Lex welcomes a few guests to his office.

The following is a story that is being published for the first time on this site, and will likely be re-published to superstories.net in the future.

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Main Story Twenty-Three

Idly patting his front pockets in search of his phone, Lex inspected the report before him on his desk. It was written in black ink, though its hue looked slightly different due to the light above him. Depending on the angle at which he looked at the page, a few words had their letters blend into the paper.

The subject refused to comply with the Diamond Lights’ suggestions when first introduced, the report read. Several consecutive treatments of lengths of six hours yielded promising results following the incursion by an assailant believed to be Mr. Wilson the following week.

Lex finally found his phone in his right jacket pocket, reaching into the cramped confines of his fabric to pluck the device out with a few fingertips. Clicking the power button, a wallpaper featuring a highly provocative photo of Lois Lane greeted him from behind several posted notifications from his associates and applications. The most recent one listed a text message from Yolanda Bates, his building’s staff manager.

Ms. Lane is on her way up to see you, her text message read.

Smiling, Lex put his phone down onto his thigh and clicked off the screen. Returning his attention to the report, he continued reading with eager anticipation.

The subject was then treated with longer sessions between nine and eleven hours over the course of the next four days. The ink’s blending pattern shifted as he leaned forward. The suggestions given were slightly altered to recondition the subject’s personal values, not just his behavioral patterns. These commands were devised and screened by Ms. Graves.

After this period, the subject was put in a situation where he was allowed to believe that he had the possibility of escape. The subject initially appeared to be hostile to Ms. Graves, but he soon succumbed to the Diamond Lights’ suggestions given the appropriate stimulus.

Lex had a fairly good guess as to what the stimulation was.

The report ended with a few timestamps issuing the exact moments at which these events transpired, followed by a pair of signatures from one of the technicians on Mercy’s team. Lex did not care much about those, but the rest of the content of the brief report indicated that hopefully, finally, he could get a step closer to understanding what was truly going on in the world.

Taking one last glimpse of the words, Lex grabbed the page and moved it over to the paper shredder to the left of his chair. This handwritten report would be the only copy ever produced; something this important could not have too much of a trail, requiring no remaining copies, no electronic signature, and no mentions of it over any phones. The technician who created it had known that the work put into it would only be appreciated by one man.

The billionaire shifted the page vertically into the open port for the shredder, then activated its function. As the white paper shrank, thousands of fragmented dust particles appeared inside of the glass casing and collected at the bottom amidst a sea of other shredded pages lost to the device.

Lex grabbed his phone again and clicked on the screen. Swiping aside the banner notifications before him, he took note of Lois again. It was a photo he had taken of her after their second date, one of her lying in her and her husband’s bed without any clothes on her body. A sheet covered half of her abdomen and both of her legs above the knees, while her hair spread around her shoulders and neck.

Beyond that, no obfuscation was between him and her body, a sight that represented a gift she had given him so that he could always feel her beside him. Her long black hair melded with the soft gray pattern of the bedsheets. Her lightly-tanned colors shifted to a more pale shade as the skin grew into molded mounds on her chest, something not common with the women he had courted in the past.

She was different; one of the things he loved about her was how she was unlike everyone else he had ever known. In the place of anxiety, he found boldness. In the place of fear, he found confidence. She truly was…

There.

Lex looked up from his phone and peered over the trio of sleeping computer screens on his desk. From his position, he could see Mercy opening the door from the outside and holding the door open as Lois Lane entered the room. She was wearing a form-fitting black cocktail dress; not at all appropriate for a place of business such as this and sure as hell to raise questions.

Not that he cared. He was too happy to see her.

Smiling, he pocketed his phone and stood from his chair. “Lois,” he called. “It’s so nice to see you.”

Mercy watched Lois pass her by, seeming to take an interest in the folds of her dress. Searching for something out of the ordinary, as was her standard.

“I had to come,” Lois replied with a small grin. “I was told that someone would come to me first if I didn’t.”

Lex met her between his desk and the door, still being monitored by his second. Embracing each other, the billionaire and the journalist found relief, as Lex could tell by the way her posture fell into place when he held her.

Enjoying the moment, he felt a little irritated when he looked over Lois’s shoulder and saw Mercy still waiting by the door. What? Lex mouthed to her.

She held up her wrist and pointed to it, miming the act of checking a watch. She used two fingers to indicate her intent. His two o’clock had arrived.

Lex nodded slightly to her before returning his attention to Lois. He pulled back from her embrace, but he kept his grip on her upper arms as she did the same for his elbows.

“I’m so glad you came back,” Lex said. “I did want to speak to you again after what happened last time.”

Her face lost a bit of its luster at his remark, but she quickly covered it with another smile. Separating herself from him with tender care, she took a step around him and turned toward the window.

A view of half of Metropolis lay outside of it, cast a glowing hue by the afternoon sun. Many other buildings rose from the Earth below them, but from all the way up in his office, only a select few of them truly looked like the skyscrapers that could scratch the surface of the clouds.

Confused by her sudden shift in demeanor, Lex turned his head back to Mercy. “Give us a few minutes,” he said. “I’ll be down to meet him soon.”

“Of course, Mr. Luthor.” Mercy stepped back from his office and allowed the light door to silently close. The lock did not click or make any other sound when it reconnected with the other door attached to the frame.

Absentmindedly rolling his wrist in its socket, Lex looked over to Lois, finding her a bit closer to the window than she had been before. From behind, he could see that her cocktail dress covered her back as well as it did her front; skin-tight and form-fitting. He thought he could see the outline of a black bra underneath her arms, but that could have just been a fold of the dress.

She took another step closer to the window, apparently inspecting the view from so up high. Lex could not imagine she often had the opportunity to appreciate such a spectacle, given her reporter salary. Perhaps her desk at the Daily Planet was on a higher floor, but that building’s height was puny compared to his.

Though Superman has taken her into the sky on a few occasions, Lex thought.

She took another step closer to the window.

“Lois?” he asked. “Are you feeling alright?”

She didn’t give any indication that she’d heard him. Instead, she moved even closer to the glass pane, the only thing between her and a painful splat against the Earth. Lex was about to go reach for her, but then she craned her neck to the side and tilted her chin.

What is she looking for? he wondered.

Whatever it was, she quickly gave up and sighed, her head slumping down behind her front. Turned away from him, he could see her neck crane from behind her hair. Outside of her bare legs and arms, it appeared as if she was just a shadow in front of him.

“I’m fine,” she finally answered. “I just haven’t seen my husband in two days.”

As sad as he was that she was hurt, he couldn’t suppress the small smile he felt creeping at the edges of his lips. “Oh,” he said. This had to be it. Clark had to have given up in shame. “He hasn’t called?”

“No,” Lois answered. “He usually doesn’t, but I know where he is this time.”

He was glad that Lois wasn’t looking at him; his smile was growing even wider. “You do?” he asked quietly. “Where is he? The last time I saw him was at the interview with the President.”

“He left.” She tilted her head to the side, showing him the corner of her right eye. “With another woman.”

Lex quickly covered his mouth with his hand and feigned a cough. Trying to recompose himself as soon as possible, he took a few steps forward and placed his hand on her shoulder.

Clearly taking some comfort in the touch, Lois leaned into his palm before turning slightly and slipping her arms under his. The two of them embraced again, a much different meaning to this one than the one previous. The businessman let his excitement be quashed by his need to be close to her, feeling a very different kind of feeling begin to creep up into his mind.

His two o’clock could wait.

Lex felt her begin to pull back from him. “I’m sorry,” he apologized into her ear as she moved away. “Clark was my friend. I can’t believe he would do this to you.”

“Our marriage was all but over, anyway,” Lois mused. “Still, it hurts how quickly he’s moved on from me. I wish I’d had the chance…” She sniffed, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “I need to tell you something.”

Taking her hands in his, he slowly began inching toward her. “What is it?”

Lois squeezed with her fingers. “I know I can trust you, Lex; I just know I can, and I can’t share this with anyone else but you. I’ve never told anyone else this before.”

“Of course you can trust me,” he replied, leaning in for a kiss. “I’ll always be here for you.”

“My husband, Clark,” she whispered, her mouth only inches from his. She stared straight into his eyes. “He left with Amazing Grace yesterday.”

Lex started, lurching back. Amazing Grace? She hadn’t been seen on Earth since-

Since she had flown off naked into space, wrapped up tightly in the arms of an also-nude Kryptonian. Without explanation, without warning, without clothes, the two enemies had flown away together.

“Your husband is Superman?” Lex demanded, his grip on her hands tightening.

“Please, don’t share that with anyone.” Lois pried her fingers free from his, but she moved them back to his wrists with a loose hold. “It could get my friends hurt.”

I had Superman in the palm of my hand and never even knew it! How had he not seen it? Looking back, the clues were all right in front of him: the countless times Superman had saved Lois, the times he had seen the two of them right after the other and not at the same time, the way that Superman- principled icon of America- had not shown up to stand before the President with the rest of the Justice League, and the way that Clark had reacted to that woman who had greeted him.

Siren, he suddenly thought, though he didn’t know why.

“Lex, please,” Lois begged, snapping him out of his vengeful thoughts. “I wanted you to know because I don’t know what to do. Clark would never have left with an enemy, let alone a servant of Darkseid. I don’t know how he could have done this.”

Breathing away his fury, Lex relaxed his posture. He hadn’t realized that he had tensed up while holding her. “I…” He cleared his throat. “I… can’t believe that your husband… really is…”

Lex gently extricated his hands from her, interlocking them around the back of his shaven head. If he had supplanted Clark’s natural behavior and thoughts with the Diamond Lights, that meant he had compromised Superman as well. He had turned Earth’s protector into a sex-crazed hypno-toy for Apokolips.

Fuck! his panic resumed.

“Please,” Lois repeated. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Well…” he stammered, trying to come up with a plan himself. “I think that… I will need to move up my timetable.”

“Your timetable?”

Will the League even be able to help anymore? Lex wondered. “My planetary shield project. I will have to move quickly to complete it.” They might not be in a position to offer help to anyone, let alone themselves. “It will need to be ready before Superman comes back.”

“Yes,” she agreed. “We can’t let him come back to Earth.”

He noted how quick she was to decide her husband needed to be kept in exile, but he himself had to come to another quick decision with recent events in mind. “The Justice League might not be able to do anything about it, Lois. He may be gone for good.”

“I’ve had enough of that cheating bastard!” the reporter declared. “If I never see him again, it will be too soon.” She softened her expression. “But I still can’t believe he would leave with Amazing Grace of all people. She serves his most hated enemy; I can’t believe he would abandon everything he’s ever known for her.”

Cards on the table, he thought with a slight sigh. “I know I can trust you too, Lois. Which is why I also have something important to tell you.”

She looked at him straight in the eye. “What is it?”

“I think I know why he left with her.” He turned from her and held out his hand for her to take.

Soon enough, he felt her grab it. He led her over to the door and opened it for her, serving as a guide over to Mercy’s office.

“I have reason to suspect that there is someone out there manipulating all of us, trying to shape events into his or her favor,” Lex said, his office door closing shut. “Someone who had the means to manipulate both the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight into throwing themselves at the feet of their enemies.”

Lois looked at him quizzically. “That sounds like something you used to do.”

Before either of them could respond, they each flinched and recoiled from the door at the sound of a loud crash from within. Lex’s shoulders tensed up and he almost stumbled back a step. Had Superman already come back? Had he heard him just now with his unparalleled hearing?

Lex quickly opened his door, hearing a lot of rapid shuffling from Mercy’s office. Inside of his room, he saw a litany of broken glass crowding the floor near the center of his office space. Closer to the window, a shadow outlining the shape of a woman shifted, its head turning to look in his direction.

He stepped into the room, avoiding the broken glass that had made its way over to the door. Looking up, he noted who had destroyed his window: Wonder Woman. She straightened and stood rigid, tilting her head down in a curt greeting.

Lex set his jaw. Perhaps this had never been a good idea.

“Lex,” she offered quietly, appearing to notice Lois outside of the room. Her attention was drawn further away when Mercy materialized in the doorway, frantic motions coming to a halt.

Resigned, he stepped a little closer to her. The Diamond Lights, the video, the attack on the Watchtower… he should have known it was all too good to be true.

“We need to talk,” Wonder Woman announced.

“I know,” Lex replied. He half-heartedly pulled together some thoughts about how he could try to talk her out of attacking him in front of Lois, hoping that he wouldn’t lose her at the very least. He doubted it would help at this point.

She actually took a moment to shake her head at the two women standing in the doorway before returning her attention to him. “I believe that there has been a conspiracy at play recently. One that has been systematically targeting the Justice League.” The Amazonian took a measured step forward, not caring as her boot landed on broken glass. “And I think you can help me find out what’s happening.”

Lex tilted his head. “Does that-” He cut himself off, daring to hope.

“I trust you,” she said suddenly. “Surely you can help me get to the bottom of this.”

He almost- almost, almost, almost- breathed a sigh of relief. Occasionally, things were exactly as good as they seemed.

Cards on the table, he thought again.

“I might be able to do that,” Lex declared. “I have reason to believe you’re right about this, Diana.”

She looked relieved, then paused as a quizzical expression lined her features. “What makes you say that?”

Lex spared a glance for Lois and Mercy over his shoulder. The two of them looked lightly rattled, but neither of them were concerned enough to step in the room.

“I have learned of this conspiracy from one of the conspirators,” he answered, facing her again. “In fact, I have him in my custody right now. Perhaps you would like to accompany me downstairs and help in questioning him.”

She looked thoughtful. “In custody?” she repeated. “Why have you not turned him over to the authorities? Or me?”

Lex held up a hand. “He is far too dangerous to trust with anyone else. Besides, I cannot be sure who is involved in this conspiracy.”

She relaxed. “Of course, Lex. I trust you.”

“Come, then,” he said, lowering his hand and turning. He guided her path around the broken glass with his index finger.

She ignored his pointing, calmly walking over the jagged pieces on route to his location. A little disappointed that she had failed to follow his rather minute instruction, he stepped to the side and allowed the second woman to enter his office that day to leave before him.

“Mercy, if you would please,” Lex gestured.

The two Lights-affected women walked side-by-side out behind Mercy as his most-trusted subordinate led the two women back to her office. Lex brought up the rear, allowing the door to his office close behind him. He’d have to ask his building staff to clean up the mess in there later.

Speaking of which… “Did you have to come in through the window?” Lex asked.

She looked at him apologetically after she reached Mercy’s door. “This is an emergency, Lex,” she excused. “Two of my friends are dead because of it, and I don’t know if the others will ever be the same.”

“Fair enough,” he responded. “Just call me next time, please.”