Chapter 5
"This is getting really borrrrrrinnnnnng," sang the lunatic with the green hair, white face, and impossibly wide, and permanent, grin. "Lex, 'friend', how much longer are we just gonna sit around in your penthouse…really nice, by the way…and let that Composite Superman…kind of corny, don't you think Lexie?…have all the fun?"
The man with no hair, damn you, Superman!, didn't even turn from the immense plasma screen dominating one entire wall, from carpeted floor to vaulted ceiling, currently tapped into security cameras supplied by LexCorp so they could watch the super-action. To Lex Luthor, this so-called Clown Prince of Crime was just shy of moron status.
"We've already been over this, Joker," said Lex Luthor while heaving an exasperated sigh before the immense Hi-Def images. "Xan came to us from a variation of a device my own R-and-D people have been secretly working on for nearly a decade…a gateway between dimensional realities which..."
"Yes, yes, I've already heard this about a thousand times now, Lex baby," scoffed Joker while popping the knuckles of his purple-gloved hands and stifling a grinning yawn. "A gateway that this Xan guy must've found in his reality at about the same time as this one… yada, yada, yada. Bottom line, Lexie, is that this guy was able to use powers he said he stole from, what was it again? Legend of…no, that's not it."
"Legion of Super-Heroes," groaned Lex as he made his way to the hidden-from-view wet bar on the far side of his ultra-modern penthouse living room, whereas a simple touch causing it to rotate and reveal a treasure trove of liquors and liqueurs. "An organizational entity that exists in that dimensional reality but not in this one. Yet."
Seeing the wet bar so revealed, with Lex promptly selecting from some of the most expensive bottles of alcoholic beverages available this side of a restrictive gentlemen's club, Joker comically trotted over, cooing, "Oooooo, don't mind if I do, Lex baby. Hahahahahaha! Got anything purple? Heheheheheheh!"
"No," was Lex's less than hospitable answer as he poured both of them shots of well-aged scotch.
"Legion of Super-heroes," said Joker with a shiver. "How depressing? Bad enough we've got super-goodies in our here and now…like Batman and Superman…but to have a whole legion of them to contend with. No, thank you."
"Nevertheless, Joker, it would still be interesting to know exactly how Composite Superman obtained all the super-powers of the Legion," Lex said while handing his begrudgingly welcome guest one of the two crystal-cut glasses of scotch. "What I couldn't do with that much power…"
"You? What about me?" cackled Joker after drinking some of the alcohol in his glass. "Just think what kind of jokes I could pull on the whole world! Delicious! Hahahahaha!"
"Yes," said Lex under his breath as a sly smirk dominated his scowling, hairless features. "Just think."
END OF CHAPTER 5