Cara Part 6: Iron Beauty Part II

[Cara Lace]

Iron Beauty II
14 Hours Ago

The East side of Glenmorgan Square is normally bustling with workers trying to get home through the traffic clogged streets. It’s been much worse lately since the Brainiac invasion earlier this week, and not to mention the unfortunate ghostly apparitions that have appeared as well. None of which concerns Jenny Styger as her helicopter lands atop the Styger Robotics plant. She emerges from the chopper dressed in her normal casual jeans and her favorite Superboy hoodie, a far cry from her attire she wore in Washington earlier in the day. She waves to the pilot as she enters the buildings top floor elevator and presses the button to take her into the plant.

“Welcome home, Madame.” DANIEL’s familiar voice says. “Congratulations on winning the drone contract.”

“Thanks D, I am so glad to be out of that slimy mud hole. I feel like I need a shower, or possibly sandblasted.” Jenny replies as the elevator continues downward. “Is the crew ready for me? I want to give them the good news and get ramped up for mass mass-production on the Styger Drones.”

The elevator door opens to a dark room as Jenny steps out. “Seriously? Don’t tell me we didn’t pay the electric bill. Get the lights, D.”

“SURPRISE!!!!!!!” a large group shouts as the lights come on, followed by cheers and clapping. Jenny smiles as she looks at her 100 plus employees gathered in the loading dock area among the crates and machinery without revealing the lump that has formed in her throat as she chokes back tears of pride. For all her confidence and bravado, Jenny has never failed to recognize that her success is due to the people that work for her and she considers them all family.

“Jeh-Nee! Jeh-Nee! Jeh-Nee!” They chant to her as she holds up her hands.

“Ohhhh it’s good to be back.” Jenny smiles and says over the crowd as they begin to quiet down. “You missed me? I missed you all too.”

“Screw Lexcorp!!” a voice shouts amid cheering.

“Screw Lexcorp? …… Already did that.” Jenny replies with a grin as the crowd settles down to listen to their CEO speak.

“I’m not saying, that I just took the biggest military contract ever out from under the nose of Lex Luthor. “ She continues to the sound of applause. “I’m not saying, that Styger Industries stock just broke record highs; …although that is true; ... because of me. I’m not saying that Superman can retire to a luxury condo in Vegas because my drones will usher in a new age of peace and security for the United States.”

The cheers erupt from the group again and Jenny holds up her hand and waves for them to quiet down.

“No, I am not saying any of those things because they contain the words ‘I’ and ‘Me’ and ‘My’. This isn’t about me; this is about all of you. I may have designed and engineered the Styger Drone but it is all of you that make them, and make them work. Without you, my ideas are just that… ideas. So that is why, effective immediately, every Styger employee will be receiving a 15 percent raise across the board. People tell me I should invest that money for the future of the company, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. You all are the future of this company, our company. So let’s get this party started!!”

Cheers erupt as music begins to blare from the speaker system. The doors to the employee cafeteria open and a group of caterers push a train of lavish food carts out into main area. Jenny proceeds to the center of the room and begins dancing as other join in and for a moment, everything is absolutely perfect.

12 Hours Ago

The sounds of the party are muffled as Jenny walks alone among a group of crates and boxes sitting on the Styger Robotics loading dock. Large crates, small crates, boxes and containers all delivered from her Grandfathers collection and beckoning to her like Christmas presents to a small child. Jenny never knew her Grandfather, he passed before she was born and all her father ever said of him was that he had worked for the government during World War II.

“Are you alright, Madame?” DANIEL asks after Jenny stood in quiet thought for several minutes.

“Huh? Oh, yea D I’m good. Just thinking about stuff is all.” She replies. “I wonder why Dad kept all of this junk hidden away.”

“Your father kept no records of this collection. I am afraid I cannot answer that question.” DANIEL says.

“Well, let’s see what the old man has to say.” Jenny picks up a crowbar and approaches the largest crate. It is a slender but tall box without any markings and the dust shows it has been sealed for many years. Jenny wedges the crowbar between the wood and works her way down the side with the sound of groaning nails reluctant to release their hold.

“Madame, I am detecting a power fluctuation in your vicinity.” DANIEL says in his usual unimpressed tone.

“Power fluctuation? From where?” Jenny asks as she moves to the other side of the crate and begins wedging down that side as well.

“Attempting triangulation…..complete. Madame, the source appears to be you.”

“Me?!” Jenny exclaims dropping the crowbar to the floor. “Explain.”

“Please stand still Madame. Commencing bio-scan…..”

Emitters from various points in the walls and ceiling shine thin beams of light up and down Jenny’s frame for several minutes. “Anomaly detected. Identifying……..”

“You’re killin’ me, D.” Jenny says impatiently as the beams of light continue traveling up and down her body.

“The bio-scan is not harmful to human physiology, Madame.” DANIEL announces. “Analysis complete, Madame. It appears that you have been infected with an Exobyte. I am unable to determine the exact nature of its affects however you appear to be generating a massive amount of bio-electric energy.”

“Wait, … an Exobyte?” Jenny asks. “Those things giving people super powers?”

“The effects of Exobyte infection are varied and unpredictable, Madame. I can say however that the amount of energy building up within you is reaching levels that I am unable to measure and appears to be accelerating with your proximity to that crate.” DANIEL explains.

As if on cue, the last nail gives way to the weight of the wooden panel on the crate and it falls with a crash to the floor, unleashing a torrent of Styrofoam packing peanuts into the loading dock. Many of which cover Jenny from head to toe, clinging to her overly static charged body.

“Seriously?” Jenny says to herself out loud. She tries to brush the little nuisances off but they just shift and cling somewhere new. A glint of metal from inside the crate suddenly catches her eye and she stops, staring in wonder.

Inside the crate, standing tall and silent is a metal statue of a woman with folded wings behind her. It’s bronze like color does not hide the sheer beauty of her appearance and for once, even covered in packing peanuts, Jenny Styger is awestruck.

“What the…?” is all Jenny can utter as she takes a step closer to the metal marvel before her, the crunch of packing peanuts echoing as she moves. “.. What is this?”

“It appears to be a statue of an angel, Madame.” DANIEL answers dryly.

“That….was a rhetorical…” Jenny stammers, annoyed.

“Initial scans are unable to determine the material it is composed of. All scans are being reflected back. I can say however that there appears to be a correlation between that object and the energy building up within you.” DANIEL responds.

Jenny reaches out with her hand, and with the tip of her index finger she touches the statue’s surface. A soft ‘POP’ rings out in the loading dock and instantly all the packing materials fall from Jenny’s body to the floor. “Whatever it’s made of, it conducts electricity apparently.” She says stepping yet closer to the marvel before her. Her eyes going from its head to its toes, trying to take in the intricate and complex construction, just as any genius engineer would. She stands on her tip toes to put her face even with that of the statue.

“Uhm, DANIEL was she always smiling? I don’t remember seeing a smile just a minute ago.” Jenny asks.

“A minute ago you were covered in packing peanuts, Madame.” DANIEL says, oblivious to the look on Jenny’s face.

“Ok, I need to make some adjustments your speech center but not now.” Jenny grumbles. “Let’s take one thing at a time. We can deal with this statue later. This Exobyte thing, what exactly did it do to me?”

“As I stated Madame, the effects of Exobyte infection are varied and unpredictable. Yours has apparently granted you an ability to generate bio-electricity. You are storing it within your cells. The amount has already exceeded the maximum I can detect.” DANIEL states.

“And that maximum is?” Jenny asks.

“Sixty-five petajoules, Madame.” DANIEL responds.

Jenny is stunned. “DANIEL, that’s more energy than Hiroshima.”

“Yes Madame.”

“I don’t feel any different. How can I have that much energy inside me and not feel it.” Jenny asks herself out loud.

“The effects of Exobyte infection are…”

“…varied and unpredictable. I know, D.” Jenny says finishing DANIEL’s sentence.

“Doctor Cartwright could provide a more thorough analysis.” DANIEL suggests. “The Watchtower has vastly superior capabilities than I have here in the loading dock.”

“Get her on the line, and ready the trans…” Jenny’s sentence is cut off by a loud scream from the room where the party is going on. Jenny rushes instinctively to the door only to have it blown open before her, knocking her to the ground. As the dust and debris clears Jenny scrambles to her feet in time to see an ominous figure step through the obliterated door frame. It is a woman with fiery red hair, dressed in black leather holding a large rifle made entirely of Red Lantern energy, with attached grenade launcher and leveled at Jenny’s head.

“Privet tovarishch!” The woman says with a sneer on her face.

“Woah, woah, wait a minute!!...” Jenny stammers to no avail. The woman fires and Jenny leaps for her life to the side as red construct bullets spray the floor where she stood. Jenny flings herself into a small storage cubby off the main floor for cover and slowly stands. As she does, she notices her hands are balled into fists and that there are sparks coming from them.

“What the hell!” Jenny says to herself and leaps out to face the crazed Russian attacker. “HEEEYAAHHH!!!!!!!” she yells pointing her fists directly at her adversary who stands bewildered for a moment, then begins to laugh as nothing happens.

“Foolish little girl. What are you going to do? Yell me to death?” The red lantern says mockingly with her strong accent. “Here, I will show you how it …….”

Her sentence is cut off as a sudden flash of energy erupts off of Jenny’s entire body. Tendrils of arcing electricity branching off of her and frying everything they touch. The only other sound above the roar of the unbridled power flowing from Jenny’s body is the scream of agony from Jenny’s lips. The power suspending her a few feet off the floor, her arms and legs stretched out and her eyes rolled back into her head. Power continues to flow like a torrent from Jenny’s body with a large arc striking the floor and snaking up the wall near the hapless red lantern, sending her airborne to avoid its touch. As she does a voice comes over her ring.

“Natasha!” The voice says. “Report! Is the target dead yet?!”

“You told me this would be a simple job, comrade Luthor! You said nothing about Meta powers!!” Natasha yells back into her ring.

“What are you blathering about? I paid you to do a job and I expect it to be done! I do not want excuses!” Luthor shouts via Natasha’s ring.

Natasha attempts to respond to Luthor but is forced to dodge several arcs of electricity, watching as they scorch, blow up, or cut right through anything they touch.

“I think she is taking care of that herself. I am getting out of here!” Natasha says and shoots straight up through the ceiling leaving the self destructing Jenny Styger to her apparent fate.

Alone, and unable to do anything but scream, Jenny feels as if her heart is about to explode. She is unable to act, unable to even think. Then, one of a hundred electric streams of power strikes the crate holding the metal Angel statue. The crate explodes in a shower of splintered wood and debris leaving the Angel standing unaffected. The power arc dances across the Angel’s chest, sparks flying off of it but leaving no marks, no damage to the Angel herself. As sections of the ceiling begin to collapse all over, Jenny feels her very life ebbing from her. In the final catastrophic moments, through the debris and flames, no one sees the Angel turn a startled face toward Jenny as the building finally crashes down around them.

Now

“BREAKING NEWS!! This is Cat Grant coming to you live from WGBS News Chopper 4 high above downtown Metropolis where moments ago the Styger Robotics plant has collapsed and hundreds are feared dead. We have received word from witnesses that Styger Industries CEO Jennifer Styger had arrived a few hours before and is believed to have been inside when the building came down.“

Aboard the Watchtower, every monitor in every wing broadcasts the smoldering rubble that was the Styger Robotics Plant. The various heroes and aliens that make up the Justice League and the Justice Girls stop and watch in shock at the wreckage. The news chopper with Cat Grant zooms in on some figures scrambling through the debris.

“Wait, it appears ….. YES!” Cat Grants exclaims. “We can confirm there are two members of the Justice Girls already on the scene and have begun to search for survivors.”

On the ground, the two figures search through the destruction in their own ways. The first, a tall and powerful looking woman with skin that looks like brilliant crystal picks up huge chunks of concrete and pitches them effortlessly into the bay several blocks away. The second is much smaller, dressed all in white with beautiful white feather wings. She stands with her eyes closed and two fingers to her right temple.

“So this is what it’s like to be a hero? Disaster cleanup? I was kind of expecting more.” The crystalline woman groans.

“A hero means many different things to many different people, Kirsten. Keep digging.” The smaller woman replies, eyes still closed.

“Come on Rose. No one could have survived this mess.” Kirsten complains.

“You are wrong Stompy.” Sister Rose Marie states flatly. “There is still a soul here.”

To be continued….

[Captain Unohana]

Love how i could tell who was who before they were named, greatly written as always! :D

[Arwen Skywalker]

Crazy Russian!!

[Aquata Siren]

i adore it awesome x awesome= your writing cara! unlike mine with a dying protagonist

[SisterRoseMarie]

Stompy & I will find ya! Just hold on! ENCORE!

[Gatkowski]

To quote my Team Lead from the studio where I worked in Dublin, "This is the good shit." I love seeing these stories unfold.

Thanks for featuring my toons, I feel deeply honored. It's great to see several JGs played by different players make appearances, it really gives off an all-encompassing feel.

I'll carry the mental pictures of 'Privet, tovarish' and the Rifle of Red Rage with me to the end of my days.

Though there is one, very significant problem with these chapters still... they end. Why? They should be unending!