Superman: The Ark of Krypton
Chapter 66
by
Jason Richard
It lay deep in a valley somewhere in a South American jungle, hidden from only the most observant traveller. On the outside it looked like an impenetrable bunker, rusty and abandoned from disuse. On the inside, however, it was a mansion, filled with luxurious and extravagant decoration.
And within that mansion Lex Luthor sat at the dinner table, enjoying filet mignon and watching Superman's fight with the alien bounty hunter. He frowned, a little disappointed with what he was seeing. When he finished he pressed a button and soon Mercy Grave's face appeared.
"What is it Lex?" asked Mercy.
"A problem," said Lex. "I was planning to spread around the red sun technology and then put out a bounty on Superman's head. Dead or alive. I'm going to have to make that wanted alive."
"Seriously?" asked Mercy, unable to believe what she was hearing. "Just beating him once, even with the tech, will be tricky. You expect someone to contain him as well?"
"I am aware of the risk," said Luthor. "But this new alien changes things. It's only been a year since Superman went public, and already we have Aliens crashing on our doorstep."
Mercy caught on and said, "You think Superman will be the only person who can stand up to them."
"Of course he is," said Luthor, "I've been running the numbers through my head, and we couldn't do anything about this monstrosity any more than we could Superman. Is this alien bounty hunter weak to red sun energy? Doe she have another weakness? Does he have a weakness at all? Given a potentially infinite number of alien species with an infinite number of powers and/or weaknesses the only way to fight that power is with the same power. Until we can replicate that power Superman must stay alive to deal with this."
"And this bothers you?" asked Mercy.
"For so long I was unopposed," said Lex Luthor. "The world was my oyster. But now...with alien gods descending from the sky...I'm losing everything. Our black market operations cannot operate efficiently anymore."
"Our legal business is doing as well as ever," said Mercy.
"And I appreciate you running it my absence," said Lex. "But I'm an all or nothing kind of man. You know that."
"Well what are you going to do about it?" asked Mercy. "The situation is what it is. No sense pouting about it."
Luthor glared at him, but on the screen she just crossed her arms.
"We'll deal with Superman when we can," said Mercy. "Until then be patient. It's all you can do. And no, you can't do anything you want. Everyone has limits."
Her vid screen went blank and Lex Luthor was left alone. He thought, limits? Everyone? That's the whole point.
For Lex Luthor intended to one day have no limits, and he'd do anything to achieve that goal.
…
As Edward lytenerr worked on his project, going over blueprints for a new solar energy device, he was tired, distracted, and stressed out. He had seen the footage of Superman fighting that alien, and his own hand in helping Lex Luthor was weighing heavily on his mind. Now it wasn't just that he potentially sabotaged a good man, now he may have sabotaged the one person who can protect earth from threats like this.
If any of this every got out, he was ruined.
But then it wasn't his fault was it? He couldn't say no to Lex Luthor...at least not at that time. And if he wouldn't do it Luthor would have fired him and found someone who would. It was a no-win situation, and Lytener didn't know how to get out of it.
On his down time at work he found time to make a call. He noticed a few missed calls from Lois Lane, but he didn't answer them. The truth was he only wanted to talk to her because he didn't know where else to go. Now that this Clark Kent was helping him he found the idea of admitting to Lois that he helped Lex Luthor a very frightening thought indeed.
Naturally he called Clark Kent instead.
…
And Clark picked it up at the Daily Planet.
"Clark Kent, Daily Planet," he answered. Upon hearing Lytener's voice Clark spared a glance at Lois, busy working at her own desk, then quickly gave him his cell number and dismissed himself so he could talk to Lytener in private.
"Yes," said Superman. "I've managed to pass your information on to Superman, and he'd like to talk to you in person. Don't worry, he's not angry. He just wants to make certain your technology doesn't fall into the wrong hands. Okay. No, he'll find you. Alright."
Clark hung up and went back to his desk. Before he could even sit down someone spoke up.
"So," said Lois, turning her chair and giving him a suspicious look. "Who were you talking to?"
Clark Froze. Edward Lytener had mentioned he'd decided not to let Lois in on his connection to the red sun technology.
"My Pa," said Clark, sitting down.
"You're Pa didn't know your cell number?" asked Lois, her eyes narrowing. "That's the same phone you've had since you started working here."
"What does it matter?" asked Clark. "It was a personal call."
Lois still looked at him suspiciously but didn't press the matter and got back to work...or appeared to. In truth the receptionist had mentioned to her that Edward Lytener had been looking for her, but Clark intercepted him. After that, Edward hadn't been returning her calls.
What on Earth was Clark Kent up to?
…
Lobo, on his ship a few light years away from earth, excitedly let a delivery pod into his ship. As the airlock closed Lobo strolled up to the futuristic, rocket powered box bigger than he was and opened it to reveal a new hoverbike, laser rifle, and laser pistols...as well as a belt device. He cracked his knuckles as he grinned. His next attack on Superman would go very differently.
Suddenly a nearby video screen lit up, showing the dark and shadowy figure who hired Lobo in the first place.
"Lobo," said the aline. "We witnessed your fight with Superman, and I'm sorry to say we are not pleased."
"What do I care," said Lobo, striking his new hover bike gleefully. "I'll get him next time."
"No you won't," said his client. "Not without help. Fortunately there is technology that can assist you. Judging from the readings we picked up Superman gets his power from a yellow sun, and red sun energy can counter it. We're sending you some new laser guns…"
"I'll keep the one's I've got," said Lobo, rolling his eyes as he inspected the rifle he just got. "So he's got a weakness unique to his kind huh? What do I care? That be like kicking him between the legs. Only wimps have to do that, and I aint no wimp."
"Fine," said the frustrated voice. "At the very least take the holding cell we're sending you. It uses red sun energy to keep his powers away while he's contained. You can beat him up with as much manliness as you want, but we won't take chances while you're actually transporting him."
"Sure," said Lobo, inspecting the new laser pistol. "Whatever you say. Say, where's this red sun stuff coming from anyway? Alterus 9? The moons of Sekeroz? Sounds like some serious tech."
"Actually it's local," said the shadowy figure. "An Earthling named Edward Lyneter. Until we extract the secrets from him, you are not to move. Understand?"
Lobo turned to the vid screen, put on his phoniest display of compassion, and said, "Well I'll wait if it will make the poor baby feel better." then he got serious. "Don't keep me waiting too long. I want my rematch."
"Trust me, this won't take long."