(NOTE. This is for fun. For. Fun. F-U-N. I have not read the comics, I don't like comics, but I love the television shows inspired by DC as well as the movies/video games. I have done my best to keep everyone as IC as I possibly can but there are times when I will mess up. That being said the following fanfiction is based off of my character on DCUO [Metab0y] who initially started off as a parody until I actually grew fond of the little guy. This story itself should be thought of as an affectionate parody of fanfiction tropes that's meant to entertain you for a few minutes and nothing more.
TL;DR: Just go with it. If you dont like it, then I'm sorry. There's plenty of other fics if this isn't your particular brew :)
"Oh Power Girl? Dinner is served!"
'BOOM'
All at once pandemonium erupted in the auditorium. The crimson energy field that kept the students safe all but evaporated into the stagnant air. Parasite's call was answered the screams of meta-powered students and a quiet glare from Power Girl herself.
"Your only power is greed, Parasite!"She spat back at him, but he wasn't alone. A horde of feral, mutated youths writhed in place lead by a teenaged boy that hovered wordlessly at his side. The black domino mask showed the unnatural glow of crimson eyes offset by pitch black hair and a tight frown.
Innocents corrupted into gluttonous husks of their former selves corralled by a super-villain barely out of boyhood.
There were so many things wrong with what she saw. She felt sick to her stomach. She'd find a way to turn those people back to normal once this was over, but for now these people were counting on her."How sad...leave it to Lex Luthor to send a child to do his dirty work for him! How low can one man sink?"
The teen cocked his head to the side. Was she talking to him? He'd often wondered what it would be like to meet a superhero. Wonder Woman, The Flash, Batman, as a child he'd idolized them like many others did. It wasn't unusual to daydream about the wall of his school being blown through and The League rushing in to rescue him from an afternoon of algebra. But when Lex-
'Mister Luthor' He corrected himself bitterly in his head.
But when Mr. Luthor informed him he'd be taking down Superman's cousin part of him was conflicted. Of course there was the initial fear. The kryptonians inspired shock and awe wherever they went; here he'd just learned how to fly about three hours ago. And now he was at Lex Luthor's beck and call with an army of mutated parasites thrashing at his flank about to go blow for blow with someone who had "POWER" as her first name.
("Hey kid don't psyche yourself out, kryptonians are tough but they can be beaten. She's not invincible. Stick to the plan and mutate the rest of the students to drain her strength. Then once she's weak you'll go in for the final blow.")
Calculator whispered in his ear. He swallowed his nerves and nodded curtly to himself before he answered her.
"The only thing that's sad is how easy this is gonna be."
("Good luck.")
[Elsewhere]
Lex stood in a small chamber, his trademark power-suit carefully stowed in a containment field near the wall. All around him were monitors of varying shapes and sizes, each one tuned to a different location. That was one of the many perks of owning what might as well be the entirety of Metropolis. He could be everywhere, anywhere, and yet nowhere- all at the same time. Each night club, from Lexellence to The Dragon's Den flashed across his screen along with the faces of his many protégés skulking around the vendors. It wasn't long before Calculator's infamous silhouette appeared on the largest screen.
("Well its done. He's in there with Parasite right now...")
"Good. Keep me updated on his progress."He replied. Lex expected the screen to go dark or flash back to an alert from Talia he was following. Instead Calculator's form lingered on his radar long enough for him to arch an eyebrow.
"Is there something else I should know?"
Calculator didn't answer right away. It was so unlike him. Usually the man was straight to business and nothing else but prompt. After a lull he cleared his throat.
("It's just...Power Girl? I'm not questioning orders but don't you think that's a little steep for the first mission? There's no way.")
He threw his head back and had a good laugh before he could stop himself.
"These new meta-powered villains all floundering under my banner...I consider them my investments. Rest assured, I protect my investments. But to sit down with all of them and explain to them the subtle nuances of my vision as well as crack, dissect, and ultimately epitomize the power in their DNA...that would take months; perhaps years. Time we don't have. If they can't perform adequately against those so-called "heroes" or even Brainiac, then all that time and money is wasted. Its their privilege and their honor to serve humanity so I send them out to do work best suited for them. It's that simple."
("But why-")
"Why Power Girl?"
The auditorium was in shambles, the survivors morphed into parasitic abominations of their former selves, and sweat pouring down Power Girls' face as they surrounded her. Again her fist slammed into the grown and sent them reeling. Their leader shot toward her, his fist outstretched, and she flew to meet him. Their knuckles smashed together and a wave of pain nearly toppled him. Even in her weakened state she was a one woman army.
He was barreling back through a bookcase and flipped to right himself at the last minute. He focused his power; a hurricane of ice enshrouded him while he raced forward again. A blast of arctic wind slammed into her; encasing her lower half and rooting her to the spot. Parasite and his newly formed minions now swarmed. They surged to feed at every opportunity, coming in wave after disgusting wave. Even so she still resisted. He realized this would've been a suicide mission if the heroes had it in them to take a life. Lex Luthor was his only hope off that ship and ever since he was freed he became painfully aware of the puppet strings slowly intertwining around him. He was going to lose. And then he'd be expendable with some other super-powered brat slinking into his place like he never left.
It burned him up. Literally.
The more he thought about it the more he felt the heat rise to his face, and the more he feared his mask would burst aflame at any moment. He'd felt strange ever since he'd seen the light of day again. Stronger, but angrier and more volatile than ever. He wielded cars like swords, sundered the ground with a stomp of his foot, and soared through the morning sky like a bullet. All this power would go to waste as soon as she broke free and clobbered them both. Then he'd have to go into hiding, flee metropolis before Lex's new villains hunted him down and his scientists took him apart on a laboratory table.
He wasn't a true apprentice, not like the heroes. He was simply a sacrificial pawn in a much larger gambit.
His jaw clenched tighter. A red haze swam over everything just as hot and bright as the sun on his neck. In an instant he saw a flash of alarm on Power Girl's face before her eyes turned into glowing crimson pits.
As did his.
'FWOOSH'
("H-Heat vision?!")
The crease of Lex's lips turned up into a smile.
The beams struggled against one another for dominance. The pillars supporting the auditorium strained as the temperature skyrocketed and the transformed parasites went into a frenzy now that their prey was distracted. The berth of her ray narrowed, her glow diminished, until even his dull orange beacon was able to match it evenly.
"When I entered Brainiac ship I saw something very intriguing...a young man, standing among wreckage, without so much as dirt on his clothes. Superlative strength, flight, and a command of ice. I thought nothing of it. But then he destroyed Brainiac's ground forces and transformed the Meta-humans while holding off the interloping police and their heroes. The longer he battled I noticed...signs. none of our other ice-powered villains possessed. I had a suspicion, but I didn't dare to believe it. I had to be sure...so I developed this trial by fire..."
Slowly but surely the ray from his eyes pushed Power Girl's own counterattack closer and closer toward her as the parasites gorged themselves and her knees started to buckle. He wasn't sure what he was doing or how he was doing it, but it was working. His rage against the owner of Metropolis became this palpablethingnow threatening to set the auditorium ablaze.
"I've wasted years of my life and unfathomable resources trying to crack the kryptonian genome...I wanted all Superman's powers but one that worked for me. "He whispered as his eyes became glazed over and he stood transfixed by the university's live-feed."Now my future self hands me just that in the form of this grubby teenager and I didn't even have to get my hands dirty."He chuckled again and brought a hand up to his face."If that's not a sign I was meant to champion humanity, then I don't know what you'd call it."
The last embers of her power dried up.
'BANG-!'
She screamed.
His heat vision pierced through her own and left her in a smoldering crater. Quickly Parasite and his minions restrained her.
"I'm...too...weak. You haven't won yet. This isn't over."She managed to sputter out.
Immediately he dropped to the ground on one knee to catch his breath. That ray from his eyes drained almost all of his energy, his head was light and his body was sore. The only thing keeping him conscious was the surge of adrenaline.
("You just...took out a Kryptonian. Superman's cousin. Yeah, I think we'll be keeping you real busy. Head back to the safehouse and speak with Parasite, but uh...Lex wants to have a word with you first. In person. Head over to LexCorp and knock on the top floor window. He'll let you in. ")
He wasn't in the mood for briefings now. Calculator and Lex were running him ragged, but he wasn't in a position to argue. With a sigh he nabbed aSoda Colafrom the drink machine on the way out, chugged it, then headed over.
"You wanted to see me?"He called.
He'd never seen Lex's office before. His parents dragged him to this building numerous times when they couldn't find a sitter. Watching them work was so boring, yet he was proud nonetheless. Both were brilliant scientists in their own right. Neither of them were important enough to meet Lex face to face however, in that regard he surpassed them. He stood in the lavish suite while the entire cityscape panned out before him outside the wide window stretched along the entirety of the opposite wall. Lex turned around and gestured to him warmly.
"Ah yes. I wanted to congratulate you on your first mission. Truth be told I wasn't very optimistic but you...surprised me, in more ways than one."
He didn't like where this was going, but he waited for further elaboration.
"From now on...I've decided to take a more...personal approach when it comes to your mentorship. I'd like for you to live with me when you're not on call. My home will be your home. My office will be your office. As my apprentice you will have full authorization to the latest gear and 24-hour access to me whenever you need it."
He was stunned.
"Um...thank you, I appreciate it but you don't have to do this. I live with my parents in Chinatown. They actually work for you...Martha Howard and Steven Wong. So I'll have to decline." He finished as courteously as he could.
"I wasn't asking." Lex said politely without even turning around. He took a sip from a wine glass and pressed a button in his intercom. A few seconds later a woman strode in through the door holding a neatly folded black shirt with an "M" on the front, matching shorts that seemed plain enough, and a pair of grey boots. Wordlessly she thrust it into his hands then exited just as quickly as she came.
"I want you to wear that at all times. It's crafted to absorb sunlight and enhance the kryptonian powers you've inherited. Go on, put it on."
'Kryptonian powers?' He repeated in his mind and he found himself smiling. It was every boy's dream come true, so he should've been happier. Instead his smile faded as he peeled off his tattered t-shirt and slipped the smooth short-sleeved slimeline over his unusually defined muscles. In the mirror, on his back, he could see the "LEXCORP" logo clearly emblazoned.
"What's your name?"
"Lance."
Lex rubbed the underside of his chin and nodded to himself while Lance pulled the shorts on.
"Why are you doing this?" He asked, slipping the boots on and kicking his old tennis shoes off. Lex chuckled again and he was getting sick of that sound already.
"I told you. You're my apprentice. Think of me from this point onward as...your godfather. I saved you from Brainiac. I risked my life to bring you here so that you could fight for humanity. You said your parents work for me, so when you think about it I've been looking after you for longer than you realize. I'm a generous man, Lance. And I think we can help eachother in a lot of ways...if we cooperate."
How did he manage to unnerve him so easily without even raising his voice? He hated the way Lex talked, how a simple phrase could leave him questioning the man's intention for the rest of the afternoon.
"You work for me now, just as your parents do. Do as I say and I will treat you as my own. In fact, I'd like it if you called yourself 'Lance Luthor' when you're out of costume. It rolls off the tongue dont you think?"
"I already have a family! You don't own me Luthor!"
As soon as he said that he wished he hadn't. For the first time the man's mouth pursed into a tight frown and he saw the veins in his hand pulse.
"I own everything. Those powers that flow through you, the exobytes, I brought them here! Those are MY powers that you're running around with! I am this city and I am the one who helped you unlock your potential. You owe me your life...and your parents lives...and ungrateful children usually don't live very long. In fact, I understand you haven't seen them since the invasion. Am I right?"
How did he know that?
Lance's mouth hang open, he was just about to shout again when Lex held a hand up.
"Don't worry. They're safe, once again thanks to my generosity. They're being kept in a secure location for their own protection. And yours. As long as you're working for me I assure you no harm will come to them. But if you, say, decide to leave my service...well, LexCorp can't guarantee the safety of our staff once they've been discharged."
He now turned around fully and looked straight at him.
"Do you understand?"
He swallowed hard and cast his eyes down to the carpet.
"...Yes Mr. Luthor."
"Call me Dad." He answered with a humorless sneer then turned his back to him again. He was doing this just to spite him. Just to dig it in deeper how powerless he truly was. Seconds later Lex paced around the room as if that exchange never happened. He switched from threatening him to nonchalantly strutting around in a heartbeat.
"Lets see...you need a name. All those self-righteous 'heroes' have their pretentious titles, so its only fitting we play along. How about Metaboy? Yes, I think that works just fine. At any rate...do we have an agreement?"
Lace sighed and dug his hands deep into his pockets.
"...Yes. I will work for you from now on. I'll do whatever you say. In public, out of costume, I'll tell everyone how you rescued me from brainiac's ship and selflessly took me in after I was..."He hesitated, Lex looked at him over the shoulder expectantly."..."orphaned" in the attack. I'll live wherever you tell me to, check in with your staff regularly, and be at your disposal whenever you need me." He knelt down into a pronounced bow.
"Excellent. That's all for today. You may go and do what you please, but clear your schedule for 2pm tomorrow. I'm holding a press conference to introduce all of metropolis to the latest member of my family. I want the world to know, here and now, who it is you stand with."
He ignored him and took off out the window.