Dizzy:
Kijani raised her eyebrows, giving Anthony a curious look. That was a rather loaded question. It wouldn't hurt to tell him the truth. "I trust you with this, because it's important to you. I trust you when you say you want to change the world." She paused, thinking. "I may trust you with a few other matters, but I'm not going to tell you what they are. Why are you asking me this now?"
Knight:
Anthony replies, his words coming out slowly as he mulls over each one before speaking it, "You should be careful about who or what you trust. Not everything is what it seems to be." Watson, as though he had been listening to the conversation, opens the door on Kijani's side of the limo right as Anthony finishes his sentence. Anthony opens his door for himself, then leads Kijani into the LexCorp building.
A pretty, young woman looks up from behind the front desk as the two students enter, and says, "It's been a while, Mr. Luthor."
Anthony approaches the front desk, a charming grin on his face as he replies to the smiling brunette, "Indeed it has, Jade. Perhaps we should make the time later this week to catch up. In the meantime, however, is my father prepared to see us?"
"Yes, he's in the conference room, waiting for you two so he can order his food. You might want to hurry, you know how cranky he gets when he's hungry," Jade says while standing to lead them upstairs.
Anthony gently puts a hand on her shoulder, saying, "I know the way. Thank you." He walks Kijani to an express elevator that travels only from the top floor to the lobby, whispering in her ear as they enter, "I hope to God that Ben knows not to kill her." Once the doors on the elevator close, Anthony subtly looks at one corner of the elevator ceiling and taps his ear, indicating to Kijani that there was a hidden audio/visual security camera.
Dizzy
Kijani breathed out an audible sigh, and looked with bright eyes to Anthony. "I can't believe this is happening." She let out a faint laugh. "I mean, just the simple opportunity of meeting your father is amazing. I'm actually nervous, can you believe it?" She'd understood his signal about the camera, and had realized it wouldn't make sense for them to ride in silence. It would be far less suspicious for her to pretend she was getting ready to meet her favorite celebrity. That was a much easier act than pretending she wasn't nervous. After all, wouldn't anyone be a little excited to meet someone who'd been President once? "Thank you, again, for this. I mean it." She looked at him and smiled, idly passing her portfolio from hand to hand. "Hopefully he sees something in me."
Knight:
Anthony chuckles, "Just tell him what you want to do with your life, and explain it exactly as you did for me. You'll get along just fine." Moments later, a ding rings through the elevator as the doors slide open. Kijani and Anthony are greeted by the sight of several guards, all dressed in custom-tailored suits.with AK-47's slung over their shoulders. The largest of the men steps forward, his hand extended toward Anthony as he says, "Welcome, Mr. Luthor. Mr. Luthor is waiting for you in the conference room."
When Anthony shakes the guard's hand, he does so in a way that nobody will see a small hypodermic needle passing between him and the guard. "Thank you Jerry," Anthony says with a nod before leading Kijani into the conference room. As they open the door, the infamous Lex Luthor can be seen at the head of a long, oblong, wooden table, his face hidden behind a menu. At the sound of the door closing behind his son and Kijani, Lex lays the menu on the table, then approaches the young adults with a warm, welcoming smile. He nods at Anthony, then looks at Kijani, seemingly taking in every detail about her in a fraction of a second. Lex takes Kijani's hand in his, kisses it gently, then says, "Miss Rayne, I presume? It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Anthony's told me a lot about you." He backs away, gestures to the table with a sweep of his arm and says, "Please, take a seat."
Dizzy:
Kijani tried not to look too nervous, realizing that to be too emotional in either direction would be weird. Still, it was strange. Lex Luthor was genuinely charming. But then... two could play that game.
She let a tiny blush rise to her cheeks, and then smiled politely, if not overeagerly. "It's a true honor to be in your presence, Mr. Luthor." She took a seat carefully, and let out a silent and slow calming breath. Pulling the napkin from it's metallic engraved ring, she carefully spread the cloth napkin in her lap. "I've been so excited about meeting you, sir. I tried to prepare some questions, and somehow I seem to have forgotten them all now."
Knight:
Lex smiles apologetically Kijani as he holds up one finger in her direction, indicating the need for silence. He turns to a young man standing off to the side of the room, and says, "I'll have the miso-glazed wild salmon with sesame asparagus."
Anthony speaks up briefly, "I'll have the champagne-lavender marinated grilled lamb chop, rare. I'd also like a bowl of curried tomato soup and a side of quinoa. While you're at it, might as well bring up a bottle of your finest champagne."
Once his son had fallen silent, Lex turns his attention back to Kijani and says, "After you tell Mark what you'd like to eat, I have some questions for you. First and foremost, if you're interested in business, why not approach Tony Stark or Bruce Wayne? Mr. Wayne has been one of my biggest rivals in the business world, and at times has even been more successful than I. So once again, I ask. What is your interest in me?"
Dizzy:
After ordering, Kijani set down the menu in a very careful way, and looked toward Mr. Luthor. "Well, sir. It's easy to say that both Mr. Stark and Mr. Wayne share your financial successes. On that plane, you are equals." She smiled faintly. "If I wanted to be merely rich and successful in that manner, I could easily find someone that could do that. That's not what I'm looking for, however." Her eyes met the elder Luthor's. "Your rivals have built upon nothing more than what their fathers and forefathers have already set in place. You, however, sir... are the pure definition of a self made man. The name of Luthor was unknown before you made it famous, through your dedication, hard work, and superior intelligence." Her gaze sharpened into something resolute. "That is why I'm interested, sir. You made your fortune from nothing, without having anyone to fall back on. I can only hope that I can learn to be half as driven as you are.
Knight:
A smile spreads across Lex's face as he turns to Anthony and whispers, purposefully too loudly, "Oh I like her. You've made a wise choice in making her your protege." Now, looking at Kijani once again, he says, "I'd like you to tell me about yourself. Your past, your experience at the Academy, your future. Perhaps by the time you're done, you'll have remembered the questions you wished to ask me."
Elsewhere-
Just before being ushered out of the limo by Anthony, Ben's suit morphs into a T-shirt and jeans, allowing him to walk through the crowd unnoticed. He begins walking in the direction of Luthor's base of operations and, while still two blocks away from the LexCorp headquarters, ducks into a darkened alley. Once out of sight, his suit appears in its full glory before the cloaking mechanism kicks in, turning Ben virtually invisible. He rapidly scales the building closest to him, then begins leaping from rooftop to rooftop toward his destination.
A few minutes later, Ben looks up in astonishment as the LexCorp building looms over him. Although he was standing on a ten story building, the building he was about to infiltrate was at least thirty stories. However, the windows of many of the offices were darkened, showing that at least some of the staff had gone home. After a deep breath to steady himself, Ben begins making his way to the second flood as instructed.
Dizzy:
Kijani covered a smile with her hand, rather pleased that she'd made a good impression on Mr. Luthor. She knew if he wanted to say something to his son that wasn't for her ears too, he would have a way to do that.
Oddly enough, while she may have embellished the way she said it, the sentiment had been true. She did admire Lex Luthor for coming from nothing and clawing his way to the top of the heap. It was a testament to sheer human willpower. Whoever said human beings were an inferior race was severely deluded.
"You want to hear about me? Very well, then. I'll speed by the usual details- I'm sure you've long looked those up. My childhood was privileged. My parents had their futures set before I was born, and my upbringing never stopped them from achieving great successes. I had all the physical comfort that I could ask for. School was simple enough for me, probably too simple. Honestly, one would think a private school would be intellectually more difficult than a public one, but the only difference is the attitudes. I was about to seek my way in the world without the dumbing down of high school, when my grandmother told me about the Academy." A tiny smile crept onto her face.
"I didn't know what to expect, really. To rub elbows with so many who've come from greatness, and to be myself, who comes from another example of pure human drive and strength of will, but doesn't carry a name to go with it... well, let's say your son has an eye for potential." She flashed a pleased, slightly blushing look at Anthony, looking like nothing else but a young woman with a crush. "It's been at times exhilarating, and humbling at others. I got in a fight for the first time, and that was new. Some... musclebound fool was mouthing off about his physical superiority. I felt the need to publicly put him in his place." Her eyes gleamed with a faint touch of fierceness, and she looked somewhat distant. "Of course I was reprimanded for this, but... I suppose I now know to be more subtle in the future." She shrugged, very slightly. "Lesson learned."
"Speaking of the future, well... my options are currently open after graduation. I know I want to have my own business, but I am not entirely set on the market I wish to delve into. Do I specialize and supply something that no one else can? Or do I broaden my scope and provide several things at once?" Her fingers were steepled, and she gently pressed them to her lips. "I did remember a question for you, Mr. Luthor. What do you consider your greatest success?"
Knight:
Lex frowns slightly, an expression of concentration apparent on his face as he ponders how to answer her question. The silence lasts fro a few minutes longer, until the same man that had taken everyone's order walks in and delivers their meals. Immediately after the young man leaves, Lex answers "While I've accomplished many things in my life, I must honestly say that my greatest success to date has been conceiving my son. Despite his flaws, I can see the potential in him to one day surpass even me."
Anthony smiles at his father, replying with mock sincerity, "Oh Father, you really shouldn't say such things." He pauses for a moment then continues, the smile having disappeared from his face, "It's not like you." With that, Anthony draws his pistol, shoots Lex directly between the eyes, and apologizes to Kijani, "I'm truly sorry you had to see that. Usually my father is a much more polite host."
Elsewhere-
Ben had climbed to the second story of LexCorp HQ, his talons leaving small holes in the glass panes as he went. At the last possible moment, just before he broke the glass in order to enter the building, Ben decides to try out something he had seen in old spy movies. Using one talon, he pierces the glass, drags his finger in a wide circle over the window, then lightly taps the circle of glass inward. He catches the glass just before it crashes to the ground, a grin spreading over his face like wildfire as he began to slip in through the hole he had created. Unfortunately, as he stepped inside, his foot caught on the edge of the hole, causing him to trip forward onto the piece of glass, shattering it. Ben cringes as his enhanced hearing makes it seem like the sound of breaking glass rang throughout the floor. He ducks beneath a desk, waiting for the inevitable rush of guards. After five minutes of no one showing up to confront him, Ben breathes a sigh of relief and jumps into the air, silently bursting through one of the ceiling tiles and replacing it once he was inside the ceiling. Recalling the layout of the floor that Anthony had shown him on the blueprints of the building, Ben begins to sneak through the ceiling until he stops above where the chief of security's office should be. Once again. Ben begins taking deep, but quiet breaths to steady himself.
Dizzy:
Kijani made a faint choking noise. That hadn't been part of the plan, not at all. She was supposed to be out of the room, for one thing! It took every ounce of restraint to keep from panicking outright. "...this was not what we discussed an hour ago, Anthony." Her gaze was fixed in place as she stared at the ex-Lex Luthor.
Knight:
Anthony looks at Kijani exasperated and says with a slight chuckle, "But Ms. Ryane, he was sooo rude to you, lying like that. As a gentlemen, I simply could not allow that to continue. Plans change, we must remain adaptable." As he speaks, the slumped carcass of "Lex Luthor" begins to change appearance, morphing into the body of a much younger, hairier, and still very dead, man.
Elsewhere-
Ben grasps the ceiling tile just in front and below him, drawing it up into the ceiling and setting it beside him. He looks through the hole, into the office, and sees just one man sitting at a desk, typing away on a computer keyboard. Still invisible, Ben climbs through the hole, across the ceiling of the office, still upside down, and then down a wall. He then begins to slowly walk toward the unaware man, flickering into sight as he turns off the cloaking feature on his suit. Finally, Ben extends the talon on his left index finger and swiftly slits the man's throat. As he prepares to slice through every wire in the room, noises from just outside the office made him freeze. If he wasn't mistaken, and his ears hardly ever were, he was hearing the distinctive noise of guns being cocked and safeties being flipped off.
Dizzy:
Kijani's eyes widened as she stared openly at the changing body. "...well. Can't say I've seen that before." She got over her shock quickly, though, and looked to Anthony. "New plan, then? Also, am I going to have to remember everything I said to him? It was a lot and not all of it was truthful." Honestly, she was almost tempted to eat, though the dead man across the table was just barely putting her off the meal. Calmly, she tucked her hands under her chin. "I had a weird feeling that it was all going too well. He was awfully cheerful for a self-made billionaire."
Knight:
Anthony begins eating as if being near a recently deceased body was nothing new for him. He wipes his mouth with a napkin after a few bites and begins to pour himself a glass of champagne as he asks, "I know you're not yet of age, but would you like a glass of bubbly? And to answer your question about new plans, the answer is yes and no. I'll be sticking to my original plan, although you may need to come up with a new one." As Anthony speaks, the guard that he had given the needle to quietly enters the room, approaching Kijani from behind with a surprising lack of noise for such a large man. "You see, Ms. Ryane, there are many things I'd like to do in my life, as I'm sure you know. However, to accomplish my goals, I must minimize risks and eliminate threats. You understand what is happening, correct?" Suddenly, the man behind Kijani takes a quick step forward and stabs her in the neck with the needle Anthony had given him, and injects the contents. Immediately after, a metal device is clamped around her neck, the guard not caring about whether or not he was hurting Kijani. "You were just injected with a rather large dose of the venom that Ben produces naturally. You will be paralyzed for about twelve hours, if my calculations are correct. Also, are you curious about the device around your neck? It serves two purposes. Firstly, it prevents any and all mental powers, which includes your control over paper. Secondly, there is a bomb contained within it, set to explode if it is removed by brute force. Father, we're ready for you."
Soon after Anthony calls for his father, the true Lex Luthor enters the room with a smirk on his face. "It's nice to meet you, Miss Ryane, especially considering how much you adore me. Or do you just put on that act for every genius multibillionaire you meet? Either way, I'm flatter, but let's cut to the chase. Why did you come here? Hoping that I would give you information concerning the clandestine supersoldier program your grandmother and I allegedly founded, correct? I'll do you one better. How would you like to see Miss Waller and ask her yourself?"
Ben groans, "Of course they know I'm here, they probably have cameras that I didn't bother to check for." He draws the weapon on his back which he holds in one hand while he holds the throwing knives in his other hand. He turns invisible once again, the cloaking device affecting his weapons as well, then kicks the door open, sending it flying off its hinges and toward a crowd of waiting guards. Ben dives into the hallway after the door, rolling to the side to avoid the bullets hurtling through the air and into the office. Once the guards realize that he isn't in the office and stop shooting, Ben knocks out the lights in the hallway by shattering them with his throwing knives, casting both he and the guards into pure darkness.
Dizzy:
Kijani didn't bother struggling. She was no expert on poison, but she knew that increased blood flow could only make it worse. She kept as still as possible as things started to crumble around her ears. All that meditation was coming in handy, as she calmed and loosened her muscles. "The real Mr. Luthor, I presume? My admiration was a bit more... flowery than I prefer to sound, but the heart of it is true. You are a testament to everything humans are capable of." There was an odd look on her face. She was smiling, and from the nose down it looked genuine. But her eyes were a different manner altogether. Her pupils were going very wide, almost engulfing the gold tint of her irises. "Well played, Anthony. I can honestly say I didn't see this coming. My only regret is that I won't be around to see you two kill each other." She closed her eyes then, finally. "Well, if my dear grandmother IS here, I'd rather not keep her waiting." She could feel her muscles starting to lock now, and knew she didn't have much time left. "You know how she is about time."
Knight:
Lex chuckles, "Do you really think it'd be wise for the two of use to be seen together? I've no idea what Anthony sees in you, you're obviously a simpleton. Package her for shipping." The guard that had poisoned Kijani steps forward and slips off her sword before handing it to Lex. He then picks her up, tosses her over his shoulder, and walks out of the room.
Once the guard leaves, Anthony shuts the door behind him and turns to face his father. "Shall we have someone clean up that mess?" he asks, gesturing toward the corpse at the head of the table.
Lex shakes his head while frowning, "I'd say I had forgotten about that, but we both know that would be a lie. Must you constantly kill my employees? I thought I raised you better than that."
Anthony chuckles before replying, "You're one to lecture me about manners. You really shouldn't insult my lackeys. I'm the only one allowed to call them simpletons." As he speaks, Anthony begin to grow darker by the second, soon becoming darker than the void of space. As his pheromones begin to flood the room, the usually cocky, fearless Lex Luthor falls to his knees, quivering before his son.
"You never asked me why I set this meeting up," Anthony says calmly as he draws his pistol. "Father, I'm sure you remember placing me in your will as the sole heir to all your wealth and resources. Quite simply, I've come to collect my inheritance. I want you to prepare yourself. You're about to embark on a short journey to a land of eternal torment and misery, but I need you to do something while you're there. As you rot in hell, trapped in a never ending cycle of blistering, burning, disintegrating, and regenerating. As you gaze longingly, enviously upward, I want you to watch me, for that's when you'll really begin to suffer. I want you to watch as my achievements and successes reduce your endeavors to a blip on the radar before being forgotten all together. I want you to watch as I receive the praise and admiration you so desperately desired. Watch as not only America, but all world governments surrender their power to me, of their own accord. Watch, Father, as I turn your greatest rival into my slave, and understand the true meaning of survival of the fittest. This is the future, so keep your eyes turned toward the heavens, even as they melt beneath the touch of everlasting flames. I will be a god among men, and as I say, so it shall be." At the end of his speech, Anthony clicks the safety off of his pistol and squeezes the trigger, ending the life of Alexander Joseph Luthor.
He opens the door, revealing the group of guards that had greeted he and Kijani at the top of the elevator. These guards, who were only working for monetary gain, had been rather easy to sway for obvious reasons. "I would like you to ship Ms. Ryane to the Alpha complex as my father requested. Once I leave, I want you to erase all evidence of my being here. That includes erasing my fingerprints, deleting footage from security cameras, and terminating the secretary."
"Sir, there is a disturbance on the second floor. Apparently some vigilante was seen infiltrating the security office. Every guard except for my men are down there trying to find him. What should we do?"
Anthony thinks for a moment, then says, "Kill the intruder, then kill the guards that were already down there. Dispose of the intruders body, then make the floor look like the 'Thanatos' scenes they show on the news. Rip out some throats, hang a man or two by their intestines, sign 'Thanatos' in blood, the whole shebang. Good night." With that, Anthony slings Kijani's sword over his shoulder and boards the express elevator. After stopping by the front desk for a quick chat with Jade, he calls Watson, who picks him up in the limo and drives him home.
Now that the battlefield was cloaked in darkness, Thanatos could really shine. He rolls out from underneath a desk, slicing one guard's Achilles Tendon with the scythe blade on his weapon. The guard cries out as he falls to the ground, attracting the attention of every other man and woman in the hallway. He also reflexively squeezed his trigger finger, spraying those around him with a stream of bullets, mowing three other guards down. Next, Thanatos silently walks to the back of the group and begins to walk forward. Decapitating and throats out as he moves through the crowd, unseen and unheard, soon he is the only one standing in the hallway. He looks at his handiwork, surrounded by twenty or so mutilated bodies. Suddenly, he hears the elevator opening behind him, so he turns and begins to draw his gun. Before he can do so, Thanatos falls to the ground as the air around him seems to vanish. In the elevator is the group of men Anthony had recently hired, one of which had his hands outstretched toward Ben, creating a localized vacuum. Within seconds, Ben had perished, his last thoughts being, "Who'll watch out for Jack?" Satisfied with their work, the men begin to carry out Anthony's orders.
(Time for a new day guys. Finish conversations through PM, if you'd like)
The sun rises over the Academy, ushering in yet another day.
Anthony wakes with a smile on his face for the first time in a long while and happily goes about his morning routine. While cooking himself breakfast, he thinks, "I do believe I'll require Mr. Stark's assistance."
