26

Maintaining a public image was important to my character but even I wanted some downtime meeting halfway I was currently on a "date" with Natasha in a fancy restaurant at Wayne Tower.

The reason for this was according to the various gossip rags I was dating her even though that was supposed to be a cover for the gala we were now using it to monitor Lex Luthor, Oswald Cobblepot, and Wilson Fisk. Did I want to be here of course not but I had no reasonable excuse to avoid it. Luthor seemed to notice us and took a minute to excuse himself before approaching our table.

Lex: I am sorry to interrupt your meal but I felt I should introduce myself since we've coincidentally run into one another I'm Lex Luthor of Lex Corp

"I'm sorry I am not fully aware of Lex Corp as I am still getting used to this dimension Natasha what is Lex Corp?"

Natasha: Excuse his ignorance Mr. Luthor as he stated he was from a different dimension where he was nobility (turning to me) Lex Corp is a company selling goods and services

Lex: That's a bit of an oversimplification but yes that is what Lex Corp does and leaves out Lex Corp's main agenda which is uplifting humanity to become a space-fairing species

"A noble goal indeed. Humanity is meant to conquer and colonize the stars and when the next emperor of mankind rises your assistance will go a long way in achieving this"

I could see the annoyance on his face that I had basically said that he was not a God Emperor of mankind candidate contrary to what those people online believed. I also implied that he would only be a stepping stone and a footnote in history for someone else. The very idea grated on his nerves but chose to conceal it as he didn't want to alienate me just yet. The other fact was that I seemed genuine and sincere in my assertion that he would greatly help the next emperor of mankind.

Lex: I hope we can discuss this further right now I need to rejoin my associates at my table it was nice meeting you

"I suppose it was thank you for your time Mr. Luthor I'll have my people get in touch with you and schedule a time later for a more in-depth discussion as you need to return to your table and I to my date"

Natasha: Don't worry about it Julian you haven't bored me yet although I wish you paid half as much attention to me as you did with Lex

"I'm sorry Natasha I didn't mean to neglect you it's my old high-born habits creeping up when I meet with potential allies to serve the Emperor of mankind. Fortunately, you have me to yourself for the rest of the day"

Natasha: Oh how generous of you... she said sarcastically with a smile

"It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make for the best women around"

Natasha snorted derisively while rolling her eyes at my comments as she didn't take them seriously. We continued our "date" talking about nonsense and nothing all while continuing to monitor Lex's table. Eventually, their business concluded while I spoke nonsense about being lost in Natasha's beautiful eyes while hiding Shield's bugs on them. Nothing too difficult with telekinesis and Natasha signaling where they needed to be placed. I am certain Lex would eventually discover the devices on him and likely figure out how they got there but I didn't care. As my relationship with Shield was well known this wouldn't be out of character for me.

As for Fisk and Cobblepot, it was very unlikely that either would suspect it. Although Cobblepot has had Batman place bugs on him before he often falls into the same situation. This is why the Iceberg lounge is a dead zone for transmission devices as for Fisk it varies depending on what he is doing. I honestly don't care about whatever they are planning unless it affects me. So hopefully this is just an invitation for Fisk to join the Legion of Doom or something minor around that area. As I have no intention of fighting against them and honestly I would prefer to work with them than against them.