It was yet another sunny day in Gotham City. The stifling heat beat down on the concrete jungle, creating a shimmering haze that distorted the cityscape. My garage, a haven for our daily workouts, was a sanctuary away from the chaos of the outside world. Jason and I had just finished an intense training session, our muscles aching from the relentless drills.
Leo, always the one to find solace in front of the TV, lounged in the living room, seemingly impervious to our physical exertion. He had a knack for securing the TV to himself whenever Jason and I were preoccupied. It was as if he had a magnetic attraction to the screen, an unyielding devotion to his favorite shows.
"Here," Jason said, tossing me a bottle of water, though he seemed to hurl it with a mischievous intent. I turned around to catch the bottle midair, my telekinetic powers allowing me to intercept it with precision. The trajectory of the bottle suggested it was aimed at my head.
"Nice try, kid," I remarked, a wry smile on my face as I grabbed the bottle, unscrewed the cap, and took a long sip to quench my thirst. "But there's absolutely no way you could catch me off guard."
Jason, always eager to find a chink in my abilities, wiped the sweat from his face with a white towel that hung around his neck. "There are no loopholes with your powers," he conceded, a tinge of frustration in his voice.
I leaned back, floating a few inches above the ground, the laws of gravity bending to my will. "There's no reaching me, Jase," I replied, my tone dripping with confidence. "I've got eyes in the back of my head, and with my powers, it's quite impossible to get one over on me."
He'd been trying for weeks to catch me off guard, a personal challenge he had taken up in his free time. In between his patrols and video game marathons, he was determined to uncover any weakness or vulnerability in my abilities. It had become something of a hobby for him, a way to combat the boredom that often plagued him.
"Hey, Tom, I've been meaning to ask…" Jason's voice trailed off, a hesitation apparent in his expression as if he were unsure whether his question was appropriate.
"Come on, let's hear it," I encouraged him, my levitating form now hovering lazily in the garage.
"Why do you look so pale? You are obviously healthy and that's a fact." Jason finally asked, his curiosity getting the best of him. He carefully observed my complexion, puzzled by my almost ghostly appearance. "Your skin looks so pale and fragile, almost as if you could fade away with just a few more shades. I would have guessed it was malnutrition, but you eat way more than an average teenager does, and your hair is as white as snow." He examined me closely, waiting for an answer to satisfy his inquisitiveness. "Are you chronically ill by any chance?" he added.
I sighed, feeling a heavy weight settle upon me. "I tried not to show it and tough it out, but I am really frail. I was diagnosed with a chronic disease, and the doctor estimated that the amount of time I have left is a year and a few months."
Jason's expression shifted from curiosity to pity. "That's why I bullied you back when you were Robin, to make myself feel superior. And that's why I don't associate myself with others—I just want to die and fade away from the minds of those who already know me. But you and Leo make that hard. I have to admit, it's really fun having you guys with me in my last days."
"I'm really sorry," Jason said, his voice filled with genuine regret. He sympathized with me, feeling a profound sadness for the struggle I was facing.
"It's alright, Jason," I replied, my voice tinged with resignation. "Due to my condition, my body is unable to absorb nutrients from the food I eat. That's why I eat so much—to ensure my body gets to absorb at least a little bit of nutrition."
"What is it? Maybe we could find a cure for it," Jason suggested, his desire to help me evident in his words.
"Come on, don't tell me you actually believe this kid," Leo's voice chimed in from the house as he opened the door to the garage. He walked over, finding us in the midst of our conversation. "I came over wondering why you were taking so long with your workouts, and here you are being fed ridiculous lies," he quipped, his laughter echoing in the room.
"Wait, what?" Jason looked dumbfounded, realizing he had fallen for a complete lie, masterminded by me. He felt a mixture of anger and embarrassment, his emotions getting the better of him.
"Okay, okay. How about I make it up to you by telling you the actual truth," I suggested, sensing that our little joke had gone far enough. I wanted to maintain an air of mystery about myself, but it was time to reveal the truth.
"How do I explain this?" I mused, stroking my chin thoughtfully. Leo's attention remained fixed on me, though he tried to appear indifferent, while Jason eagerly awaited my explanation.
"I think it's better if I just show you. Jase, grab one of your guns."
"Okay, but what now?" Jason asked, his curiosity piqued. He held his gun, a hint of anticipation in his eyes, though he trusted that I wouldn't let anyone get hurt during this experiment.
"Shoot me," I instructed, "but wait until I turn around. I'll tell you when to fire." Both of them looked at me in disbelief. Jason had attempted to catch me off guard on numerous occasions, but now he doubted if I could even avoid a bullet at point blank range and without seeing it coming.
I turned around, and I heard the distinct sound of Jason cocking his gun. I knew that he had been waiting for an opportunity like this to test my abilities. "Fire," I commanded, and the gunshot rang out. The bullet hit my defensive field, creating a visible ripple in the air, before it was immediately redirected back towards Jason. However, I seized it telekinetically, holding it just inches from ripping through his gut.
Jason watched the bullet, suspended in midair before him, his eyes wide with astonishment. "What was that?" he stammered, struggling to comprehend what he had just witnessed. He had always suspected that I used telekinesis to evade attacks, but now he had seen it in action, and it had left him stunned.
Leo, ever the picture of nonchalance, remained silent, with nor intention of breaking the silence. "As you have just witnessed, no harm can come to me, not even in my sleep. My power protects me from anything that might cause me harm."
"Cool," Leo remarked with a sly grin, unaffected by the spectacle.
"Cool powers and all, but that still doesn't explain why your skin is so pale, too white even," Jason persisted, refusing to be sidetracked any longer.
I sighed, my demeanor heavy with the burden of my condition. "The UV rays from the sun are harmful to the skin at a certain level. My powers protect me from UV rays, and as a result, I am melanin deficient." I explained my condition as a necessary consequence of my extraordinary abilities.
"Cool," Leo remarked with a sly grin, unaffected by the spectacle.
"Cool powers and all, but that still doesn't explain why your skin is so pale, too white even," Jason persisted, refusing to be sidetracked any longer.
"Oh damn, that's one sick ability. The powers of you metahumans keep getting more and more absurd," Jason exclaimed, a sense of wonder in his voice. I decided to keep my true nature a mystery, not revealing that I wasn't a metahuman, because there was a unique thrill in letting people believe they had you all figured out when, in reality, they knew nothing.
"I've had my fair share of surprises," I replied, letting them believe that my abilities had more depth than met the eye.
Jason continued, his curiosity piqued. "One thing I noticed while fighting you was that you have a wide range of abilities, and you seemed to have a lot of tricks up your sleeves."
"Oh, back when you were Robin," I chuckled, remembering our past encounters. "I just needed to teach that brat a little lesson so he'd leave me alone."
"Wait, wait… you fought him?" Leo's voice cut through the conversation.
Jason's tone grew quieter, a touch of embarrassment evident in his words. "Yeah, one thing led to another, and I got my ass whooped by him." This admission sent Leo into a fit of laughter.
"Anyway, I've answered your questions," I said, shifting gears and dismissing the topic. "Now, hit the showers already. You reek." I teased Jason, to which he raised his arm to sniff himself and retreated into the house.
As Jason headed inside to freshen up, I turned to Leo, still lingering in the doorway.
"Leo, wait," I called out to him.
"What's up, kid?" Leo replied casually.
"I need you to contact the boys; we're heading to Metropolis," I told him, my voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.
A mischievous grin crossed Leo's lips as he understood the kind of mission I was alluding to. "Who are we paying a lovely visit to this time?" he asked, rubbing his hands together, eager for the action.
"Lex Luthor," I revealed, the name carrying weight and intrigue in our world of heroes and villains.
"Sweet," Leo responded, his excitement palpable. "We're definitely coming back home with a lot of souvenirs. I'll give them a heads up," he said as he reached for his phone and disappeared into his room.
Captain Cold leaned back in the dimly lit motel room, his frosty exterior betraying the excitement that danced in his eyes. "So... What time are we hitting this gig?" he inquired, a rare glimmer of enthusiasm breaking through his cold demeanor.
Tom, ever the planner, glanced at the blueprint on the small table between them, a makeshift war room in the midst of their secretive preparations. "You seem awfully excited. That's almost out of character for you," he remarked, his analytical mind always at work.
Cold's grin widened as he replied, "It would be hard not to get excited. I haven't been on a heist for so long. Do you know how it feels to not steal something for so long?"
Tom paused, turning to Leo with an intense, calculating gaze. "No… No, I don't," he said with a clear hint of sarcasm, his voice tinged with a touch of amusement, "but from the way you're acting, I'd say it's almost as if you've deprived a drug addict of ecstasy for a few months."
A chuckle escaped Captain Cold's lips. "I wouldn't go with that kind of example, but you get the point." He reached into his bag, retrieved a meticulously drawn blueprint, and laid it on the table.
Tom leaned in to study the layout. "Hope you didn't involve Heatwave in this job."
Captain Cold shook his head definitively. "Nah, there's no way I would involve Mick in this kind of job. He's too noisy for this, and he might end up robbing the whole place dry. We don't want any unnecessary attention on ourselves; we just need to get in and out of there with our package."
Leo observed the blueprints, impressed by Tom's resourcefulness. "The Luthor Mansion's blueprints are held privately and are inaccessible, but with satellite imagery and a few drones, you've managed to sketch out the layout like always."
Captain Cold raised his head, meeting Tom's gaze with unwavering determination. "You still haven't told me what we're really after. I got excited because I've always wanted to rob the Luthor Mansion, but tell me what you're really after."
Understanding the importance of trust in their line of work, Tom decided to be forthright. "I need information from Lex's personal computer, which he keeps in either his room or his study. You'll be the one to retrieve it for me because I won't be with you guys this time."
Captain Cold's expression shifted, a touch of nostalgia in his voice as he asked, "Wait, you won't be involved in the heist like old times?"
Tom explained, "There's a press conference today, and since we can't predict Lex's movements, I'll go stall him for as long as I can."
"Sounds about right," Captain Cold nodded. "But how do I know what file you might be looking for?"
Tom reassured him, "Don't worry about that. I'll give you a drive that will extract every piece of information related to what I need to know. I wouldn't want to gather information that doesn't concern me, given the kind of madness that goes on in Lex's head."
Lex, a madman known for his inhuman experiments, was not one to take lightly. Captain Cold mused, "From the little notes you've made on the blueprints, it seems security won't be much of a challenge."
Tom agreed, "Yeah, Lex is so arrogant that he relies mainly on tech-based security and human security detail. When he had an army of metahumans at his disposal, he believed no one could succeed in an assassination attempt against him. Only an irrational person would have the guts to steal something from the Luthor Mansion."
Captain Cold's mischievous smirk returned. "I guess we're both irrational fellows," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "Only those who are crazy enough are truly free to do what they want in this world."
Tom nodded, embracing their shared recklessness. "True, that's something I've come to realize. Contact the boys; it's almost time."
…
Lex Luthor, the cunning mastermind, stood confidently at the pulpit, his presidential campaign announcement an elaborate charade, a mere formality before he claimed the position he already owned. His carefully orchestrated plan had positioned him as the puppet master, with two unwitting competitors dancing on his strings.
Facing a sea of eager reporters, their hands thrust in the air, he noticed Lois Lane among them and couldn't resist taunting her. "Yes, Lois, my favorite reporter," he said with a smug smile.
Lois, undeterred, fired a pointed question, her fierce gaze locking with Lex's. "What do you have to say about you and Superman's sudden partnership?" Their strained relationship had become a topic of public fascination ever since Superman's return after his captivity by Lex.
Lex attempted to evade, his words laced with clever ambiguity. "Could you rephrase that question? I do not understand what you're trying to say."
Lois persisted, her tone unrelenting. "I mean, we all know that you and Superman seem to have a cat-and-mouse relationship in this city of Metropolis. All of a sudden, he decides to partner up with a criminal like yourself."
Lex, the consummate orator, paused for effect before continuing, "Oh, Lois, always one with the harshest tongue. I admit that I have had some wrongdoings in the past, but that's precisely why I'm campaigning for the presidential seat. I have changed and wish to give my all back to the people of this city and to this country."
He placed his hand over his heart, a gesture of sincerity, as he went on. "Superman has seen that I am a changed man and now fully supports my decision to make this country a better, safer place, hence supporting my campaign." The audience responded with a round of applause, validating Lex's expertly crafted narrative.
Lois had more questions, but Lex chose to single her out again. "Yes, Lois."
She pressed on with a challenging inquiry. "There have been rumors about you being able to manipulate people's minds and bend their will to align with yours. Many say that's what you did to Superman. What do you have to say about that?"
Lex, confident and unruffled, countered, "As you've just said, they are rumors and nothing more. LexCorp might be technologically advanced, but we don't possess the means to manipulate the mind of a person, let alone the Man of Steel himself."
The room erupted in a cacophony of reporters clamoring for attention. "Relax, one at a time," Lex attempted to restore order.
But suddenly, a powerful gust of wind swept through the room, sending files flying and causing a mini-tornado of chaos. Panic ensued, with reporters struggling to maintain their composure.
Lex's security detail swiftly moved to evacuate him when a commanding voice echoed through the tumult. "Come on, Mr. Luthor, there's no need to leave. The night is still young."
The wind settled, and the crowd searched for the source of the voice. To their astonishment, a figure dressed in black sat confidently on the platform, legs crossed over a table he'd brought up with him.
Reporters gasped and murmured in fear and surprise. "It's the criminal with the highest bounty."
"What is he doing here?" A random voice said in a low tone.
"How did he get in here?" The whispers came from every corner.
"Was he responsible for the commotion?"
"Why did he show up here? He is a wanted criminal." They kept on with the murmurs but he paid them no mind.
Lex, however, maintained a sly smile, intrigued by Ace the Tyrant's audacious appearance. "Why don't you take a seat, Mr Luthor? I've got quite a few interesting things to say."
The room held its breath as a tense encounter between the mastermind and the enigmatic criminal began, setting the stage for an enthralling twist in the drama which was about unfolding before their very eyes.
Want more chapters? Kindly visit my to read ahead./Maverick_DaSupreme