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Luthor stalked down the hallway, guards around him and scowl firmly on his face.
He got all sorts of people attempting to use various social media sites to say that he has had a child with someone. He usually came down hard on the people involved, even the ones that were clearly meant as a prank. They had learned fast not to tag him in the messages and had mostly stopped - unlike what that half-wit Wayne did.
The dimwitted walking charity case gave anyone who had even the smallest chance at being his child one thousand dollars, no questions or investigations asked or made. The fool took being a fool too far. Luthor had no idea how he was still a multi-billionaire when he gave away thousands of dollars every year.
But today Luthor couldn’t give too much thought to Wayne and his ways. He had much more important things to concern himself with.
“Sir, it is the exact same as how we checked on it the last time.” One of the new doctor’s reported to him. Luthor hadn’t bothered to learn his name, not yet. He was still new, and Luthor was still working on if he would be allowed to stay or if he would be removed. “The lockdown that Dr. Rossi engaged is still active, and has had no interruptions. If there had been any interruption we would know about it, because it would have caused the experiment to implode and become unusable.”
“And the vital signs are still active and stable?” Luthor demanded to know more information about the one he had created and held captive.
“Yes sir. There are the expected and completely normal ascension and descension in its vital signs - that is actually how we know that Dr. Rossi did in fact manage to enact his four year plan. If the subject's vital signs remained normal and even, with no breaks or patterns one way or another we would have cause to believe that the clone’s situation had been faked and it had been taken. But there are breaks in the vitals, and they come at the times that they should after we have done the experiments which we do not have written down or scheduled, so we know that Dr. Rossi was successful in placing the experiment on lockdown.” The doctor explained, rather nervously.
Luthor thought it was wise of him to be nervous.
“Are we any closer to finding out who orchestrated the attack?” Luthor asked, crossing his arms and beginning to tap his finger on his bicep. It made the new doctor pale.
“N-no sir. We’re still working on finding out who was behind the attack. There was more than one, and they came extremely well-prepared. There was also no evidence of any kind left behind. Whoever broke in must have a lot of training, and by the very best in the field as well.”
Disappointing, but not unexpected. You didn’t become him without gathering a few very skilled enemies.
“Did we discover why they broke in yet?” he demanded.
“We believe they were after the information on the deal you are preparing to make with the Brunner’s, sir. An hour ago we discovered that many of the documents that you had prepared for the meeting have vanished, sir. It’s why we put in an urgent request to speak to you at the earliest time possible today - before you had been woken to that unexpected news.” he explained.
“The reason why he demanded to reschedule for three days later than our initial meeting time.” Luthor nodded his head once as the picture became clear. He, at first, didn’t think that Brunner would stoop to such measures - but clearly he would. It would give him time to go over what he had taken and attempt to arrange the deals to his benefit.
“Will our findings allow you to better prepare to get the better end of the deal?” the new one asked.
“I will be able to… ensure that I come out on top, yes.” Thoughts about how, exactly, he would make that happen were already swirling around in his mind.
“Very good sir.” the doctor said.
Maybe he would get to stick around on this planet, so long as nothing else came up.
“Keep me apprised if there is any change in the clone.” Luthor ordered before he dismissed the doctor. The doctor nodded to him, before he hurried out of the room - Luthor’s guards following him.
Luthor knew that there were some rumours beginning to circulate that he had been the one to ship Rossi off. If it earned him more obedience from his minions, he was content to let the rumours continue. He would only end them when the rumours stopped aiding in productivity levels.
“No one will find you, Superboy.” Luthor said quietly to the floor where he knew the clone was kept. As if it could hear him, the heartbeat sped up a little bit. Luthor smiled darkly; everything was going according to plan - and he would be able to ruin the one who broke into his base as well.
Luthor turned and stalked out of the room, guards once more around him for protection.
As he traveled out of his compound, he mentally cursed Rossi for getting caught. The man just had to go and get caught up in a meta trafficking ring, getting locked away by the Flash for attacking four children. Luthor had to distance himself from the man, otherwise there would be more backlash than he cared to deal with for his company. He didn’t need anyone sniffing around, not when three one four was so close to being completed.
If only Rossi hadn't locked the experiment down for so many years. If only Luthor could have gotten him back out to make him figure out how to lift the protocol without risking the experiment and all of its data.
But as it was, Luthor could wait. Four more years for a perfect clone, when he had already been at this for so long, was annoying but not hateful. His original timeline he had been given had placed him at being unable to reach the stage clone three one four had reached for another three years - and a perfect clone out of his reach for another decade at minimum.
So yes, he could wait.
And while he waited, he could look into the person who tagged both him and Superman in a Facebook post. One which said “Happy father’s day to the two men who created me; I’m sorry I couldn’t spend the day with you. Lot’s of love, Superboy”
No one knew that he had installed the name ‘Superboy’ into his clone’s head. That he had installed each clone with the knowledge that they would be called ‘Superboy’ or ‘Supergirl’. He had kept that between himself and the experiments.
So that someone tagged him, and Superman, using the name he had created for his most recent clone…
So Luthor was suspicious. Very suspicious.
In four years he would have his answer.
One way, or another.