A/N
Here's a special update for all of you people. Hope you enjoy this latest edition.
What do you guys think of me making a Kon-El story set years in the future... as Superman Prime!?
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Chapter 23: Banquet Bouncing...
Bruce Wayne's POV
October 15th, 6:00PM- LexCorp Annual Gala
Lex Luthor's annual fundraiser- designed to improve his public image and gain unsuspecting donors. The donations obviously never reach genuine charities, but to organisations under Lex's control. However, I have never uncovered where the money is funneled to, as of yet. That all changes today.
Technically, no-one- perhaps apart from Luthor- would suspect the billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne of investigating this, due to my apparent hobbies, which I use as a cover. Who would believe such a relaxed person would be Batman?
"How did you measure this suit? It's a perfect fit." my guest asks in his usual manner. "And... I have to say it's got some taste." he carries on with his incessant mumblings.
"Focus Hal, or you will ruin the cover." I sternly order as we approach the entrance to the wealthy venue. Even to me, commanding without the suit on is odd and unnatural, knowing that my face is revealed for everyone to see.
Alfred parks the car outside the hall in one smooth, experienced motion. Proof that years of practising can hone your everyday skills to perfection. For me, it's wearing the cowl and cape that has become a second nature. It's strange how much varies between individuals.
"Stay safe, Master Bruce, Mister Hal." Alfred looks at us from the mirror, his eyes sharp and serious. That same look was what I developed the glare from, or what the other Leaguers have named the 'Bat-glare'. "When shall I be at the ready?" he asks.
"Give us four hours." I nod to Alfred and exit the vehicle, nearly being blinded by the flash of multiple cameras. Who invited the sharks? I resist the urge to grunt or stare at the photographers, instead placing a friendly smile on my face, pretending to be the man I'm not.
Walking down to the entrance, I notice the real, cheesy smile on Hal's features. Despite the many battles that the fellow founding member of the Justice League has faced, he still finds a way to make the most out of his happiness. Definitely more than I could ever imagine happening to me, in any case.
"You look like you've been shot, Bruce, liven it up." Hal whispers, covering his mouth by faking a cough.
I'm starting to lose my touch, I think, replacing the unconscious frown with a sudden beam. Soon, Dick will have to take over. He's got heart, but... he isn't as cruel as I have been.
Entering the prestigious, expensive event, a slight excited noise comes from Hal Jordan. "How do people pay for all this?" he incredulously asks.
"Money." I deadpan, earning a snort from the Green Lantern.
"Why does your sense of humour completely reflect your personality? I didn't know that depressing and psychotic can be associated with amusement." Hal shoots back, but in a more comedic tone than my dry joke. "Oh, little cakes." he rushes off to the serving table the second his eyes fluttered over it.
For such good morals, he lacks sincerity, I sigh out loud.
"My my, Bruce Wayne. Didn't think you would emerge from your drinks and join us."
Inwardly cursing the owner of the voice- whom I know- I turn around in a polite and respectful manner. It is none other than Oliver Queen, who I also the Green Arrow in his spare time.
"Great to see you again, Oliver. How are you enjoying the party?" I return the greeting with a smile.
"It's uh... quaint. Lex graciously invited me over the phone." Oliver responds, though with hesitation. He's a smart person and so he should know that I wouldn't be here without a reason. For the past two years, I have been faking illness to avoid the party. "You?"
"No. I called him to make sure that I can bring a friend, as well; Hal Jordan, have you heard of him?" I answer, to which Oliver's face flickers at the mention of Hal. Now, there's no doubt as to why I have shown up. It can only mean business.
"Did you mean the guy over there that's destroying the appetisers? If so, he's strange company for Bruce Wayne." he loses the amusement in his tone and changes it into a slightly serious voice, but not enough to appear different from anyone else.
"He's great at finding things." I start laughing as another guest brushes by. For all he could know, we were talking about our assistants and I want to keep it that way.
"Well, Bruce, not much for him to find in here. Lex's assistants are top of the line, never miss any speck of dust." Oliver says, hinting that he wants to help the mission.
"If only I had such good people at WayneTech, my personal office wouldn't be such a mess all the time." I joke, concealing the aim of the espionage. However, the glint in Green Arrow's eyes tells me he understands what needs to be done.
"I don't know much about this place, but I've heard that the third floor is spectacular at night." he implies before sauntering off with a final, friendly nod.
It wasn't long before Hal showed up at my side, stuffing his face with the cupcakes, each adorned with an impressive array of topping- gold flecks, dried, caramel sugar, and other things. "Was that Oliver Queen?" he asks, nearly coughing with food in his mouth.
"How about we have a look around before the speeches start?" I gently push him towards the stairwell, avoiding as many onlookers as possible. The fewer people who know where we are, the better. "Apparently, the third floor is great. Take a peek whilst I have chats with these fine people." I say, swerving off to join a group of the worlds more dubious socialites.
Approaching the gathering with a broad smile, I notice the one and only Lex Luther standing amongst the crowd, standing in the center as though proclaiming to the masses. "Good evening, gentlemen, and ladies." I greet the variety of unsavoury siphoners- corrupt politicians, cartel advocates, megalomaniacs, and illegal experiment sponsors. The most villainous of them all is the xenophobe himself. Pity, as if he would have taken a different stance, he could have molded into a valuable ally of the Justice League. Under all the hatred, there is a deep part of him that wants the best for humanity.
"Glad that you could make it this year, Bruce." Lex was the first to cordially extend his hand to me.
Taking the hand, I meet Lex's unflinching gaze. "And so am I."
"Mr Wayne, might I say it's an honour to finally meet you. The name's Maxwell. Maxwell Lord." another of them greets. Officially, Bruce Wayne has never encountered Lord before, but the Batman certainly has. Known for his backdealings to form the League, his villainy is well known to the founding members. Apart from that, I would say he is simply an amoral businessman.
"The pleasure is all mine, Mr Lord. I hope that you are having a fantastic evening, because I certainly am." I show respect back. Although, my attention was truly focused on the greying, one-eyed man to the side of Luther. Muscular and attentive, that face is recognisable even without a mask on, considering that the Batman has seen his face plenty of times before.
Slade Wilson? What is a hired killer like him doing here? I muse, directing my attention to Lex. Hal needs to be careful if he doesn't want to be caught. Somehow, I have a feeling that he's being the complete opposite. It's just his nature to mess things up.
Hal Jordan's POV
"I'm sorry sir, but this floor is restricted. Since all donations are being collected here, it's off limits unless you have a pass." the tall, imposing guard orders me. An outline of a gun temporarily appears as he moves towards me.
"Ohhh... I thought that there was a nice view here. Lex must have been confused." I sigh, quiet comically. "Thanks for the warning."
"Wait," the man gestures for me to stay. "Did Mr Luther send you?" he asks, nervous.
"Yes. He said that it's pretty nice up here." I lie. This ruse might just work after all. "I'll go tell him that I'm not allowed up here."
"No, that won't be necessary. You are welcome to take a look around, Mr Wilson." the guard anxiously says and strides off with the pace of a rabid cheetah. Slade Wilson was supposed to come here? No wonder he ran off before I could hurt him.
Continuing on with the current objective, I spot a conspicuously placed door at the end of the hallway. Heading towards it, I at least pretend to act like Slade Wilson- dominating, and would shoot you for looking him in the eye. In fact, I'm surprised that the guard actually thought that I am the infamous Deathstroke.
Carefully opening the door whilst glancing around for cameras, I send my ring to scan for any and comes back without any detections. Why would he have cameras in here? People could steal it and expose him. Why does he even have an office at this event anyway?
Slithering into the room with my lantern suit enabled, I search the most obvious place for any incriminating or revealing material- the desk drawers. Obviously, the search came up empty as Lex Luther isn't that simple to decrypt. So, I ask myself another question: If I was a supervillain, where would I hide my secrets?
A safe would be the second most clichéd option to seek out, but that's been ruled out of the equation by Lex's intelligence. So, that leaves the last option where I could find the things that Bruce said we should look for- in plain sight. It's easy, brilliant, and dismissable.
Where would I hide something where everyone can see it? the question raises one conclusive realisation. We are at a gala. I'd hide something in the cake.
Rushing out of the room, I have another thing to do before leaving- wipe the guard's memories of me. Being a Green Lantern, I have the power to do so, but it's only supposed to be used in extreme circumstances. Having Lex realise that Bruce Wayne's friend tried to intercept his contract will raise serious question marks about Bruce, and that would be disastrous for Batman. Luckily for him, I'm a good enough friend to cover my tracks.
Nearly powerwalking into the guard, I quickly tamper with his memories whilst brushing past him and striding for the stairs. Before the man comes out of his temporary confusion, I near leap down the flight of stairs, heading to the ground floor.
Hurrying off the last few steps, I immediately approach Bruce- chatting to some random guy that I don't know- whilst trying to maintain at least some resemblance of calm. However, I need to speed up as the message that Lex is leaving for Slade could involve Young Justice, according to Batman. If Lex Luthor has schemes for the future of the league, then it can only mean terrible things for the aspiring heroes.
And, it's my duty as a founding member to help protect those teenagers.
Softly pulling Bruce away from his social duties, I whisper "sorry," to the person he was conversing with and continue dragging him to a quieter place. The other end of the room should suffice.
"Don't touch me again." he growls as soon as exit earshot. "You better have a reason for almost causing a scene with one of the UN's highest ranking diplomats."
"Sorry, Mr Aristocrat, but Slade Wilson is here." I whisper, albeit angrily.
"I know. He's supposed to be getting a contract off Lex." Bruce states, not a shred of concern in his voice. "I overheard more than a few of the rumours. Any luck on your end?" he asks, once again descending into the cool demeanour of Batman.
"Well... I didn't really search the room, because I thought that Lex is too smart for that. I think he hid it in the cake, in a compartment or something." I anxiously reveal to the world's greatest detective. Despite the emotional shielding he loves to surround himself with, I can tell he's beyond furious.
"The whole reason I brought you is to do a quick scan without drawing attention. If you didn't do that, why did I bring you?" Bruce gives a subtle hint that it's going to be a long while before I ever go to events like this again. "Go home, Hal. You've done enough."
Even though I'm rearing to uncover the truth, the glare I am receiving is enough of a warning to make me leave. No-one- not even a veteran Green Lantern- messes with the Batman when he's mad.
Batman's POV- Later on...
There are a few things that I have learnt in my regret-filled life, all of which have saved me over the course of the many years that I have donned the cape and cowl. One of them is to keep even the closest of friends at a distance, both physically and emotionally. Hal may be a close friend- to me, at least- but I can't let his occasional naïvity get in the way of justice and the right thing. However, he did get one thing correct: Lex did hide the contract in the cake.
So when Slade Wilson asked if he could take some of it to go, Luthor instantly agreed. And now, Deathstroke is being discreetly tailed by the Batmobile, unaware. Though I can't be sure of it, I still have to wait for an ample opportunity to pass. Otherwise, Slade and the contract could escape me, endangering the lives that Lex wants dead.
In the back of my mind, I already have a solid assumption of the names scribed on the list- Robin, Kid Flash, Superboy, Aqualad, Miss Martian, Artemis, and Green Lantern. My only other question is simple, yet thoroughly disturbing: how did Lex know about Young Justice?
Sinisterly, the last viable conclusion is that the team has a mole. But who?
That thought will have to be placed on temporary hold as Deathstroke slows down, incredibly so. I've been made.
Slamming on the Batmobiles accelerator, the armoured car rapidly gains on the black Sedan. As expected, Deathstroke sees that escape is improbable and exits the vehicle, casually strolling to the rear and staring down the approaching motor. He remains that way- unflinching, relaxed, and unfazed. This is because he fully knows that I never kill; a fact he has constantly reminded me of as making me thoroughly predictable.
Still, this code is to prevent me from stooping to the level of a common criminal, and one man- no matter how enhanced- will make me willingly break the code.
Braking the Batmobile with a smooth skid, I eject from the vehicle before it halts, gliding through the night air before touching down in front of Deathstroke. Yet, the hired killer only appears to be slightly amused by the usually intimidating display.
"Theatrics? I thought that we agreed your mind tricks don't work on me." Slade snorts, his voice minutely muffled by the mask he is wearing.
Now clad in his impressive set of nth metal armour and adorned with various levels of lethal weaponry, the sight would be enough to melt most men's determination to butter. However, you cannot scare a man who fear itself has abandoned it's grip over.
"Why are you in Metropolis, Slade?" I demand, cutting straight to the chase.
"That question most definitely applies to you as well, Batman. Why is the dark crusader of Gotham in the city of steel?" Deathstroke counters, embroiled in the battle of wits we often commence whenever we meet. "Unless, Superman doesn't know you are here. Good... I'd rather kill you without that alien interrupting us."
"You call him the alien, Slade, but you are. Senseless killing for money makes you less of a human than him. You have hurt so many people for your own greed that you forgot what it means to be human- justice, compassion." I glare at the Terminator.
"Compassion," Slade sneers under his mask. "coming from the hypocrite."
With that, he charges forward with a battle cry, whilst I move forward without the faintest whisper. The clash is one of skill, energy, and extraordinary acrobatics. No man can gain the upper hand as strike after strike is predicted and parried by both of us. Our fighting abilities are even, the playing field level.
All until a flash of green, followed closely by Slade falling to the ground harshly. Annoyingly, Hal Jordan hovers above me, smirk plastered on his face. "Need some help?"
"No." I briefly snap, moving over to Deathstroke and searching his pockets. Something snags on my gauntleted fingers and I take it out, carefully trying not to rip the paper.
"What does it say?" Hal appears directly behind, infuriatingly peering over my shoulder.
Simply written on a piece of plain paper is the direct instruction 'prepare for Project Solar Dawn'.
"What the hell's Project Solar Dawn?"
A/N
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