Contributions to society

chapter 5: i ate what

Heads up!" Winn teased her, tossing her a Universe Food meat pie.
"Thank god! I'm starving!" Alex chuckled as she sank her teeth into the meat pie. Mmmm! It was warm and fresh and flavorful! The gravy was like nectar and the meat was nice and chewy and salty and warm. The crust was fresh and crispy, the filling was rich. What wasn't to like!?
"It's one of those new 10th anniversary ones," he said. "They dropped it just a few days ago."
"Ah! I forgot that chain was turning 10 years old," Alex replied thoughtfully, then she took another bite of her pie.
"Well, I'm off!" Winn gave Alex a playful salute. "I've got to deliver these other pies to the rest of the DEO now."
"Mmmhmm," Alex replied, mouth full as Winn turned to go. He laughed at her one more time before exiting the area. Alex, meanwhile, turned back to her little meal with a big smile. That was when she got a sudden idea.
"Why not?" she asked, laughing at herself as she pulled out Lena's DNA scanner. She touched a piece of the meat pie to it. Then she screamed.
In no time flat, the story had spread like wildfire all over the DEO and all of its other associated agencies. Horror unmatched filled every last agent as Alex went sprinting on by, headed to the nearest Universe Food store for more proof. After purchasing one of everything on the menu, she brought it all back to the DEO in less than a minute and scanned every last burger, growing closer and closer to puking until she hit the very last one on the line. It was the very first burger ever, the original flavor. With shaking hands, Alex scanned it. Then she fainted.
By the time she came back around, J'onn, James, Winn, Brainy, Nia and Lena and all the other DEO agents in that location had figured out the truth. They were just as shaken as Alex had been, barely even able to think because of how deeply shaken they had been.
"I can't believe it. I can't believe it. After all of this time... I can't believe it," J'onn had since fallen to his knees in disgust and despair. Winn was puking in a nearby bathroom, crying out Lyra's name as his stomach emptied itself. James was on a total mental and emotional lockdown. Lena looked absolutely enraged. Nia was panicking and even the normally calm and rational Brainy seemed at a loss for words or understanding. All of the Superfriends had been shattered by Alex's accidental discovery, and none of them could process anything for the rest of the day.
But after enough time, their nightmarish discovery finally began to sink in. It was still hard to stomach, but they could not deny it. For the past decade, that fast food empire had been serving the remains of aliens. For the past decade, the Superfriends had been devouring their friends and allies without even realizing it. The entire company was built upon sick, twisted lies. And the entire universe had unwittingly fallen for it. It was enough to leave a very, very sour taste in everyone's mouth. But as nightmarish as the truth was, it simply had to be spilled, and J'onn wasted no time in spreading the word across the country. He called up every governmental and DEO agency in the USA before spreading telecommunications to other countries, and then other planets and beyond. Lena and Cat, once again, helped with the press side of things, quickly whipping up story after story to tell the world (and everything outside of it) what was really in the Universe Food burgers.
It didn't take long for the scandal to reach the rest of the public's ears. Thanks to Lena and Cat's combined influence, power and media smarts and skills, the entire country of America managed to learn the truth all in one night. Once word reached the president's ear, then the story really went viral. And even after the known universe, with every planet and galaxy inside, getting to hear the truth, the DEO managed to tell other dimensions as well. It reached all the different iterations of Earth and every dimension that the DEO was able to reach. Soon, there wasn't a soul alive who didn't know the truth behind Universe Food and its mysterious burger meat. Soon, every universe could only say one thing:
"I ATE WHAT?!?!" from Gotham to Metropolis to National City to Star City Central City, to beyond and back again, every little last person in every little last corner of every little last universe was exposed to the vial truth about Universe Food.
"I ATE WHAT?!?!"
But even though the truth was out, that didn't mean the battle was over. Not even close. Instead, it was only just beginning.
"Ok, so we know where our missing aliens went," Alex muttered darkly as she called all of the DEO in for a giant meeting. "What we need to do now is figure out who's behind this. Once we have that information, we can take them down!" a wild and almost hateful cheer rippled through the DEO in response to Alex's fiery words. After the initial disgust, hurt and betrayal had past, the only thing anyone felt for Universe Food anymore was the utmost rage, hatred and desire for revenge. Gone was all the good will. Gone was the pride and joy. Gone was the amusement at the burger joint's quirky tagline and "pro-alien" views. Now all that remained was a desire to kill and destroy, to tear the empire down brick by brick.
But despite everyone's vim and verve, there was still the burning question of who was to blame for all of this. Because the scale of the crime was so extreme and elaborate, it quickly became clear that this was not the fault of some random or ordinary hate group. This was something far bigger, stronger, richer and more refined. But it still had to be someone with all of the resources and cruelty needed in order to pull such a giant stunt off. And successfully, no less! This meant that the DEO was still scratching its head, even with the list of possible culprits cut down.
Then someone finally managed to put the pieces together. Sadly, she wasn't able to spread the word before she was kidnapped.
"It was Lex!" Lena gasped in horror and disgust as she put together the final piece of his puzzle. Then her dismay changed into pure fury.
"I should've known!" she snarled. "I should've known he'd try something like this! Who else could be so intelligent, cunning, resourceful and cruel?! Who else has the time, money, power, heartlessness and bitterness to create an empire like this?!"
Lena had suspected her brother from the moment it was revealed that Universe Food was selling alien meat to customers. She already knew that such a sick and twisted scheme would be right up his ally. But since she had no proof beyond a bitter gut feeling, she kept her mouth shut. She led a private investigation into the food company. While it dealt with the fallout that came after Alex and the rest of the DEO made the big reveal to the rest of the universe, Lena was able to sneak in and learn all of the company's dark secrets. Though these undercover operations, she was able to find quite a few pieces of LexCorp technology. Not L-Corp technology, LexCorp. That was the nail in the coffin for Lena. Seeing obvious signs like that made it clear. And then she began to realize how Lex was able to pull such a stunt off. She figured out his cloning machine and his secret warehouse and the fact that he had a small group of insiders to help him do the dirty work while he remained behind bars.
"You sick, twisted, clever monster," Lena snarled as she uncovered more of Lex's dirty dealings. It enraged and agonized her beyond words to realize that this was the fate that had befallen Kara. For 10 long years, the girl had been copied over and over again, each of her poor, innocent copies being slaughtered mere minutes after they were "born". And the original Kara herself, meanwhile, had long since been consumed, eaten up about a decade prior. It was enough to make Lena want to-
That was when Lena had been kidnapped. Even though Universe Food had a lot to answer for, the mastermind behind it all never rested, and he was always vigilant. As soon as the secret got out, he wasted no time in enacting some security measures. He knew his legacy was over. He knew his empire was finished. But he didn't care. If he was going to go down, he was going to go down in style. So instead of focusing on trying to cover up the truth, Lex abandoned all of his Universe Food locations and let the public do with the company what it wished. He, meanwhile, turned his focus back on all of Supergirl's family and friends back in National City...
"Sir! They've found out about us! They're onto us!" Lenny panicked into the phone as he dialed up Lex's number.