"Darkness is your Candle" [Batman]

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The hallway was well lit enough, Lex Luthor started to undo his tie as he walked from the temporary board room down the hall towards his suite. The suited bodyguards of LexCorp Security, nodded to him as he passed by. Lex, on the other hand, was talking the holographic image in front of his face clear as he said "I think we can afford an additional expenditure in resources in this area, Telly. . . I understand the outlook doesn't appear rife for profit, but I think the long term investment potential is significant, and frankly, despite Metropham costs the success of LexCorp Deseret project can allow us to funnel money into the LexOil expansion. Just have Keye look over the figures. The shale deposits in the field aren't horizontal but that just means the land is currently undervalued." The padded footsteps on dark and old carpet kept the sounds muffled. The white walls were paneled and marbled, the torch alcoves simple enough, but glowing inadequately for the florescent loves of Lex Luthor

There walks Lex, past the final security guard, nodding his head as he moves past the classic seascape on the wall, ignoring the thing. Lex Luthor's taste in art was calculated, yet quite infinitesimal, designed to impress others. The paintings here were no more interest to him than those of Thomas Kinkade or any other hack painter. While Lex had a sneaky respect for genius, true genius was rare. The rented floor of Dini plaza was created in a simpler time with older luxuries and older infrastructure. It irritated Lex somewhat, when he was used to the Bauhaus styling and modern structures of his own buildings in Metropolis. He felt the deco stylings of Dini Plaza's Hotel del Infnatino were excessive and represented all the problems with Gotham City. It was a city of yesterday's vision of tomorrow, promises unfulfilled.

"I understand that but I promise you, if what Dr. Sivana's team is working on pans out, then LexOil will be the only ones who can get to the oil. If we buy the land now, we won't need to deal with pesky holdouts later, trying to overcharge for the land because they know we can use it. Right now, it's just wasteland. . . . now I know for a fact we've purchased Derulo Agra to get their farm holdings. Just have Derulo make the purchase, and then we'll sell it to LexOil once the technology is ready to be put into the field. And if the technology falls through, who knows, we'll try the new nitrate solutions, make it arable and actually farm something! I don't know!" He opens the door it's dark inside, he flips the light switch, it doesn't turn on.  He tried it once more, then looked about the room, an eyebrow raising. Ah. This.

"Just get it done, Telly. Something's come up." The image turns off as he flicks the side of the monocle. It glows slightly green, as if reflecting the limited light in the room, it doesn't glow so much, but it's somewhat more shiny if one knows what to look for. He exhales as he feels the faint breeze from the window, the fluttering of the curtains. The light from outside filters into the room casting a cone of light over a room filled with shadows. The room itself had many places for shadows, a large main room for a suite. . . furniture and statuary and hidden alcoves.

"So, here we are, then. I have to admit, I was expecting this meeting somewhat sooner." He walks calmly in the bar, pouring himself a Cognac, he's walking comfortably in the darkness, but then again it's not too surprising. He wore the classic Luthor suit, dark, be-tied, eyepiece and earpiece still on his face, from where he was talking to the executive. He placed another empty glass on the counter, near the drinks. "I don't know what you prefer, but you're welcome to it. I'd suggest the Cognac, although I've a preference for it. The " 

He looks over the shadows for a moment, then considers as he slowly sips the drink. "You didn't trip the silent alarm on the window. . . so that means you either disabled it from the outside. . . quite the trick, frankly, but if rumors about you are true not beyond your capability." He takes another sip of the cognac as if thinking for a moment " Perhaps you came in through . . . yes, the ventilation system. They're large enough for it. . . then disable the alarms from the inside, window open for a quick escape. . . while also casting just enough light into the room to create  a sharp relief of shadow to throw off any light enhancing sensory equipment. . . Lets you hide even with the device on. Perhaps another way, it's idle curiousity." He drinks the Cognac, just a sip for now, taking a step back as he starts to unbutton his cufflnks, leaving them on the counter, rubbing his wrists a bit. 

"If you'd prefer we can do this with the lights out, it's remarkably theatrical." He starts to loosen his tie, as if finishing up a difficult day walking towards the sofa, although he hasn't sat down yet. 

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Batman slowly dropped from the vents in the ceiling of Luthor's office, his feet hitting the floor with only a slight thud. Standing very still, Batman reached up to his mask, turning on his night vision and scanning the room. There didn't seem to be any alarms, just a few cameras, and pulling the gadget from his belt, Batman aimed at those and clicked, switching the security camera to pause on the frame it was on, and not record any more. Walking over to the window, Batman clipped the wires running along the windowsill to shut off the security, before turning to walk back to the desk, Batman flicked off his night vision and turned on the desk light to start rifling through the paperwork. He wasn't sure what Lex was doing in Gotham, but he knew it was nothing good. And he also knew he had to find out what he could about it. He had considered surveillance on Luthor for a few weeks, but that might not lead anywhere, and in a city like Gotham he couldn't afford to spend so much time following one man, when there were a dozen other criminals working on their own plans to destroy his city. No, the best way to get any information would be to search his office or confront Luthor directly. Flicking through the paperwork, Batman saw a few bits of paperwork, some refrencing Arkham and Blackgate, a few contracts regarding Gotham, an interesting project involving crystals and metal structures and some land management grants. Putting the papers into a single neat pile, The Dark Knight pulled out another toy from his belt, an automatic scanner and slowly ran it over the top sheet. The handheld scanner was an idea from Lucius, a scanner that wouldn't just scan the top page but would use different lights to scan every page underneath as well, allowing for all the information to be searched through on the computer at home. Batman opened up a drawer, just as a voice came through his earpiece.

"Master Bruce, Lex Luthor has just arrived outside. You have two minutes before he reaches his hotel suite."

"Alright Alfred, I'll be ready for him."

Reaching into the drawer, Batman pulled out a large packet of bound paper. From the weight, it seemed to be around 400 to 500 pages. The front cover read PROJECT REBIRTH. Undoing the knot, Batman scanned over the packet and then reknotted it as before, placed it back inside the desk, and closed the drawer. Opening the other side, Batman pulled out a set of files, which were sealed with acid and marked by a set of numbers. It looked governmental, but he didn't have enough time to scan it. Placing it back inside the drawer, Batman shut the drawer, turned off the light, and stepped to the center of the room, dragging a chair with him to reach up and pull out the main light globe. Pushing the chair back into place, Wayne then crossed over to the windows, flinging open the windows, and drawing open the curtains enough to let some light in without giving up all the shadows..

"Luthor is getting off the elevator now, sir."

"I'm ready for him Alfred."

Stepping into the corner, Batman wrapped the cape around himself and watched as Lex entered the room. Luthor instantly knew something was wrong, and he reached up tapping the side of his monocle, a slight green glow just barely visible to those looking for it. Batman listened to Lex, watching as he glanced around the room trying to spot Batman while making his own suggestions on Batman's modus operandi. Stepping slowly and quietly towards the desk, Batman waited a moment after Lex had stopped talking before flicking on the light. His face held the same tight snarl he always had, and his eyes were locked on Luthor's as he spoke.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Luthor. Been busy fighting off criminals."

Batman debated how to angle his approach. A quiet talk with Luthor, letting him rant and rave to appease his ego would probably work best. Lex wasn't the sort that threats worked on. The occasional dropping of hints of what Batman knew might throw him off a little as well. Keeping his eyes locked on Lex, Batman kept the cape draped over his shoulders even as he stared the billionaire down.

"Superman told me I should treat you like a gigantic threat. Like you would be the greatest danger I would have in Gotham. Do I need to do that, Lex?"

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"The greatest threat? You're the masked man who broke into my hotel room. I'm not the man who consorts with aliens in secret hidden fortresses, or hovering in low Earth Orbit staring down at humanity to pass judgement. You tell me who the greatest threat in the room is, let alone Gotham." 

He smiles as he takes a sip of his drink, long and slow, patient. The Bat was trying to intimidate him by getting into his space, he let the monocle do the work, the light correction quick, instantaneous, it wasn't merely night vision, but enhanced computational software that did the work for him. The monocle started picking apart and scanning the suit of the creature before him, taking readings, samples. An imaginative sort would call it "Detective Vision" But of course LexCorp called it a passive scan, because that's exactly what it was. Augmented by scanners in the room, devices on Lex's person, and items scattered throughout.

The Batman was Human, or at least close enough to it. Heartrate, breathing normal, none of the strange readings that came from some of the other aliens. He was possessed of great control. The positioning, the posture, he was trained and trained by some of the best. Lex Luthor may not have had the hand to hand combat skills of some of his employees, but he still knew the look of training and knew enough to defend himself. He himself had been trained well, although his style was significantly more explosive. Part of him wondered if he could fight the Dark Knight in front of him. In this place, right now. . . could he face the measure of the urban legend? 

Well. . . he was no Superman. This was a man, a well trained man, skilled, but little more. That made him dangerous. Lex Luthor preferred to face off against godlike alien threats, they were at least predictable despite their phenomenal powers. The Martian would have been trapped by the passive defenses in the walls, the Alien. . . well, nothing Lex had would stop the Alien if he REALLY wanted to break in, but he could slow him down with some of his backup plans. . . the bird woman? Not even to be considered. . . but a human being, that was a challenge. The corrective scans in the room, X-rays, PET, MRI. The passive readings from the scanners he put in the walls, from the devices under the counter. The Batman had devices throughout his armor, electricity, circuitry, ablative armor, a mask perfectly suited to protect, but also to show expression. The physique designed to provide intimidation, even the cape, with framework of memory metal, circuitry in it? This was no mere vigilante come to intimidate, no there was funding at work here. Technology, support from someone, that was interesting, but unsurprising. If a human being could rise to the highest levels among the aliens, they'd have to be something impressive.

The Batman was well suited up for combat operations. . . passive traps on the belt? On the mask? Lead lined to prevent X-ray scanning, well suited for a man who spend his time consorting with Godlike aliens with metapowered senses. Batman was paranoid, but paranoid enough? Only time would tell. Perhaps there was more to consider here, but then again, Lex Luthor knew this meeting was coming. It was almost scripted at this point, inevitable. The reaction to Lex Luthor's action: Come to Gotham with a plan, face to face with the Batman. Q.E.D. . . but had he seen the plans? Had he picked the books up? He wouldn't have had time to read about Project Rebirth, nor to break the code. . . but what else was in here? Just contracts, nothing too out of the ordinary.

"Fighting criminals can slow one down, especially when one takes such a hands on approach to it. But let me remind you. I'm the only one in the room right now not currently breaking the law." He smiles as he says "But, don't let me stand on semantics. You want to know my plans for Gotham? You're just going to have to wait for my presentation at the Gala like everyone else. But, I see a bright future for Gotham. One where it's not hidden in shadows."