Disclaimer: I own none of the characters or works as trademarked by DC Comics, Greg Weisman, or any other unmentioned parties. This is purely a work of fiction written by a fan who's nerdgasmed everywhere and needs a new pair of pants. All in the hopes YJ getting picked up for a potential S3.
Gotham
Sept. 14, 2016; 22:30
The red-hot burning of flashing lights alighted a long line of reporters as he walked past. He nodded politely, shook a few hands here and there, took his time. Patient, calm, collected; looking every bit like a great white wading through a school of minnows. Microphones jockeyed for position, questions were hurled back and forth to get his attention: "How did you think you did tonight?" and "Could you explain a bit more about this topic?" were the usual ones. They were quickly becoming routine and staid, but he took them all in stride. Short, quick answers, a pleasant smile and a nod "thank you" before setting off. Get in, get out. A true Irish goodbye.
But the question on everyone's mind truly was: "Did Lex Luthor really believe he has what it takes at winning?"
And the humble answer he always gave: "Opportunity is American made, and in my humble regard, I intend to put that to the test."
That was good. Very good. Hit right to the heart of middle America. Gained him points with people whose collars were not quite as white as his Ralph Loren silk undershirt's was.
"Mr. Luthor!" A voice rang out from the midst of chaos. "Mr. Luthor over here!"
The caravan of his security kept Lex moving at a steady pace down the blue carpet, but upon seeing a familiar face he sauntered over ever so casually. Shaking a few more hands as he got close, signing the odd autograph too, Mercy Graves ever making sure to hound his every footstep; in spite of all the jubilation and cheering, she never looked to be at ease.
"Ms. Lane of the Daily Planet." Came his deep, rich voice. Lois was surprised. Despite all the world sounding off around them, Lex Luthor was very clear and easy to hear.
"So glad you noticed us." She tried not to make it sound like a scream, but her voice was drowned out by the braying of wild beasts. The crowd pressed as Lex got near, with an elbow nudging incessantly at her side to get her out of the way. She turned to see Jimmy and his camera get pushed away from her, and farm boy was nowhere to be seen. "Damned vultures," she thought. One reporter was so close, she caught a hint of his cheap after shave and mint bubblegum saturating his breath.
"I never forget familiar faces, especially one as beautiful as yours." Lex lifted his head to address the mob surrounding them as orderly as a school teacher admonishing children. "Please, now, please make some room for Ms. Lane and good ol' Mr. Olson there. For goodness sake, now. The poor boy is being pushed halfway to Arkham." Mercy nodded over to two large, black-suited bodyguards who moved without hesitation. They shoved their tree trunks arms into the crowd and made way for Lois to breath again.
"Thanks." Lois sighed exasperatedly.
"I am anything if not a gentleman." He said with a cordial smile.
"And now politician?" Lois didn't have a lot of time. She to make this quick. Strike hard and strike fast, keep him on his toes. "Been making yourself quite a bid for the Presidency, Mr. Luthor, ever since you reneged on Former Secretary Tseng's U.N. position."
"Well, G. Gordon might have gotten a bit ahead himself there. As the U.N. Charter states no citizen from any permanent member of the Security Council can be elected to the position of General Secretary." Lex nodded.
"So you changed sights onto becoming president? Very admirable. Seems so perfect it's almost like someone had written this script for you already: 'Saved the world, now onto saving America.'
Lex chuckled in his sonorous voice. "Haha, a very good line, Ms. Lane. 'Saved the world, now saving America.' We could use someone like you on my campaign staff. And when they pen the movie we can call it, 'Stranger Than Fiction."
He laughed so easily it made you unsettled, and flashed another smile to all the media.
"But 'yes'," he continued. "I'd be remiss to say I didn't get my position without being a bit...opportunistic. I believe that is the American Way: Utility over humility. You see a job needs doing, you get it done and for me that means you do it well. I did what I could in order to free the world from The Reach - with help from the Justice League, of course - as is my natural obligation as a member of the human race."
Phew! Did he know how to talk. Always a trait which Lex had, even before he started this whole political train.
"Now, as my natural obligation as an American, I seek to do the same thing. But instead of freeing us from alien overlordship, I intend to depose party politics, polarization and the bureaucratic pandering which has shackled this country for too long."
The chant of "Luthor, Luthor, Luthor" erupted the crowd as his supporters started cheering louder. He spoke to these people, but also for all the cameras pointed in his direction. For all the families at home watching. To them he was a pinnacle stone standing broad and tall in the heat of a desert, white-washed and bleached but solidly there. A prime example of what a man can achieve on his own willpower, working along the lines of the capitalistic train of thought and an American 'can-do' attitude.
"You want to talk about the budget, immigration, health care, El Nino? Fine. Hell, I will even talk about Dennis Rodman going to North Rhelasia. But in order to do my job and do it well, I will not waste time on frivolous trivialities. There's a deeper problem in America, and unlike my opponents, I'd like to address it. I will not stand and defend the status quo, Ms. Lane. I seek to innovate it."
He wasn't imposing physically, yet he could make anyone feel small. Lex had shoulders which carried the burden of a multi-billion dollar corporation on them, and so were strong enough to deal with political paparazzi. Lex walked away before Lois could keep him talking. He moved with Mercy Graves's hand firmly on his shoulder, guiding him down the walkway to his campaign bus with his shining pate plastered on the side.
"You catch all that?" She asked Jimmy.
"I got it, Lois. No worries." Jimmy gave her a thumbs up.
"No worries." Lois looked to see Luthor continue his way, all pleasant smiles and easy going attitude. "Yeah, right."
What she wouldn't give to get a one-on-one interview with the man. A proverbial Pandora's Box. Opening himself up a little to pique your curiosity, only to slam himself shut again on your fingers.
The Luthor chants never settled down denoting his popularity, but that didn't ease Lois at all. She had done reports on the businessman Lex Luthor for years, so she knew how he operated. He was a master manipulator, a cunning Machiavellian who'd be more at home working the politico in medieval courts than in meeting room offices. And as she looked around, Luthor's blown up head on posters, t-shirts and television screens, she couldn't help this sinking feeling screaming in the pit of her stomach: "He's playing you!"
Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't.
Lois had spent enough of her career to know that money talks and bullshit walks. Good thing for Lex Luthor that was exactly what it took to win a political election in America and he's got plenty of both to dish out.
"C'mon Jimmy." Lois turned to around to head back to the van. "Let's go see where Smallville went and get out of here. I need a drink."
The bus doors opened with the sound of air pistons going and gears grinding, followed by Lucio Armani soles clacking against steel steps.
"Jesus, Mary and Joseph!" Lex said immediately taking the damn shoes off. "The minute I find that Italian cobbler with the sweatshop full of middle-aged Chinese women who pieced these things together, I'm going to kick his canoli so hard it'll wind up in his throat. Evening, Mr. Estevez."
The heavy set and heavily mustachioed driver nodded back. "Evening, Mr. Luthor."
"Now Mr. Estevez I don't care if you have to run over people, as soon as you see a lane you take it. I want to be out of Gotham before midnight."
"Yes, Mr. Luthor."
Lex nodded. He wanted to be out of this city as soon as possible. This town thrived off tarnishing powerful men's reputations, and this fetid quagmire gave off a stench of the fanatical which permeated from its streets and into its people. My God, did the Gotham mob gather tonight. These people were so deprived of hope that as soon as Lex came along, it was like the second coming of Christ. Well, with a city that breeds the likes of the Bat, the clown and that hard-nosed police commissioner, what else could these people want.
"Mercy," The silent countenance of his watch-dog stepped up alongside him as he made his way toward his private room at the end of the bus. "Send a thank you letter to the fine woman who sent me that homemade pie bought at Restaurant Depot. Quite good despite the insincerity. Also, move over my meeting with Senator Wallace from Wednesday to Tuesday, but call back tomorrow and reschedule for Wednesday again. I need to keep that man on his toes, lest he get lazy. And be sure to message Mayor Laurence, please. To stifle down any worry he's got. Garrett was full of hot-air when he mentioned his name - he's got nothing and if he does it wont last the night. I guarantee that. Tell him immediately so he doesn't get himself in a pickle and then tweet his pickle."
Mercy nodded silently and kept following. But as Lex reached the door to his room, in a flash Mercy reached out with cybernetic enhanced speed and grabbed his hand. He wasn't startled at all that she sensed danger. He felt it, too. And they didn't even move a foot out of the city yet.
"It's all right, Mercy, it's all right. I know." She gave him a stern look. She would very much prefer going in herself, but Lex wouldn't have that. He had a good hunch as to who lurked on the other side of the door and he wasn't to be intimidated. "It's fine," he comforted Mercy, patting her hand. "No need to grind your gears, nothing will happen. Tell Gyles and Sweetwater to get their teams into the Escalades and move when we move."
Mercy never fully let him go, her fingertips dragging along his hand as he pulled away. She didn't want to seem like she was begging, but his safety was her job. her prerogative. There was a presence she had picked up as soon as they stepped on the bus. She would have to have a talk with Senor Estevez as soon as they get everything settled. She walked away but never took her eyes off Lex as he entered the dark confines of his room, disappearing as if walking into the shadows of Hades itself. Afraid not of what might the presence do to Lex, but what she might not be able to do in order to protect him.
But Lex was unafraid.
He shut the door on the outside world, enclosing himself in a room with a cape inside no less. Might've been a fretful thing for any other man in his position, but Lex wasn't like "any other man". He didn't bother turning on any of the lights, didn't bother looking around, just walked over to the rosewood bar armoire in the corner. Damn did he ever need a drink. He pulled out the ten year Van Ryn brandy and two cups: one for him and one for his guest.
"Well, I thought skulking around in shadows was the Bat's job?" Lex said as he dropped a single ice cube in each glass, pouring the strong amber liquid out so he can take in its scent. "He can make himself disappear entirely when he wishes, but to do so in font of all those flashing lights? That is a rare gift." Lex walked over to a particularly dark part of his spacious room, and offered the cup into the darkness. A hand reached out and took it as daintily as it could without breaking the glass. "Another perk of being Superman, I suppose. Like your X-Ray vision. High school must've been a blast."
A towering shadow moved to reveal a blue and red ensemble emerge from obscurity, symbol of the "S" peaking out from shadow. Stern eyes, eyes which could shoot out tendrils of red fire and lobotomize Lex right then if they wished, stared with an intent to threaten but not harm. Lex knew how the boy-scout worked: all bark, but no bite.
"Actually high school was the worst time for me." The son of Krypton said.
"Then even more reason to drink." Lex replied.
He frowned as he looked down at the glass and swirled the brandy around a bit
"I don't particularly enjoy alcohol."
Luthor rolled his eyes. "Of course you don't, why would you. Silly offer."
"My physiology doesn't allow me to enjoy it nearly so much as you." Kal reasoned with a hint of smile appearing on his lips. "Not strong enough," he added.
Luthor smiled into his cup and made an audible laugh as he took a sip. "What a mildly witty retort. Points, my friend, points." Lex walked over to his closet as undid the buttons on his custom Desmond Marrion Supreme Bespoke with one hand. A suit that if Clark Kent were so inclined to want, he would be expected to fork over his annual salary and then some in order to buy it. But Lex always enjoyed wearing his money. Not in a gaudy way, but in a way which denoted power stemming from corporate America. The part where overpriced suits and ties were worn like heraldry, where battlefields never left meetings rooms, and peace treaties were negotiated with firm handshakes and settled with drinks at the Omni Bar in Metropolis.
"I'm sure you saw the debate. Out of curiosity, how well did you think I did?" Lex asked as he put his suit jacket away and then worked on his pants. How he was able to do this whilst still holding his damned brandy should be a super-power in of itself.
"Well enough that it warranted a talk with you, Lex. In private."
"And I thank you for that subtlety. Truth be told, I was hoping it was you in here and not the goddamned Batman. Lord knows nothing gets yellow journalism going than a story related to him."
"Subtlety, right." Kal thought as he Lex stripped down to his boxers. "I should be the last person you'd want to see right now, Lex. I don't know what it is you or the Light are seeking to gain here, but as far as I'm concerned with this election, you're bid for the presidency, all of it. I don't need X-Ray vision to see how full of sh-"
"Whoa!" Lex said throwing out his hand. "Let's not get carried away here, don't want the children to hear you." It might've been hard to take Lex seriously at the moment, seeing as how he looked about as composed as a bachelor on the Vegas strip. If only Kal didn't discard his camera, this shot would've been priceless.
"Spare me the same song you see fit to sing outside my window every night." Lex continued. "I don't know if you've noticed this, but I don't have any hair by which to throw down to you."
Another smug smile, a quick sip of brandy, followed by a crash of glass and sudden rush of air as Superman brought his fist to wrap it around Lex's neck. He didn't squeeze, although he could. He didn't choke, although no doubt Superman wanted to. He simply lifted him up as a child would a rag-doll. Lex still wasn't intimidated, though.
"How far do you need to go until it gets to be too much?" He asked. "You can stand up on a podium and talk about the betterment of mankind, how humanity can grow stronger by working together, give yourself a pat on the back with the hand that saved the world. But I don't buy it; never have, never will. No matter how much you pretend, stop talking like one of them, Lex, because you're not. Even if you'd like to be."
"I could say the same thing to you." Lex's voice strained a little as added pressure from Kal's hand squeezed down on his larynx, but his confidence never stopped. He took another sip from his brandy, even if it pained him to swallow. "Power has a funny way of concealing itself," Kal could smell the spice of the brandy on his breath as he talked. "People want it, but society compels us to hide it. We don't let people see it in us, not entirely. Because if we do, it can alienate us, distance us from those whom we try to help. And you know how damning that feeling is. It's the exact reason why you hide who you really are. You don't think I haven't deduced you might've been one of those faces out there in the crowd watching tonight? I wonder what was your disguise? Cameraman? Reporter? Adoring fan? Pretending to be a sheep, yet all the while a wolf in wool - an alien in man's clothing - Argh!"
Lex's voice creaked as more added pressure was exerted. Damn it all did Kal not want to hear more of this. Patience had always been a virtue that his parents taught him, but it was becoming all too alluring to throttle Lex right here and now. He could, he wanted to, he wished it were possible. But goddamn himself could he not live with that decision. It would be too blatantly disgusting if it were to happen. Kal wondered if Lex stripped down just in case because he knew how ignoble it would look if the deed were done. A little far-fetched, but Kal learned never to put anything past Luthor.
A death glare emanated from the most powerful man in the universe, followed by a low threat which grumbled with all the power of a slumbering dragon. "No matter what it is you're planning, no matter what it takes, you're not going to get away with this. We will stop you."
Lex smiled.
"And that's the beauty of it all. It's not up to you anymore. It's up to the sheep. Their voices, their choices, them! You might be faster than a speeding bullet, stronger than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. But do you have the guts to control them?"
The steel titan stood motionless, speechless as he continued to size Lex up. Fists that could tear apart titanium were primed like pistons ready to be put into gear, but they never did. Kal kept it all in check because there was an even greater weakness Superman possessed other than Kryptonite, and it was fear of his own power.
Goddammit, Kal thought as he loosened his grip and placed Lex down. He turned his back on him with his cape whirling in a rush.
"You never trusted your power, I understand that. But then what does it say that you and your friends are the most powerful outside entity of any instated government on this planet, hm? You expect us to trust that?" Lex said rubbing his sore throat. "You might be incorruptible, but can the same be said for the rest of you? No."
Superman stood as still as a cliff facing the tide of oncoming waves. Lex never was one to stop pressing an advantage, but of course Superman never looked to be bowed. He was the Man of Steel, whose shoulders can lift airliners and hurl them billions of miles away without breaking a sweat; indomitable power personified. He could make anyone, even Lex Luthor feel small.
And that was frightening.
"This is bigger than The Light, bigger than the petty pissing contest between you and me. The League has always been the greatest measure on this planet to the question, 'Does absolute power corrupt absolutely?' And I'm going to show these people they don't need a man who wears his underwear on the "outside" of his pants to ensure you don't cross that line." Lex said rubbing his sore throat.
Kal rounding back on Lex, but before where there was heated anger set in those eyes now there was hesitant understanding. "Power doesn't corrupt people, Lex. It's people who corrupt power. And the line where I draw my limit is where instead of snapping your neck, I'm just going to ruin your RV." Superman said with a smile.
"Excuse me?" But before Lex could say anything else, a moment of inimitable speed demonstrated itself before his eyes.
A whirlwind pulsed in the room before a swift after-image of blue and red dissipated as the shock receded, leaving Lex looking at a gaping hole left in the roof of his half-a-million dollar ride. Already Lex could hear the collective gasps outside as onlookers rushed to and fro in confusion. In seconds Mercy would come barging through the door, Gyles and or Sweetwater would sick their men out so people would clear the road, and he knew he'd be stuck answering questions and conducting interviews about this incident on whatever morning show he was scheduled to go on next.
Lex sighed. He made his way over to the brandy. To hell with the glass, he wanted the bottle.
Rapacious knocking on his door alerted him to Mercy's presence. Lex threw his head back and took a generous swig of the alcohol. He might drink himself to sleep tonight. Been a while since he did that. He plopped himself unceremoniously on his bed staring right back at the gigantic hole left behind by the boy-scout. The stars were out. Wouldn't be so bad getting drunk looking up at them.
The little beacons of light broke through the pall of the darkness, innumerable balls of fire defiantly shining on. Much like how the Light envisioned themselves in accordance to the League - bright lights hoping to shine through a shroud lulling people into a false sense of security. The Light wished to break through the naive ignorance the so-called "champions of Earth" have sheathed round the world. To draw that blade and surge forth to limits mankind can't ever aspire too while whimsical hall-monitors watch their every move. Humanity deserves a more enlightened sense of direction. At least, that's what Lex believed.
Luthor tipped the bottle into his mouth as he heard the door smash and Mercy come crashing through. "It's not Lex Luthor CEO of LexCorp versus Superman anymore." He thought. "Not even Lex Luthor and The Light against the Justice League. This is about Lex Luthor, soon to be President of these fine United States, versus an antiquated sense of authority.And I'm going to show these people they don't need a 'super man' to lead them into a world of tomorrow. Just one with vision."
He closed his eyes to lessen the oncoming dizziness of the brandy, and the expected interrogation Mercy would subject him. To ensure his physical well-being, of course...
Well.
Maybe that last bit didn't seem so bad to Lex.
to be continued...
