Luthor was the first to notice.

They had arranged for breakfast at a local diner near Ivy Town a week in advance, Luthor even insisting he bring his girlfriend of nine months along. That Wendy had charisma and the makings of a wonderful ally down the road. Not to mention she seemed perfectly capable of moving the Luthor line another generation forward.

And Mercy liked her. Always a good sign.

Yet...there was something off about the way Conner was behaving that morning. His slacked posture in the diner seat, his stare captivated by the most trivial of situations and objects around the dim lit room. And the way he kept leaning against Wendy, whispering things into her hair that darkened her cheeks in seconds. The boy may love the girl, but he had never been so forward with his romantic intentions while Luthor was around. Where was his manners, his genetically instilled gentleman behavior?

"Oh man, are those crepes?" Conner asked a waitress as she walked by, grabbing onto the ends of her skirt and pulling her back towards their table, "With nutella? Shit, Wendy, Lex...hell, Mercy, you have got to try these things. It's like an orga - "

"Excuse me, sir," the waitress hissed, doing the best she could to rip her skirt out of Conner's grip. To no avail, though; not her fault she didn't know what kind of monstrosity she was dealing with, "I have to be on my way."

"Conner, let the poor woman go," Wendy scolded, hitting him over the shoulder. It must have felt more like a tickle than anything else, but Conner did respond, turning away from the waitress and releasing her, "Sorry about that, miss. He's usually not like this."

"I bet," she said flatly before leaving the table.

The wide smile reserved for the waitress soon left Wendy's face, and she shot her boyfriend a look of perplexed disgust, "What is up with you? Did something happen in Gotham last night?"

"Um..." Conner knitted his brows together, as though trying to remember just what occurred the night before. However, the concentration in his face soon wavered and he grinned at Wendy, "Your eye are so blue right now, Wendy. Like the ocean - or the sky! I bet if you took a picture, you would look twice as pretty as usual!"

"This is complete nonsense," Luthor sighed, waiting until Wendy met his gaze to continue, "My dear, do you know what Conner was doing in Gotham last night? Would you know if he came in contact with Batman by any chance?"

The young woman mulled over the question for a moment, seeming to carefully choose her next words, "He...he said something about visiting Robin at his place...going through his souvenirs as they call them..."

The beginnings of a headache throbbed against his temples, and Luthor couldn't help but sigh again. So that was it. Go figure; the Bat never had the gull to use it on the oaf, but one visit and his son happened to stumble on the only piece of Kryptonite he didn't have at his disposal.

He was glad Mercy was the one to say it first.

"You're high," she announced, face blank and unimpressed, "How amusing."

"What?" Wendy's eyes bulged, looking to her boyfriend in disbelief, "High? Are you kidding me? How?"

"It's time you learn the effects of all kryptonite, my dear," Luthor replied, "Starting with the most obvious...red."