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SM/DC Chapter 27 : Project Doomsday.
🕑 Added 2025-02-11 20:01:10 +0000 UTCLex Luthor had faced many threats in his life metahumans, gods, a Kryptonian. But this?
This was something new.
Arthur stalked forward, the shadows curling and shifting with each step, bending to his presence like an unseen force of nature.
Lex’s hand shot towards a hidden button beneath the conference table, but before he could press it, his body jerked violently into the air.
An invisible force gripped him, lifting him effortlessly as if he weighed nothing. His suit tightened around his throat, his breath caught in his lungs.
Arthur’s cold, glowing eyes bore into him. "Don’t do anything stupid, Luthor. You’re a smart man—act like it."
Lex gritted his teeth, struggling against the unseen force. "What the hell are you?" he demanded.
A chuckle came from the side. "Oh, you’ll love this one, Lex," Adam said, leaning back against the table, arms crossed. "He’s my little brother."
Lex’s eyes widened. "Your what?!" He twisted his head towards Adam, still suspended in the air. "I thought your brother was just some kid, not—" his gaze snapped back to Arthur’s shadow-cloaked form, "—some lunatic with powers!"
Adam smirked. "Yeah, he’s full of surprises." His eyes flicked toward Arthur, intrigued. "Seriously, though. What can’t you do?"
Arthur barely spared him a glance. "I can’t make stupid deals with dangerous people that would destroy my name."
Silence.
Adam’s smirk faltered, his expression tightening for the first time.
Arthur turned to him. "Good work coming here fast."
Adam exhaled, regaining his composure. "Of course. Took the fastest private jet I had. I always keep my word, brother."
Arthur gave him a slow nod. "Then go. I’ll take it from here."
Adam raised an eyebrow. "And leave you alone with Lex Luthor?"
Arthur tilted his head, his glowing blue eyes burning through the dim room. "Look at me. Do I look like I need help?"
Adam studied him for a long moment, then chuckled, shaking his head. "Fine. But be careful."
Arthur finally smirked. "Luthor should be the one worrying about that."
*****
The LexCorp building was as pristine as ever, its corridors bustling with executives, scientists, and security personnel. Yet, as Arthur and Lex walked side by side, nobody dared to intervene.
Maybe it was the subtle tension in the air, the way Arthur’s presence made the light flicker, or perhaps it was because Luthor—Lex Luthor—had his hands bound behind his back by some unseen force and still walked as if he were in control.
Lex’s expression remained neutral, but his jaw tightened as they passed a few high-ranking employees. Some slowed their steps, eyes flicking between him and Arthur, but a single cold glance from their CEO sent them moving along.
Lex finally broke the silence. "You know, it’s a little excessive parading me around my own building like this."
Arthur didn’t even glance at him. "You’ll live."
Lex exhaled sharply through his nose. "At least let me use my hands. I assume you didn’t drag me all the way here just to humiliate me in front of my staff."
Arthur smirked. "Nope. You’re not using your hands until we reach your lab."
Lex narrowed his eyes, his patience wearing thin. "And if I refuse?"
Arthur gave him a sidelong glance, his glowing blue eyes carrying a quiet, dangerous amusement. "Then I’ll carry you."
Lex clenched his jaw he let out a sharp breath and kept walking till they stopped in front of an elevator.
The elevator doors slid open, revealing an empty, mirror-lined interior. Arthur stepped in first, his eyes immediately catching the illuminated panel of buttons. His gaze traveled downward, landing on the LexCorp logo beside the lowest floor level—Restricted Access.
He smirked. "That’s it, isn’t it?"
Lex didn’t answer, but his subtle shift in posture spoke volumes.
Arthur didn’t wait for confirmation. He reached into his pocket, pulling out the sleek black card his brother had given him. With a casual swipe, the red restriction light blinked green, and the elevator began its silent descent.
The air grew heavier in the confined space, tension stretching between them like a drawn wire.
Lex finally broke the silence, his voice measured. "Where did you get that…? Adam—of course. So, you already know what I’m working on."
Arthur leaned against the elevator wall, arms crossed. "I do."
Lex’s expression turned cold. "Then you should understand that if you even think about interfering, the consequences will be severe—for both of us."
Arthur tilted his head, a smirk playing at his lips. "No. Just for you."
Lex’s eyes flickered with irritation. For the first time in a long time, he wasn’t the one dictating the pace of a conversation.
Arthur turned his gaze to the descending numbers on the elevator panel. "So tell me, Luthor. What’s the endgame here? You playing with fire just to see who burns first? "
Lex let out a low chuckle. "Fire? No. Fire is predictable. Containable. I prefer things a little more... calculated."
Arthur scoffed. "that's your problem, Luthor—you only trust what you can control. And when something doesn’t fit neatly into your schemes, you try to get rid of it.That’s why you hate Superman so much. He’s something you can’t bend, something that exists outside of your perfect little equations."
Lex's expression remained unreadable, but there was a flicker of annoyance in his eyes. "Spare me the philosophy. You think you're different? You're here, in my building, forcing my hand—yet you talk about control like you're above it."
Arthur smirked, tightening his grip through Ruler’s Authority, making Lex stiffen. "I don’t need control, Luthor. I just need you to open what only you can."
The elevator came to a smooth stop, a soft chime echoing through the confined space. As the doors slid open, Lex’s posture stiffened, his usual composed demeanor cracking just slightly. Arthur stepped out first, taking in the massive underground lab stretching before him—a cathedral of technology bathed in sterile white light. Rows of high-tech workstations hummed with activity, glass chambers lined the walls, and complex blueprints flickered across holographic displays. The sheer scale of LexCorp’s operation made even Arthur hesitate for a second.
Lex exhaled sharply, stepping forward but keeping a wary eye on Arthur. His fingers twitched slightly—whether from frustration or nerves, Arthur wasn’t sure.
Arthur turned to him, tilting his head. "Say I destroy everything here—how much do you lose?"
Lex’s jaw clenched. His voice came low and dangerously sharp.
"Don’t you even dare."
“I won’t destroy it,” Arthur said, his voice low but unwavering. “as long as you show me project Doomsday.”
Lex’s thoughts raced. Doomsday—he had kept it a secret, buried deep in his underground labs, hidden even from the Justice League. And now this brash kid, this unassuming figure standing before him, knew exactly what was down here. How? How had he figured it out?
His lips curled into a faint smile, though it barely reached his eyes, a sign of his irritation. Lex kept his voice controlled, but the tension in his jaw was impossible to ignore.
"Why do you wish to destroy this project? From your methods, I can tell you're not like the rest of the... caped wonders."
Arthur’s eyes flashed with a mix of amusement and something darker. "Who says anything about destroying?" he replied, his tone clipped.
Lex raised an eyebrow, his fingers tapping on the sleek surface of a nearby console as he tried to regain his composure. "Then what do you want?" His voice grew sharper. "More money? More power?"
Arthur's gaze didn’t waver, his eyes glowing with the dangerous certainty of someone who had already made his choice. "I want it for myself," he said, his words simple but loaded with meaning.
Lex recoiled, taken aback by the sheer audacity. His mind whirled, trying to decipher what Arthur was truly after.
“What… what do you mean by that?” Lex stammered, struggling to make sense of the situation.
Arthur’s impatience rippled through the air as he shot Lex a pointed look. “Enough time wasted. Move.”
Lex, though clearly unsettled, didn’t argue. He turned and led Arthur deeper into the labyrinthine corridors of the lab, passing by rows of metallic doors and advanced technology that hummed softly in the background. The dim lights flickered in time with the steady pulse of the equipment, amplifying the tension in the air.
Eventually, they came to a massive, imposing door, its surface sleek and unmarked. The kind of door you’d expect to guard something catastrophic, something that wasn’t meant to be seen by anyone. Lex swiped a keycard, the sound of the electronic lock sliding open echoing down the hallway.
As the door swung open, Arthur’s sharp eyes immediately focused on what lay inside.
A giant, glass water tube stood in the center of the room, the faint glow from a control panel lighting up the figure inside. It was a hulking shape, suspended in liquid, a figure that could only be described as a nightmare waiting to be unleashed. Its body was massive, filled with unnatural muscle, veins bulging across the surface like some grotesque mockery of life. There were tubes and wires connected to its skin, feeding into it, keeping it in some kind of stasis.
Project Doomsday.
Arthur studied the creature with a cold, calculating gaze, his eyes narrowing slightly. He could almost feel the power thrumming beneath the surface. It was far from ready—Lex had been right about that. But it was undeniably alive.
Lex’s voice was strained as he watched Arthur approach the glass. “It’s not ready. Not even close.” His words were firm, but there was a twinge of uncertainty in them.
Arthur’s gaze remained locked on the creature, but something shifted in the atmosphere, something more subtle. He tilted his head slightly, feeling a faint vibration in the air. It wasn’t just the creature that was alive. There was something else, something hidden, breathing—quiet but unmistakable.
His eyes snapped back to Lex, his tone sharp. “You have someone else here, don’t you?”
Lex froze, his expression flickering for just a moment before he regained his composure. “I—what are you talking about?” he said, trying to hide the sudden unease in his voice. But Arthur saw through it.
