The Light Convenes — Fury, Failure, and the Truth About Devil Fruits
The chamber of the Light was silent.
Too silent.
Professor Ivo's monitor flickered back to life, still streaming static from the destroyed android's final moments. The last image frozen on-screen was Superboy standing amid a broken desert—air itself visibly distorted around him.
Then the room exploded.
"INCOMPETENCE."
Vandal Savage's voice cracked like a whip.
"You were given resources, time, and protection—and you failed."
Ivo swallowed, sweat dripping down his face.
"You don't understand! That power—my android couldn't copy it. It rejected replication entirely!"
Queen Bee leaned forward, eyes sharp.
"Rejected? Powers don't reject anything."
"They do," Ivo snapped, desperation bleeding through. "This one did!"
Klarion's laughter echoed, high and mocking.
"Ooooh, that's new. A power that bites back."
Ra's al Ghul remained silent, but his eyes burned.
"The boy's influence grows. And now even our machines cannot touch what he gives."
Ivo slammed his fist on the console.
"I was used! You sent me blind! You knew this might happen!"
A cold voice cut through the chaos.
"Enough."
Lex Luthor stood.
The room stilled immediately.
Lex adjusted his cuffs, eyes fixed on the frozen image of Superboy.
"You weren't wrong, Professor," he said calmly.
"You simply misunderstood the nature of what you were dealing with."
All eyes turned to him.
Lex Luthor's Revelation
"These so-called Devil Fruits," Lex continued,
"are not simple artifacts. They are not magic. Not technology. Not biology."
He paused.
"They are conditional phenomena."
Klarion tilted his head.
"Explain, shiny man."
Lex nodded once.
"The fruit itself is not alive," he said,
"but it is semi-sentient in function."
Ivo's eyes widened.
"It responds," Lex went on,
"not to threat against itself—but to threat against its host."
The room went dead silent.
"When the android attempted to analyze, replicate, and overwrite the energy," Lex said,
"the fruit detected an existential violation."
Savage's eyes narrowed.
"You're saying it defended him."
"Yes," Lex replied.
"The fruit's power isn't stored data—it's a metaphysical contract.
A rule-set tied to the individual, not the ability."
Queen Bee hissed softly.
"So copying it is impossible."
"Correct," Lex said.
"You can steal technology. You can replicate metahuman DNA.
But this?"
He gestured to the screen.
"This power refuses duplication.
The moment replication is attempted, it destabilizes the intruder."
Ivo slumped back in his chair, realization hitting him like a truck.
"That's why the android panicked…
It wasn't failing—it was being rejected."
Lex allowed himself a thin smile.
The Implications
"This changes everything," Vandal Savage said slowly.
"If these fruits choose their hosts…"
"Then hunting the artifact is pointless," Lex finished.
"You must control the person."
Ra's al Ghul's voice was calm—but deadly.
"Or raise one of our own."
Klarion clapped.
"Oooh! I like that plan."
Lex's gaze sharpened.
"And one more thing," he said.
"The fruit didn't just block replication."
Everyone leaned in.
"It overwrote the copying attempt."
Silence.
"That android didn't merely fail," Lex continued.
"It learned—too late—that the power it tried to steal could unmake it."
Savage's jaw tightened.
"So the boy gave the clone a weapon the world cannot steal."
Lex nodded.
"And Fire Shadow," he added quietly,
"still possesses knowledge of these artifacts."
The room darkened with unspoken intent.
The Light's New Fear
Queen Bee broke the silence.
"How many fruits are there?"
Lex didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at the image of Superboy again.
"At least one more," he said.
"And possibly only as many as he allows."
Klarion grinned, eyes glowing.
"Then the boy isn't just dangerous."
He giggled.
"He's a gatekeeper."
Ra's al Ghul closed his eyes briefly.
"The world has changed," he said.
"And it changed because a child decided who deserves power."
Lex Luthor folded his hands.
"And now," he said softly,
"we must decide whether Fire Shadow is a key…"
His eyes hardened.
"…or the lock."
The monitors dimmed.
The Light had lost an android.
But they had gained something far worse.
Understanding.