“General Lane......”.
Doctor Austin yelled with a loud voice as he chased after Sam's leaving footsteps. The old general ignored him, saving no face for the renowned doctor as he made his way towards the elevator with a flat face.
“........... Would you please reconsider…" Austin's anxious face appeared in his vision, but Sam wouldn't have another word.
He bluntly cut short Austin's sentence, adding his own.
“There is nothing to reconsider in this. Concerning project Steel Soldier, Cadmus has proven that they cannot deliver on their promises. The military's money doesn't grow on trees”.
Austin choked a bit. The middle-aged doctor was momentarily at a loss for words, but quickly regained his composure and continued his act of persuasion.
This couldn't happen.
Although he had expected that Sam wouldn't be pleased, he never thought for a second that the general would decisively abandon Cadmus with the failure of the Blockbuster formula.
The military had spent years as well as billions of dollars in investments on this project. And the Blockbuster serum was just one of their investments in the grand phase of The Steel Soldier Project.
Nevertheless, the losses incurred from abandoning it would be tremendous.
Of course, it wouldn't affect Sam Lane in the slightest. Although he had vigorously supported the Steel Soldier Project, Lane's position was almost unshakable due to the backing of the world council. But Cadmus operations would definitely take a big hit. And he as the head director and head researcher of this facility would undoubtedly bear the brunt of it, regardless of whether he was responsible.
And for someone like him who had deep ties and access to core secrets, let's just say that his ending would certainly not be pleasant.
He realized it soon after joining that leaving Cadmus was easier said than done. Leaving it alive, that is.
“.... But...... What about the investments? I'm sure we can come to an understanding. If you can just give us some more time.....”
Sam expressionlessly stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for going above ground.
Looking at the panicked face of the doctor, Sam said coldly.
“Cadmus's time is up. The military has a new investment”. The elevator doors slowly closed.
“And tell Luthor, I'm tired of him playing tricks….”
Ding!
The doors closed, leaving behind a middle-aged man wearing a white lab coat.
Austin's eyes dimmed significantly. His back slumped a bit, and he ran his hands through his hair in frustration.
Things were going really wrong.
............
Above Ground, Cadmus Facility.
Stepping through the sliding entrance doors, Lane walked out of the building with an indifferent expression.
“Sir!” Two men decked out in army green uniforms stood at both sides of the entrance and saluted.
Lane didn't respond, his face cold and his eyes sharp. Both soldiers saw the general move forward and followed a few steps behind him.
They knew that the Sam was in a bad mood. And truthfully, that was exactly the case.
A soldier standing upright opened the door of the escort vehicle. Sam didn't spare him an extra glance and stepped into it.
“Move Out!” A sergeant yelled.
The convoy that had brought them here drove forwards, heading out of the facility gates into the vast, barren land.
Looking out the window, the only thing that would come into view was nothing but dust and sand as unlike the other Cadmus facilities located in or near populated areas, this one was right in the middle of a desert.
Of course, there was a military base not too far from here, which was Sam's next destination.
Sam didn't bother to take a look. His face sported a deep frown as countless thoughts roamed through his mind.
“Alice!” Lane called out as he picked up a tablet at the far right.
“Yes Sir?” The screen lit up immediately, followed by a small holographic projection of the Red Loli.
“Report”. He said.
“Your orders have been carried out as you requested, general. However......”.
The tone of the AI drawled.
Sam's face grew ugly.
“..... There has been a slight complication with your plans”.
“Explain”. With an unsightly expression, the general ordered with a low growl. Judging from her tone, he knew that something had gone wrong again.
“All news on file A06 has been suppressed according to your commands. From the quick reaction of the military, the incident should have disappeared into the background. Away from the knowledge of the common populace. That was until tonight”. Alice reported.
Sam's face grew uglier with each passing second.
“Let me guess. Someone didn't want it to silently disappear?”
“Yes”.
“And now, a week later, someone spread it out?”
“Yes”.
“And right now, as I'm speaking, it's slowly becoming a sensation?”
“Yes”.
Although he tried his best to maintain his poker face, the slight trembling of his hands showed that General Lane was anything but calm at this moment.
Sam, at this point, found the continuous “Yes” answers particularly irritating.
“Who?” He asked with eyes gleaming with coldness.
“There is no verified source general. It suddenly appeared on the internet an hour ago. However, there are people using it to their advantage”.
“Name”. He said as he made a slight gesture.
“Gordon Godfrey”. The Red Queen stated.
“Luthor!” Uttering with narrowed eyebrows, Sam's already bad mood worsened.
“Show me”. He said after a moment of silence.
The Red Queen disappeared, and several holographic screens appeared in her place. Showing news reports, television broadcasts, internet topics all over the web.........
All talking about The Gotham City Disturbance.
File A06 was the case file Sam had created for The Deviant. Recording every and all information they could gather on The Deviant as well as his every public action, public sightings and more. The latest addition to this file was the noticeable battle the person in question had with the Justice League a while back.
Lane had suppressed this issue as soon as it was discovered. But now, it was everywhere.
As soon as the news appeared, it spread like wildfire on a dry grassland. The sudden drop had caught Lane off guard at an inappropriate time.
Coincidence? Sam wouldn't believe it even if they killed him.
Someone was fanning the flames behind this wildfire. And it honestly annoyed the old general to no end.
“Stop”. He gestured with his hand, and the holographic screens immediately disappeared.
“What is our next course of action?” The miniature version of the Red Queen reappeared again over the tablet.
“Pass my orders, let the military cut off all investment contracts with Lexcorp and Cadmus Labs”. He replied with an expressionless face.
The constant shoe tapping was the only indicator of his annoyance.
“Contact the White House. I think that Mr. President owes me an explanation”. Lane touched his bare chin for a minute in thought.
“And notify Amari. It's time to complete the promised transaction”.
“As you wish”.
The Red Queen disappeared, leaving Sam alone with his thoughts. Seeing the tablet power down, Sam put it aside, his mind drifting to other issues.
The first and most important on the list was to clean out Cadmus.
The relationship between the military and Cadmus stemmed from the formers desire for a strike force capable of battling the new age of the supernatural.
Nowadays, regular guns and bullets just wouldn't cut it anymore. With the emergence of things which were previously deemed impossible such as Aliens, Metahumans, deranged villains and creatures of the magic world, it had dawned on Sam how seriously lacking the earth was in firepower.
Not just him, all world governments had realized the same thing and were gradually taking steps to combat this problem.
If that weren't the case, how could the existence of Superman and the likes be easily tolerated? In a way, the world's reliance on the League could be clearly seen.
Missiles and bombs were quickly becoming obsolete. And in the face of individuals like Superman, mankind was completely at their mercy.
This was something that Sam didn't want to see. Years ago, Sam turned to a younger Lex Luthor with his ideas for a weapon capable of combating the supernatural.
“Project Steel Soldier”, as the military named it in their archives.
Lex readily agreed at that time, leading Sam to believe that the young billionaire, genius, had a similar thought process.
Lane remembered the words he had said to his superiors several years ago while Lex stood beside him.
“Well. Give me a regiment of men like this “Superman”... How can I call him that?”
And now, many years later, the project still hadn't come to fruition. The Blockbuster formula which he held the highest hope for was a veritable failure.
For soldiers that he couldn't control, Lane had no use for them. As for Luthor? Sam could see that Lex's intentions had greatly changed from what it once was.
He discovered this when the existence of Superboy was made known to him. Cadmus Labs had created a clone of Superman and kept it hidden for years without his knowledge.
That was the last straw, and the failure of the Blockbuster serum was just an additional disappointment that didn't disappoint him very much.
Lex had been playing with him. Siphoning money out of the military to fund his research while leaving them with the defective scraps.
Don't underestimate the fact, of thinking that such money wouldn't matter for Lex who was a billionaire.
The military spent billions of dollars each year.
If it were before, Sam might still endure it. After all, the Steel Soldier Project couldn't be easily abandoned.
But now........
The old general had better options.
And this retaliation, was only the beginning. Lane would make sure Luthor coughed up every last dollar he had swallowed from them.
It was conceivable that within the next few months, Lexcorp industries would suffer severe losses.
Despite just being the secretary of the DOD, Lane had this confidence.
Sam no longer thought about the Lex's issues. His mind drifted towards the Steel Soldier Project.
..........
The shadows of military trucks trailed under the hot, afternoon sun. The convoy drove forwards on the barren desert.
Consisting of five armored vehicles, the one transporting the most important officer in the middle.
Sounds of heavy rock music could be heard from the first, however.
Housing five soldiers, all except the driver holding their guns at the ready, their heads rocked to the music as their gazes drifted in different directions.
“Looks like things didn't go as planned”. Soldier A commented as he looked out the window from the left side of the back seat.
“Yeah?” The driver uttered. “What makes you think that?”
“We're not transporting anything”. Soldier A responded.
“Wasn't this supposed to be an escort mission?” Soldier B at the front seat beside the driver asked.
“That's right, but it's not the General we're supposed to be escorting”.
“Yeah. What I heard, we're supposed to be picking up some kind of Super Serum”.
“Hehe…. What's Cadmus cooking up this time? Super soldiers?”
“Not too surprising if that were really the case”.
“Yeah right”. The driver sneered. “Even if they did, what's the use. It can't turn anyone to Superman now, can it?”
“If it could, would you try it?”
“Nah, thanks. I don't want to risk the chance of turning into some ugly, deformed monster”.
“Doesn't matter to me. At least the mission we're on is on the safer side. I heard that some poor guys got busted up on a prisoner escort to Belle Reve".
Soldier A said in a low voice.
“More than two dozen guys. Only one made it out alive. He's still in intensive care”.
Silence fell on them.
"Fucking Superhumans". One of them cursed.
“Enough”. The driver bellowed.
“What happens in our line of work is obvious. For now, you ladies can all thank the Gods you pray your asses off to that what we're doing is relatively on the safer.......... Hey..... Do you guys see something?”
The driver's words came to a halt. a question followed the sentence.
“Huh? What are you talking about?” The one sitting beside him asked.
The driver leaned forward and squinted his eyes, staring intensively through the glass.
“Some kind of flash. In the air. I could have sworn I saw something”.
“Hey, we get it. There's no need to try to scare us”. Soldier A laughed.
“..... No wait. I think I see it too. Up in the sky”.
Those who could see, stretched their necks and a sight fell into their eyes. Once, where there was nothing, a flying jet appeared out of thin air.
“Is that a Jet?”
“What the hell is that?”
“Not like any model I ever saw?”
Small holes suddenly opened from the sides of the flying aircraft. Followed by two cannons pointed towards the moving convoy.
The faces of everyone watching changed as they saw the cannons light up with a blue hue.
“Oh My God!”
“It's an Attack!”
“Get your heads down!”.
On the aircraft.
“Sonic cannons have locked on target”. The pilot said with a bland tone.
Behind him stood a man wearing a standard green suit. The most iconic feature being his head that, unlike regular humans, showed what was hiding beneath the skull. His brain.
“Fire”. He ordered expressionlessly.
BOOM!
Two streams of sonic pulses blasted towards the convoy escorting the secretary of the United States Department Of Defense.
BOOM!