Smallville, New Luthor Manor.
With one stroke, Lex sent the last billiard ball into the pocket and rose to his feet.
He set the cue aside, wiped away his sweat, and picked up the latest newspaper.
The front page was dominated by the Dark Knight who had recently emerged in Gotham.
"Batman?"
Reading the lengthy report on Batman's campaign against criminals, Lex frowned slightly.
"Darling, you don't seem to be in a very good mood. Are you all right?"
Victoria entered carrying a bottle of Dom Pérignon champagne.
"I'm very well, especially after seeing Sir Harry launch a hostile takeover of one of my father's companies."
"Darling, that was what we agreed on, wasn't it? This is the first step toward taking control of your father's company."
Victoria set the champagne on the table. "I think that's worth celebrating."
"I don't think the end of one phase of my war with my father is worth celebrating."
Lex glanced at the champagne and spoke calmly.
"You seem to have been full of melancholy and worries lately, Lex."
Victoria fixed him with a seductive gaze, stepped forward, and gently wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Generally speaking, melancholy comes from one's own incompetence, while worries arise when desires go unfulfilled. As for me, I have never worried over my own incompetence or desires. What I am displaying is a certain fear of the unknown."
Even in the face of beauty, Lex's tone remained steady.
"The unknown?"
Victoria looked at the newspaper on the table. "The Dark Knight? Batman? Lex, are these urban legends the unknown you're talking about?"
"I know Gotham. It is different from Metropolis. The wealth there breeds endless evil, and the madmen and the underclass hate that city more than anything else. A knight, a Batman playing at being