After taking a look around and confirming that Metropolis was no longer in danger, Luthor—and the special envoy sent by the President, who had been hiding in a bunker—arrived in Metropolis one after the other.
Before the special envoy could deliver a passionate speech, he was intercepted by Luthor, who had arrived a step earlier.
"What did you say? You want the government to compensate for your building and pay pensions for your employees? Mr. Luthor, are you sure the shock hasn't scrambled your brains?" The special envoy, a middle-aged man with a hooked nose, rejected Luthor's demand without hesitation.
"If you won't pay, then the military should! In short, your incompetence has caused me significant losses, and you must give me an explanation!" With his long hair flowing, Lex Luthor ignored the glares from the envoy and Swanwick, his expression serious and earnest.
Luthor was different from Bruce, who was heavily constrained, or Thea, who had just taken over her group. His personal prestige within his group was at its peak. He had technological weapons and secret bases hidden all over the world, always guarding against sudden changes. A building plus some employee pensions didn't cost much; he didn't care about the money at all. He just wanted to use the opportunity to demand some benefits—like the alien ship wreckage, or Zod's corpse.
But he severely underestimated the military's fear of Superman.
"Keep dreaming! Want the military to pay compensation?! The military even provided protection! Most of the people treating citizens on-site right now are soldiers." Secretary Swanwick refused flatly. No way! These things belong to the military; don't even think about getting your hands on them.
Luthor's hidden strength wasn't small, but he couldn't openly go to war with the US military. His keen eyes flickered for a moment, and he finally chose to wait and see.
"Miss Queen, thank you for treating my employees." Luthor was undeniably arrogant, but he wasn't rude; on the contrary, he was very polite. Seeing Thea busy treating the wounded, he immediately came over to thank her in person.
"Mr. Luthor, you are too polite. This is just what I should do. Your secretary, Miss Mercy Graves, is heavily injured. If you have a good method, you'd better treat her quickly." Thea really wanted to see how Luthor would respond.
A strange light flashed in Luthor's eyes. Thea didn't intend to let this opportunity pass, adding a trace of mockery to her tone. "Miss Mercy's name is rather ironic. Mercy? Compassion... Hehe, Mr. Luthor only believes in himself—he needs no mercy!"
Lex Luthor maintained his demeanor, as if he hadn't heard a thing, and nodded slightly. "I'm going to visit my employees."
Hmph! Thea snorted lightly. She didn't expect this small interlude to bring down Luthor. It wasn't about right or wrong; she just found his bone-deep arrogance annoying.
The rescue effort lasted a full three days. Whether it was the President or various Senators, they came and went in Metropolis like a revolving door of officials. Aside from showing their presence, they offered no actual help.
Because the nature of the event hadn't been determined—was this a natural disaster or a man-made calamity? They couldn't find the perpetrator even if they wanted to. The rookie Superman had slipped away that very night. Now, a young man from Kansas appeared in Metropolis: Clark Kent, wearing a pair of old-fashioned glasses. With the Daily Planet having suffered injuries and deaths, there were plenty of vacancies, so he easily landed an intern reporter position.
The power of a simple disguise never ceased to amaze her. Put on ordinary clothes and a pair of glasses, and suddenly no one recognizes you? Seeing the Man of Steel disguised as an ordinary reporter out of the corner of her eye, Thea couldn't help but marvel at the absurdity of it all.
She was currently sitting in the audience. A Senator from Kentucky, Ms. June Finch, was delivering a passionate speech. Thea pretended to listen seriously, clapping from time to time to show she was paying attention.
"Ms. Finch, your speech was excellent!" Thea said after the meeting dispersed.
"Thea, you're getting more beautiful too; your mouth is so sweet!" June Finch was a political ally of Moira. Whether Moira's next step was entering Congress or running for Governor, she needed a pile of supporters.
Thea only needed to show support; she didn't say much more. She had far more business on her hands right now than these politicians.
The lucrative contract to rebuild Metropolis naturally fell into Queen Consolidated's lap. A preliminary estimate put the profit for the company at roughly one billion dollars. Luthor was naturally jealous, but his was a high-tech conglomerate. Researching technology was fine, but when it came to building houses, he had to stand aside.
Moreover, over the past two years, rebuilding Coast City and Midway City had trained Queen Consolidated's urban construction teams. Having a large pool of skilled workers was real, tangible strength in itself; it was useless for other groups to be jealous.
After this huge boost to their public image, Queen Consolidated's new headquarters also officially started construction in Metropolis. The unlucky Luthor gave up on compensation. The original site of his group was forcibly requisitioned by the military because it was the crash site of the alien ship. You can't fight City Hall; helplessly, he gathered his people and chose a new site to rebuild the LexCorp Tower! For a time, the bustling Metropolis could be renamed "The Big Construction Site," as there were more excavators in the city than cars.
That evening, Thea avoided everyone's sight, changed into her Yellow Lantern attire alone, and went to a hidden corner in the city.
"Deathstroke, what do you need me for?"
The burly Deathstroke stepped out of the shadows, his already imposing frame further boosted by the ring's energy, now as massive as a brown bear.
"Boss, someone has posted a high-value contract in the underworld." Deathstroke hesitated a bit but still spoke.
"I don't interfere with your missions; I remember telling you that."
Deathstroke organized his language and spoke somewhat cautiously. "By my usual rules I'd take it, but on a personal level... I really don't want this one."
Oh? Deathstroke, who viewed money as life, had a mission he didn't want to take? Thea's curiosity was piqued.
"What mission?"
"Threaten a wealthy person who has been very much in the limelight recently."
In the limelight? Something clicked for Thea. Combined with Deathstroke's so-called "personal objection," she had a pretty good idea who it might be.
"What is the name of that wealthy person?"
Deathstroke gritted his teeth a little, but the suggestion spell still made him choose to obey. "The new Chairman of the Queen-Merlyn Group, Thea Queen."
Seeming afraid Thea would decide to take the mission, he quickly added, "I have a good relationship with her brother. I... I don't really want to do this mission..."
Holy crap!!! Thea could only curse inwardly. Whether Luthor did this wasn't certain, but it definitely came from someone jealous that she'd grabbed the biggest slice of the pie. And the news went round and round only to be heard from Deathstroke's mouth—this was too melodramatic!
Thinking carefully about Deathstroke's description—"threaten"? The opponent seemed to have scruples too and didn't post a bounty for her life. In her mind, the odds of Luthor being behind it quietly ticked up by another twenty percent.
Thea knew she had to expose her true identity. She asked Deathstroke in a low voice, "Do you know who I am?"
Huh? Deathstroke was a bit confused. That was a hell of a topic shift. He thought carefully, then shook his head, indicating he didn't know.
Thea took off her mask and looked at him silently. "I am Thea Queen!"