Cara Part 5: Iron Beauty Part 1

[Cara Lace]

Iron Beauty

32 Hours Ago

“Good morning, Madame.” A gentle, computer generated male voice says. “The time is seven AM and the current weather patterns for Metropolis show mostly sunny with a high of 75 degrees.”

“Uhggggh, DANIEL…..” a large lump in the center of an elegant oak daybed says with a far more gruff and female voice. The lights come on revealing a bedroom fit only for the rich and famous …and immature. Various lounge chairs of Corinthian leather facing large, wall mounted TVs. Extravagant hookahs made of jade and amethyst next to them, a heart shaped hot tub with a large iron cage next to it, and all in the view of a video camera.

“My apologies Miss Styger, however you did instruct me to wake you at this hour.” DANIEL says, his voice seeming to come from everywhere and yet nowhere. “Perhaps next time you should hold off on entertaining guests so late the night before you have a congressional committee meeting.”

The bedcovers fly off as the raven haired, and disheveled looking, Jenny Styger abruptly sits up. “Crap.” She says as her nude body slinks from the bed without disturbing the two nude men she was sleeping between.

“DANIEL, give Hughey and Dewey here the standard parting gifts and see to it they get home.” Jenny says as she makes her way to the shower.

“Oh, and give this one the good stuff.” She adds with a sly smile as she strides past a nude woman asleep on a nearby lounge.

She makes her way into the bathroom and begins her morning routine; shower, hair, teeth, a little makeup, Versace blouse and jacket, Valentino skirt, Gucci pumps. She emerges a short time later as Jenny Styger, President and CEO of Styger Industries. Making her way down the stairs from the loft of her lavish penthouse she enters her workshop. Machinery, assembly robots, holographic projectors and a massive computer terminal adorn the area, along with scattered papers on the floor and a drafting table with a hundred different concept drawings and plans.

“The Leer is ready and waiting at the airport, Madame. In light of the multiple incidents occurring around the city I took the liberty of having the helicopter dispatched to pick you up.” DANIEL says as Jenny sits in the plush leather chair at her terminal and begins going over the slew of messages and emails that constantly flood her inbox.

“Hmmm, what’s this from Ebony?” Jenny says as much to herself as to DANIEL.

“Doctor Cartwright gathered some interesting data from a new Justice Girl she would like you to review.” DANIEL responds.

“Tag it, bag it and I will go over it later; anything else going on?” Jenny asks.

“The final items from your Grandfather’s collection are being delivered at Styger Robotics as we speak. I am having them placed in the loading dock until you can inspect them, Madame.” DANIEL says.

“You’re too good to me, D.” And with that, Jenny locks her workstation and in lady-like fashion, kicks off of the wall and rolls her chair across the room to the hidden elevator that leads to the roof.

“Don’t wait up.” She laughingly says as she disappears behind the closing elevator doors.

A few moments later the elevator doors open and Jenny steps out on to the roof. She is greeted by her flight crew staff and a body guard. Her penthouse is in the center building of Glenmorgan Square and she takes a moment to look out over the neon signs and towering skyscrapers glinting in the morning sun. Despite the rumblings and chaos from the streets below, she smiles at the beauty of it all and the knowledge that she owns it.

As Jenny turns to make her way across the landing pad to the waiting helicopter a man emerges from behind one of the air conditioning units and begins running toward her, waving a pad of paper in the air.

“Miss Styger!? A moment of your time please!” the man shouts over the noisy rotors of the chopper. He makes it maybe five steps before Jenny’s bodyguard has him tackled. Jenny walks over to the man and recognizes him as Bob Harley, intrepid reporter for the Daily Planet. Her body guard keeps him still with a classic arm bar hold.

“Easy, Brutus.” She says to the guard.

“Uhm, its Brian Ma’am.” The burley bodyguard says almost sheepishly.

“Whatever, Samson.” She quips, motioning for him to let the man go. Jenny watches as the shaken reporter regains his composure and straightens his tie. “What can I do for the Daily Planet, Mr. Harley?”

“Just a few questions.” He says giving an annoyed side glance up at Brian the guard. “LexCorp has held a contract with the US Military for several years, and now you and Lex Luthor are appearing before the Congressional Appropriations Committee this morning. What gives?”

Jenny smiles in that confident manner of hers. “Very simple Bob, I am going to win that contract for Styger Industries.”

“LexCorp makes some of the most sophisticated and powerful weapons on the planet. What makes you think you can win the contract from them?” He asks, as if he can’t believe what Jenny said.

She leans in close to him. “My stuff is better.”

“That’s a pretty bold statement to make, Miss Styger. Can you back that claim up?” He asks.

“Bob, I never say anything I can’t back up.” Jenny says turning and walking towards the waiting chopper.

“Can I quote you on that?” Bob yells after her.

Jenny climbs into her seat and as the door slides shut Bob sees her throw up the “peace sign” at him as the helicopter slowly takes off and flies away.

From her seat, Jenny looks down on the awesome majesty of Metropolis. While the other passengers are occupied with their own activities, a slight look of irritation crosses Jenny’s face as she massages a small, sore area on her right forearm.

“Stupid bugs.” She says quietly to herself.

28 Hours Ago

Most people would be intimidated sitting where Jenny Styger now sits. Much like a courtroom, she is at one of two tables that face a raised, semi-circle bench of grim faced men and women all scowling at her or showing no interest or flat out not even paying attention, except for one.

“Miss Styger, I do not appreciate your tactics in getting to this committee. The fact that you supply the Justice League and their affiliated group the Justice Girls with equipment; and the requests of Superman and Super Power for us to give you an audience is the only reason you are here.” Senator Richard Shelby states flatly.

“Affiliated group? Better not let Super Power hear you say that Senator.” Jenny replies, grabbing a handful of peanuts from a nearby complimentary bowl and leaning back in her chair while placing her legs crossed on the table.

“Forgive Miss Styger, Senator.” A voice from the other table says. “She may have come quite far in the last few years but she lacks the maturity and business experience for a setting such as this.”

Jenny looks over and smiles at her business rival, Lex Luthor. “That may be true, but I make up for it in style.” She says tossing a single peanut into the air which lands perfectly in her open mouth.

With a roll of her eyes, the committee chairwoman begins. “The tactical drone contract is due to expire next month and our military commanders have expressed concern with the current models provided by LexCorp. Mr. Luthor is here to demonstrate his latest models and, at the request of Super Power and Superman we have invited Jenny Styger of Styger Industries to show us any possible alternatives if necessary. Mr. Luthor, please begin.”

The chamber echoes briefly with the scraping of Luthor’s chair as he stands in grand, regal fashion. Straightening his tie he walks around his table to the front of the crescent bench. “Ladies and gentlemen of the committee, I would like to draw your attention to the view screen. “

The lights in the chamber dim as a huge view screen lowers from its slot in the ceiling on the far side of the room and flickers to life revealing a barren desert landscape. As the camera pans around, it settles on a very impressive looking high tech humanoid battle drone. At least 20 feet tall, shoulder mounted cannons and rocket launchers, various forearm mounted guns and beam weapons.

“Members of the committee, I give you The Titan.” Lex announces, full of smug satisfaction. “Titanium alloy chassis, armaments equal to that of an M1 tank as well as a wide variety of beam and energy weapons, state of the art threat assessment and targeting systems. Ladies and gentlemen, there is literally nothing this unit is not prepared to face. Now I understand your concerns regarding the previous model we called The Sentry, even though it has served the United States military very well. So I have arranged a demonstration, six Sentry drones versus one Titan.”

As all eyes are on the view screen, except Jenny who appears to be playing a game on her cell phone, six figures appear on the horizon over a mile front of the Titan. They are smaller drones, the Sentries, and they begin to advance on the Titan.

With surprising speed, the hulking Titan drone raises a metal fist and points it toward the six on coming attackers. A launcher pops open from its forearm and a barrage of missiles launch. The Sentry drones react and begin to scatter however the missiles find their targets easily and in a matter of seconds, three of the Sentries are destroyed.

“There, ladies and gentlemen, you can see how the Titan anticipated its opponent’s moves and adjusted for them.” Luthor says like a proud father. The committee members all exchange various looks and nods with each other, clearly impressed so far. Luthor glances over at Jenny who is still sitting engrossed in her phone. “Miss Styger, are you texting? You are missing the show.” He gloats.

“Texting? Pffft! I have people to do that for me.” She replies, still focused on her device. “I’m just going over the threat assessment data MY drones have sent to me. Oh, you DID know that my drones have been watching this, right? I mean the Titan has them target locked, right? No? Hmm. Too bad because they have already identified the Titan’s weaknesses, including a few notable design flaws.”

“What?! That’s not possible!” Luthor exclaims in disbelief.

“Sure it is.” Jenny replies as she stands up and saunters over to stand with Luthor before the view screen. “Here, I will show you. I know these things can get a little complicated for you so let me simplify them for you.”

Suddenly on the huge monitor, the three remaining Sentry Drones that had been approaching just explode. The Titan hesitates for a moment; its sensors and scanners whir and move as they search the area for the source of the Sentries destruction. After a few moments, the Titan’s weapons systems go dark and across the screen the words “TARGETS ACQUIRED = 0 : Weapons Disarmed”, appear.

“This has to be some sort of trick!” Luthor exclaims.

“I don’t do tricks. You are right though, it is unfair. Let me even the playing field for you by turning off their stealth technology…Styger stealth technology.” Jenny says as she taps a few commands into her phone.

Standing before the Titan, three figures shimmer into existence, each much smaller than the Titan, about the size of a human but clearly mechanical. Unlike the Titan, there are no cannons or guns mounted across their exterior, only a glowing strip for the eyes and a glowing circle in the center of their chest. Now visible, the Titan acquires the three Styger Drones as targets and its weapons system spring back to life.

“I will admit your stealth capabilities are impressive. I am sure the information the Titan gathers on it will provide LexCorp with a counter measure by the end of the week.” Lex says, as if this glaring hole in the Titan’s technology were just a minor speed bump. “Now, let’s see how your ‘Tonka Toys’ stand up to the Titan in combat.”

Swiftly, the Titan brings one of its huge metal fists crashing down on the middle drone. It smashes into the ground, fully missing the drone as it dodges the attack effortlessly. The other two drones take to the air and point their open hands at the titan. Energy beams launch from emitters on their palms and pummel the Titan from above as the third drone leaps, somersaulting over the Titan’s head and on to its back. As the Titan flails like a bucking bronco, it launches missiles at the airborne drones which both rocket straight up with the missiles in pursuit, while the one on its back rears a fist and punches a hole right through the Titan’s armor.

Jenny grins as a look of abject frustration appears on Luthor’s face. “Hmmm, might wanna make that spot a little more ‘Titanium-ey’ Lex.”

The look Lex Luthor gives Jenny would rend most people paralyzed in fear. Jenny however is not most people, as she merely returns his look with a ‘kissy kissy’ face of her own. At the same time, as all others are watching the monitor, the Titan reaches behind and manages to grasp the leg of the Styger Drone on its back and hurls it away.

“There!” Lex says almost grateful. “The Titan analyzed your tactics and has compensated for them. What will your little drones do now?”

“Wait for it.” Jenny says with arms crossed.

Tumbling away, vents open and thrusters ignite as the drone rights itself in mid air and faces the Titan. Jutting its chest towards its adversary, a beam erupts from the emitter there and strikes Titan head on pushing it backwards with metal feet scraping along the ground. As the beam dissipates, the Titan with its exterior now scorched and smoking slowly stands and levels both forearm launchers at the little drone.

“Very nice try, Ms. Styger but I think this is over now.” Luthor says smugly.

“Wait for it…” Jenny replies again.

At that moment, the other two Styger Drones re-appear high above, rocketing downward toward the Titan with missiles still in pursuit. They race straight down at the metal behemoth and at the last moment break off in opposite directions as the pursuing missiles slam into the hole on the Titan’s back and explode. When the smoke and flames clear, all that is left of the titan are its two metal feet and behind those stand all three Styger Drones in a ‘Charlie’s Angels’ pose.

Luthor stands with his mouth agape staring at the smoldering remains of his Titan Drone, his fists clenched and tight at his sides. “That was a thirty two million dollar piece of equipment you just destroyed!” He says through grinding teeth.

“Thirty two million?!” Jenny says as she fills out a check and holds it out to Luthor. “Here is thirty five million. I figure you can use the extra for some more ‘R n D’ on the Titan. Although you may just want to start over….just sayin’”

Luthor’s fury is visible on his face, and nearly boils over as he snatches the check aggressively from Jenny’s hand. He turns and storms back over to his table, pulling his cell phone out and dialing as if he were trying to push his finger through the device instead of tapping numbers.

“You’re welcome.” Jenny says dryly before spinning around to face the Senators again. “So, in conclusion ladies and gentlemen of the committee, you can have a 32 million dollar pair of smoldering feet or you can have the 4 million dollar a piece Styger Drones that made them that way.”

“We will begin our deliberations in our next session. Committee adjourned.” The Chairwoman announces and the Senators begin a mass exodus.

“You know where to find me.” Jenny responds gathering up her things as her bodyguard Brian stands by her with eyes on everything. As the young CEO makes her way to the chamber doors, she is stopped by Luthor and his entourage. Brian steps between the two, cold eyes of steel staring at the biggest of Luthor’s guards.

“Let’s not make a scene here Lex. I’d hate to embarrass you twice in one day.” Jenny says to him.

“Make no mistake.” Luthor says only loud enough for Jenny to hear. “This matter is not over between us.”

Jenny does what few have ever done, she laughs in Luthor’s face. “Whatever ‘Queball’.” She replies as she strides past him and out the door.

...To be continued.

[Captain Unohana]

That... was good!

[Aquata Siren]

outstanding cara very well written!

[Gatkowski]

I did well reading this only this morning. It set the mood for this day, I fell off my chair laughing. It was awesome!

... hey, wait... what do you mean 'to be continued'? This stuff is so cool I want... want it to never end... *sniff*

[SisterRoseMarie]

Making enemies with good ol Lex eh? Better have Jenny watch her companies stocks verrrrrry closely. It's not unlike him to pull a ninja hostile takeover. s ;) Sic em Jenny!!!!! :D