"You're watching her, Luthor."
Brainiac walked over and stood beside Luthor. In the dark hall stood a single tall transparent tube, where colorless liquid completely submerged Perpetua. Faint bubbles occasionally rose from beneath her feet. She looked as though she were asleep.
Yet, like someone immersed in a dream, she would sometimes slightly open her eyes. The world-destroying flames within them burned as fiercely as the sun.
"Yes, watching Destruction, then learning from it. I need that kind of motivation." Luthor answered without looking back. This alien robot was a decent ally, but he did not understand the human mind.
Sometimes greed was what drove humanity forward. On that point, Sinestro probably understood better than any other alien.
"I suggest you stop doing that." Brainiac's electronic synthesized voice echoed through the room. "Your primitive biological light-sensitive organs will be burned out by such immense power."
"Eyes." Luthor turned and walked away. "If you were willing to learn human language, you'd find that many things have simpler ways of being expressed, more direct solutions, and more... pleasant ways of saying them."
Brainiac simulated a smile, one that seemed slightly mocking. "The human race possesses nothing worthy of praise. On the contrary, based on my investigation over several dozen Earth years, I have discovered that the collective strength of humanity is inversely proportional to its population."
Luthor gave a cold laugh and lengthened his stride. The high-tech corridor kept the sound of his footsteps close and muted.
"That's only because ordinary people can never understand the ideas of geniuses like me. They'll use every means possible to stop intelligent people from standing out, trying to make you just like them. That is collective consciousness. Simply put, humanity is always walking the road of self-destruction, and I have no intention of taking that