章 21: Does Barbara want to be a hero? - part2

- If you guarantee my safety I don't mind, in fact I'd really like to visit another world. - After having her safety guaranteed by her brother, Barbara saw no reason to refuse, after all, who wouldn't want to visit another world? Even more so when her brother is trying to find a way to give her superpowers in other worlds, isn't it simply unrealistic and stupid to refuse?

- Great! Then on vacation you can invent something to throw Maria off! - Eduard immediately threw the hardest part of his trip at his sister with a happy smile on his face.

- ... - Barbara just remained silent as she watched her brother and nodded, she knew that at this point there was no point in asking him to make something up since one of her brother's faults is that he's terrible at making excuses, to this day she can't understand how he can lie so well and at the same time be so bad at constructing a story to divert attention.

- Ed, do you think it's safe to leave Clark alone? - Kara asked as she remembered her "little brother" who was supposed to be left alone while they traveled.

(A/N: I'm not sure if I had said that Eduard registered his "human" name as Clark, but that's what happened).

- I'm not sure... - Eduard used his best acting skills, which unfortunately aren't very good, to avoid blushing - after all, he couldn't say he'd forgotten about the Kryptonian baby, could he? That would be extremely rude and irresponsible of him, so even if someone noticed it in his behavior, he would never assume it.

- ... - Barbara looked at her brother speechlessly, she couldn't believe that her brother could actually forget a baby; even if he was invulnerable, he was still a damn baby.

- Ed... - Kara wasn't feeling much better at the moment, after all, how was she supposed to feel about her boyfriend forgetting someone she saw as her little brother? It was just ridiculous and even if she was really tolerant of Eduard it would still be impossible for her to just ignore it.

- ... - Eduard knew he'd fucked up now, but he wouldn't say he'd forgotten at all, and even though he knows it's ridiculous he can't do anything to change it with the exception of being more considerate in the future; Focusing his attention on Kara and then on his sister Eduard wore a contemplative expression as he considered the options and to his dismay he found he had none, after all, he didn't really know what to do with the boy, he couldn't just leave the robots to look after him unsupervised, no matter how perfect their programming Kara wouldn't accept it and he wouldn't be comfortable either, and then find someone to look after the little boy? That's even more impossible, not when Clark seems to be awakening his powers faster than he remembered from the stories, who's to say if while they're gone, he doesn't end up flying or unleashing his heat vision on someone?

- I think the best way out is to take him with us, I'm not comfortable leaving him alone with some robots and I'm sure Kara wouldn't even think about it... - Eduard commented with a serious expression before simply smiling with confidence. - What about his safety? Come on, is there a safer place than next to us? -

Looking at Eduard's confident smile and nodding, Kara decided to go along with his suggestion. There was simply nowhere safer than next to her and Eduard, she not only believed this fact, but accepted it as a truth so she didn't care too much about how ridiculously dangerous it might sound for normal people to take a baby on a trip to another universe. Kara accepted it and thought it was a good idea, but Barbara thought the idea was simply ridiculous, she looked at her brother and Kara alternatively with a perplexed and disbelieving expression.

- Are you serious? - Still unable to believe the conversation she had just heard, Barbara stared at her brother in disbelief for a few moments before looking directly at Kara with pure confusion; how on earth could anyone agree to take her brother on this kind of trip?

- Barbara, I know this suggestion must sound ridiculous to you, but you need to remember that both Kara and I can effectively destroy this world with relative ease after spending some more time in the sun, and Clark can already stand in front of tanks without any problem... - Eduard replied with strange eyes for his sister, after all, she knows very well how "abnormal" he was, he even explained how special Clark was at the moment so he didn't really understand the reason for his sister's surprise, after all, he really thinks that if it's not the safest to be with him it must at least be one of the safest places, right?

- ... - Barbara could only remain silent as she stared at her brother, and it was at that moment that she realized how strange her family was, after all, a baby was safer than her and that wasn't a pleasant thing to imagine. - Right... - After saying that, Barbara shifted her gaze to the door where Clark was supposed to be sleeping.

- You don't have to be jealous of him, you idiot! Didn't I say I'd find a way to make you yours like me?

- Who's jealous, you idiot? - Barbara shouted with a slightly red face, but soon calmed down and sat down on the sofa again.

Kara looked at Eduard and realized that he must be worried about his sister, which was definitely understandable given her appearance at the moment and what they had just thrown at her, it was simply impossible not to be affected by everything they had just said, after all, no matter how much you trust or love someone, you can never really relax as long as you know that one baby mistake can unintentionally crush you the next day, the psychological pressure this would bring would simply be enormous and if it wasn't for really loving and believing in her brother Barbara would have freaked out right then, Kara was sure of it. - Barbara, you don't have to worry about anything, your idiot brother here will certainly help you. - Kara said as she hugged her lightly and this earned her a smile from Barbara, which in turn caused a relaxed smile to appear on Eduard's face, which had been decorated with worry until a few moments ago.

- !" Eduard clapped his hands with a certain force that immediately caught both of their attention. - What do you say we put this aside and order a pizza?

- Sure!

- Fine, but no onions!

- Sure, sure... - Eduard nodded with a smile and decided to just order a pizza over the phone instead of going to buy one himself this time.

- Find anything? - Far away from where Eduard, Barbara and Kara were enjoying their pizza, a bald man was looking at dozens of busy men who had serious looks on their faces.

- No sir, unfortunately we still have no sign of him; the images on the cameras simply blur when we try to use any recognition program and even when we question people who have seen him in person, they simply forget his appearance, we still have no idea how he's doing it Mr. Luthor. - The nearest scientist commented while trying to avoid the anxiety he had been feeling over the last few days; he knew all too well how Lex treated those who didn't deliver results, he still remembered what happened to the team that failed to recreate the super soldier serum years ago and he definitely didn't want to suffer the same fate, that unfortunately seemed to befall intended whit him in the future.

Lex ignored the man's nervousness and gripped the handrail tightly, but still kept the same impassive expression, even if he was annoyed by everyone's incompetence, even if he was annoyed by that damn freak flying around uninhibitedly and even he still kept his composure and just looked at the huge screen that was trying to calculate his limits along with his abilities, which has been proving practically impossible so far as well. - Did they at least get some indication of his weaknesses? Were you able to catalog a specific direction for the skills?

- ... - Looking at the man's silence, Lex was sure that these incompetents simply hadn't achieved anything; he would have to work it out for himself, just like when he found his own way to the super soldier serum years ago, proving once again that money and the right contacts were just as important as genius. - If you don't have anything by the end of this month you'll be out on the street! - After exclaiming angrily, Lex turned and walked away without looking at the horrified expression of the scientist who remembered perfectly well what happens when a team involved in this kind of service is fired by Lex Luthor.

Did you manage to contact them? Did they accept the deal? - After leaving the room, Lex asked a muscular man with a scar on his right cheek.

- Only Magneto and the gunslinger accepted the offer, the others refused. - The man looked at the results of several negotiations and sighed. - Besides, I don't think Magneto is really interested, he probably wants to use us to get to this "Mutant".

- Heh... - A cold smile appeared on Lex's face as he remembered the arrogant idiot who thought he was above everyone. - It doesn't matter, let that idiot jump up and do whatever he wants, it only favors us! - After exclaiming, Lex's smile widened. - So far, we haven't found any weaknesses in this "messiah". - At this point, Lex's smile twitched, and his voice showed nothing but disgust. - Since we still don't have any data, let the idiot who thinks he's above everyone else fight him and give us some information willingly. - Lex commented with a cold expression.

- Are you sure, sir? What if he accepts Magneto's offer and joins him?

- Hehe... - Lex let out a mocking laugh at his employee's remark. - Do you think someone with so much power in his hands would accept being beneath a clown like Magneto? No, no... This kid has enough power to see this world as his backyard, so much so that he didn't even worry about the world's reaction when he made that ridiculous, sham trial and even when he made a bloody massacre, he still had the nerve to broadcast it. - Lex's fist clenched tightly without him realizing it, but this wasn't just due to contempt as he believed, it was also influenced by his jealousy of the boy that he hadn't even realized. - You think a boy like that could obey that clown? - After asking this, he stopped walking and turned to look at the man who was following him as if waiting for an answer.

- No sir, it's impossible.

- Yes, it's impossible for a god to listen to mortals, even if that god is a false god and that mortal is a bit special... In the end, Magneto will only lash out in frustration given his recent temper and we can take advantage of this to see how the boy reacts to facing something more dangerous than a mere super soldier with an owl's head. - In the same dismissive tone as before, Lex commented and continued walking.

- ... - The man following him watched him walk away slowly and his eyes turned golden for a moment before returning to normal and the man followed Lex again.

- Any news from Raven, Dominikos?

- Yes! She said, Luthor realized our plan, but he won't interfere, he doesn't take us seriously. - Dominikos clenched his hands when he answered, but his expression remained neutral if he didn't mind, after all, even if it annoyed him, he could still ignore most of the report, even when they were called clowns and other things, since unfortunately he and the mutants should be completely used to such treatment.

- ...I see... - Magneto noticed Dominikos' reluctance and knew that the report should have been much more complete and with its dose of insults, he also knew that this report was only not delivered like many others in order to appease him a little; at first it irritated him, the feeling of hiding this information from him infuriated him deeply, but after several years he ended up being grateful, the reason? He was tired, exhausted in fact, and what was worse? He couldn't show it, at the first sign of weakness his countless enemies would take advantage of him and his ilk, as for relying on the X-men? That was ridiculous, their submissive attitude is simply pathetic and they would leave a space for those bastards to continue capturing their fellows and experimenting on them, that was something he couldn't stand, and that was the main reason for his anxiety about finding the boy who is playing the part of a superhero. He was old and tired, just like his friend with soft politics, they needed a new "flag" to protect their species, and he really hoped that this boy with unbelievable power could do it, he needed him to!

(A/N: For now there are 4 extra chapters on patreon, I will try to increase this weekly; I will also be publishing another story in the next few weeks in advance)

- Patreon: p@treon.com/Aedificationemmundoscumimaginatione

(A/N: Well, I know I didn't post anything the week before last and I know I'm only posting one chapter again..., BUT I promise to regulate this from now on or at least let you know in advance; I've been having some stomach problems and so I couldn't write...)