This is a photo that looks quite normal. Clark initially didn't notice anything wrong about it. He only gleaned from it the information that Lex might have lost his mother at a young age. But after another glance, he suddenly realized that their hand-holding posture seemed a bit off.
The man is holding Little Lex's right hand, but not in a typical manner—more like he's trying to hide it behind his back, making their actions look rather bizarre.
Clark thought maybe it was just a candid moment, with Little Lex not standing properly. But the following photos were each strange in their own ways. For example, there's a picture taken by the seaside, where Little Lex is inexplicably wearing a turtleneck sweater. In another picture taken in an office, the angle of Little Lex's ankle looks very peculiar.
Clark continued flipping through and soon found more clues. Although he wasn't particularly adept at reading body language, he could at least understand the eyes. Little Lex seemed completely unwilling to take a photo with his father, constantly trying to dodge to the side and never looking his father directly in the eye, his entire demeanor stiff and numb.
After going through the photos, he turned to other documents, and finally, Clark found conclusive evidence. It was a record of Alexander Luther's consultation at a psychiatric department in a Metropolis hospital.
"Goal achieved," Clark said. He glanced at the hospital's name and consultation date, estimating based on Luther's age that this should be a diagnosis from his teenage years.
Generally speaking, an heir to such a large corporation would absolutely not see a psychiatrist, as it might raise doubts among the board members. Moreover, if things were truly as Clark suspected, Lex's father wouldn't have a reason to send him to a doctor. Even if he did, there would be no need to keep the report.
So there was only one possibility left. As a journalist, Clark understood this sort of thing. Wealthy and powerful people can use a mental illness diagnosis to escape culpability.
Clark looked at the professional terms on the diagnosis paper, took out his phone to check, and discovered that Lex Luther was diagnosed with "bipolar disorder," commonly known as manic-depressive disorder.
Thinking back on Luther's behavior, Clark felt it might not be entirely fabricated. So he had a rough hypothesis about the matter.
When Lex Luther was very young, his father abused him. He likely always had injuries on his body, so he tried to cover them up in photos—either hiding this or twisting that. This caused him severe psychological trauma, which led to his mental illness.
As he grew older, he might have been like any other person and stayed in school. But because his mind was already twisted and his intelligence quite high, he might have committed some crime at this age and got caught.
His father, to preserve the Luthor family's heir status, had no choice but to take him to see a doctor and successfully obtain a diagnosis certificate to absolve him of guilt. The diagnosis certificate remained kept until now.
To figure out if this was the case, Clark chose the simplest method: search online. As the head of such a large corporation, Lex Luther's life is public knowledge, and many people are eager to share details of their past interactions with such a wealthy man.
Sure enough, Clark quickly found the social media profile of someone claiming to be Lex's high school classmate, and found the name of the school. Searching the name along with the time period, he indeed found a related incident.
It was a poisoning case. However, probably due to the passage of time, or perhaps someone deliberately covered it up, the available reports were vague. All that was known was that poison was put in the school's water cooler, but it was discovered, so no tragedy ensued.
Clark suspected that this was Luther's doing. Poisoning is quite his style, and he was a formidable scientist, with chemical skills likely far exceeding his peers, easily able to extract some toxic substances from the school's chemistry lab.
As for why it was discovered, it wasn't surprising. This guy's brain just isn't sharp in this area. Isn't he now back in jail?
After learning all this, Clark could only sigh inwardly. Little Lex was indeed quite pitiful. Reason dictates that just because you had an unfortunate childhood doesn't mean you can harm others. However, it must be acknowledged that society bears some responsibility. Because when Little Lex was being abused, no one discovered it or helped him. This reflects society's failure to protect children, a lapse in supervision and management of Lex's father, leading to tragedy.
Given this, Clark felt that Lex Luther could still be given a chance. Not to make him perfectly virtuous, but at least not so antisocial.
And it was also for his own good, Clark thought. If you don't have the skills, don't take on the challenge. If you really want to be antisocial, you should be clever about it. Look at those madmen in Gotham, they can fight Batman for 300 rounds. That's true antisocial behavior. But look at you, you've fought me, an alien baby, less than three rounds and ended up in jail. Truly pathetic yet eager to play.
With these thoughts, Clark arrived at the police station where Luther was held. He was still in the detention phase, not yet transferred to prison. In theory, he should already be imprisoned, but perhaps Amanda pulled some strings. However, this made it convenient for Clark. Had he been locked up in a high-security prison, Clark would have to go to great lengths to see him. Meeting at the police station was much easier.
Taking advantage of the night when the officers were resting, Clark casually flew onto the balcony, opened the window, and descended to the detention room.
Luther was sleeping soundly, completely unaware of Clark's arrival. Clark felt a bit awkward, unsure how to wake him, so he simply coughed heavily twice.
Luther turned over, barely opening a slit in his eyes in the darkness. Upon seeing the figure standing by his bed, he let out a shout.
Clark hurriedly covered his mouth, gesturing for silence, then said, "Keep it down, or you'll alert the police."
"I want them to come! What the hell are you doing here?!!" Luther was nearly roaring.
"Don't rush," Clark said, "I know you really don't want to see me, and honestly, I don't want to see you either. But this world is what it is, sometimes we all have to do things we don't want to do. And my coming here is to make sure you don't do what you don't want to do."
Lex seemed still half-asleep, his expression somewhat dazed. Clark's roundabout speech was in vain.
"Alright, I'll get straight to the point. That Amanda Waller, the Black woman who came to find you during the day, the head of A.R.G.U.S., she found me too and threatened me to work for them. I know she's approached you as well, and you also don't want to work for her. So how about we cooperate?"
Lex finally woke up, he shrank into the corner, staring at Clark fiercely, then said, "I already knew she came to find me was to deal with you. I went with her during the day."
Clark felt a surge of frustration. He really couldn't understand, so he asked directly: "Why are you targeting me?! How did I offend you???"
His tone was full of doubt; he genuinely didn't understand. He and Lex had no past grievances, nor recent hatred, how could it come to such animosity?
Lex just stared at him without speaking. But Clark noticed he seemed to be trembling, as if suddenly ill. So he sighed and patiently said: "If you have any opinion about me, just say it. Communication is the best way to resolve misunderstandings. Tell me, why do you hate me?"
Lex's jaw was trembling too. He cursed again: "Get lost! You damn monster! Stay away from me!"
Clark realized that this guy simply couldn't communicate. He felt somewhat discouraged and even doubted, was it really because he was an alien, that's why he couldn't communicate smoothly with him? But thinking it over, why could he communicate well with others? He could even communicate with Batman!
"I went to your house." Clark was really reluctant to bring up someone else's painful past, even if that person was his enemy, but he had no choice but to speak openly, "I saw your childhood photos. That's actually quite strange. Your father abused you, right?"
Lex seemed to freeze for a moment, then like an enraged beast, he lunged at Clark. The impact meant nothing to Clark, but afraid Lex might hurt himself, Clark quickly subdued him.
"You damn bastard!!! How dare you!!!"
Clark thought he was referring to him entering his house without permission, so he said: "Sorry, but I really had no choice. I just want to understand you more. If you find this offensive, I can apologize to you."
"Why, why!!! I prayed so many times, every day I prayed devoutly, but you never came!!! No one came! You're not a god at all!!! You're a cold coward!!!"
Lex's anguish and anger left Clark stunned. He couldn't react immediately to what Lex was saying. However, his mind worked quickly, and he instantly realized Lex might be a bit confused.
Clark felt his age might be a bit older than Lex's, or they were somewhat similar. But even from appearance, it didn't reach the level of a generational gap. So the person Lex referred to who didn't save him, should not be Clark himself.
Because when Lex was a child, Clark was also a child. Plus, one was in New Jersey, one in Kansas, one in a big city, one in a small town. They were miles apart, and there was no talk of rescue.
Considering the words "pray," "god," Clark thought, was Lex referring to God?
In his childhood, Smallville was also a place with a strong religious atmosphere, where everything involved mentioning God. Although Clark didn't believe in God, he had some understanding of this aspect.
So he almost immediately understood Lex's thinking pattern. When he was being abused as a child, he must have prayed countless times to God, but God never responded to him nor came to save him. So he resented God.
This indeed seemed normal; before, Clark had heard children next door say if God didn't bless them to pass the exam, then they would replace the prayers before meals with rock lyrics. Some people's belief in God is relatively pragmatic, hoping God can help them, give them a response.
Plus, when Lex was abused, no one helped him, so the only one he could hope for was God. But God didn't respond to him. It was understandable that he resented God.
But if you hate God, just hate God. I'm not God, so why are you bothering me?
But at this moment, Lex suddenly seemed to clear up again. He retreated to the corner, coldly stared at Clark, and said: "You people are all the same. You enjoy the people's faith and praise from high above, yet never truly help the victims. Gods are all equally indifferent and selfish."
"No. Many years ago, God didn't come, but today, many years later, haven't I come?" Clark looked him in the eye, saying, "Even if you want to kidnap my mom, create a monster to destroy Metropolis, wish to kill me, haven't I still come?"
Lex Luther's expression froze.