LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 34.1
Kara sat on her large, leather chair in the Genomorph’s underground base, her elbows resting on top of the wooden desk and her fingers crossed in front of her face.
Her feet tapped furiously against the ground in impatience and she desperately wished she had brought Dexter with her, running a hand through his fur while he purred in her lap would have helped calm herself down.
Despite herself, shards of red light had manifested around her when she had lost her temper earlier, some of them had scratched her new desk, some had left scratches at the wall at her back and one had even destroyed a lamp right above her position, leaving it slightly darker than the rest of the room.
Kara actually liked the aesthetic. It kept her face in the shadows, preventing the woman she was about to meet from seeing any signs of disgust… or fear. It would be much harder to notice if she flinched at the geneticist presence.
Closing her eyes, she tried to concentrate on her cousin’s Torquasm Rao teachings, letting go of her anger and clearing her mind. While Torquasm Rao was created for military use, it also happened to be a great meditation technique… Kara just wasn’t very good at it yet.
“Dr. Spencer, please come in.” Dubbilex opened the door with a wave of his hand, motioning for the Geneticist to walk inside the room.
Kara almost shuddered reflexively. To be in the same room with someone like Dr. Spencer gave her goosebumps but she tried to focus on what the woman could do for Kon, and maybe even Match.
She remained silent for a few seconds more, until she had gotten her temper under control, and then opened her eyes to take in Dr. Amanda Spencer for the first time.
The scientist was a young black woman, with a thin figure; she had short and curly hair and wore a white lab coat, complete with thin glasses over her brown eyes.
Staring at the woman, Kara saw the slight shaking of her hands, the woman’s heart accelerating, the drop of cold sweat running down her cheek. Dr. Spencer stood frozen in place like a deer in headlights.
After a couple of seconds Kara noticed Dubbilex glaring at her and that her eye was still shining with barely contained heat. Drawing another breath, she blinked the signs of heat vision away and nodded.
“Nice to meet you, Dr. Spencer. I’m told you have a solution for the Genomorphs’ degeneration problem?” Kara asked, taking her elbows off the desk and leaning back on her chair.
“I… ah, I wouldn’t call it a solution, it’s more like a temporary fix until I can better study the situation.” The woman said, wiping the sweat from her forehead and trying to loosen her turtleneck. “The Genomorphs’ degradation is caused by a lack of a certain element in their cells. The treatment can directly infuse that element inside them, but their body will reject it after some time and revert back, making constant doses necessary. Really, it would be best to solve the issue completely, but stopping further degradation in the meantime before it does anything permanent is necessary to buy time, and maybe I could use, no, it… I’m sorry, I’m rambling.”
“I see, and what do you need to make a permanent cure?” Kara asked, tapping a finger against the arm of her chair.
“I-I will need new facilities and my staff will have to be replaced.” She gulped and answered.
“Would larger revenue help?” Kara asked, doing her best to think about the benefits to Kon and the Genomorphs, this time, it seems like she was succeeding. “The Genomorphs’ cure is a priority for me.”
“Yes, Yes! If I had the means to replace lost materials, it could allow me to be far less careful with testing, as well as hire more workers and better equipment.”
Kara traded a glance with Dubbilex, seeing a satisfied smile as well as some amount of affection for the scientist on the man’s face. “You’ll have it. Now, I’m aware that you worked on Project Kr, what can you tell me about using the treatment you’ll be developing on the Kryptonian clone?”
“Well, we could not fully clone Kryptonian DNA; we used human DNA to fill in the holes and connected everything using Genomorph genetic material.” The woman said, seeming to forget her fear now that she was speaking about something she was passionate about.
Kara had to blink and start thinking about Kori in order to stop herself from blasting her with heat vision, her fingers digging into the leather chair.
“At first, we believed that such a patchwork approach had made the clone vastly weaker than a natural Kryptonian but, re-analyzing the data, I believe that the Kryptonian part of him is working overtime to prevent the Genomorphs’ degeneration.” The woman nodded and smiled at both Kara and Dubbilex, as if she wanted congratulations for solving such a problem. “His cells are constantly using the solar energy absorbed to try and fix his Genomorph deficiencies. These cells don’t have any extra ‘power’ to do much else, that’s why he hadn’t manifested some of the Kryptonian’s more traditional powers like flight or heat visi…on.”
“What’s wrong?” Kara questioned when the doctor seemed to trail off mid explanation.
The doctor swallowed again, looking worried right at Kara’s good eye and she readjusted her collar once again. “Nothing, I believe I just realized something.”
“Oh, do tell.” Kara immediately realized the woman had connected the dots. Feigning interest, she leaned to the right and rested her chin against her closed fist.
“Miss Danvers…” Dubbilex tried to say, but Kara cut him off with a glare.
“No, I really want to hear it.”
“I-I’m sorry! I was just doing my job. I never had the full picture of the project until it was already too late! I never wanted to create him! Err, I mean…” The woman explained, nervously glancing around the room. “Then, well, the clone was already produced, I wanted to make sure he could survive… and the study possibilities were…”
“Let me make something crystal clear, Dr. Spencer.” Kara told her, leaning forward again and making it so the light of the room illuminated her fully. “I’m not actually too mad at you for my newest cousin’s creation. I’m mad about the abuse you did against my older one. That stealing his DNA and replicating it against his will didn’t raise any red flags for you boggles the mind. That you cared about Kon-El’s survival, and are still working to improve his situation, has stayed my hand for the time being and forces me to put some trust in you. But. You will NOT abuse that trust, am I understood?”
The woman flinched but eventually answered, her voice almost a whisper. “Yes.”
“Good, Superman was raised by a loving family, he was taught all of your Earth’s values and he truly, deeply believes in the good inside people. He’s a hero to the core, he’d never hurt you.” Kara explained while opening a drawer and pulling out a thick folder with hundreds of pages and two thumb drives inside. “I am not Superman.”
With a flick of her wrist, Kara threw the folder at the woman’s chest, almost causing her to fall on her ass. “That’s all the information I have on a second clone, one made without human DNA, I want you to tell me what your treatment can do for him.”
Dr. Spencer clutched the folder, holding it closely to her chest as if it would keep Kara from hurting her. Taking a couple seconds to gather herself, the woman considered what Kara had just said. “Wit-without human DNA? His cells would be breaking down much faster than even the Genomorphs.” She said, her mind focusing back on her work as she desperately tried to avoid even looking at Kara. “The treatment would help, but I don’t have any idea about how to stabilize his Kryptonian side. All previous data indicates that his powers will start mutating in less than two years, he’ll start developing failed mutations and become unable to sustain life in only ten years outside of a suspension chamber.”
“Just do your best.” Kara ordered, then thought about Match once again and got a glint on her eye. “Do you think it would help if he doesn’t have his powers anymore?”
“It would need to be tested, but that is a possibility. The cellular mutation is probably triggered by the incomplete Kryptonian ability to absorb radiation, if he doesn’t have his powers…”
“Very well, Dubbilex will help you with anything you need. Stabilizing the Genomorphs is your current priority since Match is currently in suspended animation, but I want your team trying to find me a solution.” Kara waved the scientist away, almost causing the woman to run out of the room. Just as she had grabbed the door handle, Kara called out, causing her to pause and look back. “And, Dr. Spencer, you WILL be apologizing to both my cousins, in person.”
The doctor nodded, then scrambled out of the room and Kara could hear her almost running down the corridor.
“Was that really necessary?” Dubbilex sighed, massaging under his horns.
“What? I thought I was surprisingly kind and accepting.” Kara pushed herself back to her feet and almost slammed the drawer closed. “I hate amoral scientists.”
“Dr. Spencer isn’t amoral; she’s only… absorbed in her work.” The genomorph justified, then took Kara’s place, using his telekinesis to move her chair out of the way and adjusted the drawer, pulling it out and making sure it wasn’t broken before driving it gently into the desk. “And she is undeniably a genius in genetics. She’s our best chance at a permanent solution.”
“Do you think she’ll do something short-sighted then? That I pushed her too far?” Kara fidgeted, feeling a little guilty now that she wasn’t in the same room as the woman.
“No, Dr. Spencer was feeling guilty for what she did before she walked into this room. She believed your intimidation was justified.” Looking up, Dubbilex frowned at the busted lamp above his head, quickly typing a request for a replacement at his computer. “Still, I do wish you had not been so aggressive.”
“There won’t be a next time. I never want to see that woman again.” Kara finally lost Dr. Spencer’s steps amongst the noise of the facility.
“And if she solves your problem with Match? She’ll probably need to oversee any treatment the boy receives.”
“Well, fuck. Now you have me hoping I meet her again.” Kara almost banged her head against the door in frustration. “Are we done here? Do you need me for anything else?”
“No, I can do everything else myself.” The wounded man said, causing Kara to frown at him. “Go back to your vacation.”
“You shouldn’t even be doing anything.” Kara glared at the genomorphs, but Dubbilex didn’t seem as impressed with her intimidation tactics as Dr. Spencer. “You’re wounded, Dubbilex, rest.”
“My body is wounded, my mind is perfectly capable.” The Genomorph glanced at her, and then refocused on his work. “I’ll rest when you finally get me a substitute for CEO.”
Kara narrowed her eyes on the man. “You were just bored without any problems to solve, weren’t you?” She accused.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He continued using his telekinesis to type away at the computer, making sure to avoid even looking at her. “Oh, look at the time. Didn’t you have to speak with Koriand’r today?”
Kara snorted, but did look at the time. Gathering Match’s files, looking at Dr. Spencer’s research before talking to her and consulting the Fortress’s AI for his take on them had taken longer than she thought.
Thinking about an angry Kori glaring at her for trying to dodge their talk made Kara cringe. Shaking her head to dispel the image, she smiled at the man. “Nicely deflected. Goodbye, Dubbilex.”
“Until later, Miss Danvers.”