2014.03.24 - Trust

Time: 1600, Sunday

Place: New Cadmus Facility. Currently Under Construction.

Like any halfway decent secret government laboratory, the new Cadmus facility doesn't have a sign that says 'Secret Government Laboratory.' Instead, from the outside, it appears to be a normal office complex in the heart of Metropolis. And like any office complex in the heart of Metropolis, it's best reached by air.

As the blades begin slowing down, and the engines are cut, Guardian quickly runs through the post-flight procedures before hopping out of the helicopter, helmet tucked under his arm. There, a waiting group of uniformed security officers go about securing the craft, and opening the door to the building for him.

Leo Luthor is pretty much fully recovered from his solo battle against the parademon armor. He is still missing a few pounds, but that is barely noticeable. The circles are gone from beneath his eyes, the bruising is fully healed. He waits for Guardian, and is careful to observe the saftey of getting out of the helicopter. It is not for himself, it is for the helicopter he does this, it isn't nice to break Cadmus Project's toys after all!

Leo's blue eyes are alert, the heir of Lex Luthor, the 'unknown' when it comes to the government on if he will be a worthy ally and advocate or not. He follows along after Guardian to the door to enter with him. His movements are confident and don't appear anything like a teenager other than his appearent youthfulness.

"I've given you Restricted Access to the complex. Basically, you have to be escorted at all times by Cadmus security personnel." From a pocket in Guardian's uniform, he produces a deceptively simple-looking passcard attached to a clip. Pausing in the doorway, he clips the card to the front of his guest's shirt. Very press badge.

"So, consider me your escort for the evening. I'll take you wherever you want to go. Just promise me you won't make me regret this..."

Leo is quiet as the badge is clipped to him, and after a moment, he actually cracks a bit of a smile. "Guardian, seriously, I'm loyal to my Father. We may have my disagreements, but I would never do anything to harm him, and he is the Director of the Cadmus Project. Furthermore, I'm loyal to Earth, and to my country on top of that. I'm a patriot for the U.S. and for Humanity. I'm also a realist."

There is a slight pause, before Leo states, "Though even as a realist, I find loyalty very important, so I treat others how I wish to be treated. You can trust me not to betray /you/ either. I know how precious trust is, and I would not dare sour it."

As the doors open, Guardian steps into the elevator. "Sub-basement, level 6. Authorization: Guardian Delta Niner Four Golf Romeo." An artificial female voice responds "Identity confirmed: Guardian." and the elevator begins whooshing downward. Given the many floors the building has, it takes a minute.

"No offense, kid, but I'm still a bit leery of the whole 'Kryptonian Clone' thing. If you'd read my report from the last time I had to tangle with one of those, you'd probably get where I'm coming from. There's a reason we had to build a new facility, after all."

Leo actually frowns thoughtfully, "I don't know what you are talking about unless you mean the Superboy Project which I do know about. I also know what a failure it was. You would have been better off having a security feature to gas him dead, then let him loose in the world. Now his loyalty is firmly with the House of El, an alien race, rather than with humanity." Guardian can make what assumptions he can, though the legal paperwork is all properly in place for whatever story Lex wanted established. Leo never talks about his mother except with bitterness and avoidance, as if there are deep emotional issues there and she does 'exist'.

There doesn't seem to be a bit of emotional infliction in Superboy's right to 'live', from Leo's ton. "But I'm not here to create Kryptonian clones Guardian. I have interests in them because of their potential threat level to Earth, and the fact that Earth's current major defense against Darkseid is an unpredictable alien whom Darkseid has the ability to remove his powers which makes him next to useless on top of that," Leo states. "Furthermore, if they turn on Earth, what does Earth have to protect ourselves?" Leo includes himself in humanity, he includes himself as home to Earth. He classifies himself HUMAN, that much is very clear. "It is the same with telepathy. It is a high-level threat, so methods in implementing it or blocking it are of high interest to me as well. There are some personal reasons I am also interested in telepathy, including the fact my powers lie in the mental area though it is telekinesis based."

"Hurm." It's the only response that Jim has as he stares stoically forward. The elevator continues to whoosh downward, until the artificial female voice calls out "Sub-basement, Level 6." and the doors open with a turbo-lift 'hiss' sound.

"I know you're probably used to seeing some weird stuff, your dad being who he is. But the stuff we've got here... let's just say it's a whole new level of weirdness. Remember to be polite when I introduce you to my friend. And remember you specifically asked for this."

Jim leads the way down a corridor toward a vast open area filled with tanks filled with human(?) embryos. Scientists in white coats walk around, checking the various tanks and recording data. But Jim doesn't seem interested in them, walking through the area toward a central control station. There, at a desk, sit two beings. One is a small alien-looking critter which immediately squeals and leaps onto Jim's shoulder. Jim pets this the way one might a cat. The other being looks similar, but is the size of a fully grown adult. His skin is grayish, and he has two large devil horns projecting from his forehead.

"Dubbilex, I'd like you to meet Director Luthor's son Leo. He's developed an... amateur interest in mental abilities."

Leo blinks at the critter and looks at it a bit oddly. It actually gets an odder look than Dubbilex. Leo's blue eyes seem to focus on Dubbilex, soon stepping forward to offer a hand toward him. "A pleasure to meet you Dubbilex." Leo's mind if peeked at is highly focused in taking everything in, listening to conversations, reading charts, watching body language, but he isn't really thinking of anything specific. He's in 'learning' mode. "There is actually a lot I'm interested in, but yes, mental abilities and the ability to replicate them in others and counter them is one of those interests."

The creature's mouth doesn't move. Instead, his thoughts are broadcast to both Leo and Jim. "Curiosity? I suppose that's to be expected from Director Luthor's son. Fortunately for you, young man, Jim has brought you to exactly the right expert. I am, after all, a DNAlien. One of the first successful Cadmus projects. We've been grafting alien abilities into human genetics since the 70's."

The little blueish alien leaps from Jim's shoulder onto Leo's, apparently expecting the same treatment. "Take this little guy here, for example. One of our latest batch. Only a few days old and already he's moving the furniture around here with his mind."

Leo works to not cringe from like 'ugh, what is it?!' But it isn't that he dislikes animals as he reaches up to actually poke it in the nose as his blue eyes narrow a bit at the alien-animal thingy. The touch to Leo's mind has him internally organize his thoughts, as if a wall is built up about his more private ones and he's more aware of his conscious thoughts. But there is no revulsion from the telepathic touch as if...it isn't unknown to him. "The 70s?" That early does take him by some surprise. "Please tell me its intelligence is higher than that of the animal it looks like." Ya, terrorize the human population with animal intelligence little beasties with telekinesis...ugh...painful thought, painful! Leo to the critter? "Please be smarter than my dog, otherwise, the world may be in trouble."

Jim speaks up, taking a step forward to pet the critter's head. Unlike Dubbilex, he uses his good old-fashioned vocal cords. "This little guy is more than ninety percent human. Like almost all of the DNAliens. You'd be surprised what can happen when you shift a few genes around."

"Exactly." Dubbilex sits back down behind his desk, and begins tapping at a monitor. "The more one studies DNA, the more the lines between 'humanity' and 'the other' get blurred. It's fascinating, but the rest of the world isn't prepared to deal with a question as complicated as 'What is human?' right now. Just look at the situation on Genosha. So for now, we continue our research in secret."

"I agree on that last part. They still have a lot of difficulty accepting Mutants and Meta-Humans like myself. Even though it's one active gene, it can cause the restructure of other genetic sequences, and can make them appear less and less human at times. But the base DNA code is still the same as everyone one." Leo seems concerned as he looks at the critter, as he isn't sure how to feel about this. He doesn't state any further opinions on it though.

"What can you tell me about telepathy in general, and some of the current projects running on it right now?" Though that information won't answer his questions Leo already knows, there are other ways for /that/. Right now, is just the surface and that is what Leo aims toward. In the meantime, Leo doesn't push the critter off his shoulder, but nor does he pet him or her...it? Ugh, confused.

"Perhaps you'd like some information about one of our most successful attempts at fusing telekinesis in a human body. It's one of the projects that I'm most proud of. The media calls him 'Superboy.' I was kind of leaning toward calling him Reginald. But... I suppose that means I can save the name 'Reginald' for one of my new projects." Dubbilex continues tapping away at the monitor, before turning it around to face Leo. There, on the screen, is all sorts of info on the Superboy Project.

"Of course, if that isn't quite what you were looking for, I'm sure I can get you unrestricted access to our archives. Director Luthor's son can surely be trusted, am I correct, Guardian?"

Jim says nothing for a minute, frowning only slightly. "I guess I can get his clearance upgraded. I'll have the new credentials ready for you before you leave."

"No, not telekinesis," Leo states firmly. He has little interest in it overall, let alone Superboy other than 'annoyance' generally considering him a 'failed project' rather than a success. He doesn't even really pay much attention to the information on Superboy, as he already knows about the project. "And it shouldn't be a problem. My loyalty is to my Father and humanity, and I understand that they aren't always ready for the full truth and nothing, but the truth. It is a beautiful ideal and one that would be wonderful if we could achieve one day Dubbliex, but some things are meant to stay in the shadows for now. There is enough fits over cloning sheep and kittens, let alone humans and aliens. Still...if they would only open their minds more, birth defects could be cured along with so much more," he ends quietly, like he honestly cares.

"The telepathy and cloning are my primary interests. I know there is a big interest in Kryptonite cloning in the Cadmus Project, and with the issues between Superman and Darkseid I am interested in the strengths and limitations of that particular alien strand of DNA." He already explained his particular interests in duplication of and protections against telepathy. "I admit, I am also interested in memory transference, or even brain transplant." Leo then glances toward Guardian, "But only if Guardian is comfortable with it, otherwise, I can postpone that interest," his tone respectful. "Cellular regeneration, projects like this interest me. I realize that though my passion may be law enforcement and the politics that go with that, I have been given a great gift and great opportunities by my Father, and continuing his research at some point and the research our country needs is of importance. It's time for me to take a greater interest in the sciences, particularly genetics."

"You might want to rethink that position, kid. Nerds don't get laid, after all." Jim chuckles and makes his way over to Dubbilex's terminal. "May I?" Less than a minute and several swipes later, he hands the computer back. "There we go. Congratulations Leo, you've now got access to information that even the President doesn't know about. Your badge will work anywhere in the compound, and staff members will answer whatever questions you have."

"If I were you though, I'd forget about all of this and go see a movie. Science is boring."

"Oh, I get laid plenty of times by my girlfriend," Leo says with a bit of a smirk at hat. And maybe Dubbilex will NOT want to be peeking in Leo's mind at that one! But at the talk of what Jim is offering, Leo's eyes actually widen a bit. Wow, punching Leo would surprise him less! He kinda just stares at Jim. Dubbliex may or may not catch just how...humbled Leo feels in that moment, the show of Guardian's trust.

"Science can be boring sometimes, and sometimes it can be exciting and wonderful," Leo finally states after covering and swallowing hard. "And Jim?" A dramatic pause, "Thank you," the words spoken sincerely. If Leo was the random hugging type, he would have sooo hugged Guardian in that moment.

"We'll see if you still feel like thanking me when you go blind from staring at a computer monitor. Kids these days. Back in my day, all we cared about was baseball and swing music." Jim's wrist communicator begins beeping, prompting a downward glance. "Speaking of computers... I've got to go take care of something on the upper floors. I'm sure you gentlemen have lots of science stuff to talk about, how about you give me a call when you're ready for me to fly you home?"

Jim turns on his heel, placing a finger up towards his ear. "This is Guardian. You fed him what? God... I'll be right there."