Ch: 263-265 (end of DC/Marvel arc)
263 Recruitment Intermission
I was finally able to sneak back to the farm and retrieve my baby spaceship. It was surprisingly intact, even after traversing a planetary explosion, travelling through space, and plunging through another planet's atmosphere and impacting the ground. That's a win for Kryptonian technology right there.
I brought it into my underground base and into the designated area for research. It was a nice lab, if a bit basic, especially compared to what I knew a Kryptonian lab should look like. I just didn't have the resources or materials to construct or reproduce that kind of advanced tech without knowing the chemical composition of said materials or the needed quantities.
Until now, that is. Having different vision modes in my own eyes was fantastic for things like that. I didn't need to use the electron microscope and let my eyes show me what the metal was composed of, giving me new ideas on how to make alloys and increase the tensile strength of normal materials by applying Kyptonian knowledge to them.
Even the basic glass of the pod's viewing window would revolutionize the entire industry of safety glass and car manufacturing. Bulletproof? Try anything proof. It was so dense that a bullet would bounce off of it without cracking it or scratching it. It could also work as moderate radiation shielding and that alone would make it worth a fortune.
I hadn't even tried digging into the information stored in the pod's computer system and I was already potentially going to become the richest person on the planet, even with all the super science and technology that already existed. Tony Stark, Bruce Wayne, Hank Pym, and Lex Luthor had nothing on me.
With the seed money I already had, I could easily set up manufacturing facilities and would dominate any market I introduced any product to. It was a heavy feeling to know I could do something like that, especially if I diversified my burgeoning company, so that if anything happened to any of those products, it wouldn't take the entire company down with it.
I had to do a bit of research first as well. I didn't know how to set up a company or where to buy the setups for creating a factory floor for producing technology. Do they sell full robots for that or just those arm things? What attachments did they have? Welders? Cutters? Grabbers? I had no clue and might need someone like Pepper Potts to come in to handle all of that for me.
Now I was wondering who I could contact to do things like that. I didn't want just anyone for something so important, so I stepped from the underground base to the alleyway near the New York City library. If anywhere would have access to the information I needed, it would be there.
The computers were fairly good, if eclectic with Stark stickers on the monitors and had Luther Corp internals in the computer itself. It took me a few minutes to strip out all of the tracking software and to disable the warnings that change would have sent to both companies. Sneaky bastards were keeping an eye on all traffic and not just the suspicious stuff, of which I was totally going to be doing today.
Surprisingly, I found a viable target almost right away. Susan Storm. She was right here in New York and had just graduated from college, as had Reed Richards and Victor Von Doom, and she was looking for a job.
Her qualifications were a little beyond what I thought I needed, which was an assistant for now that could grow into something better later, then I remembered I had yet to go through the Kryptonian database on the ship and her expertise handling things like that would be invaluable. If there was anyone on the planet that could take those things and rework them to become profitable and not screw me over for it, it was her.
I checked for a few others I thought might be available as well, like Betty Ross and Pamela Isley for research, since the timeline was kind of an integrated composite of several films and television series, including the animated ones and even some comics. It was quite the mix and gave me a lot of leeway to do things, which I planned to take full advantage of.
On a lark, I also checked for Pepper Potts and was surprised she was available. I had thought Tony had her as an assistant for years and she had grown into the role as his second in command, then I chuckled and compared her with Sue Storm. Neither of them had become involved with their future significant others yet and that was great for me.
Once I found their contact information, I realized that I couldn't have those conversations right there in the public library. I left after wiping out my search history and felt like I needed to arrange a face-to-face meeting with each of them to see if they were who I thought they were going to be.
I stopped near a nice cafe that was both casual an a little upscale, which would be perfect for what I planned. I arranged for one of the rear tables that was more private for the afternoon and paid for the privilege. The first number I called was Susan Storm, since she was the first one I had found when I went looking. I took out my cell phone, the advanced one I had in Worm, and I placed the call.
"Hello? Who is this?" A woman's voice asked.
I recognized it as the same one I heard during one of the Fantastic Four movies and I could definitely work with that. "Good morning, Miss Storm. My name is Clark Kent and I saw your job application for an assistant position at Luther Corp. I was wondering if you were open to a much better and less restricting offer and the possibility of becoming super-rich?"
Sue was quiet for several seconds. "Is this a prank call?"
"I didn't ask if your refrigerator was running, did I?" I asked and let her hear my amusement.
Sue let out a cute snort and a soft chuckle. "I've already caught it, thank you."
I chuckled as well. "It's nice to know you are a woman of culture."
Sue laughed. "All right, Mister Kent. You have my attention."
"Excellent. Do you need me to pick you up for your interview or do you want to make your way over to La Bouche Cafe on your own?" I asked her.
Sue hummed for a moment. "I'm about 20 blocks from downtown, so you can come and pick me up. I should be ready by the time you can make it through traffic."
I thought about saying I was already downstairs, since a single step would put me there, and changed my mind. "I'd be more than happy to pick you up in an hour, Miss Storm. See you then."
"Wait!" Sue gasped and I did and didn't hang up. "How will I recognize you?"
"I'm tall, have dark hair, and I'm outrageously handsome. You'll notice me right away." I joked and she made another snort sound and softly chuckled. "I should be the only person wearing a yellow rose in the lobby and will be difficult to miss."
"I'll keep an eye out for it." Sue responded. "Until then."
"Until then." I said and hung up. I ordered a coffee and a plate of scones with jelly and cream, just so I wasn't sitting there with nothing to do and wasting the cafe's time.
I thought about calling the others to set up appointments and decided to wait. I had all day to make contact with them and needed to travel to their places to meet them, so doing it now might make them worry if I was going to show up later. Being there and calling them was a much better idea, like I just had with Susan, and that was what I would do.
*
Susan Storm had been a little leery about someone calling her number out of the blue like that, then he had made her laugh. It was a stupid joke and it was perfect for breaking the tension she had been feeling. It also let her relax a bit and she decided to give the guy a shot. He had a nice voice as well, so it wouldn't hurt to see if his other joke about being overly handsome was really a joke.
She left her apartment and went down in the elevator to the lobby of the building, slightly worried she might not find him in the small crowd that was usually there. The time between the call and getting ready had given her enough time to brace for the meeting to be a waste of time and she schooled her face into a professional facade that all of her practice interviews had pretty much demanded of her when she met with important people.
When the elevator doors opened, Susan walked out of the elevator and into the lobby with determination, only to immediately break character and start laughing at what she saw. A 6 foot tall young man stood right in the middle of the lobby with a potted plant balanced on top of his head and it had the largest yellow rose she had ever seen sticking out of it, adding another two feet to his height.
Clark walked over to her with a huge smile on his face. "I couldn't find one for my lapel."
Susan laughed and laughed, almost hugging him as she held on to him for balance, and she needed a few minutes to collect herself and calmed down. She had been worried about trying to find a small rose on a man's suit and hadn't expected for him to do something so outrageous. Everyone was looking at him, too.
Once she took several breaths, Susan straightened her back and looked up into his bright blue eyes. She saw that he hadn't been joking at all and actually was overly handsome, which made her feel a little tingly down there. Her mind briefly flashed to what Reed Richards looked like and her brain made the comparison right away.
Clark Kent was head and shoulders better looking than the ignorant young man she had a crush on. That wasn't really fair to Reed, since he was never one to pursue physical activities, and it showed with his thin arms and barely there legs. Clark on the other hand, whatever he did for work, definitely brought out his muscles and made him into quite the specimen of male perfection.
Susan's hands slightly caressed his arms through his suit coat before she let him go and stepped back. "Clark Kent, I assume?" She asked and held her hand out.
"It's nice to meet you." Clark said and took her hand, shook it for a moment, then he bent down slightly and lifted it to his lips to lightly kiss the back of it.
"How did you not spill the pot?" Susan asked.
"I stuck it to my head to keep it steady." Clark said and Susan had to clamp her mouth shut to stop her laugh. "I may have gone a little overboard with this."
"O-only a little." Susan said with a bright smile on her face.
Clark motioned towards the front door. "Your chariot awaits."
Susan nodded and let him keep her hand as he led her outside and she let out the laugh she had been holding in when she saw the old-fashioned English-style taxi cab waiting for them. It even had the steering wheel on the wrong side of the car.
Clark opened the back door and helped her inside, then he spent a minute removing the potted plant from his head and handed it to her. "Just ignore the hairy bottom for now. I'll clean it off later."
Susan laughed and deliberately felt the bottom of the pot to see if he really did sacrifice some hair for her and she was pleasantly surprised to find that he did. It made her feel a little happy that he went through so much trouble for her, and it was only for an interview.
Clark walked around the car and climbed into the driver's side and sat behind the steering wheel. To Susan's surprise and delight, he put on a ridiculous cabbie hat, flipped the little switch to turn on the meter, then he drove out into traffic.
"I wouldn't trust anyone else to drive around someone so important." Clark said without turning back to see the surprise on her slightly red face.
It seemed to take much less time to go from her apartment to the cafe and Susan couldn't explain it. She was dropped off in front of the cafe and a waitress led her inside. A minute later, Clark entered the cafe and walked right over to the table and sat across from her.
"I paid off the manager and the waitress to hold this table while I went to get you." Clark said and ordered a coffee and a club sandwich.
Susan ordered the same thing and gave him a searching look.
"Should we wait until after the meal or should I bring out the contracts and NDAs right now?" Clark asked her.
Susan needed a few moments to think about that and the coffee arrived. She added the things she liked to it and sipped it, and nodded. "Let's see them."
Clark pulled a folder out of somewhere and handed it to her. Susan opened it and sipped her coffee as she read through them. The NDAs were standard and nothing she hadn't seen before. The contracts on the other hand were pretty involved and she spent the time until their food arrived reading through them.
Susan ate the sandwich absently as she thought over the clauses, the salary, and the flexible work hours. It was definitely one of the best contracts she had ever seen being offered for an assistant position and she wondered what the catch was.
"I know that look." Clark said and drank the last of the soda served with the sandwich. "The NDA first, just in case."
Susan signed it without hesitation and initialled her acceptance that she would be sued if she ever talked about what she heard or saw while working for him.
Clark smiled and made a small portal that no one else could see and a cell phone dropped out of it. The problem was, Susan had never seen anything like it. It was extremely slim, lightweight, and didn't look anything at all like the ones on the current market.
"Turn it on." Clark ordered.
Susan picked it up and examined it, then held onto the power button for a couple of seconds. The screen appeared, taking up the entire face of the phone, and it asked for her fingerprint. She gave him a raised eyebrow and he smiled, so she put her index finger on the screen. The phone beeped at her and then showed her an operating system she had never seen before.
"I need your help planning out how to manufacture them." Clark said. "Once we have that, and the facilities built to handle it, you'll be in charge of sales, hiring, expansions, and anything else you want to do."
Susan played with the thing without answering him and it was both intuitive and also fast. Whatever technology was inside the thing, there was no slowdown or lag as she somehow searched the internet with a browser that should have only worked on a desktop computer system.
"I'm in." Susan said and put the phone down and signed the contract.
Clark looked stunned and Susan barked a laugh.
"You expected me to negotiate the salary?" Susan asked.
"That, where the factory is located, where your office will be, and who you'll be in charge of." Clark said. "At the moment, I'm sure we can get by with a smaller facility and robot arms handling everything at first. Once we're established..."
"I'll take care of the business license, patent filing, and arranging deliveries for equipment and resources." Susan said, falling into command mode easily. "You are going to need several research labs and the most modern equipment you can afford."
"Well, about that..." Clark hedged and took out his own cell phone and Susan stared at it. He flipped through a few things and showed her the plans he had hastily drawn up. "Some of the things we need haven't been invented yet."
Susan looked at the machines that his brilliant mind had come up with and she felt herself grow wet. Damn my penchant for smart guys. She thought and then let out another bark of laughter when she saw Clark's face. "You knew I would react like this?"
"Yes." Clark said and let her take the phone. "I had planned to show you to let you see what you could have access to if you signed up..."
"...and I kind of ruined your sales pitch by accepting right away." Susan said and Clark nodded. "So, where do we go from here?"
"We can head back to my house in Kansas for a full briefing, set you up in your office, and I head out for another interview to fill another position in my company." Clark said and stood.
"Kansas? You didn't say anything about having to move." Susan said and tried not to frown. "What about my apartment?"
Clark smiled at her and held a hand out. Susan took a breath and let it out, took the offered hand, and let him lead her out of the cafe and around the building. She had thought they were going for the cab, only it was a bare alleyway and nothing was there. From one step to the next, they were outside of her apartment.
"I never said anything about moving, because you don't have to." Clark told her and Susan stared at him, at her door, and back to him. "Welcome to Atlas Incorporated, Susan Storm."
264 Kamar Taj Reborn Conclusion
A helmless Doctor Fate was inordinately happy that her students were so eager to please that they worked constantly to perfect the spells and exercises she had assigned them. Their minds were shockingly open to her methods and absorbed her teachings like they needed them as a part of themselves.
Before she realized it, the two weeks she had been allotted to teach them had passed and she didn't want it to end. When she expressed her opinion and complained to Clark about it, he laughed.
"It's not funny that you're cutting me off from my students!" Doctor Fate exclaimed passionately.
Clark waved to her students and they all cheered. "What do you say? Should we remind her?"
"YES!" They all yelled.
"Remind me of what?" Doctor Fate asked, clearly frustrated.
"I asked you to teach them the basics of your spell casting fighting style for the last two weeks." Clark said.
"Yes, I know that." Doctor Fate responded and crossed her arms. "What about it?"
"You do remember the purpose we agreed they would have, don't you? That they would become your acolytes?" Clark asked her.
"Yes." Doctor Fate said and glared at him. "And?"
The younger demons laughed and started chanting about teaching her instead and their mothers hissed at them to show the proper respect.
"An acolyte's magical education only ends when their teacher deems them worthy to become a full sorcerer or sorceress." Clark said, his voice full of finality.
Doctor Fate lost the glare and caught her breath when she realized what he meant. She blinked her eyes several times and looked from his face to the desks where her students were clapping and saying she finally got it.
"They'll be based here, now that they're fully grown, since there's lots of room. You can call upon them at any time for both lessons and to help you fight the forces trying to breach the dimensional barriers of this realm." Clark told her. "You can even tether your tower here to the arena if you want."
Doctor Fate couldn't stop her face from showing how happy she was.
"Have you made one of the Sling Rings yet?" Clark asked.
Doctor Fate nodded and took it out of her pocket. "I'll need a few more days to enchant another one and I should have the rest made by..."
Clark took it from her hand and made it glow, then 50 of them appeared in a pile at his feet.
"Of course you can do that." Doctor Fate said with a sigh.
"It's a permanent copy ability I've only used occasionally." Clark said and waved a hand to make most of them float towards each of the demons and to their mothers. "All you need to do now is teach them how to use them and they can go anywhere you need them to."
Doctor Fate nodded. "All right, one more lesson..." She stopped talking and gasped as she felt a piercing magic breach the dimensional ward she had placed to protect Earth.
Clark put a hand on her shoulder and his fingertip touched her bare neck. They both found the spot and it was a large swirling red portal over a tropical island in the Pacific Ocean. A little looking around with Clark's clairvoyance power let them see an ancient temple and the recent sacrifices made to open the portal.
"Acolytes!" Doctor Fate shouted and every demon stood up straight, even the mothers. "We have a breach and an army of demonic monsters to fight!"
They all cheered and rushed over to her. She formed her helm and her costume glittered with gold and magic. All of them put a hand on everyone around them and Harshan blushed as she placed a hand on Clark's chest.
"You will fight the masses while Clark and I work to close the portal." Doctor Fate ordered and all of them saluted with their sling rings over their hearts. "Atlas, step us there."
Clark changed into his hero persona and Harshan bit her lip, because she knew he could change into what she desired most. He smiled warmly at her and they were suddenly on a blisteringly hot tropical beach and surrounded by enemies.
"SLAUGHTER THEM!" Dimetara ordered and dove into the mass of twisted creatures. Her large gargoyle-like claws easily ripped the arms off of a twisted version of her brethren and she laughed. All of the other demons yelled and dove as well, their own claws and spells smashing into the demonic creatures.
Atlas and Doctor Fate stood there and stared as their 46 demon acolytes literally tore apart the front line of the demons flowing out of the massive portal.
"Maybe we don't have to work too hard to close it quickly." Atlas suggested, since their surprisingly effective fighting force was having a very easy time dealing with the enemy army.
"I've never had to casually close a hostile portal before." Doctor Fate admitted. "I'm always in such a rush..."
"We will prevail!" Polundara shouted and hopped up into the air, her pterodactyl-like wings giving her height, then she glowed brightly and dive-bombed into the center of the demon creatures and exploded. Blood and gore flew out in a circle, destroying dozens of creatures, and the glow faded to show an unharmed Polundara laughing as she held the severed head of a massive giant demon.
"I wanna try that, too!" Harshan shouted and leapt, transformed into her gargoyle-like form, and glowed twice as brightly.
"Fire in the hole!" Dimetara warned and the smarter enemies hunkered down. It didn't help as Harshan slammed into them anyway.
*BOOOOOM!*
"Hahahaha! That was so much fun!" Harshan said and hefted up two heads of dog-like demon creatures.
It didn't take long before all the demons were taking turns doing cannonballs into the demonic army and decimating them by the hundreds.
Atlas and Doctor Fate exchanged looks, shrugged, and slowly walked up the beach holding hands. They were in no hurry to end the ritual that held the portal open and let the newly minted acolytes enjoy themselves.
*
"I'm telling you Reed, this is kinda fishy." Ben Grimm said as he hefted a large crate from the back of the delivery truck onto the forklift. Having a huge paved road next to the doors to the lab was a huge convenience that both he and Reed appreciated.
Reed smiled at his friend. "Are you saying that because Clark won't install a landing strip above ground for the private plane or because he won't let you fly it without getting your official license first?"
Ben grumbled something Reed couldn't hear before Ben climbed into the forklift and drove it over to where Reed pointed inside the lab.
Reed kept smiling as he looked at the manifest of lab equipment for what he needed next. He had been more than surprised when he had been given full authority to buy whatever he wanted, even if it was just components, to assemble the tools and machinery he needed for the lab he was assigned.
The best part? Reed could research whatever he wanted and he didn't have to produce pre-chosen things for Atlas Incorporated. He also had a 75% share in any patents he produced, so the more he came up with, the more he would benefit, without having to worry about anything like filing paperwork or permits for things that the bureaucrats wouldn't understand anyway.
"He hired Vic too, you know." Ben said when he drove back over to grab the next cart off of the delivery truck.
"I know." Reed said and pointed to a different crate.
"That's just asking for trouble." Ben complained and hopped out, slid the crate Reed wanted to the end of the truck's bed, and lifted it down to place on the forklift.
Reed shook his head at him. "You're kind of missing the point of the forklift, Ben."
Ben shrugged. "It keeps me in shape and I can balance it better if I use my hands."
Reed nodded and pointed where it had to go.
"What do you think is in the locked lab?" Ben asked when he drove back.
"It's none of our business." Reed said and tapped the smaller crate with microchips inside. "The NDAs specifically state to stay in our assigned areas and common areas. We can only go other places when invited by the people working there."
Ben huffed and put the crate onto his shoulder. "I doubt Vic's going to invite us over for tea."
Reed let out a little chuckle. "He's been surprisingly amiable since he arrived here a few days ago."
"Uh huh." Ben said and walked over to one of the many work tables and placed the small crate down. "He's just looking for a way to stab you in the back after you showed him up at the science conference."
Reed stopped looking at the shipping numbers and gave his friend a look. "After thinking about it, I have to admit that I was wrong to debate him openly like that."
"He was asking for it." Ben said and walked back over to him. "You should have let me punch him."
Reed shook his head. "That was what he expected and he was prepared for it."
"He was?" Ben asked, surprised.
"Dean Smithers was standing behind the stage curtain." Reed told him.
Ben looked embarrassed and ducked his head. "I swear his daughter said she wasn't dating anyone."
Reed patted his shoulder. "It's all right, Ben. You're not responsible for how people react to things you have no control over."
"Are you sure it's not my fault the quarterback had a glass jaw and dropped like a rock?" Ben asked.
"No, just like it wasn't your fault that he called her a slut for lowering her standards to have fun with you." Reed said.
Ben sat down on the truck's bed as Reed started poking into the many crates for what else he wanted. "He's lucky I stopped at one punch after saying that about Alicia."
"So was the rest of the football team." Reed said and opened a crate.
"They did win their game right after that, didn't they?" Ben asked and didn't wait for him to answer. "Do you think she'd answer if I called her?"
"I don't know." Reed said and pulled out a weird device and handed it to Ben. "She seemed embarrassed when you dropped him so easily and he didn't put up any kind of fight."
Ben chuckled. "When you say it like that, it sounds like she was trying to make the jerk jealous on purpose."
Reed gave him a pointed look and didn't say anything.
"Well, damn." Ben said, dejectedly. "I thought she talked to me because she liked my accent."
"I'm sure she did." Reed said and closed the crate and opened another one. "That doesn't mean she couldn't use you as an example of how easily someone could take her away from him."
Ben laughed, since the irony wasn't lost on him. Reed was just as clueless about a certain blonde woman that had tried to get his attention a few times, and he had completely missed it. It was a pity she had given up on him and moved on, though. On the positive side, it wasn't Victor.
Reed took out a handful of materials that looked expensive and Ben tried to not wince as Reed banged them against the crate's lid. He missed Reed dropping one and he winced at how bent it was when he picked it up.
"It's all right, Ben. They're just testing materials." Reed reassured him and happily carried the things into the lab.
Ben followed him and was starting to think their new boss was just as crazy as Reed was.
*
"That is an interesting specimen." Victor Von Doom said as he hacked into the cameras of the locked lab and saw the clearly futuristic spaceship mounted on a pedestal. "I wondered why my detection devices were finding weird fluctuations to the Earth's background radiation nearby."
"It only took you three days to break the rules?" A female voice asked from behind him.
Victor would forever deny that he jumped and almost dropped his display device. He turned around and opened his mouth to order whomever it was to be quiet, only to freeze when he saw Susan Storm giving him a look that he recognized as one his mother gave him when he was caught dabbling with forbidden magics.
"There are no clauses about looking into other spaces, only entering without permission." Victor said to defend himself.
"The basic espionage clause." Sue responded.
"That only applies if I intended to sell the information to someone outside the company or use it to harm the company or another employee in any way." Victor said, almost smugly.
Sue opened her mouth to speak, stopped, and hit a button on her tablet. The sounds of battle came from the small speakers and she sighed. "I'm sorry to bother you, sir."
A chuckle came from the tablet and the sounds died down. "It's no problem, Sue. I gave you a direct line to me for a reason." He said and Sue held in her blush at being trusted so much.
"The sounds..." Susan started to say.
"That's just the company's security teams having some fun." Clark said. "I'm not busy, so what can I help you with?"
"Victor decided to hack into the cameras in your personal lab." Sue informed him.
"Did he argue that the clauses don't cover scientific curiosity?" Clark asked instead of asking about the breach of security.
"He said only entering without permission is covered and he's not performing espionage." Sue responded.
"That's close enough." Clark said. "Go ahead and give him package 6a."
"Are you sure?" Sue asked.
"It's one of the reasons I recruited him." Clark told her. "It should keep him busy for at least a day as he works through it. Once he does, and gives you the answer, give him the blue envelope."
"What if he doesn't figure it out?" Sue asked and ignored Victor's huff.
"Do you think he won't?" Clark asked.
Sue gave Victor a pointed look and then huffed herself. "No, you're right. He should."
Victor felt a little better about her character after hearing that.
"Then enjoy holding it over his head for the next 24 hours." Clark said with a chuckle. "See you tomorrow."
"Yes, sir." Sue said and hit the button to end the call. "Follow me."
Victor disconnected his device and followed her to her office. It was a nice mix of opulent and utilitarian that gave both a comfortable feel and that important business was conducted there.
Sue went behind the large desk and opened the top drawer on the side, counted the large manila envelopes standing on their ends, and pulled one out. A large '6-A' was on the front of it and she handed it over to him.
"Please wait until you are back in your own lab to open that." Sue said with a stern look.
Victor chose to not argue and nodded, tucked the puffy envelope under his arm, and left her office. He walked at a normal pace back to his assigned space, ignored the brainless oaf when he tried to shout at him in the hallway, and entered his own lab. He went to his expensive oak desk and sat behind it, set the envelope onto his desk blotter, and stared at the large '6-A' on it.
After a few moments of contemplation about what it could be, Victor opened it and reached in, grabbed whatever it was, and slid it out. He was surprised when it was a scientific formula he had never seen before on a piece of paper and a mostly-completed ritual circle carved onto a steel plate. He turned the paper over and read the instructions.
"Solve for X in the equation and complete the ward scheme. Both are clues to the other if solved correctly. CNC machining and laser etching are acceptable to complete the plate." Victor read aloud and frowned, because he was sure it seemed too simple for someone like him to solve. There had to be a trick to it.
Victor glanced around and was sure there were no cameras, since it was part of his contract, and he cast a detection spell. Something glowed on the paper on the other side, where the equation was, and he flipped the paper over. He cast a revealing spell and sucked in a sharp breath.
Only someone that knows both magic and science can solve both problems. Good luck, Victor. This is the first step to getting your mother back.
Victor felt anger fill him for a moment, then it fled when he realized his boss knew a lot more about him than he thought he did. The cameras in the forbidden lab was a test... and he passed. Now he needed to pass another.
As he worked, Victor wondered what the other envelopes were for and for whom.
265 Coming Together
Betty Ross looked at her fellow researcher and wondered why they were both hired and their labs were connected. Their specialties had nothing to do with each other, with hers being radiation and Pamela's being botanical. The equipment they were given also surpassed their previous jobs, hers at the university and Pamela's at a private research firm.
"Thank you both for meeting me here." Susan Storm said and sat across from them at the small table in their private lounge. It was filled with various potted plants that Betty couldn't identify.
"It seems our mutual boss is trying to lure me into his bed and I only just started working here." Pamela said with a bit of a sneer and motioned towards one side of the room. "Why else would he bring in plants that only grow in the most remote areas of the rainforest?"
Susan sighed and reached into the small pile of papers she had in her arms and pulled out a manila envelope with '2-B' written on it. "He said to give you this when you accused him of that."
Pamela looked surprised and leaned back without taking the envelope. Susan dropped the envelope onto the table and smiled knowingly, making Pamela's surprise fade and change to a glare. Betty didn't comment on it and waited for Susan to explain why she was there.
"I wanted to introduce you to each other, because both of your expertise will be needed to collaborate on a side project..." Susan started to say.
"I refuse." Pamela interrupted and stood. "I was told I could research whatever I wanted and I didn't have to answer to anyone, except Mister Kent, and only then during the monthly check-ins."
Susan took out a green envelope from the pile and dropped it onto the other one. "If you won't even bother to listen, then take both envelopes and lock the connecting door between your labs. You will be left to your own devices and no additional contact will be made or offered."
Pamela frowned at the immediate dismissal. "How dare you dictate..."
"I am the assistant to the CEO of Atlas Incorporated, Miss Isley. I am in charge when he is not here at the base facility and my order stands." Susan said, her voice firm and her gaze steady. "Feel free to quit if that is not to your liking or you can sit down and hear me out."
Pamela gave her a glare as she thought about it, scooped up both envelopes, and walked away. The door to the lounge closed and Susan sighed.
"He warned me she would be confrontational. I just didn't think she would try to fight over such a simple thing as working with someone else that wasn't a dedicated botanist." Susan said and sat back on her chair. "I'll let the boss know this was a bust."
"What was?" Betty asked.
"Testing to see if gamma radiation could enhance the growth of genetically modified plants to increase their yield, viability, and health." Susan told her.
Betty was shocked to hear that, especially after what had happened with Bruce Banner.
"The rare plants are dying out around the world, since their environments are being destroyed as we speak. If they could be adapted to grow anywhere, then infused with gamma radiation, who knows what kind of discoveries could be made with ready access to them?" Susan asked her. "New medicines, new food crops, maybe even find a cure for mental illness."
Betty suddenly realized her new boss had much bigger plans for her research than what she had thought he wanted it for, namely to recreate the accident that created The Hulk.
"The biggest thing we wanted was to find a cure for Mister Banner." Sue said and Betty gasped. "You see, with enough experimentation on plants and seeds, we're sure we can figure out how to remove any adverse effects that the radiation might produce, like mutations or genetic damage."
"I'll do it." Betty said.
Susan took out another manila envelope and set it in front of her. The large '4-B' didn't hint at the contents. "All I can do is wish you luck and tell you to contact me if you become stuck."
Betty picked up the envelope. "Will I be working on this by myself?"
Susan shook her head. "With Pamela adamant's refusal..." She said and handed her a blue envelope. "You have permission to hire a staff, even previous students if you wish. Also, Mister Kent and myself will be available to answer any questions you might have."
Betty nodded and stood. "What about any military assets? Can I hire the same assistants I had back at the college?"
Susan smiled and took out a red envelope. "You can, as long as you try to distance yourself from your father after you read that. He's not going to be having a good time dealing with the fallout."
Betty's face lost some color as she gripped the envelope. "How can I trust..."
"It's being handled." Susan said and stood as well. "Mister Kent has a lot of experience dealing with things like this."
Betty stood there and watched Susan leave the small lounge. She looked around the comfy place, felt a lot calmer than she thought she should be, and left the lounge to return to her lab. She sat at her desk and ignored the other two envelopes as she opened the red one.
"Project Gamma Pulse?" Betty asked as she looked at the supposedly highly classified military documents that showed the experiments and human rights violations they committed, and were going to continue to commit, to recreate the Super Soldier serum that produced the World War Two hero named Captain America.
When she reached the end of the file, she saw the notice from Atlas Incorporated that stated they had found the crashed super-plane that Captain America had crashed in the Arctic Circle.
"They found him." Betty whispered and let the papers drop to her desk.
*
Lex Luthor smiled as his father was arrested on embezzlement charges and hauled out of Luther Corp headquarters. He was sure the evidence would be discovered later as being planted, since that was how his father had escaped charges before. It didn't matter however, since he was now in charge and the board gave him emergency powers to bring the company through this crisis.
He strode into his father's office and ordered it to be stripped and replaced with everything from his own office that was several floors down. He would need a few more things brought in to make up the difference, since the scale of both offices were quite different. That didn't bother the new head of Luther Corp as he stood and looked out the window of the office and admired the view of the Metropolis skyline.
*PTTHIIPP! Tink!*
A small hole appeared in the glass in front of Lex's face and his eyes widened. He reached up and wiped at his forehead, only to see blood. He felt faint and closed his eyes before he slumped to the ground. Several screams came from the workers and a call was made for an ambulance, only it was for naught.
Several blocks away, a costumed villain chuckled and put the sniper rifle away. He always loved seeing the shock on his target's face when they realized they were dead. He wasn't called Deadshot for no reason. Before he could set the demolition charge to destroy the murder weapon and hide the evidence he was there, he fell through a portal and was surrounded by muscular demons.
"You have played with fate one too many times, Mister Lawson." Doctor Fate said.
Deadshot laughed. "That's rich, coming from you." He said and looked at the demons surrounding him. "So, what's with the grandstanding and sneering at me? I know you're not going to kill me."
"Kill you?" One of the demons that looked like a gargoyle asked and Deadshot shivered at the amused look on its face. "There are many more horrible ways to deal with someone like you than simply killing you."
A stone-like fist was the last thing Deadshot saw before everything went dark.
"Are you sure we can't just take his soul?" Harshan asked as she levitated the unconscious man into a storage pod.
"I believe it's better to build up a reserve for us to use as negotiating tools." Doctor Fate said and waved her hand. A glowing ball flew out of the Luther Corp building and out of the portal above their heads. "Clark was right about this soul being corrupted as well."
"You're not going to restore him?" Polundara asked.
"No. We were too late to stop the assassination after hearing about it." Doctor Fate said and didn't tell them about the terror that Lex Luthor would have become later. "Sometimes, fate can work in our favor without our interference."
"It's actually him and not a body double or a clone?" One of them asked.
"How do you know about that?" Doctor Fate asked and performed a quick spell on both Luthor and Deadshot to confirm it was actually them and not replacements.
"Father gave us a general knowledge transfer on our one month birthday." The young male demon said as his tail flicked happily. "Our skills in Minor Telepathy needed a boost, too."
"Father is the best, isn't he?" Harshan asked and blushed as a few of her siblings laughed.
"You're going to have a difficult time finding someone to breed with if you don't stop obsessing over father like that." One of the other males said.
"I can't help it, okay? I saw him in all his glory and it was glorious." Harshan said to defend herself.
"Having a large block and tackle shouldn't be the only qualification a mate needs." One of her half-sisters said. "Although, that does help."
"That's not..." Harshan stopped herself before she explained, since she didn't want to convince any of them to become her competition or tried to vie for her father's attention. The warm smiles he gave to her were the only things that made her happy and she didn't want him spreading them around. They were hers, dammit!
"Let's grab that evil woman's soul and head home for supper." Dimetara said and all the kids cheered. They all loved the food their master made and couldn't wait to have it again.
A quick portal stop in Amanda Waller's office had the woman fall asleep, her soul extracted, and her body had a heart attack. Never again would she hunt down super-powered individuals to have them perform unsanctioned missions for the government. Her SHIELD credentials also let Doctor Fate access her files and revealed more HYDRA Agents that Clark didn't know about.
The demons cheered when they learned they had even more work to do. Doctor Fate mentally shook her head at their reaction, mostly because she knew she had to allow for their mostly childish reactions to everything. They had almost no practical experience with the world, even the older demons, so she felt responsible for them and sometimes had to act more like a mother than a leader.
Doctor Fate couldn't tell you why she was okay with that as she herded her charges through the portal to go home. That was how she felt and no explanation was needed, then all thoughts seemed to flee her mind when Clark appeared at the same time as them and he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, then he thanked her for taking good care of his family.
Oh, that's why. Doctor Fate thought and kissed him back passionately.
*
Veronica Cale, an up-and-coming pharmaceutical genius, was paired with a recently graduated Harleen Quinzel from an extensive psychology program. They unexpectedly hit it off and became an incredible team, with their expertise in their respective fields combining into some of the most effective drugs to ever be patented and released on the market. The profit sharing also made them quite rich.
The theoretical physicist named Harrison Wells was hired away from Central City and he and his wife lived happily in a quaint farmhouse at the edge of town. His work was praised by his fellow scientists, including Martin Stein, and they both had a great time doing what they loved and having a family to take care of.
*
The plans to set up Thanos and Darkseid to clash went off even better than anyone had expected. Apparently, there had been tensions between them for decades already and they only needed a small spark to set them off upon each other. They soon became so focused on each other that the rest of the universe seemed to release a sigh of relief.
*
I was sitting at my desk, going over the technology release plans Susan Storm had set up, and mused about how great she was. She was a genius in her own right and I was glad to have her as my assistant and running everything for me.
Also, she had a fantastic body to match her brain and she loved having access to Kryptonian technology that she could rub in Reed Richard's face whenever he made a discovery and she could show him a better version of it.
I tensed when I felt something start to form behind me and I slowly turned my chair around to watch whomever it was. I felt my danger sense tingle and it was only a mild feeling, so there was danger but not immediate. That meant it could grow or disappear, so I had to be careful as the world went grey and paused on its own.
A seemingly young woman faded into view and she had medium length black hair that seemed to shimmer. Her goth-like appearance seemed fitting and she looked like she needed to eat a lot more.
"Don't knock the thin look, Clark." The embodiment of Death of the Endless said when she finished forming.
I chuckled and created a chair behind her. "I was only thinking you need to eat more, not that I didn't like seeing you like this."
She sat down on the chair like she was on a throne and crossed her legs.
"Leather instead of denim?" I asked and she smirked at me. "Ah, it's shiny and draws the eye."
Death reached up and tapped the Ankh hanging from her neck. "I thought you'd like it."
"I do." I admitted without shame and let my eyes roam a little. I knew this was only a representation of Death and could make herself look however she wanted; and yet, this was the most attractive and personable version of herself.
Her thin top barely hid anything and her pants were painted on, so I pretty much had a full view of her body. I didn't even have to cheat and look through her clothes, either. Her smirk changed to a genuine smile and she blushed a little when our eyes met again.
"Let me guess. I've changed a bit too much?" I asked and she nodded. "Am I being booted out completely or is a dimensional clone going to continue living my life?"
"It's your choice." Death said, seductively.
I didn't have to think about it, considering how my existence had ended in the last world. "Clone, please. At least I won't be leaving my friends and family alone and lost without me."
Death smiled and snapped her fingers. My mind was filled with decades of memories as everything I had planned for came about. All of the major threats had been reduced and in most cases nullified.
Some heroes were still created, since there was almost always a need for them, and all in all, the world was a much better place and many souls were saved and sent on to a higher plane as they were traded and exchanged with evil ones.
"Thank you." I said, gratefully. Seeing how everything turned out was a balm to my own soul, even as I ushered humanity into a golden age of prosperity and into a time where they didn't need someone as powerful as myself watching over them. Retirement was such an odd thing to experience that it made me chuckle.
"You are welcome." Death said and slowly stood. Her clothes fell away from her body without her touching them and revealed herself completely.
I grew hard for her as my own clothes faded away and she climbed onto my lap.
"You know what you have to do now." Death whispered as she sat down on me and squeaked at the intrusion, then she moaned and settled down with me completely sheathed inside of her.
She shivered as she came and gave me a look that said she wasn't disappointed after waiting so long for this moment. Her arms wrapped around my neck and she kissed me passionately as eternity stretched out around us and the current world faded away.