Chapter 82: Kryptonite
LexCorp, Underground.
"You know I'm a cautious man."
Lex Luthor sat in a swivel chair, facing a massive multi-panel screen, speaking coolly into the microphone of his headset.
"Yes, I know you're powerful; you've shown me as much. I respect you, which is why I'm willing to talk to you. One great scientific mind to another, communicating as equals, an equivalent exchange.
But as I said, you're showing a lack of sincerity, my friend. I need more information before I can consider the possibility of further cooperation."
"What? You doubt my... This is an insult to me, but I won't stoop to the level of an alien. However, I assure you, my system is absolutely secure."
"This is my private laboratory, located underground at LexCorp. Military-grade protection, and no one besides me has authorization.
Absolutely no one else can get into this place. You can consider this the pride of the greatest mind on this planet."
However, the gloating Luthor obviously didn't notice that as he spoke, the first security door was being pried open from the outside by brute force. The door panel was warped by a monstrous grip, bent apart as if it were two sheets of cardboard.
A conspicuous "S" appeared behind the door. Superman walked in through the forced-open entrance, looking around as he went.
Luthor, with his legs crossed, continued, "The world's most advanced security system, designed by me personally, is operating perfectly. Even an ant crawling in would immediately trigger the alarm."
"...The security system has been completely disabled," the voice of the artificial intelligence, Pal, came through the headset Superman was wearing. "Lex Luthor is located on the underground level."
"Thanks," Superman smiled.
Along the corridor, there was a row of machine guards stamped with the LexCorp logo. However, instead of stopping the invader, they raised their hands and gave a standard salute to the red-caped intruder, as if to say, "Right this way."
Luthor was still rambling on, "Furthermore, the communication line I'm using is routed through my private satellite. It's specially encrypted and absolutely secure. There's no way it could be—"
Before he could finish, there was a loud hum like an engine shutting down. The system abruptly halted, and the communication was cut off without warning.
"What the hell?"
Luthor shot up from his seat, turned his head, and his mouth fell open.
The moment he saw Superman standing behind him with his arms crossed and a smile on his face, his jaw nearly hit the floor.
"You... I... How is this possible?" Luthor was stunned. "My security system? My alarm!?"
"You have your tricks, and I have my own technical assistance, Mr. Luthor," Superman said calmly.
"Alright, now, Mr. Luthor. Shall we talk about that alien friend of yours?"
Lex Luthor, after all, was the number one fan in Superman's fan club. After a moment of surprise, he quickly regained his composure. He sat back down in his chair, adopting a look of calm confidence.
"Have a seat?"
He gestured to the chair beside him, but Superman didn't react.
Luthor shrugged, unfazed, and continued, "I've long imagined this moment. You and I, face to face, talking right here.
I knew it from the moment you first appeared. You showed up in my city, parading around in a cape, helping old ladies cross the street, rescuing cats from trees, and then having those brain-dead fans of yours at the Daily Planet write another report gushing about it for ages...
But you know what? This is my city. It's my world. It was long before you showed up, and no one can take that away from me, especially not some alien in a cape who can fly through the sky and burrow into the earth."
"So you sought out another alien?" Superman said coolly. "You don't even know who he is, you've never even seen his face, right? How do you know he's more trustworthy?"
"Who ever said anything about trust? I'm just using him to deal with you. Because, if nothing else, he's certainly got a knack for it. He gave me a lot of information, and a lot of important knowledge—that's what matters most to a top scientific mind.
And more importantly, he also told me your biggest secret, the Man of Steel's most fatal weakness..."
Luthor abruptly opened a small lead box on the console, snatching out the small stone inside that was emitting a deadly green light.
"This is it!"
Kryptonite.
Superman's deadliest weakness, fragments from the explosion of his home planet, Krypton. A small, palm-sized piece of stone could nearly drain Superman of all his strength, and prolonged exposure could even be fatal.
However, Superman stood there with his arms crossed, squinting as Luthor triumphantly waved the Kryptonite in front of his nose, looking at him as if he were a complete idiot.
The smile on Luthor's face gradually faded.
*That's not right. I must be doing it wrong.*
So Luthor changed his posture and thrust the small stone toward Superman once more.
"This is it!"
Still, nothing happened.
If anything *did* happen... perhaps it was just that Superman's expression gradually shifted from sizing up an idiot to one of "caring for the disadvantaged."
Luthor's face instantly turned ashen.
Low emotional intelligence: Right now, Lex Luthor was like the Joker.
High emotional intelligence: After today, he could consider debuting in Gotham to play a rival to Batman.
"I knew it! I should have known!"
Luthor angrily threw the Kryptonite to the ground.
"That alien swindler played me! I should have known, how could anyone be afraid of a tiny, worthless stone? Despicable, shameless, vile alien swindler—"
*Smack.*
Superman delivered a chop to his neck.
Lex Luthor's eyes rolled back, and he fainted on the spot.
Seeing Lex Luthor faint, Superman flipped his hand, and a white bracelet suddenly materialized on his wrist. A faint blue ripple slowly bloomed from the bracelet, and he casually tossed the gleaming green Kryptonite into it.
Immediately following, a red-and-silver suit of armor flew out from the brilliant ripple and landed on the dark ground. The armor opened from the back with a click. "Superman" stepped inside, the suit sealed, and the helmet's eyes lit up with a golden radiance.
After entering the armor, "Superman" was bathed in a golden light. His form and face shifted in a blur of reassembling light particles, and he quickly reverted to Orin Vale's appearance.
"Kryptonite has been contained," Orin Vale said calmly. "You can come in now."
Two Kryptonian heads, one on the left and one on the right, peeked out from behind him.
Superman and Supergirl approached, sizing up Luthor.
"Ermm... he's just a regular person. You said he was dangerous?" Kara asked, looking puzzled.
Superman's expression was skeptical. "You're saying that little stone can hurt me? For real?"
"Of course it's real. Want me to take it out now and let you see how potent it is?"
"No, no, no, that's alright."
Kara recalled the experience of testing the Red Sun generator last time, and her head quickly shook back and forth like a rattle.
"Alright, now let's take a look at Baldy's server and see if there are any traces of Brainiac..."
Orin Vale was just stepping toward the console when the previously dark display suddenly lit up.
"Don't bother."
A low, mechanical voice seemed to ring out from all directions at once.
"You wanted to see me. I have arrived."
(end of chapter)