Endless Legacy (DC Comics)

A/N: Here's the new Chapter! Which also means the next four chapters are up on my Patreon for early access as well as the chance to vote on the direction of the story!

Lucien and Death talk things out~

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“Actually… let’s just talk for a while, if that’s alright.”

He can tell he actually manages to surprise Death for one. She raises an eyebrow at him, radiating amusement as she tilts her head to the side.

“Oh?”

There’s a lot of question in that single syllable. Flushing, Lucien figures they should probably start there, shouldn’t they?

“… I’ve made no real secret of my ultimate goal, to give you the same pleasure you’ve given me and return the favor by bringing you to the heights of ecstasy.”

Death hums, her eyes glittering as they continue to walk along the forest path there in the Dream World together.

“But I’ve come to realize I was looking at it from a place of selfishness. I wanted to make you cum, not out of purely altruistic reasons, but because some part of me wanted to conquer you. To make you mine and lay claim to you.”

They’re already holding hands, their fingers intertwined as they walk. Death squeezes down as if to remind him of that fact, even as she smiles at him.

“I’m already yours, Lucien. Just as you are mine. Nothing and no one can change that.”

Yes. They were bound together by something beyond even Death herself. Bound together beyond time too, for that measure.

“And yet… the relationship is lopsided, isn’t it? And maybe, deep down inside, I sought to unbalance it in the opposite direction, to make it lopsided in my favor even without knowing those were my true intentions. I realize now how foolish that was. It’s not all about power. Something you knew full well, but were waiting for me to figure out as well, weren’t you?”

Death’s smile grows at that, even as she tilts her head in the other direction.

“Well… it is in the name, darling. As special as you are, as great as your potential is… overcoming me through sheer power was always going to be a tall order. They don’t call us Endless for nothing.”

Yeah. That was a fair point. Death of the Endless was so far beyond him it wasn’t even funny. But then…

“That’s why I went to Gotham in the first place. I felt split between two paths. I could have gone to Metropolis and sought out more power there through Kryptonian DNA, but I didn’t think power was the answer anymore. I didn’t just go to Gotham to try and lay low and avoid my father. I thought maybe Gotham might hold the answers I sought to how to truly get closer to you.”

Death hums even as she gazes at him knowingly.

“And did it?”

Huffing in response, Lucien looks up at the sky for a moment before replying.

“No. Maybe? Not yet. But then, that’s kind of the point isn’t it? No matter my methodology, no matter my perspective, one thing remains the same either way, doesn’t it? I’m impatient. I want things to happen on my timetable rather than anyone else’s.”

Lying low in Gotham was never meant to be forever. In fact, it was always supposed to be rather… temporary, wasn’t it? Lucien certainly hadn’t intended to spend years in the city or anything like that. Months at most, maybe. But then… why did he think spending a handful of months in Gotham might give him the answer to how to bring pleasure to a literally Endless being who had been around since the dawn of time?

Lucien was finally starting to accept the reality of the situation. Things with Death were never going to be fast or easy. Theirs was a relationship that was bound to last for eons, all things considered. Intellectually, he’d known that before he was pretty sure. But emotionally, he'd refused to accept it. Deep down inside, he'd always thought he could just get away with rushing things to the finish line.

“I’m pretty sure those traits come from my father. The impatience, the recklessness, the impetuousness. I want it to be my way just like he does. I want the world to bend to my whims, just like he makes it bend to his.”

It irritates him that he has so much of Lex Luthor in him. The man had barely been there for him in his first life. Once a year on his birthday, Lex would show up to be disappointed in him once again… and that was it. But it had taken Lucien a long time to realize that he hated his father. That he despised him almost as much as Lex clearly held contempt for Lucien’s weakness in turn.

Before figuring out his true feelings for Lex, Lucien had spent years and years obsessing over the other man. Not just obsessing over his opinion of Lucien, but also over everything else he did as well. Cooped up inside due to his sickness as he was, it wasn’t as though Lucien had anything better to do besides keep up with the news and everything happening in the world around him. In the end, he’d fixated on Lex Luthor and his activities. His accomplishments, his actions, his everything.

Despite Lex being very much an absentee father by every metric and definition of the term, it wasn’t inaccurate to say that he was still the most influential man in Lucien’s life by a large measure. So really, it was no wonder that a lot of his worst habits had rubbed off on Lucien over time.

“… But I can’t keep blaming him for my mistakes. I can’t keep acting like he’s the reason I make the decisions I make. In the end, I am my own man… I have to be, if I ever want to prove myself worthy of you and your love.”

At that, Death finally comes to a stop. Lucien halts too given that they’re still holding hands and gives her a curious look. The snow-white beauty lets out a sigh and shakes her head as she brings her free hand up to his cheek, caressing his face.

“You already are worthy of me, Lucien. You already have my love. Unquestionably so. Unconditionally so.”

He knew that, and yet…

“I still want to stand equal with you one day, D. I don’t want to conquer you or unbalance the scales in my favor anymore… but I also don’t want to exist in your shadow for the rest of eternity. It won’t be tomorrow. It won’t be a year from now… but at some point down the line, I want us to stand shoulder to shoulder.”

Death hums.

“You’d have to become Endless yourself, Lucien. It’s not exactly something that’s… done.”

And yet, she wasn’t saying it was impossible. Nor did she sound disapproving of his plans either. Lucien smiles and brings his own free hand up to caress Death’s face in return.

“I suppose I’ll just have to work on it then. And accept any help you can give me along the way.”

He knows he’s said the right thing when Death looks pleased by that last sentence. Indeed, Lucien hadn’t really accepted much of any aid from Death as of yet, aside from the assistance she’d all but foisted upon him when it came to explaining his strange existence and his ability to travel back to personal points on his timeline upon each death.

He hadn’t once asked her for help, and he knew better than to do so when it came to most things. No, Death of the Endless was not the kind of being you asked for assistance on mundane tasks. However, him becoming Endless himself… well, that was going to be a tall order with or without her help.

“My siblings might not like the idea. They might try to stand in your way once they find out. And they will find out, eventually. Still… you have me, now and forever.”

Lucien’s heart swells at her assurance. Of course…

“I’m still going to make you cum at some point.”

Death’s eyebrows rise in amusement, but Lucien just grins cheekily.

“A man has his pride, D. Besides that though, it’s a travesty that you’ve never experienced an orgasm before. Seems only right that I be the one to take you there.”

Now, the pale white woman’s eyes narrow.

“… Was that a Madonna reference, Lucien?”

His grin grows as he leans in close with a teasing tone to his voice.

“Maybe. Should I get down on my knees?”

Death huffs and smacks his chest. Lucien laughs. It’s tempting, but he’s already decided not to turn this into a sexual escapade. And yet… by setting aside the potential of sex between them, teasing Death becomes so much more fun, doesn’t it? Just some simple flirtation that will go nowhere. It has her cheeks warming a little bit, and Lucien’s heart pounding.

Still… he turns the conversation aside, before they can be tempted into fucking after all.

“Let’s talk a bit more about Gotham though. So… sapient evil city filled with darkness and evil?”

Giving him a deadpan look, Death rolls her eyes.

“You used evil twice.”@@novelbin@@

“Maybe Gotham deserves to be called evil twice over.”

“It really doesn’t. Good… Evil… those things are quite relative. Gotham isn’t evil. If it was, it wouldn’t allow Batman and his proteges to operate within its confines like they do. It certainly wouldn’t allow him and his apprentices to win quite as much as they do. Gotham loves Batman… would an evil entity truly love a hero that much?”

Lucien doesn’t even have to think about it. He has an immediate rejoinder to that.

“The Joker.”

Death huffs because they both know Lucien is right. Hell, he hadn’t even ever met the Joker in the flesh (thank fuck) but he’d seen enough video of the mad man to know that the Joker was obsessed with Batman. Fuck, the clown had said it himself a few times on video, happily professing how much he and the Batman were two sides of the same coin and what not.

“Touche. Still, Gotham is not evil. It is Dark with a capital D. There’s a difference. ‘Evil’ people can use that darkness to make a home for themselves, certainly… but as Batman and the others have proven, so can ostensibly ‘good’ people as well. All things considered, the heroes and villains of Gotham are more evenly matched than they have any right to be.”

Lucien raises an eyebrow at that.

“Oh?”

Nodding, Death hums.

“Gotham… is home to at least a dozen curses at this point, each one set deep into the land’s foundations over the centuries. There are demons that have been sealed beneath it. There’s even a Dark God or two lurking down there. All of these things have influenced it, pushing it down the path its been on since before the city was even founded.”

Death tilts her head to the side.

“And yet… there have been just as many do-gooders to influence it as well. Those demons had to be sealed away by someone, after all. And there have always been strong-willed people to fight the effects of the numerous curses. In the modern day, Batman and his proteges have had their own influence. Along with more heroically minded people like the Birds of Prey and what not.”

Slowly nodding, Lucien contemplates what Death has told him before suddenly another question comes to mind.

“… What about me? What does Gotham think of me? Do you think Gotham is the reason that Batman is so okay with me staying in the city?”

Here, Death actually pauses and goes quiet. And when Lucien looks at her… he sees a surprising nervousness there suddenly. The Endless is even… fidgeting of all things!”

“D?”

“I may have made arrangements with Gotham before your arrival. We have a connection of sorts. There’s a lot of darkness in death after all, and there’s been a LOT of death in Gotham over the centuries. We’ve developed something of a… rapport, she and I.”

Wait… she? Lucien blinks, even as he finds himself catching upon that last part. Had Death just slipped up? Until now, she’d referred to Gotham purely as an ‘it’. Now though… well, he couldn’t let the slip up slide.

“She?”

Death freezes for a split second before huffing and averting her gaze.

“I did say Batman was her favored son, didn’t I? Tell me, does Gotham give off fatherly vibes to you?”

Huh, now that Lucien thinks about it… not really. No, despite everything, Gotham doesn’t give off that vibe at all. Instead, it’s far more like a possessive woman, grasping on and dragging everyone in, desperate not to let anyone go.

“… Could you arrange a meeting between her and I, do you think?”

He’s definitely treading uncharted territory here, because each of his last few questions has made Death go still in some way, shape, or form. Again, she eventually answers him, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully.

“What for, exactly?”

Honestly, Lucien himself isn’t entirely sure. The idea is still fully crystallizing in his head. They both fall silent for a moment as Lucien thinks things over. Finally though, he nods decisively.

“I want to see if I can persuade her to maybe lighten up just a little bit.”

Death opens her mouth to respond to that, her face the picture perfect definition of incredulous. Before she can, Lucien cuts her off with a raised hand.

“Nope, I know. I heard it as soon as I said it. Still, maybe I can get her to focus a bit more on backing up Batman and his kind over the baddies that they face on the weekly. Hell, from the sound of things, Arkham Asylum is probably a leaking sieve at least partially because of her. Even if I could talk her into battening down the hatches and tightening up that place so it wasn’t quite such a revolving door situation, that would be good enough.”

For several long seconds, Death is quiet as she considers his request. Then, a smirk spreads across her face. Some sort of hidden amusement, an inside joke he’s clearly not privy to as her eyes twinkle.

“I could certainly arrange such a meeting for you, Lucien. There’s just one thing I need to know.”

Lucien raises an eyebrow.

“What is it?”

Leaning in close, Death is positively purring as she grins at him wickedly.

“Do you want to go alone, or would you like me to come with you?”

That… Lucien opens his mouth and then closes it again as he ponders that question. What a dilemma. On the one hand, part of him rebels at the idea of having to have Death hold his hand through anything. On the other hand, she was certainly damn good backup.

Hm…