The Men who Look Down on the World
Chapter Two
The convention center fills up quickly three fourths of the seats are filled by the time the doors close. A few stragglers find their seats as the lights go dim throughout the hall except at the stage which gets brighter. Mercy Graves walks up to the front of the stage, "Quite please." She says in a cold commanding voice.
The place goes silent as they wait for Mercy to continue, "Thank you." Her voice softens and she smiles, it is a pretty natural smile and makes her seem much nicer then normal. This is her show face, one she uses during situations like this. One of her many jobs for Mr. Luthor is to be his voice for presentations on new technologies. "Welcome to the first annual Lex Corp Technology Expo. I am Mercy Graves." She can hear some muttering in the crowds over the words Lex Corp.
Lois looks at Jimmy, "So the rumors were true." She mutters to him.
"First I heard of this."
Lois nods "You would have no way of knowing Jimmy." Lois has her sources Jimmy does not.
"Yes the name change is official." Behind Mercy the logo for Lex Corp appears over a crossed out Luthor Corp logo. She looks over at Kent who is standing next to another man with red hair and a pointed beard and then back at the crowd, "Now before Lex greets you and we get started I would like to thank Oliver Queen and the good men at Queen International. Queen Int as you might know developed holographic Technology and made it effective but they had their limitations. Luthor Corp was also in development of functional holograph tech but we lost the race. Yet we were going a direction Queen Int did not concieve. So the resources of the two companies were pooled together with hopes of a greater advancement in that field." She motions to Mr Queen, "Oliver?"
The man in the light blue business suit has an uneasy smile as he walks up to the center of the stage. He is a handsome man with a silly looking mustache and beard combo that makes him look like a modern day Robin hood. It is a style made famous lately by the up and coming Superhero Green Arrow, many people in his city have adopted the style. "Thank you Mercy.
"Hard Light Technology or HLT is the result of three years of research between Luthor Corp and Queen Int. It allows for holograms that are as solid as a real object." A holographic image of ball flickers in front of Ollie. He passes his hand though it and then a second later picks it up. "An Illusion yes." He throws the ball at the audience and it is caught by a smiling kid. "But real enough." He motions for the ball to be shut off and the image flickers out of existence.
"Now your not here to see me talking about some cheap trick we invented. No you want me to announce the man of the hour." Queen starts, "Well here he is Lex Luthor."
A man in a dark black business suit enters from the curtain behind the stage. The man has a frown on his face and looks ten years older then he really is.. His gray face is covered with bumps of discoloration from scaring when he was a child and his eyes are permanently bloodshot and dark. He is completely bald and he seems to be shaking with each step. Yet despite that he does not look as bad as people would expect him to. People who have seen Lex in person are taken back by his appearance yet here his flaws don't make him seem like a monster. The technology is working.
Lois figures out that this is a projection of the actual Luthor modified to make his flaws look less horrific and it is working. She figures the real Luthor is in an undisclosed location, probably in the building controlling the image.
"Hello I am Lex Luthor." Like with his form his voice is the same yet different. It does not have that harsh painful feel to it his voice normally has. Again an effect of being modified though the hologram technology. "I am happy to see everyone here, interested in seeing the future of the world I take it. For Lex Corp is the future and the future begins now."
Lois groans he's just as over dramatic as his father. Lionel use to talk like that too she expected Lex to be more laid back but his condition sure did not effect his ego. Jimmy snaps a picture of Lex, he thinks it's great, "Lex Luthor in Person wow."
"That is not Lex." Lois mutters to Jimmy, Lois has seen and heard the real Lex and knows this is not the real deal. "It's a filtered hologram."
"Quite please." Lex says with a harsh voice. "I need everyone's attention. The demonstration is about to begin. As you know Luthor Corp, over the last decade, has proven to be a leader in military technology." As he speaks a large screen turns on behind him. "The Luthor Corp Mark One walker." A tank in a humanoid shape, around ten feet tall, appears on screen showing clips of it's effectiveness in battles. "The Luthor Walker has been a revolution of military technology. And not just the military. It has also being used for police work, for construction, and recently deep sea salvage. However the Walker is now out of date. America's foreign enemies have caught up and created their own versions of the walkers." The images behind Lex shift to show modified walkers in the middle east fighting against the US military's walkers. "There have also been rumors of walker like weapons falling into the hands of the criminal underground but those rumors have not been proven. Ether way it is time to move on with the next generation."
Lois mutters to herself, "And I wonder how they got there. Maybe Luthor Corp sold them." Some of Lois's trusted sources are looking into tying Luthor Corp dealings to see if they are selling the walkers to other countries and to the criminal underground. So far she has found no proof.
Lex looks in Lois's direction for a second but there is no way he could have heard what he said. "Now before I reveal the future of Lex Corp weapons technology I would like to introduce the men behind the tech and their discovery. I introduce Dr. Emmett Vale and Dr. John Irons."
Two men who were standing with other important people like Kent, Oliver Queen, General Lane and so on step forward. One of them is a small older gentleman with a kind face and tired eyes. He is well dressed and walks with a cane. His hair is white and receding. The other man is large, over seven feet tall and nearly two hundred and fifty pounds, he looks less like a scientist and more like an NBA super star. The large black man is smiling and he has a friendly face that does not go with his intimidating build.
The large man stands next to the smaller man and speaks into the mic. "My name is Dr. John Henry Irons and standing beside me is Dr. Emmett Vale. we have developed a new metal alloy based on Titanium, that is stronger, more durable, and far more resistant to heat."
Dr. Vale who is clearly not the more talkative member of this team continues, his voice is far less enthusiastic and commanding as Irons, "The new metal alloy is known as Metal O or as we like to call it metallo. It is fairly easy to make and there will be lots of uses for metallo once it is widely available." Vale almost wants to say something else but Dr. Irons motions for him to stop.
"I funded research of this new stronger metal for the safety and protection for all my people." Lex says walking up to these two. "In addition to the discovery of the new metal these two are talented engineers. Doctors would you like to introduce the star of this event?"
Emmett Vale's face goes pale and Irons gets an uncomfortable look on his face, "I would would rather not sir." Irons says. He has to stop him self from saying anything else. He and Dr. Vale both believe Lex is rushing the demonstration especially the man to machine mental link. It still needs field testing.
"That's fine I can handle it." Lex says as Dr Vale and irons leave the stage. He looks at the two doctors with a stern look, they know they are in trouble. "I give you the Lex Weaponry Metallo Armored Unit number one, also known as the LWM1." The screen goes up into the roof and the roof opens up allowing the sun to shine into the stage. Now everyone knows the Lex standing there is not the real Lex as he does not feel pain being in the sun. Also the hologram flickers as the sun light hits it. Then behind Lex the floor of the stage opens up and a mechanical sound of a platform moving upwards is heard. Slowly a twelve foot tall mecha rises up.
Everyone becomes quite as the machine slowly rises from the ground. The large four legged tank with a large round center that makes it almost look like an alien Spacecraft. On top of the center are large missile launchers and cannons. The mecha has two claw like arms that seem to be extractable. The machine's paint job is green and purple clearly not military issue but Luthor Corp issue. The Machine is not the most impressive looking device in the world but the shock of the twelve foot tall device was enough to silence the crowds.
Lex turns around pointing at the device, "The future of military weapons the LWM1 mobile tank. Like the Luthor Walker it is ideal for every terrain, faster then a Tank, and far more maneuverable. Unlike the Luthor Walker the LWM is composed of a layer of metallo over it's skeleton of steel and titanium, making it far more durable and able to take a thousand times more punishment. The use of four legs as you know keeps the walkers balanced." Lex stops for a second and points to his head, "The LWM has one huge advantage over the walkers, a new development in pilot machine technology, the Neura Link."
Some people got the gist of the technology but can see that most people don't know what he is talking about. This makes Lex happy, to know that his mind works on a higher level then that of most people, that he is superior to them. "I am talking about a man machine mental link." He says clearly. "This means that the LWM will be piloted by someone's mind, that there will be no delayed reactions, no limitations of what the machine can do compared to what the man wants. They will be one in body and mind." People are starting to understand but the shocked faces don't diminish. Such technology was said to be impossible and unethical.
"I am aware of people's problems with this technology and it's application." He glares at Dr. Irons. "But Dr. Emmett Vale had made this project his life works and I have full confidence that he was worked out all the bugs. According to Dr. Vale the the mental status of the pilot must be top notch, he must pass extensive treatments to prove he can handle the stress of the Neura Link with no unseen side effects."
"Dr. Vale worked along side General Sam Lane to choose the perfect candidate for the procedure. Potentials candidates under went rigorous training and tests and only one man managed to pass them with flying colors. A top notch pilot of sound body and mind, Sargent John Corben." John walks up and bows before stopping and stands my the machine.
Lois's heart sinks, she could not think of anything worse then this. She knows John, he is not mentally sound, he is short tempered and abusive. She also knows he is a great faker and could cheat his way though any test, even one to prove his sanity. Lois now has a fearful feeling that something really bad is going to happen.
"Sgt. Corben has spent over fifty hours in a simulator using a prototype version of the mental link and the link has proven stable with little complications." Dr. Vale looks at Dr. Irons with a less then confident glance, clearly he wanted more testing. "Now I am confident in the design team's prototype LWM, I believe that we are completely safe here, all couple thousand of us are safe under it's protection. I am also completely confident in the how stable the Neura Link developed by Dr. Vale is, that there will be no mistakes made by man or machine. Finally I am confident in the abilities of Sgt. Corben, and believe that he is enough to protect us from any harm what so ever."
Everyone starts looking around and muttering to each other, Jimmy taps Lois on the shoulder, "Is he saying what I think he is?" Jimmy says looking frightened and oddly reserved.
"Yes he is Jimmy so get your camera ready."
"Silence please." Lex asks. He then looks over at Mercy, "Ms. Graves would you like to do the honors?"
Mercy nods, "Yes sir." She then pulls out her phone. "Yes that's right it's time." She then looks at Luthor, "The drones have been launched."
"Good." Lex turns back to the crowd, "Four automated military drone aircraft are on their way to this location with permission to fire. They have real weapons." he sees the shocked glances of the crowd and then reassures them, "Don't worry you are perfectly safe in the hands of John Corben and the LWM." He nods to John, "Get in Sargent, it's time to be a hero."
"Yes Mr. Luthor." John says as he walks over to the device and starts climbing in. If you looked closely at the back of John's head you could see a small green hole that looks like flash drive slot on the base of his neck.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Lois says to Jimmy. "Keep your eyes open and make clear shots oh and don't waste shots just in case." Jimmy nods his head. Lois looks around and sees that some people have left, Kent Luthor seems to have slipped out leaving Oliver Queen by himself looking around. "I guess the pampered rich boy can't handle it." she says with a smile.
The cockpit opens up as Corben walks up the ladder and the people watching the TV screens see the inside of the cockpit. There is a seat for John and a small back up manual control but the main control seems to be a computer with another zip drive hook up. John enters the white control area and sits down. The cockpit door closes but his movements are still caught on camera. He straps himself in and moves the computer in front on him and then grabs the wire and hooks it to his brain.
Dr. Vale who has a Luthor Tech tablet computer turns it on and looks at the data, "The Neura Link is go. Human machine synchronizing in five, four three..." He then notions two and one. "We have a go." He says as the mech lights up.
The LWM starts walking, it's four legs moving in a crab like motion, "Okay can you here me?" Corben calls out his voice resonating throughout the convention center.
"This is Vale. Sargent we can here you."
"Good. I'm going to fly above the convention center. I am patched in to mission command." The mecha bends down on it's four legs twenty feet in to the air and then small engines blast it off. He stops about five hundred feet above the convention, "Command I am in position. Where are the targets?"
There is a low buzz and then the audience can hear the command team, "Sgt Corben four targets moving toward your location fast."
"Okay." There is motion in the cockpit, Corben focuses for a second, "Activating the energy field. The light energy field which extends from the LWM can extend around important targets giving them added defense." Corben says calmly and without emotion like he's reading a script.
The automated robot planes fly around the convention center and each of them reach a position and then stop. The four then open fire with missiles firing two a piece for a total of eight. The eight missiles are all harmlessly destroyed by the energy field which flickers with white static light with each impact. The debris of the missiles is destroyed by the shield as they hit it. "The electron shield can completely protect a target from missiles, bullets and grenades, but has a limited power supply of five minutes and should only be used as a last resort. It drains the LWM's main power source if used for too long." Corben calls out. "Command, permission to engage? I don't want to use the shield again."
"You have permission to engage the targets."
The four drones fly off into formation and Corben follows behind them in the LWM explaining the machine's features as he goes. "The current LWM model is not powered by a jet engine and can't break the sound barrier but neither can these automated drones. It's about as fast as a helicopter in the air while more maneuverable, turns quickly and reacts perfectly.
Dr. Emit Vale is keeping a close eye on Corben's vitals, "The mind link is stable." He says to Irons, "Maybe Luthor was right?"
"I hope so." Irons says to his older partner, "I sure hope so."
Corben maneuvers the LWM in front of a drone and fires, "The LWM has four mounted machine guns, with quick up to the second targeting." Firing a stream of bullets he nails the drone as it tries to escape. The drone then explodes.
Two of the drones retreat, their programing allows them learn from their mistakes and the mistakes of their fellow drones thanks to linked AI. Moving out of gun range they fire missiles at Corben.
Corben takes evasive action and maneuvers out of the way of the missiles and then blowing them up with his own missiles, "I can out maneuver missiles if I am careful, thanks to the mental link. If I can think it I can do it." Corben is starting to deviate from the script.
Dr Vale and Irons look at each other and Irons looks over at Vale's tablet, "Corben's getting more reckless like in the simulations."
"Quicker too as I feared." he points to the link which is still stable but now has some clear spikes in mental activity. "I told Luthor we needed some field tests before a demonstration. He insisted Corben was ready."
"I know that Corben did not succumb to uncontrollable rage like the others." Dr. Irons lowers his voice, "The recklessness he gained is more controllable at least at early stages. It just makes him more of a show off. Hopefully he will end this quickly."
As if to prove the doctors wrong Corben starts to play with the two of the drones him while not destroying them out right. The third drone seems to be watching the events unfold and is paying attention to Corben's movements from a distance. It's programing is telling it to observe and adapt. The Sargent does not pay attention to the third drone and focuses just on the two giving chase. This is a mistake he should know better then to fall for.
Corben focuses on the drones he's chasing and remembers that he has to be talking to the audience, "Okay the LWM has different types of air to air and air to surface missiles. From normal explosive rounds to heat seekers to freon missiles, those I might add are used to freeze water and other things. Now for automated targets a heat seeker has limited use but we do have EMP missiles they are a bit riskier to use." There is excitement in Corben's voice he knows he should not use the EMPs for this demonstration, that means there might be a powerless drone crashing on innocent people. He was told to play it safe and avoid all unnecessary risks.
Corben backs off, "If I time this right I can nail two birds with one stone." He says very loudly and with an excited tone.
Dr Vale shivers at those words and the tone of Corben's voice. He looking down at the mind link's stabilization, the jumps are getting more frequent by the second, "No."
As if to agree with Dr Vale the command speaks up, "Sargent are you planning on using EMP missiles to take out both drones at once? That's a deviation from the plan and not wise."
"Screw the plan, no offense but these people came to see a show." Corben looks at the Camera his eyes look wild and his face is red with sweat, "That's what I plan to give them." He does not cut off communication yet but he does give the impression that he is irritated.
Corben reaches his desired location and waits for the drones. They are moving in fast. When he likes the location of the two drones he fires the EMP missile. "Okay wait for it." He says calmly and lifts his finger.
The audience watches in anticipation as the missile fires toward the drones. Doctors Vale and Irons have their fingers crossed hoping what ever crazy scheme Corben has planned works. Lex Luthor stands there watching confidently as if he expected this very thing to happen.
"Now, now." Dr. Vale says nervously.
"Now." Lex says calmly.
Corben's eyes shift, "Now." and the missile explodes in a wave of energy. The wave hits both drones, they spark for a second then their lights go dead, their engines shut off and they start to fall out of the sky. The blast was far enough so that it did not effect the LWM's controls. Now came the important part, Corben realizing he has to move quickly focuses on the two drones and two small holes open up below the mounted machine guns. If you look closely you can see small waves of light emanate from the holes. White flashes of energy that vanish in a second. The Drones seem to be hit by something and then they explode.
Corben maneuvers the mech over the stadium, "See nothing to worry about. I used the white light laser the most powerful weapon developed by Luthor Weaponry to accurately destroy the drones before they could crash. Like the shield it can only be used in limited amounts before it starts draining the LWM's power source." He then looks for the final drone, "Okay okay now how do I destroy you?"
Though to the audience Corben has seemed to calm down Vale is getting more and more worries. He motions for Irons to look at the tablet, "This is not good."
"No it's not, clearly Corben and the machine are starting to reject each other." Dr. Irons pulls out his cell phone, "Yeah this is Dr. Irons, tell Corben there the test is over and send the final drone home." Irons listens for a second and shakes his head, "What." The calm black man raises his voice, "He said WHAT." Irons shuts off his phone.
"Oh no." Vale says looking at his partner, "Luthor?"
Irons nods, "Lex Luthor over rid our command. He wants the test to go on regardless how Corben behaves, or maybe because of it."
Corben plays cat and mouse with the final drone, even knowing Corben's moves the last drone seems at a huge disadvantage yet Corben is refusing to end this. He yawns to the audience, "I want a challenge." He then calls to the command, "The Drone is at threat level seven right?"
"Affirmative Sargent"
"Do me a favor, up the drone's threat level to ten."
"Sir? That is not wise."
Corben will not hear it, "Do it." He then waits.
"It's done sir."
The Drone starts shaking and then it's speed increases. It zooms ahead of Corben firing barrage after barrage of missiles and gun fire which Corben does not evade. "I have shown the fire power and the defensive power of the LWM." Corben's voice is vibrating as he talks. "But not the durability of metallo. What would be the point of this demonstration If I can't show off the strength of that new metal alloy." His voice has a mocking tone to it that seems aimed at Vale and Irons.
"Damn him." Irons said forgetting that he has his anger under control.
Vale just shakes his head, and watches as his Tablet tells him what he already knows John Corben is losing control.
Corben motions the LWM forward and the engines turn sharply. He sends it straight at the final drone a maneuver too stupid for the drone to predict. It just continues to fires at him doubling it's effort to take the Sargent out. Corben does not actually crash into the drone he propels in front of it and lands behind it. Before the Drone can turn around he extends the arms, "The arms are mainly for salvage, for retrieval but they do have combat purposes if used correctly."
"The fool." Irons says, "He knows from level nine and up the drones self destruct if motion activated right?"
"Course he does." Vale responds nervously, "He wants it to explode in his hands to show the durability of the machine. The Machine and Corben are in no danger. It's his mind I'm worried about."
"Have you tried shutting down the mech? If the LWM is shut down the command center would have to shut off the drone." This was a desperate move but it is all he has left.
Vale looks at him and then back at the tablet, "Already tried that. I'm locked out." He does not have to say anymore, Lex Luthor does not want this presentation to end prematurely.
The arm grabs the drone and pulls it toward the LWM. The drone starts to glow and shake, with sparks. Corben smiles as he can sense the inevitable explosion. He looks very confident like a man who thinks himself unstoppable and invincible. "There is nothing to worry about, the LWM can survive blasts a hundred times as strong as..." He is cut off as the screen goes black and then becomes static.
Everyone hears a loud explosion and if they were not already watching the sky they turn toward it. A Ball of fire covers the LWM and the force of the explosion can be felt by everyone in the convention center. The flaming machine rocks though the sky and people wonder if it is going to fall down on top of them, But no one starts to run. The fire subsides and the LWM starts flying downward in an erratic path, "Sargent come in Sargent."
"I did it, all the drones are destroyed. I'm going in for a landing." Corben's says with a really edgy voice. His movements in the mech are quite erratic.
Vale shakes his head, "Corben and the mech, they are no longer synchronized. Or should I say they are too synchronized, ether way these mental readings are way off."
"Sargent your coming in fast and we can't track your movements. Are you okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine." Corben's control of the LWM looks similar to a clearly intoxicated man driving a car. His movements are exaggerated and his dive for a landing is off. In the cockpit viewer which has came back on line Corben is red faced and looks dizzy, "Okay here we go." What is suppose to be a simple landing is over shot and the mecha heads into the side of the convention center roof ripping off a chunk as he just misses the large hole in the ceiling.
People start running out of the way as they see pieces of the ceiling fall. Many of the reporters are taking shots and taking notes. Some people are helping others but for the most part people are climbing over each other to escape. "Oh no." Lois says looking over at the mecha which is moving strangely and John Corben seems to have lost control. "Jimmy look."
Jimmy moves his camera over to the mech which is heading over to a group of people, "No." He says as he snaps a picture, "Miss Lane we should be getting out of here and get help."
"Wait." Lois says taking a deep breath, she can't look away from the people, she notices her father and sister standing there along with the scientists Vale and Irons, she does not see Mercy Graves or Oliver Queen though. Still she fears the worst as Corben's mech moves closer to the people and then it stops. "Huh."
Jimmy snaps an image and then looks up from his Camera smiling, "It's him Miss Lane.
Holding the mecha by the bottom and pushing it away is Superman. He is a large well build man in a blue skin type suit with a flowing red cape, red and yellow boots, gloves and trunks, a shield with a red S in the center of his chest, and a similar crest in all yellow on the back of his cape. He is wearing a blue face mask with a yellow stripe down the middle on his face, his dark black hair has a strange blue tint in the might of the sun and his eyes are a cool blue color.