Chapter Two

(Author's note: Been a while. Been working on paying writing projects. But now I'm back!)

"The first time I noticed it, I almost didn't care. It was just an anomalous blip, something that appeared on the distant edges of the solar system. Of course there's so much we do at LexCorp, it was impossible to follow up on every detail. Still, there was something about it, something that just didn't sit right with me. I know most people forget this, but I worked in my father's company doing research a long time before I took control of it. I was involved in project after project, getting my hands dirty in R&D. People see me now, and they see the billionaire businessman, but I have never stopped being a scientist. I can see when something deserves extra attention, and so I went back to the data. Started pushing LexCorp's satellites, trying to track it down. Now, space is vast. It's hard to search something so big, even when it's just tracking something within the solar system, and whatever this was was moving fast. By the time we got a second look at it, it was almost too late to do anything. It's why I keep pushing this country to develop its space program and get some real weaponry into orbit. Because where are we now? If we'd had a way to defend ourselves, maybe there still would be a Superman. Which is why I'm pushing for LexCorp's orbital defense platforms to be sent into space over the next decade. We can't afford to have a repeat of this disaster."

- Interview with Lex Luthor

Bart Allen, once known as Impulse and more recently as The Flash, shook his head. "Man, I just don't know what to say, you know?"

"Yeah, I hear you," came back the voice of Victor Stone, also known as Cyborg. "I didn't always get along with him but, you know, he just… I don't know man, we just needed him. Not even because of how strong he was, it's just that he was always so determined to do the right thing."

Arthur Curry, better known in their circle as Aquaman, smirked. "Yeah. We didn't get along too much at first."

"Yeah Arthur but you were hitting on the girl that'd become his wife one day, so I'm going to give Clark a pass on that one."

"Hey, how was I supposed to know they'd end up together? Besides, I was the one that saved her from drowning. It was a classic summer movie. Pretty girl, rescued by a handsome young man, so what else should I have expected?"

Bart smirked. "Heh. Remember how he used to try and beat you at swimming? He used

to try and do the same with me when we'd race." He paused, eyes gazing off toward the wall of the hotel room they were using while in town. "You know, it's funny though. When we first met I knew I was faster than him. Just knew it, and I proved it. I never got slower, but you know, he was getting faster? I swear I'm not exaggerating. Last race we had was just a few months ago. I mean, don't get me wrong, I still beat him. But Clark was getting, I dunno, just better as he got older. Like way better."

"Yeah. Same thing in the water. I was getting to a point where I wasn't sure I'd always be able to beat him."

Victor nodded, tapping his arm. "No surprise, guys. I've been keeping check on Clark's power levels over the years. The guy runs on solar energy, stores that stuff like a battery. Every year that went by he was juicing more and more. His capacity was increasing, and he was able to use that energy way more as the years went on. Faster, stronger, just about everything about him was getting better the more he was able to store up energy. I don't know what the guy's limit was, but he hadn't reached it. It's no wonder you two thought he was improving so much."

Bart waved a hand. "Yeah but that's just the thing. If all that's true, how's some random star just going to pop in and take him out? The guy lived off the stuff, and he'd taken more abuse than most of us could imagine. Victor, last year he moved a whole freaking planet when he kept Darkseid from invading. We all remember that. So how're we going to say that now he just got offed because of a star, or whatever that thing was?"

"Look, if I knew, I'd be making news right now. I can't give you an answer though."

"It's just frustrating man."

Silence erupted between them for a moment, Victor and Bart sitting at the edge of their beds while Arthur remained on the couch. As the moments ticked by, Arthur finally interrupted, coughing loudly as he leaned forward. "So, do we all want to talk about what Oliver had to say?"

Bart chuckled. "What? That he wants us to throw in with Batman? I don't trust that guy."

"Is he really that much different from Oliver?"

"Are you kidding me? Yeah Oliver's kind of crazy, but Batman's kind of a psychopath, not to mention one step of short from crossing the line into being a super villain. We all fight crime so we're all vigilantes, but we're talking about a guy who hangs goons upside down from the rafters and barely gives two cents about the police."

Victor slapped Bart across the arm. "Weren't you the one that just a few years ago was blowing up LexCorp corporations?"

"Yeah but I sure never tried to take out any cops."

"Hey now. We're not even sure how many of those stories are true. There's a lot of rumors about Batman we can't really back up. I mean, Gotham City's not exactly known for its upstanding police force. For all we know maybe he really was doing the right thing by taking them on."

"I don't know man. The guy is scary. Besides, we've already got one normal on this team, and unless you two have forgotten, that would be Oliver. You know, the Green Arrow? Why do we need one more norm running with us? What can he offer that Oliver can't?"

Arthur interrupted. "Look, I'm not arguing anything for or against here. What I'm saying is that, if Batman is suggesting we team up, there has to be a good reason. He's never wanted to in the past and now for him to suggest we group together means something big might be happening. Besides, we've never really, formally been a team. Yeah, we team up sometimes, but never officially. It might help to have a little organization."

Victor nodded. "Man might be right. Besides, all of us are powerful but Batman's got one thing going none of the rest of us does, and that's the creep factor. Man could make the Boogieman cry for mommy."

Bart sighed, flopping back onto the bed and staring at the ceiling. "Look. We'll talk to Olly about it, but I guarantee you this is going to be a huge mistake."

"Bruce. You bastard."

Bruce Wayne turned at the words, staring over his shoulder at the thin frame of Chloe Sullivan, whose feet pounded the ground as she rushed across Lois' apartment. He braced himself as she stepped across the living room to where he stood, watching the pattering of rain that had come with the evening. His eyes went to that same stone cold they always did, the facade he used as both Bruce Wayne and Batman when confronting anyone antagonistic, but Chloe didn't freeze for a moment. She was in his chest, a finger in his face before he'd been able to speak.

"You don't get to go behind my back and ask Oliver to startup Watchtower without me. Got it? That's mine. Are you listening?"

Bruce raised a hand, trying to calm her. "You're right, Chloe. I was trying to watch out for your emotions."

"Well listen up Bruce. This is the 21st century and just because I'm crying over my best friend doesn't mean you get to go to my husband and ask him to start up my tech and my surveillance system without letting me in on it. Are we clear?"

"Just a point of clarity. The majority of that tech, as you say, was first provided by your husband."

"Right, but unless you can tell me offhand how Queen Industries and LexCorp tech were merged seamlessly into 25th century systems provided by Booster Gold I recommend you talk to me. Because at this point, Oliver is not the one that knows how that place operates. I linked the tech, I developed the security system and I can use Watchtower to monitor just about any security camera on the planet. Let's not forget that I was the one hacking Luthor Corp tech when I was in high school."

Bruce cracked a smile. "You remind me of someone I know."

"Who?"

"Barbara Gordon. I know her as Oracle, and she provided much of the same service for me, Selina and others in Gotham as you've done for Clark and Oliver. Of course, I don't have access to 25th century technology, so Oracle might be a step behind in that department. She's good, though. You'd like her."

Chloe backed off a bit, stepping back. "Sounds like I might."

Bruce gestured to the couch. "Please."

She nodded, taking a seat as he leaned back into the chair just adjacent to the coffee table. She still wasn't entirely happy, but she leaned in, folding her fingers together. "So what's this about, Bruce?"

"Oliver's been wanting to formalize his group for a long time now. You and I both know I prefer to work alone. I've barely been able to tolerate working with Clark, after all. In Gotham I associate with others, but it's loose. Oracle brings us together when we need to be, keeps us updated on the other and gets us to different locations when certain nights are busy. As I said, though, the organization is loose. Even now, Selina and I work mostly independently at night. So when Oliver mentioned coming together as a team, I wasn't open to it. Clark tried to get me involved and I still said no, and somewhere along the way things started to fall apart with the idea."

"But now you've changed your mind?"

"Perhaps. It's like I told Oliver. I don't believe Clark is dead, but what that means is that there's something or someone around with the power necessary to keep him captured. I don't know who or what that is, but I intend to find out. When the time comes to take on that threat, I don't know that I'll be able to do it alone. It certainly would help to have the backup of a group like Watchtower."

"Well, first of all, the group's name isn't Watchtower. That's my codename. We never actually settled on a name for the group, actually. Second, what you're proposing… I mean, that's a lot of personality management, which we both know you're horrible at. No offense Bruce, but you get along with most people like a dog gets along with cats. Like you said, you like your privacy. You and Olly have never been especially close. In fact, he kinda thinks you're a bit of a fascist. Then you've got Bart, and if you don't like Oliver you're sure as hell not going to be fond of him for long bursts of time. This is all stuff I have to manage, mind you. Watchtower isn't just about telling people where to go or who needs saving, there are times I have to keep everyone from killing each other. I'm all for this, but you have to understand going in that being a part of a group is going to be tough, and at the end of the day I'm going to be the one running coordination. The other guys have gotten okay with that. I mean, it all happened so naturally, years ago. We just all came together. Do you think you could do the same?"

Bruce shook his head, waving her off. "No, not for long periods of time, at any rate. Which is why I propose we establish the team, but keep me on mostly as an honorary member. You've got Queen Industries' technology and finances to back you, so you really don't need anything from me on that end. That said, I'll be on call, to a limited degree, when you need me. Between your billionaire playboy husband, the fastest man in the world, a man that can swim through the ocean at the three times the speed of a boat and a human cyborg, I would hope you wouldn't need to call on me much. When it came down to it, though, if you needed me, I'd be there. In the same way, I don't foresee having to call on you for help much, either. There will be times, though. Times like these."

Chloe huffed, brushing the strands of hair away that hung in her face. "Yeah, Bruce. I'm okay with that."

"I would like to link you with Oracle at some point in the future, for the times we do partner together. It might help to have two genius intellects working on the technology end for large scale missions."

"I'm good with that, too. Watchtower technology's proprietary though, Bruce, at least for now. I mean, Booster Gold's stuff alone… it's just…"

"Chloe. I'm a businessman. I understand the importance of keeping industrial secrets."

She nodded, patting her knees. "Got it. Great. So how do you propose we go about getting all this set up?"

"We'll have to meet with the others, obviously to discuss the nature of the details. I'll let Oliver do that. He's always been a better speaker than me. After that, we'll have to get your tower running. I'm assuming your husband still owns the tower?"

"Right, even when we had money troubles he never let the place go."

"Then let's plan to meet there, then. We have to move. I don't trust this situation to stay quiet for long."

Lex Luthor breathed in deeply, watching the monitors in front of him, his eyes flickering from one to the other. He was still buzzing slightly from drinks earlier that night, his skin tingling from the alcohol and the pleasant feeling lingering in his muscles. Mercy had enjoyed the night, as he'd known she would. Once her concern for him had faded, her anxieties comforted, she'd been able to fall asleep. Even now she was passed out in the spacious bedroom in the living section of LexCorp's top floor. At least, it was the top floor known to Mercy. He was one of the few who maintained this final level almost entirely to himself. The whole of LexCorp's topmost tower was dedicated entirely to his personal scientific endeavors and research and houses a mammoth network of computer systems so advanced they could download the entire Library of Congress in half a second while simultaneously making all the calculations necessary to launch one of his prototype starships from Earth to the other end of the Galaxy.

In many ways this floor reflected the obsession that still gnawed at him, in the core of his being. In his younger years that obsession had turned into an endless pursuit to uncover Clark's secret. Since that confrontation with him a year before, on Thanksgiving Eve, Lex had re-purposed his life. Why things had changed that day instead of all the other times that he and Clark had gone to blows, he couldn't quite say. Maybe it was because it had finally come out into the open, all the secrets and lies, all the envy and pain. Maybe it was the two men had finally thrown punches not as Superman the hero and Lex Luthor the villain, but as Clark and Lex, friends, brothers and then, enemies. Whatever the case was, he'd directed his obsession elsewhere over the next year. As much to his surprise as to anyone else's, LexCorp might have produced some of its best work and technology in that year, all thanks to his rededicated energies. Ground they'd lost to Wayne Enterprises had been shored up, new contracts were coming in and the newly launched space program was doing wonders for the company's stocks. LexCorp, already profitable, was now so wildly successful that many wondered where its limits were.

Much of the technology breakthroughs that had erupted in that year had been birthed there, on the top floor of LexCorp, as part of his new obsession. His desire for more, never satisfied or quenched, had finally been cooled somewhat as he'd poured over piles of data, working on theories and experimenting with new technologies. The scientist within, visible at times while he'd been working beneath his father as well as in the early years of LexCop, were on full display when he went to that top floor. It was there he'd first noticed the false star they'd named Thanatos, where they'd first realized the threat it posed to the planet. It was also where he now reviewed the film from that day and all the readouts their scientific tools had produced. The combined data from LexCorp and Wayne Enterprises satellites provided a complex picture of what occurred that day, and it was almost overwhelming to go through page after page of the scientific jargon. He was Lex Luthor, though, the world' most brilliant man. For someone with his level of intellect, this was simply another day on the job.

Even as he went through all the materials, he kept a watch on the many data feeds streaming to his control center from throughout the world. Satellites watched country after country from high in orbit, sensitive monitoring equipment kept tabs on enemies and potential enemies alike, and various devices watched the planet for the slightest sign of anything unusual. He could best compare it to Chloe Sullivan's Watchtower, but that would be an insult to the degree of sophistication he maintained on Level 100.1. Here holographic displays hung in the air that he could change with the flick of a hand, while incomprehensible robotic assistants welded and worked on fabrications of his own design. It was here he'd designed the Glove, the one that had given him the ability to go toe to toe with Clark. The one he still wore.

He flexed his fingers, the tight material squeezing around his hand. It looked like merely another glove to all the world but it provided him with a degree of power few men could wrap their minds around, the same power that had allowed him one brief illusion of beating Superman. Combined with the full body suit he'd designed, he'd truly thought he'd had Clark beaten. Then, of course, it had all changed. The suit he'd stored away, resolved to never use again, but the glove he maintained. Personal protection was still necessary, after all. Yet it remained inactive at all times. In some ways, he feared turning it on again. He feared what the power would do to him if he ever indulged it once more.

His eyes flicked to the side, a dull beeping coming from one of the displays to his right. He gestured inward, bringing the display closer and watching the readout. His vision focused as the satellite display zoomed in to a view from space, hovering over Greece. Something was disrupting the planet's typical electromagnetic field in that region, and the disturbance was not mild. A queen scrolling series of text began to march down the side of the display, listing out numerous disturbances occurring in the area around the Aegean Sea. Lex shook his head. "Power outages, cellular disturbances, magnetic pole shifts… what the hell is going on?"

Another beeping came from his right and he quickly shot a look to his side, bringing in a second holographic display that zoomed in on California. Again he puzzled as he watched the display readout. "Satellite telemetry says it's a meteor. No meteor has that sort of energy signature, or energy readout. It's like a flying nuclear reactor… except it's far more powerful."

He glanced from one display to the other, heaving a deep breath. "Greece. California. Should I do something?" For a moment he paused then, his eyes catching sight of the video of Superman flying to catch Thanatos, he tossed both displays aside. Again he walked up to his desk, where one of the few physical displays in the room was installed. "No. I have to focus. Besides, this world has other heroes besides Superman, and I've never been one of them."