#superlex.

Still not quite feeling well enough to stand up, he coughs out an answer to Lex’s question from his hands and knees. “Well,” he replies with a sheepish smile, “We might be friends again but everyone else is hesitant to trust you. I was hoping to convince them that you are trustworthy by proving you don’t have any kryptonite hidden anywhere but in doing so I discovered -- and the hard way at that --that Batman has some kryptonite disguised as cologne.

“I know it is his because he made his own bottle and it has the bat symbol on it. Anyway, he must have made the bottle so it senses his fingerprint because when it scanned my fingerprint, it would spray but I couldn’t turn it off.”

And that’s how he found himself inhaling a whole bottle’s worth of Kryptonite which has lead to him taking on the near collapsed position he’s currently in. “You know, when he said he hid it somewhere safe, I didn’t expect for it to be in plain sight...”

-- Lex looks around before kneeling down in front of Clark. It’s not steady, perched up on the balls of his feet, balanced on a hand. Because, of course anyone walking down those too-wide too-blank Watchtower halls is going to think he’s done this. Might need to bolt any second. Even if Superman came to bat for him again, they’d say something. They’d always say something, these heroes and their unattainable goalposts. (Sometimes it felt like they didn’t even want Lex to try.)

He studies Clark’s eyes and fingernails, noting the level of kryptonite poisoning and comparing it to previous experiments he’d run in the field. (experiments in the field, that was one way to put it) Aspiration was probably the worst way to get it but at least Clark was still talking. That meant he was mostly okay, right?

Right, Clark was talking. Lex blinks, replaying the conversation in his head quickly. “You were looking for... Superman, I appreciate the help. Really. But I can defend myself without you. Done it for years before I joined the League.”

It’s a lie, he loves having someone there to support him. Someone caring about him feels nice, something he hasn’t had in decades. Having Clark at his side again, helping him through this upheaval in his life, is helping him want to change.

“Stupid hick.” Lex sighs. “I almost wish you’d found my mineral samples. They wouldn’t have done this. But Batman’s allowed to keep-- it’s Batman, of course he--” He bites off the rant with a small frown and a loud huff. Not the time or place. “Sorry.” He’s not though, because Batman is allowed to do this to his best friend and-- well, that way lies madness so he shoves it down deep.

He puts a hand on Clark’s cheek. The gesture is (mostly) clinical, keeping an eye on the color of Clark’s sclera. He reaches a hand out to (attempt) to help Superman to his feet. “Do you want me to... get someone to help you?” He doesn’t offer to do it himself despite his terrifying amount of expertise in the field of kryptonite positioning. He’s pretty sure Clark would turn him down. Even if they’re friends, he’s still Luthor. And while Lex knows that, he doesn’t want to reminder right now. Not when his friend is hurt.

[ @smallblueboyscout ]

"Simple. Tell me, I'll handle it if it actually warrants killing someone." Wait, no. Hero. Set a good example for the boy.

"Why do you want to kill someone? I thought we had that talk already." He kneels down to look at Jon's face. "Did he do something to upset you?"

@rxsurrxcted turn on ur location I just wanna talk

It's a whole character arc for him that I'm quite proud of myself for.

Lex Luthor gathers Villains to save the world from the Criminal Syndicate, and he sees Alexander, sees himself at his darkest potential. He kills himself and holds Bizarro as his...kid, friend, confidante, passes. He's hailed as a hero and, oh, the attention is exactly what his ego needs. After the Amazo Virus, Lex becomes a member of the League. He desperately wants the League's approval, anyone on the League. But, of course, he isn’t getting it yet. He's only *just* turned to the light. Not quickly enough for him, though he’s a man of ambition and he’s damn well going to try. His stubborness and ambition have never failed him before.

  After an episode (PTSD, mania, too little sleep, take your pick) caused some vague catastrophe event, he was told to take advantage of the various doctors the League had on staff or leave the League.

While the physical injuries were healing, he was also berated into taking advantage of the other medical staff like psychiatrists and therapists. (You will pry the Watchtower not having proper therapists and psychiatrists on file or even on site from my cold dead hands). 

Much like in the comics and other media, he tries to treat the therapy like a game. But after a while the game becomes boring. he actually opens up, starts to unfold 46 years worth of unaddressed trauma, violence and head injuries. Dr. Marigold is an astonishingly good therapist.

He and Clark become friends again. Alongside, a proper friendship with Lois is beginning. He's still at arms length with most of the League.

A year patiently waiting at these crossroads, he decides to don the blue Superman suit as a physical symbol of the side he’s chosen. After 5 years as Superlex, the lack of secret identity begins to wear on him. 

Simple enough: Lex Luthor, age 56 was dead. A truly tragic car accident.

Clark and Bruce are the only ones who know Lex faked his death. Lex worked behind the scenes to selectively release some of the less-weaponizable patents and appoints more ethical project heads who were up for helping overhaul.

Meanwhile, LexCorp had a new CEO. Lex kept an eye on the news at first but then decided to focus on his new life instead. 

Lex's new identity is Lachlan 'Latch' Bella-Moore, a 40 year old geneticist working on various cloning projects, always releasing his papers free to the public (It's not as if he needs the money). They're outlandish at best, filtered through hypotheticals and secret identities but Latch gains a spotlight in the scientific community after creating the first clone of a Kryptonian and human. 

He's a very softspoken person by now, decades of therapy and a sort of retirement. He will suit up from time to time-- he does enjoy the rush of heroics-- some vigilante networks have clips of a vague new hero named Agent Comprehensive, a name specifically designed to be complicated and forgettable.  

Latch is quite content and happy now, aging comfortably among friends and family. Still working on projects in various sciences when the mood strikes, mostly those related to functional immortality. 

[ @smallblueboyscout ]

There’s some viral video from someone’s phone, no audio. Superboy and Lex had rounded up some robbers and are milling around waiting for the police to show up. Maybe waiting  for another building to save. 

They’re talking and Lex keeps shaking his head. Superboy dabs, making supplicating gestures.

Is he gonna-- yes, he is. Lex Luthor in his blue-and-red Superman suit and cape fluttering in the breeze, does his best to dab, but has his head turned the wrong direction. Superboy shakes his head and shows him again, and Lex tries again with a shrug. Superboy jumps up and down and claps his hands. Lex does it again with his other arm. Always the showman, Lex puts his whole body into it, smiling along with Jon even while he’s making a fool of himself. 

The robbers that are tied up start laughing and Lex shoots them a glare. The video cuts off with the anonymous recorder laughing their ass off.

-- he picked through the rubble of the destroyed farmhouse buying a new one would be simple. not as if he didn’t have money to spare. everyone was safe, that was the most im- portant part. beat up and bloody but no  l i f e - t h r e a t e n i n g injuries. he bandaged himself up as the rest of his family sat h e a l i n g    i n     t h e     s u n l i g h t as the enemy lay gasping for breath on the front porch but the lovingly homemade food on the table was cold

and there was both kryptonian and human blood on the sidewalk and entryway and the sight , of the violence in his own home, was  s h a t t e r i n g.

they’d only come to attack lex luthor but what if the rest of the family was exposed                                                  in the process ? 

-- “I’M WELL aware that B r u c e told you to watch me. You don’t have to keep up that damned prattling as if we’re actually partners.” The one hero that every trusts, sent to keep an eye on the newcomer to see if he slipped up during a tedious stakeout. Lex was used to long stretches of silence. Always working on various robotics or other experiments-- it was tolerable, preferred even.