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[color=39b54a][h3][center]One Month Ago[/center][/h3][/color]
Lex Luthor sat in the back of a black helicopter without any markings. It flew over the eastern European landscape under the cover of darkness barely above the trees. The pilot, as per Lex's orders, had flown as close to the treetops as he dared to without crashing. Lex had no intention of being tracked to this country, especially not by any American satellites floating above them. He loosened his blue tie and cleared his throat as the chopper came to a large clearing within the forest. Three football fields worth of grassland was surrounded by a deep ring of forest. In the middle of the clearing was a crater large enough to fit a submarine. 

A bright green glow protruded from inside the crater eerily lighting the cloudy starless night. The chopper landed 50 yards away from the massive hole in the ground and the security officer sitting next to him opened the door. The Kevlar armored man jumped out of his seat and landed softly on the grass followed closely by Lex and a blonde female translator. Lex's tie tugged against his neck as the gusts of wind from the helicopter's blades affected the area around him. 

Three foreign men dressed similar to the security officer approached them with weapons in hand pointed at the ground. Closer to the crater were two more foreigners wearing black suits looking down at the glowing object. One of the men with guns started speaking in his native language directed at Luthor. 

[color=39b54a]"Cynthia I could use a translation."[/color] Lex turned to the woman. 

"They said welcome Mr. Luthor." She said hesitantly. He knew that wasn't the entire message but decided to let it slide.

[color=39b54a]"Tell them to get out of the way, I'm here to examine the object."[/color] She stammered a bit but eventually relayed his message to the other men. They exchanged words for a minute before one of them gestured towards the crater. The three guards stepped to the side allowing Luthor and his translator to pass. The security guard remained with the helicopter. 

He approached the edge of the huge imperfection in the ground and peered towards the light. A glowing green rock the size of a minivan was lodged into the ground. It gave off a small amount of heat subtly warming the area around it. Lex allowed himself a small smirk. The object was beautiful and ugly all at the same time. 

"Ah Mr. Luthor, wonderful to finally meet you." One of the men in the suits spoke up. He had a heavy accent but Lex could understand his English. He turned and waved his translator off. She bashfully edged her way back towards the vehicle they had arrived in.

[color=39b54a]"Likewise, what is it?"[/color] He answered ignoring the hand extended toward him. 

"We're not sure." The man lowered his hand with an annoyed expression. "It has been landing all over the country for the past few weeks, the largest chunk crashed into a cave system along the western border. We have people attempting to recover the substance as we speak."

[color=39b54a]"Good, tell your leader that I expect a shipment of two tons of this material in Metropolis by the end of the week."[/color] He took one last look at the object before turning to return to the helicopter.

"By the end of the week?! Sir we still don't know if it's safe to move!" The second man in a suit shouted at Lex grabbing him by the shoulder. He spun around grabbing the man's wrist and turned it downward. He could see the three armed men move toward him so he released his captive.

[color=39b54a]"Yes by the end of the week."[/color] Lex said turning around again. [color=39b54a]"Oh and if you ever greet me with thugs armed with LexCorp weapons again, I'll have you nailed to the bottom of my helicopter and fly you all the way back to the States." 
[/color]
[color=39b54a][h3][center]Now[/center][/h3] [/color] 
[color=39b54a]"No no no! The filtration system goes here and the particle accelerator attaches to the power source!"[/color] Lex yelled at the three other scientists that were helping him build the generator. They hurriedly shifted large hunks of machinery around the large room. It was lit by large blue lights attached to the ceiling with only two windows on opposite sides of the floor. The architecture inside was filled with modernistic arches and a transparent ceiling that allowed view of the higher floor of the lab. 

"Sorry sir." one of the men hesitantly replied as he scrambled around the room. He tripped over a fusion coil sending the large metal spring rolling across the floor. Lex stopped it with his foot and bent down with an exasperated sigh. 

[color=39b54a]"Be careful you imbecile! This equipment is worth more than the entire state of Ohio!" [/color]He picked the device up and walked to the man who was still recovering from his fall. 

"I didn't mean to Mr. Luthor. I'm Sorry." 

[color=39b54a]
"Oh you didn't mean too? I hope not, how am I supposed to change the world if I have you accidentally setting the company back millions of dollars every time you forget to look where you're going?"[/color] He set the coil down on a glass desk littered with several different failed blueprint designs of his generator. 

"I... I.." The man stuttered.

[color=39b54a]"I, I" [/color] Lex mocked back. [color=39b54a]"Dear God you're pathetic. Go pack your equipment up and get the hell out of my lab. You're fired."[/color] The other two men in the room were silent as their co-worker moped his way out of the room. Lex turned to each of them giving them a stern look. They each took the message and got back to work. 

Lex turned and walked to the back of the lab where the three dry erase boards filled with equations stood. Papers were littered around the floor in crumbled up balls that had missed the waste basket. He rubbed his hand over his bald head and cracked his neck with a moan. Over the past month his eastern European contacts had been providing him with the alien substance. He still wasn't quite sure what it was but he knew that it could be used as a power source. For two weeks he had been trying to crack an equation that would allow him to power the entire city using a chunk of the green rock no larger than a watermelon. So far he was having no success. On the middle dry erase board circled multiple times in red were the letters 'X=?'.  

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He grimaced, he was sure that he had told everyone that he did not want to be disturbed. He let it ring until the call was dropped. Mere seconds later however, it rang again. With a grumble he pulled his LexPhone 6L out of his pocket. Caller id showed Mercy Graves. A picture of the two of them in London on the screen as the cellular device vibrated. 

[color=39b54a]"Mercy I told you I would be busy for a few hours."[/color] He answered the phone. 

[color=ed145b]"I know Lex, but I thought you'd like to know that Reed Richards and Susan Storm are in the building."[/color]

[color=39b54a]"Really? Send someone to greet them and bring them to the lab."[/color]

[color=ed145b]"Okay Lex, I lo..."[/color] She was cut off as Lex hung up his phone and put it back in his lab coat's pocket. He cursed under his breath. He did not want Reed Richards to see that he was struggling. The man was one of the few on the planet he considered an intellectual rival. He was also beginning to be a friend. 

[color=39b54a]"Turn it on."[/color] Lex walked back to the center of the room.

"What?" One of the men asked.

[color=39b54a]"Turn it on now."[/color]

"Sir without the control rod in place it could very well..."

[color=39b54a]"Don't question me. Do it."[/color] The two scientists complied. After a few moments the generator kicked to life. The same eerie green glow that he first encountered a month ago filled the space. The generator let out a soft humming noise as the gears inside it churned. He smiled to himself [i][color=39b54a]It works.[/color][/i] He walked to the breaker on the wall panel next to the dors and shut the labs main power down. 

The room went completely dark except for the every present glow of the machine. After a few seconds one of the other scientist plugged a cord into the back of the generator. The lights in the lab came back to life and every computer in the room began to boot. He was powering his entire lab independent from the rest of the building with a fist sized chunk of space rock hooked into a machine. 

The doors to the lab opened slowly and Reed entered with his fiance. Lex turned around with a smile more because he would be able to show off his work to another brilliant mind than the fact that it was actually working. He grinned as the couple walked towards him taking in the view of his lab. 

[color=39b54a]"Reed, Susan! This is a surprise. I didn't know you were back in town."[/color] He said as he shook each of their hands. [color=39b54a]"What if I told you that I've found a power source more efficient than any fossil fuel that could be burned without any of the adverse effects?"[/color] He smiled again gesturing at the machine in the center of the room. [color=39b54a]"And what if I told you that the room you're standing in now is being powered by that very energy source?[/color]