February 1st, 2011

  Location: Star City

  After talking to Deadshot, I left him a communication device so we could converse more in the future. I needed useful pawns, I mean subordinates, for any upcoming possibilities. Deadshot may not be the most powerful supervillain out there, but he was manipulable, thankfully, due to his daughter. Using his daughter as leverage may be a scumbag move, but he did try to go after my life as well as Mercy's and I was never going to harm her.

  This experience also enlightened me that I was not moving fast enough. I thought I could take my time and enjoy this new world like a slice-of-life novel, but today's events proved me wrong. I am currently too weak; if I genuinely want to enjoy peace, I must stand at the top of the world and become the strongest. So, I must move up my plans to upgrade myself and my future empire.

  "S.E.B.A.S., rearrange all plans and expedite the completion of Project: Iron, and begin Project: Astartes."

  "Sir, is that wise? You have not even seen if the genetically engineered organs are compatible with the human body. Yes, it seems to work in theory, but it's just that, theory," S.E.B.A.S. advised.

  He was right, but I had no other options. Testing it on animals would provide little information on how these new organs would affect humans, and conducting multiple trial runs would take years to determine if even one of these organs was safe to use before I use it on myself. I would have to find someone to be my first test subject. That's when I remembered I had just gotten myself a brand-new henchman. I would have to ask him later if he was willing, since I would never perform forced human experiments. That was a line I would never cross.

  "S.E.B.A.S., you are correct, but I need to increase my strength to not only survive but emerge as the victor in our future conflicts. Also, get me a cab, it's been a fucking long day, and I am ready for bed."

  After a few minutes, a cab arrived at my location, and I entered it. I was excited about the prospect of sleep and quiet, but my driver seemed unwilling to give me that last part.

  "Hey, buddy, where to? You look like you had a rough day, pal. By the way, my name is Luis Reyes!" the cabby driver declared with enthusiasm that should not exist at this time. Now that I think about it, he looked like the actor Michael Pe?a.

  I looked down at myself, and he was right; I did look rough. I was covered in dried-up blood, dust, and dirt, and my clothes were all torn up. "Yeah, it was a really rough day; get me to Lex Resort," I requested. I bought a five-star hotel and renamed it after myself before meeting the Queen siblings, so I could enjoy myself afterward. That obviously did not happen.

  "I feel for you. I get days like that too, haha. Anyways, I don't think you should go there right now."

  "Why not?" I inquired.

  "Well, I would not get anywhere close to downtown. There was some sort of assassination attempt against a billionaire. Two people had even died. Sucks they didn't get him, though."

  Amused, I asked, "Why? Did this billionaire do something wrong?"

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  "Not that I know, but you don't become a billionaire by being a good person. I mean, why else would he be attacked, too? It's probably because of some seedy underworld business. He should be spending his money to help the people."

  I sat there quietly and gave him a hundred-dollar bill. I instructed him, "Just get me as close as possible, and I can walk the rest of the way."

  He quickly pocketed the money and said, "No problem, boss!".

  After a few minutes of silence, I thought about what he said about using my money to help people and asked, "How would you spend the money if you were a billionaire?"

  "Well, if I had all that money, I would..." Luis began listing ways he would use the money to help the community, especially low-income households. He also gave some excellent ideas for inventions that could help ordinary people with everyday life.

  After some time, we got as close as possible to my hotel when we saw many reporters waiting outside it. My driver said, "Alright, boss, this is as close as I can get. Seems like they are waiting for someone."

  I thanked him again and got out of the vehicle. I walked over to the driver's side to give him another tip, as I had appreciated our conversation. He rolled the window, and when he saw how much money I was tipping him, he teared up. He gratefully took the money and said, "Thanks again, boss! You have no idea how much this helps me and my family! I never did get your name."

  That is when one of the reporters recognized me and yelled, "Mr. Luthor, can I please get a statement from you? Why do you think you were attacked this afternoon?

  Soon, more reporters rushed me, and I saw that Luis had finally recognized that the man he had been badmouthing earlier was, in fact, me. He looked regretful, but I quickly eased his worry when I told him, "Don't worry about it, Luis. Plus, you gave me some new ideas to think about."

  He still looked regretful and even tried to apologize when I cut him off, "Like I said, don't worry about it. I understand how you feel. Here is my card if you need anything."

  I left as more reporters started to swarm me. Thankfully, my hotel security personnel arrived, and Mercy guided them towards me.

  Mr. Luthor, let's get you inside," she said with her professional facade in place. It was nice to know that I would only ever see the other side of her. As we walked through the crowd, I noticed two specific faces. It was none other than Lois Lane and Clark Kent. They, too, were trying to get a word from me—well, Lois Lane was. Clark Kent stood there quietly with a hint of remorse on his face.

  "Ah, Ms. Lane, it is good to see you again. You look lovely as always, " I said. Even though she looked beautiful, I would not steal Superman's future wife. I wasn't a heartless bastard from an NTR comic. However, I wanted to rile up Superman a bit to get back at him for not saving me.

  "I would say the same, Mr. Luthor, but it looks like you went through the wringer. Any comment on what happened?" She confidently said.

  "Well, as the rumors have been floating around, I was attacked by a group of mercenaries. Apparently, some people were uncomfortable that I found a way to create clean energy and wanted to make a better world. It is a shame that no superhero was there to save me, not even Superman. Aren't the two of you close to him? Was he too busy?" I asked as I looked at Lois first and then directly at the very man I was talking about. I could see that he looked uncomfortable. I decided to taunt him some more since I had nearly died. "I heard Superman can hear everything that is happening in the world. I hope he didn't choose to ignore me when I was fighting for my very life."

  "Superman would say he was sorry if he were here, Mr.Luthor. He did not choose to ignore you, but the rumor that he could hear everything happening in the world is greatly exaggerated. Also, he was fighting off a giant monster at Civic City. If he were not there to stop it, thousands would have died," Clark expressed. He looked very apologetic that he was not here to save me a few hours ago.

  "Ah, yes, sacrifice the few for the many, huh?" I continued to jest.

  "That is not what I said, Mr. Luthor," Clark stated, "If he were here, he would have come to help you in a literal heartbeat."

  Feeling that he had had enough, I responded, "Easy there, Boy Scout. I apologize; I did not know you were such a fan of his. I was joking; I know he would have helped if he could. Now, I've had a really long day and can finally get some rest. Have a good night, Ms. Lane and Mr. Kent," Clark turned red, probably out of embarrassment, when I said he was a fan of himself.

  I soon entered my hotel, heading towards my room. Once I got inside my room alone with Mercy, Mercy's act dropped, and she slapped me across the face.

  "What the fuck is that for?" I asked, rubbing my cheek.

  "Why didn't you tell me you were okay afterward, and why didn't you call me to pick you up, Lex? I was worried sick! I thought you might have lost and died!" Mercy yelled with tears running down her face.

  Noticing I fucked up, I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her, rubbing her back.

  "I'm sorry, Mercy. I didn't mean to make you worry about me".

  "I always worry about you, Lex. I hate how useless I felt back there," she said. She continued to cry on my chest as I tried to console her, letting her know that I was okay. After some time, she calmed down a bit. We snuggled with each other, feeling each other's warmth. She then stroked the cheek she had slapped and apologized, "I'm sorry I slapped you so hard; I should have gone lighter."

  I laughed and remarked, "You're sorry about how hard you hit me? Not the fact that you did hit me?"

  "No, you deserved it," She replied, burying her head in my chest. I kissed her on the forehead and got ready to go to sleep. This has been, by far, the longest day of my life.