"Absolutely not."
Superman's immediate response is perfectly understandable, Lucien can't help thinking. After all, he's not a member of the Justice League. And technically as far as they're concerned, he's not supposed to have the power that he has either. He's only their ally in the loosest definition of the term.
Of course, Grail isn't pleased to hear Superman deny her. That toothy grin she was directing at Lucien drops in an instant and transforms into a snarl towards Superman. A moment later and her eye glow again. Omega Beams lance out towards the Kryptonian, aiming directly for his chest like they did for Lucien.
It's obvious that Superman has prior experience with such things and knows he can't just dodge them so he stands his ground. But Lucien, knowing what sort of pain and damage they cause, isn't just going to let the Kryptonian get hit.
He waits for the last possible second and then blurs forward. Given Grail's eye beams dodge around any obstacles to always hit their mark, Lucien simply doesn't give them room to do so. His hand flashes out less than ten millimeters from Superman's chest and he catches the Omega Beams on his open palm, seemingly to no effect.
Grail's grin returns, even as Lucien glowers at her.
"Stand down, Grail."
Snapping her teeth in his direction like a wild animal, the Daughter of Darkseid laughs.
"Make me, Lucien Luthor."
Superman starts to say something else, but Lucien is already moving. Grail's grin widens as he blasts forward, her hands coming up for another round. Only, this time Lucien isn't aiming to fight. He's aiming to win. And at this point, he's already 'hacked' Grail's biology. Rather than punch her or anything as satisfying as that, Lucien dodges around her hands and brushes his fingers across her neck.
A moment later and the Daughter of Darkseid is unconscious. He would have paralyzed her from the neck down so she could stay talkative if he thought it worth doing but given her most lethal weapon seems to be her eyes, knocking her out completely is the only option.
Of course, not everyone is pleased by this. Green Lantern immediately flies forward, eyes narrowed as he growls.
"You! What did you just do?"
Apparently, his natural senses weren't enhanced enough to be able to tell Grail wasn't actually dead out here in the middle of deep space. Superman can though and the Kryptonian flies up and puts a hand on Green Lantern's shoulder.
"It's alright John. He just knocked her out. She still lives."
That barely makes the Green Lantern relax, even as Lucien hoists Grail in his arms.
"I can't say how long she'll stay that way though. I hate to say it… but it might be best to leave her in my custody after all."
As expected, that gets a lot of bristling from the assembled heroes. Before anyone else can say anything, however, Diana speaks up from within her Invisible Jet.
"Unacceptable. That woman killed dozens of Amazons back on Themyscira and claims to have Amazon blood besides. She must be brought back to answer for her crimes there."
Lucien frowns at that. Yes, he'd seen Grail's victims on his way into the Palace, even if he hadn't had time to really do anything about any of them. Though on that note… thinking back, he can't remember a single one whose wounds matched that of death by eye beams.
… In which case…
"Blackfire."
Blackfire straightens up and a moment later catches Grail in her arms as Lucien tosses her over. Everyone else tenses, but Lucien doesn't have time for their issues.
"Here's what we're going to do. Blackfire is going to take the prisoner as well as anyone here who wants to go with her to Black Site Zeta. In turn, I will go to Themyscira to answer for Grail's actions."
Confusion ripples through all of them for a moment as Superman frowns deeply.
"Black Site Zeta? And what is that? Where exactly is that?"
Flicking his fingers out across the length of the Solar System, Lucien just grunts.
"LexCorp space station currently in orbit around Charon, one of Pluto's moons. Grail is far too big of a threat to keep anywhere on Earth. The damage she could do, not just to people but to the planet itself, necessitates keeping her further away than just your Watchtower. Zeta has the facilities to temporarily contain someone of Grail's strength so long as Blackfire is onsite."
Blackfire was almost as strong as him after all… or rather, she was almost as strong as he had been before today. With the things he'd learned from Grail already incorporating into his body bit by bit, Lucien could tell he'd taken another leap forward. A leap of the same caliber as going from part Tamaranean to part Kryptonian had been for him, basically.
Of course, no one is happy to hear about a secret LexCorp Space Station on the edge of the Solar System. Lucien doesn't give two shits though. They'd cleaned LexCorp up back on Earth and cut away all of the truly reprehensible shit, but at the end of the day, space was cool and space stations were even cooler.
And besides, despite what they all might think, Zeta was a perfectly harmless facility with nothing terribly diabolical happening there. That's why he was more than willing to let them all go with Blackfire if they wanted to, so they could see for themselves that he didn't really have anything to hide.
Before anyone else can question his integrity, however, Diana's voice comes from the Invisible Jet once more.
"Why would you answer for her actions, Lucien?"
Perfect. There's the curiosity he was counting on. Smiling thinly, Lucien spreads his hands apart.
"Because I can bring every Amazon she killed back to life."
-x-X-x-
They're not happy about it. No one is remotely thrilled. And yet… they do as he says all the same because in the end, they don't have better options. He's right about Grail being much too close to Earth and its population if they try to contain her in the Watchtower. She's simply too powerful to risk it.
As well, offering to resurrect the fallen Amazons that were cut down for being in the way of Grail's war path gets him an awful lot of good will with several members of the Justice League, including Superman and Wonder Woman.
Ultimately, the majority of the Justice League, led by Superman, goes with Blackfire to Black Site Zeta. Diana and her proteges take Lucien back to Earth, with Claire, Tea, and Supergirl all demanding to come along as well.
Upon their arrival, Lucien makes sure to stay afloat… and is rewarded with his caution when numerous Amazons point their weapons at him before Diana can even get out of her jet.
"Male! You will surrender yourself to our custody immediately and be brought before our Queen to answer for your trespasses!"
Lucien just raises an eyebrow in response and does the mature thing. He waits for Diana. Admittedly, Claire and Tea both bristle like they're ready to throw down for him at a moment's notice, but to her credit, Wonder Woman rockets out of the Invisible Jet as fast as she possibly can.
"Lower your weapons! This man is with me!"
The Amazons look taken aback by this and share confused glances for a moment before the one who seems to be in charge grimaces.
"But Princess… no man is allowed to step foot on Themyscira. It is one of our most sacred laws. And this one has done considerable damage to your mother's throne room…"
"That matters not, General. And my mother will agree with me when she discovers why he has returned entirely of his own accord. Bring the bodies of our fallen here immediately."
There's a pause, hesitation writ plain across their faces… but Diana isn't having it.
"IMMEDIATELY! Consider this a command from your Princess and do it NOW!"
Ooh, throwing around rank. It's obvious from their reactions that such a thing doesn't happen. Finally though, they start moving. Lucien stays where he is and waits, arms crossed over his chest. He's not quite hovering over them all… but he does remain floating a foot off the ground. For reasons.
Eventually, the first of Grail's victims is carried forth at around the same time that Diana's mother Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, begins to come down the street at the head of a contingent of her people.
As the group marches towards them, Lucien doesn't waste time or stand on ceremony. He reaches down and lays a single finger on the bared shoulder of the first corpse… and a moment later she gasps as she's brought back to life.
Lucien pauses at this, looking around for a moment to see if any Greek Gods are going to intervene. He figured there was a chance they might, because from what he understands, the Amazons 'belong' to the Olympians more than even modern Greek men and women do at this point.
… And yet, nothing. No divine intervention, at least. Hippolyta on the other hand DOES arrive before Lucien can continue, her regal voice ringing out through the plaza.
"Hold! What is happening here, daughter?"
Diana, who had immediately kneeled to check over the Amazon he resurrected, rises to her feet and pulls the woman with her before passing her off to some other Amazons nearby.
"A gift mother. And recompense, if you must consider it that. This man, Lucien Luthor, has offered to bring back every woman killed today by the one we now know to be Grail, Daughter of Darkseid and the Amazon Myrna."
Hippolyta's eyes widen and somehow Lucien gets the impression that she's more shocked by the name of Grail's Amazon Mother than she is by the reveal that she's Darkseid's Daughter. Of course, the Queen of the Amazons is apparently wonderful at compartmentalizing and quickly tucks away that explosive reveal to focus on what's happening right in front of her.
"This… I am not sure the Gods will countenance such a thing…"
Lucien takes that wishy-washy response and runs with it. Making eye contact with Hippolyta, he reaches down and touches another of her slain subjects, bringing her back to life in front of every Amazon watching. The Queen stiffens, her lips thinning out… but as silence drags on and nobody from Olympus actually comes to stop him, they both know she can't exactly tell him to cease his activities either.
Without a clear mandate from their gods, ordering him not to resurrect dozens of their dead would be… a bad call to say the least. Especially when more bodies are being brought by hopeful friends and family by the moment.
As Lucien goes to work bringing everyone back, Diana lets out a shuddering breath and moves to her mother, grabbing Hippolyta by the shoulders and speaking in a low tone.
"I plead that you treat this man gently, mother. Lucien Luthor is a complicated individual, but he is good. And he would be bringing you back right now as well if it wasn't for his timely intervention."
Hippolyta's jaw clenches at that, her pride clearly singed by such a statement. Lucien probably shouldn't poke the bear… but he feels the need to correct Diana on one point, even as he brings another Amazon back to life with a single touch.
"Actually, I wouldn't be. The only reason I can help with these women is because Grail didn't take any of them seriously. When I arrived, she was about to use Omega Beams on the Queen… and I would not have been able to fix that, given the conceptual destruction behind such power. I can't bring anyone back if they die to those eye beams of hers."
He's continued resurrecting Amazons as he talked in a conversational tone, well aware of the already frosty temperature getting even colder with every word he says. Diana looks stricken by the thought of having almost lost her mother permanently, while Hippolyta works her jaw as though she has something stuck in her teeth.
"… So you claim I owe you a life debt, interloper."
Wrinkling his nose, Lucien waves his free hand while bringing back one of the last few Amazons. He's made short work of the corpses at this point and all of the recent dead are now sharing hugs with either each other or the living they were close to. Lots of tears, lots of happiness. Does the heart good and all that shit.
"Definitely not. I did what I did for the sake of the entire world, not just you. Your survival was merely a pleasant side effect. And please, I'm no interloper."
His first sentences make a number of incredulous expressions flash across Queen Hippolyta's face. However, his last words cause her to let out a bark of disbelieving laughter.
"You most certainly are, no matter how benevolent! No man may step foot on Themyscira, tis one of our oldest laws!"
It would be unbecoming of Lucien to giggle right now. So he doesn't do that. But he MAYBE giggles a little bit internally, even as he gives the Amazon Queen his smuggest grin.
"Yes, your General already said as much."
Him gesturing at the General in question causes the Amazon Woman to bristle a bit. But Lucien ignores her.
"I won't deny I am a man… because I am, through and through. However, I will deny that I stepped foot on Themyscira."
With that, he gestures down to his feet… still floating over a foot off the ground. Everyone's eyes descend to where Lucien is pointing, their faces going blank as they just stare.
"I challenge you to find a single Amazon among you who can claim that I have stepped foot on Themyscira today. Both when I was dealing with Grail's assault and now when I have come to heal the damage she caused, I remained in the air at all times."
They've all gone from staring at his feet with dumb expressions to looking back up at him decidedly unimpressed. Even Claire, Tea, and Kara are looking at him like they're smelling bullshit.
But Lucien doesn't care. Is it pedantic? Yes. Is it rules lawyering to the Nth degree? One hundred percent. But he's right and they know he's right. Smirking at Queen Hippolyta, Lucien tilts his head to the side and raises a single brow.
The ball is in her court now.