Disclaimer: I do not own MCU, Smallville, Boys or anything else you may recognize
Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed or reviewed this fic so far.
This and the next chapter are the big ones.
Guest 1: Thanks for the review. I think Monitor would have removed the blood, he is a Cosmic Being.
Guest 2: Thanks for the review. You will see what happens. Not a fan of Smallville Waller frankly, even before her stupid death.
Guest 3: Thanks for the review. Those two will get better than canon here, and for Neumann I have an easy way out.
Guest 4: Thanks for the review. Vought will think that Lex will introduce his Supers before sending them out for publicity just like them.
Chapter 3- The exposé
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Lex asked with a shrug.
Kal made out Black Noir about to sneak up on Frenchie, and he would have succeeded and killed Frenchie swiftly too, and then the rest, but with Steve and Kal here, he was bound to fail completely at his mission.
Kal sped over to Black Noir and grabbing him by the throat, tossed him to the other side as he rolled away, then got up, glaring at his new opponent.
"Oh, this will be fun", Hughie said, arms folded.
"Eh, don't like any of them", Butcher simply shrugged.
"We don't have to like them, just take their help like we're taking Lex's", MM pointed out to Butcher.
Black Noir staggered back up as Steve asked Kal. "Need my help here?"
"Nope, like you before, I got this", Kal said, simply giving Black Noir a look, daring him to try to come one more step closer to him, and Kal knew he would try for sure.
Black Noir did a flip and kicked Kal's face, and Kal rolled with it to prevent Black Noir from hurting his foot, and Black Noir landed, taking a pose, and then punched, but his hand broke as Kal simply stood there.
Black Noir repressed the pain he was feeling and punched Kal hard with his other hand, only to break the bones in that one too as Kal just stood with folded arms.
"I think it is best if you give up now", Kal warned Black Noir, looking and sounding every bit serious about this.
But Black Noir, like the rest of the Seven, was very arrogant, none of them having met anyone who could match them in power, so they ruled like Kings, but now, good people with a lot of power were opposing them, and so they were done for.
He punched hard with both fists again but only broke them more, and so he head-butted Kal, instead dazing himself as he staggered back, this being a bit too much for even him to take as he tried one last time, by leaping up and kicking Kal on the chin, but it broke his foot instead as he crashed to the ground, wounded already.
"The fuck?!" Butcher said, actually awed by Kal's powers, even if he still didn't like him at all.
"Wow, that was….." Hughie trailed off.
"He didn't even touch him", MM noted.
"How powerful is this Super?" Frenchie wondered.
"More powerful than anything in this world combined", Lex said with a smirk as Kal lifted the now knocked out Black Noir up. "Remember, I said he pushed a planet."
"Can believe that now", Hughie muttered.
"What should we do now?" Kal asked Lex.
"You had a plan to expose them all, right? And you were about to tell us something about Stormfront", Steve noted. "What were you going to tell us?"
"She is not a new superhero like Stillwell just claimed, she has been around for a long time, her powers have slowed her aging, and while she is pandering to a certain crowd, she is a Nazi", Lex revealed, as everyone was shocked on hearing that.
"You serious?" Butcher asked Lex.
"Oh yeah", Lex nodded with a vicious smirk. "The first Super to ever exist too, she is Vought's first success, and she is a Nazi, and I know it all."
"How?" Kal asked.
"Like I said, connections everywhere, I know a lot about her past, including various identities she took", Lex told them, pacing around. "As for Soldier Boy, there was one before this one we have just seen on the news, but he was a different one from this one, like I said. So it's a legacy title going to different people, but none of them fought in World War II, unlike Steve Rogers here. This world has no Heroes, just liars and killers wearing costumes and posing as Heroes to give the people something to believe in, something to latch onto, and then, for their own sick pleasure, take it all away too."
"With what we have seen of most of the Supers here, can't say that is an inaccurate assessment", Kal said with a sigh, surprised that after all these years, he and Lex were finally in agreement over something at last, the Seven were really just that bad, and so was Vought.
"Well, if you have evidence for all of it, I don't think there's much they will be able to do about it now, would they?" Steve asked Lex.
"If you had this much evidence, why the fuck did you wait until now?" Butcher asked, glaring at Lex.
"Let's see, the Seven have powers, good people on this Earth don't, if I did expose them, then the Seven would be out of control, come after everyone, there would be a vacuum, I had to do this in a way that we come out on top with minimum casualties", Lex explained to Butcher, who now got his point finally. "But now, we have two powerful superheroes with us, so when I do expose them, they will go out of control, but they will stop them."
"What were you going to do originally?" Steve asked Lex.
"Well, let's see, originally I was going to wait a bit, make a new suit for myself too, and also Butcher and the rest, so we could take them out once they came after us all, now? I don't need to, you two will do that, wouldn't you?" Lex asked Steve and Kal.
They exchanged a look as Kal then walked to Lex, their faces inches apart. "I don't like you, Lex, I haven't forgotten everything you did to me and the rest of us back home. But I also remember the kind of man you were before, I do miss that man, I wish I could see him again. And right now, while I don't think your motives are genuine, I do agree that the Seven need to be stopped, and Vought too."
"So you will help me", Lex realized with a smirk. "To be fair, I am not your biggest fan either, but the Seven are worse than you ever were, they need a lesson in power, true power, they need to be shown what is truly is."
"Well, its decided, Lex shall expose them with help from this source of his, then Vought and the Seven will come after him, and its up to us to stop the Seven", Steve realized what was going to happen now. "And once that's done, this world will be free of terror."
"Sounds like a good plan", Hughie said.
"You're relying too much on Supers for my liking", Butcher said with a snarl.
"If you want payback on Homelander, you will follow this plan", Lex said to Butcher firmly. "Steve and Clark are nothing like the Supers here, and coming from me, that says something."
"Well, let's do it then", MM said.
"Oh yeah", Lex nodded opening the doors and walking out. "Let us call a press conference now. We are going to save this world from the terror of the Seven and Vought at last."
Lex stood in front of various reporters who all clamored before him, flashing cameras and asking questions.
"Hello everyone, I am here to tell you of something very important", Lex said, raising a remote and pressing a button as the screen behind him showed 'Sage Grove Center', Vought's psychiatric facility.
"This is Sage Grove Center, presumably Vought's psychiatric facility for the mentally insane", Lex began, speaking loud and clear for everyone to hear. "But truth is, its not. It is a place where illegal experiments are carried out- to create Supers!"
Now all the reporters were talking to each other incoherently, in shock, as Lex said. "Let me show you."
And then footage was shown of what went on inside the facility, with scientists injecting a drug into babies, and one of them had some sort of laser glowing in his eyes.
"These videos are not faked, I have authenticated them with a source, and you can do so if you please", Lex assured everyone there. "These Supers were not born with powers, they are experiments by Vought, who create them and then profit off of them too, the drug is called Compound V, I myself managed to get a sample as proof."
Lex lifted the vial, making sure the cameras got it. "This thing is responsible for creating Supers. Vought has been fooling us for decades!"
One reporter raised her hand.
"Yes."
"We all know LexCorp is Vought's only rival, how do we not know this is a lie to get ahead of them?"
"Good question, but tell me, after Homelander being exposed as a psychopath, would I go this far just to get ahead in the competition, knowing he can come and kill me for making it worse?" Lex asked, and they realized he did have a point. "I am not doing this to get ahead, I am doing this for the world. And I was helped by an inside source too, someone who works at Sage Grove Center, a former member of the Seven himself- Lamplighter!"
Now there were even more shocked murmurs as Lamplighter stepped forth, right next to Lex, as Lex smirked at them all.
Butcher, Hughie, MM and Frenchie exchanged shocked looks as Butcher said. "What the fuck?"
"He got Lamplighter?" Frenchie said.
Steve and Kal were shocked too, but for different reasons.
"Bobby?" Steve said out loud.
"Eric?" Kal said at the same time, as Lamplighter looked just like Eric Summers, and Jimmy Olsen had resembled him to some extent too.
"So Bobby's doppelganger has fire powers, this Universe's way of irony", Steve quipped.
Mallory watched the conference, enraged on seeing Lamplighter's face for obvious reasons.
"No, no, no!" Stillwell shook her head in horror, this was going out of control now.
Stan Edgar didn't make a comment, just watching the whole thing.
"Hi", Lamplighter greeted the press. "I am Lamplighter, former member of the Seven, my 'retirement' was actually a demotion to 'Clean Up' crew, I am supposed to take care of disobeying patients in there, and as insider, I can tell you that what Mr. Luthor says is true, young children are injected with Compound V and turned into Supers, Vought even keeps an eye on them all, and then they pretend these are natural heroes sent to do good in the world, but its not true, its all a creation of Vought."
The reporters stood up in shock, trying to ask questions but Lex held up his hand. "There's some more, don't worry, we'll get to the bottom of this."
He turned to Lamplighter. "Thank you for your contribution, you can do now."
Lamplighter walked off as Lex chuckled and spoke up. "Stormfront, she was the voice of reason when she introduced herself earlier, wasn't she? Well, she is not, she is one of the worst people on the planet. She is the first Supe, what she was injected with prevented her from ageing, and I have proof. She is the wife of Frederick Vought himself, and a Nazi too."
The screen behind Lex showed an image of Stormfront in a gathering with Hitler, Himmler and Goebbels, and the face was clearly hers.
"Not morphed, you can get anyone to check it", Lex assured them all, as they were again hurling out question after question in shock. "She was also the superhero Liberty in the 70s, and a member of the Church of the Collective, who had this information by the way, they were hiding it, but I got it."
Alastair's eyes widened in horror as he started shaking in fear.
"Look, here she is a part of the Church, name's Klara", Lex showed them all an image of Klara in the Church during the 70s. "She left after it started including people of color, because Nazi, you know? A racist to the core."
Stormfront watched, clutching her fists angrily and screamed as electricity emanated from her, destroying the TV and breaking the walls too.
"She also murdered a black man called Myron Hunter back in the 70s due to being black", Lex said. "And the man's sister Valerie Hunter I have called here."
An aged dark-skinned woman stepped forth as Lex handed her the mic to speak. "My brother was killed by Liberty because he was black, and she accused him of robbery when he never stole a thing in his life. I saw her face, she is Stormfront. I wanted to go to the police. But my folks, they thought it was pointless. So when that man from Vought, when he showed up and he offered us that money, we just took it. $2,000. That is what my brother's life was worth. Just $2,000."
More shocked murmurs and questions as Lex said. "Thank you, Miss Hunter, for your contribution."
She walked away as Lex said. "There is more, like the Deep, nice muscles, right? He thinks his looks gives him the right to shove his dick in the face of any woman he wants."
Deep's eyes widened in horror as his heart hammered in his chest.
"What are you talking about?" One woman asked.
"The Deep is a rapist, he uses his power to force and blackmail women into having non-consensual sex with him", Lex told everyone present there as a woman stepped forth. "This is kindergarten teacher Melissa Debrowski, who will shed light on what kind of person the Deep truly is."
Melissa took the mic and spoke. "It was the VH1 Educator Award Ceremony. The Deep was supposed to award me, but backstage, he put his fingers…..used them…..on me…"
She looked disgusted just remembering the incident, looking like she would throw up. "I begged him to stop, he said- "I am here to reward you, this is it! Take it or pay!" And he continued, and I let him." She had tears now. "Then he left when I was dressing myself, he raped me."
Lex put his arm around her in a soothing fashion and gently had her escorted away as he came back onto the mic. "And now, A-Train, the fastest man alive, right?"
Lex chuckled and said. "This idiot ran through an innocent woman a while ago, destroying her body because he was high, I'm not kidding. And here he is, murdering his own girlfriend, Popclaw, with drugs."
And then the screen showed A-Train and Popclaw talking, there was no voice though. Then suddenly A-Train sped and jammed syringes into Popclaw's armpits, she gasped in pain, trying to breathe, and then died.
The reporters were all shocked and tried to ask more questions as Lex assured. "Again, not doctored, experts are welcome to verify, I won't stop anyone."
"How the fuck did he get that?" A-Train now wondered in horror, panicking too.
"And that leaves Soldier Boy, no Soldier Boy fought in World War II, there was one around the same time as Liberty though, this is a legacy title", Lex said, showing a photo of the older Soldier Boy. "That's the previous Soldier Boy. This one is a new one, a replacement."
Soldier Boy smashed the table in anger.
Maeve watched the whole thing, now smiling a little, finding some of her courage again.
Annie smirked, happy to see someone taking on this corruption.
Lex shook his head and told them all. "Vought is a fraud company, and most of the Seven are psychopaths pretending to be Heroes to win the affection of the public like Greek Gods, but they are all horrible people. The real Heroes are the two who saved that plane and showed Homelander the true meaning of power."
Homelander roared in anger and destroyed his TV with his lasers before smashing up his room.
"But now we know the truth, so let's be heroes, and take this world back from the Supers we have adored and allowed to take over", Lex said, and the reporters now applauded him for what he had done.
Well, Lex sure did plan it all, next chapter shall be the real Heroes against the Seven, and you all know how it goes.
Hope all enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter.