We Are Luthors

   Lex Luthor had a severely overblown idea of his importance in the world.
   In high school, he'd begun shaving his head.  Lionel had always assumed—quite correctly—that it was Lex's vain attempt to distance himself from his peers.
   As Lex walked into his father's office, he tilted his head slightly upward in smug arrogance.
   "Hey, dad.  How goes the war?"
   Lionel almost sneered back at his son.  "Joviality is not one of your best qualities, son."
   Lex didn't take the hint.  "Oh, come on, dad.  Bruce Wayne nearly got killed last week, and I've got nearly enough capital to take out WayneTech's Metropolis branch—if he survives long enough to take it over anyway."
   Lex would simply not stop talking, much to Lionel's chagrin. He walked to the office's window, casually taking in the extraordinary view of the city.
   "The papers said that it might have been the mob, or maybe corporate warfare."
   Lex half-turned to his father and gave him a grin. "Apparently someone's doing our dirty work for us."
   Before Lionel could chastise Lex, the office door swung open.  A tall woman with barely-contained anger strode across the room, her forceful footsteps thudding into the carpeted floor.
   Lionel immediately switched into his "friendly businessman" mode, greeting her warmly.  "Ah, Valerie, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
   Valerie ignored the false kindness of Lionel's words, and she didn't care that his son was in the room.
"Lionel, I'm your lawyer, not your friend.  Don't pretend otherwise."
   Lionel leaned back and let his face go grim.  "Alright; what's the situation?"
   Valerie didn't even take another breath before shouting her answer.  "Lionel, WHAT were you thinking, walking into a PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL and practically handing them evidence against you?"
   Lionel tried to play innocent.  "Valerie, I'm not sure I know what—"
   She pulled a sound recorder out of her purse and hit the play button.
   Lionel's voice could be unmistakeably heard:
   "I don't know how you three survived, or what exactly you did to those men and that car, but I assure you that this is not over."
   Valerie didn't give Lionel time to respond. "Some kid reporter TAPED you threatening her this morning, and the school's security cameras have you on video walking into that classroom."
   Lionel frowned. "Luthorcorp runs the security for that building; that video should have never been let out!"
   "WayneTech took over the school's security yesterday, Lionel.  They were more than happy to release the video to the authorities," Valerie said.
   The room was silent for a moment.
   "What's the next step now?" Lionel asked.
   Valerie sighed in frustration, and rubbed her forehead.  "Now you lay low.  Fortunately, you didn't say anything directly incriminating, so we can get you out of this. But you're going to be under a lot of scrutiny, Lionel.  The police have been waiting for you to slip up like this for years, and every reporter that you don't already have under your thumb will be after you.  Don't do anything that could even possibly be seen as suspicious."
   Without another word, she walked out.
   Staring in shocked silence, Lex finally spoke. "Dad... you ordered that attack on Bruce?"
   Lionel glared back at his son.  "Yes."
   Lex wasn't sure what to think.  "But... but we're not killers... we're—"
   Lionel interrupted. "We're conquerors, Lex," he said as he stood up from his chair.
   Lex looked back and forth around the room, his mind racing. "But... I thought we were going to take down Wayne Enterprises, not kill Bruce.  We're not murderers..."
   Lionel took a slow step forward.  Then, suddenly, without warning, he backhand-slapped Lex across the face.
   Lex, shocked, fell back against the wall.
   Lionel stared down at his son, his voice ringing with a venomous disdain.  "You think you're somehow aiding me with your teenage brat club at school?  You think that getting a few spoiled children together will somehow help you topple Wayne Enterprises?  Let me explain something to you, Lex: Wayne Enterprises will not die so easily.  I have tried to bring them down in the past, but the Wayne family has a tendency to pull miracles out of thin air."
   Lionel looked deep into his son's eyes, making every word burn into Lex's mind.
   "We are Luthors, Lex.  We are conquerors; we are kings; we rule this city.  Bruce Wayne is a false god: a pretender to the throne of Metropolis.  If he will not relinquish his claim, then he must be removed."