Batman was not surprised about Kara asking for combat training to complement her strength building. In fact, he welcomed it. Though Kara would have preferred that he not make such a big deal out of it. 

“I’m glad that you have come to realise that to do the things that you want to do, you need to be able to face down your opponents even when the chips are down. That means preparing for the worst case scenario, such as when you are fully depowered. You will want to prove to your opponents that your powers only make up a part of you, and that you’re more than that itself. Able to take it and dish back will make them stand up and take notice that you’re more than just a pretty blonde deep down...” 

Kara merely looked bored as Bruce seemed to delight in his own lecture, seemingly droning on forever. “Look, Bruce, I get it. I need to learn how to attack and defend irrespective of having powers or not. So are we going to do this or what?”

He did. And then some. The initial days were such that Kara almost regretted making that request, for then not only did she had to endure grit and try to breakthrough her own limits with the weights and flexes, now she also get have to have her ass handed to her repeatedly by one of the fiercest fighter among heroes, powered AND non-powered.  

But Kara Zor-El is not one to give up that easily. Not when she now has a clear sight in view, and the progress can be obviously seen. She knows her her body is now comparable to any other lightweight crossfit athletes who had trained and honed their bodies for years, the bulges and ridges all over testamount of her positive progress. Given there’s also nothing else on the horizon immediately, Kara had no choice but to plough straight ahead into the coming days.

“Her progress is astounding. After she started all the martial arts training, it’s like she’s practically thrown her entire body and soul into the entire upgraded regime.” Bruce commented as he gently played with the not-so-small protruding nub from the firm mound that is her left breast. Lightly moving under, around and over the large boob before gently bouncing his fingers on the tip of her left. Not that it would do her any harm though her sensitive skin meant that she could feel each and every bit of caress on her. It thrilled the Drakulon to no end as she laid on the bed to his right, enjoying the small ministrations her lover provided on her super-sensitive body, her arousal easily observed with the two tents on her voluptuous chest.

It had been another three weeks since the incident with the Mad Hatter, and the Dark Knight had come by Vampirella’s lair to have a catch-up during one slow night.

In bed, that is.

When she heard the familiar sound of the Batmobile approaching miles away, Vampirella did a quick change in anticipation of what is to come. So when Bruce later suggested a little tryst in the sack after he arrived, Vampirella had smiled and stood up, before proceeding to do a slow strip-tease of her top; slowly unbuttoning from top to bottom of her white blouse, flexing gently to allow her kryptonian-sized biceps stretch her sleeves to the breaking point as she did so. Her smile broadened when her sensitive ears detected the tell-tale signs of faster heartbeat and his involuntary sharper intake of breath, when she slowly opened the front of the blouse to reveal the blue top with the familiar red and yellow <S> insignia on it.

The <S> insignia that is now being stretched so dramatically and erotically over her much larger, more matured chest, thanks to her Kryptonian-infused DNA within her own Drakulon genetics. Doing a quick, flying turn just now at a beach near Rio helped definitely.

That one unique costume that she knew other than her own red slingsuit bikini and his other lover’s black catsuit that could bring a rise, fast AND hard, out of the Dark Knight in no time.

Leaving the front of the blouse exposed and not opening it further, she moved across the room in determined steps and swept the taller Batman off his feet. Cradling him like he were a baby, she carried him slowly upwards towards her bedroom, creating the excitement and tension of anticipation for what was to come for the next few hours.

To Batman’s credit, he merely went with the flow, unfazed.

Laying him gently on the bed, she stood with her hands on her hips while waiting for the Dark Knight to take off his bottom tights though still leaving his top and cowl on. The moment the dark-coloured pants and his cape hit the floor the superpowered vampire herself supersped out from her skin-tight pants and that blouse, wearing only the exotic top and revealing her black bush to the night air. Batman could see the slight glisten on the mass of her southern dark hair; looks like it wasn’t just him who is feeling extremely frisky tonight.

Wasting no time, the vampire pushed the Dark Knight upwards until his entire body lay on the bed, and she scooted and knelt on his thighs, allowing his hardening penis to gently rub and feel that little insistent clit that has also emerged from its hidden folds. In minutes they were both more than ready, and Vampirella just raised herself upwards and forwards and plunged unceremoniously onto Bruce’s ten-inch monster, swallowing it easily and bringing a pleasureable moan from both lovers.

Before her encounter with Kara, Vampirella had known that her Drakulon DNA and ova will reject any sperms that it considers incompatible and inadequate automatically, similar to how her body is able to withstand most of humankind’s drugs and toxins. After taking in Kryptonian DNA, it would require much much more for one to impregnate her, her ova now steel hard and almost indestructible deep within her.

Which made her the perfect sexual partner – all the pleasure with minimal undesirable risks.

Pumping slowly but slowly increasing in speed, Vampirella could literally feel the dry-patch in both their sexual lives as the quickly abundant flow of bodily fluids made their movements slick and easy. She could see and feel Batman trying to hold out as best he could, but his sexual denial for the many weeks prior made it difficult even for the most focused person. Within fifteen minutes he had bust his first load into Vampirella, who had welcomed the penetration and (for her) gentle squirts into her tight folds with little effect.

Smiling sensually, she waited for Bruce to catch his breath first before resuming her pumping. This time she took her time, trying to gauge and test his stamina against hers. Like a goddess trying to pleasure, as well trying to extract the most pleasure from their coupling, she had allowed Bruce’s hands to roam all about her exquisite body. From her buns, to her powerful thighs, then back up onto her torso and large, firm rack.

The second time took longer, but was well worth it when they both crested their peak at almost the same time, Vampirella managing to coax a minor climax from herself as the Batman came powerfully again within her hotbox. It was then they disentangle themselves and laid next to each other that proper conversation restarted.

Or rather, as proper as one would expect, given that Bruce is using the time to gently explore and feel-up Vampirella’s own beautiful body. The skintight blue-top had not been an inpediment at all, for it covered everything and yet hid nothing.

“Remember how I mentioned that her body only took days to gain the amount of lean muscle that regular humans would gain in a month? It looks like her growth spurt had increased further. Right now I would say she is gaining about 0.8 to 1 kilo of lean muscle mass with every sleep cycle, and she’s consuming an insane amount of food to fuel her growth, literally tens of thousands of calories per day. I have seen how she ate before this entire thing, but now it’s on a whole new level.”

“Well, you did say we will have front-row seats to observing Kara ascending the mountain. Besides, I have heard Alfred complain that you rarely eat much consistently. Maybe this is one way to make sure none of the food that he makes go to waste. But even so, you sounded surprised by the pace.” Vampirella moaned slightly as Bruce teasingly pinched her left nipple, making her arousal climb steadily.  

“Since we discovered her rapid healing ability, it was as if she is now intentionally trying to goad and push herself past her limit everytime she could. Somehow she had discovered that fine line where she was able to push herself to the brink of damaging her muscle fibres that is further than normal hypertrophy, then allow her body’s inate ability to have deep sleep cycles to heal and repair them overnight. And the more she grows, the more her confidence increases.”

As Bruce moved his hands and ran them across her arms, Vampirella gently flexed them to allow a few bunches appear more prominently from her deceptively slim arm. He continued as he moved his fingers gently downward and upward in rhythm. “As far as I can surmise, the growth is not just limited to her physique. Kara is also picking up the various combat forms and martial arts at a rapid pace. While not quite at a master level, she had learnt most of the important techniques and even incorporated some of her own. There are few who could have done what she is doing; even I took years to master some of those that she is now doing with ease. It’s like her entire body and mind is like a literally sponge, her entire physique primed to adapt to everything that is thrown at her.”

“Just like how her cells absorb and use energy from the sunlight?”

Batman paused for a moment, before continuing his gentle movement over Vampirella’s toned abs. “That would be an apt comparison, yes similar to that.”

“Will she become as larger than me? Larger than Diana even, or Big Barda?” This was followed by a loud moan as Bruce responded to that question by teasingly cupping and squeezing her large left boob with more strength. Despite his best efforts Bruce could barely dent the large invulnerable globe, though his efforts seemed to have given his lover an intended, pleasureable feeling.

“She might be growing, but she is after all still a girl. But YOU...” Squeezing the large globe that his own large hand could barely surround, “...are a WOMAN. I think there are some parts which I think would be attributed to nature, rather than exercise.”

Vampirella laughed at that comment, and moaned in line with his continued gentle assault on her busom assets. “You’re a real charmer, aren’t you, Bruce. Damn right I’m a real WOMAN. And now it’s time again for you to prove to me that you’re MAN enough to take me across the river. Show me the power of the Bat tonight!” With that cheeky demand, Bruce moved over and straddled his lover over her abs. Locking sights with each other, his manhood already back to full mast, he positioned himself until they are nestled within the two large mounds. Vampirella took the que and gently push her 36Ds inwards against each other, trapping the thick cock with just enough force to bring a pleasureable grunt out from the Bat, who then started moving in and out of that incredibly soft and tight embrace.

__________________________

It wasn’t just Kara who is hard at work during the past five weeks however.

A lone blue and red figure flew across the country this beautiful hot summer afternoon. Superman kept his speed down purposedly as he flew southwards, enjoying a bit of me-time that he had not gotten for a long while. Jeffries Air Force Base had asked for him to drop by for a visit, and while the note that came through was not written in all THAT urgent manner, the tone that was conveyed however emphasised the desireability for him drop by as soon as he could. Apparently there had been a discovery in one of the digs near New Mexico, and they have asked for his consultation on some interesting findings suspected of ‘alien origins’.

Being the award journalist that he is in his Clark Kent alter ego, meant that he too has been bogged down by all that has been happening across the country. With the current administration apparent naivety in dealing with issues internally and externally, there always seems to be news being made at every hour of the day, ranging from the relatively mild simple gaffes of hot mics, to some personal exposes including alleged scandals and incompetence, to announcements of changes to policies impacting trade, security, foreign relations and more that has far-ranging ramifications to both the country and with the rest of the world.

All of which could drive any journalist worth his or her salt insane. Or with glee, depending on which side of the fence the person sits on. One of them who seemed to thrive in all these runabout happens to be his wife, who merely took the entire merry-go-round in her stride. And then some.

_______________________

“Come on Smallville. This is like Christmas for us! Tons of op-eds, lots of column inches to cover, plus all these messaging correction that is part of our job! Now no one is going to say that journalists are merely rubber-stamps and just regurgitating talking points.”

Of course, taking the stand of being a PROPER news agency and media company also meant that the organisation started taking even more hits from various sides within the circle and out, not to mentioned being leaned into HARD by people in the cabinet who do NOT want to see certain news being published. While the Planet definitely is a dedicated team towards an idealistic cause, that doesn’t always mean that it is aligned to what shareholders want. Clark didn’t even need his superhearing to hear the shouting that goes on in the boardroom when some of the board members went against Perry who was adamant about the tone and context of anything that gets put out stands up to scrutiny.

With all the debacle that is going on, it also meant many other newsworthy items including the curious case of the dead employee from LexCorp has pretty much been buried through the sheer avalanche of nonstop news coming through.

Not to mention all his feats as Superman for the past few weeks, Clark noted ruefully. Among those include helping to rescue survivors who were caught in a storm while trying to escape their war-torn land in the middle east; helping to disarm a group of domestic terrorist who just so happened to be in the way on the West Coast while Clark was trying to evacuate residents from the escalating bush fires; and the latest was to shore-up the cracked wall of the Hoover Dam which was impacted by a mid-level earthquake. That has been relegated to Page 11 with barely 3 inches of news column write-up.

Guess saving three major cities downstream from serious flooding just isn’t as newsworthy as before.

That he decided to take sometime off just to have a breather out of Metropolis wasn’t a surprise;  it was the fact that Lois was willing to go with him to Smallville is.

“Hey, I need some R&R too! Besides, I do miss little Clark you know...” Lois commented with a sly smile as he felt her left leg rubbing sensually over his thighs underneath their shared desk, all the while trying to act nonchalantly while sitting across from each other, even when she was using her feet to touch and feel up his growing monster between his loins. It was all he could do to contain his excitement, or else it would mean another day of disaster in the janitor’s room. Superstrength and the real bulk of a Kryptonian man meant that nothing is sturdy enough when he really has a go at it. 

But before that, he needs to get this item out of the way with a quick in-out, and he informed Lois of his plan to return by day-end so that they can go back to Smallville via the Superman express.

His arrival was greeted by Senior Master Sergeant Chester Marshall and Professor Andy Irving when he landed in one of the hangers at the base. Marshall looked about 50 with a well-built 6 feet frame; whereas the good professor looked every bit his 60-year-old age, slightly hunched with the salt-and-pepper mop on his head paired with the beard that looked to be growing slightly out of control. “Glad that you could make it in such short notice Superman.” With that, Marshall motioned to Superman to follow him, and the three men walked into the base seemingly towards the inner sanctums of the sprawling complex.

“No problem. I was informed that you wanted some consultation on a few finds that were excavated from a recent dig. How are the wife and kids Sir?” Despite being an airforce base, it didn’t seemed like any other similar bases that he had visited before. From the looks of it, many people here seemed to be researchers, scientists or technicians, what with their lab coats and all about the place. While there are all the security protocols, there doesn’t seem to have many planes or aircrafts around. More like a sprawling research lab instead across the vast desert land.

“Oh please, you know that by now you can call me Chester, Superman! If it weren’t for you that day when you got me out from the out of control F-15 I would have been goners by then. Maggie is doing well, though the twins are now causing lots of trouble in high school.” He shared a grin with the Man of Steel. “Ever since they discovered girls, well, it’s like nothing could stop them for causing mischief in school, not even sports for that matter. Maybe you can give them a peptalk some day to bring them to their senses.”

“I’m not sure if they are going to listen to me anymore then they are going to listen to you. After all, you’re the big disciplinarian in the household.” Superman grinned.

“Now THAT might very well be the problem. Sometimes good advice coming from a third person, especially a world-renowned superhero such as you might have a bigger impact than their dad.”

“Let me know when then. So what’s this ‘dig’ about?”

“Well, it’s not quite a ‘dig’, actually. It’s just that we needed something more plausible-sounding reasons in order to invite you here.” Superman’s eyebrows rose as he walked along the various corridors. Prof Irving quickly added. “Oh, there’s nothing to worry about, Superman. Instead, I think you would be quite excited to see it.”

Coming to the end of another corridor, Sergeant Marshall opened a reinforced door and went through it first. As the Last Son of Krypton followed suit, he immediately saw the large, rectanguler item placed in the center of the medium-sized room. A carve-out of the ground, about 10 by 10 by 6 feet deep, the entire block is encased, though the top is with see-through glass that allowed everyone to see the midsection carve-out that seemed to indicate the burial of a rocket-like item within it. Seemingly drawn to the item, he walked closer to observe the cutout.

“Remarkable! Where did you guys find this? This must be a remarkable find. Any idea where or what this came from??”

Marshall chuckled. “That it is remarkable no doubt. Not often that one would have such a technologically advanced artifact buried within the ground. But I digress. Prof Irving, would you please do the honours?”

Prof Irving quickly moved to the front and opened another hatch into another room on the right. There, lying on a long table, was said rocket. Shaped like a prolate spheroid, it looked very much like a huge rugby ball of about three feet tall, though with the four equally spaced thin fins around one end and then tapered to become one long fin suggests that this item is definitely alien in origin. The entire surface is smooth and metal like, and despite the white light that is shining from the lights affixed on the ceiling it seemed to give off a cool, blue glow on its own.

It reminded Clark very much of his own rocket, the one that brought him to Earth.

“We were actually excavating an area to build a new weapons test site when we came across this. While I don’t know where and what exactly is it, if you look at some parts of this rocket...” the professor pointed to towards parts of the center of the rocket “...you can actually see some etchings or symbols, with the right lighting angle. Given your extensive experience working with so many others, and of course we all know of your own origins, I thought perhaps you would like to see it upfront, perhaps give us a clue about it. Of course, I’ve also copied a few of them on paper for reference.”

Superman moved closer and moved his fingers gently across the metal. He could see some of the signs that the professor mentioned,  Cool to the touch, he thought the ship seemed to come alive slightly when he ran his fingers across. True to the professor’s words, the places that he touched seemed to come alive slightly, the blue light seemingly shifted across the metal to focus on the areas that his fingers touched. The longer he placed his fingers on it. As a test, when Clark placed his right hand on the surface the entire touched surface also lit up, and this time the symbols seemed to scroll and run through the surface from right to left, the words lighting up with the concentration and then disappearing as it passed through.   

Professor Irving spoke first. “Wow, that’s new.” Superman looked towards the researcher with a curious look. “You mean this is the first time you’ve seen this?” Both men nodded.

“When we touched it, it just remained as is. We’ve never seen anything like that. Do you know what it is Superman?”

Superman shook his head. “Even though the structure and all looked similar to Kryptonian technology, I can’t be sure as well. However some of the wordings that you’ve recorded here...” pointing to the traces on the paper “as well as those that were running across seemed to be Kryptonese...” Professor Irving nodded at the same time. “Yes yes. I remember that you shared some of the culture and the characters of the Kryptonian race previously at Star Labs a couple of years ago, and when I saw that they looked similar I immediately thought you might recognise them.”

Marshall frowned. “But you’re not sure though.” The Man of Steel nodded. “They look old, and even though I know the language, I admit that many of them look foreign. In any case, this is a significant find. What do you guys plan to do with it?”

Professor Irving smiled. “To be frank, we don’t know what to do with it as well. It seems to be, well, harmless. Despite my fascination and interest with the potential knowledge that it could provide, given that we don’t have the technology nor the capability to do look at it, I’ve suggested that we give it to you instead.” Smiling at Superman’s surprised look, Marshall added. “Hey, don’t look so surprised. Rather than give it someone or someplace where it will be sitting there gathering dust, or worse be misused in any way, we might as well pass it to someone who might actually find some use for it. Or at least appreciate it. We trust you enough for that.”

Superman looked skeptical. “Are you sure? I mean, this is a very BIG gesture though...”

Marshall just laughed. “Well, if you’re still not convinced, how about just regard an item that just dropped off a truck just for you? No strings attached I can assure you. To be frank, with everything that’s going on up there in Washington currently I don’t think there’s any funding for anything new anymore. It’s more like a circus up there, with changing priorities and what not as people play politics whether they are in uniform or not. In any case, as the good doc had mentioned, since it’s something that has some Kryptonese on it, and that we just don’t have the ability to understand it anyway, then maybe you should just keep it as a memento. Just a small token of appreciation of everything that you’ve done for all of us.”

 

“No way did they just allowed you to just bring THIS thing away from a military base.” Lois looked on the miniature rocket with interest at the Kent barn, as she observed the gentle blue hue that is illuminating from metal surface. Dressed-down in a simple short sleeved blouse and three-quarter length pants, she was awestruck by the entire design of the rocket.

“Well, they did try to put a tracker on it, more from the military I think than the professor. After I left the base, I did a thorough check for anything fishy out in space before I went anywhere, and i’ve burnt out that miniature tracker that they placed along the different tips of the fins.” Dressed in his regular red and back flannel and slacks, he stood to the side sipping his bottle of beer looking bit at home as a country-farmer, observing his wife who was touching all about the smooth surface seemingly trying to get it to work.

It was early evening, and after a srumptious dinner courtesy of Ma Kent’s wonderful culinary skills, the power couple had gone for a little privacy that is the Kent barn. Sitting on the top level where Clark used to spend many a days here as his own ‘private sanctuary’ while he was growing up, despite it not as well-furnished as the regular bedrooms in the main house, it was still cozy and airy, a perfect location to spend the weekend amidst the summer heat, though Lois still had to get used to spending nights in the same location where the prized cow is also homed.

“Do you even know what this is?”

“I think it might be something akin to a genetic recorder of some sort.” Observing Lois’ confused look, he continued. “I remember learning about it back at the Fortress. Given that Kryptonians used birthing matrices to procreate instead of the usual, ahem, analogue way, there exists the potential of manipulating genes in order to keep ones lineage and heritage intact. To do so means that there must be a way somehow to keep record of the genetic heritage of each person of every house on Krypton. I think this might be it.”

Lois continued tracing her fingers around the smooth, cool metal even as she replied “So what you’re saying that this is Kryptonian tape recorder for genetics?”

“Possibly. I only recognised a few of the characters on it that flashed through when I touched it. I mentioned it to Kara and sent her a photo, who said that she thought she recognised more of them though they might be very old Kryptonese. Said something about Daxamite as well, and others that she might have seen before but just couldn’t remember.”

“If this is true, then what you have here is like a repository of various alien species’ genetic information from all across the galaxy!! Clark, this is truly a remarkable find!! So how do you work this thing? Try turning it on or something.”

Clark just shrugged his shoulders. “That’s the thing. I can’t figure out what makes it work. If you look at the blue hue...” moving across, he started to touch his fingers on the smooth metal, and Lois’ eyes widened as the blue light is seemingly attracted to his fingers, illuminating the precise location that he was touching more brightly “...it’s as if it’s always on. Perhaps I should bring it to the Fortress later and allow the computer to do a diagnostic on it. That might give us some answers.”

“Well, the exploration of the device can wait. Remember the MAIN reason why we’re here in the middle of nowhere in the first place.” Clark smiled at that, as he leaned down and over to give his wife a languid kiss on her mouth. That seemed to start Lois off, who started kissing back harder as her tongue reached over and started to push against Clark’s. Without skipping a beat, Lois moved her left hand lower and cupped her husband’s crotch, feeling him up as they got more and more into the mood. It didn’t take long for her to feel the length and heft protruding up and out from the waistband of his pants, the strength of his manhood’s growth had already caused the front of his slacks to rip slightly apart at the zipper seams, and the area darken slightly from the precum that had formed and gently flowed from his tip.

As she continued her rubbing on her husband, Lois moved her right hand over the fly of her pants. Pullin it down she could feel dampness covering that part of her own pair of undies as well. With deft fingers she too started rubbing her southern mound in rhythm, but before she could take it further here her husband, living up to his name Superman, supersped them out from their attire and proceeded to take to bed. In moments their pleasureable sighs echoed through space, indication of how long they’ve missed each other for the past few weeks as Lois guided his eagerly awaited manhood deep within her to start the evening.  

As the power couple of the Daily Planet took time to pleasure each other in different ways, neither noticed the slight flaring up of the miniature rocket, which suddenly projected out a cone of blue beam enveloping the area on the ground. Sweeping across in a circle, it picked up the dampness of their discarding clothing on the ground, and automatically figures and symbols danced across the smooth metal surface again as it seemingly learnt and absorbed new information into itself. Within minutes, the beam shut off, and the device reverted back to its regular stance.

_____________________________

“No trace of Superman, Ma’am”. The soldier checked all the readings on the monitor, trying all sorts of methods to try and restore the trace. “Nada. As if it just disappeared from the sky.” He was sweating slightly as the person behind him continued to hover.

The woman standing behind him watched impassively at the soldier. Heavy-set and in her traditional dark-grey government agent pants-suit attire, Director Amanda Waller merely observed the goings-on. She heard the soldier though she didn’t reply immediately. Her presence in the room itself was enough to create tension and generate a sort of indirect pressure on anyone who is within her vicinity. Despite standing only 5 feet 6 she might as well been seven feet tall, and for the way she projects her authority and strength she was also nicknamed “The Wall.”

“I guess it would be too much to ask, given that we are up against the supposedly the most powerful superhuman in the world. He might a Boy Scout in tights, but that doesn’t mean that he’s naive. Or dumb.”

While not the CO at Jeffries, her post at the Agency gave her jurisdiction over anything that has alien origins. And given that the base has obtained something of ALIEN origins she was definitely all over it, even venturing all the way from Washington DC to have a look. The tracking of the artifact was one of the soldier’s ideas, and she had allowed him to test it out to see if they could get lucky.

For despite Superman being one of the nation and the planet’s foremost protector, Amanda Waller knows enough through personal experience how people in or with power abuses their position and authority when enough opportunities presented itself. Despite begrudgingly agreeing that the Man of Steel had indeed been the beacon of hope that the world looks up to, there’s no guaranteeing that he or any of his so-called allies might not turn on all of them one day in the future. Given the power and abilities that he has at his disposable, he could singlehandedly lay waste to entire countries within minutes. God help humanity with that.

Hence, Amanda Waller is tasked to make sure that kind of frightening future does not happen. Which meant looking for ways to keep tabs on all the supers, villains AND heroes alike. It also meant that she looks for various clues and assesses the situation more critically then most, and then preparing various contingencies to counteract the potential threat.

The very fact that Superman had caught on to their tracer so early in the game when he left the base meant that he had never really trusted anyone he met. An interesting challenge, but not unexpected nonetheless.

The soldier turned around and asked. “Well, if it’s any indication, the last known location was somewhere around Colorado. If we do a trajectory estimation...” Waller stopped him there. “The man is no fool. He could be ANYWHERE within seconds. Don’t bother.”

“But Ma’am, what about the artifact? Shouldn’t we try to get it back?”

Waller only smirked before replying. “You and what army? I’ve seen him and that little cute cousin of his thrash some of the most powerful weapons and tanks on Earth, with nothing more like crushing a bug with their bare hands. You think we have enough men and firepower in our arsenal to go up against HIM?” Nothing the non-reply, she nodded on to another monitor. “Moving on. So how is the other project coming along?”

 “Yes Ma’am. It’s slow, and as expected it will take some time to crack open the thing. For a rocket pod that is supposedly built to house survivors, this one is sealed so tight that it’s akin to a coffin.” the soldier nodded towards another screen. From the HD screen, it looks like there lay another pod of some kind, total length of about 8 feet long and 3 feet wide. One would also think of it similar to a large coffin, though the entire rectangular item seemed to be made of some sort of metal, given the shine it gives out reflecting the light. “Per your request, we have not shared that information with him when he came.”

“How is Professor Irving doing down there with the team?”

“Based on his initial assessment, he seems to think that there IS something in there.  A body of some sort, though he still couldn’t be sure. As you can see, they’ve been trying for a week to open it, and so far they’ve only breached the outer covering. I suppose given that Superman has supervision, the metal used must be very unique indeed if he cannot even detect such an item in there.”

Sidestepping the indirect question, Waller said “You have your orders, soldier. Keep monitoring and let me know the instance we breakthrough.”

With that she turned around and walked out from the room. As she walked along the corridors towards the helipad she dialed a number. It was picked up by the third ring.

“Hello Amanda. Nice to hear from you after so long.”

“Cut to the chase Luthor. So when can I expect to see those powered artificial limbs that I asked for?”

“Per the agreed timeline, we should have the first sets for delivery to Washington DC in another month’s time.”

“Are you sure that everything...”

“As I have told you Amanda, LunarCorp has all the capability to deliver the output to you. I can assure you that they have the best team there to build it ready for mass production. Of course, based on the design my team and I can then leverage the output for an even better enhancement to suit our little...experiment. A pilot program, if you will.”

“That we will have to see. Just make sure that it is delivered according to specs. I want our troops to have the best, and I intend to give them the best. On the pilot program, nothing until I see your real tangible output, only then I will proceed with finding a suitable test subject.” With the increasing roar of the rotorblades of the helicopter as she got closer Amanda Waller turned off the phone and climbed on board and was soon on her way, contemplating her next step of how else to leverage on LuthorCorp and the rest of the nation’s industrial and technological might for her plans to defend the country, nay the entire planet even.

The end that justify the means for Director Amanda Waller to keep making deals with the devil.

Lex Luthor had just put down the phone when Mercy walked in with another person in tow. The person following behind her is slightly vertically challenged and overweight, the balding patch of hair indicating that he seems older, though in actual fact he is the youngest among the three with the room. Wearing a bright blue suit, Otis Reed had dropped by to give his boss the latest updates on the ongoings. 

“We’re on track?” Lex asked without even bothering to look up from his laptop.

“Of course boss. As you wanted. I’ve done all the necessary setup of the programmes, making sure to invite all those that we have, you know, ‘shortlisted’. Easy Peesy.” For such a simple job, Otis was oddly pleased with himself. But what do you expect from a person who is more of a computer nerd rather than a polished businessman like him? Or even Mercy?

But they needed a frontman for the entire program in case something goes south, and Otis, like it or not, had at least some bones within him that seemed to indicate that at least he is loyal to the cause, if not to the person. So instead of just continuing the do all the digital analytics stuff and looking at their IT network, they gave him a little exposure for his plan.

The watered down version, that is, for Lex knows enough about people to know that they are generally unreliable.

“Great to know that LexCorp is looking for new blood in all our divisions, but why in the Far East? I mean there are many great places within our country to recruit.” Otis looked abou the entire penthouse as he spoke, slightly in awe with the availability of space and furnishings that would have cost five years his current salary.

“Well, I want to make sure that we recruit appropriately given that we are expanding outwards. It is part of globalisation after all. Wouldn’t want to pay more than necessary for top talent, even though we ARE willing to pay for it.” Notwithstanding the unmentioned fact that the recruits are for a different, more sinister purpose.

“OK...but why then bring them to the US? I mean, wouldn’t that be much more expensive then just doing the programs locally instead?”

“It would be, but given that it will be the first time we are conducting this on a global scale, I want to make sure we give them the appropriate guidance. Tell them about the things our company does. Many of them, as you see, might not have the opportunity to venture beyond their home countries before, so it is important for the marketing of our company to go without a hitch. After all.” Stopping midway to look up at Otis, who flinched slightly “we wouldn’t want to give a wrong impression and let the truly gifted ones to slip from our fingertips, wouldn’t you agree, Program Director Reed?”

“Yes, yes. That makes sense. Don’t worry. I’ve combed through our list multiple times, and based on the tests that we’ve provided to them, I’ve worked with the team to devise way to gather data for quick analysis, allowing us to determine each and every person’s strengths and weaknesses in no-time. But I’ve never seen that kind of recruitment method before before though, why is it that it must be conducted in those buildings? Something new from those weird learning organisations for those methods of testing? Cost us a bomb just trying to rent those places for a few weeks and to set them up based on the specs.”

Lex grinned at that question. “Think of it as an even harder test than those administered for MENSA-applicants. In any case, we’re not just looking for scholastic capability, we are looking beyond that simple yardstick. Hence we need to have an all-encompassing way to make sure we really find those that are talented and fit our needs.” That and more, for the entire ‘test’ was actually designed by their elusive vampire client in Europe to truly bring out and measure those who display creature-related traits linking to their own genetic heritage. The main idea is not to check for their abilities by having them do a written or practical test, but to have them do it in such an environment that will allow the observers to watch and identify anyone displaying those traits when under pressure.

With a particular focus on female witches, as requested.

“So after that, once the group of people have been finalised...” Otis looked unsurely at Lex who merely turned to look at Mercy. The ever-able personal assistant just stood with one hand on her hip and remarked “You will have their visas and passports processed, so that they can arrive before the start of the new year. They will all be housed in a nice location which we managed to secure from one of the city governments, where they will be taken through their paces, working with selected colleagues on their aptitudes and capabilities before they are placed across the various business divisions. ”

“And where is the place?”

Mercy replied. “Midvale. We purposedly chose a place outside from all the hustle and bustle of the regular large cities. It is a perfect place for our latest talents to slowly get acquainted with the very different life that they will embark soon. Slightly laid back but still have all the modern comforts that the young people will want, though the place is slightly old, needs some maintenance. Since this is a pilot programme, we have managed to get it on loan from the city government for a year without any costs provided we make good on some renovations in exchange for use of the place.”

“Never heard of that place. They have wifi and high speed mobile internet in that backhole of a place?”

Lex quipped in. “That’s where the reno has to come in, and where your experience will be needed. But i’m sure they must have at least many of the modern comforts. After all, it used to be the state’s designated orphanage after all. I’m sure it will be large enough to house all of our talents.”