Chapter Thirteen
After they each received an urgent text message late last night summoning them to LexCorp headquarters this morning, the twenty bewildered male executives from Wayne Enterprises were all waiting anxiously in the atrium. A curious Clark Kent sees this as an opportunity to learn more about the just-announced merger between their two companies, so he assimilates himself into the crowd. Then the ever-smiling male secretary asked the small, uncertain group of men to first form a line, then directed each new entrant into the lecture hall.
"There you go, gentlemen .... now have a seat. Your reorientation session shall begin shortly. Mr. Berg, the Head of Human Resources here at LexCorp should be arriving soon to conduct this seminar. So, until then, just relax and make yourselves comfortable .... " The courteous secretary informed them before he exited, leaving the 21 noticeably tense and confused executives alone in the lecture hall. Actually, the large room looked more like a movie theater with its three tiered rows of seats facing a single wall-sized screen. After they each selected a chair, all of the men just sat there, barely saying a word to one another, as they nervously waited for the meeting to begin.
Once he closed the door behind them, Lex's loyal secretary Benjamin immediately dropped his pleasant facade as he buzzed his boss over the intercom. Luthor was up in his office, sitting at his desk, still fuming over the grilling he had just received from that persistent reporter Clark Kent at this morning's press conference. Kneeling down on the floor below him was his recent acquisition Bruce Wayne, trying to relieve some of Lex's stress by giving the man he now loves a much-needed blowjob.
"What is it, Benjamin? And this had better be important." Luthor said, obviously annoyed by the interruption. "I told you I didn't want to be disturbed."
"I know, Sir. But I thought I should let you know that all twenty Wayne Enterprise executives are present and accounted for, Mr. Luthor. ... Plus there was one additional employee who wasn't on the list. .... " Benjamin warns his boss.
Upon hearing the news, Lex grabbed Bruce by his hair and released his cock from Batman's still open mouth, "Good catch, Benjamin. .... So there's a trespasser in the premises? .... What's his name?"
"He said he was .... ah, here it is .... 'Ken Clarkson'." Benjamin informs Lex.
"'Clarkson'? .... 'Ken Clarkson?' .... Why, that sounds like it could be a pseudonym for that hack from the Daily Planet, Clark Kent. Let me see .... " Lex turns on the security camera inside the lecture hall and brings it up on his computer screen. Scanning the room, he zeros in on their uninvited guest. "Yup, that's him alright. .... So Mr. Kent decided to stick around awhile after the press conference so he could do a little investigating, did he? .... Hey, Benjamin .... He doesn't know that we're on to him, does he?"
"No, Sir. .... I wanted to check with you first before I notified the front desk. .... So do you want me to send for the security guards so that they can escort this interloper out of the building?" Benjamin asks.
"No, not at all! ... If Mr. Kent is so determined to uncover the truth behind my business deal with Mr. Wayne, then I say let him stay! .... " Luthor surprisingly says.
Benjamin can't help but be a little concerned, "But, Mr. Luthor. .... What if Kent does somehow manage to get his story? ... Didn't you see all of the articles that have been posted on the internet ever since you and Mr. Wayne held your joint press conference? .... There must be at least fifty in less than a hour and not a good one in the bunch. .... There was even an editorial on The Washington Post's website that went so far as to say that our acquisition of Wayne Enterprises could mean the end of free enterprise as we know it! ... With all due respect, Sir, but any more negative press like this and we're going to have the fricking FTC breathing down our necks! .... "
But Lex reassures his secretary, "Relax, Benjamin. .... Sure, Mr. Kent made quite a scene earlier today in front of all of his fellow reporters, badgering Mr. Wayne and I with all sorts of probing questions. ... But after he attends this little reorientation seminar, our noisy newsman is going to find out for himself just how I have been able to win over my competitors! .... Then, we are sure to have one member of the mainstream media in our back pocket, at least for the time being. .... And who better than the one journalist who has been our harshest critic all along ..... "
"Ooooh, I see what you are up to now, Mr. Luthor! .... Pretty clever, Boss! .... " Benjamin hands him a compliment.
Lex elaborates, "You see, Mr. Kent may have come here in search of some hard-hitting expose about LexCorp's underhanded business practices .... But, by the time we're through with him, his next column will sound like it came directly from our PR department. .... You know, how good this merger will be not just for both companies, but for the entire country! .... How it will help the economy .... how many new jobs we will create .... how much we give to charitable organizations .... how concerned we are about the environment. ... Not only will he soon change his mind about our little takeover of Wayne Enterprises, he will help change public opinion as well! .... "
His secretary is impressed, "Gee, it's no wonder you're the boss, Mr. Luthor! ... You sure know how to take a potentially bad situation and then turn it into something good!"
"Well, I was already working on a way to neutralize this nuisance." Luthor states. "But our curious friend here has just made it all a whole lot easier. .... And the best thing is he never know what hit him until it's too late."
"Can I help, Boss?" Benjamin inquires.
But Luthor declines his offer, "No, Benjamin. You've already done your part. .... I really appreciate you informing me of this infiltrator. .... But Otis and I should be able to handle him from here. .... You may return to your post now. .... But be sure to contact me immediately if there are any more 'surprises'."
"Will do, Mr. Luthor." His loyal secretary replies as he turns off the intercom.
Lex looks down at Bruce, as he waits there on his hands and knees, ready to resume worshiping his Master's cock, and says to him, "Well, Brucey boy, I sure hope you know what you're talking about. Because if you're right, I'm about to have the one thing I've always wanted but could never have. .... Up until now, that is. .... And you will have made it all possible." Lex then pulled Batman's head forward and buries his face in his crotch. Wayne eagerly took Luthor's whole 9 inches in his mouth. "You can go ahead and suck me off, Bat-Slave ..... While I keep an eye on our impetuous gatecrasher! .... "
As Bruce gladly goes down on his master's cock, Lex excitedly watched the monitor as it followed Kent's every movement.
Keeping a low profile so as not to arouse any suspicion, Clark had taken a seat in the back row of the lecture hall. The cushioned chair he was sitting on more closely resembled a living room recliner than the typical fold-down seat you would normally find in your local cineplex. With its nice padded headrest and wide armrests, Superman found the chair rather relaxing. But he refused to let himself get too comfortable. The only reason he sneaked into this top-secret personnel meeting was to see if he could find out more about LexCorp's takeover of Wayne Enterprises. So he had to keep his guard up at all times, otherwise he could get caught. Little did he know, Luthor's eyes were trained on him the whole time.
Using his X-ray vision, Clark looked around the lecture hall to see if something strange was going on behind the scenes, not only within but beyond these four walls. But it appeared as though there was nothing unusual happening right now, even in the adjacent rooms ..... at least nothing that his remarkable eyesight could detect.
Just then, Superman saw another attendee making his way along the row of chairs. He was a big, muscular black man in his late twenties with short curly hair which nicely complimented his dark complexion. The well built guy broke out into a broad, welcoming smile before he asked Clark, "Hello there. Is anybody sitting here?"
"No, go ahead .... have a seat!" Clark says as he picks up his briefcase and sets it down on the floor next to his right foot. The black man then takes the chair to the left of him.
“I don't believe we've ever met. My name is Rodney Howard. I'm a marketing director .... or should I say, I was a marketing director at Wayne Enterprises ... But who knows where we will we all end up now that our company has been absorbed by LexCorp. .... And you are? ... ” the young black man politely asked as he extended his hand.
This guy appeared to be on the up and up. So Superman shook his hand. “Hi, I’m Clark .... son. ,,,, Ken Clarkson,” Clark answered, careful not to reveal his true identity as he makes up some fictitious position off the top of his head to go along with his fake name. " .... I'm the former assistant manager of .... corporate affairs. ... So you were just as surprised by this merger as I was, huh?"
"Was I? .... " Rodney responds in disbelief, " .... I had no idea we were even on the market. It's a damn shame too ... because I always thought Mr. Wayne was such a nice guy to work for. He never came across as the type of man who would just up and sell his company without even so much as a word to his employees. But I guess these head honchos are all alike. All they care about is the almighty dollar. .... Right?"
"It sure looks that way" Clark went along with him, although he still had his doubts that a man like Bruce Wayne would ever knowingly agree to do business with the likes of Luthor. He even sent Bruce a text right after the press conference, asking him for an explanation. But, so far, Bruce has yet to respond. Clark starts to wonder if maybe he doesn't know his old friend as well as he thinks he does ...
“Can you believe the size of that screen, Ken? .... Why, I swear it's twice as big as the ones they've got over at the multiplex in The Gotham City Mall! ... So, do you think I still have enough time to go to the lobby for some popcorn before the movie starts?” Rodney quipped.
“Sure. Just don’t forget to turn off your cellphone too!" Clark joked in return before the conversation turns serious, " .... So, Rodney, have you heard what kind of film they’ll be showing us here today?”
Rodney tells him what he knows, “From what I was told, it's some sort of 'presentation' .... You know, telling us how great a company LexCorp is ..... and how lucky we all are to be working for them now. .... At least, that would be my guess. .... ”
“Sounds fascinating .... ” Clark muttered, his smile dropping slightly as his curiosity quickly raised.
Their conversation was interrupted by a voice from the small dais in front of the screen. They both turned to look down at the speaker standing behind the lectern. He was a bigger guy with short brown hair, wearing a wireless headset with a microphone and dressed in a tailor made suit. Superman immediately recognized him as one of Luthor's longstanding associates.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” Lex's portly assistant announced over the microphone. “First off, I want to take this opportunity to welcome you all to your brand new positions with our corporation. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Otis Berg and I am the Human Resources Manager in charge of recruitment here at LexCorp.” He paused for effect, his eyes scanning the silent audience before him as he sized them up for future use.
Superman only had a handful of run-ins with Otis in the past, so he really didn't know him all too well. But what he did know about him, he sure didn't like. This big goon had been speaking for less a minute and already he was starting to give Clark the creeps.
“We take employee satisfaction very seriously in this organization,” Otis went on, “and it’s my job to make sure that each and every one of you will be as happy working for LexCorp as you were for Wayne Enterprises. After all, happy employees make for a much better work environment.”
Was this just the typical LexCorp HR aspirational spiel they print in their brochures, Clark thought to himself, or was there some actual substance to it? It certainly caught his attention, despite the less than favorable impression he had of Berg.
“We have a video presentation for all of you employees to watch now. It will help explain the mission of our company and where you as former executives of Wayne Enterprises will fit in to our corporate structure,” Otis told them. “We will be continuing your reorientation after the video. But, in the meantime, please just sit back and enjoy the presentation .... ” he smiled before stepping away from the podium.
Clark shuddered involuntarily at Otis’ patently false smile. An image of a big bad wolf baring its teeth before his much smaller prey suddenly sprang to Superman's mind.
With that, the lights dimmed and the wall-sized screen flickered to life. Up came a series of expensive looking 3D graphics which gradually morphed into the corporate logo .... a large letter L in the shape of a triangle. As the cheesy introductory theme song starts to play, Superman noticed that there were speakers in the headrest of the chair itself as well as many overhead which gave the music an odd surround-sound type effect. Clark did have to admit that the high production values made this otherwise boring promotional film just a little bit more bearable.
Next, there was some aerial shots of the various company buildings as picture after picture of happy, contented workers started floating by. Then, they all merged into a big display of some of the many products LexCorp had a hand in marketing and developing as well as distributing. Finally, a closeup of Lex's face came across the screen. As soon as he appeared, Clark suddenly took more of an interest!
“Hello, Gentlemen!” Luthor announced, “As I am sure you already know, my name is Lex Luthor. And, as your CEO, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you all to your new working life.” The bald headed villain’s mouth was wrapped in a permanent toothpaste-commercial-like smile. “Since I have always been a firm believer in the hands-on approach, I’m going to be your own personal guide as we explore the many exciting new challenges and opportunities that lie ahead of you at LexCorp!”
For some reason, Lex seemed far less arrogant and much more ingratiating than usual, Superman did have to admit. But, even if it was a slight improvement over his normally nasty demeanor, Luthor's uncharacteristically sunny disposition and positive attitude was starting to grate on the wary superhero's nerves just a little.
Speaking softly, Rodney can't help but be impressed by what he's seen so far. "Well, that is kind of cool, don't you think, Ken? .... I mean, a big shot like Luthor personally going out to his way to welcome the new employees into his company .... You know, taking the time from his busy schedule to film this video presentation especially for us? .... Maybe he won't be such a bad guy to work for after all. .... "
"Yeah, wasn't that real nice of him." Clark whispers back, although Rodney had no idea it was intended to be sarcastic.
Just then, Otis puts his finger up to his lips and shushes them both as the introduction segment of the video presentation comes to an end and the training portion is now scheduled to start.
“Now, let's begin,” The videotape of Lex continued in a friendly but authoritative manner. “One of the key facets of LexCorp's success is that we regard employee satisfaction and happiness as an essential element of how we do business. It just makes good economic sense for us to have an enthusiastic and well motivated workforce who will actively help us reach our targets and our goals.”
However begrudgingly, Superman had to acknowledge that this was a good policy for LexCorp to have. After all, Luthor may be ruthless and greedy but he definitely knows a thing or two about how to run a business.
The image of Lex up on the screen beamed his pearly whites at the twenty one seated men watching him, “And from your point of view, being a contented, well adjusted employee will provide a great deal of happiness and stability in your own life.”
Again Superman had to concede the point. Surprisingly, Luthor seemed to be making a lot of sense.
“Our ultimate goal is to create a totally new workplace, one where our employees are free of the negative aspects of life so that they can concentrate on what is truly important. Our overall goal is to transform you into a happy employee,” The video of Lex announced ecstatically.
Without even realizing it, Superman was now sporting a grin himself in response to Lex’s constant on-screen smile. He's not sure why but Superman couldn't take his eyes off the screen. But he wasn't that concerned about it, at least not yet.
Luthor not only conveyed a lot of confidence when he spoke, he was also very reassuring. In fact, all of the 20 other nervous, anxious executives in the room seem to have become a lot more calmer and less stressed out ever since Luthor's face appeared on the screen.
As unbelievable as it may sound, the more he looked at Lex, the more Clark grew to respect him in a business sense. Superman never noticed it before but he had to admit, Luthor really wasn't such a bad-looking guy either. He was actually quite attractive, Clark thought to himself .... for another man, that is. He then wondered why he would ever think such a thing? .... But the question didn't stay on his mind for very long as the superhero returned his full attention to watching the video playing before him.
Luthor continued to speak to the crowd but Superman could hardly hear what he was saying anymore. He found himself getting lost in Lex’s deep green eyes. He couldn't help but look deeper .... and deeper! .....
Just then, the phone rang up in Luthor's office. The caller I.D. said it was The Penguin so Lex reluctantly answered, "What is it, Ossie? I'm very busy right now!"
"I just wanted to let you know that Dickie and I are going to take a drive up to his old college campus this morning to have a talk with a few of his better looking classmates." The Penguin informs his business partner. "Think about it, Lexie ... his hot young friends at Hudson University might make some good interns for our company. And my very eager Slave Boy Wonder here could prove to be a very effective recruitment tool, if you know what I mean!"
Lex likes the Penguin's plan, "Good idea, Ossie. Not only would it be nice to have some youngblood around here, it will also be the perfect way to test The Boy Wonder's newfound loyalty to LexCorp. After all, if Birdboy can't convince his fellow students to sign up for our intern program, he can always use all those batarangs, bat-lassos, bat-darts, and other nifty gadgets he carries around in that utility belt of his to get them to change their minds. Why, with the help of your new sidekick Robin, you could easily abduct the entire college football team before anyone even knows they're missing!"
"My thoughts exactly, Lexie! I mean, who would ever suspect The Boy Wonder is going around kidnapping college kids? Besides, if I was able to put my lovestruck young superhero here under my power, then I should have no trouble persuading a bunch of frat boys to drop out of school and accept an internship with our firm instead. It'll be a cinch!" The Penguin states with confidence.
"Sounds like it could be a very productive business venture! .... Well, have a good trip, Ossie! And by the time you get back, don't be surprised if I have recruited a few new employees myself!" Lex boasts to The Penguin as he stares intently at the unwitting Clark Kent on his computer screen, "In fact, our most surprising acquisition yet may have just fallen right into my lap! .... "
To be continued ...
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