Countdown to Justice: Chapter Four

Chapter Four: Broken Spirits

     “Ask not what LexCorp can do for you, but what you can do for LexCorp, Miss Swann.” I lean across the table and peer behind Patricia Swann’s hard grey eyes. “Your father’s research - I know it exists - is of great interest to me.
     “You came to me looking for a job, hoping for...what? Help, for old times’ sake?” I shake my head. “If you want me to alleviate some of your debts, then you will have to play ball. I need something in return. Every piece of data your father and his colleagues ever collected on the ‘traveller’ would be a good place to start.
     “Think about it, Miss Swann.”
     She slams the door shut behind her. I know I could simply take the data from her, but ordinarily I am a man who possesses everything I could possibly desire. Now, someone else has something I want. I’d like to savour the feeling, and the acquisition of those files will be so much sweeter when Patty Swann’s spirit breaks. Then, if I am right - and I am seldom wrong - I will be one step closer to understanding the red and blue god that now walks among us. Her spirit will break; she has too much to lose if she does not earn my favour.
     Every man (and woman) has a price. Except for me. Lex Luthor.
     As devastating as the damage to Metropolis was, LexCorp has never seen such affluence. I have made it my personal mission to rebuild this great city into a Metropolis of the future. LexCorp tech is being integrated into every new home, shop or office, and the people of Metropolis, of the world, already praise me for it. So many construction contracts; I barely knew where to begin.
     Yet no matter how much of my time and money I pump back into this city, and all the technological gifts I have given that will have long-term benefits, the ‘Man of Steel’ is who these people shower with the most love. And why? He caused almost as much damage as the invaders, and his only real skill, beyond some physiological advances, is that he knows how to throw a punch. He is a toddler, not a saviour, his only instinct to lash out like a wild animal.
     But any wild beast can be tamed.
     The door opens again, too soon to be Miss Swann. It’s Reagan.
     “Sir? Dr. Fine’s coordinates were correct.”
     I lean back in my chair. This news is improving my mood. “And Devil Ray was successful?”
     “Yes sir. The alien wreckage has been recovered. The K-metal...it’s real.”
     And just like that, I have a leash to tame the beast.

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To be continued...

This week, there will be two chapters of Countdown to Justice! Chapter Five will be released this Saturday, August 23rd, and then the regular schedule will resume next week with Chapter Six being released Wednesday 27th August. Stay tuned!