Damage Assessment.

Looking up at the gaping hole in the facility from the storage room for the kryptonite being used for his weapons manufacturing, Lex Luthor’s face was unreadable as he watched several crews clean up the damages and tried to patch up the holes as quickly as they could. Straightening his tie, the man stepped away from the construction work to the rest of the crews salvaging what they could of the storage room. Going over a report offered to him by the facility’s manager, Lex’s eyes narrowed at the findings.

“She picked the entire room clean, not a single spec of kryptonite was spared…”

“N-no sir, we’ve screened the room twice for anything that would have been left behind.” Answered the man, shaking like a leaf in front of his CEO who quickly went over the report and speaking over the heavy machinery. “We s-should have this place back up and running in just a few…”

“You’re fired, I’ll send someone to replace you this afternoon.”

Slapping the report against the man’s chest and walking away without batting an eye lash, Lex Luthor made his way out of the facility to the parking lot where Mercy was already there with a fur coat to put over the man’s shoulders before opening the passenger door to his limousine parked just out front. Leaning back into the leather of the seating, Lex poured himself a drink from the wet bar to the side of the limo and swirled his drink in his hand as he heard Mercy step into the driver’s seat and rev the engine.

“I’ve read the report offered by the security while you were in the storage room Mr. Luthor.” Spoke Mercy over her shoulder while she drove out of the parking lot and increased velocity once she was on the main road to return to the city. “They described a tall, muscular woman with long black hair posing as one of our researchers, we ended up finding the real one knocked out in a women’s washroom in a bar a block or two from the facility entrance. The police claim her arms were tied behind her back with the safety bar from the handi-capped stall, tied around her like it was easy as bending tin.”

“Fire her too. Because of her and the rest of those incompetents posing as professionals, about a third of my kryptonite stores are gone! A lot of money and resources went into gathering all of that mineral.”

“What do we do with the woman? You think it might be Lois Lane? Like last time?”

“Mrs. Lane?” Asked Luthor with a raised eyebrow. “Don’t be absurd, if it were, she would be 7 feet tall and built like a Norwegian Olympian athlete. No… More than likely we have a new player in town, one who is trying to gather all the kryptonite I’ve amassed all these years for some unforeseen plan…”

“What will you do Lex?”

Looking down at his glass and taking a sip of his brandy, Luthor turned his attention to the phone mounted on the armrest of his seat and began to make a series of calls. The drive back to Metropolis only took an hour, but by then Lex had finished with making an appointment with some parties he invited back to his corporation’s headquarters. Entering the building and not even waiting for Mercy to remove his coat for him, the man made his way to the elevator and to the top floor to his main office. When the elevator doors opened, he knew full well the men and women he called for were already there, if not because of the scorch marks on the wall or the smell of ozone in the air, then certainly the chatter behind the double doors to his office.

Opening the doors and stepping inside, the room became deathly quite as Lex made his way to his desk and sat in the cushioned, leather chair, pulling out a wooden box from the side cabinet of his desk to place it in front of him for his ‘visitors’ to see.

“Why’d you call us Luthor?” Asked a digital sounding voice, the hushed whirl of servos could be heard when the man crossed his arms.

“Yes. Fun and games, fun and games, but what toys are there to play with?” Giggled the other sitting on a nearby couch, fumbling with a rubix cube and a glossy percaline smile.

“Hsss…. It better be damn worth it Luthor, I don’t like coming out if there’s nothing to eat.”

“I have a job for all of you, something I believe would be in all of your best interests.” Opening the wooden box, it was revealed to be lined with led as Luthor plucked a green, glowing shard of crystal from within to wave in front of the group like it was a slip of gold to lure them.

“Oooh, shiny, shiny, you paying us with glowin rocks there Luthor?” Asked the woman at the back.

“I have someone raiding my weapons facilities, ones devoted to the manufacture of kryptonite powered weaponry. I have put a significant amount of effort and money into their production and for them to be green lit by the US government. I don’t know who’s doing this but from what the reports are telling me, she’s EATING my reserves.”

“Ha! Sounds like something YOU would do.” Chuckled the woman at the back to one of her compatriots as he turned and sneered back at her.

Admiring the glowing rock in his hands, Luthor explained himself to the others he requested. “I want her eliminated, however and whichever way it has to be done.”

“And what do we get out of it then hmm? Some of us aren’t look for ONLY money after all.”

“Yes, yes, how do we find player number two in this game then, hmm?”

Taking the shard of kryptonite and placing it on the table, Lex Luthor took a heavy ornament from the desk to smash it to pieces, dividing them into small piles next to each other and presenting them to the group he hired.

“This woman is attracted to kryptonite, if you have any on you, more than likely she’ll come to you. Take her out, and you’ll be rewarded with enough money to buy a small island.”

Approaching the table and gathering what was offered, the group of villains took their shares of kryptonite as a sign that they agreed to the terms and made their way out of the office. Before exiting the door, one of them turned to one of their compatriots and smirked.

“Not taking any of the shiny rocks there John?”

“I’ve got one of my own, thank you very much.” He smirked, opening a compartment in his chest and flooding the entire office with a sickening green glow. Laughing together, the four left the office, leaving Lex Luthor alone in his office to write up plans just in case of their failure.

Pressing a button on the intercom next to his seat, Luthor called for his assistant.

“Mercy, it is done, I want our… Guests a safe exit with no witnesses.”

“Yes Mr. Luthor.” Replied Mercy on the other line, the intercom clicking and going quiet, leaving Luthor to continue to make plans. Leaning back in his chair, Lex folded his hands under his chin and turned his chair to look out the window to his office from his 200-story high vantage point.

He had been planning this for far too long to be sidetracked by some oddity. Kryptonite weapons as widespread and distributed globally would turn the Earth into a **** trap for the Man of Steel, everyone from an army at the hands of some paranoid despot from a third world country on the opposite end of the globe to a street punk down in the streets, this world would no longer be safe for Superman to so much as safe a kitten out of a tree. He had planned and spent too much to be sidetracked now. The fortune he would gain alone would allow him to leave a significant footprint in the country’s decisions after they were done planning the Kryptonian’s funeral.

But only if this woman was found and dealt with.

For now, no one knew where she was or where she fled to. From his own estimates on the damages back at the facility, this woman leapt with enough **** to propel herself a mile into the air and most likely had landed ten miles away. For once his choice in building a facility out in the middle of nowhere left him with no clues as to where to start looking. What he did know, was this being was incredibly powerful and dangerous and from the reports of the injured security, completely insane!

But much to his annoyance, he was **** to wait patiently until this woman made a sound and called attention to herself again.