IT BOTHERED ME, how freaking easy this all was for Lex. Set off some explosions in a building, get me in a compromising position, and then kill me. A few days was all it had taken, like he was checking off the easiest tasks on a bucket list.

The knife was still pressed against my neck, and although I was sure there was a trickle of blood dripping onto my collar, I was too busy holding up the pillar to feel it. Lex was absolutely still, even though the floor shook a little beneath our feet, and he was close enough to me that, if I wanted to, I could pull him forward, getting us both crushed by the pillar. He didn't seem too worried about it.

The knife was suddenly put away, and he straightened, kicking one heel of his boot against the other heel, making the bottoms glow. For a naive moment, while he floated in the air and backed far, far away, I thought he was leaving. And then, within a fraction of a second, he was flying right at me with his fist out in front of him, about to knock me out from beneath the pillar. There were still voices, still people nearby.

I managed to shake my head and scream weakly at him, though I couldn't really form the words, Don't do it!

He didn't stop. His fist hit me right in the diaphragm—because, of course, knock out the air in my lungs even if there was no air in my lungs—and I was knocked out from beneath the pillar, which came crashing down in a mess of crumbling concrete and metal support wires.

And, to my complete surprise, not one bit of the building collapsed.

I threw Lex off of me and punched him right in the mask, and that was when I realized I'd been played. The last time I'd punched his mask, nothing happened. Now, the mask crumbled and fell off, as if it were made of lower quality material than what he'd worn the last time we fought.

And when it was all gone, it revealed a face that wasn't Lex's.

I was fighting a decoy. A rather skilled decoy, but still a decoy. That explained the robotic voice; Lex hadn't wanted me to realize that this wasn't really him.

I heard a cough behind me. I turned around to see Lex, the real Lex, with his mask off, floating in the air with the same boots as the other guy. He looked smug, or maybe disappointed. It was difficult to tell.

"This building," he said, gesturing around with his hands, "was designed by the best engineers and architects this world has to offer. One broken pillar and a few explosions won't knock it down."

It was disappointment on his face, I realized, in me. He expected better, and I, not knowing that this building wouldn't collapse easily, nearly broke my spine holding up a stupid pillar.

I felt my face go hot. "Then why attack it?"

"I wanted to see if you would risk your life trying to hold it up," he said, shrugging like it was no big deal. "And you did. You're heroic, I'll admit, but you're stupid. I mean, you did just let my henchman go."

At his reminder, I glanced over my shoulder and saw that the fake Lex had already gotten away. When I turned back around, my face burning with embarrassment, Lex had gotten a little closer. He lowered himself to the ground, the lights in his boots going out.

Lex coughed once and waved a hand at the air in front of his face, chasing away dust. "Why did you come in this building?" he asked, shoving his hands into pockets I couldn't even tell were there.

He sure liked to talk. Even Remote Man was prone to gloating, but Lex was having a full-on Q&A session with me, and I should be attacking him instead of replying, but I knew it couldn't be this easy. If he was so willing to talk, then he was sure that I couldn't catch him.

My hands were starting to hurt from being clenched so tightly, and I forced myself to ease up. "I came here to help."

"With what?" he asked. "To keep the building from collapsing? You know now that there's no need for that. Did you come to help the people? They're getting out themselves, with assistance from the firemen." He took one step closer. "You've come here to help, and you've done absolutely nothing."

I couldn't believe that I was getting a TED talk on heroism from a supervillain, and that it was actually bothering me. You've done absolutely nothing. The words bounced around in my skull, attacking me, and I was thankful that he couldn't see my shocked face through the mask and the dust that coated my skin.

"And what are you doing here," I asked, trying to keep my voice even, "messing with this building?"

"Disaster was the fastest way to find you, and I wanted to talk."

"Well, I'm here," I snapped. "Telling me I'm stupid can't be your only reason."

Lex frowned. "Fine. This is also my grand introduction to the city. I've caused quite a scene, and now everyone knows I'm here."

Everyone knew he was here, and pretty soon everyone would start pointing their fingers at someone to blame. Me. The thought turned my stomach, and I felt sick. It had all gone so wrong so quickly. I knew this year would be harder, but not like this.

"Oh. One more thing." Lex pulled a hand out of his pocket, holding something that emitted a shrill beep, and then he held it up to show me.

It was a detonator with a 30 second countdown. 29. 28.

"One damaged pillar and four small explosions didn't bring this building down," he said, "but this definitely will."

It crossed my mind that he could be playing with me again, that the detonator was really counting down to nothing, but I couldn't really take that chance, could I? No matter where the explosives were—if they even existed at all—I had to stop the countdown. And judging by the look on his face, he knew that, too.

Lex threw the detonator right out of a smashed window. I ran and jumped after it without a second thought; my only regret was that he would get away again. The detonator was an easy catch, but I could barely see. I had to stop myself from free-falling before attempting to push the 'stop' button, or else I might accidentally push the accurately labeled 'blow up now' button instead.

There was only one thing I could think of. I jammed my left hand right into the building's glass exterior, ripping a jagged scar down its formerly shiny and smooth side. My entire arm went inside as I tried to close my fingers around something, anything, to get myself to stop falling. I finally got hold of a floor, and with my other hand, I made sure I pushed the right button.

The countdown paused and disappeared. The words 'Good job, Red' flashed across the screen where the numbers had been, and I barely resisted the urge to chuck the detonator away from me.

My arm was stuck in the building, and I stayed in place even though I released my fingers from the floor. There was so much broken glass on me, and I couldn't feel most of the left side of my body. Jumping into and out of a helicopter was only the first dumb thing I'd done today—this hurt so much more. At least it would hurt, when I stopped feeling numb.

I was stuck in the fifth floor, a lot further down than I'd thought. Time flies when you're falling, I guess. I looked at my dangling feet and the view beneath; the road looked so far down, but if I'd spent just a little longer in the air, I would've smashed right onto the concrete. The countdown wouldn't have been stopped in time.

I should've felt victorious, but instead I had an overwhelming sense of dread. But even with that, all I wanted right now was to go home and sleep. Everything else could come later; I deserved time to calm down.

I looked down again and saw Kavanagh staring up at me. "Just hold on!" he shouted, his hands cupped around his mouth. "We'll come get you."

He stayed outside with me as other people went inside the building. I appreciated it—that I wasn't left alone, that there was somebody down there who I knew and who understood what had just happened.

And I could tell by the look on his face that we were both dreading the messy storm coming our way.

     So, how do you like Lex so far? Do you think he has superpowers of his own, or is it all in his suit? Give me your guesses!

     As always, thanks for tuning in!