"Character is power."

--Booker T. Washington


They say money—the physical concept—can't change a person, but I disagree. People always change…it's what we do; one of those facts of life we just have to get used to. Money just makes the switch more easily digestible.

And I'm reminded of that old Bob Dylan song:

How does it feel, to be out on your own? With no direction home…a complete unknown…like a Rolling Stone…

And I wonder: am I really the pariah I'm making myself out to be?

It remains to be seen, Alley. Just roll with this little thing we call college. You might just like it.

That's what scares me.

For all intense purposes, I was a fish out of water. Freshman journalism major at the University of Metropolis. And I'd be lying if I said I was enjoying it.

Jesse and I reached the ground floor and bounded out the double-doors to the back parking lot—which wasn't really a lot, more of an odd arrangement of a handful of spaces designed for the sole purpose of move-in day.

The degraded asphalt cracked under our feet as we approached the parking lot. The figure from inside the green Jaguar step out and straighten his tie.

It was Lex. Unsurprisingly. Smiling curtly, he approached me. Behind him, walking perfectly upright with her arms held tightly at her side was Mercy. As he approached, Hope lifted the last of my belongings out of the car and slammed the trunk. Lex stopped and turned to her.

"Well, Hope, how is everything going here?"

"Fine Lex," she said, wiping her brow. "Everything's fine."

"Good." He turned back to me.

"And how are you, Allen? Everything working out?"

"So far, yeah."

It was at this point that I noticed that Jesse, my impromptu tagalong, was gaping absentmindedly at Lex. His jaw hung lazily, saliva collecting at the corners of his gaping mouth, his eyes glazed over with child-like wonderment. I patted his shoulder and brought him around.

"I—I'm sorry," he said.

"It's okay," I said with a chortle. "Jesse, this is Lex Luthor. Lex…Jesse."

"Pleasure to meet you," Lex said and offered his hand towards Jesse. Jesse took it, still wide-eyed. Lex pulled his own hand back tersely, glanced at it dubiously, as if Jesse had just infected him with some disease, and slid his hands into his pockets.

Jesse instantly realized his mistake and stepped back, staring at the ground for a moment.

"So, Lex, you, uh, wanna see my room?"

"Certainly," he said with a reassuring smile. Going past me, Lex put his arm around Jesse's shoulder and inquired.

"So where are you from Jesse?"

" Star City."

Their conversation drifted away, inaudible, and I approached Hope, who was starting up her Cadillac. I pulled a twenty out of my pocket and held it out to her.

"Thanks for helping me out."

"You're welcome. But I'm not taking that."

"I insist."

Rolling her eyes, Hope snatched the bill out of my palm.

I returned to my room to find Jesse lying on the bed, Lex was sitting in the desk chair. My dorm room was situated at the end of a short hallway, flanked by two similar, albeit, larger, rooms. Aside from the three rooms at the end of the hallway, there were three more rooms further up the hall. Each room was a single, with a long single bed near the windows, a desk with University-supplied computer systems, and two chairs... all in all, pretty standard fare, but not too bad as dormitories go. The University of Metropolis sure did care about their students, now didn't they? The bathroom down the hall wasn't in bad shape, either. There were two sinks, a stall where the toilet was, and a single shower with a drab white plastic shower curtain.

Lex and Jesse were watching the Metropolis Generals game—Metropolis' contribution to the National Basketball Association. I stood in the open threshold for some time, while Lex and Jesse provided color commentary.

"Aw," Jesse muttered in response to what was going on at the game.

"What?" Lex asked, pulling a cigarette out of his jacket.

"They never call traveling."

Lex chuckled quietly and brought a Zippo up to the unlit cigarette. "Allen, your friend here is quite amusing."

"Yeah," I said curtly. "You can't smoke that in here."

Lex stared at me narrowly for a short moment, and then slid the cigar back inside his jacket slowly, fluidly.

"Sorry," I offered. "University policy."

"Certainly. Wouldn't want to….upset the natural order would we?"

Jesse stepped in. "Mr. Luthor—"

"Lex, my boy. You must call me Lex."

"Alright," Jesse said dubiously, sidestepping the issue. "What brings you to our neck of the woods?"

"I have a meeting with the Dean of Students at four o'clock. I figured I'd stop by Allen's new abode and see how things were."

I checked my watch. 3:45.

"Things…are fine," I said pressingly.

"Excellent," he said, self-satisfied. Lex checked his watch, and stood. "Then, if that's all you have, I've got a meeting to get to."

I sidestepped to let him through. "See you in a few, Lex."

"Oh, I'd count on it," he said darkly, his voice fading as he walked down the hall to the elevator. I watched him go, and then turned back to Jesse. He reclined his head into my pillows—my pillows—and spoke.

"Wow," Jesse said smugly impressed by the enigmatic billionaire who had just left his company.

"What?"

"Luthor. I like him."

"What?" I asked, annoyed and perplexed.

"He certainly is one of a kind. How'd you come by him?"

"Dumb luck," I said bluntly, a smile creasing across my face. "Call me eager to please."

"Fair enough," Jesse said lazily. "He's pretty cool. You two related?"

"Nope." I sat down at the desk and started configuring the computer—an antiquated model that ran on Windows 98. Yikes. With an amused smile, I questioned Jesse.

"Jess…why is it you think everyone who comes in here is related to me?"

"Men's intuition," he said dryly, working a laugh from me. "No one gets anywhere in this town without a little help from friends…or family."

"I didn't think 'we' believed in intuition."

"I do," he countered.

"That's nice," I said. "Now…I think I'm gonna jump in the shower."

"Alright," Jesse said. "I think I'm gonna get some more stuff squared away."

"'Kay," I said. "See ya."

"Yeah."

My shower was a nice break from the wears of the day. For a long while, I turned the water on, and leaned my head forward under the showerhead, the hot water running down the curvature of my back. And I thought.

About my parents. About Sara, my once and future lover who had made her disdain for Luthor clear. This much was true: I had no one now. Except Luthor. And Jesse.

Jesse, who I had known for scant minutes, was already warming up to me; the kind of guy who would follow you anywhere, because he believed in you. Whether or not that was true, I still believed it, which was a foolish notion at best. Our relationship had started on a whim, eerily reminiscent of another such story involving Metropolis' charismatic billionaire.

In any event, I made myself a promise there in the shower. I would not allow what happened to Luthor and I to happen between Jesse and I. As opposed to my latter day attempts at friendship through Tim Drake, and love through Sara Andrews, I swore that I would build a friendship with Jesse. A lasting one.

It was odd nonetheless, because even though I had turned down Lex's more-than gratuitous offer, he still appreciated me. Still admired me. And that was a comforting thought.

I stepped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around my waist, and walked the brief few steps down the hall to my room.

By the time I heard someone knocking at the door, I was fully dressed. Pulling the heavy brown door open, I saw Jesse standing meekly before me. He was wringing his hands, and he slouched terribly.

"What's with the hunch? Are you rehearsing a play about Richard Nixon?" I asked playfully, jesting at his haggard appearance and grizzled scowl.

"There are these people in the next mod down," he murmured. A mod was the main thoroughfare to get to either one of the two wings on this particular side of the building.

"And…?"

They asked me if I wanted to go out with 'em to some parties."

"Kinda early, don't you think?" I replied, marginally surprised. It was, after all, only about 5 in the afternoon.

I went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of Red Bull, offered it to Jesse.

"No thanks."

"Alright," I said, cracking it open. "So what do you want to do?"

"Well…anything but that."

Silence.

"Tell me about yourself. Where are you from?"

I scoffed snidely. "I'd tell you my story….but it's got more twists than an Agatha Christie novel."

Jesse nodded and sat in the desk chair that Lex had occupied a brief time ago. He discovered the remote, and turned the TV to WGBS—the only 'good' television on at the moment. So much for a story, I thought.

I inched my way across the room to the combined microwave-refrigerator, opened it, and held up a bottle of water within Jesse's range of vision.

"Uh, no thanks," he said dismissively. I shrugged and started drinking from it.

"What's on the news?" I asked.

"Your friend has just donated a hefty sum to the university."

I looked down at the television, and saw Lex shaking hands with the President of the University. Cat Grant announced that Lex's donation of five million dollars would be enough to name a residence hall after him. I let out a curious peep, and Jesse looked up at me. Lex makes five million dollars in the course of an hour. What's he up to?

"What's up?" Jesse asked innocently.

"…Nothing," I said, shifting topics. "You wanna get something to eat?"

"Sure."

We found a small deli on the outskirts of campus, and sat on the outside portico to eat our sandwiches. As we watched traffic whiz by, Jesse started into his BLT, his voice muffled through the amalgamation of bread, bacon, and mayonnaise.

"So, Jesse."

"Mm," he muffled as he downed half of his sandwich. "What?"

"We hardly know each other. Tell me about yourself."

"I'm from Star City and I enjoy long walks on the beach," he said jokingly.

"Wow," I said. "You've come quite a way."

"Yeah, it's my little experiment," he said haughtily. "Get as far away from home as possible, and see what happens."

"Sounds plausible," I said, cutting into my turkey club. "So you're just sort of rolling with it for now?"

"Yeah. I mean, I'm not out to please anyone. Never have been."

I chuckled and polished off the last of my sandwich.

"But if you must know," Jesse added, "I've got a nice…contingency to fall back on."

Jesse followed me back to my room—mostly because I offered him food. Short of entering the room, I stopped and stared at the door. I had posted a dry-erase marker board just below the peephole earlier in the day. In our absence, someone had come along and left me a note:

"Sorry I missed you. Give me a call later. You know the number. Sara."


Next: Insight!