Chapter Text
Lex walked ahead of the mercenary, “I can only do so much in a day, I have to prioritize the work with the robots.”
“And I can’t defend the robots against Superman without better weapons.” Slade fired back, “He has destroyed every single one with ease so far.”
“The point is that the robots are going to make you obsolete, they just aren’t there yet.” He started trying to walk faster, the door out was just a few steps away. Thankfully the guard opened it for them as they passed, Lex fished for his keys in his pocket.
“Well at this rate they wont surpass me for a hundred years, and just how long do you think you can keep Waller’s favor?”
“Long enough for you to lose it.” Lex fired back, “You haven’t had a successful mission in how long?” He was walking as fast as he could but his greatest annoyance was keeping pace easily.
“You-” Wilson saw a glimmer out of the corner of his eye, a flash of light reflecting off of something in the distance. “Get down!” He grabbed Lex by the shoulders and pushed him to the ground just as the bullet whirred by. The sound of the gun going off in the distance followed quickly after.
Lex barely had a moment to collect his thoughts before he was being shoved back in the direction of the building, Agent Wilson kept a near crushing grip on his shoulders as he forced him to move. Another bullet flew by, barely missing the pair, followed by two more. The thunder of the gun in the distance cracking, echoing across the parking complex. The guard at the door held it open, signalling them towards them with his hand. If Lex had the breath he would have made a remark at the useless gesture, but he was running full sprint, it was all he could do to make sure he didn’t trip over himself as Slade urged him forwards.
They practically leapt through the doorway, Slade shoving him down underneath the guard’s desk. “Stay here.” He commanded. Lex normally would have had a snarky remark ready in reply, but the mercenary’s tone was different, not the usual casual sassy tone of the overly confident wannabe ninja, this was an order given by a soldier with experience in these types of situations and it left no room for argument. Lex had little time to wonder at the stark change in the man’s demeanor before he was on his feet running back out the doorway.
“Guard him!” He ordered the door guard, who instantly took out his own pistol.
“Theres a gunman on top of the south tower trying to take down Luthor, lockdown protocol code red, request to engage!” Slade shouted into this earpiece as he lunged out the door, sword already in his other hand. The guard shut the door and bolted it behind him, the alarm system started blaring, red lights flashing. The metal rolling security shields deployed, covering every window and door with a loud clunk, cutting off the waning afternoon light.
Lex cursed the fact he had taken off his own earpiece, leaving it in the lab at his desk. Not being able to hear what was going on irked him, especially because it was a matter concerning himself. The guard tapped his earpiece and walked over to Lex, pistol lowered. “Are you alright Mr. Luthor?”
“Y-yes.” His voice shook as he stammered, much to his surprise, then he belatedly realized that his hands were shaking as well. He probably looked like a shaken fawn caught in the headlights of an oncoming semitruck. He took a deep breath and tried to compose himself. “I’m fine.” Although he was grateful his voice didn’t stutter this time he didn’t feel fine. He almost died. He was almost shot by an assassin.
Slade saved him.
He looked down at his own hands, still quivering. He must be in shock. Nothing like this had ever happened as Ivo’s assistant, but now that he was a lead scientist in task force X, things were different. He wondered if this would become normal. Lex dearly hoped not.
Slade saved him.
The thought echoed in his brain. He was a lead scientist in a top secret government operation and he was just now feeling the weight of that reality upon him. People wanted him dead.
And if Slade hadn’t been there…
“Copy.” The guard interrupted his thoughts, hand on his earpiece. He then addressed Lex, “Lets move Mr. Luthor.” He held out a hand to help him to his feet but Lex refused to look any more like a weak fawn. He pulled himself to his feet and let himself be led back deeper into the building.
He found himself in a room he wasn’t familiar with, inside was Waller, or rather a projection of her. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” He was pleased he had composed himself enough to stop shaking. He shoved his hands in his lab coat just in case, he didn’t want to let his boss know just how much this rattled him.
“Good.” She was much more involved with the screen in her hand than on him and he was thankful of the small mercy. “Slade has captured the assassin, he will bring him in shortly. I want you to tell us if he is familiar.”
“Okay.” Lex then realized they must be in the interrogation room, the one way glass pannel covering one of the walls. There was a control pannel with several buttons and switches.
It wasn’t long until Slade and the assassin entered the other room, Slade shoved the man hard, and he stumbled into the room. Their hands were cuffed behind their back and they almost tripped at the force. Lex noted that their face was brutally beaten, right eye puffy and bruised, a cut above their right eye was bleeding, seeping a slow stream of blood across their face. It looked like they were even missing some teeth.
“Take it away Wilson.” Waller commanded.
Slade retrieved a shock collar from the table, placing it around the man’s neck roughly. He then took the controller and pressed the button.
“Ahhhh!” The man screamed in pain as electricity coursed through him, falling to the ground and writhing with an agonized look on his face. Slade pressed the button three more times, a small upturn of his lips portraying his sadistic side to Lex, a side he wasn’t familiar with. A small shiver ran down Lex’s back as he listened to the man scream. He didn’t feel bad for them, they tried to kill him after all, but torture… it was a new aspect of this job Lex hadn’t prepared himself for.
“Now I’m going to ask a few questions, you’re going to answer them.” Slade crooned, a playful lilt to his voice. “And if I don’t like your answers-” He pressed the button and the man screamed. “Yeah you get it.”
Slade bent down and grabbed the man by the hair, forcing him to his feet and throwing him into a chair. He looked at the one way mirror, a desperate expression on his face. “Who hired you?”
He coughed blood, spat it onto the ground. “The-” he coughed again “AHhhhh!”
“Not fast enough.” Slade teased, pressing the button two more times. The assassin fell to the floor in his convulsions, after they were through Slade mercilessly threw him back into the chair. “Who hired you?”
The man quickly divulged everything Slade asked for; the name of the person who hired them, their own name, and the names of their accomplices. “Please don’t kill me! I have a wife and child at home, my son is only two years old, they forced me to do this!”
Slade shrugged. “Not up to me.” He looked at the one way mirror, awaiting orders. His striking orange eye was cold, that of an emotionless soldier ready to do anything for the mission. Slade seemed to stare right at him, even though Lex knew he couldn’t see through the one way mirror. He didn’t quite like that sharp gaze directed at himself, even though he knew it wasn’t meant for him.
Waller addressed Lex, “Do you know any of those people or recognize him?”
Lex was rattled, having watched the usually jovial snarky mercenary effectively and methodically torture his would be assassin wasn’t something he was prepared for in the slightest. “No, no I don’t recognize any of those names or him.” Not that he could positively ID someone with their face mostly broken, but he seemed wholly unfamiliar.
“Please!” The assassin begged, “Please don’t kill me-Ahhhh!” He almost fell of the chair again, electricity coursing through him.
“Be quiet no one cares.” Slade said dispassionately, a tinge of annoyance in his voice. “So what’s the verdict?”
“We have all the information we need.” Waller said coldly, “take out the trash.” With that her form quickly dissipated, leaving Lex in the room alone.
Slade took his pistol from his belt, leveling it at the assassin’s head.
“No-nonono please-”
“Sorry, the fun parts over.” Slade did not sound sorry in the slightest.
Lex tore his eyes away, hearing the single gunshot and the heavy silence that followed.
“See I'm not obsolete quite yet, I'd like to see your robots do that. Hey you good?” Lex hadn’t realized Slade had entered the room until he was less than an arm’s length away from him, leaning over to get a better look at his face in the dim light of the room. Lex shook himself out of it.
“Yeah.” Lex didn't feel fine. He was almost killed, then watched his would-be killer get tortured and murdered right before him. He had never been witness to death before and it shook him to his core. “I just want to go home.”
“Hmm~ I’m not sure that would be the best idea. That guy’s associates could be waiting for you there.” Slade rubbed his chin, his demeanor back to the same old annoying Slade that Lex was familiar with. It comforted him, but he stayed wary of the sadistic side that he had displayed not even minute before. “Maybe you should crash at one of our facility rooms. It's not luxurious but it does the job. I’ll send someone over to your apartment to get your clothes.”
“I don’t want anyone going through my things.”
“Well the alternative is wearing standard issue clothes, I don’t think those would flatter you much.” Slade teased, a smile at his lips.
Lex raised an eyebrow, since when does his clothes flattering him matter to him? “Whatever. I just want to take a shower.”
The mercenary shrugged, “Fine by me.”
He led them to a corridor filled with rooms evenly spaced apart, it felt a bit like a dispassionately grey hotel. “Here you are.” Slade opened one of the doors and held it open for him, inside was a king sized bed, a small table and chair, and a door he assumed would lead to a bathroom. There were no windows, the only decoration, if one could even call it that, was a clock on the wall. “I’ll have someone bring over some clothes in a bit. Until then you can use the bathrobe that's inside the closet.”
“Sure. Where are you going?” Slade already started walking away, a skip in his step.
“To go through your things.” He waved back at Lex, flipping his hair as he turned, “Awe don’t give me that look, I’m just going to make sure there aren’t any more assassins hiding at your place.”
“I-” Lex started, but Slade had already turned the corner around the corridor. He shut the door and let out a heavy sigh, he just needed a long hot shower.