[COLOR=GRAY][CENTER][IMG]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019ae5d8-259a-77b5-b37c-931c223261f3.webp[/IMG][/CENTER][INDENT][table][row][cell][INDENT][color=#7d4a99]“I am so clumsy!”[/color]

Lex Luthor looked down at the freshly spilled coffee that drenched the long wool coat that framed his body like a menacing cloak. Ice shattered against the cafe floor before the clatter of the empty plastic cup elicited gasps from the gathered patrons.

[color=#7d4a99]“Sorry, I didn’t see you there,” [/color]the woman apologized profusely, grabbing a handful of napkins to wipe at the beading coffee, only making more of a mess as the wet paper tore and clung to the rough fabric and the leather of her gloves.

[color=#38761d]“I’m just glad it was iced.”[/color] Lex smiled, taking hold of the woman’s hand to stop her from spreading the mess further. 

[color=#7d4a99]“I’d hate to think of the alternative,” [/color]the woman replied, withdrawing her hand with a smile. [color=#7d4a99]“Lexa,”[/color] she offered, [color=#7d4a99]“Lexa Danvers.”[/color]

[color=#38761d]“Lex,”[/color] Lex replied with a smile of his own, [color=#38761d]“Lex Lu-”[/color]

[color=#7d4a99]“Oh, I know who you are, Mr. Luthor.”[/color] Lexa replied, [color=#7d4a99]“Everyone in Metropolis knows the son of Lionel Luthor.”[/color]

[color=#38761d]“You wound me. I assumed it was because I was the only follically challenged billionaire under forty.”[/color]

[color=#7d4a99]“That I doubt, the rest just do something about it.”[/color] Lexa smiled,[color=#7d4a99] “I suppose living in your father’s shadow would be rather demoralizing. Never known for your own worth, always judged by your father. When people look at you, they simply see privilege.”[/color]

[color=#38761d]“Judging by your tone, I’d say that’s not at all what you see,”[/color] deadpanned Lex.

[color=#7d4a99]“No,”[/color] Lexa smiled, shaking her head. [color=#7d4a99]“I see potential. I believe you’re going to change the world, Lex Luthor.”[/color]

[color=#38761d]“And I’m starting to believe that your ‘accident’ was a charade.”[/color]

[color=#7d4a99]“Sometimes fate comes for us, sometimes we have to take it into our own hands.”[/color] Lexa smiled. [color=#7d4a99]“Would you like to change the world with me, Lex?”[/color]

[color=#38761d]“How about we start with a cup of coffee?”[/color] Lex replied, [color=#38761d]“Yours appears to be empty.”[/color]

[color=#7d4a99]“How astute,”[/color] Lexa replied, her green eyes sparkling like mischievous emeralds set against a face chiselled from the finest marble. Fire-like hair flowed from her head, framing her face and complementing her features. 

[color=#7d4a99]“Come to think of it, coffee would be lovely.”[/color][/indent]
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[indent][color=#38761d]“I think I love you,”[/color]

Lexa rolled off of Lex as the pair collapsed against the silk sheets of Lex’s bed. What had been a few dates quickly rolled into months and then years. Now she lay beside the man of her dreams, no longer Alexandra Danvers, but instead of Alexandra [i]Luthor[/i]. 

[color=#7d4a99]“I would certainly hope so, considering we just got married.”[/color] She smiled as Lex picked a pile of papers off the nearby nightstand. The pair had been in the midst of their latest scientific venture before the discussion of the metahuman gene and replication of extranormal abilities gave way to the throes of passion for the newlyweds.[/indent][/cell][/row][/table][table][row][cell][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019ae608-4bac-7229-9193-a420637c6c57.webp[/img]
[color=2e2c2c]___________________________________[/color][/cell][cell][indent][color=#7d4a99]“I know. I could only go so far on the theoretical side. [b]You’re[/b] Mister Particle Physics,”[/color] Lexa stated, watching Lex read before he interrupted her, his tone dry but teasing. 

[color=#38761d]“-Which would probably look very odd on a driver’s license, but go ahead,”[/color]

[color=#7d4a99]“-So,”[/color] Lexa began again, [color=#7d4a99]“I figured you might have an idea or two.”[/color]

[color=#38761d]“Cadmus,”[/color] Lex replied, [color=#38761d]“Project Cadmus, it’s-”[/color]

[color=#7d4a99]“I’m up to speed. The D.E.O. is aware of Project Cadmus.”[/color]

[color=#38761d]“Of course, if anyone has made the kind of breakthrough into bio-engineering extranormal abilities, it would be Project Cadmus. Luthorcorp has some backdoor ties that could get us a foot in the door.”[/color]

[color=#7d4a99]“But what about Lexcorp? I thought you were going to step out of your father’s shadow. Our dream has always been to break away from Lionel and the D.E.O. and run Lexcorp.”[/color] Lexa argued. [color=#7d4a99]“If we can figure out the key, when Galatea is a success, then Infinity Inc. will be at the top of every bid, and Lexcorp will be a household name.”[/color]

[color=#38761d]“I want our dream to succeed too,”[/color] Lex replied, putting the papers down as he rolled onto his side and grasped his wife’s hands.[color=#38761d] “But I’m not above using the resources I currently have access to. It’d be foolish to squander them.”[/color]

[color=#7d4a99]“I’d just hate for Lionel to find out what we’re planning. You know he’d do anything to keep you under his thumb.”[/color][/indent][/cell][/row][/table][table][row][cell][indent][color=#38761d]“And what of Waller and Todd?” [/color]Lex asked.

[color=#7d4a99]“You let me worry about the Wall and Mister Bones.”[/color][/INDENT]
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[INDENT][color=#8e7cc3][sub]“Hell to pay!”[/sub][/color]

Lois’ words fell on deaf ears as Clark focused on the television behind her. The reporter on the screen, Cat Grant, sat situated in the middle of a desk, her plunging collar line leaving little room for interpretation as to why she was most popular with the thirty-four to fifty male demographic.[/indent][/cell][/row][/table][table][row][cell][indent]While the volume was muted in an effort to avoid disrupting the reporter’s bullpen, Clark was able to focus his hearing through the entirety of the building before finding the room being broadcast, listening to words directly from Cat’s mouth. Even before the headline crossed the screen, Clark heard Cat warn the audience of the fire currently erupting in Midtown.

[i][color=#3d85c6]This looks like a job for Superman.[/color][/i]

Moving from his chair faster than the naked eye, Clark tore down the hallway and out of the Daily Planet onto a nearby fire escape. Pulling his shirt open, the suit beneath began to activate for combat mode, its cobalt body suit accented with scarlet sunstone. His body’s radiation stores powered the alien technology covering his body—a gift from his home planet and a souvenir from his two years in space.

High above Metropolis, a streak of primary colours flew through its towering skyscrapers, a blur barely noticeable by the human eye. Behind it trailed a cloud of crimson particles as Superman soared over the Big Apricot, sharply turning through the tightly packed buildings as he expertly navigated himself from the city center to Midtown.[/indent][/cell][cell][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019ae5b8-bb39-766f-87e3-27505d428690.webp[/img][/cell][/row][/table][table][row][cell][indent]Smoke billowed above the skyline as Superman’s eyes moved towards the source of the acrid cloud of fumes. Macroscopic vision worked alongside his X-ray vision, peering both through and past the densely populated skyline as Superman located the bank. 

Firefighters were already on the scene as Superman surveyed the ongoing struggle. The flames were non-responsive to the bombardment of water, roaring back up at every attempt to extinguish them. 

Which could only mean a metahuman was nearby. 

Windows shattered as heat rose within the building. If this were a robbery, it had to have gone south; anything valuable inside would be incinerated by the fire. Rushing around the building, Superman took a deep breath before unleashing a freezing blast towards the flames. It did little more than momentarily quell them as he was left to locate the source. 

Peering through the building and flames, Superman located a woman in the middle of the inferno. He watched as she fled the scene out the back of the building. Stumbling out into the daylight of Metropolis, only to be suddenly greeted by Superman as he rushed to intercept.

[color=#FF7424]“[/color][color=#FF7926]I[/color][color=#FF7E28]’[/color][color=#FF832A]l[/color][color=#FF892C]l[/color] [color=#FF9331]b[/color][color=#FF9833]u[/color][color=#FF9E35]r[/color][color=#FFA337]n[/color] [color=#FFAE3B]t[/color][color=#FFB33E]h[/color][color=#FFB840]i[/color][color=#FFBD42]s[/color] [color=#FFC846]w[/color][color=#FFCD49]h[/color][color=#FFD24B]o[/color][color=#FFD84D]l[/color][color=#FFDD4F]e[/color] [color=#FFE854]b[/color][color=#FFE251]l[/color][color=#FFDD4F]o[/color][color=#FFD84D]c[/color][color=#FFD24B]k[/color] [color=#FFC846]d[/color][color=#FFC344]o[/color][color=#FFBD42]w[/color][color=#FFB840]n[/color][color=#FFB33E],[/color] [color=#FFA839]b[/color][color=#FFA337]o[/color][color=#FF9E35]y[/color] [color=#FF9331]s[/color][color=#FF8E2E]c[/color][color=#FF892C]o[/color][color=#FF832A]u[/color][color=#FF7E28]t[/color][color=#FF7926].[/color][color=#FF7424]”[/color] The woman warned, flames covering her whole body.

[color=#3d85c6]“Kelex, let's him ‘em with the Thunderdome.” [/color]

Superman ordered as the cape-shaped construct made of malleable sunstone particles detached from his shoulders, and rapidly expanded. Hardening into a crystalline substance, it coated the nearby buildings in a red translucent substance, protecting both the structures and those inside while subsequently blocking any pathways of escape.

[color=#3d85c6]“I suggest you surrender now,”[/color] Superman bellowed, [color=#3d85c6]“I see no reason this has to escalate.”[/color]

The woman answered by throwing a gout of fire towards the Man of Steel. His suit answered, projecting a shield in front of him, the golden energy absorbing the flames. 

[color=#3d85c6]“The hard way it is then,”[/color] Superman replied, clapping his hands together as a rippling shockwave erupted from his clasped hands, nearly driving the woman backwards.

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