Kal - El: Reborn
Chapter 1
The elevator door opened and out walked an aged man carrying a briefcase in his left hand. Sweat dripped off his forehead and he wiped it with a tissue he had taken from his pocket. He stood in the long hallway staring at the white door which lay ahead of him. Nervously he walked up to it and eyed the LexCorp logo emblazoned on its frame. He knocked. Silence. He knocked again listening intently for the welcome of the person on the other side. It never came. He reached for the handle slowly asking himself whether he should just go in. As his fingers gripped around the handle, the door automatically opened before him. He walked straight in. Although nervous and maybe even scared to death of what may happen tonight in this office, he had told himself all day not to show fear towards the man he was about to meet. As he entered this office he noticed how spacious it was, how rich it looked with suits of armour from different ages standing in each corner. His eyes wandered around, marvelling at the extent of how much history was in this room, wandered until they fell upon the man sitting behind the desk that sat in front of the huge glazed windows that showed an amazing view of Metropolis.
"Your late Mr. Weir" said Lex, rising from behind his desk.
"That's Dr. Weir, Mr Luthor and given the seriousness of why I am here I think we can overlook the lateness. Don't you?"
"As you wish Dr. Weir" Lex Luthor replied, obviously annoyed that this man had dared speak to him in such a manner, especially after being late for the meeting. "Shall we?" said Lex pointing to the chair at his desk.
Both men sat down at the desk and Dr. Weir placed the briefcase down gently in front of Lex. He opened it and turned it so that Lex could see the contents. Inside were two vials of blood, one was marked 'Luthor Tested' the other said 'Luthor Untested'. Next to the vials were two pieces of rock, one of which was reddish in colour and the other green.
"So this is it, then?" asked Lex. "It's finished?"
"Yes Mr Luthor, this is as far as we can take this with the resources we have had available to us" replied Dr. Weir. "Although initially this is now stage one. I have my best scientists at work on stage two."
"Stage two? You never mentioned anything about stages before Doctor. This was supposed to be a one stage deal. What do you mean? "
"Well, we performed repeated tests on samples of your blood Mr Luthor, but after several weeks we found that although the formula works, once the tests were over the blood simply died."
Lex looked at Dr. Weir for a moment seemingly trying to take in what he had just been told.
"What exactly does that imply Doctor?" Lex asked
The Doctors eyes narrowed in on Lex's
"It means that once the formula has been injected into your blood supply you can never stop taking it. If you do then it will result in your death. Stage two is finding a way of making an antidote, which as I said my scientists are working on as we speak"
The Doctor looked from Lex to the briefcase and back to Lex.
"Mr Luthor I must warn you there are no guarantees that we can come up with an antidote, but we…" Dr.Weir suddenly broke off as Lex stood up from behind his desk.
"Dr. Weir I assure you that you will find an antidote or it will result in your death. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes Mr Luthor, Sir." All attempts at showing no fear vanished, and once again he brought out his tissue and mopped his forehead with it.
Lex didn't appear to be notice though as he had taken out the rocks from the briefcase and was studying them very closely. He placed them back into the briefcase and picked up the two vials of blood and opened a secret compartment in his desk and placed them both there.
"Dr. Weir, How soon will the formula work once I have taken it?"
"You will feel drained both mentally and physically for a few days. This is very normal for this type of change on your body and your DNA will need time to adjust. Minutes after your first injection you will feel the process begin to affect you." replied Dr. Weir.
"Excellent. Superman has been missing for months. With this formula I will be able to take his place as the saviour of the city. The World even." Lex appeared to be talking to himself. Ignorant of the fact that Dr. Weir was still sitting at his desk.
"Mr Luthor If you miss one injection the effects will be reversed and there is no going back, even if we come up with an antidote it is still not guaranteed you will ever be the same person again." Dr. Weir said.
"Then I suggest you concentrate all your efforts on coming up with the best antidote my money can make Dr. Weir." Lex replied. "Where is the entire supply of this formula now?"
"It is being delivered to LexCorp as we speak. If all goes to plan it will be here within the hour Mr Luthor"
Lex appeared to think about this for a while then sat down behind his desk and closed the briefcase. He looked at Dr. Weir for a moment before taking out a brown envelope from a draw in his desk. He threw it on the desk towards the Doctor.
"There is a little bonus for you Dr. Weir. I suggest you pick it up and get to working on that antidote. Don't you?"
The Doctor stood up and picked up the envelope. It seemed he was about to say something but thought better of it. He turned and hurried out of the office and back to the lift. Glad to be away from Lex Luthor.
Back inside the office Lex was standing in front of the window looking out at the city of Metropolis.
"Where are you now Superman?" Lex laughed quietly. "Your beloved Metropolis is going to need you now more than ever."