章 34: Chapter 34 Clark is up?
Metropolis Outskirts
Cadmus.
"...... a job well done, I suppose". Looking at the entire area practically covered in a sea of black flames, Amari thought inwardly as he flew above it all.
Cadmus was now officially history. Well..... At least this division of it. There were other Cadmus research sites across the United States.
This was just one of them. However, he didn't have any intentions to pursue the rest. The loss of this facility alone had caused Luthor to lose millions in hardware and billions in software.
As for the rest, he was too lazy to actually put his hands into action. Destroying one was enough. Plus, if he decided to destroy a few more, it might disrupt Lex from carrying out his plans.
"We certainly can't have that".
His gaze shifted from the burning ruins towards the direction of Washington, DC.
As his work was done, Amari withdrew his gaze and conveniently disappeared into space.
The space concealment he had thrown around the area to isolate space and prevent any news from getting out timely disappeared as soon as he did. Judging by this time tomorrow, the whole of America would be bustling with this news.
.......
Washington DC.
In a high-rise penthouse,
Looking at the screen in front him, Lane couldn't help getting annoyed deep within his heart. Nevertheless, etiquette needed to be maintained, and his facial expressions didn't change a bit.
"This matter is deemed inappropriate, Mr. President".
The picture in front of him showed the face of the Newly elected American president.
Dressed in a stylish black suit, blue tie and white long - sleeve shirt within, the bald head on his body made his identity unmistakable.
Lex looked at Lane's unchanging expression from his end, and his eyebrows furrowed a little.
"Why do you say so, General?"
"The AI is too dangerous. It has already been decided that the Red Queen will be under the care and control of the United States military to decipher for our use".
Sam said flatly. His standard Army coat was gone from his shoulders and his dressing, although formal, looked a lot more casual than it usually was.
"I'm just saying, if the Military is having trouble deciphering such advanced technology, Cadmus operations is more than happy to take this burden off your hands. We have ample resources after all". Lex said with a slight smile on his lips, trying to make himself look as amiable as possible.
Sam frowned.
"As do we, Mr. President. To be frank with you, although the progress is slow, progress is progress. This is highly advanced technology we are dealing with, after all. And due to its source, the AI is something that cannot be rushed, if not, the disadvantages would outweigh the benefits".
Lex's small smile dropped from his face. Sam's words contained all the information he wanted to portray. A direct refusal.
Due to the invasion incident of Central city, Lex, who had suffered a loss and almost lost his life, used the tragedy of Central City's destruction to fuel his campaign.
Promoting his ideals on the need for increased National Security and the helpful additions from GBS pundit Gordon Godfrey on the Justice League's and aliens as a whole, he was able to smoothly bag the presidential post less than a month later.
This could be considered a great leap forward in his ambitions and the ambitions of The Light.
Naturally, after becoming president, his influence had risen tremendously. The same applied to his access to confidential government secrets.
Finding out the inner workings matters of the World Council's deal with the mysterious alien, The Deviant, was only a matter of asking.
And therefore, the pieces on Lex's chessboard suddenly multiplied exponentially.
What caught his attention the most at the current time was the confirmed news of the United States Defense Department being in possession of a highly advanced artificial intelligence procured from the mysterious alien himself.
Amari!
With his status, Lex had pulled some strings to discover just what made the AI so precious. As a result, what he found out caused his scientific heart to burn with passion.
At the same time, his scheming intellect went to work at several times the usual pace.
An artificial intelligence capable of controlling the world. If gained possession of, Lex couldn't imagine what heights he could reach.
With such a valuable tool, the ambitions of The Light could be realized sooner than they could imagine.
Lex couldn't even begin to think about. This was an intelligent weapon capable of bringing the entire world under the control of one group.... or one man.
A cunning, ruthless light flashed within his eyes, disappearing just as fast as it appeared.
So without hesitation, Lex immediately launched an offensive to obtain his target. But now there was a significant stumbling block in his way.
Lane.
Sam's words were a disguised refusal. And after communicating with the general, he could see his stance on the matter. Lane wouldn't let this happen.
There were no ifs or but's on this. Sam Lane was a straightforward and stubborn man. Looking at that firm look in his eyes, lex was sure that the general wasn't going to hand over the Red Queen even if Superman came crashing down.
And what further worsened this headache, was the knowledge that there was nothing he could do to officially obtain it from the other party.
Lex had just become president. Sure, he had connections, but connections could only get you so far.
Although Lane said that the Red Queen would be handled by the military, the amount of influence the Military had over the AI was almost nil.
Because the AI wasn't obtained from some military laboratory or government tech lab or even an alien wreckage that dropped into Earth's atmosphere, but from Amari. The latter didn't hand it to the military..... No, he handed it to General Sam Lane.
And although he was only the secretary of the Defense Department, whenever it came to things concerning aliens, or The Deviant in General, Lane answered to no one but the council.
Not the military, not any government country, not even the president of the United States.
And even with his cunning and influence, Luthor hadn't gotten to the level of putting the council under his payroll.
To put it in harsher terms, the council didn't give a rat's ass about Lexcorp.
The only relationship they had with him was Cadmus, and the World Council had already decided that Lex Luthor wouldn't gain possession of the AI.
Not even their investment in the biological weapons would change that.
So now Lex had officially swallowed a hard bone that just wouldn't go down. If Lane refused to give permission, Lex was helpless.
Sam looked at the slightly frowning face of lex luthor and his heart didn't stir up any waves.
In fact, his words earlier were a coated lie. According to their current level of research, his slow progress actually meant no progress.
In their attempts to crack the Red Queen this past month, his research team hadn't progressed an inch. Nevertheless, Lex was right about one thing. Lane would never hand the AI to Luthor unless the world was about to perish.
Lex, who was looking at the expressionless lane through video call, had a slight headache.
At that moment, the door to the Oval Office received a light knock.
Hearing this, Lex frowned even more, a little annoyed.
"Come In". He uttered and turned back to the screen.
"In that case, General, I wish you good luck. Do update me on your progress when you have acquired substantial results". Without another word, Lex ended the video call.
His face turned dark as he continued to look at the blank computer.
"Didn't go well, huh?" Mercy's voice sounded as she walked into the room. The new arrival was none other than his assistant and driver.
"No it did not". Lex replied, an eyebrow raised in contemplation.
"Bad mood?" She tilted her head and asked. Her right arm held an electronic tablet.
"Slightly, yes".
"Well heads-up. It's about to get worse". Mercy said emotionlessly as he pulled the tablet from her other arm and showed lex the contents.
Lex looked at the tablet with puzzlement. After the Central City incident, things had been flowing rather well. What could possibly cause his mood to turn worse.
A few seconds later, Lex's face was as dark as the bottom of a used pot.
The tablet showed a received Cadmus alert followed by satellite imaging. Right outside Metropolis, where Cadmus once stood was replaced with nothing but raging flames.
The air in the office was eerie and gloomy, and mercy swore she could feel murderous intentions brewing up in her boss.
"..... When did this happen?" Lex asked after a long time.
"The alert was received a few minutes ago". The reply came to his ears.
"Who did it?"
"We don't know".
"Huh?"
"We don't know".
"..."
The office was silent. Seeing that the atmosphere was getting worse, Mercy continued.
"From 9:16pm to 9:20pm, satellite surveillance suddenly malfunctioned. Nothing within a ten-kilometer range of Cadmus Labs could be monitored during that time. My guess, you were targeted".
"Yes my dear Mercy, I believe that point is overly obvious by now". His words were mixed with sarcasm and coldness.
At this point, even if someone told him this was all a coincidence, Lex wouldn't believe it. But whether it was a coincidence or not wasn't relevant at the moment.
Cadmus was destroyed.
Although only the one in Metropolis, it was destroyed nonetheless. Not to mention that the Metropolis Cadmus facility wasn't a branch.
It could be considered as the main Cadmus facility with lots of important research projects and materials. And now, it was gone..... All gone.
Lex's face was incomparably ugly.
Cadmus's board of directors certainly wouldn't be pleased when they heard about this. Neither would the World Council, who had put in substantial investments into the development of biological weapons.
First, they lost project Kr, and now Metropolis Cadmus has been destroyed. If Lex had a miniscule chance of obtaining the AI from The Council with some well places bargaining chips before, well now that chance was gone.
Not only was it gone, the losses suffered this time were tremendous, setting them back several years in research.
There was practically no chance now to obtain the AI.
The urge to smash his office suddenly welled up within him. However, he was Lex Luthor, a successful megalomaniac. This urge was quickly suppressed.
However, the constant heaving of his chest was enough to show that this time, Lex was furious at the setbacks his plans had suffered.
The office maintained an eerie silence as lex eventually calmed down. His face now portraying indifference and his mind going into constant calculations.
Eventually, a plan came into mind.
"....... Whatcha gonna do now?" Seeing the light in her boss's eyes, Mercy couldn't help but ask.
"Use all resources. Find out whoever did this at all costs. I want to know everything there is to know about them as soon as possible....." Lex tapped the table with his fingers.
"... As for the AI.... Since the good General won't hand it to me willingly, then I'll just have to resort to more…. extreme measures. Either way, I will get what I want". Lex said coldly.
Lex's interest in the Red Queen was rather immense. Due to the capabilities of the AI itself on one hand, and its mysterious creator on the other.
But Lex wasn't ready to confront Amari just yet.
Now certainly wasn't the time.
........
Meanwhile, the news of Cadmus's destruction spread rapidly like wildfire.
Just as Lex Luthor received the news, many forces also obtained information on the Cadmus accident.
The United States Government, General Lane and his Department of Defense, the various newspapers all over the country, the hidden World Council, other miscellaneous forces and the most notable, The Justice League.
The Watchtower.
[Recognized: Flash 04]
A rapid flash of yellow lightning streaked within the watchtower and instantly appeared in the mission room.
"Alright guys. I'm here to help out....." Barry, who just arrived, stopped his sentence Midway. Within the mission room, his eyes captured Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Batman, Green arrow and Captain Atom.
Martian Manhunter was also in the room.
"Oh, when did j'onn get back?"
"I just arrived". Martian Manhunter said candidly as the majority of those present all stared at the Watchtower computer.
"Did I miss anything?" Barry asked with a hint of puzzlement.
"You did. A lot of things, actually. For one, Cadmus was just destroyed". Batman replied to his question blandly.
His arms were covered within his cape, giving him a broody vibe.
"Cadmus..... How? Who?" Flash asked, clearly bewildered at the sudden information. Weren't they here to help with the teleportation platform? How did it suddenly become Cadmus's destruction?
"The who's what we want to find out". Bruce replied.
Wonder Woman continued.
"As for the how..... take a look". Flash turned his attention to the watchtower computer. The scene of the black flames engulfing the area was rather vivid.
"Why are the.....?"
"Flames black? We don't know". Batman interrupted. Looking at the monitor, his features under the cowl portrayed no expression.
"Then are we.....? Barry asked.
"No, we aren't". Bruce once again finished his thoughts with an answer to his question.
But this time, Barry was dumbfounded. They weren't going to go down to solve the Cadmus issue?
"We aren't going to solve this? But that thing could burn down the surrounding forests if left unchecked. It could even spread to Metropolis".
Seeing Barry's confused look, Captain Atom looked at the screen and solved his doubts.
"It won't".
"While the scale of the flames are large, for some reason, the fire isn't spreading and is even actively receding from what I can see".
Batman nodded at the words.
"Correct. This fire isn't ordinary just based on it's color. I've contacted Zatara and Red Tornado. They're on their way to take care of it and will fill us up on all the details once they are there".
The screen showing the Cadmus fire was minimized before something else showed up.
"For now, we have bigger fish to fry". The screen showed the Meteor incident in Gotham city.
"A Meteor descended on Gotham's outskirts. Right into the Deviant's turf, and he didn't do anything to stop it". Batman began his briefing.
"Cyborg and I suspect that there's something special about this meteor. Something different from the other crashes around the world".
"Whatever it is, we have to investigate it".
The expressions of everyone in the room were weird before showing mixed expressions.
"I don't know Batman. That's it? There isn't really much to go on here".
Flash said with a wry smile. Many Leaguers had known about Batman's monitoring of Amari's territory.
"I agree with Flash. We can't really make a move just based on the fact that a meteor crashed into his turf". J'onn added.
"I would agree with you. If satellite imaging didn't show this". Next, Bruce showed them the momentary swirl in the Meteors path and the abnormal change of trajectory.
The expressions of everyone condensed slightly.
"The reaction is small, and the swirl is almost unnoticed. It could be an atmospheric phenomenon, it could be intentional, it could be something else".
"I know Amari's case is rather sensitive, leaving us unable to act in full regard, so I used the watchtower Hyperscope to examine the Meteor surveillance. Turns out..."
The paused image of the flaming meteor turned blue, followed by the screen altering to show several outlines. Soon, an outline appeared in front of them.
It wasn't a full picture, and it was rather blurry, but it was enough to make their expressions shift.
"... It's not a meteor. It's a spaceship". Bruce finished solemnly.
"You've got to be kidding me". Flash exclaimed.
"Frankly I wish I were, but that's not the case". Bruce replied. "The Meteors that fell around the world were mostly space debris, alongside destroyed parts of the Alien Mothership.
We destroyed the ones we could get our hands on. As for those the world Governments got to first, we can only stand with our arms crossed. Nevertheless, all those were just pieces. This…." He pointed at the image.
"Is definitely not from the Central City incident. My guess, it's something else. And our extraterrestrial resident has a keen interest in it. I don't know about you, but I smell trouble".
Bruce didn't say anything more, but just stood there and watched them. This matter wasn't an easy thing to solve.
"Do we have any idea what's inside?"
Diana asked.
"No". Bruce shook his head.
"Nevertheless, I believe this is enough for us to take action. Amari is already dangerous, the addition of whatever this thing is could threaten the world".
"Agreed". Bruce nodded.
"I don't know guys. With Amari's character, I don't think he's gonna just hand it over. We're probably in for a big confrontation".
"It doesn't matter. We'll be ready for him. Cyborg has the space blockade tech ready. Tornado and Giovanni will join us when they deal with the Cadmus incident. If Amari refuses to cooperate, that just means he has something to hide".
Bruce said coldly. They soon all came to a unanimous decision. A few minutes later, the Monitor room was empty save for a certain Oliver Queen, who was left behind on watch duty.
"Tsk tsk. Why am I always stuck on duty when the good stuff goes down". Green arrow let out a disappointed sigh as he turned his attention to the Watchtower computer.
However, his attention was quickly captured by an alert going off. Reading the message, Oliver was stunned before hurriedly running towards the Med bay where Superman rested.
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