure enough, the satellite tracking Clark confirmed that yes, Clark was nowhere near here. He wasn't even on the same continent. He was running around in Russia, of all places, because of course he was.

Heavy breathing drew Lex's gaze back. A second glance told him what those first few shocking seconds had not. The being before him was not, in fact, Kal-El.

For one, Superman had a disastrously disgusting addiction to primary colors. True, the House of El mark on the chest of the figure before him was red, but Superman would not be caught dead wearing black. At least, not in public.

Still, the resemblance was… Remarkable.

Another secret relative, hidden under the woodwork? Last Son of Krypton, bah! Utter bullshit. Lex wasn't surprised. Every other word that came out of Clark Kent's mouth was just slathered in deceit.

With those glowing red eyes, the being before him was more than likely Kryptonian. Lex wondered how quickly he'd be able to draw a piece of Kryptonite. Undoubtedly, not quick enough. Not against a superpowered alien that could move faster than the speed of sound.

Glowing red eyes and, Lex noted, glowing red stone. Glowing red stone glistening from a ring on the other's clenched fist.

It took Lex less than a second to realize what this was.

What was it with Sons of Krypton and vandalism? Gr. Superman alone did millions of dollars of property damage to Lex's facilities. Hell, half the effort put into said facilities was for the sole purpose of keeping out said Boy Scout.

Okay, so maybe some of the projects where of questionable morality, but meh. All great advances in science where.

The sight before him did confirm one thing, though. Apparently, breaking into people's homes while huffing angrily was not, in fact, a Clark thing but a freaky alien thing.

This was Kon-El. He had been right. An alien had broken into his tower, and Lex couldn't help but feel stupid for it. He'd let his defense down, believing that as long as Clark was far away, he was safe.

That was a very flawed assumption, it seemed.

The other Kryptonian. The child. Clark's supposed 'little brother' that had appeared out of literally nowhere, with powers and abilities similar to Clarks, who had gone around calling himself 'Superboy', of all things.

Really. No originality. No originality at all. Lex was convinced Lois Lane was behind that one. For a star reporter who was hailed as the greatest thing since Shakespeare graced the world with his brilliance, she was not very… Imaginative.

Kon-El was breathing heavily, deep pants escaping the teenagers lips. Those eyes of his burned red, like the demon he was. Eyes capable of incinerating Lex before he could even think of moving, think of doing anything at all.

Not for the first time, Lex considered getting a Kryptonite ring. Hm. Maybe the blue variety. True, it wouldn't actually harm a Kryptonian, but it would put them on an even playing field.

That, and the green variety tended to have wild unexpected side effects, which Lex so did not want to deal with. For all he knew, it would give him something completely ridiculous and outlandish, like hand cancer.

Blue, on the other hand, seemed to have positive health effects in humans. Because of course it did. Strange weird little rocks.

Before Lex could even process another thought, it was too late. The Teen of Steel moved, and, like the rest of his kind, it was too quick for Lex to even think of responding to it.

Hands curled along Lex's lapel, hauling him to his feet. Then, his back was slammed against a wall, dust settling around them.

This happened in less than the span of a second. For a moment, Lex had a dizzifying moment of whiplash as those red eyes glared at him.

Red… But not from fire. No. This was something else. Something different. Lex had seen this look before. He'd seen it, shining in the eyes of another, of someone else.

Ah hell. Who in their right mind would give a Kryptonian teenager Red Kryptonite?

Kon-El was panting at him, his breath in Lex's face. His expression was pained, twisted. It took Lex only a moment to realize that the boy was crying. A pathetic whimper escaped the teenangers lips.

What… What hell?

"Why… Why? Why?!" The teenager demanded, shaking Lex like a wind in the leaf. Oh hell. Lex could already feel the bruises forming on his arms. All things considered, the Kryptonian before him was being gentle(since Lex had yet to snap like a toothpick in the arms of a dangerous superpowered alien capable of catching cars with his bare hands), but still. This was highly uncomfortable.

Where was Mercy when you needed her? And Hope. And Charity. Or one of his other similarly named bodyguards that were not, contrary to the Inquisitor rumor mill, Lex's own personal harem.

More than likely scrambeling a defense. Or, waiting for Lex's command. Regardless, someone was going to get demoted for this, period.

Tears were now flowing freely down the teen's cheeks. For a moment, Lex was reminded of Clark, and, despite himself, Lex felt himself twitch. Ah. Great. Another angsty teenager storming into his office space to yell at him for something he probably hadn't(but most likely had) done.

Was it genetic? Dear god, it must be genetic. Did Kara ever stomp into his office like this? Lex didn't have many recollections of the girl, so he wasn't sure. Probably. Most likely. Lex was two for three so far, so there was a good chance it was secretly three for three.

"Why don't you want me? Why doesn't Cl- Superman want me? Am I not good enough? Why!"

Lex blinked in utter confusion.

Okay. No. Enough was enough.

Lex shoved roughly against the other's chest. The teen let himself be pushed back, a pathetic little whimper escaping his lips.

Lex had to resist the instinctive urge to wrap the boy in his arms in comfort. Lex wasn't sure where it came from, but he didn't like it. Lex didn't do affection, thank you very much.

Lex could, of course, only assume that the boy was doing something to his mind. The very idea made something feral in him growl. Lex Luthor didn't appreciate anyone messing with his mind, ever. He'd had enough of that for a lifetime.

"Want you? What on earth are you ranting about?" Lex demanded, slowly starting to feel disturbed.

What had Clark been doing to his so called 'little brother'?

The teenager looked away, eyes latching onto the floor. The floor which was, mind you, still covered in shards the of glass from the initial rampage that had brought the child here in the first place. Lex had just gotten that replaced too. Had he mentioned that?

"Superman doesn't want me. At first, he didn't want me at all. Wanted me to go away. Stay away. Now… Now, he says I'm his brother. But… But I'm not. I'm not!" The teenager looked up at this, wide eyed and teary in a way that normally made Lex feel disgusted.

He'd always seen weakness, any weakness, as something worth of contempt.

Right now, that's not what it makes him feel at all. Instead, it makes him want to find the person who hurt this child, and beat them senseless. It was Lex want to beat Clark senseless with Kryptonite brass knuckles, over and over again.

"They made me from the both of you. Doesn't that make me your son? Uncle Ollie says that makes me your son, and Superman's son, even if I wasn't made normally, so why?" the boy cried, eyes falling shut, face scrunched in pain as he looked away.

Lex froze.

Okay. Okay. Time out.

What.

What the utter fuck.

What…

Son?

How… What… Where… What in the…

Those tear stained eyes opened, locking back on to Lex's. Nope. No. Hell to the no. Nope. Lex did not have enough time for this. He did not have the time to deal with this, to process it.

Son?

He had a son?

How… But…

With Clark, of all people?!

How in the hell…

Well, Lex supposed Clark wasn't exactly human, so maybe- no, no, what was this?

This boy… This boy… He had to lying. He had to. He had to be. Even Clark.. Even Clark wouldn't hide something like this from Lex. Even Clark with his pathological need for lies and for secrets wouldn't hide his own son from him, would he?

The boy didn't sound like he was lying though. The pain in his voice, the anguish, the hurt… It was real. Lex knew that look in the teenager's eyes. He'd seen it himself, hundreds of times while growing up. Seen it, in the mirror, when he realized again and again that no matter what he did; he just wasn't good enough.

No matter what he did, Lionel Luthor would never approve of him. No matter what he did, Lionel Luthor would never love him.

The look of a son, gazing up at their parent, desperate for affection but resigned to the fate that they weren't going to get it.

Lex stared at the boy.

The more he stared, the more he dealt dread. Dread, because; while the coloring was off, the more he looked, the more he recognized.

This… This boy…

The mirror analogy was more apt than Lex had initially assumed. More apt than anything at all, because this boy had his face. That wasn't an exaggeration either. He looked… He looked exactly like Lex had, all those years ago at Excelsior.

Well. Except for the hair bit.

This boy…

Oh god.

Oh god, he wasn't lying.

He wasn't-

Of its own free will, Lex's hand rose. He left it there, hovering above the boy's cheek. Hovering, but not touching.

"Son… I… I have a son?" Lex whispered, a broken sound of awe escaping his lips.

He hadn't even realized he'd spoken the words out loud until the boy gasped.

Son.

Lex… Lex had a son.

He was a father.

He… He had a son. A son. A child.

With Clark Kent apparently.

How in the living hell that happened was beyond Lex, because he was pretty sure Clark was male and Lex knew for a fact that he himself was male, so how they'd managed to produce a child was beyond-

Wait.

Superboy was a teenager.

If Lex was to hazard a guess, he'd say the other was around fifteen.

Fifteen…

Oh fuck.

How old had Lex been when this child was born? Hell, how old had Clark been? Unless a serious dose of time or dimensional travel was involved, Clark and Lex having a child together, of all things, would mean Lex had been pretty much robbing the cradle.

Nevermind the fact that they were both male and neither of them could give birth. Wait, if that's the case, why did Lex… It was impossible, really. Impossible in every sense of the word.

Those eyes didn't lie, though. That gaze didn't falter. There was no deception in this boy. If anything, the child before him believed the words coming out of his mouth, with all his heart.

It was illogical. It was stupid. Asinine. Borderline insane. It made no rational sense, no matter how Lex tried to put it. Regardless of all of that, Lex…

Oh hell, Lex believed the kid, and wasn't that scary? There was a Kryptonian wild child breaking into his office, ranting things about paternity and fathers and things that made no sense and Lex believed him.

Lex believed.

Lex pulled his hand back. The boy eyed him, uncertain. Uncertain, confused, and maybe just a tad bit hopeful.

Lex touched a button against the earpiece the always kept on him. There was the brief sound of static before the line connected.

"Sir?" Mercy's voice sounded on the other end.

"Stand down, Mercy. He isn't a threat. Call of whatever you've summoned." Lex ordered.

"... With all due respect-"

"With all due respect, I am your boss and you will obey me." Lex snapped, which even he supposed was a bit unfair. Mercy was only looking out for him, but still. "Cancel all my appointments. I don't want to be disturbed today. By anyone. I don't care if the President himself shows up on my doorstep, turn them away." Lex ordered.

"... Very well." Mercy replied.

Lex sighed.

"If it makes you feel better, Mercy, you can activate Code Blue. Not Green. Blue." Lex offered.

Instantly, several panels around them lifted, sliding into the walls. Superboy flinched back, gazing up in fear. A fear that was malplaced.

Well. Not entirely.

This wouldn't hurt him, not really. It wouldn't help him either, though.

Kryptonite, glowing and blue, lined the walls.

Superboy hissed.

Then, Lex moved.

The boy, now no more powered than a regular human, had no defense. Lex quickly managed to snatch the glowing red ring from the boy's hand, turning around and flinging the damn thing as hard as he could through the now gaping hole in his wall that used to be his window.

Lex was pretty sure that was a bad idea, all things considering. The ring would likely hit something, and the velocity caused by the descent alone would turn its force potentially deadly. Still, best way to solve this was to get that thing far away.

Out of sight, out of mind, out of weird alien planet radiation range.

Superboy gasped, taking another step back. Lex looked up. Red pulsed from the boy, running along his veins before fading away, leaving him gasping. Gasping, and still a bit shell shocked.

Shell shocked, perhaps, but perfectly in his right mind, which he had not been earlier.

Lex spoke once more, knowing Mercy would hear him.

"I assure you, Mercy. I've got the situation perfectly under control. As I said, I do not want to be disturbed. Thank you."

Before his overzealous bodyguard could respond, Lex touched the button again, cutting the connection. Then, he took a step forth.

Kon-El looked straight at him, fear shining in those eyes. Fear of him. Fear of Lex. Lex didn't like that. He didn't like that at all.

Stupid weird parental instincts that should not be there because none of this made any sense at all whatsoever.

Lex wanted answers. More than any other time in his life, he needed answers. Needed them, and would get them.

But, first thing first.

Lex wrapped his apparent son in a hug. Arms, clinging to the others frame. A gentle hold, meant to comfort. Lex wasn't used to such things, but, at the moment, he fealt like it would be the right thing to do.

It's not like Lex had much experience with this things, all facts considered. He'd grown up with Lionel Luthor, of all people, as a parental figure. That man's idea of an appropriate gift to a nine year old was a history lesson over the Battle of Troy and how love lead to endless carnage and destruction.

Still, this felt like the right thing to do. The sharp breath the boy took before tentatively hugging back told Lex it had been the right one.

Son.

Lex had a son.

True, he didn't know the how or the why or even the when, now that he thought about it, but Lex had a son. He had a son, and dammit, he was happy.

He felt like he could fly from the giddiness of it all. Not that Lex would try it. Superman would probably let him fall just to be a dick.

Still.

Lex needed an explanation.

Lex pulled back, gazed at the teenager currently crying into his shoulder, and spoke.

"... Explain." Lex demanded.

The boy blinked at him. Then, his expression morphed into confusion. Confusion as he pulled back.

"Explain? What do you mean, explain? You made me." The boy claimed. Or, more accurately, accused.

Great. Now Lex was being condemned for things he couldn't even remember doing. Well. Wouldn't be the first time.

"When was this? Because, I think I'd have recollection of… Child creation." Lex said, then cursed his pale complexion as he felt a blush crawl along his cheeks.

God dammit, he was not a blushing virgin! He was a man! A grown ass man.

Kon-El, bless him, did not notice Lex's dilemma. Instead, his face remained scrunched in confusion. Confusion that didn't last.

Then, much to Lex's horror, the boy's expression hardened. It hardened into a very familiar look that Lex had seen hundreds of times over the years. A look he had seen so many times that even Tess and her memory erasing ways couldn't fully gouge out.

Lex had to resist the urge to swear and bang his head against the wall.

Oh fuck. This really was Clark's kid too. He had Clark's bitch face. The one Clark would get every single time he would self righteously storm into Lex's home to condemn him for one act or another, even after Clark had completely and adamantly declared that they weren't friends anymore.

Acts that Lex had, for the most part, been totally innocent of commiting. Well. At first.

"You had me made! In the lab! The cloning lab! Don't pretend you don't know!"

Lex had done what? Wait, he'd cloned a kid? Well… Lex supposed that actually made more sense. It shouldn't have, but it did. Lex already knew he couldn't have children by the normal means.

The meteor shower had left him all but sterile, which was a real kicker right there. But, a clone child? That… That just might have worked.

But with Clark? What could have possibly possessed Lex to do that?

"When was this?" Lex demanded. Because, really, when had he done this?

The boy narrowed his eyes. Arms crossed, the child huffed. Lex twitched. His own child was giving him the third degree for something he couldn't even remember doing.

This was totally Clark's fault.

Wait…

That…

That motherfucker!

Lex had a son, and that alien son of a bitch hadn't said anything? Oh hell. If Superman thought Lex had been bad before, that Kryptonian secret hoarding lying bastard was going to get what was coming to him!

Lex began to pace up and down the office, thought entering his head and being discarded as quickly as they came.

Kon-El eyed him with suspicion. Suspicion that rapidly turned into realization.

"You… You really didn't know." he said softly.

Lex glanced at the boy.

"No. No, I didn't."

"I… Oh god, I'm sorry. The Red Kryptonite kinda takes away my inhibitions and I didn't mean to put it on, it was an accident and me and Chloe were looking through some of her old things and it was just there and I-" the boy began to ramble.

Lex lifted a hand, stopping the boy in his tracks. Wide eyed, the child- teenager- clone- whatever the hell he was- gazed up at him.

"You… You're my son. I'm a dad. I'm… I'm a dad? Since when… Since when am I a dad?"

The boy blinked at him, stunned.

Then, Lex found himself with an armful of half human, half alien superpowered teenager that he so did not remember creating.

So why…

Why did he feel a pounding in his chest, why did he feel a connection, a bond? Why did he…

For once, Lex Luthor decided that he didn't want to fight it. Yes, he didn't have all the answers. Not yet. Not yet, but he would.

But, for now, Lex had his son in his arms and he gave in, and just let himself feel.