"Where exactly are we going Lex? I have a meeting in an hour," Kassandra questioned as she followed the man through the halls of LexCorp. He had popped into her office in the middle of her preparation for another meeting and had asked that she follow him- although he didn't give her much of a choice.

"I want to show you my newest toy. You know, besides yourself," Lex replied delightedly as he led her towards the lab. Mercy gave a subtle eye roll that Kassandra managed to catch that caused her to scoff at the woman in annoyance. She was well aware that Mercy disliked her and she had to admit that the feeling was mutual. Mercy followed Lex around like a dog eager to be recognized and given a treat and that only managed to irritate Kassandra whenever she tried to get Lex alone at work. It wasn't at all surprising to find her trailing along them now.

"What is that?" Kassandra asked warily as Lex made a grand reveal of a glass case. Inside it held a giant rock with vibrant green emitting from it. It was an odd color, something that made Kassandra think of radioactivity.

"That, my sweet Kassie, is Kryptonite," he replied with a triumphant smirk. "Otherwise known as Superman's only weakness."

"You can't be serious," Kassandra replied in alarm. She had never imagined that Lex would go to such lengths of acquiring something that wasn't even of this planet in order to destroy one man. She'd noticed Lex's hushed phone calls and odd visitors at late times of the night but her desire to believe in her friend's goodness had made her turn a blind eye.

Lex hummed as he bent to look into the glass admirably, as if he was looking upon some treasured artifact from long ago. This was the key to all of his problems. It was the solution to that abomination that deemed itself worthy of their skies. He grinned to himself as he thought of what was soon to come, stopping when he noticed Mercy's stare. She too stared at the rock with hunger in her eyes, like a hungry dog looking upon a well done steak. He frowned as he straightened up. Mercy was always ambitious but she-like everyone- wanted things for herself. And this was something Lex wasn't exactly eager to share with her.

"I think you'll find that I'm very serious," Lex said as he turned towards the redhead. She was staring curiously at the rock as if she'd never seen something like it- which she in fact hadn't. He pulled out a box from his pocket and opened it to reveal two rings shining brightly. "I had these made. This is for you," he informed as he handed one to her. She looked at the ring, a bright kryptonite center surrounded by a silver band.

"No," she said with a shake of her head, "I don't want it."

Lex let out a frustrated sigh but placed the ring back in the box as he had already anticipated her rejection. Mercy looked at her with jealousy raging throughout her. She had been by Lex Luthor's side for years and here was a girl he'd known for not even one yet, already being offered things she could only dream of. Lex caught sight of Mercy's hateful glare and smirked.

"Mercy, wait outside for us," he ordered. The woman looked at him with confusion before stepping out and ultimately leaving them alone. Kassandra watched as Lex slid his own ring onto his finger and stopped to take in the sight.

"Lex. You don't need that," Kassandra tried to reason as she noticed the triumphant glint that shone from his eyes. His obsession with destroying Superman had grown quickly with each passing day and she worried for his sanity. Lex was clever but he seemed to allow certain things to consume his mind.

"But I do. I need to show Superman that he cannot touch me," he replied. "I will be the one thing Superman will fear."

The look Kassandra gave him was one that could not be described any way else besides a look of concern. Here he stood showing her his prize and yet she remained unimpressed, unfazed even, at the amount of pride he showed at his recent acquisition. Lex felt slightly disappointed at her lack of enthusiasm but reminded himself that the woman did not share his hatred for the man and would not feel what he felt in his accomplishment.

"I just hope you know what you're doing," she replied with a sigh. She gingerly placed a hand on his shoulder. "I care about you."

Lex stared at her dumbfounded. He had not expected her initial reaction to be one of concern and her light touch only made him more confused.

"I have work to do. I'll see you at home," she said as she walked away, her red hair bouncing at her slight skip. He frowned as he watched her leave. He never liked to watch her go.


"Why are you dragging me to this?" Kassandra complained as Lex stood at her door blocking her only way out. She huffed as she plopped herself down onto her bed, face crinkled in annoyance.

"Because you made the donation so it's only fitting that you're my plus one," he replied with a coy smirk. She rolled her eyes, cursing herself for doing such a thing in the first place.

"I don't have anything to wear," she argued.

"I saw the receipts from your shopping trip the first time. You do have something to wear," he replied knowingly as he walked to her closet. She frowned as he pulled out a black gown embroidered in sparkling Swarovski crystals.

"I forgot about that."

Lex chuckled as he threw the dress onto her bed. It was still inside the protectant plastic bag and the tag was still visible. She had splurged on the dress because it had been Lex's money, but she quickly found she had no place to wear it to. Award season was over so it had simply hung in the back of her closet.

"Get dressed. We leave in an hour,"

he replied with a satisfied grin. She scowled but picked up the dress and headed towards the bathroom.

Lex hummed happily to himself as he fixed himself a drink downstairs. For once it seemed as if everything was going in his favor and that gave him a sense of indestructibility. He would be the last man standing when the flames would finally calm.

"Let's go," Kassandra called out from behind him. He turned and was momentarily stunned. She had always been beautiful but seeing her dressed so lavishly made her look like a princess who had been taken from her kingdom and thrown into his home. Her long hair cascaded down her shoulders and she had taken the liberty of applying some more complex makeup for the night. Lex noted the gold shimmer across her eyelids and the way it brought out the gold flecks in her own eyes.

Kassandra smirked at his reaction. She had purposely fixed herself up. Showing up on Lex Luthor's arm would surely draw the media's attention and she being the person she was would draw even more.

"Are you coming or should I just meet you there?" She asked playfully as she made her way to the door. She grinned triumphantly as she heard the sound of footsteps follow behind her.


Lex watched as Kassandra made her rounds around the room with a bright smile on her face. She seemed to float in between the crowds, her infectious laughter filling the air. They had done their fair share of media pictures, Lex's arm around her waist as she smiled brightly at the flashing lights. He'd worn a black tuxedo, simple yet matching with what she wore.

"I see you and Kassandra are an item now," came a husky voice next to Lex. He looked up to see Bruce Wayne dressed in his own expensive tux, staring straight at the woman who currently occupied his thoughts.

"Shouldn't you be in Gotham?" Lex replied as he took a sip of his drink. He felt a hint of annoyance that the man was in his city. "Doing whatever it is you do?"

"You mean run a billion dollar company?" he said smugly, "Diana invited me," Bruce replied with a smirk.

"Ah! Of course. And where is Ms. Prince?" Lex asked as he looked at the man questioningly. Bruce chuckled.

"She's right there with Kassie."

"Don't call her that," Lex replied in annoyance as he returned his gaze toward's Kassandra's direction. Bruce Wayne was right as he found the two women speaking to each other in hushed tones with their heads together similar to high school girls trading secrets.

"Mr. Wayne, this place is absolutely insane!" a young man exclaimed as he appeared next to him. "Really, do you throw these kinds of things in Gotham? I just saw a plate full of caviar as big as my face," he continued.

Bruce Wayne chuckled at the young man's ramble before hushing him as he placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Barry, this is Lex Luthor," he said as he gestured towards Lex. The young man's mouth dropped as he realized he was standing in the presence of the man who had helped build up the city with his genius endeavors. "Lex, this is Barry Allen. He's a forensic scientist I recently had the pleasure of meeting through Diana."

"It is so nice to finally meet you! Gosh, wow," Barry said excitedly as he shook Lex's hand. Lex raised an eyebrow at the young man's energy and felt as though he had seen him before. It took him a second before he placed him. This was the other young metahuman from Central City that he kept files on. He looked between Bruce and Barry with a tight smile as he felt his world begin to close in on him slowly. Bruce Wayne was proving to be a problem.

"Barry?" A voice called out from behind them. They all turned to see Kassandra and Diana approach them, Kassandra breaking away from Diana's side. Barry smiled broadly as he rushed to hug the young redhead, picking her up and twirling her around in a grand way.

Lex frowned at their embrace as he looked between them. They obviously knew each other- Kassandra's bright smile never once leaving her face and Barry kissing her cheek loudly. Lex's eyes narrowed as they separated and he noticed that Barry kept his hands on her waist.

"They used to date," Diana informed the pair of men with a satisfied smile as she stood in between them. They all watched as Kassandra and Barry entered a lively conversation full of wild hand gestures and laughter.

"Figures," Bruce commented, "those two would be a match made in heaven."

"Obviously not if they broke up for some reason," Lex said hotly. "If you excuse me, I have important people to see."

Bruce and Diana watched with satisfied smirks as Lex Luthor walked away from them. He threw himself into a circle of boring old businessmen, nodding along to their conversation about the stocks going up while keeping his eyes trained on Kassandra the entire time. He found himself growing irritated as the time passed on and Kassandra had yet to break away from the man.

Kassandra felt someone's stare burning through her back and was not at all surprised to see Lex glaring daggers at her and Barry.

"Hey Bear, I'll see you around okay? I gotta go," she said as she gestured towards Lex. His eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"So the rumors are true? You're dating?" He asked incredulously. "That guy is impressive Kass. But Diana doesn't seem to speak too highly of him," he said with a frown. Kassandra laughed and shook her head.

"When does Diana ever speak highly of anyone?" she said with a roll of her eyes. "No. We're just friends," she replied as she gave him a goodbye hug.

"Yeah, that's how we started too!" He called out with a smirk as she walked away. She laughed at his comment, noticing the looks everyone seemed to give them at their exchange. He never did change.

"Lex," she greeted as she stepped into the small circle of men. "If you all don't mind I'd like to steal Mr. Luthor for a moment," she said with a smile.

"By all means dear, you are better company than we are," an older man said with a laugh. Lex nodded in goodbye as he allowed Kassandra to pull him away. Once they were clear of the suffocating group she stole his glass of champagne from his grip and finished it in one gulp, leaving Lex to look at her curiously.

"Can we go home now?" she asked pleadingly, "I'm kind of over this thing."

"Last I saw you were enjoying yourself," Lex replied with a tight grin. He reached for another drink behind him, Kassandra's hand stopping his before he could clutch the glass. She intertwined her fingers through his in an oddly affectionate gesture.

"Please Lex," she pleaded with a sigh. He looked down at her thin fingers jumbled up with his own and regarded it as though he were looking at a new species. This was an intimate gesture- one he had never had the pleasure of experiencing. Needless to say the odd yet satisfying feeling of her skin against his managed to soften his heart if only for a moment as he nodded in agreement.

He smirked as he looked up and realized that the party had turned their attention to the two- murmurs going around the room as many people attempted to be subtle as they snapped away photos on their phones. His eyes landed on Bruce Wayne and his lovely lady companion who looked displeased with what they were seeing. His eyes moved to Barry, and he felt his eyebrows furrow in confusion as he saw him smiling broadly at the pair.

Kassandra smiled happily at his agreement- seeming to be completely oblivious to the fact that everyone was staring. Or perhaps Lex was mistaken and she knew they were, but she just didn't care.

She let go of his hand as Lex replaced it onto her waist as he led her out of the building.

"Give it back," he ordered with a small smirk as they neared their car. Kassandra sighed and rolled her eyes as she returned the kryptonite ring she had expertly stolen from his fingers.

"I hate that damn thing," she muttered beneath her breath.


A/N: I deeply apologize for the long wait! I have had so much going on and I'm just overwhelmed at this point. Thank you so much to those who still follow this story! Let me know what you think in a review, and don't forget to follow/favorite if you desire to do so!

Again, thank you so much for sticking by me and this story. I will do my best to update sooner!