Blood

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The room was filled with light, even as the clock crept it's way to midnight.

LexCorp Tower was the tallest building in Metropolis, so the light that filled the suite of Lex Luthor's office wasn't the ruddy artificial light of the surrounding buildings, but the brilliant glow of the moon itself. Only here was it truly visible above the smog of the city.

The man himself was slender, with his jacket draped over the back of his plush leather chair. His hair was a deep, rich sienna, and piled in curls like that of an ancient Greek king. His grey eyes, set deep over lean, patrician features, were focused on the slim screen of the computer on his desk.

It was playing a video feed, and Lex was enraptured.

When the video reached the end of the loop, he played it again. And again…

The first time the video was shown to him, Lex demanded every kind of verification, including witness testimony from the site.

How else could he explain what he was seeing?

A man who could shoot fire from his eyes and toss a ship that weighed a ton like a Frisbee.

Incredible!

Lex didn't look up when he heard the swish of the doors opening, and ignored the tall, attractive woman who strode across the marble floor to his desk, the click of her heels sending out a steady staccato rhythm.

He only glanced away when she placed a long, flat mahogany box on the desk in front of him.

"Is this it?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," she responded.

"All of it?"

"Everything we could gather."

"And she's being flown in?"

"We picked her up an hour ago, sir."

"Good."

Lex smiled.

The woman shivered.

"Sir?" she began, "The guards…"

"Oh, yes," Lex waved a dismissive hand, "Pensions to the families, and our condolences… You know the drill."

"But… sir…" she frowned, "The men aren't dead, sir. They were injured, yes, but…"

She broke off when Lex's reptilian gaze snapped onto her. She bit her lip, and nodded.

"Yes, sir," she said, "I understand, sir."

Lex swept his gaze back to the computer, and she took her cue, hurrying briskly out of the office.

Lex waited until she was gone, then slid the case over so it was directly in front of him. Slowly, almost reverentially, he opened the lid.

The inside was lined with velvet. On the soft bed it made, was a single vial. Lex lifted it up, swivelling his chair so the vial caught the light spilling through the window. The contents seemed to be some kind of hardened ooze, congealed at the bottom.

Still, it was enough…

More than enough blood.

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