LX
In the Clutches of Ra's al Ghul

Lex Luthor was not a man who wasted time. As his angry glance left the contorted corpse of the suddenly deceased Secretary of Defense, he chided himself over what an opportunity had been lost… His mind pondered the possibilities of how the League's secrets had been narrowly snatched from his grasp as he watched his agents gather up the body from the hospital bed. Obviously poisoned, but how? And when? Had O'Neil administered the poison himself?

As Luthor stepped outside, still planning his next move, he almost tripped over one of his guards laying on the floor. Scanning the hallway, he saw all sixteen of his men - dead or unconscious – similarly sprawled on the floor. When the new president heard his other four agents suddenly collapse behind him, he ran... three steps… and no more.

The acting president awoke hours later. It was still night… he was aboard a boat…. No, a yacht. The was a salient taste to the air… the Atlantic. He rubbed his head and realized that he was not bound, or gagged… Negotiations then?

"You've awoken, Mr. Luthor."

Lex looked in the direction of the mysterious voice and watched an image from the past step out of the shadows. It was a man from another era. Long sideburns seemed to be groomed into tusks sculpted upon his jaw. The stranger's appearance reminded him of the pictures of his ancestors who had fought in the Civil War. The stately man wore a dark green suit, lined with gold trim and a matching cloak, like a vampire from the old horror films. His presence however was commanding. That was no act.

"You're not an American," commented Luthor rising from his chair.

"No, Mr. Luthor. I am not."

"The American government does not negotiate with terrorists."

"My business is with you, Mr. Luthor. I could care less about your American government… as you may have gathered from this morning."

Lex felt his temper begin to rise… and forced himself to remain calm. While it was true that the government did not negotiate with terrorists, Lex Luthor did and had. He was in the presence of the League now and he needed all his faculties..

"I don't believe we've been introduced, Mr.…?" Luthor was scanning for exits out of the corners of his eyes.

"My name is Ra's al Ghul." After the man's reply, Lex Luthor was visibly surprised but quickly recovered.

"Ra's al Ghul died forty years ago… You're his son, perhaps?"

"Death is not permanent for those who serve, Mr. Luthor. I have died many times over the past ten centuries."

"Serve? And who do you serve, Ra's?"

"I serve the Earth, Mr. Luthor. I serve Life who is the mother of us all. I serve Death, who is our wayward father. There is a balance to things that has long been abandoned by this modern world."

"I assure you Mr. al Ghul, the secret of eternal life is on my agenda, but why am I here? You've kept me alive for some purpose... LexCorp technology? Military secrets?"

"Oh, come Mr. Luthor. We do not have to be enemies. Are your hands too clean to grasp mine in friendship?" Ra's smiled. He knew. He knew. "It has been many years since an American president has been a member of the League."

"I will serve no master."

"Serve the purpose then, Luthor. Serve the balance of Life. Even you have to admit that humanity has become a blight on the blessed face of its mother."

"That's where we differ, Ra's… What I see in a man is his potential. His blood, his sweat, his passions. I see a man's ability…
The League sees him as fertilizer."

"I see him as the child and property of this earth. When you have died as often as I, you gain a… sense of place. Fifty generations, each weaker than the former. The League is strength."

"And if I refuse?"

"Talia?..." Ra's clapped his hands twice as a young woman stepped silently from the shadows. She was breathtaking, exquisite. Her white dress, a long-flowing wrap pinned by a broach of simple jade clung to her like sleepless nights. Her dark hair cascaded past perfect shoulders. But more than beautiful, there was an element of tragedy, of danger about her…

"Mr. Luthor, may I present my daughter… Talia. To her I entrust the future of the League. She is to be your companion for awhile. She is as formidable as she is beautiful."

"A tempting offer, Ra's…but I will not be bought."

"If not bought Mr. Luthor…guided. What is love but a purchase of the soul. Every man should have the opportunity for one great love in his life… otherwise we are merely pale, scorned reflections of ourselves. Charcoal sketches may be honest, but I've always preferred the breadth of color under the skilled hands of a master. And I assure you my friend, my daughter is a master."

"I will not be guided, Ra's."

"Mr. Luthor… please understand. To me, you are but a child. You must learn the principles of power if you are to be a suitable candidate for the League. You will learn how the game is played, how the world will be won and how it will end."

"Enough of this! You have no idea what…"

"Oh, but I do, Mr. Luthor. Allow me to demonstrate… Talia?" At her father's bequest, Talia al Ghul placed her hands gently on the president's face, dark almond eyes peering deeply into his black soul as she spoke one simple word…

"Beloved"

Luthor folded in upon himself. With one word, he was gone… alone on an endless shore, a sea of darkness crashing in upon its shores. He was elsewhere, the sky above him the reality that had been stolen from him. An observer to his own life.

"Are you ready, my daughter?" questioned Ra's.

"I am," replied the man who had once been Lex Luthor - now the living vessel of Talia al Ghul.