Mercy

by superninja

All characters belong to Warner Bros. and DC Comics. This story is not intended for profit. Paul Dini and his staff are miracle workers and should be sainted by the Pope himself.

This story takes place in context of Superman: The Animated Series.

****

How humiliating. She watched him stand there, eyes boring into her as she held the door open for Lex and then shut it behind him, just like always. Her gaze flickered to him again, his face still drawn in stony disapproval. Getting behind the wheel, she put the car in gear and drove away. Through the rear view mirror she saw a flash of red and blue streak into the sky.

"Mercy."

It was Luthor. He'd caught her eyeing the "Man of Steel" in the mirror. She met his reflection briefly and then looked back to the road. He was so cold at times.

****

"Just a stray," he said aloud, and then took off into the clouds.

He needed to clear his head. This was exactly the sort of thing that pushed his buttons. Why would Mercy continue to work for Luthor? She was talented. She could easily get work elsewhere. Luthor had proven yesterday that she wasn't worth his time or effort. He'd had to lift the metal panel crushing her and whisk her into his arms up and out of the collapsing structure. Luthor didn't deserve her loyalty -- he was sure of that. Maybe she just had nowhere else to go�

****

"Good night, Lex."

He said nothing, so she shut the door, her long shadow disappearing from his bedroom floor. Lex was angry with her, but something was different about his anger this time. If anyone should be angry, it would be her. How could he just leave her to die like that when she above all others had been loyal to him?

Survival. That's what he'd taught her, right? Everything that Lex did was about survival. If you're at the top, there's always someone waiting to knock you down.

"You have to be the strongest, so that no matter what they throw at you it bounces off."

Those had been his words. That was why Superman posed such a threat to him. When he came to Metropolis, it had been Lex and his city -- HIS Metropolis. Nothing could come between them until Superman came and took it all away. They fell in love with him instantly. Lex became second best, and Mercy knew it ate away at his soul as each day passed. Mercy understood his hatred for Superman.

***

Luthor stared at the ceiling. He wanted his mind clear before he went to sleep. It had been difficult readjusting his sleep patterns since Braniac had kidnapped him in his own facilities and forced him to help construct a new body to house his essence. Damn that creature. A smug smile came over his face at the though of his lifeless android body resting in the research lab. He would take it apart piece by piece, patent every last little micro fiber and toss the LexCorp logo on it. It would make him millions. He chuckled lowly to himself -- he always came out the winner.

But Mercy. His closest comrade had been witness to an act of cowardice of his part. His brows drew together in remembrance. When Superman had brought her to the surface, for a moment, only a brief moment, he had thought about having her erased. How could she respect him after he'd left her to die so as to save himself? Mercy meant a lot to him. Her loyalty was her most valuable asset, and he had spent years of his life conditioning that loyalty. If he were to lose it, if she were to falter, she would become a liability.

He had to be tougher than ever until this incident blew over. He had a point to make.

***

Mercy gathered her bathrobe around her and stepped out onto the balcony of her LexCorp apartment. It was a cold night, more than any in recent memory. Her wet hair clung to her scalp as she put one hand on the ledge and boosted herself up onto it. Balanced precariously on the edge, she closed her eyes and sighed.

Lex was all she had ever known. Today, he'd left her behind just like he left anyone behind who outlived usefulness. How much longer would it be before he dismissed her�or worse? It would be so easy to just end it all now. Just one tiny step and it would all be over so quickly. There were easier ways to go, she imagined.

"What are you doing?!'

Her eyes snapped open in surprise and she started to scream as she lost her footing and flailed, staring down for the first time at the street 62 stories below that were coming towards her.

***

Mercy stopped.

Held in place by a man that could fly.

Her heart was pounding so fast she nearly expected to die of a heart attack. Gaining control of her senses, she wrapped her arms around his waist as he flew back to her balcony and deposited her on solid ground.

Afraid to say anything, she released herself from his embrace and backed away.

***

"Is it worth it?"

Not in front of him. She didn't want to break down in front of him, but she could feel her eyes flooding with tears. Wrapping her arms around herself she felt a single wet drop run down her cheek like ice.

His thumb brushed the tear away leaving pleasant warmth in its wake.

Sometimes, Lex could be so cold�

"He doesn't deserve you."

She swiped away his hand bitterly.

"How do you know?' she said vehemently. "You don't know anything about me! I've done horrible things�terrible things. And you're going to stand here and tell me he doesn't deserve me?"

He was so calm compared to her, just standing there majestically with his cape blowing in the breeze, untroubled by the cold, a look of concern in his eyes. She couldn't even remember the last time someone had looked at her that way. No one.

"He doesn't," he replied.

"What do you want?" she asked. There was a tremble in her voice and she remembered she was cold.

"You should go inside�" he offered, trying to lead her towards the double doors.

"NO!" she said loudly, cutting him off with both arms. "I mean, no�there are cameras in there."

"And none on the balcony?" he glanced up at him and saw a smirk drawing at the corner of his mouth. "I find that hard to believe."

"They're actually stationed on the buildings across the way, but they're not close enough to record conversations. Not that it matters," she added wryly. "You've probably tripped every exterior alarm on the premises."

"I was very quiet," he said, smiling now.

"Let's just say Luthor has a sense for you."

"I'll bet."

***

A moment of uncomfortable silence followed, and Mercy almost laughed when he fidgeted nervously, putting his hand behind his head and scratching his scalp.

She remembered watching movies as a little girl, sneaking in and sitting in the darkness. There was one movie in particular, it was black and white, with a tall handsome man who had fallen in love with a girl who didn't notice him. He fidgeted just like this.

It was a fight to keep a smile from plastering across her face. A brief moment of fantasy wasn't going to hurt anyone, after all.

"So why did you come here tonight?"

"I'm not sure. It just�felt right," he explained. "Something about the way you looked at me this afternoon."

"Oh. Yeah," she said in recollection and walking to the ledge she leaned her forearms over the barrier.

Behind her she could feel him hesitating to join her. But he did anyway.

"What if there's something better?" he asked, settling next to her and putting his own elbow up on the banister.

"Why, does the Hall of Justice need a new janitor?"

"Very funny," he remarked. "And the answer is no. But what you said to me a couple of days ago stuck in my head. About Luthor finding you as an orphan."

She turned to look at him, and this time she didn't try to hide her appraisal of him. No doubt about it, he was handsome. All tanned muscle, bright smile and shiny black hair. But such a do-gooder -- wears his heart on his sleeve. Superman could be hurt in ways that she and Lex never dreamt of.

"In a perfect world," she said, "I'd have had a knight in shining armor to come rescue me from my life on the streets�carry me off to his castle in the clouds."

She gazed up into the night sky, noticing it was overcast, obscuring the moon.

"But this is the real world, Superman. It doesn't work that way."

***

His arm went around her waist so quickly, she only had time to gasp before they were rising into the atmosphere, past the top of the LexCorp tower and up into the clouds.

Panic made her push away from him, but she realized how high up she was and then clamored to be close to him. His warm arms wrapped around her, spreading heat across her shoulders and back where his hands came to rest.

She found the courage to look up and him and saw he was beaming at her. His smile was so brilliant she couldn't help but smile herself.

"Sometimes," he said gently, "the knights wear red and blue."

She couldn't believe this was happening, and to her of all people. This only happens to very good girls who say their prayers every night. Nice, law-abiding people that�

"Never thought about building a castle up here," he continued, interrupting her thoughts. "But�"

Mercy kissed him.

It was a sweet, innocent kiss. One she'd almost forgotten how to give. When their lips parted she smiled at the look of surprise on his face.

"W-what was that for?" he asked, his cheeks flushed.

"Man, you ARE dense, Boy Scout. Now take me home."

***

She watched him wave as he flew away. There was a shy smile on his face as he ducked around a skyscraper and was gone.

Mercy turned around and made her way back into her bedroom, bending to turn the lamp on.

"I want to know everything."

She stiffened at the sound of Lex's voice. How long had he been watching?

"There's not much to tell," she started.

"Not much?" he asked angrily, crossing the room towards her, he jerked her by her arms towards him. "I want to know just how 'not much'?"

There were bags under his eyes, and his silk pajamas were wrinkled. He squeezed tighter.

"Lex, you're hurting me." She squirmed in his grip.

Lex breathed deeply and then pulled her into a kiss. A harsh, angry kiss, but a kiss nonetheless. He let her arms go, and wrapped his around her waist, pulling her into him savagely.

Then he stopped. His breathing was ragged as he looked over her staring at him silently. Straightening, he was about to speak when�

"Just go," she said.

Luthor set his jaw in indignation. Mercy felt herself backing down, but from somewhere in the pit of her stomach she found the courage and repeated herself.

"Go."

The anger in his eyes was obvious, although his body betrayed none of the signs. Lex was so good at control. He spun on his heels and marched to the door. Pausing in the doorway, he turned to look over at her one last time and then left. The door swished shut behind him.

***

Mercy changed into her pajamas and pulled back the covers of her bed, settling into the cool sheets. It didn't matter -- she felt warm now.

Lex would be angry with her. Even more than before. Who knows what he would do?

She snuggled deep into the covers, a smile on her face.

It was worth it.

THE END?