As the evening sun dipped below the Metropolis skyline, casting long shadows across the LexCorp company building, Lex Luthor, sat comfortably in the confines of his luxurious office. This sleek, high-rise fortress of corporate power was perched atop the city he both controlled and exploited.

The room was bathed in the warm glow of ambient lighting, casting an almost ethereal atmosphere. The walls were adorned with tastefully arranged art, and shelves were lined with impressive collections of books, signifying both intellectual prowess and wealth.

The tranquility of the moment was shattered when the lights overhead flickered and buzzed. A palpable sense of tension filled the room, and Lex, with his innate ability to remain composed, couldn't help but be unnerved by the abrupt disruption.

Just as the lights stabilized, a mysterious shadow appeared before him, like a phantom materializing from the ether.

Looking at the other side of his desk, Ace stood before him, the Tyrant himself. The sudden arrival bore the essence of Batman's surprise appearances but with an extra flair that hinted at the man's own brand of darkness.

Lex's first instinct was to probe, to grasp the intentions behind this unexpected visit. He, a mastermind of manipulation and strategy, never underestimated the power of words and posturing. With a charismatic smile that masked his apprehension, he inquired, "Come to kill me in my office? Or are you here to show your support for my presidential campaign?"

Ace's response was succinct and devoid of pleasantries, "Don't play dumb with me, Luthor. I know that you are the president already. All you are doing now are just formalities before getting officially ordained the president by status."

Lex's facade remained intact, he couldn't deny the truth in his statement. It was a reminder that his ascension to the presidency was merely a show, a formality in the grand scheme of his power-hungry ambitions.

With a hint of intrigue, Lex acknowledged, "Is that so? If you know that much, then I guess I shouldn't just take you for a mystic lunatic but an really dangerous one at that."

"Think whatever you want, Luthor. I just came to share my thoughts on the so-called diabolical plan you've been cooking up lately."

The tension in the room escalated, and Lex's icy blue eyes bore into Ace's concealed gaze. To divert the conversation or assert dominance, Ace sauntered across the opulent office to a table adorned with bottles of martini. With nonchalance, he poured himself a glass, or at least it appeared that way. The glass levitated off the table, suspended in the air, defying the natural laws of gravity as it gently descended upon Lex's desk.

"Care for a drink?" He suggested unto Lex.

"That was quite funny actually, considering the drink was mine to begin with." He replied, sipping from the glass of martini.

He didn't have time to entertain one of Ace's shenanigans. The final phase of his ambitious project was already set in motion, and he needed to ensure nothing else disrupted it.

Ace's arcane demeanor was something Lex no longer had the patience for. "So, why don't you help me clarify why you are here this fine evening. " Lex finally inquired.

"Well, to share the holiday spirit with you of course, and hopefully you don't end up killing millions of people just because you've got daddy issues and long for a world where you have your way with things. And never get opposed by any soul."

Lex's disdain dripped through his response, a thinly veiled attempt to dismiss Ace. "Why don't you pour yourself a drink, it seems so much stress and murderer's guilt have caught up to your brain that you are starting to seem quite delusional. The alcohol would help ease your mind and body, maybe then you would wake up to reality."

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"My mind is as clear as ever, but thank you for the concern, Luthor ."

Ace, unyielding and unperturbed, continued to weave his arcane presence through the room. He perused Lex's collection of books and decorative arts as if he had all the time in the world, scanning through them one after the other.

"I suggest you get an hobby or something, 'cause it seems to me like you are just bored and lack entertainment in your life." Lex came to realize that Ace was not one to be swayed or easily provoked.

"I have to admit that you aren't too far from the truth."

A tinge of desperation crept into his voice as he threatened to summon security. But he knew that conventional security forces were powerless in the face of someone who had taken down Superman himself.

"I won't force you or anything, am only going to give you a suggestion so listen up. Stop the world domination crap and just live your life as the rich billionaire bastard you are."

"Excuse me!!" Lex exclaimed. "Who the hell are you to just waltz into my office unannounced and tell me what to do?"

With slow and calculated steps, Ace closed the distance with that of Lex's desk, the weight of his presence growing ever more oppressive.

"Now who's playing dumb! If you activate the Mother Box and run it at full power, there's an eighty-five percent chance of reenacting the apocalypse this planet suffered a couple of years back."

While the depths of Ace's knowledge remained elusive, Lex was bewildered by the amount of information he already knows. Ace had peeled back the layers of his clandestine operation and was now seen as a threat by Lex for knowing too much.

"So what are you going to do? Stop me?" Lex probed, not confirming Ace's claims.

"Nah, I am not going to clean up this mess of yours. I'll leave that to the so-called heroes. At the end of the day, it's their job." Ace's answer left no room for ambiguity.

"Working for the heroes now? A criminal joining up with heroes after all the lives you've taken?" Lex's anger slowly brew within him but he did his best masking it, just to show Ace how level headed he could be.

"Then tell them to come tell me this themselves. I have no reason to listen to a low life such as yourself, someone who doesn't know where he stands in society. Someone who can't decide for himself if he's a hero or a villain."

He remained quite, awaiting some sort of response from Ace. Unfortunately for him, he got nothing but silence in return. "If you have nothing to say, then get out of my office before I call security."

But Ace was not one to be dismissed or threatened. He seized Lex by the throat, lifting him off his seat, and slammed him against the glass window. Lex dangled in mid-air, his breath constricted.

Ace's pupils, obscured by his mask, began to glow with an eerie, crimson hue, as his words dripped with menace. "Care to know how I am feeling right about now? That moment when you hold the weight of a person's life in your hands, and whether they live or die is literally decided by you. There's this brief and unexplainable feeling, that's the moment we've found ourselves."

The grip around Lex's throat was unappeasable, and his struggles were futile. Oxygen-starved, he felt the edges of consciousness begin to blur.

"If Darkseid so much as set foot on this planet because of your childish hunger for power, I'll come to collect what am owed. That is the life I am sparing today."

Ace's ominous parting words left Lex in a chilling, incapacitated state as he felt the disdain in his voice.

Before Lex could gather his wits, Ace released his vice-like grip, sending Lex dropping to the floor. As consciousness wavered, he glanced around, but Ace had disappeared like a specter. Lex's vision flickered, and darkness overcame him as unconsciousness claimed his senses.

…

[Jason Todd's POV]

Ever since the morning encounter with Selina, I'd been on edge. She wasn't just any criminal; Her and Batman seem to have a very complicated relationship. If she recognized me, even just a flicker of recognition, it meant the Caped Crusader now knows that I am alive.

My fingers ran through my hair, contemplating whether to inform Leo and Tom about the looming possibility of a visit from Batman.

Tom might have a clean slate with Bruce, but if he starts looking into Leo and discovers our newfound association with Ghost, the pieces could fall into place and he might get a lead on Ghost.

But enough was enough. It was high time I confronted Bruce with the anger that had festered within me for so long.

I had laid low as Jason Todd for so long. It was time to spill my thoughts, my pain, my anger and resentment towards him. He was guilty of not seeking vengeance for me, for letting the Joker still draw breath after he had taken my life.

As I paced the room, I couldn't help but reflect on the different standards he had for each of us. If it had been Dick in my place, I was sure the Joker wouldn't have lived to see the next day. Bruce would have torn him apart that same night. .

Maybe I just wasn't that special to him after all. Maybe my life was expendable, collateral damage in his war on crime.

If our roles had been reversed, if the Joker had taken Bruce's life as he had taken mine, I wouldn't have hesitated to end the Joker on the spot. No theatrics, no moral dilemmas, just swift and straightforward justice.

Gazing out the window, the darkening Gotham skyline felt like a reflection of my own turbulent emotions. The city, like my mentor, had turned a blind eye to my fate. It was a cruel place, one that had devoured me and spat me right back, forever changed.

I was no longer the kid he had taken off the streets. I had been reshaped by the darkness, forged in the crucible of suffering as death had left a void in me. I was no longer Robin, the boy wonder. With my new persona as Red Hood, I shall liberate Gotham City from the scums that's rotting it from inside out.

As night finally fell over Gotham, I made a decision. It was time to stop hiding, time to confront my past, time to face the man who let my murderer go on drawing breath on this earth. I would make Bruce bare witness to the results of his inaction.

It's about time I gave Batman a run for his money, let us see who's method is more efficient to protect Gotham City. He would have to face the truth, face me, and accept the consequences of his choices. Our confrontation was inevitable after all, and I was ready to embrace it. But the question now is, is he?