S.T.A.R. LABS TESTING FACILITY, PENNSYLVANIA
"Barry, hurry up!" Silas Stone called to his assistant. He had spent the last few days working furiously in the lab to develop the idea that Lex Luthor had called for in their Metropolis meeting.
His assistant, Barry Allen, entered the laboratory wheeling a large cart that carried the product of that hard work.
"Great, thanks," Stone said, motioning over towards a version of Batman's Tumbler, painted in camouflage instead of black. "Put it over there."
On the cart was a still somewhat crude powered suit. Stone had taken a version of Batman's armored suit and attached a series of S.T.A.R.'s advanced prosthetics to the hands and legs, and modified a fighter pilot's helmet to serve as a visor and monitor to help the user control the suit. For good measure, he had attached a couple of LexCorp's mini rockets to the boots.
"Maybe we should paint it red," Allen joked as he walked away. "Put a lightning bolt on the chest, too."
"Not sure the General would go for that," Stone chuckled. "He's not one for bright colors."
As if on cue, General Swanwick – accompanied by Ferris, and a couple of other officers, entered the lab. Luthor and Fox followed close behind.
"So this is what you do out here, Stone," Swanwick said as he eyed the suit. "That's impressive work on short notice."
"Thanks, General," Stone replied.
"Why don't you walk us through it?"
"Yes, General," Stone said, addressing the group. "What we have here the first prototype of our new project – a powered suit that could be worn by a soldier and used for military purposes.
"It combines the best of our companies' technologies. Lucius, we used Wayne Enterprises's personal armor as the base on which the different components are mounted. Lex, we used your mini-rockets as a means of propulsion – meaning that the wearer of this suit should be able to fly, just like Superman. And I've incorporated our advance prosthetics to the hands and feet – not only will this exoskeleton reduce fatigue, but they serve as an additional layer of armor as well. I've created a helmet which allows control of the suit using your thoughts and contains a visual display of the wide variety of sensors and radar built into the suit. You can seal the helmet, as well, to allow for operation at high altitude or underwater."
"Where are the weapons?" Luthor asked anxiously.
"That's the next piece," Stone said, as he led the group over to a large metal table in the center of the room. Two large gun-like devices sat, gleaming, on it.
"This one," Stone said as he pointed to the larger one, "is probably most simply described as a sonic cannon. You can use it to create a wide variety of sounds and project them. At low levels, you could create a white noise hiss that would stun or disorient a person or animal. At higher levels, you could direct an intense beam of sound at an object, so potent it could crush rock or bend metal."
Luthor stepped forward and picked up the cannon. He spun around, waving it in front of the assembled crowd, who all instinctively stepped back.
"Can I try it?" Luthor asked.
Stone walked over and grabbed the weapon out of Luthor's hands.
"No," was his curt reply. "At least not yet. I think you'll want to see this first."
Stone carried the cannon back to the table, placed it down, and picked up the second weapon. It was longer and more slender, appearing like a laser with a large lens at the end.
"As Lex noted in our meeting, we believe that we can effectively craft a weapon that works against Superman…"
"The alien, you mean," Luthor interjected.
"Um, the alien," Stone continued. "Anyway, the idea is that if we can recreate the red sun conditions of his home planet we can neutralize him. This is our first attempt at building such a weapon."
Stone pointed the weapon towards the far end of the laboratory, past where Fox was standing.
"Lucius, you're going to want to take a step back," Stone said with a grin, and Fox quickly backpedaled.
Stone pulled the trigger and a red beam shot out of the weapon, hitting the wall on the far end of the building. He kept it on for a few seconds, then clicked it off.
"Come with me," he said, and the group followed him across the laboratory. When they got there, they noted that the outside was visible through a hole that the beam had created.
"The wall is three feet thick," Stone said. "This is focused radiation, and it should weaken Sup-, I mean the alien."
"Should?" Swanwick asked.
"Well, General, there's only one way to know for sure," Stone said. "From the data we were able to collect while the World Engine was running, we're making our best guess. But we'll only ever know if we actually use it on the alien."
"I see," Swanwick nodded. He looked at his watch. "Ferris, it's time for us to go. Meeting with the Joint Chiefs later. Great progress here. Keep it up."
Swanwick, Ferris, and the other officers departed the lab, leaving Fox, Stone, and Luthor.
Luthor walked over to the suit, eying it up.
"I think it's time for a test drive."