LXXIX
The Gathering Storm
"…Yes, Mr. Luthor?"
Lex Luthor looked behind his other shoulder to find his personal assistant in all her blonde glory awaiting his command.
"Ah, there you are Miss Teschmacher. Walk with me, I have to be on air in… just under two minutes. Our new secretary of defense claims we are about to have a supernatural visitor shortly. I need to verify that."
"Would that be Mr. Wayne, sir?"
"Yes, that would be Mr. Wayne. You're wasting time."
"We've been monitoring the situation around Kahndaq since your declaration, Sir. A moving speech, by the way. We have noted an unusual event… Would your ultimate weapon account for the cyclone forming over Kahndaq?"
"It's not my ultimate weapon…You mean there's a tornado forming over Kahndaq."
"No sir, this is definitely a cyclone. It's currently centered 600 miles northwest of the Persian Gulf and hasn't budged an inch since we've been monitoring it. Terrible storm clouds… At its current rate, it projected to break the record set in 1979 by Typhoon Tip. The lab is projecting a wind diameter of over 1,500 miles. They're very excited."
"Cyclones don't form over deserts."
"This one does... sir."
"One could say that something like that would qualify as supernatural, wouldn't you agree, Miss Teschmacher?"
"Weather patterns and the supernatural aren't my specialty, sir."
"No… of course not. Keep monitoring the situation and inform me of any developments that you may need a second opinion on. Thank you, Miss Teschmacher."
On the elevator ride down to the media center, surrounded by armed guards, Lex Luthor mentally prepared the speech he would deliver to the world. Trust that the League had destroyed in one brief moment of darkness would have to be restored... unfortunately. Miss Teschmacher had been right though, it had been a moving speech, and one he might have made.
But he would never have stopped with one country.
Wayne had been too focused on revenge. In blind rage, he had targeted Kahndaq for its involvement with the terrorist attacks of twenty years ago that had claimed the lives of Thomas and Martha Wayne. But Bruce had missed the true socio-engineering potential of his weapon.
He could get eight billion people down to a much more manageable number.
And now the League would take the fall for it.
Exiting the elevator, he placed a call to General Johnson…
"General, this is President Luthor. Proceed with the seizure of Wayne Industries. Be sure to secure his estate as well. Inform me when Operation Whippet is complete."
Thirty seconds wasn't much time for makeup, but time was of the essence. Now in front of the cameras, Luthor smiled and began as he had many times before...
"…Citizens of the world. The words you heard only moments ago from a man in Gotham were not my own. There is no ultimatum, no demands of surrender that you will be presented with. America does not have an ultimate weapon and we will not hold the world hostage. The man who delivered these words was an imposter, fabricated by the League of Assassins.
What is true is that the people of Kahndaq are dead. This, tragically, has happened, but I am here to tell you unequivocally that this was not an attach by the American government. Preliminary investigations have revealed that this was the largest sarin gas attack in history, launched by the most vicious terrorist organization ever known, the League of Assassins.
My imposter had stated that this League does not exist. I am here to confirm that they do. It was only through the deductions and actions of my new Secretary of Defense, Mr. Bruce Wayne, that I was able to free myself from the League's clutches. And in good faith and clear conscience, I repeat: America is not your enemy, nor are we your master.
We must be your ally. The threat to world safety on this very day has never been greater. The League's goals have now been uncovered, and they are nothing less than the complete and utter destruction of mankind. I would now invite all nations to ferret out their shadow operatives of terror, including their leader… Ra's al Ghul. This man must be stopped!
We are monitoring the situation in Kahndaq closely. We believe that the destruction of this nation was only the first step in the League's plan of the annihilation of mankind. There are events unfolding which seem impossible… almost biblical in nature. As a nation under God, I pray that this is not true. But we must stand at the ready. The world must unite if these events come to pass.
Our warships are currently en route to Kahndaq. This is not an act of war, it is simply an act of defense. We must be ready for what is to come. I ask for the support of the world against those who would destroy us… all of us. We must be united. We must be ready. We must be strong."
So many things to do today… A meeting in the war room, calls to heads-of-state, seizing Wayne's assets. But most of all, he was looking forward to the interrogation of Talia al Ghul. What secrets would she reveal under the effects of the Hoffner truth serum? What secrets indeed…
A great man never avoided fate. He accepted the gifts it presented. And Lex Luthor had been truly gifted today…