Metropolis
"It's rare that you go on an excursion like this, Master Wayne." Alfred said as he turned another corner. Bruce sat at the back of the limousine, bundled up in a different sort of suit than he was used to. He tugged absentmindedly at his tight collar.
"Well, I do try to keep a day job, Alfred." Bruce said with a small smirk, sipping some of the champagne from a nearby glass. Alfred glanced at him via the rear-view mirror.
"I daresay this one scares you more than your… nightly activities." Alfred said, smoothly turning another corner. Bruce shrugged.
"I may be a bit out of my depth. But Lucius said it would be best if I saw Luthor personally." Bruce explained, taking one last sip of the champagne and pushing it away from him. Alfred muttered something under his breath.
"Yes, Mr. Luthor seems to have quite the ego." Alfred responded. In the distance Luthor Tower started to come into view.
"Most billionaires do." Bruce responded with a grin. Alfred nodded, dropping the conversation. After a moment they arrived at Luthor Tower, with Alfred pulling into the front driveway. A chauffeur came to the car window, but Alfred shooed at him.
"Just making a drop off." The boy nodded and moved towards the back door, "I know what hooligans like you do with these types of cars." Alfred muttered mostly to himself. Bruce got out of the car, walking up to the window which Alfred rolled down.
"Not coming in?" Bruce asked. Alfred smiled.
"I thought I'd get a coffee, see if I can spot this 'Man in Blue' I hear so much about." Alfred said. Bruce frowned now.
"We're not here for sightseeing." Bruce responded. Alfred shrugged.
"You're not." Alfred responded. There was a beat. Bruce sighed.
"Alright. But stay close. I want to get back to Gotham as soon as possible." Bruce responded. Alfred sighed.
"Yes, sir, we shall relieve you of this sunny hell as soon as possible." Alfred quipped mostly to himself as he rolled up the window and began to drive away. Bruce looked up at the building and tugged at his collar once more.
He was about to walk into the building when a second car - a red corvette - sped through the turnabout and screeched to a halt mere inches from Bruce. He looked at the driver unflinchingly, an annoyed look on his face. The driver didn't seem to notice, as the blonde haired man hopped out like a schoolboy and tossed his keys to chauffeur.
"Just don't scratch it up to badly, kid." The man said as he slapped a bill into the kid's hand and walked past him without much more ado. With a scowl Bruce walked past, giving a polite nod to the chauffeur as he looked happily at the Benjamin Franklins in his hands. He found his way into the lobby.
And immediately ducked to the side, reaching out a hand as a fake indoor plant nearly fell on top of him. He grabbed it quickly and righted it, grumbling under his breath as he saw the blonde guy practically dancing through the lobby - he had probably knocked in over on the way out. Bruce followed the blonde man into a line in front of the receptionist. He couldn't help but overhear the loudmouth.
"Hello Madam, I'm Oliver Queen here to see Lex Luthor? He's the guy with his name on the building if you didn't notice." Oliver Queen announced himself to practically the whole lobby. Bruce couldn't help but put his face in his hands.
"Oh god, help me." He said, he thought quietly. But the blonde airhead whirled on him, eyeing him up in seconds and then a large smile crossing his face.
"Bruce Wayne!" Oliver said as he clapped a hand roughly on Bruce's shoulder. Bruce forced himself not to flip Oliver over his shoulder and across the lobby.
"Yes, and I think I overheard you were Oliver Queen?" Bruce asked politely. Oliver smiled as he turned the pair towards the elevator. The receptionist was left baffled behind them.
"Well god, I hope so, I'm pretty high volume in case you didn't notice. That's why Queen Industries will be a great asset in our joint project." Oliver said as he led Bruce and himself into the elevator. Where did he get a keycard? Bruce narrowed his eyes.
"Joint project?" Bruce asked, genuinely baffled as the door closed behind them. There was a beat. Oliver looked at him, some of his bluster fading now.
"Uh, yeah? I know you're not a very active CEO - more of a trust fund baby if I'm being honest, but who am I to judge - but surely they at least told you what you were doing facetime for?" Oliver asked. There was another beat, filled only with the dings as the elevator went up floor after floor.
"To be honest, I was under the impression that I was buying your company - in conjunction with Mr. Luthor, of course." Bruce replied. There was a silence now, more uncomfortable than before.
"I see." Oliver said simply. His smile was gone as he stared into space, his mouth askew in a sort of frown. The pair of billionaires spent the rest of the elevator ride in total silence. The elevator halted and there was a loud ding before the door opened. On the other side they were greeted with the sight of Lex Luthor, standing with arms wide open.
"Ollie! Brucey - is it okay if I call you Brucey?" Lex said with a wide grin and over the top enthusiasm.
"Actually he just told me he loves being called Brucey." Oliver said from next to Bruce, his frown gone and his grin from before back - it looked no different. Lex gestured past himself to a board room.
"I'm glad you could both make it, we have lots to discuss." Lex motioned towards a fully windowed room and a smooth oak table already full of legal papers and worse yet lawyers. Lex motioned to a stand next to the door.
"No reason business shouldn't be fun, too. Have some coffee!" Lex said as he stalked past the two and headed for his own seat at the table. He raised a hand and the lights dimmed as the television screen turned on - displaying a star shaped symbol prominently. Bruce uncomfortably sat down in one of the chairs, which frankly felt like a marshmallow. Oliver followed suit.
"Alright boys, so there's no reason to delay things any longer. Bruce, you're here because I need your help. You too, Oliver, just in a different way." Lex said with a flourish. He gestured to Bruce, who suddenly realized that there was a folder in front of him with his name on it. He grabbed it and flipped it open.
"Well, um…" Bruce began, clearing his throat, "As you can see here, Queen Industries is frankly failing. Stock prices are falling significantly, as are returns, and investors are pulling out of Starling City following the latest attack -" Bruce began to read his notes for the meeting.
"I can't control when terrorists decide to show up and start blowing stuff up!" Oliver cut in angrily now. Lex held up a hand.
"Now Oliver, no need to be brash - there is a silver lining here for you, if you would just hear us out." Lex said calmly. Oliver silenced for the moment, grumbling. Lex clapped his hands, cutting off Bruce's mumbling of facts and figures about Queen Industries failing financial situation.
"Now Bruce and I want to help you out. You're frankly bleeding cash, Mr. Queen. We can help out with that." Lex explained.
"With a small loan, of course." Bruce cut in matter of factly, apparently now understanding the situation. Lex nodded, smirking. Oliver just glared at him.
"Bruce here said you guys were planning on buying out my entire company." Oliver said. Lex paused for a moment, then just laughed. He shook his head.
"I wouldn't want to touch your company with a ten foot pole, Mr. Queen. No, Mr. Wayne and I are just interested in STAR Labs, which you have a controlling stake in." Lex replied, arms crossed.
"You would be compensated fairly." Bruce continued. There was a quiet moment and Oliver looked between the two businessmen as if something was donning. Now he laughed, although it was tinged with a bit of bitterness.
"Hell no." Oliver said. Lex frowned.
"No? Without us your company won't last another month." Lex said in response. Oliver leaned back, crossing his arms.
"I would rather lose my company than let the two of you gain STAR Labs." Oliver said, "Frankly the prospect is too dangerous. Wayne Corp here has military contracts out the wazzoo - I don't want the military pulling them from the wonderful medical work they're doing. And you, Lex. Please, you didn't expect me to see through this?"
Lex glared at Oliver, who was standing up now and grabbing his coat.
"Your lab got shut down barely a few months ago, don't think I have heard the stories -" Oliver said. Suddenly Lex's eyes bugged out, his face turning red in absolute rage as he stood up himself.
"Mr. Kent's unsubstantiated claims-" Lex began to rage when Bruce coughed rather loudly. The two angry businessmen stopped for a moment, both turning to look at Bruce. He gave a rather fatherly look to the two of them.
"These are rather serious claims, Mr. Queen. Ones that I am sure are untrue." Bruce began, pausing for Oliver to roll his eyes and Lex to began to breathe normally again, "Now my company has enough military contracts, so if promise that my portion of STAR Labs remains committed to their medical research…"
"Fat chance." Oliver cut in. Bruce held up a hand for him to pause.
"And we take a pause to finally put to bed these rumors about Mr. Luthor here?" Bruce let the implication hang in the air.
"This is ridiculous." Lex said, but he sat down now. Oliver stared at Bruce, as if seeing him for the first time.
"Then I might consider it. But I don't trust you or Luthor as far as I can throw either of you - I don't believe you'll ever do what you say." Oliver said. Bruce stood up now, and Oliver suddenly realized that the other businessman towered over him by a few inches. He stared up at Bruce.
"Then allow me to prove you wrong, Mr. Queen." Bruce said, a determined smile on his face. Lex was barely paying attention now, his seat turned sideways so that he could stare out the window. Bruce and Ollie turned to look at him. Lex finally sighed.
"Come see me when you're ready to make a deal." He said calmly. With that Bruce and Oliver walked out of the boardroom. They rode the elevator in complete silence. Bruce pulled out his phone.
"You just missed the show!" Alfred had texted Bruce, complete with a photo of a blue blur crossing the sky. Bruce smiled, shaking his head.
"I'm leaving LexCorp now. Let's pay a visit to Mr. Kent." Bruce texted back. There was only a short pause.
"On my way. And who is Mr. Kent?"