The evening had been unremarkable—until the sensors spiked. Lex had been in his lab, half-listening to a report from Planet Watch when the alert flared across the holographic display. The readings were unmistakable: residual Kryptonian energy, faint but steady, radiating from a single human source. Impossible. The system cross-referenced, triangulated, and finally produced a name.

Hours later, Lex found himself standing across from them in one of Luthorcorp’s glass-walled offices overlooking Metropolis, hands folded behind his back, every inch the composed CEO. They looked confused, nervous even, unaware of the significance of what they carried. Lex’s gaze flicked over them, sharp and assessing — not as one human looking at another, but as a scientist studying an anomaly.

“You’ve been very difficult to track down,” he said smoothly, voice calm but edged with quiet fascination. “Most people don’t walk around emitting this kind of energy without… consequences.” He stepped closer, his tone lowering into something colder. “Tell me, did you even know what you were carrying? Because I assure you — I do. And I’m not in the habit of letting power walk out of my building.”