15605/Light Switch

Light Switch
Date of Scene:	16 September 2023
Location:	Council Chamber, Nexus Mountain
Synopsis:	The Light prepares to burn a bit brighter.
Cast of Characters:	Lex Luthor, Gorilla Grodd

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Lex Luthor has posed:
The Light.

The one true salvation for those that know and understand exactly what is at stake on this here planet. There are only a select few that are ever allowed inside this chamber and one of those select few is seated at his personal seat looking as though he very much would like to be anywhere but here at the moment.

Lex Luthor is not a happy camper. That is quite certain.

He continues to scroll through the heavily modified personal computer built into his station and quite frankly his sour expression is only tempered by the one of boredom that occasionally changes things up. He has called a meeting of the Council of the Light in hopes of reigniting the organization and its ideals. Now if only someone else besides him will show up, they can actually get down to some sort of business.

Gorilla Grodd has posed:
One of the Light's members may, in his own way, chafe even under the united front of those humans with morals and goals most aligned to his. But Grodd is, after much experience, willing to admit that perhaps turning the world's population into gorillas is an ambitious goal beyond his grasp.

And simple world domination is both somewhat cliched and really likely more trouble than its worth. But the occasional nudge to society? A little benevolent guidance that might lead to Gorilla City securing its independence and significant territorial gains? Well, that's not nothing.

He can't help but eye one Lex Luthor as he scrolls and scowls as he enters the chamber, "Did that Metropolitan newspaper write another editorial about your gentrification of the city? You do realize print is dead, right? And they cannot possibly get across any finer editorial point in one of those 'tik toks' the children are so absorbed in these days."

Grodd doesn't quite collapse into his designated seat, but when you're as massive as he is, sitting down is always /some/ level of collapsing. His gaze idly sweeps the room, "I see our fellow members are as punctual as ever."

That's right. Grodd's been practicing sarcasm.

Lex Luthor has posed:
The rolling of Lex Luthor's eyes is one of those moments that might as well go down in the historical documents of the Council of the Light's meetings. Honestly, with the way this room is probably self-surveilled, it likely will. There's scarce a moment that happens within the confines of the Nexus of the Light that doesn't get paid attention to in some form or fashion.

It's how all of these so-called villains keep their checks and balances on each other.

"Unlike whatever monkey business you're up to over there, I've been tracking the locations of our members. Suffice to say, they will not be attending." There's a more annoyed sigh than anything that actually sounds like he cares. "Let's begin. Although, now I believe we have a much more important order of business."

Lex Luthor swipes his screen away and focuses his attention on Grodd and the rest of the empty seats around the table. "Our numbers are dwindled. Significantly." Lex sounds as if he only cares a little bit about that. "While I do not care about the loss of council members, their resources? Well, that's another matter entirely. Losing membership puts us at a potential disadvantage." His eyes narrow in the next moment.

"I do not like being at a disadvantage."

Gorilla Grodd has posed:
Grodd falls into his own rabbit hole of checking his computer... it may, in fact, just be checking his Light email, and in a true twist of evil, reading emails and then clicking to deny the read-receipt option. Because he's all too aware that for all their talk of banding together, everyone's just one edge over one another away from betrayal and chaos.

He narrows his eyes slightly. Monkey business. Of course. Always, always the humans have their 'monkey business' line. Like how every Eastern European gangster inevitably gets asked if his name is 'Boris'. But Grodd can overlook this slight.

That low rumbling sound is clearly a gorilla chuckle at an email. Definitely not a barely restrained growl. He looks around at the empty chairs then with a sigh of his own. "Yes, it would appear we /are/ in need of some sort of infusion of zeal and enthusiasm. Even our freelance troubleshooters are distressingly unreachable."

He frowns and sighs out, "Really, what we need is someone with resources and ambition to match those misguided fools like Stark and Bruce Wayne. Though I doubt Mr. Wayne would be a good fit for our organization, we don't need someone to throw gala balls and jetset around smiling vapidly for cameras."

Lex Luthor has posed:
"You speak as if I don't exist."

Lex Luthor almost seems hurt by that comment. He's on the same level as both Stark and Wayne. Which is why he's in the position that he is in when it comes to the Light. He's also the self-proclaimed 'leader' if there ever really could be one but it's all neither here nor there if Grodd is not even lumping him with those other businessmen.

With a dismissive wave of his hand to put those intrusive thoughts out of his head, Lex gives a moment of thought around his next play. "I do agree that we need to broaden our horizons though. The more vast of a network we create, the easier it will be to keep the world on the right path." Lex seems to be thinking a few dozen moves ahead as he always does. "Or the quicker we can clutch the world in our palms if we need to." Lex leans against the table a bit. "Any potential candidates swing to mind?"

Gorilla Grodd has posed:
Grodd rolls his eyes, "You exist, Luthor. But we need /more/ resources... admittedly, more industrialists would be somewhat redundant and I imagine Tony Stark would drive us to insanity... so believe me, I'm much more open to any /other/ recruits we might find."

He tilts his head in a moment of thought, "Hm. Magician? We have telepathy covered, industry and business acumen in you..." He frowns even more severely, "Of course, the problem with magic users with flexible enough morality to see our point of view is many of them are... quite literally the devil. Or crazy. Even by our admittedly sometimes lax standards."

He heaves out a heavy sigh, "I'm afraid I cannot think of any particular individuals at this point in time. This is... perplexing."

Lex Luthor has posed:
"I've dealt with a few devils in my time. My father being one of them." Lex Luthor may be pouring it on a bit thick but he can get theatrical when he's around those within the Light. "I do not care to again." At least there's some common ground that they can agree upon.

"We'll need to focus our efforts into finding some viable candidates. If we are to mold the world into the image that we see fit, then we're going to need a few more seats at this table filled. We'll spend the next week or so thinking outside of the box, looking into potentials. We'll meet back here to discuss the particulars of our recruitment drive. After which, I believe we will be in a better position to discuss the rest of our current agenda."

Lex looks over at Grodd. "Agreed?"

Gorilla Grodd has posed:
Grodd nods solemnly and heaves out another heavy sigh, brow furrowed... well, more than that heavy brow normally is at least. And he might be frowning more than normal. "Well, I imagine he was really more a metaphorical devil than a literal one... but those can often be the far worse devils."

He heaves out a sigh, "It's true, we'll need to take a more active level to recruitment, there must be people out there who can see that the heroes and blind optimists of the world are woefully unprepared to make the difficult choices needed to lead the world to its destiny. We simply have to find those people and employ their talents to further our goals."

He levers himself up and grumbles, "And in the meantime, perhaps focus on some more... modest and manageable goals. I suppose I can delay my attempt to conquer Australia. Really, even nature itself clearly thinks it is not meant for humans. Agreed. We will meet again when we have our next steps arranged."

Lex Luthor has posed:
"Excellent." Lex Luthor looks more than willing to adjourn this meeting since the proper new order of business has been established. The egos of a Luthor and a Grodd cannot be in the same location for too long without the potential for hostilities to arise. Considering the lack of Light Council at the moment, keeping the hostilities to a minimum seems to be the best plan.

"I believe we can call this meeting to a close, then." Those words marking the official completion of said meeting, Lex Luthor is already reaching for his phone to contact Mercy. She should be bringing the jet around whilst he grabs his things.

"Australia? Really, Grodd?" Lex looks over at his colleague with a bit of a disgusted scoff. "Even with our minimal numbers, I'm sure we can do better than Australia."