Luthor's Assassin

Roy

Lex Luthor watched in silence as Richard placed a single block of kryptonite on his desk. He looked over the boy quickly and raised an eyebrow when he saw signs of a fierce fight- slight rips in his Renegade suit, an odd bruise or two over his skin- Ah. So the Dark Knight had made an appearance.

He studied the nervous child critically and leaned forward in his chair, folding his hands together.

"What happened."

Richard licked his lips hesitantly before replying.

"I had the kryptonite, but Batman showed up and took it before I could get out. You're lucky I got away with at least one!" he snapped, suddenly on the defensive, and Lex felt a surge of anger.

"I'm lucky? I'm lucky?" he snarled, straining to keep his voice calm. "You're lucky that you were able to get away with the tiny rock that you did, boy! Your punishment would be much worse had you not!"

Richard's face drained of all color and he lowered his beautiful blue eyes, cringing away at Luthor's verbal onslaught. Lex stood from his chair and began to pace, lowering his voice as he did so.

"I admit, it was impressive that you were able to get away with some of the kryptonite with Batman being there. But you will still receive punishment. You have failed me, and this is unacceptable."

Richard opened his mouth, an indignant look on his face.

"What! But that's not fair!" he whined, sounding exactly like the young eleven year old he was instead of a trained assassin. "Batman's probably been training for years! What chance do I have against him anyway? That isn't-"

CRACK!

The boy's head snapped to the side at Lex's backhand and he stumbled backwards, away from the enraged genius.

"I will have none of your whining or complaints, child! Accept your punishment and be silent!" Luthor raged, raising his arm to deliver another blow and then lowering it with effort. Richard looked up at him, hand on his cheek where a good-sized bruise was forming, and Luthor exhaled and sat down again.

"However, you're lucky this time. Your punishment will be postponed."

Richard looked like he had a question, but wisely restrained himself from speaking. Good, Lex thought, he would eventually learn to hold his tongue. He decided to answer the boy's unspoken question.

"Go cover up your bruise. We're going out."

_Line Break_

Dick stepped out of the limousine and was nearly blinded by the flashing cameras.

He really hated these.

Every so often, Luthor would allow him to go out in public- always supervised, of course; Deathstroke was normally disguised somewhere, and Mercy was always close by- with him, to keep up his image. The media new Dick existed, of course, but they also knew that Lex rarely allowed him to be out in public. Because of this, there was always a stir whenever Luthor brought Dick along.

Lex stepped out of the car behind him, prompting even more cameras to go off. He smiled and waved, ever the perfect businessman, and Dick shuddered, fighting the urge to bring his hand to his injured cheek. It was all an act, a well-played, perfect act, and he hated it.

Luthor placed a hand on his shoulder and guided him towards the door of Oliver Queen's mansion, waving the reporters away. He leaned over and whispered into Dick's ear.

"Smile, boy. You look like you want to kill every person here. You know, I could let you, if you really want to after this is all over. Now smile and laugh as if I said something amusing."