Ken Seeb
DCU Prepare for Doom #1
As the skies of Metropolis turn red, Lex Luthor is making his way to the basement of Luthor Tower. Lex Luthor, the man who managed to go toe to toe with Superman was now fleeing from an alien. He recognises the alien. A White Martian. He researched the species after one showed up in 1994, only to be defeated by the combined forces of Superman and Batman. If only he could’ve salvaged the body for his own researches. He could’ve studied the species more up close and prevented an invasion like this from happening before it even began. An opportunity gone to waste. As Lex nears the basement another White Martian bursts through the wall in front of him. Before the alien could get back up a massive hammer smashes its head, killing the creature. Luthor looks at the hole in the wall and a man in an armor made of steel enters the sublevel hallway. On his chest is a symbol. A symbol Luthor despises more than anything. The man grabs the hammer and takes a stand before Luthor.
“John. Welcome back to Luthor Corp.”
John: “Save me the pleasantries, Luthor. Don’t think I’m happy being here.”
“Then why are you here?”
John: “Just making sure you won’t misuse the situation to do anything stupid.”
Luthor raises an eyebrow and smirks at the man in steel armor.
“Now why would I? The city is in danger and you’re thinking I’m going to take the opportunity to take out Superman?”
He walks up to John coming as close that they almost touch noses. He puts a finger on his chest.
“This is my city too. I’m not going to let it be destroyed. Especially not by some alien invasion.”
John looks at Luthor with a stern expression on his face. Before John could make another comment he shoves Luthor aside and hits another White Martian in the face with his hammer. The Martian grabs John by the throat and slams him into the wall. John punches the alien in the stomach, forcing it to let go of his throat. He rolls over and kicks the alien in the kneecap and then grabs his hammer for an uppercut. The alien falls back, but before John can stand on his feet again it lunges at him, pinning him down on the ground. Keeping John’s arms both pinned to the ground as well, the Martian roars in his face and makes itself ready to bite his head off. Before it can do so however, a hole is blasted into the Martian’s torso, killing it instantly. John looks up and sees Luthor in his powersuit aiming his smoking gauntlet at the dead Martian. Luthor walks over to John and offers him a hand. John smacks the hand away and gets up on his own.
“You’re welcome.” Luthor says with a smirk.
John: “Don’t even get me started.”
“Listen. You may not like me, and I certainly don’t like you. But we have to work together if we want to save this city. I appreciate you checking on me, but I’ll be able to take care of my own.”
John contemplates for a moment. Teaming up with the enemy. Would Superman do it? Even if it was for the sake of the city?
“I don’t have time for this. I’m going out there to save Metropolis.”
John: “Alright! Fine. Just this one moment. Don’t think I’ll be sending you Christmas cards after this.”
Luthor rolls his eyes and the two of them start the engines in their suits and fly out of the Luthor Tower into the skies of Metropolis.
One day later
"These eleven men and women fought for us. Fought so that we could be safe today, and for that, we thank them all."
At that note, Luthor turns off the television. These eleven men and women? What about him? He stuck his neck out for the city. For the human race! And they thank those good for nothing heroes. Trying to calm himself down he pours himself a glass of scotch and drinks it down in one chug. He sighs and pours himself another one. He looks out of the repaired window and looks down at Metropolis. People have already started cleaning the mess up from the invasion. The invasion only stopped the day prior and they already started doing their jobs again. Of course, he himself was also rebuilding the city already, but he has people to do that for him. He himself has more pressing matters to attend to. His trail of thought is interrupted by a knock on the door. Mercy Graves steps in with a thin man wearing glasses and a headset.
Mercy: “Sir, I found him.”
“Good. Thank you Mercy. You can go now.”
Mercy nods and leaves the two men alone. The man with the headset stares at Luthor as he pours a second glass with scotch.
Noah: “Lex. You could’ve just called instead of sending your bodyguard after me.”
“I was busy. Haven’t you looked outside, Kuttler?”
Noah: “Oh, I have. Many of my employees were killed in the attack on Gotham.”
“Then they weren’t worthy employees.”
The room goes silent for a bit. Noah grabs his glass and smiles.
Noah: “No, they were not.”
He raises his glass to meet Luthor’s and the two toast.
Noah: “So, what’s the reason you couldn’t wait until after the invasion aftermath?”
Luthor puts down his glass and stands before the window again. He motions for Noah to join him.
“Just look at Metropolis, Kuttler. Look at the wreckage that’s left of my city. Where was Superman when my city got destroyed? Where was he to protect the people from these monsters? Not here, I’ll tell you. He was abandoning them! And now he’s got a whole bunch of other ‘heroes’ who follow him like puppies. I was afraid something like this would happen.”
Noah: “Like what would happen?”
“The heroes teaming up. It began when Superman and Batman teamed up to fight the first White Martian in 1994. Then it happened again 10 years later when Aquaman and the Green Lanterns teamed up to fight a robot army called the Manhunters. Then I almost witnessed it first hand later in 2004. The Green Lanterns, the Flash, the Queen of Atlantis, Vixen, Black Lightning, Obsidian. They teamed up to fight a threat they called Evil Star. I should’ve started taking more precautions at that time, but I didn’t think they were able to organise themselves into a formal team. Now is the time, Kuttler. They may have a small team. We could have a legion.”
Noah: “What are you getting at Luthor?”
“My connections. Your network. Like-minded people who believe in the same cause as us. You know what these heroes can do to our activities when they work together? They will destroy us. We will need to destroy them before they can have the opportunity.”
Noah: “I like where you’re going with this. Let me call in some favors and pull a few strings here and there. I know the exact type of people you’re looking for. There are some lovely ladies in Gotham who I think are willing to join this Legion of yours.”
“Good. Now I want only the best of the best. I hope I made that clear, Kuttler.”
Noah: “All clear. Now, what are you going to call this Legion of yours?”
“The Legion… of Doom.”
DCU Prepare for Doom #1
As the skies of Metropolis turn red, Lex Luthor is making his way to the basement of Luthor Tower. Lex Luthor, the man who managed to go toe to toe with Superman was now fleeing from an alien. He recognises the alien. A White Martian. He researched the species after one showed up in 1994, only to be defeated by the combined forces of Superman and Batman. If only he could’ve salvaged the body for his own researches. He could’ve studied the species more up close and prevented an invasion like this from happening before it even began. An opportunity gone to waste. As Lex nears the basement another White Martian bursts through the wall in front of him. Before the alien could get back up a massive hammer smashes its head, killing the creature. Luthor looks at the hole in the wall and a man in an armor made of steel enters the sublevel hallway. On his chest is a symbol. A symbol Luthor despises more than anything. The man grabs the hammer and takes a stand before Luthor.
“John. Welcome back to Luthor Corp.”
John: “Save me the pleasantries, Luthor. Don’t think I’m happy being here.”
“Then why are you here?”
John: “Just making sure you won’t misuse the situation to do anything stupid.”
Luthor raises an eyebrow and smirks at the man in steel armor.
“Now why would I? The city is in danger and you’re thinking I’m going to take the opportunity to take out Superman?”
He walks up to John coming as close that they almost touch noses. He puts a finger on his chest.
“This is my city too. I’m not going to let it be destroyed. Especially not by some alien invasion.”
John looks at Luthor with a stern expression on his face. Before John could make another comment he shoves Luthor aside and hits another White Martian in the face with his hammer. The Martian grabs John by the throat and slams him into the wall. John punches the alien in the stomach, forcing it to let go of his throat. He rolls over and kicks the alien in the kneecap and then grabs his hammer for an uppercut. The alien falls back, but before John can stand on his feet again it lunges at him, pinning him down on the ground. Keeping John’s arms both pinned to the ground as well, the Martian roars in his face and makes itself ready to bite his head off. Before it can do so however, a hole is blasted into the Martian’s torso, killing it instantly. John looks up and sees Luthor in his powersuit aiming his smoking gauntlet at the dead Martian. Luthor walks over to John and offers him a hand. John smacks the hand away and gets up on his own.
“You’re welcome.” Luthor says with a smirk.
John: “Don’t even get me started.”
“Listen. You may not like me, and I certainly don’t like you. But we have to work together if we want to save this city. I appreciate you checking on me, but I’ll be able to take care of my own.”
John contemplates for a moment. Teaming up with the enemy. Would Superman do it? Even if it was for the sake of the city?
“I don’t have time for this. I’m going out there to save Metropolis.”
John: “Alright! Fine. Just this one moment. Don’t think I’ll be sending you Christmas cards after this.”
Luthor rolls his eyes and the two of them start the engines in their suits and fly out of the Luthor Tower into the skies of Metropolis.
One day later
"These eleven men and women fought for us. Fought so that we could be safe today, and for that, we thank them all."
At that note, Luthor turns off the television. These eleven men and women? What about him? He stuck his neck out for the city. For the human race! And they thank those good for nothing heroes. Trying to calm himself down he pours himself a glass of scotch and drinks it down in one chug. He sighs and pours himself another one. He looks out of the repaired window and looks down at Metropolis. People have already started cleaning the mess up from the invasion. The invasion only stopped the day prior and they already started doing their jobs again. Of course, he himself was also rebuilding the city already, but he has people to do that for him. He himself has more pressing matters to attend to. His trail of thought is interrupted by a knock on the door. Mercy Graves steps in with a thin man wearing glasses and a headset.
Mercy: “Sir, I found him.”
“Good. Thank you Mercy. You can go now.”
Mercy nods and leaves the two men alone. The man with the headset stares at Luthor as he pours a second glass with scotch.
Noah: “Lex. You could’ve just called instead of sending your bodyguard after me.”
“I was busy. Haven’t you looked outside, Kuttler?”
Noah: “Oh, I have. Many of my employees were killed in the attack on Gotham.”
“Then they weren’t worthy employees.”
The room goes silent for a bit. Noah grabs his glass and smiles.
Noah: “No, they were not.”
He raises his glass to meet Luthor’s and the two toast.
Noah: “So, what’s the reason you couldn’t wait until after the invasion aftermath?”
Luthor puts down his glass and stands before the window again. He motions for Noah to join him.
“Just look at Metropolis, Kuttler. Look at the wreckage that’s left of my city. Where was Superman when my city got destroyed? Where was he to protect the people from these monsters? Not here, I’ll tell you. He was abandoning them! And now he’s got a whole bunch of other ‘heroes’ who follow him like puppies. I was afraid something like this would happen.”
Noah: “Like what would happen?”
“The heroes teaming up. It began when Superman and Batman teamed up to fight the first White Martian in 1994. Then it happened again 10 years later when Aquaman and the Green Lanterns teamed up to fight a robot army called the Manhunters. Then I almost witnessed it first hand later in 2004. The Green Lanterns, the Flash, the Queen of Atlantis, Vixen, Black Lightning, Obsidian. They teamed up to fight a threat they called Evil Star. I should’ve started taking more precautions at that time, but I didn’t think they were able to organise themselves into a formal team. Now is the time, Kuttler. They may have a small team. We could have a legion.”
Noah: “What are you getting at Luthor?”
“My connections. Your network. Like-minded people who believe in the same cause as us. You know what these heroes can do to our activities when they work together? They will destroy us. We will need to destroy them before they can have the opportunity.”
Noah: “I like where you’re going with this. Let me call in some favors and pull a few strings here and there. I know the exact type of people you’re looking for. There are some lovely ladies in Gotham who I think are willing to join this Legion of yours.”
“Good. Now I want only the best of the best. I hope I made that clear, Kuttler.”
Noah: “All clear. Now, what are you going to call this Legion of yours?”
“The Legion… of Doom.”