Proofreader&Editor: Lotas
A sleek black limousine glided quietly along the highway.
Inside the car, silence reigned as Luthor sat in the backseat, swiftly swiping through his tablet to manage company affairs, occasionally glancing out the window.
Two armed bodyguards sat opposite him, their expressions stern and vigilant, uttering not a word.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a blue figure soared across the sky, landing firmly and blocking the limo's path.
Clark stood with his arms crossed, bathed in sunlight, bringing the vehicle to a halt.
"It's Super… Superman!"
The driver hit the brakes, and the two bodyguards quickly exited the vehicle, using the car doors as shields, their pistols aimed at Clark.
Bang.
"Put the guns away."
Luthor's gaze darkened as he smiled and waved a dismissive hand. He looked at Clark.
"If the renowned Superman meant me harm, what use would those guns in your hands be?"
"I trust he wouldn't harm an innocent civilian without cause."
Throughout the journey, he hadn't notified anyone, remaining silent from start to finish, communicating with his subordinates only through written instructions on his tablet. Yet, he was still intercepted on his way to the company.
"Unfortunately, you are far from innocent, and what before me is not even human."
Clark's previous goodwill towards Luthor, who had deceived him with the lives of thousands of citizens as a joke, was gone.
His eyes glowed red with laser vision, and in the next second, the bionic Luthor was melted by the intense heat, leaving only a pair of feet standing in place.
The synthetic rubber skin peeled away to reveal a skeleton of steel and wires.
"This… this…"
The two bodyguards gaped in shock, their boss had become a robot.
Since the destruction of a bionic robot at the military base, this was the first time Luthor appeared in sunlight, albeit as a cautious test to see if he would be attacked.
But in all of Metropolis, the only walking metal frame was him, and Clark had caught him.
"Gentlemen, don't let today's events frighten you. I suggest you continue with your job."
"After all, a bodyguard's job that doesn't require worrying about the employer's safety is hard to come by."
Having dealt with Luthor's robot, Clark joked with the bewildered bodyguards before leaping away.
His figure, like a great bird, bounded back to the city, perching atop a skyscraper to continue monitoring criminal activity.
In the golden sunlight.
Clark opened his eyes towards the sun.
In a gray world, large patches of light occupied the center of his vision, blurring everything, but it was no longer pitch black.
His eyes were healing.
Clark had thought that with his strong physique, even without his sight, he would manage, but Luthor and the military base commander had taught him a lesson.
"My brother was right; no other ability can replace one's eyes."
Fortunately, within just two days, his vision began to show signs of recovery.
"And not just that…"
Clark clenched his fist, feeling like a baby back in his mother's womb under the warm sun, his body growing stronger every second.
"After passing out from weakness the other day,
my body must have sensed the urgency and danger, accelerating the growth of my abilities."
In just two days, Clark's powers had significantly increased in all aspects, each new day he could even defeat his former self.
***
In an underground fortress.
Luthor removed the helmet-like control device for remotely operating the bionic robot, his expression sour.
"The creation of bionic robots was initially just a precaution."
Having inherited a vast fortune, he was likely to be targeted during this period, and the bionic robots could take his place in facing danger.
But now, he could only operate in the sunlight through a robot body, while his real self hid from the sun underground.
The bad news didn't end there.
Luthor's attempts to procure materials for casting steel soldiers to upgrade his armor and bionic robots were bluntly rejected by Sam Lane, who warned him not to pry into military secrets.
Even after leveraging some of his military and government connections, the result was the same.
Some of the high-ranking military and government officials Luthor dealt with didn't even have the clearance to view the Steel Soldier project's information.
Hiss!
The lab door opened.
Luthor, with a stern face, proceeded to the third sub-level laboratory of the fortress.
"Sir."
A scientist, who had just finished listening to a report from a subordinate researcher, approached with a tired but excited expression: "We've had a major breakthrough in our experiment, successfully combining three different meteorite-induced abilities for the first time."
Through the thick bulletproof glass, Luthor peered with furrowed brows.
Bang, bang, bang!
Sharp rifle bullets struck the test subject, bouncing off the indestructible skin. The subject's figure flickered, camouflaging into invisibility.
The armed security tester, caught off guard, was silently approached, and his gun was snatched away.
The test subject's hand glowed with intense heat, the air twisted, and the rifle melted into molten iron, dripping onto the lab floor.
"How about it, sir?"
The elderly scientist with graying hair and a slightly balding head, his eyes brimming with excitement, inquired if Luthor was satisfied.
If this project had been conducted in the military, the sight of a single person capable of contending with a special forces team would have earned applause and praise from even the most critical generals.
"Not bad, but not enough!"
Yet, there was not a trace of joy on Luthor's face.
If this had been a few days earlier, he would have lavished praise upon learning of the experiment's success. But today was different; he felt a sense of urgency.
"Dr. Jones, I have invested billions of dollars into the Typhon project to date, bringing you a top-notch research team.
The ultimate goal of this project is to create a perfect biological weapon with hundreds, if not thousands, of abilities to handle any situation and defeat all enemies."
"But now, you've spent over a billion dollars and have only completed the technology for three abilities?"
"Sir, with the technology for multiple ability transformations, achieving a hundred or even a thousand abilities is just a matter of time."
The scientist, a revered figure in the scientific community and a Nobel laureate, reminded him.
A breakthrough from zero to one is significant, and three is a massive leap from one. This was the reason for his jubilation, and he could say the project was eighty percent successful.
"I know.
But the problem is, I can't wait that long."
Luthor waved his hand impatiently, his tone leaving no room for refusal.
"Starting tomorrow, I will join your project and work alongside you in research, striving to complete the 'Typhon' plan as soon as possible."
Typhon, the father of all monsters in Greek mythology, had a hundred monstrous heads, a massive figure that reached the sky, and was the progenitor of creatures like the hundred-headed dragon Ladon, the Hydra, and the three-headed dog Cerberus. He once defeated Zeus and brought endless fear to the Olympian gods.
Luthor named the project after this figure because these abilities came from those mutated by meteorites, and he had extraordinary expectations for it.
"A monster… powerful enough to kill a deity!" He placed his hands on the console, eyes fixed on the test subject inside, a sharp glint passing through them.
The original plan was to create the perfect biological weapon for his use.
"Now, the plan must be changed."
In Norse mythology, Odin, the king of gods, sacrificed one eye for supreme wisdom, hanging himself upside down on the World Tree for seven days and nights.
To walk freely in the sunlight again, rather than forever hiding in a dark bunker, he might have to pay a price, such as transforming himself.