Wally just stared at Luthor. Just sitting there. In his flat, on his couch.
Luther smiled at him and inclined his head. "It's polite to greet a guest."
"Wha-"
"Easy, really. You wouldn't believe what someone can find out as long as you have someone's phone."
Wally immediately fished for his phone. Had that fucker stolen it? How? Whe- His phone was there. He stared at it and then at Luthor.
"Don't worry, I didn't touch it," Luthor chuckled and took out his own phone, obviously unlocking it. "But I have yours here all the same. You had quite the interesting firewall. I suppose that's Batman's doing?" He was scrolling through something and.. surely Luthor was bluffing.
Only that Luthor was sitting there and not literally anywhere else in this world.
"I rather like how you name people," the villain almost snickered. "Ah there. I liked that one: Gonna Tap That. Did you eventually tap that or…," he trailed off, obviously expecting an answer and looking up at Wally.
Only that he was busy blushing and internally screaming at the same time while looking through his phone. Was there anything telling about the League? He hoped not. He begged himself that there wouldn't be anything.
His heart was thumping in his throat, making swallowing difficult.
"Another thing. I hope you don't mind," Luthor began and Wally minded very much. "I opened an incoming message so..you better go ahead and read it too. It's rather intriguing. The one you want to tap-"
Wally wanted him to stop talking. To stop bragging and teasing and sitting there. But what could he do? What if Luthor had told someone already?!
"- they wrote you." The other glanced it his phone and Wally imitated him, his hand shaking. "But maybe you don't want to reply them. I'm just saying." As if Luthor was just a friend of his, as if he had just read one of his messages by accident.
He didn't dare to opened the app and check the message. If Luthor only knew that they were talking about Bruce.
"What..," Wally licked his dry lips, his voice raspy. "What are you doing here?"
"Isn't it obvious," Luthor answered, looking straight at Wally again. Amused. "We're negotiating."
"This.. this isn't negotiating." Whatever this was, it was the farthest from making any deal or setting conditions. This was dangerous and threatening.
Luthor looked at him with delight and Wally knew it was only because the other wanted him to see it. As if he had just proven that he wasn't as dumb as Luthor thought him to be.
"Very clever! You're right." The man stood up and circled the couch, letting his hand slide over the back of it as he took a glance at Wally's bedroom. "The correct term would be blackmailing."
His attention returned to Wally. "Your communicator."
No. This can't be happening to him. This had to be a nightmare. "My what?" To make a point he glanced at his phone, his grip on it like steel, his fingers slightly white from the pressure. Just play dumb.
He wanted to throw up.
"Please," Luthor's voice was condescending. "we both know that there's a communicator to talk to the League. Deactivate it and give it to me."
Wally swallowed thickly, his body felt heavy. He would never make it to the bedroom and back. But his legs moved somehow, his mind racing. Luthor wasn't allowed to get the communicator. Who knew what the man could do with it. What he was capable off.
The feeling of being watched stayed the entire time Wally took to get the communicator. He deactivated it when he picked it from his night table and turned to leave the bedroom again.
"Quit stalling," commanded Luthor and eagerly held out his hand while Wally stared at it. Luthor couldn't have it.
He threw the communicator to the floor as he stared at Luthor and stepped on it in a show of defiance.
Luthor stared back, his face oddly blank as he just nodded and straightened his tie. "Very well. You want to be like this? Fine." The threat in his voice was different now. Cold. And hard. There was no room left to negotiate anymore.
"I have your name "Wallace Rudolph West" and your birthday. I have everything about you. I could print out your life in a small, neat file and read it to anyone who wants to know anything about the Flash."
Wally's heart was pounding and he had to force himself to listen. Was it really that easy to find things out?
Luthor continued while Wally had his mental breakdown. "If I wanted to, I could look through your phone, pick everything apart and find out who every single one of your little super friends is. I'm sure there are enough pictures that would raise suspicion. So.. "
It sounded final, Luthor had laid his cards down. And now Wally was the one at his mercy. Whatever was to come, Wally had to bear it.
"You want to be like that?" Luthor asked and nodded at the destroyed communicator. "Very well. As of today, the Flash is dead. You won't use your powers besides getting from wherever you are to me."
"To..to you?" What was Luthor saying? Where was this going. Wasn't he going to just..go and use it all against the League? Imprison him?
Luthor inclined his head, obviously pleased that Wally was listening. "You work for me now. After you're done with your usual work at the police station you'll come to me, seeing how most of your evenings suddenly got free." With that he nodded at the broken communicator on the floor. Because the Flash was dead. Because Luthor threatened to expose everyone.
Wally needed a plan. He needed help. Once Luthor was gone he would just-
"As for your friends," continued the other. "Don't. I'll know when you leave this flat, I'll know when you attempt to tell someone and I'll know when someone comes over."
Wally's nostrils flared as his face grew paler and the air became suffocating. Luthor could be bluffing for all he knew. Luthor could hold this over his head and make a fool of him while nothing of it was true.
Or it was and Wally was as good as dead.
What would stop him from heading over to Gotham. And telling Bruce everything?
His gaze briefly snapped to the phone in Luthor's hand, fear coiling in his stomach. He didn't know if Luthor just had access to his phone or if he was keeping everything somewhere. Maybe he had already figured the others out and just wanted to play with him.
"You're awfully quiet. I hope I won't have to repeat myself." For all the amusement Luthor showed there was also a hard undertone.
Blinking and flexing his fingers, Wally decided on his next step. Taking Luthor out was out of the question
He'd somehow pin this to the Justice League and then find out everyone's identity due to the contents on Wally's phone. No. He had to defer to the other. "You're leaving the others out of this."
A demand and not a question. Wally just wanted this one thing.
And Luthor nodded. Just like that. "Do as I say and you won't have to worry." He put his own phone away, inside his suit jacket, and looked Wally over. A sly smile slowly forming on his face. "We're going to have so much fun."