The tips of Wayne’s overhanging hair swayed dangerously close to irritating his eye as he sped towards the elevators. A bit of shoving was required in order to mix in with the bustling office workers, but he managed to find a space to wedge himself into. The ride was long. Longer than desired. The constant stops and two elevator transfers wore on the boy’s patience, but he waited in silence all the same. He was the only one left by the time he reached the top of the three-hundred and seven story building. Eleven minutes had passed.
Wayne walked briskly towards the giant doors to Luthor’s office. He slipped into the room as quietly as he could, seeing the others grouped around the central desk in wait. Alice and Esteban sat in two of the sofa chairs, the latter engaged in a seemingly intense texting session while the former watched the cityscape in tranquil stillness. Mr. Luthor occupied himself with yet more paperwork, reading and signing a small stack of documents with impressive speed. Ms. Graves was nowhere to be seen. The man glanced up for just a moment as the boy entered, then resumed his task without a word. Wayne checked his phone’s clock once more, just to be safe. He managed to arrive with four minutes to spare.
The temptation to ask about the missing person welled within Wayne’s mind, but was stifled by the effective normalcy of those in attendance. Perhaps Lex had tasked her to check on something, or handle an incident elsewhere. The answer didn’t truly matter. And with the suppression of this curiosity, the boy committed himself to waiting with the others.
Wayne made his way past his fellow apprentices to stand near the left-hand window. The movement of people and vehicles along the roads far below held the illusion of perpetuity. It helped to keep his focus. The view also afforded him the small chance of catching one of Metropolis’ many protectors on their way towards some danger or another. Nothing he could see now, but the possibility of that change amused the boy greatly. He supposed he could have always taken the easy route; go solo and make some bold entrance onto the global stage with some empty scheme or shocking act of valor. He had the means already, at least in a rudimentary sense. Far less equipped “villains” existed already in Gotham and Central City - especially in Central City.
But where was the fun in that? Sure, the heroism angle could be its own reward and reason to be, but something more would be needed to make it as a wrongdoer like that. An insatiable greed, gluttonous bloodlust, or even power for power’s sake were compelling motives, if a bit simplistic. But Wayne had no such desires. He merely possessed a particular awareness of his setting. However, his interest in the battle between good and evil was voyeuristic at most. Worse yet, the world at large was locked into otherness in his purview. Any righteous acts from him would be utilitarian coincidence, and what good could half-hearted savior truly bring? No, that space was better occupied by someone else. In another life, perhaps it would be different.
“Okay, children…”
Before his thoughts could delve deeper, that familiar bassy voice addressed the room again. It boomed along with the sound of a paper stack being leveled against the desktop. Alice and Wayne turned to their superior immediately. Esteban finished his typing quickly before doing the same.
“I believe this has been a sufficient break. What say I send you all to your first assignments?”
Mr. Luthor set the freshly straightened pile down inside a plastic tray at the far end of his desk, then eyed the three before him. A brief silence swept the room. Wayne looked towards his peers, unwittingly locking eyes with Esteban as he anxiously did the same. The other boy’s eyes quickly darted to the profile of Alice, who silently nodded with close-mouthed cheer. She sat alert with a straightened back and hands atop her crossed knees. Wayne turned his attention from her back to Lex, who shortly after looked back to him. Wayne gave a thumbs up. Mr. Luthor straightened his posture and proceeded.
“Alright. Each of you will handle a specific division. These will be assigned to you for two full weeks, after which you may choose to stay or get a new assignment. You will all report back to me at four o’clock sharp, where the three of you will learn the more unspoken aspects of running a company of this magnitude.”
All three teens raised an eyebrow at the peculiar point of emphasis. Mr. Luthor chuckled.
“I’m glad to see you all caught that. I assure you that everything will be above board. I will simply be demonstrating the art of the deal - how to spot opportunities and take them. With advantage.”
Alice raised her lifted brow more while smirking expectantly. Esteban wasn’t entirely convinced, but seeing the calm reactions of the other two seemed to put him at ease. Wayne’s face didn’t change. Sensing that the apprehension had mostly faded, Lex moved on with his syllabus speech.
“You will all have a department head, whom you will report to during your primary hours for both assignments and for assistance. Be sure to familiarize yourselves with them, as they will be your lifeline should things go wrong. Any questions so far?”
Alice confidently shook her head.
Esteban gave a firm, “No, sir.”
Lex looked to Wayne, still standing to the man’s side, who gave an affirming nod as well.
“Good, good. Now as for your stations…”
Mr. Luthor covered one fist with the other as he leaned back into the firm leather. His eyes scanned their faces as he thought in brief silence.
“Mr. Estévés…”
The sudden addressal made the boy jump the tiniest amount in his seat before nervous laughter followed to ease the perception of his response.
“Ye- Hehah, yes sir?”
“You will be assigned to the marketing team. You strike me as someone with a… Creative spirit, let’s say.”
Esteban blinked in disbelief. He didn’t expect to hear praise from Mr. Luthor so soon. He beamed brightly with an excited nod.
“Absolutely! That sounds great!”
Lex grinned, glad to see the ease at which this boy could be motivated. One less child to keep his eye on, and he knew the other two would need much more attention to reign in. He turned to Alice, whose gaze had been locked onto him like a cautious predator for some time.
“Ms. Cohen will be with HR to start. I trust that that division is acceptable?”
Alice looked off into the distance for a moment, then nodded.
“I’ll make it work.”
“Excellent. As for Tipton…”
Mr. Luthor swiveled himself to face Wayne in full. Both shared a neutral gaze, neither one looking too intently upon the other.
“You will report to R&D for the time being. I’m interested in seeing what that eccentric mind of yours is capable of.”
“You got it, boss”, replied the disinterested boy.
Esteban murmured with impressed surprise, but Alice was less than pleased at the implication. Research and Development even being an option for this internship was unthinkable to her. Worse, that she wasn’t the premier candidate for it. Though she maintained the composure on her face, a hand shot into the air. Mr. Luthor, stifling a sigh, returned his attention to the girl.
“Is there a problem?”
There was a moment of hesitation - of restraint - but Alice pressed on.
“I was just wondering - for future reference - whether it would be possible for more than one person to be assigned to a department at a time?”
Lex rolled the question around in his head for a bit.
“I don’t see why not. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, how’s that?”
“Thank you, Mr. Luthor.”
Though the question itself had been settled, the precise moment that Alice’s mental gears had begun to whirl was visible to all. A stray worry slipped into Wayne’s mind. It passed to Luthor as well. This girl, whether she knew it or not, was contemplating becoming a very real risk to them both. It was only day one, yet they would have to plan ahead already. A two week deadline wasn’t optimal, but it would have to do.
With their assignments given, Luthor took the three on a personal tour of how to reach their respective posts. Esteban’s division was down on floor two-hundred and fifteen. The department head that met them was an older woman of stocky build and tied-back wavy hair. She greeted them with a warm smile, which her charge returned in kind. He stayed behind to begin his introduction while the others continued.
Sixty-eight floors below this was HR. Compared to the rather quiet marketing floor, there was much more chatter emanating from distant cubicles and ajar meeting rooms. Though he tried to play it off as a more thorough showing, it quickly became clear that their boss was searching the floor for the person meant to oversee Alice. The group eventually found the middle-aged man chatting up another employee at her desk. Two red flags already. At the disruptive sight of the CEO himself, the man leapt to his feet and gave the shimmering smile signature of a well-seasoned salesman. A third flag. Alice couldn’t contain the disgust on her face. Wayne felt sorry for her.
The final pair began to depart, no longer willing to entertain the salesman’s chatter. As they did, Alice reached out towards them as if to cling to a life-line before begrudgingly holding in her desire to be anywhere else. Wayne turned back to shoot the girl as much of a frown as was within his means. She seemed to acknowledge this tiny show of solidarity in the way she relaxed her shoulders the smallest amount. It only lasted a second before they raised back to high alert; her division head had decided that placing his hand on her shoulder as he waved the two off was in any sense appropriate.
Poor girl, Wayne thought. Bet she’ll have that creep in a cell by next week.
◅◁◇▷▻
The display of flagrant mismanagement was now far behind the remaining two. Lex and Wayne rode the elevator down in silence. Lex thumbed through the messages that had collected on his smartphone. Occasionally, the man would type swiftly with a stern face. The rest of the time, he just read and thought through the quiet ride. There was much less stopping on this trip. Most of the employees would enter and leave after three to five floors. Four seemed to be making the trip all the way to ground level, but they had all vacated the elevator by the third floor. Still, the two went deeper. Deeper. The floor display showed bright green LED nodes which read “B2”, “B5”, “B11” and so on. The descent was slow. And unnervingly quiet. No music played from the intercom below the floor display. Just the hum of distant motors and the vibration of the small metal box they stood in.
Given the solitude, Wayne stretched his arms high and strained the joints of his spine upward. His relieved grunting drew mild ire from his boss, who side eyed the boy in continued silence before putting his phone back into his suit’s inner breast pocket. Both watched the floor number tick down in bored anticipation.
B23.
B37.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
B59. Ding!
Finally, they both mused.
Wayne followed closely behind Luthor as he led the way. The architecture that now surrounded them was intimidatingly sterile. Dim grey metal panels lined every wall and ceiling. They were broken up by small light fixtures which occupied the spaces between each panel, giving off a fairly high-tech impression. This was matched by the matte black floor tiles that stretched as far as each hallway, consuming as many photons as dared to collide with them. Small security cameras occupied every hall and room. Wayne doubted that many blindspots existed within such thorough coverage.
Assuming this was the real research and development division, it was clearly not for Lexcorp’s public facing enterprises. Wayne spotted numerous weapons projects - both scraps and active development - as they passed through laboratory after laboratory. Guns, missiles, armor, vehicles, and so much more filled each new room. Scientists and engineers could be seen far and wide. Many grew nervous at the sight of Lex and company, while most were too engrossed in whatever they were working on to even spot them going by.
“Lots of interesting stuff down here, boss”, Wayne finally chimed, eyes fixated upon some sort of robotic framework.
Lex scoffed.
“If you think this is impressive, the iceberg only goes deeper.”
The two walked onward, passing a few things Wayne recognized. Massive stores of pure, green-glowing crystals that could only be Kryptonite. An armory full of prototype battlesuits that would likely be presented to the police in coming months - no sign of their creator nearby. There was even a room in which a metallic skeleton-like body was being coated in artificial skin; one of the more regrettable projects to see due to what it meant for the more immediate future.
“Eugh… Hate that guy”, the boy absent-mindedly muttered, drawing a confused glance from Lex.
Eventually, they approached the end of one of the narrower halls. A pair of polished metal doors could be seen, as could the alert silhouette of a person. Mercy stood to the left side of their approach, hands behind her back as she awaited the two. Wayne gave a small wave to the woman. She met his eyes with her own, saying nothing while giving the brim of her cap a small tug. Luthor gave no greeting, instead moving to the security panel to the right of the door.
“Any problems”, asked the bald man as he began pressing the keypad.
“No, sir. A bit of whining about storage procedures, but nothing serious”, Mercy answered.
“Storage? Why?”
“They say they’re worried about-”
“Radiation exposure”, Wayne interrupted as he rocked back and forth on his heels. Mercy and Luthor turned to him in surprise as the keypad chimed in confirmation. The mechanisms within the door clanked and hummed before sliding open smoothly. Wayne took this opportunity to walk in first. Lex shot a demanding look at Mercy. The woman shrugged then nodded, her expression half-way between worried and baffled. As the two adults followed after the boy, Lex was overtaken by a need to press the boy further.
“And how exactly do you know this, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“Same way I know about kryptonite being alterable.”
“Which is…?”
Perhaps the boy had pressed his luck too far, too soon. Lex Luthor’s insistent pressure made it difficult to devise any particular excuses, but the truth was too valuable to sell to him now. Wayne wanted the long-term benefits of this partnership. He continued walking in silence with no real goal in mind, contemplating how best to skate around the question. It wasn’t until Lex blocked his path that the boy was forced to stop and respond.
“If you want my help, please respect my vow of silence on the matter.”
“Excuse me?”
Wayne released an annoyed breath.
“I believe you once wrote that ‘a good businessman doesn’t hand over a monopoly on a source without adequate compensation’, right?”
Luthor was beside himself now. On one hand, he felt a pang of pride in having the financial advice penned for his own book presented back to him by someone who - as far as he could tell - idolized him enough to have read it so young. On the other, he wanted that knowledge base for himself. Lex’s eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms.
“In that case; what would you like in ret-”
Wayne held up his palm to stop the man.
“There is nothing in this world you could trade me that would be of equal value.”
Now this was just insulting.
“Absolutely nothing? More money? Women? … Men?”
Wayne kept his hand high and held his gaze into the man’s eyes. Silence was his answer. Luthor’s eyes rolled. And so the matter was settled - for the moment.
“... So long as you’ll cooperate then. One little lie, and you’re on the chopping block.”
“My promise was ‘what you want and more’, was it not?”
Lex frowned.
“We can start with a bit of the ‘more’ first then”, Wayne stated. “You’ve got some kryptonite on you now, I’ll bet. As a safety measure?”
The frown worsened.
“And… if I do?”
“You’re being irradiated as we speak. With enough time and exposure, you’ll end up with some rather, um… Debilitating illnesses, shall we say?”
Some researchers that were approaching the three stopped dead in the tracks. Shock and fear were the immediate showings from each as they looked to one another and then back to the boy. One of them spoke up, his voice trembling.
“H-how did you know about this?”
With a heavy sigh, Lex turned to address his quivering employees.
“Gentlemen, this is my latest… Recruit, we’ll call him. Wayne Tipton.”
Wayne gave them the same salute he had given the press earlier.
“He is the reason this project was given the greenlight. Apparently, he has some manner of information that will benefit the project, correct?”
The unquestionably more qualified adults looked from their boss to the child. Doubt, confusion, even annoyance could be found in each of them. To think that an area of expertise they had dedicated years of their lives to, yet had failed to convince the ever-pragmatic Lex Luthor to fund was now granted to them thanks to the whims of a teen? It was a disgrace. An anomaly in its own right. Every pair of eyes in the room was locked onto Wayne, eager to hear what could have possibly inspired the attention of the billionaire.
Wayne was happy to give them what they sought.
“Enough to get the ball rolling. I’m not the most technically savvy in comparison to present company, but I know the basic principles involved - assuming that we are talking about kryptonite alteration, yeah?”
Murmurs and looks were exchanged between the scientists. Many still held firm doubts, but all had to admit that the boy was assuredly responsible for why they were there now.
“The structural manipulation of kryptonite is indeed what we’re talking about”, announced a particularly impressed lab worker.
“How did you even know about such a concept at your age”, asked another.
“I’d love to know that as well”, muttered Lex.
Wayne looked around the lab space for a moment. Spotting a dry erase board nearby, he approached it quickly and took one of the many markers in its tray in hand.
“For starters”, the boy explained while beginning to draw. “The easiest alteration to achieve should be the creation of the Red Kryptonite variant.”
Many of the researchers chattered amongst themselves while others listened intently. A few could be heard affirming the theory, which Lex took particular note of.
“Pray tell”, Lex interrogated. “What sets this variant apart from the basic green kind? Are the effects more pronounced? Do they last longer?”
Wayne paused his sketching for a moment to scratch his head.
“That answer is… A bit of a gamble.”
Silence fell across the room as the boy continued.
“Different, um… No, let me reword that; There are a few potential results, I should say. Worse, the only way to really know which one it is for certain would be to conduct repeated tests on the only known individuals that the stuff even works on.”
“And why is that?”
“Because the effects may or may not be a literal gamble for each piece - or each kryptonian.”
The silence persisted, minds a whirl with consideration for what this could mean. Not only was the timeline of the project going to need stretching, but field testing would be mandatory and recurring? The researchers could barely withhold their delight. Luthor could barely contain his irritation.
“So you’re saying that, not only do you not know the precise results, but you don’t even know if they’ll be the same from one batch to another?”
Wayne nodded.
“Is there any real benefit to researching this then, when I know the original substance works precisely how I need it to?”
Wayne remained silent for a moment. Then the smirk grew back.
“Because, dear boss: this research, like most, is a stepping stone to greater heights. Red-K is only the way to confirm the process is possible. The end goal for you…”
Stepping away from the board, Wayne revealed his work. At the top of the board were illustrations depicting two possible methods for the process. One involved UV radiation within a fog-filled room while the other showed simple high-energy bombardment. Below this was a sort of splitting map of arrows, starting from “green” to “red”, then moving onto other colors. It was broken towards the end with an ellipsis, followed by a large lettered and underlined word. Wayne’s hand was held against the board next to this word, fingers splayed for emphasis. A particular smugness lingered in his voice as he finished his delivery.
“Is none other than Platinum Kryptonite; the one thing guaranteed to put you and Superman on equal standing.”
Another eruption of voices discussed this proposed goal with fervor. The methodology, the mystery of each possible result, the lofty promises; it all seemed too good to be true, yet too good to pass on. The research team was elated, though they maintained a façade of professionalism. Even Mercy, who only grasped the basic premise, eyed the drawings with intrigue. She propped up the hand against her chin with the other as her imagination spun.
However, the decision on the matter remained firmly at Lex Luthor’s whim. The bald man approached the whiteboard, inspecting every detail. He calculated the risks, the cost and more in complete reticence. Gradually, the chatter died down as all eyes laid upon the sole voting party on the matter. When their leader finally spoke, there was the faintest glimmer in his eyes.
“And… You can guarantee this is achievable?”
Wayne tapped twice against the underlined word with the back of his fist.
“Given enough time and toil.”
Lex smiled wide.
“Then we’ll get started immediately.”
Turning swiftly to the scientists and their subdued celebration, Lex gave the team their orders: they had a month to determine the exact specifications for the green-to-red conversion process. Any unintended color conversions were to be documented for future experimentation as well. The man wanted a swift and thorough performance, which wasn’t unexpected by anyone. When he left the lab with Mercy and Wayne in tow, a couple researchers quietly thanked the boy for giving the final push.
“So”, the boy inquired as the three began their trek back towards the elevators. “Now that that’s sorted, what’s the plan for the rest of our time?”
“Back to the main office, for starters”, Mercy chimed in, promptly followed by her superior.
“Yes, I still have the more tedious affairs to confront. Feel free to stay down here or join one of the others, if you have no intention of assisting me with actual business.”
It was clear what Luthor expected of him. Wayne didn’t judge.
“I don’t mind helping you with a little paperwork; So long as you explain it to me.”
The man hadn’t expected this willing cooperation, given the boy’s abject dismissal of such tasks during the interview. So much so that he felt compelled to stop and study the boy’s face for sarcasm or facetious intent. It was as blank as ever, with the boy only offering the heft of his shoulders in response to this scrutiny.
Lex accepted the offer while resuming his lead.
While still at lab level, Mercy decided to throw the occasional query Wayne’s way. Queries regarding kryptonite: which colors did or didn’t exist, and how the boy even knew about any of it to begin with. Wayne responded mostly with cryptic allusions, or else dismissed the questions outright. He did humor her on the existence of a Periwinkle variant, however. He neglected to say what it did. It would be more amusing if that was found out practically.
The tone shifted dramatically after the three were within the elevator. Once the last question was concluded, it was silent the entire ride up. Not a single quip or quiz. Wayne found it impressive how Ms. Graves managed to contain her previously emboldened curiosity so well now. That level of professionalism was hard to hold oneself to. Still, he could feel it; how her mind stayed abuzz with wonder. Lex’s own stifled computations paled in comparison, perhaps because he understood the matter better. He would prove to be the superior source of suppressed intrigue. An important detail for the future, Wayne was sure.