𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍|
— Daedala Co. Tower, Amsterdam, New York.
— January 1, 2015.

𝐀𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐖𝐑𝐄𝐍 walked down several corridors before pausing at one of the elevators within the building. Once inside, he pressed a button that would take him to the secret sub-level of the tower that only an elite few knew about. The joints of the contraption creaked as it made its slow descent. As the trip down the shaft ended, the doors of the elevator slid open and Adrian stepped out. He proceeded forward and halted in front of the large steel door. Beside the door, attached to the wall, a scanning plate rested, waiting to let him inside. He brushed his dark hair from his face and allowed his eyes to be registered. Once the recognition scan was complete, the door opened with a satisfying click. Without hesitation, he proceeded forward into the next room. As the door closed behind him, he was enclosed in solid darkness and the shutting sound echoed through the room.

After a moment of absolute silence, the sound of rustling papers and other small movements could be detected in the space. Adrian stopped in the center of the room and brushed his hand along the cool surface of a sleek desk he knew would be nearby. When his hand brushed over a small rectangular shape, he backtracked and snatched it up. His eyes had been adjusting to the lack of light slower than he would've liked, so it took him a moment longer to find the power button on the remote.

"Must we keep this room so dark?" Adrian asked as the overhead projector turned on providing limited light to the room. "I own one of the largest companies in the world. The electric bill is really of little concern."

"We aren't ready," a nervous voice interrupted him, "not yet."

Adrian remained silent as the other voices in the room spoke up.

"We don't have the necessary supplies nor the energy to complete this project."

"What you're asking for is impossible."

"The numbers aren't adding up."

"This experiment is a waste of time."

"It's all been in vain, and for what?"

Adrian listened patiently through these comments, but the last made his lips twitch. This simple motion caused the room to fall into an anxious silence. He took a deep breath trying to compose himself then adjusted his tie and brushed some stray hair back from his face. He played with the small remote in his hand before pointing it up at the projector.

"For what?" Adrian repeated while thinking. "I'll show you what all of this has been for."

He pressed an arrow on the remote and a recorded message began to play. The image was fuzzy at first, but it slowly cleared to reveal New York in ruins. The 2012 invasion. The year the world realized that it wasn't alone in the universe. The light from the projector reflected the fury in his eyes that he failed to keep hidden. If one was paying close attention, they'd notice that behind the rage was immeasurable pain. He pushed the arrow again, and the slide changed showing similar destruction from all over the world. If he glared any harder at the screen, many believed he might set it aflame. He recollected his thoughts and regained his composure with a deep breath before proceeding.

"Gentlemen." Adrian released a laugh coated with a touch of insanity. "What we are trying to achieve is a way to bring the fight back within reach."

Several employees looked between one another with uncertainty.

"Equality!" he shouted, "That's what you want, correct?"

Several of the shadowed figures nodded with muttered agreements. Adrian adjusted his tie and calmed down again. He needed to remind them what they were fighting for without losing control of the room.

"We will create a future where we are not to stand by helpless and watch as the world burns around us," he paused and added, "A future where we do not fear the unknown power of these so-called 'gods' that place themselves above man."

His employees continued to mumble amongst themselves while quietly debating his point of view. With every word from his mouth, he regained the favor of the crowd. He decided to continue before anyone could interrupt.

"You may think what I'm asking for is impossible," he raised his voice, "but the impossible changed when the first alien set foot on our world."

Adrian understood that he needed these men whether he liked it or not. He was so close to achieving his goal and he knew that he never would've come this close on his own. Gathered in the room were some of the most brilliant minds from around the world. He had found those who were either too oblivious to see the true nature of his objective or willing to do anything to see it come to fruition. Either way, they were all desperate souls. Of course, their desperation was a fault at times, but he only had to put them back on track and the work would proceed like before. That was, if there were no other interruptions.

"What about the necessary source of power," a voice spoke up from the back of the crowd, "We still don't have enough to continue with our research or conduct any more tests without creating a massive blackout."

Adrian froze, a fierce fire shining from his eyes. Why was it that whenever he believed to have solved all problems, someone always had to bring up another? He turned and searched for the voice before setting his eyes upon her. She was the sole female scientist he'd added to the project, and even then he'd been hesitant to do so. Adrian discouraged placing women in places of power; however, when the times changed he had to become open to more possibilities.

"What was that, Miss—"

"Dr. actually." She approached him and now stood at the front of the crowd. "Dr. Stein."

He tensed with frustration at the reminder that she possessed a strong will of defiance and never simply accepted an answer without asking at least five more questions afterward. Adrian took a deep breath to calm himself, he didn't need to act on the rage that he kept close to his heart. It would only create problems.

She then repeated her question when the two were practically standing eye to eye, "What are we to do about the lack of power? Machines this large don't operate on their own, nor do they do so for free."

"Do expenses look like an issue?" he then added, "Aside from the witch, I've clipped an angel's wings, summoned hell-spawn and gave you my own flesh and blood. Now pray tell, what more do you want?"

"One. More time." She crossed her arms unintimidated. "You take them away before any progress can be made, and if I'm recalling properly, you promised us that a stronger source would soon be attained that the others would pale in comparison."

"And I'm working on it!" he snapped, "These things do take time."

"We understand, but our own progress would move along quicker if we were granted more time with the test subjects."

"Which you now have." Adrian waved his hand before turning to walk away. "Bring me the shade, I believe that it's time we use her to retrieve our source from hiding."

With those words, Adrian marched from the room and slammed the doors. The lights immediately flashed off with his exit, and the room was left in its original darkness. Vengeance would soon be his. When he had the power to remove the world of what he saw as an illness, there would be no one left to stop him.