Henry had insisted that Barry take Mineko on a trip away from Central City. They had spent practically every waking hour taking care of him, ensuring that he adjusted to regular life as seamlessly as possible, and so they rarely had any time left for themselves. Barry had refused at first, but over time it became almost impossible to refuse his father's suggestion. The place he had chosen was Metropolis. A bustling hub even bigger than Central City. In fact, it was one of the biggest places in the world.
Mineko didn't know how to react upon seeing it. She had never witnessed so many people at once, nor buildings as tall as the ones that scraped the skies of Metropolis. Even the hotel was much fancier than she had expected. Walls of elegant cream blended beautifully with the hand-made furniture, and every window looked out on only the most colourful of places within the city.
This vacation didn't mean that Barry ceased his crime fighting activities though. They had only just checked into their hotel room when he disappeared from view. Mineko, without even wondering where he had gone, simply began hanging their clothes up in the nearby wardrobe. She knew he had a good reason for going, so there was no need for panic.
On the other side of the city Barry dashed through the streets. He had just helped put out a fire in Texas and was heading back towards the hotel. That's when he spotted someone very familiar. Superman was frozen in time like everyone around him - Deep blue tights hugging his figure and large 'S' displayed on his chest. His hair was slicked to perfection, as usual, and his eyes glimmered under the sun.
Barry would typically stop to greet the man but he seemed a little busy. Superman had just evacuated a building of workers from the collapsing structure and was currently speaking to the press. Barry thought it unnecessary to disturb him...plus he'd never been all that skilled in front of reporters.
Just as The Flash was about to leave something moved. The Flash froze. Nothing should be moving. He travelled faster than the speed of light, even a bullet would be left suspended in the air... He thought he was becoming delusional, but took a quick glance around the vicinity just encase. It was lucky that he did.
There, barely visible behind his limousine, was Lex Luthor. A device was clasped tightly in his hands that looked like a highly advanced gun. Then, a few inches in front of it, was a streak of light. It looked like pure plasma, or energy, but truth be told Barry didn't know what it was because in his world of paralysed mannequins it moved. With each passing second it flew further away from Barry, until he finally realised who the target was. The beam was heading right towards Superman.
The Flash was suddenly filled with dread. This was no doubt one of Luthor's schemes to kill Superman, meaning that ray was deadly to a Kryptonian. Barry lunged forward, making it to Superman's side mere moments before the beam did. He placed both hands on his friend's side and tried to push him out of the way but to no avail. Clark was too firm on his feet, and much too strong to be moved without consent.
Superman did, however, feel someone's desperate attempts and turned his head with speed similar to a less experienced Speedster. That's still pretty fast...but not fast enough. It was already too late. Upon this realisation The Flash had stepped in front of Superman and taken the hit for him. Barry was knocked completely off his feet...but in the opposite direction.
His head throbbed and his body felt completely numb, but he somehow managed to deduct that he was on the other side of the street...behind a limo...with a foreign contraption grasped tightly in his hand. Barry's blood ran cold. He heard screams in the distance, but could only concentrate on his own legs. They were less bulky but made up for that in length. Around them was a black pantsuit that would likely be worth thousands of dollars. Definitely too rich for his tastes.
Barry gulped then scrambled towards the limo's side mirror. That's when a noise somewhere between a gasp and a shriek sounded from his throat. He was bald! And old! And...he was Lex Luthor.
"Lex! We're going to be late for the meeting." The voice of Mercy, Lex's bodyguard, called from behind him. Barry's (or Lex's) entire body tensed. He had to play it cool until he found out how to reverse this. If he was over here then the real Lex would have to be...oh no.
A large crowd had gathered around the downed Metahuman. Reporters scribbled frantically on their notepads and photographers clicked away on their camera's - knowing that a picture of The Flash flat on the ground would be worth a small fortune. Superman knelt beside him, concern drenched on his face.
"Flash, are you okay?" He tried to suppress the urge to call him by his real name. "What happened?"
The Flash touched a hand to his head, feeling the fabric of a mask beneath his fingers and freezing. It had taken a few passing seconds for him to register that someone had just spoken, but when he recognised the voice every muscle in his body flinched. His eyes flickered in the direction of Superman then widened slightly. Had he failed again?! Superman was suppose to be dead!
It took another minute for him to finally remember Superman's words. He had called him 'Flash'... Lex allowed his gaze to fall downward, seeing the tight fitting costume of the scarlet speedster. This definitely wasn't his body, nor his intention, but Lex wasn't a fool. He wasn't about to let this opportunity slip by.
Lex stumbled to his feet, legs trembling unnaturally beneath him. It felt as if he wanted to run for miles, it was an urge that itched at his very core. Still, he kept his composure and stood as straight as he could without dizziness threatening to knock him back down again.
"Yes, Superman. I'm fine. Thank you." He said coolly. "Someone was trying to shoot you with a beam of pure polar energy. It completely eradicates the existence of solar energy, which as you know is the basis of your powers. They must've known exactly how to effect you."
Superman's brow furrowed and he used his enhanced vision to scan the area for the culprit but they were long gone by now. "I'll be more careful. I really appreciate your rescue, but you could have been hurt."
"The main thing is that I wasn't, right Supes?" Lex forced the nickname out of his throat but struggled to not say it with a punch of poison in his tone. "I'll go look for any suspects. You should lay low for a while though, they're probably still looking for you."
Before Superman had the chance to respond, The Flash had turned on his heel and ran in the opposite direction. The only problem was that he was still visible. He hadn't tapped in to the Speed Force so he was sprinting away like a normal person. It was a little odd to actually see him run but Superman tried to ignore it. Barry was probably just a little dazed from the fall. It couldn't be anything else...
There was nothing that Lex despised more than Superman, but public bathrooms came pretty close. He had no where else to go though, and so this was the first place he had gone. Not for any typical reason. He just needed a mirror. Any mirror. He was willing to fight his way through any number of disgusting bathrooms to find one.
This wasn't what he had wanted, but he could turn this situation into a positive. Lex was in The Flash's body...and so he could learn his secret identity with little to no effort. This was just a small stepping stone to his ultimate goal, but it was a stepping stone with blackmail tied around it.
Lex's lips twitched into a grin as he stared at his new reflection. He reached his fingers up to the masked, grabbed a fistful of the fabric, and pulled it from his head. It no longer obscured his real face. Now he could see exactly who The Flash was... Lex frowned. "I have no idea who this is."
---------------------
Barry spent an unreasonable amount of time staring at his new face in the mirror. Although it was Luthor's body, his own consciousness now resided in it. Barry decided to take it slow. Calm down and think everything through. So he walked into one of the open cubicles to help him think.
He surmised that something must've happened with that strange beam that was fired at Clark this morning...and now he was left to deal with the consequences. After flushing the toilet and opening the cubicle, Barry was welcomed by the sight of Deathstroke, gloves off and propped in between his arm as he washed his hands. He was dressed in full combat gear as always, complete with his iconic half orange half black mask.
Normally, the assassin would be a cakewalk for Barry, but unfortunately for him he had nothing but Lex's overwhelmingly average physical ability at the moment. Also he was fairly sure that if Lex's body died and failed to provide the brain with blood and oxygen, he'd obviously cease to exist...and it was reasonable to assume that Lex had control of Barry's body.
Scared stiff, Barry simply strode for the door.
"Aren't you going to wash your hands?" Deathstroke muttered with his instantly recognisable hoarse croak.
Barry wasn't exactly thinking straight at this point. "No. Because I'm evil."
After cursing his terrible improvisation skills, he entered a board room with a long rectangular table in the middle. Seated at this desk were a range of convicted criminals including Rosie the leader of Demolition Team, Killer Moth, Deadshot, and Luminus. Deathstroke was obviously here to attend this same meeting. Barry gulped.
He slowly walked into the room, heading for the seat at the very end of the table. This many players meant that Lex was planning something big...and Barry was in the perfect position to pull out the rug from under him. Barry didn't like the smell of this. He wasn't sure what Killer Moth was doing here though.
Barry sat down and swallowed. The only plan he had was terrible...
"What's the gig, Luthor? I want ten thousand upfront. Then depending on the job, I'll have to quote extra." Deadshot began.
Luminus sighed "Is money all you care about? Besides I thought you were a government lapdog now."
"Watch your step, Eddie." Deadshot taunted, tapping one of his wrist mounted guns.
Luminus laughed. "You think I'm actually in the room with you psychos? You're looking at a hologram."
Deathstroke seemed to suddenly appear in the room without a sound, causing Luminus to go silent out of respect, with a smirk on his face.
He stood in the corner of the room, arms crossed. "There are better ways to organise a hit, Luthor. This better not be a waste of my time."
"Heard about your little mishap in Indonesia. You're getting sloppy, old man. You should go back to trying to kill teenagers." Deadshot teased.
"Not sloppy enough to get an explosive collar locked around my neck." He spat.
Deadshot snarled. "I served my time, Slade. It's only a matter of time before Waller manages to snag your ass."
Barry wanted to get a bag of popcorn, but Deathstroke then turned his attention to him once again. He stared...and Barry enacted his master plan: be an idiot and hope that is enough to make everyone walk out.
"Right. Yes. My evil plan." Barry announced. Needless to say, many faces in the room went blank. Mercy then suddenly walked in, a plate of waffles and ice cream at the ready. She laid the plate before 'Lex' then left immediately.
Barry picked up the knife and fork on the plate and started stuffing his face with waffles. The room was filled with the sound of him making noises of delight as he ate the delicious dessert. The villains waited impatiently for him to continue, but none as irritated as Deathstroke. He did not appreciated his time being wasted.
Barry glanced up, only now noticing their piercing gazes and gave a sheepish smile with a mouth still full of food. "This is pretty good."
Deathstroke's single visible eye narrowed with rage in such a way that one could feel the anger radiating from hiim.
"Oh, right." Barry gulped down the last remnants of food that lingered in his mouth and crossed his arms. "I'm thinking, since we're all evil, that we commit a string of totally diabolical deeds that make the people of the world highly uncomfortable."
Deadshot scoffed. "Okay, he's finally lost it..."
Luminus facepalmed quite epically.
The others in the room stared at him expectantly, but he didn't elaborate any further. That's until Rosie took the initiative and asked "What the hell are you talkin' about?"
"Like, I don't know, walking past a puppy on the street and not stopping to pat it." Barry said with a shiver. "Or even worse, stopping every puppy you see and calling them a bad dog."
Every single one of the attendees were left with looks of absolute confusion buried in their expressions...or masks. All except Killer Moth who seemed just as shaken by this idea as Barry. He even flashed Barry a thumbs up of approval, and at that point he just had to wonder if Killer Moth had ever been a legitimate threat to society.
Luminus squinted at the others around him. "Is this a joke? Are you all in on this?"
"If you don't have the stomach for it then you can stick with less evil, but still very unreasonable, acts." Barry continued. "Like using conditioner before shampoo or answering work calls on the first ring."
"Now we're talkin'!" Killer Moth exclaimed with a grin of approval. "Minor acts of villainy are often times superior to massive plans."
"What the hell is this?" Rosie sighed.
"Agreed." Barry nodded. "The goal is to ruin a person's day. If we're lucky it'll keep them up at night!"
Deathstroke sneered. "You called me here...for this?"
His voice sounded like a rusty knife scratching against a blackboard.
"Uhh...yeah?" Barry shrugged. "I guess I thought you were man enough to handle my evil scheme."
Deathstroke strode around the table and made his way to Barry like a shark. Barry swallowed. The man towered over him and looked like he could break a man's skull with his bare hands. "I have other clients who would pay good money to see you dead."
"But I'm probably paying you more not to kill me, right?" Barry managed to sound smug but was secretly hoping that this was correct. He really didn't want to die in this body.
It didn't take another word to convince Deathstroke that this wasn't worth the effort. He turned and left through the back door, slamming it so hard behind him that the door cracked down its centre and several shelves in the room shuddered.
Luminus groaned "I'm an idiot for coming here. Of course you'd lose your nerve and back out. That's why you fired me, after all." With a flash, Luminus' form fizzled out and disappeared.
Rosie sat with her feet up on the table, freckled face scrunched up in contemplation. "You ain't yourself, Lex. Something ain't right 'ere..."
"Hey, shut up man!" Killer Moth yelled.
Rosie chuckled at the pathetic wannabe's bootlicking and stood up. She planted her hands on her hips, flexing her thick biceps in an attempt to intimidate Moth. "You ain't man enough to scare me, kid."
Like a frightened child, Killer Moth shrunk to make himself less of a target.
Rosie glanced over at Deadshot who was surprisingly still present. "Still 'ere, Lawton?"
The mercenary nodded. "Whatever's happening to baldie, it's hilarious."
"Yeah...have fun. I'm gonna shoot before I shoot myself." Rosie said, making for the exit. With that, Deadshot shot up like a bullet and tailed her.
"Hey, I don't wanna be the only sane guy in here!" Deadshot called. He slammed the door behind him and Barry felt a remarkable sense of accomplishment.
"Don't worry about those other guys, boss." Killer Moth whispered to Barry in a strangely average voice. "They've never been creative enough to appreciate a true genius when they see one."
Barry loaded the final waffle piece into his mouth and said "Get outta here before I call the cops."
——————————————