Ch.55

Time passed and Jesse moved to Central City with a hundred million in a bank account, a penthouse in a secure building and everything she'd ever want or need. She had a new identity and knew if she called I'd be there in a heartbeat. Desiree moved there with her in exchange for an immortality ring and a similar bank account and identity setup.

Desiree was warned that if anything happened to Jesse or the child I'd come for her and she'd wish she wasn't immortal then. It was a change that had to be done so it was dealt with. An immortal life sucking cheerleader was the latest news until she aged rapidly to dust. Ryan was fine and had in fact moved to California with his aunt.

As for Lana, the Sullivans took her in when Nell and her boyfriend left town to Metropolis. A cloning metahuman killed the shop class teacher and ended up getting caught thanks to the cameras that were installed at the school after the tornadoes along with all the other upgrades. Heck, the entire computer system had gotten an overhaul amongst other things. The only places that didn't have cameras at the school was the locker rooms and bathrooms.

Even the principal's office had cameras and the doors had weapons sensors to prevent anything like guns from getting in. Anyways, the moment the teacher was found dead, the cameras showed the killers and the kid was arrested right then and there. He tried to run and fight, even making a clone to help him but it dissolved when the power dampening cuffs were put on him and he was sent to jail.

Clark and Pete ended up finding the kawatche caves and as promised, TR Industries took over conservatorship after selling the land to the state for cheap. The Kawatche people were very happy with the deal because it was their people being hired as twenty-four hour security. They were paid handsomely to ensure no one not of their people or TR industries was allowed in. Clark being the exception to that rule a few days later.

They were given body armor, security cameras and stun guns alongside a stiff warning that LuthorCorp may try to send people and they were to be blocked and the cops called if they tried to enter. Willowbrook agreed and offered to do the excavation and caring of the cave paintings. I told him that after the lightning was put in and pictures of everything were recorded, I wanted a team of scientists to make sure nothing in the cave was dangerous but after that so long as they didn't try to remove walls or damage the cave paintings, I'd defer to his work.

He agreed and beyond an alien insect hive the scientists found in the wall and removed all of safely, the rest was in Willowbrook's care. He thanked me and said I'd earned his trust and that of his people. I nodded and told him that he'd have to be careful because if kids or someone slipped in passed security and left a mess the state would remove TR Industries conservatorship, beyond that my interests lay elsewhere so he was in charge.

He said he'd keep that in mind before asking for a report on the creatures from the labs when the analysis came out. I agreed and gave him River's number, telling him the funding came from her and she would send him the analysis as soon as it was out. We shook hands and I left him there to dig up whatever he can find.

Unfortunately greed can't be found in all manners of ranks including an upright honest company like TR Industries so when the analysis came out, Lionel ended up getting ahold of a copy alongside the photographs of the cave walls. He wasn't the only Luthor interested, but he was the only one that did come to River's office and ask her what TR Industries was doing in conserving cave paintings.

River told him the lands were bought by us and how we made a deal with the kawatche people which we honored and would continue to honor. As for the creatures, they were being studied in the labs and none of his damned business. He shut up when she asked how he got the information, eluding to her people not being as honest as she was. He left it at that, but not nearly enough it seems.

In the meantime Clark and Kara were given files on the caves. Whitney Fordman came back to town only it was Tina Greer and she was captured by the local PD the moment she entered the school. The cuffs went on and Sheriff Ethan explained how she killed several people to escape Belle Reve and fake her death which didn't fly with the new security there courtesy of TR Industries. Lana was told a bit later that Whitney was killed in action and she told River who'd become a good friend of hers.

Almost a month later Clark's girlfriend, Kyla the wolf skinwalker ended up throwing a party in the caves and while no one died or got injured, TR Industries lost the contract to LuthorCorp a week after the fact. Kyla was sent off to California to live with some relatives there because her gun had cost the tribe dearly. The guards on duty who went along with it were equally screwed because not only had they failed in their jobs, they'd pissed off their chief.

Joseph Willowbrook apologized for everything but I waved him off sighing. "It's not your fault. Lionel paid off the guards and Kyla got it in her head to show off to Clark. I don't blame you all, I just wish I could do more. With this there's no way the state won't side with LuthorCorp now with the governor backing Lionel. My hands are tied and there's no stopping Lionel now. He's already filed for a notion to have all the analyzed insects and carbon dated materials turned over and he's not even been awarded custody."

Joseph grimaced and I told him it would be best if his people didn't cause trouble or they may be forced off the land by the state if Lionel seems them a danger to the preservation process of the caves.

He grunted and I wished him luck because I could do no more legally, as I told him, it is what it is. A few days later Lionel got his victory and the caves were under his care while the dead insects were destroyed having been deemed a biohazard. The reports on them were sent to Lionel who called it an insult but it didn't change anything.

In the meantime the next exciting news was Clark and Kara running off to New York to meet Dr.Virgil Swann. Clark had taken the key after Kara offered it to him for his ship and the cave walls. On the bright side Lionel had to put up his own equipment because River had taken all of it back stating it was TR Industries property. Kara said Swann hadn't known about her and didn't trust her so the message was for Clark alone who now knew Kryptonian.

It wasn't that impressive seeing as Kara had taught it to me over year ago. Inara and Lana were assaulted by three drunk frat guys at the Talon. Inara took a taser to them before calling the police and suggesting Lana pick up martial arts or self defense classes at the community center. It was one of my many classes I taught three times a day.

The cops arrested the three drunk assholes and got a recording of their assaults which was them shoving the women around saying they were going to rape them. Clark got angry, but Inara told him to go be macho somewhere else because the cops were on the way and she taser his ass too if she had too. The three assholes were arrested and sued for sexual assault and sexual assault on a minor. Their leader's father was a lawyer but he faced an army of lawyers from TR Industries and they lost everything.

They were sent to jail and the pedophile marker was on their rap sheets now for life because Lana was in fact fifteen. Almost a month later a LuthorCorp truck was hit coming from a holding facility to metropolis or so Lionel said when Clark witnessed the event and tried to stop it, failing because the robbers were Kryptonite enhanced with super strength. I didn't much care for that issue because River had begun selling super soldier upgrades to the military.

Even without the Extremis upgrades the super soldier serum put the military head and shoulders above any other military on earth with peak human physiology. At a hundred million dollars a pop, thousands of soldiers were given the upgrades once the first one was successful. The US wanted all their soldiers upgraded be they navy, army or Air Force. They spent hundreds of billions of dollars and TR Industries used said influx of cash to stay private and go global.