DC's Path of Ruin: Book I

Day 5 - Part 1

Day 5 - December 21th, 2014 : Early Morning - Around 5 AM

Lex Luthor carefully removed his index and middle finger from his temple as the fading light drifted away from his eyes. The bittersweet taste of humanity - death. In his notes he, apparently, re-leaned each day that it was himself that induced the looming end. And it was he himself who took pills to further its spread and wipe his mind clear of his agendas. Lex, relearned, and rediscovered just how far his ambitious nature went when it came to the greater plan - it was greater even than himself. His own agendas over himself, the journal he was told by his own handwriting to be explicit in his activities was now a series of Lexs who all were bound by the forgetfulness of their pasts and the increasing difficulties of mortality in the future.

He closed the small black journal, the lined pages shined with a thin layer of gold from his office walls. A cylinder hover robot of silver coating kept close to him, a stream of fluids coming out of its base through clear tubes into his veins. The personal nurse bot he had entrusted to keep him alive - just enough. Just enough to keep all the right eyes on him and all the wrong eyes off him. The dying Lex Luthor, aid of Gotham - giver to the poor and needy of Metropolis...the future president of the United States of America. Yes, that was it. That was his ambition - more power.

Power in a world free of the xeno, free of the men beyond men. If Lex could ever explain his hatred he would have done so long ago - now, it was buried under impenetrable layers of logic. It was the clear solution that alien life be removed, that humanity be able to take its own course as it willed without the influence of the galactic community. How toxic and violent that it was - breaking and ruining cities time and time again. Plunging economics into a dying spiral.

Luthor empathized with that, a dying spiral - that was what cancer felt like. Remembering again and again through the words of his journal that he was in that dying spiral. It was fake, but it felt so real.

"Hm." Luthor smiled to himself, lips closed as he did his calculated facial expression. He still managed to wear his suits but now his robotic aids had to assist in his dressing. He kept as much grace and poise the poison eating him allowed. He sat in his leather throne of power, Luthor corporation around him, below him - a part of him. And behind him was a giant and vast wall of window allow him the greatest view of Metropolis in the business district. This city was his, Gotham was going to be his - and when the country learned that it was Luthor who saved everyone from Gotham when the United States - the president had dismissed and forgotten about it, the people will turn to him. And when he 'survives' this cancer - and he would, the world would rally to him. Powerful, strong, vital, human. The dream radiated off his collected face as he longingly stared out his view.

A clock beeped on his wrist. It pulled him away from the dawning winter day to stare at red numbers. Slade Wilson's timer was ten minutes shy of running out. Odd. Yet so interesting to Lex, Slade Wilson had never let his timer slide this far. In Lex's notes he had started mentioning yesterday how low the aging assassin had let his life time go and now today that was even truer. Fate was spinning along with Lex, though he never put his trust or faith in fate - it was merely useful now.

He grasped the cane that laid proudly against his oak wood desk. A symbol of wealth was it was spiraled with gold and two proudly etched L's on the handle of solid black diamond - smooth under his hand.

Lex Luthor took his time, a beep for every minute of Slade Wilson's impending confirmation of death, beep...beep...beep...Lex's companion as he walked through his halls - keeping his chin up so none hired under him gave him a glance of pity.

Beep...

Beep...

Going into the depths of his labs the elevator opened. Here his company was far more selective than the Luthor Corporation on the surface. It was the sacrifice of his mind that allowed him to keep this underground lab secret from the Justice League - his mind could no longer be invaded by alien do gooders.