Chapter 10
Edward Lytner screamed as he was forcibly thrown against the wall. "Let go of me!" he yelled. "What the hell are you doing here?! How did you get in?!"
"Kinda whiny, isn't he?" one of the two burly men noted as he calmly kept Lytner's arms pinned behind his back.
"And scrawny," the other said as he searched Lytner for holographic devices and other weapons. "And unarmed."
"What's the meaning of this?! Do you even know who I am?!"
"I believe the term is 'wanted'."
Lytner gasped as he was turned to see who had spoken. "Mr. Luthor?"
Lex Luthor smiled. "Hello, Edward. I've come to see if you'll vote for me this November."
Luminus gaped at him. "What?"
"Hm, I guess that's why I have speechwriters to write my jokes for me," Luthor mused. "Actually, Edward, I've come to make a citizen's arrest. When I obtained information as to where you were hiding, I knew it was my civic duty as the future mayor of Metropolis to see to it that you were delivered over to the authorities. You've become quite a fugitive ever since you tried to kill the CEO of my old company."
"You're - you're here to turn me in?"
Luthor used one of those predatory grins he was still famous for in boardrooms everywhere. "Well, maybe. It's really up to you, Edward. You see, I was hoping you could explain to me why Mercy Graves seems to think that I hired you to have her murdered."
"But - "
The politician gestured impatiently to the man holding Lytner's arms. Lytner screamed as one of his arms was twisted ever more tightly.
"That's not what I'm looking for, Luminus," Luthor said coldly. "I want answers, not excuses. Mercy hasn't used this information against me yet, but if she decides to come forward with this pack of lies later, it could torpedo my campaign. Let's try this again. Or you'll be in police custody, AND you'll have a broken arm. And you may be a convicted felon, Lytner, but you obviously still have only a scientist's threshold for pain."
Lytner felt his arm twisted again, and the sweat began pouring down his forehead.
"Again. Mercy - and her pretty new bodyguard - are both convinced I hired you to kill them. Why?"
"Because - because I told them that."
Luthor's eyes grew colder still. "Why? Because you hoped they'd tell the press that? Still nursing a grudge because I fired you for the sniveling traitor you are?"
"No! I was paid to!"
"By who? My opponents?!"
"No, by . . . by Miss Graves."
Luthor actually looked quizzical for a second. Then he chuckled. "Oh, did she?"
Lytner nodded his head vigorously. "She came to me. She said you'd tried to kill her twice already . . ." He paused and looked at Luthor, almost expecting him to hurt him for repeating the accusation.
Luthor only waved for Lytner to continue. Of course she thought he'd tried to kill her. He'd gone to some trouble to create that impression. Twice he'd arranged accidents that would have ended her days - then arranged for someone to find and fix the problem before it could kill her. Only a paranoid woman would believe that they were anything but accidents. Which, of course, fed into Mercy's paranoia.
The idea had been to intimidate her into giving him what he wanted. Evidently something had gone wrong.
"And that she needed someone to be her bodyguard," Lytner finally continued. "Someone with powers."
"You?" Luthor asked disbelievingly.
"She didn't think she could buy my loyalty," Lytner replied.
"Anybody can buy your loyalty, Edward. It's just that you'll turn around and sell it again for a higher price the next day."
"Well, that was why she didn't feel safe with me or any other criminal," Lytner explained. "And she didn't think any of the do-gooders would help her because of her association with you."
"Guilt by association? These heroes, they're so judgmental," Luthor murmured.
"But she did have this one girl lined up, this girl they're calling Starfire," Lytner said. "Miss Graves wanted me to fake an assassination attempt - one, to test Starfire's abilities, and two, to convince her that Graves was in real danger from you. That's why I said you hired me. It was for Starfire's benefit, not Mercy's."
Luthor was nodding now. "Which is why she hasn't told the police," he understood. "Because the real story would come out, and Starfire would resign. Plus, I'd look like the victim, and my poll numbers would r . . ."
Lytner was always amazed at how devious Luthor could look. "Eddie, I think I was wrong about you all those years ago," he said.
"You were?"
"Boys, let him go."
Lytner exhaled as Luthor's goons released their grip on him. He would have wiped his brow, but his arms didn't exactly have any feeling in them for the moment.
"I think I'd like to rehire you, Edward," Luthor continued.
"What? You're joking."
"Off the books, of course," Luthor told him. "I've got a job for you. I want you to pay Mercy another visit."
"What kind of visit?"
"The kind of visit where people end up hurt."
"You - you mean now you want me to kill her?"
"If I wanted her dead, she'd be DEAD!" Luthor suddenly roared, and Lytner cringed. "For gods' sake, Lytner, you've got smarts, but you never had common sense. So few scientists do. Mercy Graves' death is the last thing I need."
"Why?"
"Because when I sold her my stock for a pittance, we made a deal. Any Lexcorp stock still in her possession upon her death reverts back to me. If Mercy were to die, everyone will think I did it. Everybody knows that Lexcorp has yet to give any money to my campaign. They'll say I did it so I could assume control of the company again and start exploiting its fundraising muscle for my campaign." Luthor sighed. "I've tried to 'encourage' her to shift her allegiance, but it worked too well and now she has full-time protection."
Lytner looked confused. "Then why do you want me to hurt her?"
"If Mercy doesn't give me what I want in a few days," Luthor told Lytner, "you're going to stop by her home. Hurt her, but don't kill her. Let her know that I sent you."
"But - "
"Because," Luthor said, exasperated, "she can't tell the police. If they catch you, they'll find out she hired you to kill her the first time! I assume you have proof?"
Lytner nodded. "It was a condition of our arrangement. I wasn't going down for something she asked me to do. So yeah, Mercy doesn't want to see me in police custody."
Luthor smiled. "So one of two things happen. Either she gives in, makes a substantial donation, endorses my campaign, and helps my coffers explode. Or she calls the police on you. You show them how Mercy hired you the first time, the police will think the second attempt was a fraud as well, and when the public finds out I was wrongly accused, I'll be a shoo-in for victory."
"What about Starfire?"
"She's irrelevant," Luthor said indifferently. "Do whatever you have to do to get to Mercy. Kill the alien if you have to. I trust you can?"
Lytner finally risked a small smile. "Oh, she's not the only one who can put on a light show."
"Good. I'll send payment when Mercy is in my corner. And Edward?"
"Yes?"
"If you double-cross me, I'll do a lot more than twist that arm of yours."
Lytner cowered before Luthor's glare. "Y-yes."
"Yes what?"
"Yes - Mr. Luthor?"
Lex Luthor snapped his fingers, and his two thugs went out. "Try to remember that. Mr. Luthor. You don't work for Mercy. You work for me."
"Yes, Mr. Luthor."
"Hawkgirl?"
Shayera started. She hadn't heard him approach. "Yes, J'onn?"
"What are you doing?" the Martian Manhunter asked.
"Just - looking, I guess. It's silly that you always have to be the one to bring them their food. Like we're all too frightened of our reflections."
J'onn shrugged minutely. "It no longer affects me. The first few days, it troubled me, yes. But now they're just lonely people."
"Not them," Hawkgirl replied, gesturing in the direction of the double cell granted to the Justice Lord counterparts of herself and GL. She could see them from her vantage point, but she doubted they could see her in the shadows.
"Even them," J'onn said. "The lack of privacy affects their ability to be - intimate with each other, even though they are alone for hours at a time."
Hawkgirl didn't reply at first.
"Shayera? Is something troubling you? Why did you come here?" He set the tray of food down.
"I - lately I've had my own problems being intimate with John," she confessed.
"Why?"
"I had this horrible nightmare the other night, and it continues to trouble me."
J'onn stopped her. "Wait. Let me bring them their meal, and we can sit down."
"It's all right," she began to say, but he was already going. Hawkgirl didn't know why she was talking about this, but if she was going to tell someone, it might as well be J'onn. She didn't feel like she could mention it a second time to John, not after he'd questioned why her dream had included a Thanagarian fiancée.
"So what makes this dream special?" he asked as he walked with her back down the corridor. "You don't think Doctor Destiny is behind it, do you?"
"Him? No, it wasn't like that. I wasn't trapped or anything. It was just strange." She gave him the broad outlines of what had happened.
He thought for a moment before replying. "So you dreamed you betrayed us," he finally said.
"Yes," Hawkgirl replied. "I haven't - I mean, I won't. You know what I mean. It wasn't true, none of it."
"Then why does it bother you?"
"It has something to do with her."
"Her?"
Hawkgirl pointed back in the direction they'd come.
"Your double?"
"In my dream, when the Thanagarians came, I began wearing a military-style uniform and helmet. Not the ones actually worn by my people, mind you. Even those were different. The one I wore - it actually looked a lot like what my double wore."
"I see," J'onn said, nodding. "This isn't about what you've done. You think this is about what you might do."
"Crazy, huh?" Hawkgirl asked. "You'd think we all would have gotten over this by now."
"Actually, no, I don't. I've never gotten used to seeing myself behind that force field."
"You haven't? But J'onn, why didn't you say something?"
"I didn't want to trouble the others."
"J'onn, if you'd rather one of us saw to your double's needs, any one of us would offer to take your place."
He smiled grimly. "Perhaps someone else could take care of Superman instead. That man - he's too far gone. Everything that once made him the Superman we know has been eradicated. Now he's just a fanatic. One without powers now, fortunately. But he is still - unnerving."
Hawkgirl shivered. The alternate Superman had chilled her as well. Even AMAZO had more warmth.
"But we were talking about you," J'onn said. "This dream, it was a reminder of what you think you're capable of."
"What I know I'm capable of," she replied gloomily. "The woman up there proves it."
"Shayera, that woman is a different person."
"Is she? J'onn, in my dream the Thanagarians tried to take over this planet. They did exactly what the Justice Lords did. And in my dream, I helped them. I gave them the keys to the Watchtower. I told them how to defeat the League. That dream was a creation of my brain, J'onn. If my mind could conceive of such a thing, then couldn't I become the woman in that cell?!"
J'onn slowly shook his head, even as she became more agitated. "No."
"You're just saying that! You can't know that."
"Do you know what the difference is between the woman in that cell and the woman in your dream, Hawkgirl?"
"What?"
"In your dream, you changed your mind. Your double, meanwhile, remains firmly convinced that what she and her fellow Lords were doing the right thing, even now. Hawkgirl, we're all capable of becoming those people. Everyone has the choice to be good or evil. But you're not going to. Because in that dream, you became that woman, put on her helmet. And then you walked away from it. That wasn't your mind saying you're weak, Shayera. I think your dream was telling you that you're strong."
Hawkgirl looked down. "Maybe," she said. "I hope so. Thanks, J'onn." She turned to go.
"Hawkgirl?"
"Yes?"
The Martian paused. "Perhaps I could ask you something?"
"I think it's only fair. What is it?"
"Well, I have this friend - "
"It's official, J'onn. You sound just like an Earthling now."
He looked confused. "I do?"
"Whenever people on Earth want to talk about something personal, but they don't want to admit it's about them, they always say it's a friend who has a problem."
"Oh. Yes, right. But I do have a friend. That's the problem."
Hawkgirl put a hand over her mouth. "Oh, J'onn, I'm sorry, I just assumed. You've made a friend? That's wonderful! Why is that a problem?"
"I think I may be attracted to her."
"You think you WHAT?!"
J'onn looked a trifle disconcerted. "It's not that shocking, is it?"
"Well, no! It is a little surprising - although you were a little vague just now. You think you may?"
"I do not know. It is . . . confusing for me."
"Let's say you are. Have you told her? Is that the problem, you haven't told her?"
"No, I've told her."
"And how does she feel about you?"
He blinked. "I'm not really sure."
"Didn't she say if she maybe felt the same way?"
"Well, actually, no. No, I don't believe she did."
Shayera nodded. "You've got a problem then."
"I hadn't thought of that. That wasn't even the problem I was going to say."
"Maybe you should just tell me then."
J'onn sighed. "If she wants to pursue a relationship, I don't know if I should. As I said, I'm confused by my feelings. And - I have not felt this way about any woman since my wife passed away."
"Oh, J'onn, that's terrible. You've been mourning all this time?"
"After a while, it wasn't so bad."
Hawkgirl looked at him dubiously. "Isn't this better, though?"
"I feel like I'm betraying my family."
"I'm sure your wife wouldn't want you to spend the rest of your life grieving. She'd want you to be happy."
"Hm. That's just what she said."
"Who? Your friend?"
"Yes. She accused me of clinging to my past."
"I'm not sure that was called for."
He waved his hand. "We had argued. We both said things . . . but after that, we kissed."
Shayera folded her arms. "Well, that certainly suggests she's interested. But you might want to make sure before you ask her out."
"Ask her out? On a date?" J'onn hesitated. "It seems like such a big step. Plus, she's human."
"Does she know you're not?"
J'onn nodded. "She does. She won't tell anyone, though. But I'm not sure if Martians and humans are anatomically - compatible."
Hawkgirl coughed into her fist. "I think we've entered an area I can't really help you with."
"You're probably right." He considered mentioning that she was a criminal, but he decided that would massively complicate matters, and the situation was difficult enough.
"You know," she added, "before John and I began our relationship, Diana was always trying to get me to make the first move. I think she was so happy being in love with Audrey that it drove her crazy to see us apart. Which," she said dryly, "drove me crazy. Now I know how she felt. While remaining outside the realm of interplanetary biology, J'onn, I do think you should ask her how she feels, and if she's interested, you should go for it. I know it's been a long time for you, but you must remember what it felt like to have someone special in your life. Don't you want that back?"
"It is not that easy."
She sighed. "It never is for us, is it?"
"No. So it is good that we have each other."
"At least that we know for sure."
"Hello?" Flash asked as he answered his home phone.
"Is this - Wally?"
"Yeah, who's this?"
"Wally, this is Koriand'r."
He almost dropped the phone. He did, in fact, let go of the phone. Fortunately he was so fast that he caught it again before it had even begun to fall. It figured that the only way he was going to talk to her was if she called him.
"Koriand'r, hi! How are you?"
"Good. A bit tired, which is odd, considering how much hard labor I did when I was younger. All that space travel must have softened me up. But I enjoy my work, and I have time to learn more about your planet's civilization."
"What's it like being a bodyguard?" He didn't mention who she was protecting, or who said person once worked for.
"Different. You spend the whole day doing nothing, and yet you must be on constant alert for danger. These past couple days I have been keeping longer hours. Mercy has grown more fearful since Luthor's visit, and after she leaves the office I go with her to her - "
"Wait, Luthor was there? What did he want?"
Koriand'r paused. "I did not like him," she said. "He was very arrogant and intimidating, like he thought Mercy - Miss Graves, I mean - still worked for him. He did not make any overt threats, but Miss Graves seemed to think he was threatening her. Certainly he was very insistent on Lexcorp supporting his campaign for public office."
"He's a dangerous guy. Better to be safe than sorry, I guess."
"I agree. At any rate, I remain with her at her residence until she goes to bed. She does a lot of work at her home as well, so it's not that different. And speaking of home - "
"Yes?"
"I spoke to Raven earlier. She told me of how you've been keeping her company recently," Koriand'r said warmly.
Yes, he thought, pumping his fist. "She's good to hang out with. It's my pleasure. Besides, she and I seem to keep bumping into each other anyway, so why not?"
"Coming to see me at my apartment and finding her there is considered 'bumping into'?" she asked, her voice teasing now.
Flash rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, there was a time or two when I didn't think she'd be there, so technically, maybe?"
"Whatever the reason, I am grateful for it. Since switching jobs I have not seen much of Raven. I realize she says she doesn't mind being alone, but I can't believe she means it. Certainly no one on my home planet would want to be away from others. Your kindness means a great deal to me."
"Well, she's a friend. You both are." What he'd originally seen as gaffes had played out brilliantly. He'd become friendly with the roommate as well as the target, thus raising his stock further with Koriand'r.
Not that he was spending time with Raven out of purely mercenary motives. He meant it when he said he liked her.
"I think of you as a friend too, Wally. I hope you don't mind that Raven told me your real name. I didn't think it wise to repeat you-know-what over the phone."
"No, you're absolutely right. Thanks."
"So, Wally, would you like to get together some time?"
He almost started coughing. "Uh, I'm sorry, what?"
"Raven and I were under the impression that you wanted to ask me on a date. Were we wrong?"
If this was the cosmos' way of saying, "Sorry about all those times you couldn't get hold of Koriand'r", then it was certainly worth the wait.
"Well, yeah, yes! That sounds great. When?"
"Unfortunately, I don't have any evenings free in the next few days. But you Earthlings, you have this holiday. St. Valentine's Day?"
He shoots!
"Yeah, ten days from now," Flash said.
"Miss Graves has told me that she has special plans for the day before St. Valentine's Day. A special someone, she says, and she will require privacy. Perhaps you and I could get together then?"
He scores!
"That sounds nice," he tried to say casually. "Where would you like to go?"
"Oh, you've lived on this planet much longer than I! I'm sure you can think of something nice."
"Then - I guess it's a date."
"A date, yes," Koriand'r agreed. "I'm sorry, I have to go, Miss Graves needs something."
"Thanks," he managed to say. "And tell Raven I said hello," he remembered to add, "if you talk to her before me."
"I will," she promised. "Goodbye, Wally."
"Bye."
Flash realized that he might never have another phone call with a woman go as well as that one did.
"Members of the Justice League, I give you, The Ladies' Man!" he said to himself. He had to take her somewhere where there would be cameras. He wanted the League to see him with the beautiful, buxom alien princess on his arm. See, Dark and Broody isn't the only guy who can land the really hot babes. Batman and Catwoman, Flash and Starfire - let the League compare and decide who the luckier man is . . .
He stopped. It was an absolutely crazy idea. No one would go along with it.
Flash grinned evilly. He'd just have to talk that much faster.
To be continued . . .
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