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.It was a water-cooled reactor, filled with boiling liquid that pumped out high-pressure steam.Graphite moderators surrounded the rods, and thick, hot pipes circulated the steam through turbines.Even the heavy lead shielding would not be sufficient to protect him.With sick fatalism, Ceridov decided that the mutants would be more immediately lethal than the radiation.He ran to the hatch and activated the emergency releases.His throat was dry.He was panting too hard to think.Fortunately, the gulag's engineers had not bothered to install safety systems or protective interlocks.The monsters smashed through the main door just as Ceridov opened the bulkhead.Shoulder to massive shoulder, Endovik and Dubrov charged into the control room, their bestial lips drawn back to expose teeth ready to rip out Ceridov's throat.Very little remained of their once proudly worn military uniforms.Ceridov stumbled into the reactor chamber and swung the heavy bulkhead door shut behind him.Barely a second after the deep clang, he heard the creatures pounding at the thick barrier.The air inside the reactor chamber had a sizzling humidity filled with crackling steam.Ceridov staggered backward, trying desperately to recall if there was a second exit.He knew the radiation was all around him, ripping into his cells, poisoning him.But if he could move quickly enough…With a concerted effort, the mutated creatures tore the bulkhead door off its hinges and hurled it into the reactor chamber.The thick metal rectangle smashed into the nest of coolant pipes, shattering them.Geysers of steam erupted from pipe breaches, and reactor fluid levels began to drop as boiling water rushed out of the containment vessel.Dubrov and Endovik reveled in the chaos, splashing through the water that swirled furiously around their ankles, not even feeling the heat.The mutated gulag slaves threw themselves into the destruction with primeval relish.Automatic warning alarms began to sound, along with evacuation sirens.In the control room, all the gauges must have been well into the red, but the five mutants didn't seem to care.They knocked loose pressure control wheels, smashed lights, waded forward into the thickening radioactive steam."Cer-i-dovvvvv!" one of the disgraced generals yelled.Fleeing deeper into the deadly maze, the Soviet general burned his hand on a hot metal surface.Inside the containment tubes, coolant fuel bubbled and churned until the transparent observation windows blew out, spraying contaminated water everywhere.A lattice of pipes was uprooted and thrown aside, and Endovik stood there, his glowing green eyesrolling and crazed.Seeing his prey, he yowled, and the other mutants came running.Their skin seemed to be rotting now, burned and scabbed, beginning to fall off.General Ceridov scrambled for a way to get back out.The monsters had torn off the vault door.If he could just retreat outside, he could run past the fences, hide in the twisted forest.Bathed in radiation, he knew he was already dead, being cooked from the inside out.But letting these mutants tear him limb from limb seemed the worst possible way to die.Ceridov could barely see through the steam and flashing red lights as the monsters advanced toward him.Dubrov approached from the other side.Spitting curses and shouting, Ceridov ran toward them.Dubrov and Endovik, grinning horribly, closed in to intercept him.CHAPTER 51LUTHOR'S ISLANDTHE CARIBBEAN HUMIDITY MADE LUTHOR'S ISLAND HEADQUARTERS a sweltering hot box, but Lois had plenty of other reasons to sweat.When the battlesuited henchmen dragged her into the control center, Lex Luthor was staring at a wall full of screens like a businessman analyzing the stock market.Projected images showed the Kremlin, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament in London, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the United Nations headquarters in Metropolis.He had his eye on the whole world.Luthor frowned at the interruption."What have you found now, Bertram?"Lois pulled her arm free.The armored gauntlets were powerful enough to crush granite, but they weren't particularly nimble.She shook herself and stood defiantly."So, is this a new subsidiary of LuthorCorp? I must have missed the ribbon-cutting ceremony."Luthor's face darkened."You like to trespass, don't you, Miss Lane? Unfortunately, this is a bit more serious than your transgression at my munitions factory.You really must learn to respect personal boundaries.""I don't respect you, if that's what you mean.The whole world has seen Superman in chains, but what they don't know is how you orchestrated it.He's a hero.He's saved countless lives." Sure enough, mentioning Superman was like jabbing Luthor with a cattle prod.She could see it in his reaction.A thought occurred to her, and she smiled."You're jealous of him, aren't you?"He chuckled."Jealousy is an emotion for children, or at least for those who have no self-confidence.Why on earth would I be jealous now that Superman has gotten himself caught?""Are you denying your involvement?"Luthor's smile was bland."Of course not.I just wanted to know how you made the connection.""I'm not going to make it easier for you to cover your tracks." She crossed her arms and fell stubbornly silent.Luthor shook his head with irritated disgust."Superman, Superman; he's like a movie star for young girls to swoon over—James Dean, Jeffrey Hunter, Marlon Brando.It's…undignified.All flash and no substance.People forget who's really helped them the most." His voice had begun to rise, but he controlled himself again by taking two deep, calming breaths."Trust me, Miss Lane, I haven't even gotten started with Superman, but I am pleased that General Ceridov has removed this pest.""Ceridov? How do you spell that, so I can get his name correct in my article?"Luthor met her gaze with his cold, soulless eyes."There won't be any story about that freak Superman.""Freak? Says a man as bald as a cue ball!"Bertram stiffened in the armored suit that made him look like some absurd beetle.He clearly wanted to defend his boss's honor, but Luthor was quite capable of watching out for himself."Now that Superman has been incapacitated by exposure to the green mineral, we can study him.Dissection should prove that he is in fact an alien, different from anyone else on Earth."Alarmed, Lois said, "He already admitted that—and he's come to help us.The world needs Superman.""Can't you see it's a trick? How can an investigative reporter be so gullible?" He made a sound of disgust."Maybe being a woman makes it impossible for you to be objective.Wake up, Miss Lane! Don't just take him at face value—no one rescues people and saves the world as a hobby! It's inconceivable.""Not to someone with a soul," Lois quipped."Is unconditional compassion such a foreign concept to you?"He looked as if he had taken a large bite out of a particularly sour pickle."He is powerful, and he is mysterious, and that makes him dangerous.""You're far more dangerous than he is, Lex Luthor.And far less human."Luthor suddenly realized something."You really care about him, don't you, Miss Lane? Like a little lovesick schoolgirl." His expression took on a more calculating look.She refused to answer, which was itself an answer.Luthor continued, "We have an arrangement, Ceridov and I.Soon Superman will be turned over to my researchers [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]