The Soul's Collar

The wind's howl died away as Chu Men descended with Lex Luthor in his grip, landing in front of the Iceberg Lounge.

In the plaza outside, Lark saw Chu Men land and dropped to her knees. Hundreds behind her knelt in unison, their eyes burning with fervor.

Chu Men opened his hand.

Thud.

Luthor hit the ground like a sack of mud, splashing dirty water across his face.

He lay there, chest heaving, gulping air greedily.

Chu Men stood over him and looked down at the broken figure by his feet.

Luthor coughed twice, braced his hands against the ground, and struggled to roll onto his back in the rain.

Cold raindrops struck his face, bringing him partway back to his senses.

His instinct to survive overwhelmed the urge to die that had seized him in midair.

Luthor opened his eyes and stared at Chu Men's impassive face.

His mind raced. He did not understand.

He could not make sense of this man's motives.

Politicians wanted votes, businessmen wanted profits, and gangs wanted territory. Even that alien, Clark, wanted the hollow satisfaction of feeling morally superior.

Anyone who wanted something could be bought, used, or brought to the negotiating table.

But Chu Men wanted none of it.

"What do you want?" Luthor asked hoarsely.

"I seem to recall you painting a pretty picture for me upstairs."

Luthor struggled upright and stared at Chu Men.

"You destroyed my army," Luthor said, breathing hard. "You proved how powerful you are. But that means nothing. Killing me would mean nothing either."

When Chu Men did not strike at once, Luthor thought he had found a chance to live. He spoke faster.

"You're strong. I admit your power exceeds everything I know. But one man can't fight an entire social order. This world won't tolerate an uncontrollable god."

"That slaughter may have pleased you, but are you going to kill everyone in the world?"

Luthor planted his hands on his knees and tried to sit straighter, to recover some semblance of a negotiator's bearing.

"You need me." Luthor held Chu Men's gaze. "You have the power to destroy everything, and I have the intelligence to rebuild it. We're a perfect match. That alien doesn't deserve to be a god. You're different. You have no limits. You do whatever you please. Say the word, and LexCorp will be your throne. I'll handle those politicians in Washington. I'll turn the media's coverage into hymns of praise for you."

"I'll make you the only god on this planet."

The rain kept falling.

Kneeling behind them, Lark heard every word. Her eyes burned brighter, and she felt immeasurably fortunate to have submitted when she had.

Chu Men heard Luthor out, then raised a hand to his chin.

"A legitimate god." Chu Men rolled the phrase around, then chuckled. "Baldy, there's still something you don't understand."

Luthor frowned. "What?"

"A god doesn't need legitimacy." Chu Men stepped forward, the toe of his boot almost touching Luthor's knee. "A god is the law."

Luthor went deathly pale. He realized that the negotiation skills he took such pride in were a joke to this man.

Gritting his teeth, he played his final card. "If you kill me, you'll get nothing—"

"Who said I was going to kill you?" Chu Men cut in.

Luthor froze.

Chu Men looked down at him, an uncanny darkness flickering in his eyes.

[Target identified: Lex Luthor.]

[Use Spiritual Imprint?]

Mental power became an invisible steel spike and plunged into Luthor's brain.

Luthor's body went rigid.

His mouth gaped, a strange noise rasping from his throat. His eyes rolled back, and his whole body convulsed in the rain as though electrocuted.

The Spiritual Imprint invaded the depths of his soul, brutally tearing apart the pride, reason, worldview, and sense of self Luthor had built over decades.

His feverish ambition to make humanity into gods.

His meticulous calculations of give and take.

His lofty dignity as a corporate magnate.

All of it was crushed to dust by that overwhelming mental force, leaving nothing behind.

The spike churned through Luthor's mind and carved an indelible mark into it: absolute obedience to Chu Men and fanatical worship of him.

It took less than ten seconds.

The convulsions stopped.

Luthor lay limp on the ground.

Lark dared to raise her eyes a little and glance at him.

"Cough... cough, cough..."

Luthor broke into a violent coughing fit, blood pouring from his nose.

He slowly raised his head. The calculation and arrogance had vanished from his eyes, replaced by fervor and devotion.

Luthor braced his hands against the ground and dragged his weakened body forward, inch by inch.

He stopped at Chu Men's feet.

Then, before Lark and hundreds of horrified gang leaders, Lex Luthor—the richest and smartest man on Earth, the ambitious man who called himself humanity's light—bent down and pressed his bald head hard against Chu Men's leather boot.

He kissed the mud-spattered boot as though it were a sacred relic.

"Master."

Luthor's voice was no longer hoarse. It rang with feverish excitement.

"Your will is my purpose. Your enemies are my prey. Every resource LexCorp possesses, my mind, my life—all are stones on the path to your throne."

He looked up, an utterly fawning smile spreading across his blood-smeared face.

"Use me however you wish, my greatest master."

Behind them, Lark's eyelids twitched wildly and her breath caught. Jay and Raven lowered their heads even farther.

They could feel that Luthor's submission came from the depths of his soul.

He had surrendered more than his dignity. He believed being Chu Men's dog was the highest honor imaginable.

Chu Men glanced down at Luthor.

"Not bad."

He nudged Luthor's shoulder with his boot. "Get up."

Luthor scrambled to his feet at once. He stood with his hands at his sides and his head bowed, as obedient as a newly hired manservant.

Chu Men turned his head and looked past the layered buildings of Gotham City toward Wayne Manor.

"You'd better move quickly." Chu Men withdrew his gaze, his voice carrying through the rainy night. "Bring me more entertainment next time we meet."

He turned and walked toward the Iceberg Lounge entrance.

Lark and the others immediately shuffled aside on their knees, leaving a wide path.

"Clean this place up," Chu Men called from ahead. "I don't like stepping on trash when I go out."

"As you command, Master!" Luthor answered loudly, with none of the weakness one would expect from a badly injured man.

Chu Men entered the brightly lit lounge.

Outside, the rain kept pouring.

Luthor turned to Lark and the others, still kneeling on the ground.

The fawning fervor vanished from his face. The cold authority of LexCorp's CEO returned.

He pulled a spare communicator from his pocket and was about to call Macy when he caught sight of her tied up in a corner of the lobby.

He shot Lark a cold look. "Release her!"

Lark looked at Luthor for a long moment, then nodded to the people behind her.

Macy stumbled over once she was freed and found Luthor staring up above the lounge with fanatical eyes.

"Boss, you..."

Luthor ignored her. The blood-soaked scene outside did not trouble him in the slightest.

"Macy, connect me to Metropolis Headquarters." Luthor gave his orders in a rapid stream. "Dispatch the Group's Third Cleanup Crew with Corpse-Dissolving Fluid and heavy construction vehicles. Have them in Gotham's East End within thirty minutes."

"And notify the Public Relations Department. The explosions in the East End were a series of accidents caused by aging natural gas lines. Get the lawmakers on our payroll to push that story in the media immediately."

"...Yes."