Superflash:Collison Course (Volume 1)

Chapter3: Cadmus and Star

Cadmus Labs had once been the glittering jewel of the scientific community. For four plus decades they had been at the forefront of every major discovery. From treatments to rare diseases to making contact with an alien life form, the scientists at Cadmus were revered for the advancements they made in the ongoing effort to create a better future for mankind. They received billions in funding but the investors only saw the public face that the Director wanted them to see. The truth was that Cadmus had darker and much more sinister projects they were working on. Rumors ran rampant about cloning, infecting populations of small rural towns with the very diseases they were working on treatments for. As the rumors spread like wildfire the scientists who only wanted to help, were appalled at what they had heard. Many quit in anger, while others stayed on, believing the rumors were false. Only Director Paul Westfield knew the truth until a whistleblower broke his non-disclosure agreement by meeting with Lois Lane.

Lois and Clark covered the story and blew the gates wide open. Their hard hitting expose brought the Government down on Cadmus like a hammer. Jim Harper had been head of security for the Labs, but even he was kept in the dark about Westfield's more dangerous tests. It wasn't until alarms sounded in the highest level security wing that he discovered the truth. Most of the rooms had been emptied so their power could be diverted to the most egregious experiment. Westfield and his chief scientist Dabney Donovan had acquired Kryptonian D.N.A. and were using it an attempt to create a life form that could take down Superman. Unfortunately, the clone degenerated before it was complete and all funding Cadmus received was immediately pulled.

The fallout was intense, and the scientists who had left before the rumors were proven true had gone on to form new Labs. One was Mercury and the other was Star Labs. Star had grown in the years since it was founded; now having facilities in Metropolis, Gotham, Coast City, Star City and Central City. Despite this, Cadmus found a way to survive. Most of the illegal tests had been linked back to the scientists who had stayed on, and they were left in disgrace even though they had no prior knowledge of said illegal experiments. This allowed Westfield and Donovan to set up a new Cadmus with backing by wealthy donors. One such financier was Lex Luthor. The other was Maxwell Lord. Though the two were rivals in industry, they found common ground in their mutual enemy, Superman. Both failed, Lex was now in jail, and Lord had fallen off the face of the earth. But their mission lives on and in a secret bunker, Westfield and Donovan are working on their newest recruit and current experiment.

"I could have engaged them. You know Supergirl wouldn't have stood a chance against me."

"Perhaps not, but we're still testing the output of your enhancement. The Meta you killed was a successful first, but you're not ready to go up against the both of them."

"The Flash is weak. What can he do to stop me? He runs fast, I'm a trained soldier. This enhancement you gave me makes me stronger."

"Temporarily at the moment. The radiation is still the unknown variable. All we've learned so far is that this is a remnant of the planet Krypton. We're not done testing it yet. And we still need more."

"Westfield..."

"Doctor Donovan is correct. The rock replaced your damaged heart, and has given you powers that will eventually make you a match for the Kryptonians, but their example has brought more and more aliens to our world. If our plan is to succeed, we need to know that we can stabilize this element. Our benefactors called it Kryptonite. But remember, our goals go beyond just Superman and his cousin."

"You know I haven't forgotten. You want the meta-humans wiped out too. Especially the ones created by the particle accelerator explosion at Star Labs; Central City. That explosion is the reason I'm here in the first place. This is what I got for still trying to be a hero."