In Family we Trust - SuperCorp

Huang Fu

July 29th 2015

The streets of Metropolis were very quiet on this particular night. It had been a strange few weeks for the widely recognized city. Of course the rivalry between Superman and Lex Luthor had been common knowledge for quite some time, but no one had imagined the lengths the corporate CEO would go to, in order to get rid of his nemesis. At least not until three weeks ago. When all hell had broken loose.

No one seemed eager to talk about it. The devastation that Lex Luthor had caused in a single night of madness was horrifying, and left one to wonder what other outrageous plans he might have been stewing on. But nobody seemed ready to share their feelings on the matter. Reporters did their job with as much empathy as they could muster, but it was evident that the majority of the city had been left in a state of shock and apathy. It was as if everyone needed time to grieve, even those who hadn't personally known any of the victims.

Perhaps it was for this reason that at 10 PM on a Wednesday night, the streets were already deserted. As if everyone felt the need to let the city breathe. As if everyone felt the need to take a step back and reconsider the fragility of life, in the wake of a great tragedy. And if there was anyone who could relate to the feeling, it was the young woman in the blue coat who was walking through the empty streets.

She was absolutely furious. She was walking in the direction of her apartment with long strides, as if every step she took needed to convey her anger. She had thought that there was someone who understood her. She believed that out of all the people in this city, there was at least one person that would always take her side. And at first, after Lex had just killed all those people, he had been. He had comforted her and listened to her. He had held her hand on every trip between car and front door, where there was always someone ready to hurl insults and, sometimes, solid objects at the mass murderers' little sister. But tonight, Jack hadn't been quite so understanding.

"It was supposed to be temporary, Lena." He stood up from his desk and made his way towards her. "You were supposed to fill in for the time being and help with finding a replacement." Lena was slightly confused at the aggravation in his voice as she didn't understand where this frustration was coming from. "The board of directors told me that I have proven my worth. That I have done extremely well in these few short weeks and that they have faith in my abilities." Lena wasn't sure she was expressing just how much that kind of confidence meant to her. "I thought you'd be happy for me." Jack's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Happy for you?" He let out a humourless laugh, as he shook his head. "We were supposed to be changing the world together. We built this company together because we wanted to revolutionize medicine, and I know- I know we've been struggling to make the nanobots work, but-"

"Stop it, Jack. You know I wouldn't just up and leave because we hit a rough spot." Jack nodded, clearly still upset, and crossed his arms. "Okay," he said, "why then?" Lena gave him a questioning look, as she raised one eyebrow. "Why, what?" she challenged, now showing her own frustration at how this talk seemed to have turned into an interrogation. Jack frowned at her. "Why would you choose to run a company with the Luthor name on it?" Lena's face fell into disbelief as she sensed where this was going. "Suppose you could somehow turn its reputation around," he continued "what could you possibly achieve with a company that was built entirely around making the most money possible as opposed to ours, where we have solely dedicated ourselves to saving people's lives."

Lena's eyes turned cold. She regarded her business partner and boyfriend with a glare her mother would be proud of. "LuthorCorp is a billion-dollar company with an international reach," she said slowly, "do you really think that if I was in full control of it, I wouldn't find a way to spend all that money? That I wouldn't use all of its resources to do good? Or are you just convinced I will always stand in my brother's shadow?" Lena swallowed at the memory of her brother. She remembered how just a few weeks ago 'her brother's shadow' was just a mildly frustrating place to be in. Now it was more like a curse she wasn't sure she could ever escape. "I was going to ask you to come with me." Jack gave her a confused look. "You want me to dismantle my company, just to join-"