King crimson
Confusion Will Be My Epitaph
- Location
- Los Angeles
Heads up everybody, the vote is going to close within an hour or so. If there are any last second votes, get them in now.
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Lex Sedet In Vertice: A Supervillain in the DCU CK2 quest
- Thread starter King crimson
- Start date
- Superhero
Fight Club 20
1# You do not talk about Fight Club
- Location
- North Carolina
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Isn't Kryptonite lasers is better?
King crimson
Confusion Will Be My Epitaph
- Location
- Los Angeles
So the vote is closed now. Expect the update to land reasonably soon
Well, I mean yeah. On the one hand it's better in some ways.
But on the other hand: It's a fucking Railgun.
Railguns are Always a good decision
Fight Club 20
1# You do not talk about Fight Club
- Location
- North Carolina
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Can't argue with that logic.
- Pronouns
- Reader
Regrettably, supercharged kryptonite tends to explode, so I'm not sure how feasible firing a chunk of kryptonite with a railgun is. However, there is kryptonite energy and radiation. Some sort of railgun that uses KE to launch a Metal Slug with a bunch KR. we'll have to look into it if we invent railgun technology.
King crimson
Confusion Will Be My Epitaph
- Location
- Los Angeles
Boy is that an interesting question and it's one I'm going to elaborate on a little bit in the update I'm currently writing.
I'll start off by saying that it's somewhat ambiguous. Lex has acknowledged Cassandra as his daughter and he's shared emotionally intimate moments with her. The problem with cleanly figuring out how much Lex cares for Cassandra is that his issues and tendency to view people as assets kind of bleeds into his dynamic with her.
For a really basic example of how this comes into play, a lot of the education Cassandra is going through is distinctly raising her to be an incredibly useful asset and/or legacy to Lex, but it's also genuinely useful stuff that will help Cassandra later on in life as the person taking over running LexCorp from him.
Edit:
I'm currently writing a Bruce Wayne POV that literally contemplates the question of "how much is this Lex raising a useful asset and how much is this Lex genuinely being a caring father" and being unable to fully figure it out.
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King crimson
Confusion Will Be My Epitaph
- Location
- Los Angeles
Edit: Also I figured people would appreciate this, I'm a good amount of the way finished with the update as I've already got two mini-events completed and am halfway through the third.
Poison Ivy is nowhere near the bullshit she is in the comics sometimes (like that time she took over the entire world in a week) but her chlorokinetic powers are genuinely impressive. So far she's gone toe to toe with Parasite, managed to hold down Superman with plants, and generally been strong enough that the average person could not fight her and win. Even her one definite loss to Brainiac kind of hypes her up as while she did lose to Brainiac, Brainiac needed to completely wreck Centennial Park to do so and Brainiac has so far the best "on-screen" combat feats of anyone in quest (Brainiac fought the entire Earth all at once and did a pretty decent job of it. He would've killed Superman if Dr. Fate hadn't interfered for example). She's also made giant vines and huge plants with her powers but she hasn't quite pushed her power as far as it could go.
What's arguably more impressive is Pamela's use of pheromones to mess with people's heads. So far she's achieved feats like permanently crippling a man with a compulsion to autocannibalize, done long term manipulation of Leslie Willis, messed with the notoriously stubborn Lois Lane, and used her powers while she was in government without being detected.
Her poison immunity/production hasn't really shown up on screen all that much but there have been signs that she's basically immune to almost every poison including alien ones not found on earth.
I hope that's helpful to figuring out about where she is currently. The one catch to all of this information is that Pamela can improve her abilities by learning about things and experimenting with plants. There are potentially feats that she could achieve with her powers that she hasn't quite figured out through study yet.
This'll be the last thing I do before I get some sleep. I won't give an exact answer but I'll narrow things down a fair bit for you.
Poison Ivy is nowhere near the bullshit she is in the comics sometimes (like that time she took over the entire world in a week) but her chlorokinetic powers are genuinely impressive. So far she's gone toe to toe with Parasite, managed to hold down Superman with plants, and generally been strong enough that the average person could not fight her and win. Even her one definite loss to Brainiac kind of hypes her up as while she did lose to Brainiac, Brainiac needed to completely wreck Centennial Park to do so and Brainiac has so far the best "on-screen" combat feats of anyone in quest (Brainiac fought the entire Earth all at once and did a pretty decent job of it. He would've killed Superman if Dr. Fate hadn't interfered for example). She's also made giant vines and huge plants with her powers but she hasn't quite pushed her power as far as it could go.
What's arguably more impressive is Pamela's use of pheromones to mess with people's heads. So far she's achieved feats like permanently crippling a man with a compulsion to autocannibalize, done long term manipulation of Leslie Willis, messed with the notoriously stubborn Lois Lane, and used her powers while she was in government without being detected.
Her poison immunity/production hasn't really shown up on screen all that much but there have been signs that she's basically immune to almost every poison including alien ones not found on earth.
I hope that's helpful to figuring out about where she is currently. The one catch to all of this information is that Pamela can improve her abilities by learning about things and experimenting with plants. There are potentially feats that she could achieve with her powers that she hasn't quite figured out through study yet.
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Maybe it's just me being naive but I like to believe that Lex cares about Cassandra a lot more than he is willing to admit, even to himself.
He's a cold, logical and borderline sociopathic man but I feel like he can't help but feel some sympathy and kinship for Cassandra due to their similar backgrounds and that that effects how he treats her.
This is my current take as well. To be honest, Lex probably doesn't know himself. Intelligent he may be but as far as I know he has little to no experience with people loving him, at least in ways other than awe at his intellect or a sense of debt to him. He also probably has his paternal drive of actual care muddled and fogged by his drive to be more paternal than his father.
I think the only thing that would truly show us the level of actual paternal affection is if something happened to Cass, God forbid.
King crimson
Confusion Will Be My Epitaph
- Location
- Los Angeles
So I figured people would appreciate a status update. I've now finished all four of the first batch of the mini-events. I've got some subvote stuff to finish up and a proofread but otherwise the update is coming out today or tomorrow. Thanks for waiting patiently guys, I'm pretty excited to see people's reaction to what's coming up next.
Coming back to this idea brought other potential weaponizations to mind. Simple but affective
Kryptonite fragmentation grenades
Kryptonite ground down to a fine powered to be spread by air.
While I don't really understand nuclear physics or fallout from nukes very well, I also thought of a nuke based on Kryptonite radiation rather than the radiation one would normally have.
- Pronouns
- Reader
We have kryptonite explosives in a number of varieties actually, and an action to improve them. Kryptonite batteries are also so prolific, villains like toyman and ultra humanite can just make there own kryptonite weapons.
I didn't remember initially, but kryptonite aerosol is a nemesis option available to us.
I think what might be more plausible is kryptonite radio waves. Read it in a fanfic once.
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King crimson
Confusion Will Be My Epitaph
- Location
- Los Angeles
Here's how I'm doing on things so far. Things are mostly wrapped up and ready to go. I'm going to make dinner and eat before doing one final review and posting the update. Expect the update to land anywhere between about 1 to 2 hours depending on how productive I am. That being said the update is landing today.
For those who are curious, the update is over 9K words so there's a lot going on.
For those who are curious, the update is over 9K words so there's a lot going on.
Turn 32 Nemesis Mini-Events Part 1
King crimson
Confusion Will Be My Epitaph
- Location
- Los Angeles
So the winning vote from last time is as follows
[ ] [Lex] Oversee the Cold Engine's completion
[ ] [Mercy] Brief security on known tactics of the Joker
[ ] [Cass] Observe Raven and slowly bend her into being an ideal subordinate
[ ] [Loomis] Chat with Siobhan
[ ] [Jinx] Invent Antichess
[ ] [Smoak] Spend time with Barbara before she leaves
[ ] [Paige] Attempt to visit a private spa
[ ] [Costa] Talk to Mari about getting used to living in Metropolis
[ ] [Tora] Hang out with Beatriz
[ ] [Eve] Ask Carl Draper for learning material about traps
[ ] [Devereux] Familiarize herself with the LexCorp labs
[ ] [Meld] Try to covertly help Paige Monroe on a bad day
[ ] [Crock] Spend time with key employee
[ ] [Cub] Deign to engage in games with the ice person (play games with Tora Olafsdotter)
[ ] [Monkey] Approach the old person and the blonde young human (approach Enoch and Emmylou Brown)
The votes for who people wanted to see next with the highest number of votes was
[ ] [Next] Raven
[ ] [Next] Helena Bertinelli
[ ] [Next] Rose Wilson
With the next three closest (Siobhan, Lisa and Caitlin) all having two less votes. These personal actions are going to be interesting.
Now diving into the first part of the nemesis events. There's a lot going on with these and I'm hesitant to talk too much for fear of spoiling things. I will mention that I'm a little annoyed at how you all completely missed something and weren't punished for it at all because the dice were in your favor. You guys completely missed a potential threat, picked the right hero units for a really interesting set-up and then lucked out with the numbers resulting in what I thought was a clever twist to ultimately result in an anti-climax. Ce la vie, that's quests I guess, but I do think it's funny that the one event in which you completely missed my attempted warnings and concretely left yourselves incredibly vulnerable resolved more cleanly than any of the other events.
On the more general writing experience, it was interesting writing a Marie and Rebecca POV again after quite a while. I still think I have a strong sense of their character but as part of my evolution as a writer I feel like their "character voice" might have shifted a bit. It's not so extreme that it can't be justified with them being in a different place than when last I wrote them but it is something I thought about as I wrote.
Nemesis Event: A Metropolis Welcome Part 1
Lex Luthor
Bruce Wayne's arrival into Metropolis began as any other day in Metropolis did. While Bruce Wayne took his own private plane to get to Metropolis, his landing location and time was still publicized well enough for reporters to swarm the location. The police escort you sent to keep Bruce under observation and locked in place managed to arrive and eventually cleared the place before escorting Bruce Wayne to his limousine and providing him with a motorcade. Bruce Wayne seemed to accept the reasoning that he was likely to be targeted by the Joker if he showed up in Metropolis, so you didn't have to worry too much about trying to keep an eye on him. It was irritating that the Daily Planet was already speaking to him but you could handle things well enough. Talia's observations would have to suffice for now.
Instead you prepared for an encounter with Bruce Wayne on your own terms. Bruce Wayne would be taken to the show office where you'd meet with him to discuss a wide variety of topics and you'd introduce him to Cassandra. You didn't expect Bruce Wayne to be much of a threat but as the head of the company most likely to come into conflict with LexCorp, you'd be a fool to underestimate him.
Cassandra had been briefed on what to expect going into this. She was to be innocuous and relatively harmless, merely there to observe the interaction. She didn't have to pretend to like Bruce Wayne or be especially enthused by his presence but she was expected to not be disruptive. With her body reading skills she would be able to get a better measure of Bruce Wayne. Thus so long as you didn't agree to any binding deals, you'd be able to come out of this interaction knowing exactly what the lines in the sand were. Cassandra for her part accepted this assignment willingly, eager to prove herself.
When Bruce Wayne came up into your office, you took his measure once more. The man was conventionally handsome. Dark, brooding looks and a clearly fit physique alongside a constant smirk gave him an appearance you could understand being attractive. His expensive bespoke black suit and red tie stood out and marked him as one of the wealthiest men in the world. You had no real peers but many people would argue that Bruce Wayne was your equal.
"Lex, it's good to see you!" Bruce Wayne cheerfully stated as he sauntered into the office and shook your hand before turning to look at Cassandra. "And who's this over here?"
"That would be my daughter Cassandra Luthor" You replied, trying to move past the pleasantries and get more into the meet of things.
"How do you do Mr. Wayne?" Cassandra interjected holding out a hand for a handshake.
"I'm doing well, Metropolis is a beautiful city filled with interesting people and while I'm officially here on business, it's also a vacation from Gotham" Bruce Wayne responded before shaking Cassandra's hand. Your daughter, in a fit of childishness you weren't sure whether or not it was faked, squeezed Bruce Wayne's hand as hard as she could while they shook hands. A moment past and Cassandra let go as the handshake ceased.
Bruce Wayne shook his hand seemingly from the pain, though it was quite obviously performative.
"That's a killer grip you've got there" Bruce Wayne said, to which Cassandra merely let out a grin as the Gotham based billionaire continued to talk "I do not look forward to the day you'll be running LexCorp and we'll need to shake hands"
You decided to take this as your cue to steer things back in the direction you wanted it to go.
"On that note Cassandra if merely here to observe. If you don't mind, I'd like for Cassandra to write down and record a few of her observations so she can learn from this negotiation" You query "There will be no other recordings of this meeting and all records of our conversation will be destroyed by the end of the day"
You weren't sure whether or not Bruce Wayne would agree to the proposition but by including the element of recording you were confident you'd have enough room to negotiate for her presence in the room if Bruce Wayne were still opposed. It was a very basic negotiation tactic, but starting with a more extreme demand and letting your opponent work you down to what you actually wanted was a fairly effective tactic all things considered.
Bruce Wayne then decided to surprise you by making a mistake.
"I don't mind at all" Bruce Wayne admitted "Children are the future after all and I'm more than happy to help your daughter learn what she needs to do in order to succeed later on in life. I might have my son do the same"
Well if Bruce Wayne was willing to let Cassandra make a recording that could then be leveraged later, you wouldn't object to that. It wasn't a huge thing but it made you question just how on guard Bruce Wayne actually was. Anyone experienced in media would know that providing the other side with tangible evidence would be problematic if it became a battle in the court of public opinion. Admittedly the notes of a thirteen year old heiress was by no means a smoking gun but it was a weapon Bruce Wayne had allowed you to have whilst not attempting to get a similar edge for himself.
Cassandra grabbed a notepad and a fountainpen and sat down in a chair off to the side. Bruce lounged on the chair you provided and when you offered a drink of an expensive brandy, Bruce Wayne happily downed a glass. You were already familiar with the various stories about Bruce Wayne's fondness for parties but you couldn't help but wonder if he might be a lush as well. Plying him with drinks might be an option to try and pull.
"You know I'm kind of curious, I'm a big proponent of adopting kids, every kid should have a parent in my opinion but at the same time I never saw you as the kind of person to adopt a child Lex" Bruce Wayne began, trying to dig for information "What made you decide to adopt?"
"When I found Cassandra I was reminded of myself" You flatly stated. "I saw her potential and I wanted her to have the opportunities to flourish and succeed"
That was not a lie. Cassandra was your daughter and you fully intended for her to triumph when it was her turn to hold the reigns of the company. You were better than your own father, Cassandra would always know that you meant the best for her and intended for her to always be her best self.
"That's the magic of parenthood I suppose" Bruce Wayne chuckled. Cassandra merely eyeballed this byplay, taking down notes on her notepad.
With Bruce Wayne's curiosity about Cassandra seemingly sated it was time to get to business and steer the conversation in the direction you wanted it to go.
Talking to Wayne subvote
Your initial conversation with Bruce Wayne has begun to move forward and now you can steer the conversation towards more productive matters. However you have a limited amount of time with which to converse with Bruce Wayne. As such it might be best to focus the conversation towards those ends you think would be most productive. Please pick your three favorite options from the list below as the subjects of conversation you'll pursue when talking to Bruce Wayne. Write-ins are allowed for this subvote but as always all write-ins are subject to QM approval. Additionally please note that any vote involving steering the conversation towards information revealed in another part will be automatically discounted. As always there is a 1 hour moratorium on voting.
[ ] [Topic] Talk to Bruce Wayne about Superman
[ ] [Topic] Talk to Bruce Wayne about the Daily Planet
[ ] [Topic] Talk to Bruce Wayne about potential collaborations between your companies
[ ] [Topic] Talk to Bruce Wayne about what he wants to see in Metropolis
[ ] [Topic] Talk to Bruce Wayne about the current state of Gotham
[ ] [Topic] Talk to Bruce Wayne about establishing a defense network against alien invaders
[ ] [Topic] Write-in
Nemesis Event: From Gotham with Hate Part 1
Marie Louise Dahl
When Marie had imagined what it meant to be a success, she hadn't quite figured that it would involve standing on a freezing rooftop waiting for a flying alien in goofy pajamas to show up. Still in a way it was proof that Marie had it made. Lex had gotten wind of some information about a hit on Superman. As such someone had to let the big blue brick know what was going on and Lex didn't exactly want to put himself in the line of fire if things went wrong. Graves was busy prepping the tower for a potential hostile force or alien. As such Lex needed someone whom he trusted to carry out the negotiation and the work of contacting Superman while also representing him fairly. Due to her history of success at the company Marie was chosen for the role.
Like everything she did, Marie intended to succeed and so she buckled down and put in the effort to see things through. She'd been given a goon squad to keep her safe and provide her with some time to get away if things went pear shaped. Marie made sure to look into her groups capabilities before strategically positioning them around her, both to act as a deterrent to outside invaders and to record what went down with Superman.
The potential locations were studied and researched before Marie settled on renting an empty warehouse for the meeting. This way if Superman turned hostile no LexCorp equipment would be damaged and the alien wouldn't be able to find anything that Lex didn't want him to. The warehouse was less secure than Marie would have liked but she was on a time limit.
She placed numerous gadgets on the roof under the snow that would record the conversation and transmit it to a computer. Sure maybe Superman and his super-vision might catch them but he'd still need to check and Marie wanted that extra layer of security. All of it was in preparation for proving that Lex could trust her with something like this.
Her solution to getting Superman to meet her was relatively simple. With the help of some grunts, Marie rigged a spotlight to shine a giant s-shield into the night sky. It worked for the vampire freak in Gotham, it'd work for the alien in Metropolis. And so Marie was reduced to sitting on a rooftop and waiting. It felt almost demeaning but Marie was prepared to do whatever it took to get the job done.
Eventually, slowly, Superman drifted into view of Marie. This was the first time that she saw Superman in the flesh and she could see why people were impressed. He had a face and physique that could have made him big in Hollywood if he decided to enter show business. Combine that with the fluttering cape and the flying and it was kind of intimidating, not that Marie would admit it.
Then Superman opened his big stupid mouth and ruined any respect Marie might have had for him.
"Hello there" Superman patronizingly intoned "Do your parents know you're up here? Someone called me here with this big flashlight and so it could be dangerous for you to stay"
Marie saw red. It shouldn't piss her off nearly as much as it did, but someone seeing her body and making conclusions about who she was and what her capabilities were really made her mad.
"I called you here stupid" Marie angrily retorted "And my parents have been in the morgue since the eighties. Do us all a favor and try and use one of your many magic alien powers to tell the difference between a child and someone living with a disability"
"I'm sorry" Superman swiftly apologized, trying to placate Marie. "Your appearance threw me off but I should have been more careful. I apologize if I offended you"
"Well I expected you to look more like Clark Gable, but you don't see me choking on my own feet like a moron trying to make himself into a human wheel!" Marie fiercely fired back. With Superman looking sufficiently cowed, Marie decided to move to the actual meat of the conversation. She was a professional and even if she didn't like Superman that didn't mean she couldn't do her job.
"The fact of the matter is that LexCorp caught wind of someone poking around the shadier side of Metropolis looking for money in exchange for killing you" Marie explained. "We suspect that the individual in question is the Joker and we'd like to set a trap for him"
Superman still seemed fairly cautious about all of this.
"How did LexCorp come about this information?" Superman asked "If possible I'd like to verify your sources and ask a few questions of my own"
While the verification offer didn't seem unreasonable to Marie, the fact of the matter was that she didn't want to give Superman anything, especially if he was going to link it to any wrongdoing on LexCorp's part. Lex likely wouldn't appreciate Superman trying to investigate just what LexCorp knew and how.
"For the safety of our sources and for the ability to continue to remain aware of potential dangers coming to Metropolis, I'm afraid I can't reveal our sources at this time" Marie stated in a cold authoritative tone "You're welcome to investigate things on your own time but LexCorp will not support you in such an endeavor"
Superman seemed to accept Marie's refusal to cooperate even if he didn't seem overly happy about it. Still he didn't protest it too much so Marie considered that a victory in its own right.
"So what was that plan you mentioned earlier?" Superman interjected, trying to steer the conversation back on track after a moment of silence.
"The idea is simple" Marie expounded "The individual in question is looking for money in exchange for an attempt on your life. LexCorp is willing to offer one hundred million dollars for definitive proof of your death at a set point in time as a way to incentivize the person in question to stop hiding and fall into an ambush of your own making"
Superman scowled.
"I refuse" He simply stated "While I won't hesitate to put my life on the line, I refuse to participate in any plan that involves baiting a madman into acting in a manner that can result in civilian casualties. I'll handle this on my own"
With that Superman took off and flew to go do whatever it was superpowered alien crimefighters did when the public couldn't see them. Marie had done her job. Sure she hadn't gotten Superman to agree but in her opinion it was kind of a bum deal anyways. More importantly she'd gotten plenty of recordings of the conversation and had managed to show LexCorp at least nominally cooperating and trying to work with Superman. Whatever happened now, LexCorp almost certainly had an alibi going forward from here. Marie had done her job. Now she was going to get inside and warm up with a mug of hot cocoa.
Arthur Villain
Arthur liked to keep his ear to the ground in any given situation. The peons and the thugs of a city hardly made for stimulating conversationalist but the rats and roaches had a tendency of moving first when something was entering the environment. It was child's play to learn that someone was poking around the Metropolis underworld looking for money in exchange for the death of Superman. Arthur suspected that it was likely the Toyman operating in secret due to his pardon but he wasn't especially secure in his theory.
Regardless, Arthur was let in to LexCorp's operations regarding the matter fairly swiftly. They suspected it involved the Joker and as such they had him prep a few common counters to the clown's chemical weapons. Personally Arthur doubted that it was the Joker, the clown was far too theatrical to pull off something this quietly, but he supposed there was no harm in ensuring everything went well. The counters were easy enough to come up with as the GCPD had forwarded their files on the Joker and LexCorp had the materials to develop a wide array of counters to what was known. Arthur would play his part in the preparations without much complaint.
What piqued Arthur's interest was what he could do in his own off hours. Arthur couldn't quite offer one hundred million dollars but he could provide some money. Surely there would be some patsies he could sucker into contributing to a pool. Arthur had no issues with Superman but the chaos his death would cause would be the perfect smokescreen to let him more freely advance his own ambitions. The only question was if it was worth the risk of getting caught. Decisions, decisions.
Arthur would make up his mind soon enough and from there he'd execute as necessary.
New Plan subvote
Superman has fairly solidly rejected your initial plan to collaborate on a trap for the unknown individual. While you have already begun preparing for the unknown individual to approach LexCorp, you still have enough room to make a new plan to turn the situation into your favor. Feel free to pick your favorite option from the list below. Write-ins are available for this subvote but as always all write-ins are subject to QM approval. As always there is a 1 hour moratorium on voting.
[ ] [Plan] Covertly offer a bounty of $100,000,000 in exchange for proof of Superman's death
[ ] [Plan] Offer to pay double what the unknown individual is being offered for Superman dead if they can capture him alive
[ ] [Plan] Call the Metropolis police to bring them into the mix
[ ] [Plan] Attempt to covertly meet the unknown individual
[ ] [Plan] Have a proxy set up a reward for Superman's death
[ ] [Plan] Attempt to track down the unknown individual's location
[ ] [Plan] Write-in
Nemesis Event: Wax and Wayne
Bruce Wayne
When Bruce had first conceived of this charity event he hadn't expected things to play out quite as they had. No one could predict everything that came there way but as Batman, Bruce prided himself on being better than the average person. He had not expected to be blindsided by the board the way he was and when the news broke things were going to be ugly. Bruce couldn't cut his trip short just yet, the Joker was still on the loose and he'd hardly started his more rigorous investigations, but he still felt the call to go back to Gotham and begin putting out fires.
The one good thing to come out of the situation was the relationship he had with Lois Lane. Bruce liked Lois, she was beautiful, smart, and witty and she always tried to do the right thing. Even her initial dislike of him due to his being a billionaire was in Bruce's eyes a point in her favor. Bruce's uncle had thoroughly disabused him of the idea that you could trust seemingly friendly wealthy people. Lois's caution was more a mark of intelligence than anything else in Bruce's opinion. Only once Bruce had told her to deliberately write a story condemning the Wayne Enterprises board in the harshest terms possible did Lois begin to trust him. Bruce was more than willing to hit his own company in the pocketbook to ensure they stayed on the straight and narrow.
He and Lois had built up a rapport since then and they'd quietly started dating. Bruce didn't advertise it, and he didn't know if the relationship would survive once he went back to Gotham but for now Bruce allowed himself to enjoy it while it lasted. Clark Kent might glare at him for it and Bruce had no doubt that Lex Luthor wouldn't hesitate to use the relationship as a way to paint Lois as biased whenever she critiqued LexCorp, but for now both he and Lois were happy in this relationship and that was what mattered. Bruce supposed that he didn't mind that he hadn't predicted that Lois Lane would be attending this event as his date.
No, the more concerning element in the room was Lex Luthor and his daughter. Bruce had expected to have a handle on the man but he didn't quite yet. He was sure that Lex Luthor was up to something but he couldn't quite pin down what it was. The man was clearly guided by his own ego and desire for power, wealth, and status, but that hardly made him a criminal. Any accusation Bruce could currently level at Lex Luthor could also be leveled at the board members of his own company. The real problem was that Lex Luthor was far more powerful and smarter than anyone else on the board of Wayne Enterprises. That kind of power and intellect in amoral hands was dangerous and Bruce liked to be appraised of danger well in advance. Unfortunately understanding of who exactly Lex Luthor was still eluded him.
He'd asked Lois a few things about Lex Luthor and while she'd raised some very frightening concerns about Lex's grasp on the US government, she tended to conflate the man with his company. Bruce hadn't been able to get a solid conclusion one way or another from meeting the man personally but it had become clear that Bruce couldn't rely entirely on Lois's model of his character, if only for the simple reason that it couldn't accurately account for the presence of Cassandra Luthor.
Cassandra Luthor was a puzzle in and of herself. Lex had clearly been teaching Cassandra something. Bruce hadn't spent much time in her presence but he'd managed to pick up that Cassandra was quite talented. Cassandra was unusually strong for a thirteen year old girl and the way she quietly observed everything in the conversation indicated a remarkable degree of self-control. Batman was quite proud of Dick but even with his training, Dick was nowhere near as disciplined as Cassandra was. It was clear that Lex was trying to make Cassandra into his heir.
At the same time, Lex seemed to genuinely be fond of Cassandra. Lex was not an especially emotional speaker, but when the conversation had briefly shifted to a discussion of why Lex had adopted Cassandra the bald billionaire had tightened his control even further. Bruce was well aware of the concept of trying to hide weakness but was it to cover some dark past or out of a fear that visible genuine attachment to his daughter was a weakness? Bruce couldn't quite figure it out.
The Luthor's behavior at this event didn't seem to clarify things much either way. Lex basically paraded Cassandra around introducing her to various figures in Metropolis while Cassandra flitted about and dazzled those guests with displays of precocious intelligence and self confidence mixed in with slight hints of childishness. Lex could have been using Cassandra as a tool for positive perception, but if that were the case then Lex's seclusion of Cassandra made no sense, much less the fact that Cassandra almost certainly was smart enough to act more naive and play to people's biases if she wanted to. Lex could merely be letting Cassandra start to get to know relevant individuals in Metropolis now that she was getting older, but the decision to do it at Bruce's event coupled with the large donation hinted that this was some kind of petty one-upmanship. Perhaps Bruce himself was being used as an object lesson on how to quietly deal with opposition without officially taking any action against them one way or another. Bruce didn't quite have enough information to put together the picture.
All that being said Lex Luthor's dynamic with Cassandra defied Lois's depiction of him as an incredibly brilliant petty man trying to amass as much wealth, power and adoration as possible. While a child could fit into Lois's scheme of Lex Luthor, the amount of resources and care Lex put into Cassandra, as well as his general protectiveness and isolation of her indicated that this was not the case. Still it wasn't his job to figure out the specifics of that dynamic even if it would help to make his psychological profile more accurate and could potentially lead to him more clearly understanding if and potentially how, Lex was connected to seedier elements as Bruce suspected.
His initial approach had been derailed. Bruce had been content with letting Lex Luthor monitor him through the police most of the day and playing ball while observing his actions and behavior without fully committing to anything. It was easier to let a smart man think he'd outsmarted you and let him relax, then to try and contest him head on. Unfortunately news of what Wayne Enterprises did the moment he was no longer in Gotham to wrangle them had undoubtedly ruined his initial approach. No matter what he did, Lex would likely treat him as either a plant at best or an active hostile at worst. Perhaps it was time to let the Batman do more investigating of the Luthor family.
Not now though. For now Bruce would simply wait and enjoy a night with Lois. It was unlikely that the Joker would make his move tonight and whatever crimes Lex might be committing, bungling an investigation by rushing things and raising the man's suspicions would only result in further complications. Tonight oddly enough would be a night for Bruce to enjoy himself as Batman planned his next few steps.
Cassandra Luthor
Cassandra didn't mind this event all that much. Father was letting her prove herself out in the real world. Cassandra had longed to start acting and prove that she was a worthy heiress. Admittedly there wasn't exactly a wide variety of stunning conversationalists, but Cassandra found it so very easy to find people's strings and begin pulling on them to get them moving how she wanted them to.
While this wasn't quite an announcement on the world stage, this was the opportunity that would allow Cassandra to begin establishing herself and her image in the eye of the wider public. Father had briefed her on this and allowed Cassandra to decide how to portray herself provided it was still reasonable.
Cassandra wouldn't let people in on everything but she'd have her image established in the world. Cassandra would be seen as intelligent, confident and energetic. She couldn't abandon people's perception of her as an untested child so instead Cassandra played into it showing signs of childishness every so often. It worked well enough as it seemed to cover her disdain for the ignorant masses she had to interact with well enough that no one picked up on it. Cassandra didn't like most of the people she met but she wanted them to feel safe and secure around her despite having established herself as clearly better than all of them. If that meant pretending to be a little lost and subsequently impressed when some insipid stock broker tried to dazzle her with his knowledge of how to gamble successfully, Cassandra would take it. It was easy enough. Cassandra also wanted to be seen as distinct from Father. She loved her Father but in order for Cassandra to ever be viewed as worthy in her own right she couldn't be merely "Lex Luthor writ small". It was why she was wearing a dress to this event, so that people would see her as her own person and not just a young Lex Luthor like they might've if she'd worn a suit like Father. She'd shift back to her preferred style of dress later but for now image was everything and Cassandra intended to cement herself in the eyes of the world.
Cassandra did enjoy talking to a few of the individuals present. The chief of the fire department was blunt enough that she got along well enough and the various police officers in attendance saw her interest in their gear and careers as a sign that the money and support would continue to flow even if Father was somehow indisposed. Cassandra was tempted to push for getting a police officer to break the law and provide her with a firearm or some interesting object they had in lock-up but she ignored that urge. She could get it later once she'd fully won over hearts and minds if the idea remained amusing. For now it was business first and then maybe pleasure.
Cassandra did have one source of pleasure in this event besides finally being able to prove to Father that she was ready for the role of heiress to LexCorp. Cassandra couldn't help but find it entertaining to mess with the staff of the Daily Planet. Cassandra wouldn't characterize her opinions on the Daily Planet as being hateful. Instead she found them annoying. As enemies they were boring and predictable, clinging to childish morality and crying foul just because she and Father were stronger than the rabble and knew how to get what they wanted. They twisted words and played all sorts of narrative games. Cassandra could play that game, but she'd much rather have an enemy that she could beat to death.
Cassandra knew that she wouldn't be able to indulge in this all the time, but for now her age provided her with enough leeway for there to not be any blowback. Cassandra enjoyed pestering baiting and unsettling the staff of the Daily Planet. If any of them rose to her provocations, it would primarily look bad on the part of the Daily Planet staff member for getting into an argument with a thirteen year old girl. Cassandra was superior to them in every way that mattered but the public would almost certainly see it as bullying. Cassandra was more than happy to smear the reputations of the gnats that tried to do the same to what was hers. Turnabout was just fair play.
As the evening went on, it made Cassandra happy to see that she still unsettled Lois Lane so much. The woman was easy to read and she was so very, suspicious of Father. She practically radiated discontent whenever she looked at him. She thought she was better because she held to morality and because her job let her "discover and reveal the truth". Cassandra enjoyed proving any notion of Lois's superiority wrong. It was never spoken out loud but Cassandra enjoyed watching flashes of fear in Lois's eyes coupled with hints of shame and confusion of being afraid of a child. Cassandra was better than Lois Lane.
Clark Kent was also amusing. The big man was easily unsettled and his jealousy of Lois Lane's actual date, Bruce Wayne was fun to poke at. Cassandra enjoyed subtly inflaming the conflict through seemingly childish observations and watching the tension build and build and build. She couldn't push too much for fear of damaging her reputation, but Cassandra still ever so slightly hoped she could push the self-righteous overgrown farm boy into killing someone. The Daily Planet wanted to use words to hurt her, but they were so very easily torn down once someone could see what they thought about.
Despite it making the night far more enjoyable as it allowed Cassandra to win against her enemies, Cassandra couldn't afford to spend too much time playing those games with the staff members. Besides the fact that they were ultimately minor players in what was Cassandra's stage to meet various movers and shakers in Metropolis outside of LexCorp, Bruce Wayne served as a deterrent.
Cassandra hardly liked Bruce Wayne but she was wary of him. She'd ended up sharing her observations with Father and they'd come to the conclusion that Bruce Wayne was much more dangerous than he seemed to be. He attempted to hide it but he moved like someone with a tremendous amount of skill in a fight. He was always watching and waiting and observing as well, always suspiciously peering at everything around him while hiding behind a veneer of affable devil-may-care charm. Most notably his control of his body was good enough to hide some things from Cassandra. Not good enough to hide everything, Cassandra could still see beneath his skin and she'd pick him apart if it ever came to blows, but she couldn't unravel him quite like she could someone like Lois Lane.
Bruce Wayne also had money and influence that could almost rival Father's own. Father had done his best to kick the man's legs out from under him the moment he'd stepped into Metropolis but a beaten dog could still bite. Until Bruce Wayne was put down as a threat Cassandra would be cautious. Cassandra would prove herself by not biting off more than she could chew.
Instead she'd forge the necessary image and prove to Father that she was ready to begin making herself known the world over as his daughter and heir.
Leslie Willis
Leslie had considered just what her role in attending Bruce Wayne's fancy charity event would be. Leslie could have gone as herself or any of her personas. She could have come in on her own or as a plus one. In the end Leslie decided to go as herself. She was mostly there to wreak havoc of things went wrong and to keep an eye out on any interesting little tidbits that came her way.
Leslie ended up going to the event separately from Lex and the kid, as a way to maintain some degree of plausible deniability. It worked out well enough and Leslie made her way in. Of course Leslie also got incredibly bored incredibly quickly.
Bruce Wayne was an old money rich boy and it showed in the events he liked to throw. Nominally classy and composed but also stiff and lacking in energy. A party thrown by a playboy billionaire out to be fun and entertaining but Bruce Wayne managed to make the charity event so incredibly boring.
Leslie couldn't even get any fun out of needling people. A good number of the people were stiff traditionalists who'd happily silence Leslie if they could but Leslie couldn't bait them or needle them or get under their skin. Leslie understood why Lex did, the LexCorp princess needed to look good and while the pettiness amused her, it was fleeting when she couldn't amp up the energy. In the end Leslie decided to take a quick break to step outside and see if there'd be at least something more interesting going on where all the eyes of Metropolis's rich elites weren't looking.
Leslie ended up waiting outside near a back entrance where some security guards were stationed. She idly pulled out her phone to try and find something to amuse herself when she suddenly heard a shout from one of the guards nearby get cut off suddenly. The guards were all staring slack jawed in front of some asshole dressed in a gaudy blue red and gold costume. Leslie began to move in closer to try and pick up what the man was saying.
"... You're going to let me in and help me secure the exits to prevent anyone else from leaving" the man in the gaudy costume smarmily commanded "And if you see Superman approach, you're going to do your best to kill him"
Well it seemed like Leslie had wandered into something interesting.
"This is too easy!" The man gloated "Soon enough I'll have everyone who's anyone in this town eating out of the palm of my hand and Superman won't be able to touch me"
The guards continued to remain there slack jawed, seemingly not noticing anything that was going on. Of course at that moment the weirdo in the costume turned and spotted Leslie. He panicked for a moment before he unleashed some sort of strobing light pattern. It didn't do much to Leslie but she figured that the man probably expected it to have some kind of effect on her. Leslie thus pretended to imitate the guards mindless state, hoping it would get the asshole in the ugly costume to keep talking and not realize she was setting him up.
"Stupid guards, pretend you're normal and don't let anyone besides myself in or out of the building!" The man hissed. The guards promptly snapped back into motion and lumbered back to their posts. Satisfied that things had gone his way, the man turned to examine Leslie. It took a fair bit of self-control to not just blast the guy but Leslie remained patient by imagining how much more satisfying it would be to blast him after the smug prick realized she'd been toying with him the entire time.
"You're a real dish aren't you?" The man leered "I think I'll keep you and Lois Lane as my own personal servants. After all the Commander only deserves the best, and I think having a collection of mind controlled maids catering to my every whim is more than earned"
Okay ew. Leslie was nobody's slave and this creep was going to learn about it soon enough. The Commander was a key figure of Toby Merlino's human trafficking ring but it was still disgusting to see him discuss exactly what he wanted to do. Leslie was going to nip this little problem in the bud.
"This is too easy!" The loser gloated.
Leslie smiled as the creep handed her a one liner on a silver platter.
"You're right" She calmly responded, savoring the look of panic and terror on the man's face as he realized he hadn't affected her with his gadgets.
Then Leslie blasted him with enough electricity to fry all of his tech and leave the man a steaming but still in the land of the living. Leslie enjoyed hearing him scream. Nobody would silence Livewire, especially not some creep reliant on mind control. Leslie promptly kicked the downed man to check on if the man was still alive. When he groaned, Leslie shocked him again for good measure. She kept him alive for now.
As such Leslie promptly took out her phone and contacted Lex about what exactly had gone on. Stepping outside had ended up proving the right move as Leslie was now no longer bored and she'd ensured plans went off without a hitch.
Capitulated Commander subvote
While it hasn't made any waves quite yet, Leslie's defeat of the Commander before he could enact his plan does present you with quite a few opportunities at your fingertips. It's not what you expected from the evening but it is a bit of momentum and leverage you're more than happy to make use of. Whatever course of action you decide to take, you're confident that it'll lead to greater success later on down the line. Feel free to pick any of the options from the list below. Write-ins are both allowed and encouraged for this subvote, though as always all write-ins are subject to QM approval. Additionally, as always there is a 1 hour moratorium on voting.
[ ] [Command] Anonymously leave the Commander in police custody
[ ] [Command] Secretly take the Commander back to LexCorp to be placed in a secretive holding cell
[ ] [Command] Take whatever remains of the Commander's costume and equipment for study
[ ] [Command] Leave the Commander for others to find
[ ] [Command] Have Leslie take public credit for defeating the Commander
[ ] [Command] Have one of Leslie's personas/disguises take credit for defeating the Commander
[ ] [Command] Have Leslie pose as Ultraviolet and claim credit for defeating the Commander
[ ] [Command] write-in
Nemesis Event: What Makes a Hero Part 1
Carol Ferris
Carol didn't trust Supergirl. Frankly the would be superheroine had too many holes in her stories for Carol to trust her just yet. Still a kryptonian was quite a powerful individual and whatever Supergirl's circumstances and agenda were, they were a lot more manageable when she hadn't quite linked back up with Superman. As such it made sense to keep an eye out for Supergirl and ensure that she wasn't able to ever coordinate with Superman.
As such when the reports came in of Supergirl stopping muggers and getting cats out of trees, Carol felt obligated to step in to ensure that nothing went wrong. Ultraviolet was one of the greatest most well-known heroes on earth. While Carol wasn't quite comfortable with the hero worship some of her colleagues might give her, she could still leverage it to her advantage in this situation. Carol didn't really know quite how to feel about Raven's admiration for her, or Beatriz's belief in her. Carol could deal with it but it was a little awkward at times. Still if it helped her to keep Supergirl pacified and helped to keep the kryptonians wedged apart Ultraviolet would be happy to make use of her reputation.
It wasn't too hard to find Supergirl, unlike Superman, the blonde kryptonian tended to linger in spots for a while. It made it child's play to fly out and seemingly coincidentally encounter her. The excuse Carol was going with was that she was taking Fire and Raven on a training run to get used to acting in Metropolis and doing more local superhero work. It was palatable enough that neither Raven nor Beatriz questioned the excuse, while Supergirl seemed to buy it fairly quickly.
Supergirl ended up agreeing to a joint patrol and so Ultraviolet mostly sat back and observed, letting others take the lead. While Raven and Supergirl didn't quite click, admittedly a bit of a shame, Fire managed to get the kryptonian to open up just enough that Ultraviolet was able to get new information. Admittedly the informal race wasn't ideal but it did give her a sense of Supergirl's capabilities.
Ultraviolet had seen Superman in action. He was incredibly fast and strong and he had incredible senses. Only after observing Supergirl competing against Fire in a friendly race did she notice how much control Superman had. Plainly speaking Supergirl lacked Superman's control. She could match his speeds, but she often struggled with moving in a three dimensional space or with making rapid turns. She was a lot more easily overwhelmed with sights and sounds and things that wouldn't phase Superman at all seemed to bother her. It was interesting to note and it suggested that even if the powerset was the same, Superman's extended time on earth would make him significantly better at leveraging it than any other kryptonian. It was an interesting observation.
Shortly after gathering this information Carol spotted Superman closing in on their position. As such she ended up calling Rebecca Carstairs for back up. While Ultraviolet didn't expect for things to end in a fight, she'd rather have as many magic users on hand to help deal with the kryptonians. Raven was a talented teenage girl but Ultraviolet doubted she could take on both Superman and Supergirl. The back up wouldn't be necessary but it would be appreciated.
Superman arrived and Ultraviolet got to bear witness to an awkward conversation between the two cousins in which Superman tried to investigate what Supergirl was doing in Metropolis whilst Supergirl tried to restore the relationship to a more friendly one. Carol made a few key comments to try and keep the two apart but before she could get too far, they were interrupted.
Apparently the two kryptonians had gotten so caught up in their arguing that neither one of them had noticed that Parasite was close by. In hindsight it was obvious to look for him, even if there wasn't much hint to it previously. A kryptonian power source flying around on her own that was relatively easy to track would no doubt draw Parasite to Supergirl like an addict to a mountain of cocaine. It was too late for regrets now a fight was inevitable.
Parasite leapt out from behind cover, arms outstretched and ready to drain someone. Ultraviolet promptly formed a shield and yelled out orders to fall back and hit Parasite from a distance. In that instant, though it was clear that Ultraviolet had defended her people, it was too late as Supergirl stood in shock in the split-second it took for Parasite to close in on his target. If not for Superman moving at incredible speeds and knocking her out of the way, she would have been the one to be drained. Instead Superman screamed as Parasite took his powers.
Raven dove under the earth and Fire flew into the air. Ultraviolet meanwhile decided to act, turning her shield construct into a battering ram and smashing it into Parasite, knocking him away from the now downed Superman. Supergirl began to ask why Superman stepped in to save her while Superman responded that they were family. The two seemed insistent on having a heart to heart at this moment and Ultraviolet was having none of it. She turned to yell at the two of them to knock it off immediately when a fuchsia hand covered her face. Ultraviolet didn't even have an instant to struggle when Parasite used his grip to slam her head into the ground with what felt like all the force of Superman.
"Don't you know it's rude to interrupt a guy when he's eating?" Parasite mocked as he held Ultraviolet down "Now I've got to make an example out of you"
Carol had no doubt that Parasite would have drained her if he could. Fortunately for Ultraviolet, her power ring allowed her to constantly project a thin barrier of energy around herself. Parasite couldn't touch or drain her.
Ultraviolet promptly punched Parasite and then smacked him with a giant spiked mace construct. Parasite quickly caught himself in the air and righted himself only to be pelleted by earthy fragments that Raven had telekinetically lifted and launched. Parasite then wove around Raven's projectiles until he was cut off by a wall of green fire, launched by Fire from the air. Parasite then rocketed up into the air and began indiscriminately sweeping with concentrated beams of heat vision, hoping to strike at anyone who got in his way. It was clear that Parasite didn't care about collateral damage.
Ultraviolet promptly formed a clamp construct and had it snake forwards as she flew toward Parasite. The clamp eventually connected and cut off Parasite's heat vision beams. Parasite promptly shattered the construct with super strength and socked Ultraviolet knocking her to the ground. Parasite then rushed at her once more, avoiding attacks from both Raven and Fire. Using her ability to fly, Ultraviolet nimbly and acrobatically rotated into the air and used the corkscrew motion to both avoid Parasite's strike and kick him in the head sending him stumbling back. Parasite growled.
Ultraviolet ducked Parasite's jab and swayed out of the way of his follow up. As she twisted out of the way of his third strike, Ultraviolet formed a sword construct which she then swung, forcing Parasite to take a half step back. Ultraviolet continued trying to cleave Parasite which in turn resulted him eventually catching the blade with both hands and shattering it by violently jerking it to the side. Ultraviolet promptly wiped the smirk off of his face by taking the opportunity to headbutt Parasite. She was then immediately forced onto the defensive as Parasite blasted with heat vision.
Ultraviolet threw up a shield construct and held her ground. After a few seconds, Ultraviolet dropped her shield construct and darted to the side before firing a blast at Parasite. Parasite walked into the blast, apparently believing that he could absorb the energy, only to scowl when he realized that he couldn't as the blast connected with his gut. Ultraviolet rushed in eager to try and wrap things up. She moved to punch the still doubled over Parasite, only for the purple creep to reveal that he wasn't hurt all that badly as he caught her punch. Ultraviolet threw another strike with her other arm only for Parasite to catch that as well. The two strained against each other pushing with all of their might. Carol knew she didn't need to win, she just needed to stall long enough for Raven and Fire to get into position to deal with Parasite. Plus the longer things went on the more likely it was that Rebecca could join in the fight.
"You know there's no point in fighting" Parasite gloated "You can put on a good show, but I've got all of Superman's powers. Frankly you're no Superman"
As his eyes began to glow bright red, Carol came up with a plan. She could deal with this. Using her ring, she created a construct of a pair of spears and stabbed them into Parasite's eyes. The supervillain howled in pain and dropped his grip on Ultraviolet's fists. His eyes hadn't been pierced, Parasite was too durable at this point for that to work, but getting objects jabbed into your eyes at incredible speeds was going to hurt no matter what.
Before Parasite could recover, Carol socked him in the jaw, then hit him in the gut before finally forming a construct of a giant spiked gauntlet and slamming it into Parasite, sending him flying back. Ultraviolet grinned as she saw Raven and Fire getting into position to continue assisting.
"You're right, I'm not Superman" Ultraviolet boldly declared "I'll beat you without getting drained"
Ultraviolet prepared herself for a difficult fight. Carol didn't quite trust Supergirl. As such she was going to make damn sure that she could fight a kryptonian if need be. And since Parasite insisted on providing an acceptable target, Ultraviolet was going to get all the practice she could take.
Rebecca Carstairs
Rebecca hadn't been expecting much when she'd gotten the call for help with the kryptonian situation. Sure the worst case scenario was scary but Rebecca was confident that things wouldn't escalate to that point. From what she could tell, Superman didn't seem an overly unreasonable person. She doubted that she'd be needed to help in a fight.
Still speed was necessary so Rebecca decided to get into her car and drive to the location Ultraviolet had told her to head to. Yes she could fly and she would need to park her car, but the speeds she could achieve while driving made up for the loss of time parking and it was a lot more discrete than flying. The faster more discrete method was the better one in this case.
Just as Rebecca got her car parked, she heard a comms message from the new Brazilian superheroine working at LexCorp about Parasite showing up. They'd come up with a plan but in all of the chaos Rebecca noticed that they never mentioned what Superman or Supergirl were doing. Rebecca understood that well enough, she'd had experience fighting Parasite before so she knew that it took a ton of focus and concentration not to get tagged by him once he was sufficiently amped up, but still it seemed like an odd omission.
As Rebecca prepared to fly in, she noticed Supergirl carrying a fairly bedraggled looking Superman away from where the fight was happening. Rebecca was concerned. She had a choice to make now.
Rebecca's Choice subvote
Upon seeing Supergirl carrying Superman away from the fight with Parasite, Rebecca is now presented with a choice on what to do next. What choice Rebecca makes will heavily impact how the event concludes. Please pick your favorite option from the list below. As always there is a 1 hour moratorium on voting.
[ ] [Choice] Follow Superman and Supergirl covertly in order to spy on them
[ ] [Choice] Try and confront Superman and Supergirl as soon as possible
[ ] [Choice] Go and aid everyone fighting Parasite
[ ] [Lex] Oversee the Cold Engine's completion
[ ] [Mercy] Brief security on known tactics of the Joker
[ ] [Cass] Observe Raven and slowly bend her into being an ideal subordinate
[ ] [Loomis] Chat with Siobhan
[ ] [Jinx] Invent Antichess
[ ] [Smoak] Spend time with Barbara before she leaves
[ ] [Paige] Attempt to visit a private spa
[ ] [Costa] Talk to Mari about getting used to living in Metropolis
[ ] [Tora] Hang out with Beatriz
[ ] [Eve] Ask Carl Draper for learning material about traps
[ ] [Devereux] Familiarize herself with the LexCorp labs
[ ] [Meld] Try to covertly help Paige Monroe on a bad day
[ ] [Crock] Spend time with key employee
[ ] [Cub] Deign to engage in games with the ice person (play games with Tora Olafsdotter)
[ ] [Monkey] Approach the old person and the blonde young human (approach Enoch and Emmylou Brown)
The votes for who people wanted to see next with the highest number of votes was
[ ] [Next] Raven
[ ] [Next] Helena Bertinelli
[ ] [Next] Rose Wilson
With the next three closest (Siobhan, Lisa and Caitlin) all having two less votes. These personal actions are going to be interesting.
Now diving into the first part of the nemesis events. There's a lot going on with these and I'm hesitant to talk too much for fear of spoiling things. I will mention that I'm a little annoyed at how you all completely missed something and weren't punished for it at all because the dice were in your favor. You guys completely missed a potential threat, picked the right hero units for a really interesting set-up and then lucked out with the numbers resulting in what I thought was a clever twist to ultimately result in an anti-climax. Ce la vie, that's quests I guess, but I do think it's funny that the one event in which you completely missed my attempted warnings and concretely left yourselves incredibly vulnerable resolved more cleanly than any of the other events.
On the more general writing experience, it was interesting writing a Marie and Rebecca POV again after quite a while. I still think I have a strong sense of their character but as part of my evolution as a writer I feel like their "character voice" might have shifted a bit. It's not so extreme that it can't be justified with them being in a different place than when last I wrote them but it is something I thought about as I wrote.
Nemesis Event: A Metropolis Welcome Part 1
Lex Luthor
Bruce Wayne's arrival into Metropolis began as any other day in Metropolis did. While Bruce Wayne took his own private plane to get to Metropolis, his landing location and time was still publicized well enough for reporters to swarm the location. The police escort you sent to keep Bruce under observation and locked in place managed to arrive and eventually cleared the place before escorting Bruce Wayne to his limousine and providing him with a motorcade. Bruce Wayne seemed to accept the reasoning that he was likely to be targeted by the Joker if he showed up in Metropolis, so you didn't have to worry too much about trying to keep an eye on him. It was irritating that the Daily Planet was already speaking to him but you could handle things well enough. Talia's observations would have to suffice for now.
Instead you prepared for an encounter with Bruce Wayne on your own terms. Bruce Wayne would be taken to the show office where you'd meet with him to discuss a wide variety of topics and you'd introduce him to Cassandra. You didn't expect Bruce Wayne to be much of a threat but as the head of the company most likely to come into conflict with LexCorp, you'd be a fool to underestimate him.
Cassandra had been briefed on what to expect going into this. She was to be innocuous and relatively harmless, merely there to observe the interaction. She didn't have to pretend to like Bruce Wayne or be especially enthused by his presence but she was expected to not be disruptive. With her body reading skills she would be able to get a better measure of Bruce Wayne. Thus so long as you didn't agree to any binding deals, you'd be able to come out of this interaction knowing exactly what the lines in the sand were. Cassandra for her part accepted this assignment willingly, eager to prove herself.
When Bruce Wayne came up into your office, you took his measure once more. The man was conventionally handsome. Dark, brooding looks and a clearly fit physique alongside a constant smirk gave him an appearance you could understand being attractive. His expensive bespoke black suit and red tie stood out and marked him as one of the wealthiest men in the world. You had no real peers but many people would argue that Bruce Wayne was your equal.
"Lex, it's good to see you!" Bruce Wayne cheerfully stated as he sauntered into the office and shook your hand before turning to look at Cassandra. "And who's this over here?"
"That would be my daughter Cassandra Luthor" You replied, trying to move past the pleasantries and get more into the meet of things.
"How do you do Mr. Wayne?" Cassandra interjected holding out a hand for a handshake.
"I'm doing well, Metropolis is a beautiful city filled with interesting people and while I'm officially here on business, it's also a vacation from Gotham" Bruce Wayne responded before shaking Cassandra's hand. Your daughter, in a fit of childishness you weren't sure whether or not it was faked, squeezed Bruce Wayne's hand as hard as she could while they shook hands. A moment past and Cassandra let go as the handshake ceased.
Bruce Wayne shook his hand seemingly from the pain, though it was quite obviously performative.
"That's a killer grip you've got there" Bruce Wayne said, to which Cassandra merely let out a grin as the Gotham based billionaire continued to talk "I do not look forward to the day you'll be running LexCorp and we'll need to shake hands"
You decided to take this as your cue to steer things back in the direction you wanted it to go.
"On that note Cassandra if merely here to observe. If you don't mind, I'd like for Cassandra to write down and record a few of her observations so she can learn from this negotiation" You query "There will be no other recordings of this meeting and all records of our conversation will be destroyed by the end of the day"
You weren't sure whether or not Bruce Wayne would agree to the proposition but by including the element of recording you were confident you'd have enough room to negotiate for her presence in the room if Bruce Wayne were still opposed. It was a very basic negotiation tactic, but starting with a more extreme demand and letting your opponent work you down to what you actually wanted was a fairly effective tactic all things considered.
Bruce Wayne then decided to surprise you by making a mistake.
"I don't mind at all" Bruce Wayne admitted "Children are the future after all and I'm more than happy to help your daughter learn what she needs to do in order to succeed later on in life. I might have my son do the same"
Well if Bruce Wayne was willing to let Cassandra make a recording that could then be leveraged later, you wouldn't object to that. It wasn't a huge thing but it made you question just how on guard Bruce Wayne actually was. Anyone experienced in media would know that providing the other side with tangible evidence would be problematic if it became a battle in the court of public opinion. Admittedly the notes of a thirteen year old heiress was by no means a smoking gun but it was a weapon Bruce Wayne had allowed you to have whilst not attempting to get a similar edge for himself.
Cassandra grabbed a notepad and a fountainpen and sat down in a chair off to the side. Bruce lounged on the chair you provided and when you offered a drink of an expensive brandy, Bruce Wayne happily downed a glass. You were already familiar with the various stories about Bruce Wayne's fondness for parties but you couldn't help but wonder if he might be a lush as well. Plying him with drinks might be an option to try and pull.
"You know I'm kind of curious, I'm a big proponent of adopting kids, every kid should have a parent in my opinion but at the same time I never saw you as the kind of person to adopt a child Lex" Bruce Wayne began, trying to dig for information "What made you decide to adopt?"
"When I found Cassandra I was reminded of myself" You flatly stated. "I saw her potential and I wanted her to have the opportunities to flourish and succeed"
That was not a lie. Cassandra was your daughter and you fully intended for her to triumph when it was her turn to hold the reigns of the company. You were better than your own father, Cassandra would always know that you meant the best for her and intended for her to always be her best self.
"That's the magic of parenthood I suppose" Bruce Wayne chuckled. Cassandra merely eyeballed this byplay, taking down notes on her notepad.
With Bruce Wayne's curiosity about Cassandra seemingly sated it was time to get to business and steer the conversation in the direction you wanted it to go.
Talking to Wayne subvote
Your initial conversation with Bruce Wayne has begun to move forward and now you can steer the conversation towards more productive matters. However you have a limited amount of time with which to converse with Bruce Wayne. As such it might be best to focus the conversation towards those ends you think would be most productive. Please pick your three favorite options from the list below as the subjects of conversation you'll pursue when talking to Bruce Wayne. Write-ins are allowed for this subvote but as always all write-ins are subject to QM approval. Additionally please note that any vote involving steering the conversation towards information revealed in another part will be automatically discounted. As always there is a 1 hour moratorium on voting.
[ ] [Topic] Talk to Bruce Wayne about Superman
[ ] [Topic] Talk to Bruce Wayne about the Daily Planet
[ ] [Topic] Talk to Bruce Wayne about potential collaborations between your companies
[ ] [Topic] Talk to Bruce Wayne about what he wants to see in Metropolis
[ ] [Topic] Talk to Bruce Wayne about the current state of Gotham
[ ] [Topic] Talk to Bruce Wayne about establishing a defense network against alien invaders
[ ] [Topic] Write-in
Nemesis Event: From Gotham with Hate Part 1
Marie Louise Dahl
When Marie had imagined what it meant to be a success, she hadn't quite figured that it would involve standing on a freezing rooftop waiting for a flying alien in goofy pajamas to show up. Still in a way it was proof that Marie had it made. Lex had gotten wind of some information about a hit on Superman. As such someone had to let the big blue brick know what was going on and Lex didn't exactly want to put himself in the line of fire if things went wrong. Graves was busy prepping the tower for a potential hostile force or alien. As such Lex needed someone whom he trusted to carry out the negotiation and the work of contacting Superman while also representing him fairly. Due to her history of success at the company Marie was chosen for the role.
Like everything she did, Marie intended to succeed and so she buckled down and put in the effort to see things through. She'd been given a goon squad to keep her safe and provide her with some time to get away if things went pear shaped. Marie made sure to look into her groups capabilities before strategically positioning them around her, both to act as a deterrent to outside invaders and to record what went down with Superman.
The potential locations were studied and researched before Marie settled on renting an empty warehouse for the meeting. This way if Superman turned hostile no LexCorp equipment would be damaged and the alien wouldn't be able to find anything that Lex didn't want him to. The warehouse was less secure than Marie would have liked but she was on a time limit.
She placed numerous gadgets on the roof under the snow that would record the conversation and transmit it to a computer. Sure maybe Superman and his super-vision might catch them but he'd still need to check and Marie wanted that extra layer of security. All of it was in preparation for proving that Lex could trust her with something like this.
Her solution to getting Superman to meet her was relatively simple. With the help of some grunts, Marie rigged a spotlight to shine a giant s-shield into the night sky. It worked for the vampire freak in Gotham, it'd work for the alien in Metropolis. And so Marie was reduced to sitting on a rooftop and waiting. It felt almost demeaning but Marie was prepared to do whatever it took to get the job done.
Eventually, slowly, Superman drifted into view of Marie. This was the first time that she saw Superman in the flesh and she could see why people were impressed. He had a face and physique that could have made him big in Hollywood if he decided to enter show business. Combine that with the fluttering cape and the flying and it was kind of intimidating, not that Marie would admit it.
Then Superman opened his big stupid mouth and ruined any respect Marie might have had for him.
"Hello there" Superman patronizingly intoned "Do your parents know you're up here? Someone called me here with this big flashlight and so it could be dangerous for you to stay"
Marie saw red. It shouldn't piss her off nearly as much as it did, but someone seeing her body and making conclusions about who she was and what her capabilities were really made her mad.
"I called you here stupid" Marie angrily retorted "And my parents have been in the morgue since the eighties. Do us all a favor and try and use one of your many magic alien powers to tell the difference between a child and someone living with a disability"
"I'm sorry" Superman swiftly apologized, trying to placate Marie. "Your appearance threw me off but I should have been more careful. I apologize if I offended you"
"Well I expected you to look more like Clark Gable, but you don't see me choking on my own feet like a moron trying to make himself into a human wheel!" Marie fiercely fired back. With Superman looking sufficiently cowed, Marie decided to move to the actual meat of the conversation. She was a professional and even if she didn't like Superman that didn't mean she couldn't do her job.
"The fact of the matter is that LexCorp caught wind of someone poking around the shadier side of Metropolis looking for money in exchange for killing you" Marie explained. "We suspect that the individual in question is the Joker and we'd like to set a trap for him"
Superman still seemed fairly cautious about all of this.
"How did LexCorp come about this information?" Superman asked "If possible I'd like to verify your sources and ask a few questions of my own"
While the verification offer didn't seem unreasonable to Marie, the fact of the matter was that she didn't want to give Superman anything, especially if he was going to link it to any wrongdoing on LexCorp's part. Lex likely wouldn't appreciate Superman trying to investigate just what LexCorp knew and how.
"For the safety of our sources and for the ability to continue to remain aware of potential dangers coming to Metropolis, I'm afraid I can't reveal our sources at this time" Marie stated in a cold authoritative tone "You're welcome to investigate things on your own time but LexCorp will not support you in such an endeavor"
Superman seemed to accept Marie's refusal to cooperate even if he didn't seem overly happy about it. Still he didn't protest it too much so Marie considered that a victory in its own right.
"So what was that plan you mentioned earlier?" Superman interjected, trying to steer the conversation back on track after a moment of silence.
"The idea is simple" Marie expounded "The individual in question is looking for money in exchange for an attempt on your life. LexCorp is willing to offer one hundred million dollars for definitive proof of your death at a set point in time as a way to incentivize the person in question to stop hiding and fall into an ambush of your own making"
Superman scowled.
"I refuse" He simply stated "While I won't hesitate to put my life on the line, I refuse to participate in any plan that involves baiting a madman into acting in a manner that can result in civilian casualties. I'll handle this on my own"
With that Superman took off and flew to go do whatever it was superpowered alien crimefighters did when the public couldn't see them. Marie had done her job. Sure she hadn't gotten Superman to agree but in her opinion it was kind of a bum deal anyways. More importantly she'd gotten plenty of recordings of the conversation and had managed to show LexCorp at least nominally cooperating and trying to work with Superman. Whatever happened now, LexCorp almost certainly had an alibi going forward from here. Marie had done her job. Now she was going to get inside and warm up with a mug of hot cocoa.
Arthur Villain
Arthur liked to keep his ear to the ground in any given situation. The peons and the thugs of a city hardly made for stimulating conversationalist but the rats and roaches had a tendency of moving first when something was entering the environment. It was child's play to learn that someone was poking around the Metropolis underworld looking for money in exchange for the death of Superman. Arthur suspected that it was likely the Toyman operating in secret due to his pardon but he wasn't especially secure in his theory.
Regardless, Arthur was let in to LexCorp's operations regarding the matter fairly swiftly. They suspected it involved the Joker and as such they had him prep a few common counters to the clown's chemical weapons. Personally Arthur doubted that it was the Joker, the clown was far too theatrical to pull off something this quietly, but he supposed there was no harm in ensuring everything went well. The counters were easy enough to come up with as the GCPD had forwarded their files on the Joker and LexCorp had the materials to develop a wide array of counters to what was known. Arthur would play his part in the preparations without much complaint.
What piqued Arthur's interest was what he could do in his own off hours. Arthur couldn't quite offer one hundred million dollars but he could provide some money. Surely there would be some patsies he could sucker into contributing to a pool. Arthur had no issues with Superman but the chaos his death would cause would be the perfect smokescreen to let him more freely advance his own ambitions. The only question was if it was worth the risk of getting caught. Decisions, decisions.
Arthur would make up his mind soon enough and from there he'd execute as necessary.
New Plan subvote
Superman has fairly solidly rejected your initial plan to collaborate on a trap for the unknown individual. While you have already begun preparing for the unknown individual to approach LexCorp, you still have enough room to make a new plan to turn the situation into your favor. Feel free to pick your favorite option from the list below. Write-ins are available for this subvote but as always all write-ins are subject to QM approval. As always there is a 1 hour moratorium on voting.
[ ] [Plan] Covertly offer a bounty of $100,000,000 in exchange for proof of Superman's death
[ ] [Plan] Offer to pay double what the unknown individual is being offered for Superman dead if they can capture him alive
[ ] [Plan] Call the Metropolis police to bring them into the mix
[ ] [Plan] Attempt to covertly meet the unknown individual
[ ] [Plan] Have a proxy set up a reward for Superman's death
[ ] [Plan] Attempt to track down the unknown individual's location
[ ] [Plan] Write-in
Nemesis Event: Wax and Wayne
Bruce Wayne
When Bruce had first conceived of this charity event he hadn't expected things to play out quite as they had. No one could predict everything that came there way but as Batman, Bruce prided himself on being better than the average person. He had not expected to be blindsided by the board the way he was and when the news broke things were going to be ugly. Bruce couldn't cut his trip short just yet, the Joker was still on the loose and he'd hardly started his more rigorous investigations, but he still felt the call to go back to Gotham and begin putting out fires.
The one good thing to come out of the situation was the relationship he had with Lois Lane. Bruce liked Lois, she was beautiful, smart, and witty and she always tried to do the right thing. Even her initial dislike of him due to his being a billionaire was in Bruce's eyes a point in her favor. Bruce's uncle had thoroughly disabused him of the idea that you could trust seemingly friendly wealthy people. Lois's caution was more a mark of intelligence than anything else in Bruce's opinion. Only once Bruce had told her to deliberately write a story condemning the Wayne Enterprises board in the harshest terms possible did Lois begin to trust him. Bruce was more than willing to hit his own company in the pocketbook to ensure they stayed on the straight and narrow.
He and Lois had built up a rapport since then and they'd quietly started dating. Bruce didn't advertise it, and he didn't know if the relationship would survive once he went back to Gotham but for now Bruce allowed himself to enjoy it while it lasted. Clark Kent might glare at him for it and Bruce had no doubt that Lex Luthor wouldn't hesitate to use the relationship as a way to paint Lois as biased whenever she critiqued LexCorp, but for now both he and Lois were happy in this relationship and that was what mattered. Bruce supposed that he didn't mind that he hadn't predicted that Lois Lane would be attending this event as his date.
No, the more concerning element in the room was Lex Luthor and his daughter. Bruce had expected to have a handle on the man but he didn't quite yet. He was sure that Lex Luthor was up to something but he couldn't quite pin down what it was. The man was clearly guided by his own ego and desire for power, wealth, and status, but that hardly made him a criminal. Any accusation Bruce could currently level at Lex Luthor could also be leveled at the board members of his own company. The real problem was that Lex Luthor was far more powerful and smarter than anyone else on the board of Wayne Enterprises. That kind of power and intellect in amoral hands was dangerous and Bruce liked to be appraised of danger well in advance. Unfortunately understanding of who exactly Lex Luthor was still eluded him.
He'd asked Lois a few things about Lex Luthor and while she'd raised some very frightening concerns about Lex's grasp on the US government, she tended to conflate the man with his company. Bruce hadn't been able to get a solid conclusion one way or another from meeting the man personally but it had become clear that Bruce couldn't rely entirely on Lois's model of his character, if only for the simple reason that it couldn't accurately account for the presence of Cassandra Luthor.
Cassandra Luthor was a puzzle in and of herself. Lex had clearly been teaching Cassandra something. Bruce hadn't spent much time in her presence but he'd managed to pick up that Cassandra was quite talented. Cassandra was unusually strong for a thirteen year old girl and the way she quietly observed everything in the conversation indicated a remarkable degree of self-control. Batman was quite proud of Dick but even with his training, Dick was nowhere near as disciplined as Cassandra was. It was clear that Lex was trying to make Cassandra into his heir.
At the same time, Lex seemed to genuinely be fond of Cassandra. Lex was not an especially emotional speaker, but when the conversation had briefly shifted to a discussion of why Lex had adopted Cassandra the bald billionaire had tightened his control even further. Bruce was well aware of the concept of trying to hide weakness but was it to cover some dark past or out of a fear that visible genuine attachment to his daughter was a weakness? Bruce couldn't quite figure it out.
The Luthor's behavior at this event didn't seem to clarify things much either way. Lex basically paraded Cassandra around introducing her to various figures in Metropolis while Cassandra flitted about and dazzled those guests with displays of precocious intelligence and self confidence mixed in with slight hints of childishness. Lex could have been using Cassandra as a tool for positive perception, but if that were the case then Lex's seclusion of Cassandra made no sense, much less the fact that Cassandra almost certainly was smart enough to act more naive and play to people's biases if she wanted to. Lex could merely be letting Cassandra start to get to know relevant individuals in Metropolis now that she was getting older, but the decision to do it at Bruce's event coupled with the large donation hinted that this was some kind of petty one-upmanship. Perhaps Bruce himself was being used as an object lesson on how to quietly deal with opposition without officially taking any action against them one way or another. Bruce didn't quite have enough information to put together the picture.
All that being said Lex Luthor's dynamic with Cassandra defied Lois's depiction of him as an incredibly brilliant petty man trying to amass as much wealth, power and adoration as possible. While a child could fit into Lois's scheme of Lex Luthor, the amount of resources and care Lex put into Cassandra, as well as his general protectiveness and isolation of her indicated that this was not the case. Still it wasn't his job to figure out the specifics of that dynamic even if it would help to make his psychological profile more accurate and could potentially lead to him more clearly understanding if and potentially how, Lex was connected to seedier elements as Bruce suspected.
His initial approach had been derailed. Bruce had been content with letting Lex Luthor monitor him through the police most of the day and playing ball while observing his actions and behavior without fully committing to anything. It was easier to let a smart man think he'd outsmarted you and let him relax, then to try and contest him head on. Unfortunately news of what Wayne Enterprises did the moment he was no longer in Gotham to wrangle them had undoubtedly ruined his initial approach. No matter what he did, Lex would likely treat him as either a plant at best or an active hostile at worst. Perhaps it was time to let the Batman do more investigating of the Luthor family.
Not now though. For now Bruce would simply wait and enjoy a night with Lois. It was unlikely that the Joker would make his move tonight and whatever crimes Lex might be committing, bungling an investigation by rushing things and raising the man's suspicions would only result in further complications. Tonight oddly enough would be a night for Bruce to enjoy himself as Batman planned his next few steps.
Cassandra Luthor
Cassandra didn't mind this event all that much. Father was letting her prove herself out in the real world. Cassandra had longed to start acting and prove that she was a worthy heiress. Admittedly there wasn't exactly a wide variety of stunning conversationalists, but Cassandra found it so very easy to find people's strings and begin pulling on them to get them moving how she wanted them to.
While this wasn't quite an announcement on the world stage, this was the opportunity that would allow Cassandra to begin establishing herself and her image in the eye of the wider public. Father had briefed her on this and allowed Cassandra to decide how to portray herself provided it was still reasonable.
Cassandra wouldn't let people in on everything but she'd have her image established in the world. Cassandra would be seen as intelligent, confident and energetic. She couldn't abandon people's perception of her as an untested child so instead Cassandra played into it showing signs of childishness every so often. It worked well enough as it seemed to cover her disdain for the ignorant masses she had to interact with well enough that no one picked up on it. Cassandra didn't like most of the people she met but she wanted them to feel safe and secure around her despite having established herself as clearly better than all of them. If that meant pretending to be a little lost and subsequently impressed when some insipid stock broker tried to dazzle her with his knowledge of how to gamble successfully, Cassandra would take it. It was easy enough. Cassandra also wanted to be seen as distinct from Father. She loved her Father but in order for Cassandra to ever be viewed as worthy in her own right she couldn't be merely "Lex Luthor writ small". It was why she was wearing a dress to this event, so that people would see her as her own person and not just a young Lex Luthor like they might've if she'd worn a suit like Father. She'd shift back to her preferred style of dress later but for now image was everything and Cassandra intended to cement herself in the eyes of the world.
Cassandra did enjoy talking to a few of the individuals present. The chief of the fire department was blunt enough that she got along well enough and the various police officers in attendance saw her interest in their gear and careers as a sign that the money and support would continue to flow even if Father was somehow indisposed. Cassandra was tempted to push for getting a police officer to break the law and provide her with a firearm or some interesting object they had in lock-up but she ignored that urge. She could get it later once she'd fully won over hearts and minds if the idea remained amusing. For now it was business first and then maybe pleasure.
Cassandra did have one source of pleasure in this event besides finally being able to prove to Father that she was ready for the role of heiress to LexCorp. Cassandra couldn't help but find it entertaining to mess with the staff of the Daily Planet. Cassandra wouldn't characterize her opinions on the Daily Planet as being hateful. Instead she found them annoying. As enemies they were boring and predictable, clinging to childish morality and crying foul just because she and Father were stronger than the rabble and knew how to get what they wanted. They twisted words and played all sorts of narrative games. Cassandra could play that game, but she'd much rather have an enemy that she could beat to death.
Cassandra knew that she wouldn't be able to indulge in this all the time, but for now her age provided her with enough leeway for there to not be any blowback. Cassandra enjoyed pestering baiting and unsettling the staff of the Daily Planet. If any of them rose to her provocations, it would primarily look bad on the part of the Daily Planet staff member for getting into an argument with a thirteen year old girl. Cassandra was superior to them in every way that mattered but the public would almost certainly see it as bullying. Cassandra was more than happy to smear the reputations of the gnats that tried to do the same to what was hers. Turnabout was just fair play.
As the evening went on, it made Cassandra happy to see that she still unsettled Lois Lane so much. The woman was easy to read and she was so very, suspicious of Father. She practically radiated discontent whenever she looked at him. She thought she was better because she held to morality and because her job let her "discover and reveal the truth". Cassandra enjoyed proving any notion of Lois's superiority wrong. It was never spoken out loud but Cassandra enjoyed watching flashes of fear in Lois's eyes coupled with hints of shame and confusion of being afraid of a child. Cassandra was better than Lois Lane.
Clark Kent was also amusing. The big man was easily unsettled and his jealousy of Lois Lane's actual date, Bruce Wayne was fun to poke at. Cassandra enjoyed subtly inflaming the conflict through seemingly childish observations and watching the tension build and build and build. She couldn't push too much for fear of damaging her reputation, but Cassandra still ever so slightly hoped she could push the self-righteous overgrown farm boy into killing someone. The Daily Planet wanted to use words to hurt her, but they were so very easily torn down once someone could see what they thought about.
Despite it making the night far more enjoyable as it allowed Cassandra to win against her enemies, Cassandra couldn't afford to spend too much time playing those games with the staff members. Besides the fact that they were ultimately minor players in what was Cassandra's stage to meet various movers and shakers in Metropolis outside of LexCorp, Bruce Wayne served as a deterrent.
Cassandra hardly liked Bruce Wayne but she was wary of him. She'd ended up sharing her observations with Father and they'd come to the conclusion that Bruce Wayne was much more dangerous than he seemed to be. He attempted to hide it but he moved like someone with a tremendous amount of skill in a fight. He was always watching and waiting and observing as well, always suspiciously peering at everything around him while hiding behind a veneer of affable devil-may-care charm. Most notably his control of his body was good enough to hide some things from Cassandra. Not good enough to hide everything, Cassandra could still see beneath his skin and she'd pick him apart if it ever came to blows, but she couldn't unravel him quite like she could someone like Lois Lane.
Bruce Wayne also had money and influence that could almost rival Father's own. Father had done his best to kick the man's legs out from under him the moment he'd stepped into Metropolis but a beaten dog could still bite. Until Bruce Wayne was put down as a threat Cassandra would be cautious. Cassandra would prove herself by not biting off more than she could chew.
Instead she'd forge the necessary image and prove to Father that she was ready to begin making herself known the world over as his daughter and heir.
Leslie Willis
Leslie had considered just what her role in attending Bruce Wayne's fancy charity event would be. Leslie could have gone as herself or any of her personas. She could have come in on her own or as a plus one. In the end Leslie decided to go as herself. She was mostly there to wreak havoc of things went wrong and to keep an eye out on any interesting little tidbits that came her way.
Leslie ended up going to the event separately from Lex and the kid, as a way to maintain some degree of plausible deniability. It worked out well enough and Leslie made her way in. Of course Leslie also got incredibly bored incredibly quickly.
Bruce Wayne was an old money rich boy and it showed in the events he liked to throw. Nominally classy and composed but also stiff and lacking in energy. A party thrown by a playboy billionaire out to be fun and entertaining but Bruce Wayne managed to make the charity event so incredibly boring.
Leslie couldn't even get any fun out of needling people. A good number of the people were stiff traditionalists who'd happily silence Leslie if they could but Leslie couldn't bait them or needle them or get under their skin. Leslie understood why Lex did, the LexCorp princess needed to look good and while the pettiness amused her, it was fleeting when she couldn't amp up the energy. In the end Leslie decided to take a quick break to step outside and see if there'd be at least something more interesting going on where all the eyes of Metropolis's rich elites weren't looking.
Leslie ended up waiting outside near a back entrance where some security guards were stationed. She idly pulled out her phone to try and find something to amuse herself when she suddenly heard a shout from one of the guards nearby get cut off suddenly. The guards were all staring slack jawed in front of some asshole dressed in a gaudy blue red and gold costume. Leslie began to move in closer to try and pick up what the man was saying.
"... You're going to let me in and help me secure the exits to prevent anyone else from leaving" the man in the gaudy costume smarmily commanded "And if you see Superman approach, you're going to do your best to kill him"
Well it seemed like Leslie had wandered into something interesting.
"This is too easy!" The man gloated "Soon enough I'll have everyone who's anyone in this town eating out of the palm of my hand and Superman won't be able to touch me"
The guards continued to remain there slack jawed, seemingly not noticing anything that was going on. Of course at that moment the weirdo in the costume turned and spotted Leslie. He panicked for a moment before he unleashed some sort of strobing light pattern. It didn't do much to Leslie but she figured that the man probably expected it to have some kind of effect on her. Leslie thus pretended to imitate the guards mindless state, hoping it would get the asshole in the ugly costume to keep talking and not realize she was setting him up.
"Stupid guards, pretend you're normal and don't let anyone besides myself in or out of the building!" The man hissed. The guards promptly snapped back into motion and lumbered back to their posts. Satisfied that things had gone his way, the man turned to examine Leslie. It took a fair bit of self-control to not just blast the guy but Leslie remained patient by imagining how much more satisfying it would be to blast him after the smug prick realized she'd been toying with him the entire time.
"You're a real dish aren't you?" The man leered "I think I'll keep you and Lois Lane as my own personal servants. After all the Commander only deserves the best, and I think having a collection of mind controlled maids catering to my every whim is more than earned"
Okay ew. Leslie was nobody's slave and this creep was going to learn about it soon enough. The Commander was a key figure of Toby Merlino's human trafficking ring but it was still disgusting to see him discuss exactly what he wanted to do. Leslie was going to nip this little problem in the bud.
"This is too easy!" The loser gloated.
Leslie smiled as the creep handed her a one liner on a silver platter.
"You're right" She calmly responded, savoring the look of panic and terror on the man's face as he realized he hadn't affected her with his gadgets.
Then Leslie blasted him with enough electricity to fry all of his tech and leave the man a steaming but still in the land of the living. Leslie enjoyed hearing him scream. Nobody would silence Livewire, especially not some creep reliant on mind control. Leslie promptly kicked the downed man to check on if the man was still alive. When he groaned, Leslie shocked him again for good measure. She kept him alive for now.
As such Leslie promptly took out her phone and contacted Lex about what exactly had gone on. Stepping outside had ended up proving the right move as Leslie was now no longer bored and she'd ensured plans went off without a hitch.
- Bruce Wayne's spotlight stolen
- Learned of Bruce Wayne's relationship with Lois Lane
- Learned of Clark Kent's dislike of Bruce Wayne
- Further confirmed that Cassandra freaks out Lois Lane
- Cassandra debuts to the elites of Metropolis, images of and information about Cassandra will start circulating more freely
- Cassandra develops a generally good reputation and maintains a very positive reception with the Metropolis police and especially the SCU
- Leslie Willis defeats the Commander with no major incidents
- Nobody learns of Leslie's powers and abilities
- Learned that Leslie is immune to Merlino mind control tech
- Capitulated Commander subvote
Capitulated Commander subvote
While it hasn't made any waves quite yet, Leslie's defeat of the Commander before he could enact his plan does present you with quite a few opportunities at your fingertips. It's not what you expected from the evening but it is a bit of momentum and leverage you're more than happy to make use of. Whatever course of action you decide to take, you're confident that it'll lead to greater success later on down the line. Feel free to pick any of the options from the list below. Write-ins are both allowed and encouraged for this subvote, though as always all write-ins are subject to QM approval. Additionally, as always there is a 1 hour moratorium on voting.
[ ] [Command] Anonymously leave the Commander in police custody
[ ] [Command] Secretly take the Commander back to LexCorp to be placed in a secretive holding cell
[ ] [Command] Take whatever remains of the Commander's costume and equipment for study
[ ] [Command] Leave the Commander for others to find
[ ] [Command] Have Leslie take public credit for defeating the Commander
[ ] [Command] Have one of Leslie's personas/disguises take credit for defeating the Commander
[ ] [Command] Have Leslie pose as Ultraviolet and claim credit for defeating the Commander
[ ] [Command] write-in
Nemesis Event: What Makes a Hero Part 1
Carol Ferris
Carol didn't trust Supergirl. Frankly the would be superheroine had too many holes in her stories for Carol to trust her just yet. Still a kryptonian was quite a powerful individual and whatever Supergirl's circumstances and agenda were, they were a lot more manageable when she hadn't quite linked back up with Superman. As such it made sense to keep an eye out for Supergirl and ensure that she wasn't able to ever coordinate with Superman.
As such when the reports came in of Supergirl stopping muggers and getting cats out of trees, Carol felt obligated to step in to ensure that nothing went wrong. Ultraviolet was one of the greatest most well-known heroes on earth. While Carol wasn't quite comfortable with the hero worship some of her colleagues might give her, she could still leverage it to her advantage in this situation. Carol didn't really know quite how to feel about Raven's admiration for her, or Beatriz's belief in her. Carol could deal with it but it was a little awkward at times. Still if it helped her to keep Supergirl pacified and helped to keep the kryptonians wedged apart Ultraviolet would be happy to make use of her reputation.
It wasn't too hard to find Supergirl, unlike Superman, the blonde kryptonian tended to linger in spots for a while. It made it child's play to fly out and seemingly coincidentally encounter her. The excuse Carol was going with was that she was taking Fire and Raven on a training run to get used to acting in Metropolis and doing more local superhero work. It was palatable enough that neither Raven nor Beatriz questioned the excuse, while Supergirl seemed to buy it fairly quickly.
Supergirl ended up agreeing to a joint patrol and so Ultraviolet mostly sat back and observed, letting others take the lead. While Raven and Supergirl didn't quite click, admittedly a bit of a shame, Fire managed to get the kryptonian to open up just enough that Ultraviolet was able to get new information. Admittedly the informal race wasn't ideal but it did give her a sense of Supergirl's capabilities.
Ultraviolet had seen Superman in action. He was incredibly fast and strong and he had incredible senses. Only after observing Supergirl competing against Fire in a friendly race did she notice how much control Superman had. Plainly speaking Supergirl lacked Superman's control. She could match his speeds, but she often struggled with moving in a three dimensional space or with making rapid turns. She was a lot more easily overwhelmed with sights and sounds and things that wouldn't phase Superman at all seemed to bother her. It was interesting to note and it suggested that even if the powerset was the same, Superman's extended time on earth would make him significantly better at leveraging it than any other kryptonian. It was an interesting observation.
Shortly after gathering this information Carol spotted Superman closing in on their position. As such she ended up calling Rebecca Carstairs for back up. While Ultraviolet didn't expect for things to end in a fight, she'd rather have as many magic users on hand to help deal with the kryptonians. Raven was a talented teenage girl but Ultraviolet doubted she could take on both Superman and Supergirl. The back up wouldn't be necessary but it would be appreciated.
Superman arrived and Ultraviolet got to bear witness to an awkward conversation between the two cousins in which Superman tried to investigate what Supergirl was doing in Metropolis whilst Supergirl tried to restore the relationship to a more friendly one. Carol made a few key comments to try and keep the two apart but before she could get too far, they were interrupted.
Apparently the two kryptonians had gotten so caught up in their arguing that neither one of them had noticed that Parasite was close by. In hindsight it was obvious to look for him, even if there wasn't much hint to it previously. A kryptonian power source flying around on her own that was relatively easy to track would no doubt draw Parasite to Supergirl like an addict to a mountain of cocaine. It was too late for regrets now a fight was inevitable.
Parasite leapt out from behind cover, arms outstretched and ready to drain someone. Ultraviolet promptly formed a shield and yelled out orders to fall back and hit Parasite from a distance. In that instant, though it was clear that Ultraviolet had defended her people, it was too late as Supergirl stood in shock in the split-second it took for Parasite to close in on his target. If not for Superman moving at incredible speeds and knocking her out of the way, she would have been the one to be drained. Instead Superman screamed as Parasite took his powers.
Raven dove under the earth and Fire flew into the air. Ultraviolet meanwhile decided to act, turning her shield construct into a battering ram and smashing it into Parasite, knocking him away from the now downed Superman. Supergirl began to ask why Superman stepped in to save her while Superman responded that they were family. The two seemed insistent on having a heart to heart at this moment and Ultraviolet was having none of it. She turned to yell at the two of them to knock it off immediately when a fuchsia hand covered her face. Ultraviolet didn't even have an instant to struggle when Parasite used his grip to slam her head into the ground with what felt like all the force of Superman.
"Don't you know it's rude to interrupt a guy when he's eating?" Parasite mocked as he held Ultraviolet down "Now I've got to make an example out of you"
Carol had no doubt that Parasite would have drained her if he could. Fortunately for Ultraviolet, her power ring allowed her to constantly project a thin barrier of energy around herself. Parasite couldn't touch or drain her.
Ultraviolet promptly punched Parasite and then smacked him with a giant spiked mace construct. Parasite quickly caught himself in the air and righted himself only to be pelleted by earthy fragments that Raven had telekinetically lifted and launched. Parasite then wove around Raven's projectiles until he was cut off by a wall of green fire, launched by Fire from the air. Parasite then rocketed up into the air and began indiscriminately sweeping with concentrated beams of heat vision, hoping to strike at anyone who got in his way. It was clear that Parasite didn't care about collateral damage.
Ultraviolet promptly formed a clamp construct and had it snake forwards as she flew toward Parasite. The clamp eventually connected and cut off Parasite's heat vision beams. Parasite promptly shattered the construct with super strength and socked Ultraviolet knocking her to the ground. Parasite then rushed at her once more, avoiding attacks from both Raven and Fire. Using her ability to fly, Ultraviolet nimbly and acrobatically rotated into the air and used the corkscrew motion to both avoid Parasite's strike and kick him in the head sending him stumbling back. Parasite growled.
Ultraviolet ducked Parasite's jab and swayed out of the way of his follow up. As she twisted out of the way of his third strike, Ultraviolet formed a sword construct which she then swung, forcing Parasite to take a half step back. Ultraviolet continued trying to cleave Parasite which in turn resulted him eventually catching the blade with both hands and shattering it by violently jerking it to the side. Ultraviolet promptly wiped the smirk off of his face by taking the opportunity to headbutt Parasite. She was then immediately forced onto the defensive as Parasite blasted with heat vision.
Ultraviolet threw up a shield construct and held her ground. After a few seconds, Ultraviolet dropped her shield construct and darted to the side before firing a blast at Parasite. Parasite walked into the blast, apparently believing that he could absorb the energy, only to scowl when he realized that he couldn't as the blast connected with his gut. Ultraviolet rushed in eager to try and wrap things up. She moved to punch the still doubled over Parasite, only for the purple creep to reveal that he wasn't hurt all that badly as he caught her punch. Ultraviolet threw another strike with her other arm only for Parasite to catch that as well. The two strained against each other pushing with all of their might. Carol knew she didn't need to win, she just needed to stall long enough for Raven and Fire to get into position to deal with Parasite. Plus the longer things went on the more likely it was that Rebecca could join in the fight.
"You know there's no point in fighting" Parasite gloated "You can put on a good show, but I've got all of Superman's powers. Frankly you're no Superman"
As his eyes began to glow bright red, Carol came up with a plan. She could deal with this. Using her ring, she created a construct of a pair of spears and stabbed them into Parasite's eyes. The supervillain howled in pain and dropped his grip on Ultraviolet's fists. His eyes hadn't been pierced, Parasite was too durable at this point for that to work, but getting objects jabbed into your eyes at incredible speeds was going to hurt no matter what.
Before Parasite could recover, Carol socked him in the jaw, then hit him in the gut before finally forming a construct of a giant spiked gauntlet and slamming it into Parasite, sending him flying back. Ultraviolet grinned as she saw Raven and Fire getting into position to continue assisting.
"You're right, I'm not Superman" Ultraviolet boldly declared "I'll beat you without getting drained"
Ultraviolet prepared herself for a difficult fight. Carol didn't quite trust Supergirl. As such she was going to make damn sure that she could fight a kryptonian if need be. And since Parasite insisted on providing an acceptable target, Ultraviolet was going to get all the practice she could take.
Rebecca Carstairs
Rebecca hadn't been expecting much when she'd gotten the call for help with the kryptonian situation. Sure the worst case scenario was scary but Rebecca was confident that things wouldn't escalate to that point. From what she could tell, Superman didn't seem an overly unreasonable person. She doubted that she'd be needed to help in a fight.
Still speed was necessary so Rebecca decided to get into her car and drive to the location Ultraviolet had told her to head to. Yes she could fly and she would need to park her car, but the speeds she could achieve while driving made up for the loss of time parking and it was a lot more discrete than flying. The faster more discrete method was the better one in this case.
Just as Rebecca got her car parked, she heard a comms message from the new Brazilian superheroine working at LexCorp about Parasite showing up. They'd come up with a plan but in all of the chaos Rebecca noticed that they never mentioned what Superman or Supergirl were doing. Rebecca understood that well enough, she'd had experience fighting Parasite before so she knew that it took a ton of focus and concentration not to get tagged by him once he was sufficiently amped up, but still it seemed like an odd omission.
As Rebecca prepared to fly in, she noticed Supergirl carrying a fairly bedraggled looking Superman away from where the fight was happening. Rebecca was concerned. She had a choice to make now.
Rebecca's Choice subvote
Upon seeing Supergirl carrying Superman away from the fight with Parasite, Rebecca is now presented with a choice on what to do next. What choice Rebecca makes will heavily impact how the event concludes. Please pick your favorite option from the list below. As always there is a 1 hour moratorium on voting.
[ ] [Choice] Follow Superman and Supergirl covertly in order to spy on them
[ ] [Choice] Try and confront Superman and Supergirl as soon as possible
[ ] [Choice] Go and aid everyone fighting Parasite
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King crimson
Confusion Will Be My Epitaph
- Location
- Los Angeles
In case people couldn't tell (I'll make it clear here and not in the author's note above the events), the one nemesis mini-event that you guys completely missed what I was trying to signal was "Wax and Wayne". The descriptor talking about the Daily Planet staff and the Merlino mind control devices being really effective at this event was an attempt to outline what the Commander's plan broadly was, and hint at his presence (he is the character who arguably uses those devices most).
There was a bit of discussion mentioned about making use of the devices yourself but nobody really thought twice about why I was signaling "this is a good spot to use the mind control devices". Admittedly that might be my fault as I could have erred on the side of too subtle (I was definitely trying to make it not obvious until you look at it in hindsight). I was even more excited when I saw that you guys seemingly arbitrarily picked the one hero unit who completely stonewalled the Commander and was immune to his abilities.
I was really excited for the potential story I could tell and you guys anticipated just enough that Cassandra could have debuted a costumed alias. Then Leslie rolled a natural 100 on detecting the Commander before he could do anything and the story underwent a painful anti-climax as Leslie was basically able to completely outmatch him in every way that mattered.
Edit: Also because I'm talking about signaling, I do want to take about "What Makes a Hero". I'd always intended to include Parasite in this nemesis mini-event but I basically did nothing to tip people off that this would be the case. I felt it was fair since the hero units provided could pretty easily counter him (Ultraviolet is a way worse matchup for Parasite than Superman is) but I do want to make note that the description was potentially a little misleading. I hope this doesn't annoy or frustrate people as I thought it helped make the events a little more dynamic and exciting but if people are having a bad time of it, or find it annoying, please let me know.
Edit #2: A bit of potential clarification, I don't think people missing the subtle hints I tried to leave about the Commander were oblivious or anything, I think I might have been too vague (I definitely was for "What Makes a Hero"). I'm currently trying to experiment with balancing fairly informing you of what a mini-event might constitute while also leaving enough room for twists, turns and surprises.
There was a bit of discussion mentioned about making use of the devices yourself but nobody really thought twice about why I was signaling "this is a good spot to use the mind control devices". Admittedly that might be my fault as I could have erred on the side of too subtle (I was definitely trying to make it not obvious until you look at it in hindsight). I was even more excited when I saw that you guys seemingly arbitrarily picked the one hero unit who completely stonewalled the Commander and was immune to his abilities.
I was really excited for the potential story I could tell and you guys anticipated just enough that Cassandra could have debuted a costumed alias. Then Leslie rolled a natural 100 on detecting the Commander before he could do anything and the story underwent a painful anti-climax as Leslie was basically able to completely outmatch him in every way that mattered.
Edit: Also because I'm talking about signaling, I do want to take about "What Makes a Hero". I'd always intended to include Parasite in this nemesis mini-event but I basically did nothing to tip people off that this would be the case. I felt it was fair since the hero units provided could pretty easily counter him (Ultraviolet is a way worse matchup for Parasite than Superman is) but I do want to make note that the description was potentially a little misleading. I hope this doesn't annoy or frustrate people as I thought it helped make the events a little more dynamic and exciting but if people are having a bad time of it, or find it annoying, please let me know.
Edit #2: A bit of potential clarification, I don't think people missing the subtle hints I tried to leave about the Commander were oblivious or anything, I think I might have been too vague (I definitely was for "What Makes a Hero"). I'm currently trying to experiment with balancing fairly informing you of what a mini-event might constitute while also leaving enough room for twists, turns and surprises.
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Was it arbitrary King Crimson? Was it all just luck? Or was it all part of our master plan?
I say we loot his tech. We could also take him to Lexcorp and have Pamela give him a taste of his own medicine. Maybe put one of his own mind control devices on him for good measure. Then milk him for everything we can learn and then dispose of him. but that's more risky.
What did those asses do?
Nah you got it right the first time Bruce it was petty one-upmanship. Any lessons she learns from this are just a nice bonus.
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King crimson
Confusion Will Be My Epitaph
- Location
- Los Angeles
Votes open now
It is what it is. Either extreme is terrifying as it means either you're playing 5d chess while I'm playing checkers or in my opinion even more terrifyingly, you're a conglomerate Inspector Clouseau and it doesn't matter what you do or don't understand, you'll disable all obstacles and solve every problem in your way. So that I can sleep soundly at night, I like to imagine the thread falls somewhere in between those two extremes.
It'll be revealed on the results Part 3. All I'll say now is that I was primarily inspired by actual US case law for antitrust and all of the horrible ways people leverage markets at the expense of others.
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- Location
- California
This was a fun update to read.
edit.
I'd go for these, my favorite picks being collaborations and the current state of Gotham. No need to start a fight going into the Daily Planet, and also don't want Bruce to pick up on Lex's hatred for Superman.
This had me laughing for half a minute, sucks that it probably won't work in the future, or it may be good for a nemesis action if Superman ignores it during an emergency.
Combining these two may be good, Superman refused the 100 million bounty idea so no need to continue it. We could spin it as going for an action that would keep him safe, and only tip off a few top police officers to be aware some odd stuff may be going down with LexCorp involved.
Keep him for info, and take his tech for studying a counter. Don't let Leslie take credit since that'll bring up info about her powers and make it easier to track her actions.
Parasite is the priority, I don't think Rebecca has the Diplomacy or Intrigue to successfully pull off the other two actions.
edit.
Its going to be something that makes us scream for blood isn't it? Just tell Bruce: "I don't hate you Bruce, but your board needs to die in a fire, when is Joker going back to Gotham again?"
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I guess we'll see them in court then.
- Location
- California
More likely they'll just do something that will make us burn actions and money to distract us while they try to move into our business sectors. We may need to take a few actions dedicated to making new product lines that Wayne Enterprises can't compete in so easily.
Did not expect that at all, tbh. I'm down for it though, poor man needs some love in his life after all his other love interests hate his guts.
King crimson
Confusion Will Be My Epitaph
- Location
- Los Angeles
It's pretty bad. Don't know if it's "scream for blood" bad but at the very least Lex is going to be incredibly pissed off about this.
Also Bruce's board includes members of the Court of Owls, maybe not all of them need to die in a fire but some of them most definitely do.
So "antitrust law" is the law that controls monopolies in order to promote competition on the merits as opposed to exploitative tactics. As such while I know you didn't mean it, your response here kind of reads as "lets commit antitrust violations right back even harder". I found it kind of funny, especially since that does seem like how a big business like LexCorp would respond.
I wouldn't worry too much, there are plenty of other love interests available for Bruce Wayne even if I stuck solely to people he has dated in other mediums before the quest.
Edit: I'm willing to bet money that Batman has the most love interests out of everyone in the entire DC universe.
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