Hi Mary!
The air in LexLabs seemed to crackle as Lois Lane stepped forward between two massive pillars, and the world was consumed in light. After a soft “pop”, a sudden blast of frigid air pulled her skin into goosebumps and made her automatically hug herself in a desperate grab for warmth. Two more pops sounded behind her as she blinked away the spots floating in her vision.
Did she step through a portal? Did Tempus set up something fun?
“—to Luthortopia!” Lex stood grinning in front of her, his arms outstretched.
The walls of the laboratory were gone. The ground on which she now stood was covered in hardened snow, and it seemed to roll on forever towards an unbroken horizon. A few nearby tents were the only buildings visible, and a handful of scientists moved between them while inspecting various pieces of equipment. A desk with a computer sat out in the open, thick cables running from its tower to the pair of huge pillars they'd just passed through.
Is this the Beta Site?
In front of the gap, Jimmy blinked and rubbed his eyes while Clark's gaze snapped to hers. She circled around the towering structures, but there was no trace of the place she'd been only a moment ago.
Lex brought all three?
LEX: Three men enter Luthortopia, one leaves.
“Incredible!” The word puffed out in front of her as a white mist that the wind soon carried away, and she felt Clark's jacket settle over her shoulders. She turned to Lex, wide-eyed, and raised her voice a little to be heard over the wind. “So this is your solution to overpopulation?”
Yes, with cryogenetic freezing you can send people off to distant planets and re-hydrate them once they reach their destination. If it doesn’t work, you can still keep the money they have paid you for the transport services.
The philanthropist nodded, beaming. “We have broken the boundaries of our own spacetime continuum and pushed through to an alternate universe!
/highlights “broken” and “spacetime”/ Yes, the guy broke freakin’ spacetime.
, we speculate that early humans may be just starting to spread away from Africa. The very first beginnings of technology would—”
Now, the question is when did humans evolve enough brain that you could cultivate a slave species based on the local version of the homo sapien sapiens?
Lex clapped a hand on the man's shoulder, smiling tightly. “Ah, yes. Lois, gentlemen,” He nodded towards Clark and Jimmy. “Allow me to introduce Dr. Eustace Diggory. He has been in charge of the little research expeditions here.”
I also wonder if they really broke into another universe or simply moved back in time.
“So then, would the citizens of… Luthortopia… be completely unable to raise their own crops?”
They can buy grade-A crops in the local LexCo. There should be enough gold in the hills to pay for it.
Lois rolled her eyes at him. “Really, Clark! You're standing in the middle of an alternate universe, and all you can think about is farming?”
Well…/points at his upbringing/
Without it, how are these people supposed to get food, or clothing, or even basic medicine?”
The local mega founa could be found to be quite tasty?
Before any colonists arrive, we will have set up a reliable system of supply drops and goods exchange. Luthortopians will have not merely survival, but prosperity!”
“goods exchange” /points at earlier remarks/
Clark muttered something under his breath that sounded like the word “dependency”.
See?
Clark's arm pulled her back just as a reindeer passed by them at top speed with a giant cat right on its heels.
Just like at the office at the Daily Planet.
A shotgun blast shattered the computer tower before it hit the ground.
The chase soon vanished into the distance. After a moment, the small band of scientists gathered around the fallen computer. None of their expressions seemed particularly hopeful or encouraging.
Lex grit his teeth. “Dr. Diggory?”
The pudgy man sheepishly lowered the shotgun. “Sorry, Mr. Luthor,” he mumbled.
“Sorry?” Lex stepped towards Dr. Diggory, and the man cowered. “We are trapped in a barren, ice age planet, and you're sorry?” His voice held an unnerving edge.
Oops? Maybe they should have set up housing for their equipment? Redundancy? *Fences*?
LEX: Why would I bring Bob Fences to my new colony world?
“We have an emergency protocol for this situation,” the only woman among the scientists spoke up.
Propagation of the species until help arrives?
“Um…” Dr. Diggory cleared his throat. “Actually, Mr. Luthor, there is the small matter of…time dilation.”
Ahhmm…?
“It was in all my reports,” the man continued. “While it's true that the rescue team should retrieve us within twenty-four hours…on that side…from our perspective, it would be, um, up to six months.”
Oops?
Clark put a hand on the younger man's shoulder. “Nobody is going to die.”
They can eat reindeer. And Lex can propagate the species. There’s now *two* women available.
“Look on the bright side,” the remaining scientist piped up. “We'll have an incredible opportunity to really experience this environment in depth. Who knows what we could discover!”
/points at Native Americans bring corn, turkey, and yams/
Mad Wolf dipped her fingers into the pigment and smeared it onto the figure slowly taking shape on the wall.
Oh no, you did not cross over with the Wolf-verse, did you?
The beast had been a terrifying sight: much larger than any man among her people, quick as lightning, and with sharp horns. But her husband had subdued it effortlessly, and now the scent of its roasted flesh still lingered in the warm air of the cave system.
He pointed to the three legs on her depiction of the beast, then turned to her and held up four fingers.
Editing her copy!
Mad Wolf swatted at him and reached down for the pigment again, only to be interrupted by a sudden kick. She gasped. Her hand, still coated in red, flew up to her belly.
“Wolf?”
Oh, look, suddenly a Kryptonian is able to propagate with a human. All it takes is clean air and a fresh breeze.
Eventually, another sensation made itself known, even though she had already eaten not that long ago. “Kal? I want fruit.”
Cravings!
He stared at her, then turned to look towards the mouth of the cave and the frozen woods beyond. “Fruit?”
She nodded.
“Fruit?!” he said again.
He seemed about to say something, but then he sighed. “Mad Wolf,” he muttered as he rose to his feet. “Mad, mad wolf!”
Who knew what he could discover?
Yeah…I wonder what roasted Lex tastes like.
MAD WOLF: Chicken. Hmm… Stringy chicken.
Oh this was a fun tale. And with those two disjointed parts you realize that the (1/1) isn’t correct, right? I have (ice-)age appropriate friends here:
and
Michael
