Five Things fic (JLU)
Once more I fail at keeping things as short as I want them to be.
This is JLU, with some Superman: TAS thrown in. (Some lines of 3. are direct quotes from the episode "A Better World", and one of these is a coda to the TAS ep "Brave New Metropolis". Spoilers also for "Destroyer", the JLU finale.) I interpreted "saving" a little... loosely. ;)
Rating: PG-13 (?)
Pairings: Lex/Lois, Clark/Lois, Clark/Lex and Superman/Batman
for xparrot
Five Times Lex Saved Superman
1.
Clark has pressed his League communicator - 50 point three seconds ago. The Flash isn't here yet so he must be busy. Still, someone will come before Harley kills someone with that giant hammer of hers or before the Joker floods the hall with Joker gas.
Someone will come.
Or else Clark will have to get up and rip open his shirt and reveal Superman, right in front of Lois's eyes, in a room full of Metropolis's high society.
Opposite Clark, kneeling on the floor like he is, hands in the air, Lois is staring at Clark. Her breath is coming quickly, but she doesn't look frightened. Not really. Clark knows what she's thinking.
He stares the purple suede shoes approaching them. One minute, eight seconds. Maniacal laughter, mixing with Harley Quinn's shrill giggling.
"What's with all the long faces?" the Joker crows. He stops, twirls on his heels, grabs Lois's chin. "Come on, sweetheart, smile for me!"
There's a rubber flower in his buttonhole, and Clark knows what'll happen if the Joker sprays its content into Lois's face. Laughter, followed by convulsions, a violent rictus of death. Joker gas.
"Um, excuse me," he says, loudly.
The Joker turns around, his grin twitching in displeasure. Wide, blood-shot eyes pin Clark down. The Joker clucks his tongue.
And then he folds. Sags to his knees with a groan and faceplants among the kneeling hostages. Clark glances up and finds Lex Luthor standing above him, champagne bottle in hand like a club, tugging at his tie. He gives the unconscious Joker a vicious little kick.
"That nuisance almost makes you want to be a cape," Lex growls, to no one in particular.
Clark's eyes widen as he sees Harley tiptoeing closer to Lex from behind, the huge hammer raised high above her head, her eyes sparking with malice.
Clark opens his mouth to warn him, but Luthor is faster. He drops the bottle, which explodes into bubbling champagne and shards of glass, making Harley startle, and whirls around, pulling a gun and pointing it straight at Harley's head.
Harley makes a face, stomping her foot. "No fair!"
That's when Clark hears the ticking. He bends forward, grabs the Joker's shoulder, reaches into the purple suit and pulls out a strange contraption with several vials full of green liquid and a purple bow wrapped around it daintily.
"A bomb," Lois yells.
Luthor glances over his shoulder, then back at Harley. He throws Lois the gun, who catches it and gets to her feet, pointing it at Harley once more.
Lex pushes Clark aside as if he's invisible. "Give me that."
He picks the bomb from Clark's hands and stares at it for a moment before he starts sorting out wires. The seconds are ticking down. Clark really should just take the thing and fly the hell out of here. "Can you - ?"
"Shut up," Lex snarls and cuts the wires.
2.
It's a PR move. Expressing his grief at a former partner's death, vowing to do his best to keep Metropolis safe. His public relations experts all agreed that it would be brilliant for his public image.
Lex doesn't feel bad about using Lois's death this way as he steps up to the podium. She'd understand. Lex had no idea what he got into when he went on his first date with Lois Lane. She was pretty, and young and ambitious. Lex could have used a connection at the Planet.
But Lois was also smart. And fierce. She dared to do something no one had ever done for Lex before. She dared to call him on his bullshit.
All of the good things Lex says about her are perfectly honest. It's a great speech, completely improvised. Lois used to love his rhetoric. Hate it, criticize it, pull it apart as they lay in bed, but she loved it. Admired it.
As he sits in the limousine that takes him back to LexCorp, Lex sips his brandy and thinks of the night they broke up. Two slaps, and then the best sex Lex ever had.
Oh, and the articles afterwards. Delightfully vicious. He enters his penthouse apartment and switches on the TV. He made a good figure today, and the last part of the speech, the dishonest PR segment about keeping the city safe, is being repeated all over the local channels.
Lex toasts to Lois. He'll miss her. She wouldn't have let this slip.
The communication system buzzes. "Yes?"
"There's someone to see you, Lex," Mercy's clipped voice comes from the speaker. "Clark Kent of the Daily Planet."
Lex considers the liquor in his glass, the shadowy silence of the apartment. He intended to savour this night. If anything, he anticipated a visit from Superman tonight, the only other person who never took his bullshit.
But Lois's little minion could be interesting.
"Let him in."
He opens the door himself, sees Kent standing on the doorstep already. His suit is more rumpled than usual, the usually combed back hair tousled and wet. It isn't raining outside. His tie is half-undone, hanging loosely around his neck. He's probably drunk.
"I didn't see you at the funeral today, Kent," Lex says conversationally.
The man gives him no answer. He pushes inside, slams the door shut behind him, takes off his glasses and crushes them in his hand, very slowly and deliberately for Lex to see, until the glass melts trough his clenched fingers and drips to the floor.
The tie is next. The silk screeches as it tears, buttons pop like projectiles as he rips open his shirt.
A hand like hot steel grabs Lex's neck and slams him against the wall. He stares at the primary coloured shield on Kent's chest. Looks into Superman's red-shimmering eyes. Chokes on laughter as the fingers tighten around his throat.
"She's dead," Superman yells. He sounds like a wounded animal, one that has teeth and claws and is going to rip your head off before it curls up to die. "And you're talking about protecting the city now? You dare use her like this?"
Lex realizes that this can only mean two things. Either Superman is going to kill him, or Superman is going to give up his secret identity. Either way, Lex doesn't like the outcome. His feet don't quite reach the ground, so he grabs the alien's wrist for support instead.
"You're the one who… didn't take my offer."
Superman lets go, but crowds closer. "Your offer?"
Lex rubs his neck idly, and looks him up and down, the alien half peeled out of Kent's disguise. "Don't you think this city would have been a safer place if we had made it that way? Together?"
"You hate me."
"I'm willing to look beyond that for the sake of a partnership. Think of the things we could achieve. It'd be ridiculous to let personal things stand in the way of that, wouldn't it?"
The space between them is so small that Lex can almost feel him tremble. Superman clenches his eyes shut, bites his lower lip and with another anguished noise raises his fist and punches. Lex stays completely still as the wall next to his head crumbles. Leaning against the wall for support, Kent lets his head hang down. Dark hair tickles Lex's chin. Without the gel matting it, it looks almost exactly like Lois's hair.
"She's dead," Superman sobs.
Lex reaches up and touches the hair, filled with nostalgia and scientific curiosity. The past and the future. It feels silky to the touch, inhuman, almost softer than Lois's hair. The pads of his fingers find skin that is vibrant with power and warmth. He feels the pulse of an alien heart.
"I'll miss her, too," he says quietly.
3.
Lex's finger is on the red button. Terror and power course through his veins as he holds the gun to humanity's temple. Superman stares at him from across the desk.
"There are at least six different ways I could stop you right now."
"But they all involve deadly force, don't they? And you won't do that."
He wouldn't kill a single man. He's too in love with the idea of being a hero to truly realize it.
Lex would do anything to achieve his means, and that's why he's here now, behind this desk, that's why he's come from Suicide Slum to the Oval Office. Because he knows that nothing is for free, and because he's willing to pay.
There's a second when Lex hesitates, because he has to push back the knowledge that this is the one price he isn't willing to pay. He can't destroy the world in order to own it. He's a good actor, though. The alien won't know it's a bluff.
But the moment of hesitation is all it takes. Something tips the scales between them. Something shifts in the alien's eyes - his lids grow heavy with regret. Pain. Lex has seen this look on many faces. Idealistic politicians who accept that they have no choice but to take a bribe. Upstanding citizens who finally understand that a blackmail threat is very real. Good girls who suddenly realize that talent and a good resume isn't going to be enough.
Superman glances up at him, blue eyes bright, something flickering in them.
Doing this to him, making him a murderer, would be worth almost more than the world. Maybe it would be worth destroying the world.
But Lex isn't willing to die for it.
He raises his hands and steps a way from the button.
4.
Lex has locked himself in his office, with strict orders not to be disturbed. The panic that has gripped the city annoys him. He'd fire those incompetent morons, but he can't fire his whole staff. Some days, he misses Mercy. She was as unflappable as they came.
It's just Superman, not the end times. Lex watches their new dear leader in frustration. Aside from the much more pleasant black of his new uniform, not much has changed. It's Superman and he's still all over the news. Only now they've finally realized he's a menace.
Morons.
This started five days ago. Three days ago Lex tried to formally open negotiations with their new overlord, only to find out that Superman has zero interest in… well, anything besides ruling the world. There's no way Lex is going to profit from this. And where's the Justice League? Sitting in their space station and licking their wounds, probably.
Lex switches channels. The alien, throwing police cars. The alien, tearing a bridge apart, then floating above the water as he speaks to the cameras. "Resistance will not be tolerated."
Lex frowns. The camera zooms closer. Steel blue eyes, jaunty curl - red necklace.
Lex knows that type of crystal.
He switches the TV to mute and opens his laptop. Ten minutes later, he's in the watchtower's communication systems. He switches to webcam and audio.
"This is Luthor. I need to talk to Batman."
No answer for a while, then one of them approaches the screen. Hawkgirl scowls at him. One of her wings is bandaged. "How'd you get this number, Luthor? We've got no time for you now."
"Get me Batman," Lex repeats, his patience running short.
Because of the helmet, he can only see Hawkgirl's mouth, but even that is enough to tell him that she's uncomfortable. "Batman isn't here. Say what you have to say or get out of our systems."
Alright. Lex can guess what happened to the bat. He rolls his eyes and severs the connection.
Half a day later, Lex is making his way through the Arctic. He's armed, too his teeth, with kryptonite. The Fortress isn't well-protected. Superman has a lot to learn as a supervillain. Lex expected at least a couple of robot hounds with Kryptonian heat-vision to run down the icy slope as he approaches, but everything stays quiet as he enters.
He's beginning to think that Superman isn't home, and considering to just raid the place - there's certainly enough alien technology here that's worth the risk - when he's accosted by a flying robot with two long, thin arms - not unlike a praying mantis in shape. It beeps at Lex for a moment, but when he raises his gun, it floats away down the corridor, around a corner, leading him into a larger room.
At the end of the room, Superman resides on a large crystal throne. At his feet, as far as the chain extending from the base of the throne to his collar allows, sits a shivering half-naked man with dark hair.
"You wouldn't have to freeze if you let us share body-warmth," Superman says petulantly to… Bruce Wayne, actually. What the hell is Bruce Wayne doing in Superman's secret lair? His state of undress suggests certain things about Superman that Lex hadn't suspected.
Lex has never seen Brucie look quite so disgruntled.
Superman on the other hand, looks frustrated and over-heated with his messy dark hair and the red necklace resting on his chest, framed by the half-undone black leather uniform.
"We have a visitor," Wayne growls and finally the alien notices Lex.
He gets up and cocks his head. "What do you want, Luthor?"
"Since you had a few days to reconsider, I thought I should once more suggest an alliance."
Superman prowls over to him. His skin glistens with sweat, his cheeks are flushed. He looks feverish, but his motions are graceful and in control. Dangerous. "Why would I want it?"
Lex glances over Superman's shoulder at Bruce, who is giving him a frost-bitten glare. He turns back to Superman and smiles suggestively at him.
"I could give you pointers."
Blue eyes narrow. Superman is close now, close enough to feel and smell the warmth of him. "Pointers."
It's not the first time Lex has used sex to get what he wants. Usually Lex prefers women, and they are more receptive to him. But the alien, Lex suspects, is still inexperienced enough to be swayed by the mere suggestion of sex.
Indeed, Superman leans in close, his lips parted and hungry, his eyes slightly unfocused. Lex evades his kiss by turning his head and pressed his lips to Superman's jaw instead, then tastes the soft skin of his neck. There's a gasp, and large hands close around Lex's shoulders, bruising him. He bites, careful not to hurt himself, and feels for the necklace.
Lex wraps his fingers around the thin chain.
Superman groans. "Please -"
Lex likes that sound. He likes it very much. A glance at Bruce reveals that the man has stiffened all over, and is staring fixedly at them. Lex gives him a smug smile.
The necklace can wait until after.
5.
Space seems peaceful. Stars go by the observation window as the watchtower slowly turns, bright and dim ones, glittering calmly. Every twenty-five minutes, the Earth comes into view, huge and dark, blotting out the sun.
Except for a skeletal staff and Superman, the Justice League's satellite has been evacuated. Green Lanterns are patrolling the solar system beyond Mars. J'onn is coordinating their efforts from the League's tower in Metropolis. The rest of the League is on call or in the Javelins, awaiting the invasion.
The Reach are slowly closing in on the solar system.
Clark stands by the observation window and waits. They've fought off others, with less of a warning. They'll do it again.
But he can't help thinking of the last time they fought off an invasion. Darkseid's troops were winning. If not for Lex Luthor and a minor miracle they wouldn't have won. But Lex is dead. Or gone - the Gods of New Genesis have been very vague about what being consumed by the Anti-Life equation means.
Clark sighs. The Earth comes into view. Where clouds don't cover it, Clark can see city lights glittering on Japan and the East coast of Australia.
"Seven point eight billion people."
Clark whirls around, the cape flapping loudly. He blinks. The watchtower observation room is empty. Nothing except for the oval desk and seven chairs of the senior members, all unoccupied. No breathing. No heart-beat. Only blue grey shadows and the colourful lights of a computer console.
He frowns, and slowly turns back to the window.
Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a bright flash of light, like a magnesium flare, but brighter, so much it blinds Clark. When he blinks, it's gone and the table is no longer unoccupied.
In J'onn's chair at the head of the table, sits Lex Luthor, legs crossed and fingers steepled. Or maybe it's something very much like Lex. Clark still can't hear a heartbeat. And there a light about Lex, an glow that can't be called anything but divine.
"You," Clark breathes, unable to form a sentence.
"You didn't think I was dead, did you?" Lex asks with a smirk.
"What - ?"
"I'm God."
Clark crosses his arms. "No. You're not."
"Not in the Christian sense, no," Lex admits in a bored drawl, studying the sleeve of his suit jacket. "This is the second time I have manifested in the flesh. I still can't quite get rid of the glow. But otherwise, I'm perfectly omnipotent."
"How - ?"
"I entered the Source to retrieve the Anti-Life equation to defeat Darkseid. Now I am privy to the deepest secrets of the universe. I am become absolute power and absolute truth."
There's only a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Clark shakes his head in denial.
Lex raises his brows. "Shall I demonstrate a smiting?"
"What do you want, Lex?"
Lex waves his hand. In a smaller flash of light, images appear on all screens in the room. The ships of the Reach, thousands, millions, gliding soundlessly through space, more than there are stars visible. Clark swallows.
"Seven point eight billion people," Lex reminds him. "You need me, Superman."
This is JLU, with some Superman: TAS thrown in. (Some lines of 3. are direct quotes from the episode "A Better World", and one of these is a coda to the TAS ep "Brave New Metropolis". Spoilers also for "Destroyer", the JLU finale.) I interpreted "saving" a little... loosely. ;)
Rating: PG-13 (?)
Pairings: Lex/Lois, Clark/Lois, Clark/Lex and Superman/Batman
for xparrot
Five Times Lex Saved Superman
1.
Clark has pressed his League communicator - 50 point three seconds ago. The Flash isn't here yet so he must be busy. Still, someone will come before Harley kills someone with that giant hammer of hers or before the Joker floods the hall with Joker gas.
Someone will come.
Or else Clark will have to get up and rip open his shirt and reveal Superman, right in front of Lois's eyes, in a room full of Metropolis's high society.
Opposite Clark, kneeling on the floor like he is, hands in the air, Lois is staring at Clark. Her breath is coming quickly, but she doesn't look frightened. Not really. Clark knows what she's thinking.
He stares the purple suede shoes approaching them. One minute, eight seconds. Maniacal laughter, mixing with Harley Quinn's shrill giggling.
"What's with all the long faces?" the Joker crows. He stops, twirls on his heels, grabs Lois's chin. "Come on, sweetheart, smile for me!"
There's a rubber flower in his buttonhole, and Clark knows what'll happen if the Joker sprays its content into Lois's face. Laughter, followed by convulsions, a violent rictus of death. Joker gas.
"Um, excuse me," he says, loudly.
The Joker turns around, his grin twitching in displeasure. Wide, blood-shot eyes pin Clark down. The Joker clucks his tongue.
And then he folds. Sags to his knees with a groan and faceplants among the kneeling hostages. Clark glances up and finds Lex Luthor standing above him, champagne bottle in hand like a club, tugging at his tie. He gives the unconscious Joker a vicious little kick.
"That nuisance almost makes you want to be a cape," Lex growls, to no one in particular.
Clark's eyes widen as he sees Harley tiptoeing closer to Lex from behind, the huge hammer raised high above her head, her eyes sparking with malice.
Clark opens his mouth to warn him, but Luthor is faster. He drops the bottle, which explodes into bubbling champagne and shards of glass, making Harley startle, and whirls around, pulling a gun and pointing it straight at Harley's head.
Harley makes a face, stomping her foot. "No fair!"
That's when Clark hears the ticking. He bends forward, grabs the Joker's shoulder, reaches into the purple suit and pulls out a strange contraption with several vials full of green liquid and a purple bow wrapped around it daintily.
"A bomb," Lois yells.
Luthor glances over his shoulder, then back at Harley. He throws Lois the gun, who catches it and gets to her feet, pointing it at Harley once more.
Lex pushes Clark aside as if he's invisible. "Give me that."
He picks the bomb from Clark's hands and stares at it for a moment before he starts sorting out wires. The seconds are ticking down. Clark really should just take the thing and fly the hell out of here. "Can you - ?"
"Shut up," Lex snarls and cuts the wires.
2.
It's a PR move. Expressing his grief at a former partner's death, vowing to do his best to keep Metropolis safe. His public relations experts all agreed that it would be brilliant for his public image.
Lex doesn't feel bad about using Lois's death this way as he steps up to the podium. She'd understand. Lex had no idea what he got into when he went on his first date with Lois Lane. She was pretty, and young and ambitious. Lex could have used a connection at the Planet.
But Lois was also smart. And fierce. She dared to do something no one had ever done for Lex before. She dared to call him on his bullshit.
All of the good things Lex says about her are perfectly honest. It's a great speech, completely improvised. Lois used to love his rhetoric. Hate it, criticize it, pull it apart as they lay in bed, but she loved it. Admired it.
As he sits in the limousine that takes him back to LexCorp, Lex sips his brandy and thinks of the night they broke up. Two slaps, and then the best sex Lex ever had.
Oh, and the articles afterwards. Delightfully vicious. He enters his penthouse apartment and switches on the TV. He made a good figure today, and the last part of the speech, the dishonest PR segment about keeping the city safe, is being repeated all over the local channels.
Lex toasts to Lois. He'll miss her. She wouldn't have let this slip.
The communication system buzzes. "Yes?"
"There's someone to see you, Lex," Mercy's clipped voice comes from the speaker. "Clark Kent of the Daily Planet."
Lex considers the liquor in his glass, the shadowy silence of the apartment. He intended to savour this night. If anything, he anticipated a visit from Superman tonight, the only other person who never took his bullshit.
But Lois's little minion could be interesting.
"Let him in."
He opens the door himself, sees Kent standing on the doorstep already. His suit is more rumpled than usual, the usually combed back hair tousled and wet. It isn't raining outside. His tie is half-undone, hanging loosely around his neck. He's probably drunk.
"I didn't see you at the funeral today, Kent," Lex says conversationally.
The man gives him no answer. He pushes inside, slams the door shut behind him, takes off his glasses and crushes them in his hand, very slowly and deliberately for Lex to see, until the glass melts trough his clenched fingers and drips to the floor.
The tie is next. The silk screeches as it tears, buttons pop like projectiles as he rips open his shirt.
A hand like hot steel grabs Lex's neck and slams him against the wall. He stares at the primary coloured shield on Kent's chest. Looks into Superman's red-shimmering eyes. Chokes on laughter as the fingers tighten around his throat.
"She's dead," Superman yells. He sounds like a wounded animal, one that has teeth and claws and is going to rip your head off before it curls up to die. "And you're talking about protecting the city now? You dare use her like this?"
Lex realizes that this can only mean two things. Either Superman is going to kill him, or Superman is going to give up his secret identity. Either way, Lex doesn't like the outcome. His feet don't quite reach the ground, so he grabs the alien's wrist for support instead.
"You're the one who… didn't take my offer."
Superman lets go, but crowds closer. "Your offer?"
Lex rubs his neck idly, and looks him up and down, the alien half peeled out of Kent's disguise. "Don't you think this city would have been a safer place if we had made it that way? Together?"
"You hate me."
"I'm willing to look beyond that for the sake of a partnership. Think of the things we could achieve. It'd be ridiculous to let personal things stand in the way of that, wouldn't it?"
The space between them is so small that Lex can almost feel him tremble. Superman clenches his eyes shut, bites his lower lip and with another anguished noise raises his fist and punches. Lex stays completely still as the wall next to his head crumbles. Leaning against the wall for support, Kent lets his head hang down. Dark hair tickles Lex's chin. Without the gel matting it, it looks almost exactly like Lois's hair.
"She's dead," Superman sobs.
Lex reaches up and touches the hair, filled with nostalgia and scientific curiosity. The past and the future. It feels silky to the touch, inhuman, almost softer than Lois's hair. The pads of his fingers find skin that is vibrant with power and warmth. He feels the pulse of an alien heart.
"I'll miss her, too," he says quietly.
3.
Lex's finger is on the red button. Terror and power course through his veins as he holds the gun to humanity's temple. Superman stares at him from across the desk.
"There are at least six different ways I could stop you right now."
"But they all involve deadly force, don't they? And you won't do that."
He wouldn't kill a single man. He's too in love with the idea of being a hero to truly realize it.
Lex would do anything to achieve his means, and that's why he's here now, behind this desk, that's why he's come from Suicide Slum to the Oval Office. Because he knows that nothing is for free, and because he's willing to pay.
There's a second when Lex hesitates, because he has to push back the knowledge that this is the one price he isn't willing to pay. He can't destroy the world in order to own it. He's a good actor, though. The alien won't know it's a bluff.
But the moment of hesitation is all it takes. Something tips the scales between them. Something shifts in the alien's eyes - his lids grow heavy with regret. Pain. Lex has seen this look on many faces. Idealistic politicians who accept that they have no choice but to take a bribe. Upstanding citizens who finally understand that a blackmail threat is very real. Good girls who suddenly realize that talent and a good resume isn't going to be enough.
Superman glances up at him, blue eyes bright, something flickering in them.
Doing this to him, making him a murderer, would be worth almost more than the world. Maybe it would be worth destroying the world.
But Lex isn't willing to die for it.
He raises his hands and steps a way from the button.
4.
Lex has locked himself in his office, with strict orders not to be disturbed. The panic that has gripped the city annoys him. He'd fire those incompetent morons, but he can't fire his whole staff. Some days, he misses Mercy. She was as unflappable as they came.
It's just Superman, not the end times. Lex watches their new dear leader in frustration. Aside from the much more pleasant black of his new uniform, not much has changed. It's Superman and he's still all over the news. Only now they've finally realized he's a menace.
Morons.
This started five days ago. Three days ago Lex tried to formally open negotiations with their new overlord, only to find out that Superman has zero interest in… well, anything besides ruling the world. There's no way Lex is going to profit from this. And where's the Justice League? Sitting in their space station and licking their wounds, probably.
Lex switches channels. The alien, throwing police cars. The alien, tearing a bridge apart, then floating above the water as he speaks to the cameras. "Resistance will not be tolerated."
Lex frowns. The camera zooms closer. Steel blue eyes, jaunty curl - red necklace.
Lex knows that type of crystal.
He switches the TV to mute and opens his laptop. Ten minutes later, he's in the watchtower's communication systems. He switches to webcam and audio.
"This is Luthor. I need to talk to Batman."
No answer for a while, then one of them approaches the screen. Hawkgirl scowls at him. One of her wings is bandaged. "How'd you get this number, Luthor? We've got no time for you now."
"Get me Batman," Lex repeats, his patience running short.
Because of the helmet, he can only see Hawkgirl's mouth, but even that is enough to tell him that she's uncomfortable. "Batman isn't here. Say what you have to say or get out of our systems."
Alright. Lex can guess what happened to the bat. He rolls his eyes and severs the connection.
Half a day later, Lex is making his way through the Arctic. He's armed, too his teeth, with kryptonite. The Fortress isn't well-protected. Superman has a lot to learn as a supervillain. Lex expected at least a couple of robot hounds with Kryptonian heat-vision to run down the icy slope as he approaches, but everything stays quiet as he enters.
He's beginning to think that Superman isn't home, and considering to just raid the place - there's certainly enough alien technology here that's worth the risk - when he's accosted by a flying robot with two long, thin arms - not unlike a praying mantis in shape. It beeps at Lex for a moment, but when he raises his gun, it floats away down the corridor, around a corner, leading him into a larger room.
At the end of the room, Superman resides on a large crystal throne. At his feet, as far as the chain extending from the base of the throne to his collar allows, sits a shivering half-naked man with dark hair.
"You wouldn't have to freeze if you let us share body-warmth," Superman says petulantly to… Bruce Wayne, actually. What the hell is Bruce Wayne doing in Superman's secret lair? His state of undress suggests certain things about Superman that Lex hadn't suspected.
Lex has never seen Brucie look quite so disgruntled.
Superman on the other hand, looks frustrated and over-heated with his messy dark hair and the red necklace resting on his chest, framed by the half-undone black leather uniform.
"We have a visitor," Wayne growls and finally the alien notices Lex.
He gets up and cocks his head. "What do you want, Luthor?"
"Since you had a few days to reconsider, I thought I should once more suggest an alliance."
Superman prowls over to him. His skin glistens with sweat, his cheeks are flushed. He looks feverish, but his motions are graceful and in control. Dangerous. "Why would I want it?"
Lex glances over Superman's shoulder at Bruce, who is giving him a frost-bitten glare. He turns back to Superman and smiles suggestively at him.
"I could give you pointers."
Blue eyes narrow. Superman is close now, close enough to feel and smell the warmth of him. "Pointers."
It's not the first time Lex has used sex to get what he wants. Usually Lex prefers women, and they are more receptive to him. But the alien, Lex suspects, is still inexperienced enough to be swayed by the mere suggestion of sex.
Indeed, Superman leans in close, his lips parted and hungry, his eyes slightly unfocused. Lex evades his kiss by turning his head and pressed his lips to Superman's jaw instead, then tastes the soft skin of his neck. There's a gasp, and large hands close around Lex's shoulders, bruising him. He bites, careful not to hurt himself, and feels for the necklace.
Lex wraps his fingers around the thin chain.
Superman groans. "Please -"
Lex likes that sound. He likes it very much. A glance at Bruce reveals that the man has stiffened all over, and is staring fixedly at them. Lex gives him a smug smile.
The necklace can wait until after.
5.
Space seems peaceful. Stars go by the observation window as the watchtower slowly turns, bright and dim ones, glittering calmly. Every twenty-five minutes, the Earth comes into view, huge and dark, blotting out the sun.
Except for a skeletal staff and Superman, the Justice League's satellite has been evacuated. Green Lanterns are patrolling the solar system beyond Mars. J'onn is coordinating their efforts from the League's tower in Metropolis. The rest of the League is on call or in the Javelins, awaiting the invasion.
The Reach are slowly closing in on the solar system.
Clark stands by the observation window and waits. They've fought off others, with less of a warning. They'll do it again.
But he can't help thinking of the last time they fought off an invasion. Darkseid's troops were winning. If not for Lex Luthor and a minor miracle they wouldn't have won. But Lex is dead. Or gone - the Gods of New Genesis have been very vague about what being consumed by the Anti-Life equation means.
Clark sighs. The Earth comes into view. Where clouds don't cover it, Clark can see city lights glittering on Japan and the East coast of Australia.
"Seven point eight billion people."
Clark whirls around, the cape flapping loudly. He blinks. The watchtower observation room is empty. Nothing except for the oval desk and seven chairs of the senior members, all unoccupied. No breathing. No heart-beat. Only blue grey shadows and the colourful lights of a computer console.
He frowns, and slowly turns back to the window.
Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a bright flash of light, like a magnesium flare, but brighter, so much it blinds Clark. When he blinks, it's gone and the table is no longer unoccupied.
In J'onn's chair at the head of the table, sits Lex Luthor, legs crossed and fingers steepled. Or maybe it's something very much like Lex. Clark still can't hear a heartbeat. And there a light about Lex, an glow that can't be called anything but divine.
"You," Clark breathes, unable to form a sentence.
"You didn't think I was dead, did you?" Lex asks with a smirk.
"What - ?"
"I'm God."
Clark crosses his arms. "No. You're not."
"Not in the Christian sense, no," Lex admits in a bored drawl, studying the sleeve of his suit jacket. "This is the second time I have manifested in the flesh. I still can't quite get rid of the glow. But otherwise, I'm perfectly omnipotent."
"How - ?"
"I entered the Source to retrieve the Anti-Life equation to defeat Darkseid. Now I am privy to the deepest secrets of the universe. I am become absolute power and absolute truth."
There's only a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Clark shakes his head in denial.
Lex raises his brows. "Shall I demonstrate a smiting?"
"What do you want, Lex?"
Lex waves his hand. In a smaller flash of light, images appear on all screens in the room. The ships of the Reach, thousands, millions, gliding soundlessly through space, more than there are stars visible. Clark swallows.
"Seven point eight billion people," Lex reminds him. "You need me, Superman."