DC Elseworlds: Luthor

Episode 2: Deadshot

Vanessa wears her white, silk nightgown as she stands inside of a large, hotel suite in Central Metropolis. With her penthouse apartment burned down by Harley, she decided to rent out this large suite for a while until she can find another place. It was embarrassing to enter the hotel in just her nightgown, but she is ready to rest for a while. After preparing her shower, she cleans herself off, puts her nightgown back on and goes to bed.

A few hours later, Vanessa is in the gym, running on the treadmill. She has put on a blue sports bra with black shorts and white tennis shoes. After lifting a few weights, she wipes her face off with a towel. General Lane enters the gym, wearing a pale brown class A uniform with no cap. He approaches Vanessa as she is sitting down by the arm press.

"I had found out which hotel you were staying in by asking around."

"What do you need, Sam?"

"I heard you were flying to Gotham City today to present the grand opening of the Gotham branch of your Luthor Hotels."

"Did you come to send me off?"

"I came to congratulate you. Gotham is a breeding ground for criminals and the people there live in constant fear. The poverty rates there are off the charts. You're going to change a lot of lives."

"And yet you don't look excited. What's wrong, Sam?"

"I'm concerned, Vanessa. Don't you think you're moving too fast with this, I mean opening two free hotels in Gotham? Penguin and Black Mask might get upset because you're taking business away from them."

"Cobblepot is a racketeer and Sionis is a thug. They don't scare me."

"They should, Vanessa. After what happened with Harley, you need to be more careful."

"I'm fine, Sam and don't worry; I'll have a bodyguard this time."

"Is it a Superman clone?" Vanessa can only make a sly smirk at his question. "It's a secret."

It is the late afternoon in Gotham City as Vanessa stands outside of one of her Luthor Hotels. She cuts the ribbon as the news crews take pictures and bystanders record with their smart phones. Vanessa waves her hand toward her, telling the kids in back to come on. A small crowd of kids wearing banged up clothes begin to run inside the large, white hotel with some homeless people following them. Vanessa then grabs the back of a male soldier's wheelchair as she pushes him inside the hotel.

The Iceberg Lounge, 8:00 pm. Penguin is in his office, tending to his safe when a man in a red trench coat steps into his office. The man has a beard with a large brown fedora, and his right eye is a red bionic lens. He holds a suitcase with his brown leather gloved hand. Penguin turns to face him. "I called you here because of a certain business woman who just came to Gotham today. In the past few weeks, she has been working on free hotels here in Gotham City and has opened them today. Those hotels will bring my business to a standstill, for I too own such a business. Not only that, but with poverty plummeting, crime will soon follow." The man with the bionic eye takes off his hat, revealing nicely combed black hair. The man makes a cocky smile.

"So Vanessa Luthor bothers you that much, Pengy?"

"Don't call me that, Lawton! It's Penguin, not Pengy!"

"Look Cobblepot, my time is valuable. It's obvious why you called me here, so come out and say it."

"Vanessa's idealism is bad for business. I want this hit to go down as soon as possible. How soon can you find her, Lawton?"

"Shouldn't be too hard. Vanessa Luthor is a public figure, just like her dear old dad. All I have to do is find out which hotel she's in, though I wouldn't be surprised if she were staying inside of her own hotel." Floyd puts his hat back on and holds the door open as he looks back at Penguin. "It's a shame, really, having to kill such a pretty lady. Oh, well; business as usual. I'll fill you in on the details once I'm done with the job. Goodbye, Oswald."

The next day, Vanessa sits at an outdoor restaurant by herself. She now wears a sleeveless white blouse with tight black pants and black stilettos, eating grilled chicken with creamed spinach. Someone approaches her table and sits down in front of her as she wipes her mouth off with a napkin. Selina is wearing a white t-shirt with blue jeans and gray sneakers. "Well mom, I'm home for dinner," jokes Selina. Vanessa looks at her calmly. "So what's been going on here in Gotham? Any word on the criminal underworld?"

"Only that Penguin is upset about you coming here and the free hotels you just opened up."

"I anticipated that, Selina. Tell me something I don't know."

"Alright, how about this? Word on the street is that Penguin is gunning for you and he has hired a big time assassin to take you out."

"Selina, you're boring me now. We both know that Penguin controls all the gangs in Gotham. We both know that even Black Mask won't mess with him. It is also painfully obvious that in his arrogance he would try to have me killed."

"So what's the plan, boss?" Vanessa only smirks. "Ah, I thought you would want to get rid of me." Selina sighs and looks at her sternly. "Vanessa, I know you helped me get early parole. You and Bruce were the only ones who vouched for me in court. I'm not ungrateful, you know." Vanessa looks more serious now. "I'm your parole guardian, Selina; it is my job to make sure that you are on the straight and narrow, not stealing priceless gems or teaming up with serial killers. So, did you get the check I sent you?"

"I did."

"And what happened?"

"I tore it up. I don't want your money, Vanessa."

"So you're working then?"

"Bruce gave me a job at Wayne Enterprises. He put me in charge of Research and Development since I'm good with gadgets. The pay is decent, so I'm able to keep my apartment."

"Music to my ears."

"Just be careful, Vanessa. If Penguin put a hit on you, then your life's in danger."

"I will." Selina leaves from the table as a pair of binoculars observes from across the street. Floyd Lawton wears a red suit with black shoes, trying to blend in with the crowd in the upper class district of Gotham. He puts away his binoculars and zooms in on Vanessa with his bionic eye when the young businesswoman looks his way. Vanessa squints, clearly seeing the gentleman in the red suit spying on her. Floyd smirks as he closes his eyes and walks away.

Fawcett City, one hour later. Vanessa had opened yet another of her Luthor Hotels in Fawcett City not too long ago, but not just to house the homeless; to give free living to a certain individual who lives here. Vanessa enters the large suite at the Fawcett City branch and stands at the door as a teenage girl in red basketball clothes and no footwear hugs Vanessa. "What are you doing here, Vanessa? I thought you were in Gotham!" Amanda wraps her fingers around her strands of black hair over her blue eyes as she brings her hair back gently. "I used my pocket universe to get here. I can only stay for a few minutes, so I'll get to the point. Amanda, how do you feel about being a bodyguard?"

"Bodyguard," asked Amanda with a look of surprise, "why did you come to me?"

"Because I need someone I can trust. Are you game?" Amanda smiles as Vanessa begins to explain the situation.

Gotham City, after dark. Vanessa rides in a cab through Old Gotham, which is the slum area of the city. A little while ago, Mayor Quincy Sharp wanted to turn Old Gotham into a prison district and seal it from the rest of the town, but the idea never went through because the criminals would just fight among themselves. It seems that the whole "Arkham City" idea was too extreme for the government to support, considering that Gotham's criminals have a bad habit of breaking out of prison anyway.

Vanessa looks out the window in the backseat of the cab and sees Crime Alley, where Thomas and Martha Wayne were gunned down back in 1938. Ten years later, Superboy showed up and fought crime in Gotham. Vanessa can hardly believe that Superman is a senior citizen, yet still has the body of a man in his mid twenties. Obviously his Kryptonian powers are responsible for that. Vanessa is just riding through the neighborhood tonight, knowing that Penguin's assassin will make his move soon. She has agreed to pay the cab driver a $500 bonus as an overtime fee. Vanessa now speaks into her earpiece. "See anything?" Amanda is standing on a rooftop, looking across and down below. "No, just empty streets. I guess people are still afraid to walk the Gotham streets at night."

"That will change soon enough. Bruce and Zachariah are doing their part. We just have to hope for the best." Vanessa's cab passes through a tunnel as a train begins to pass overhead. Back on the roof, Amanda holds out her arms and shouts. "O mighty Isis." A yellow bolt of lightning strikes her, and Isis now stands in Amanda's place. Isis takes to the air and begins to follow Vanessa's cab.

Vanessa pulls out her smart phone and looks at a satellite map. A red dot appears on the map, right where the train is passing overhead. "Hello, what is this?" Vanessa talks into her earpiece again. "Amanda, there is an unidentified passenger on the train above me. Can you check it out?"

"On it." Isis flies beside the moving train. She checks each window one by one, seeing the passengers in their seats. She flies ahead to the front car, seeing only the driver. Isis lands on top of the train and sits Indian style. "I don't see anything out of the ordinary, Vanessa."

"That can't be right. My phone is clearly telling me that there is an extra passenger." Unknown to both of them, a figure stands at the door of the rear car, standing outside the train. Deadshot takes off his fedora and homes in on Vanessa's cab through his lens. He sees the back of the cab, then zooms in on the back of Vanessa's head. Deadshot lifts his arm cannon and in slow motion his bullet flies through the air toward the cab. As it nears its target, it is diverted from its course by a white clad goddess, floating in between. Deadshot lowers his arm cannon and is surprised by Isis standing in front of him seconds later.

"So you must be the assassin. What's with the robot eye?" Deadshot regains his cool. "It's not a robot eye, Cleopatra. It's a bionic sniper lens."

"In any case, I caught you. Give up." Deadshot takes out a gun and aims it at Isis' face. "Really? You know that won't work, right?" Isis suddenly finds a dark clay-like substance covering her face, but she doesn't have time to wrestle with it as Deadshot throws her off the train. Isis catches herself in mid air and calls Vanessa. "I found him, but I have this weird mud stuff on my face. I can't see a thing."

"Relax. I'll take it from here. Stop the cab!" The cab driver pulls over and Vanessa steps out, but as she does she gives her debit card to the driver. "Don't go anywhere. I'll be back." In a flash of light, Vanessa leaves the street and stands before Deadshot. "W-what?! Where did you come from," questions a startled Deadshot. "So, you're Penguin's assassin. I knew Oswald would get careless, but I never thought it would be you, Floyd. What's the matter, did you get tired of Amanda barking orders at you in the Suicide Squad?" Deadshot glares at her, almost angry.

"Waller is a pest, but this has nothing to do with her."

"You do realize that this is a violation of your parole, right Floyd? By taking a contract from Penguin to kill me, you are asking to be executed on the spot. Are you really that stupid?" Deadshot smirks at the comment. "Not as stupid as you think. My chip has been removed." Vanessa looks at him confused. "That's impossible. Amanda would never allow that to happen. She's the only one with the authority to..."

"Who do you think removed it, pretty lady?" Vanessa looks horrified. "You're lying." Deadshot begins to fire, but Vanessa has vanished. Deadshot climbs to the top of the train, only to find Vanessa waiting. "Oh, you're quick. How did you do that?"

"Teleportation. I couldn't do it at first, but I am finally understanding that my powers are linked with time. Now I can do it at will." Deadshot fires again, but only hits air. From out of nowhere, a blade slices through his arm cannon. He turns his head to the left, being punched hard by Vanessa into the car in front. Deadshot passes out as Vanessa ponders on what he said.

Penguin is counting the money in his safe when he hears someone enter his office. "So, how did it go?" Penguin then hears a woman's voice. "It went well." Penguin turns around to see Vanessa, and she can tell that he is a bit surprised by her presence. "An assassin, Oswald? I mean, trying to get rid of the competition is one thing, but hiring someone to kill me? What were you trying to prove?" Penguin seems to be getting upset now. "You opened up two free hotels here in Gotham. You think I'm the only business you're hurting here? Every business owner in town is antagonized by what you did!"

"And killing me is supposed to make that better? Oh Oswald, you are such an egotistical thug, thinking that you can do as you please just because you own Gotham's gangs." Vanessa turns around and stops at the door. She now speaks sarcastically. "Oh and by the way, Deadshot confessed to the police that you hired him. I even picked up the phone call that he made to you when you hired him to kill me." Vanessa now makes a mischievous smile. "Squawk, squawk, Penguin." Penguin throws a tea cup at her as she slams the door.

Blackgate Prison, phone windows. Deadshot sits at the window with phone in hand, talking to his visitor. "Everything went according to plan, boss. So, when are you bailing me out?" On the other side sits a slim black woman with short combed hair and a blue skirt suit with blue high heels. "Harley was the opening act, of course she would have been too dumb to find Vanessa on her own."

"Is that why you freed her from Arkham?"

"Harley is a member of my Suicide Squad, as are you, Floyd."

"So remind me again, Amanda, why go through all this trouble to get Vanessa to notice that you're out to get her?" Amanda Waller growls under her breath. "My mission, Floyd, is to remind her and all of the freaks and monsters that they can't do as they damn well please. If she steps out of line, she will be eliminated."

"I'll remember not to get on your bad side, then."

"I'm going to Arkham to pick up Harlene and then I will come back for you. Harley is still angry with Vanessa for killing her boyfriend. I can use that to my advantage."

Amanda steps outside of Blackgate Penitentiary, only to see Vanessa standing there in a red sleeveless dress and black stilettos. Vanessa is absolutely livid at Amanda. "You ordered Deadshot to take the deal from Penguin. Just what are you up to, Amanda?!"

"You crossed the line when you gave General Lane those Superman clones. How many more of them did you make?"

"Is that what this is about?! I know it was you who sent Harley to Metropolis, because we both know that she couldn't have gotten there on her own, nor could she find me so quickly. I know that she is in the Suicide Squad, so why did you cut her loose on me?! She could have killed countless people in Metropolis!"

"What do you think you've done," answers Amanda, now angry herself. "You claim that you only made four Superman clones, only I find out that you made one for yourself and then send him off overseas. How do I know that you didn't make two more, or 100, or 10,000 of them?"

"Listen to me, you paranoid bitch! Do not start a fight with me! Everything you've done at this point is an act of war, and not just against me! Making deals with criminals, endangering civilians, and yet I'm the threat?! This is your last warning, Amanda; do not come after me again, or you will lose!" Vanessa turns around and walks away. Though the two women can no longer see each other's faces, the animosity is still felt between them.

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