Lena Luthor — After the Truth
Lena Luthor sat alone in the observation room long after Superman and Superboy had left.
The door slid shut with a soft hiss, sealing her in with nothing but the faint glow of holographic displays and the echo of her own heartbeat.
She had told them.
All of it.
There was no taking that back.
AFTER CONFESSION
She replayed the moment in her head whether she wanted to or not.
Superman's silence.
Not anger.
Not accusation.
Just… disappointment layered with understanding.
And Conner—
Conner hadn't shouted.
That somehow hurt more.
He had only asked one question:
"Did you know?"
And when she said no, he believed her.
That trust sat heavier on her chest than guilt ever could.
A MOTHER SHE NEVER CHOSE TO BE
She stared at her hands.
The hands that had built medical miracles.
The hands that had helped save lives.
The hands whose DNA had been stolen and turned into something living.
"I never wanted this," she whispered.
She wasn't Conner's mother.
But she wasn't not either.
She hadn't raised him.
Hadn't shaped him.
Hadn't decided his purpose.
Yet part of him existed because of her.
And that truth refused to loosen its grip.
LEX'S SHADOW
Lex Luthor would have laughed.
Would have called it irony.
Would have claimed ownership.
My nephew. My masterpiece.
The thought made her nauseous.
Lex would have used Conner's origin as leverage.
As proof.
As a weapon.
She had denied him that.
For the first time in her life, she felt she had taken something away from her brother instead of cleaning up after him.
That mattered.
DAMIAN WAYNE — THE UNCOMFORTABLE VARIABLE
And then there was Damian.
The boy who had given Conner power without demanding control.
Who had trusted Conner with something that could shatter continents.
Who had never once tried to insert himself as a savior.
Lena didn't like how much that unsettled her.
Lex would have kept the power.
Batman would have locked it away.
Governments would have dissected it.
Damian had chosen a person.
That wasn't science.
That was belief.
And belief terrified her more than technology ever had.
THE FUTURE SHE CAN'T ESCAPE
Lena stood and walked to the viewport.
Earth hung below—fragile, beautiful, ignorant of how close it always was to disaster.
Conner was out there now.
Training.
Learning restraint.
Superman was watching him with quiet pride.
And Damian Wayne was somewhere building something that magic itself reacted to.
The universe was shifting.
And for once, Lena wasn't at the center of it.
She didn't know whether that was a relief… or a warning.
A PROMISE TO HERSELF
She activated her personal recorder and spoke softly.
"I won't let my name decide my actions."
"I won't let guilt become control."
"And I won't let Lex touch him. Ever."
She shut it off.
This wasn't redemption.
But it was responsibility.
And for now, that would have to be enough.