14863/lexdecent proposal

lexdecent proposal
Date of Scene:	28 March 2023
Location:	LexMall - LexCorp Tower
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Lex Luthor, Captain America

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Lex Luthor has posed:
LexMall is, always, a bustling cornucopia of people shopping and spending money to their heart's content and detriment. There are people of all kinds milling about at the various shops and stores, making LexCorp richer by the second. It's really a clear situation of being one of the most important locations in LexCorp Tower.

Right now, though, the Food Court has been graced by the presence of the man that started this all: Lex Luthor. He stands near the edge of the ailing to look down at the various shops and stores that his Metropolis citizens are weaving in and out of. His suit is as crisp and styled as it always is. There's not a wrinkle that doesn't look like it's strategically there for some reason. An American Flag has been pinned to the lapel for reasons that may become clear here in a few moments.

Security is a bit tighter around the Food Court at this moment but there's no real threat. It's more of a precaution since the boss has come down from his throne at the top of LexCorp Tower to meet with the man that he sent the only woman he trusts to fetch from downstairs.

Lex grins at the people spending their money while waiting for Mercy to return with a certain symbol of this fair and great nation.

Captain America has posed:
"And what'd you say this meeting was about, again...?"

She didn't say; not really. And he doesn't expect this time to be any different, no matter how warm of a smile he passes along the escalator; it's just that Steve Rogers is a creature of habit. Where some people might fidget or clam up, the nerves he feels on the precipice of a meeting with one of Metropolis' most famous men are most readily exorcised via polite, meaningless conversation.

"Not that I'm not honored to be meeting a man with Mr. Luthor's resume, obviously."

In a dark blue turtleneck that simply can't help but gently outline the chiseled lines of human potential sculpted towards a powerful zenith, black slacks hugging densely corded thighs, and brown leather boots, the cartoonist/time-lost symbol of an ideal that never was keeps his arms folded casually across the broad swell of his chest. He maintains a measured distance from the woman, mindfully giving Ms. Graves her space; whatever this is, whatever he's here for, he's a guest and she's tied to its architect. He's --

'Happy' is too optimistic a word for it, but 'willing' to follow her lead-- to learn what Lex Luthor could possibly want with him.

Upon arriving at the top floor, he takes another, further step aside so Mercy can show him the way to Mr. Luthor.

Lex Luthor has posed:
Mercy Graves has not said a word since retrieving Steve from reception. There was: 'Mr. Rogers?' and there was 'I'm Mercy Graves.' and there was 'Right this way, please.' and that was about it. The escalator was really no different even though she made it a point to actually show that she was listening to everything Steve said. Quietly polite might be the words used to describe her.

Timing is everything and the moment that escalator rises, Lex Luthor has turned around and it looks like he's ready to meet a man that has come to be known (at least to Lex) as one of the nation's most renown heroes. There might even be a bit of envy somewhere deep inside the chest of the man that's wearing a smile when the escalator decides to rise both Steve and Mercy up to the top of this LexMall. Where the food court smells so delicious.

"Mr. Luthor." Mercy's voice comes to the forefront again as she leads the way across the clean floor towards where Lex Luthor is standing. She nods at him with both respect and presentation. "Here he is, safe and sound."

"Thank you, Mercy." Lex says with a calm tone that Mercy takes as her cue to stand aside and watch from the sidelines. She is, after all, his bodyguard. She will remain nearby at all times.

Lex Luthor's attention is focused on smiling and reaching out a hand to offer to Steve with the most hearty of handshakes that a man of his mortal humanity can muster. "Steve Rogers." Lex Luthor might even be making himself sound astonished. "It is very much both an honor and a privilege." In which direction, that part is left unclear.

"Thank you for indulging my request to see you."

Captain America has posed:
Steve, meanwhile, is careful to restrain his grip to the lowest bounds of what could be considered 'firm' -- just enough to be unmistakably read as such without getting into an implicit gripping contest or worse. He gives Lex the same taut but warm smile Mercy's been getting, along with a small nod. "Mr. Luthor," he evenly replies. "Always an honor to meet a meet a man dedicated to giving back to his home." The retreating assistant gets a brief, idle look before he returns his attention to Lex.

"Though, I've got to admit I'm curious about WHY I'm here: Ms. Graves is a fortress," he adds, withdrawing from the handshake to clasp his hands loosely behind his back. Decades removed from his last official term of service, parade rest is a matter of instinct.

Lex Luthor has posed:
"And the world."

Lex's correction is a bit on the playful side as he needs to make it quite clear that Lex Luthor cares about all of mankind. Not just Metropolis. Even if Metropolis is at the top of that list.

Right underneath his own name.

"She is, isn't she?" Lex glances over his shoulder at Mercy and the woman merely gives a slight smile with a nod. She knows they are talking about her and it's fine. She's into it.

"I admit, I had a whole speech planned, Mr. Rogers." Lex says as he motions toward the railing so that they can speak a bit more freely near there. Or at the very least so that he can set the stage with all of those innocents milling about down there. "I was going to talk about how I've done my homework on you and that I know what kind of man you are. I was going to make references to your past so that you would know I had done said homework. I had intended to do the very best in trying to impress you." Lex admits all of this without missing a beat. "Then I realized that I'd much rather be honest with you. No business tricks. No speeches. Just me, Lex Luthor asking you, Steve Rogers, one simple question."

Lex takes this opportunity to do a dramatic pause and turn so that he can look Steve right in his eyes.

"What do you stand for?"

Captain America has posed:
'I had a whole speech planned...'

Steve is an old, respectful soul, and it has nothing to do with his birthdate, his time in preservation. When he was young, he was old: as a teenager who lived each day in agony due to a myriad of genetic curses inflicted upon him in the womb, a child who treated each moment he was allowed to be anywhere but trapped and helpless in his own bed, his anger towards an unjust world always remained squarely aimed at the roots of that injustice rather than getting lost in shallow blame or misplaced hate. He was born sickly, weak, marked for early death; where many would've retreated inwards or grown a spiky shell to protect themselves from further pain, Steve was taught from his earliest years that even a cruel, unjust world could contain kind, innocent souls and ran with the lesson farther than his legs ever could've taken him. When his family had nothing, he struggled and fought to scrape together something to contribute; when raw, spiteful evil rose across the ocean, his every waking moment was spent dreaming of ways to bring good into the world; when his neighbors turned their backs on the quiet family who'd found their way from Okinawa to Brooklyn, his door remained ever open to offer safe harbor.

Everyone has a story.
Everyone has a purpose.
Everyone has a point of light inside them, begging to illuminate the world.

So Steve listens as Lex Luthor tells him in exacting detail just how much preparation he's spontaneously decided to throw away in favor of speaking from the heart; he nods once or twice, here or there--

"Why bother with an entire speech when the CliffsNotes'll do? I understand."

-- and neither misses a beat nor lets his warm demeanor waver as he gently meets Luthor's appeal to realness with his own brand of firm, but polite honesty. If anything, his smile gets half an inch bigger while blue eyes faintly twinkle.

"I suppose," he then answers, turning from Lex to peer out over the mall while his arms drape over the railing, "that I were going to boil it down, it's fairness-- I believe that everyone deserves a chance to be the best 'them' that they can be. I believe that we live in a world that's as hostile as it is beautiful, diverse-- a world that makes it hard for so many people to become whoever they're meant to be because it grinds them down. Crushes them; takes their hope, their dreams, and twists them into something dark and bitter if it doesn't snuff them out entirely," he explains, thoughtful and measured.

"So as far as I'm concerned, it's my duty to stand between the darkness of the world and the people in it-- to give them the room they need to let their inner light shine as brightly as it can."

He takes a moment to breathe in, eyes lidding as he watches Metropolitans mingle and spend.

"I stand for everyone who lacks the strength, the will, the means to stand for themselves," he then utters, soft and resolute as his gaze shifts towards Luthor. "What about you, Mr. Luthor...?"

"What do you stand for?"