Inviolate

Inviolate is a completed fanfic written by Scriviner. It's difficult to summarize without giving away too much, but essentially Lex Luthor discovers that he has been manipulated in such a way that it calls into question everything he believes in and every action he has ever taken. He is not pleased. At all.

There will no doubt be spoilers below.

Can be found here.

There are several sequel stories in progress, but none of them are posted as of yet.


 * Abnormal Ammo:
 * Aborted Arc: Considering how often she showed up, it seemed likely that  was originally intended to play a larger role, but the author acknowledges that in an effort to keep the story on-track, he had to remove a few storylines focused on her and will end up having to use those ideas in a planned sequel.
 * Affably Evil: It's a Lex fic, of course this applies.
 * Alternative Character Interpretation
 * Badass Boast: Lex pulls a few of these and so do his antagonists. It's mostly of the jostling for dominance variety, as psychological warfare and an interrogation tactic.
 * Badass Normal: Lex all the way.
 * Battle Butler: Mercy Graves.
 * Bodyguard Crush: Implied that Mercy has one on Lex.
 * Implied, nothing.
 * Bottomless Magazines:
 * Dead Little Daughter: Lex's memory of Lena keeps coming back to him again and again, and is ultimately not only, but is also
 * Deadpan Snarker: Mercy does this on occasion, but mostly when she's "off-duty".
 * Deflector Shields: Both the personal kind and for use as fancy privacy curtains/room dividers. Lex loves the things.
 * Continuity Nod: Bunches of them.
 * Earth Is the Center of the Universe: Played with and justified.
 * Entertainingly Wrong: Lex's conclusions about Batman in Chapter 15.
 * To sum up: Lex (quite accurately) concludes that Bruce Wayne is far more brilliant than he appears and is funding the entire Bat-Family while also acting as its chief strategist. He then goes on to 'deduce' that the Batman costume has been filled by a series of disposable flunkies, that the first two ended up becoming the Joker ('That's why he's so obsessed with Batman. He wants to be the Bat again!') and Two-Face respectively, and that the current occupant of the costume is a mercenary lowlife named 'Matches Malone'. Also, that Nightwing is Malone's equally lowlife son ('I believe he's working with your son the policeman down in Bludhaven'), that Robin III is a reformed petty criminal named 'Alvin Draper', and... well, at least Lex actually got the identities of Batgirl I, Batgirl III, and Spoiler correct.
 * Genius Bonus: The author uses a lot of references back to canon comics continuity, even though the story has struck out into its own territory. In many cases there are references to events and characters from comics from the 40's onwards.
 * Heel Face Turn: Technically this happens, but the reason behind it is pretty cynical.
 * Hypercompetent Sidekick: Eve Teschmacher, Luthor's secretary and then later Executive Assistant shows signs of this, mostly because Lex is so focused on his schemes that he doesn't have time to actually run his company.
 * : Lex goes through as his.
 * Magnificent Bastard: Lex Luthor. Oh, so very much.
 * Mistaken for Gay: Deadshot briefly misconstrues Lex's relationship with Metallo due to an overheard conversation. He's corrected rather quickly by Mercy.
 * Mundane Utility: A good example shows up in the first chapter when Lex is talking about his sonic weapon: "I've never actually hit anyone with it at level ten, but I tried it on a steak once. Vibrated the thing so hard the meat not only cooked to medium rare, but I ended up with quite possibly the most tender cut of beef you could imagine as the connective tissues and bones were practically liquified." A gruesomely amused grin crossed the man's face. "I could cut it with a plastic fork. Can you imagine what it would do to a human body?"
 * No Hero to His Valet: Mercy has pretty much seen Lex at his best and worst.
 * Oh Crap: Occurs multiple times as the situation conspires to really mess with Lex's plans, but most noteable in
 * President Evil: Lex's stint as President is referenced and events from it are put into use.
 * Reed Richards Is Useless: Deconstructed, justified then later averted (or trying to do so).
 * Revenge: What drives the plot.
 * Screw You, Elves: That is,.
 * Sealed Evil in a Teddy Bear: Lex puts a defeated Manhunter's AI in a Teddy Ruxpin Expy.
 * Secret Identity: This is an essential part of Chapter 15.
 * Shout-Out: Aside from the various references to DC comics, there's also a few other shout-outs here and there, most notably the.
 * "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
 * Villain Teleportation: Played with and played straight. Lex does have some access to teleportation and it's better than what the nominal good guys have, but it has its own limitations.
 * What You Are in the Dark: Played very straight at the end.
 * Xanatos Speed Chess: Lex is this all over, as unforeseen events keep wrecking his initial plans and he's forced to adapt to new circumstances (circumstances that have included nudity).
 * Secret Identity: This is an essential part of Chapter 15.
 * Shout-Out: Aside from the various references to DC comics, there's also a few other shout-outs here and there, most notably the.
 * "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
 * Villain Teleportation: Played with and played straight. Lex does have some access to teleportation and it's better than what the nominal good guys have, but it has its own limitations.
 * What You Are in the Dark: Played very straight at the end.
 * Xanatos Speed Chess: Lex is this all over, as unforeseen events keep wrecking his initial plans and he's forced to adapt to new circumstances (circumstances that have included nudity).

Add more tropes as they get spotted.