Chapter 1

It was the same faint beeping she heard from the heart monitor every morning she awakened. At night when she lay in her metal-framed bed, it sung her lullabies until her eyes closed. At morning, it was slow and gentle, yet still loud enough to wake her up to start the day. She was only five years old, but Experiment #832 felt like she knew this white bed and this white room for an eternity. When she cracked open her eyes, the first thing she saw was the medical equipment at the foot of her bed, displaying her heart rate, body temperature, breath rate, and brain waves.

Turning over to the clock next to her on a bedside table, she read 7:23 A.M. She knew by then that the people in lab coats and the tall man with the suit never came until the clock said 7:30, so she spent her precious morning time to examine the grow lights that spanned the ceiling of her windowless room with the bare walls.

Holding her finger up, she practiced her numbers and counted each of the long, quietly humming lights that stretched from wall to wall. Each one gave off a bright, white glow that illuminated the plaster walls and reflected off the steel on her bed. Every morning, 832 counted exactly thirty grow lights. She found a different way to count them each time: six rows of five lights, five rows of six lights, two groups of three rows of six lights. It was the very first way she memorized her numbers. One, two, three, four, five… When she became tired of counting only up to thirty, she started recounting the lights without going back to one. The first light became the thirty-first, the second the thirty-second, and so on…

She could notice the paleness of her white skin under the lights, but it was not long when her skin began to green.

Experiment #832 didn't know why, but she could change her skin so that it became bright green. Slowly, every inch of her body became covered in the light emerald-colored hue, and 832, who had felt slightly hungry a minute ago, now felt her hunger disappear and a small rush of energy rush through her.

She thought to herself, Why do I stop feeling hungry when my skin is green? Why is my skin so white when it isn't green?

Suddenly, the door behind her opened, and two scientists and the tall man with the dark red hair arrived into the room. Pushed by the scientists was a metal cart with machines and instruments on top. In a stale voice and a neutral frown, the tall man said, "Good morning, dear. You've had a good nights' rest?" Immediately, after, he gestured at the two scientists, and they started turning on the machines and unhooking the needles and sensors. As the machines whirred on, 832 sat back on her bed as she usually did and extended her arms out, readying herself for their medical equipment.

She replied, "Yes, Mr. Osborn. Do you want to take my temperature first?"

Osborn nodded. "Good. She's getting used to the routine."

After sticking a thermometer under her tongue, the scientist wrapped her right arm with a blood pressure gauge and started pumping. 832 closed her eyes as the second scientist pricked her finger and squeezed out a small blood sample. Initially, she dreaded every moment the sharp needle would penetrate her skin. She had cried every time.

Eventually, though, she got used to it.

"Her temperature is 98.7 degrees, and her blood pressure is 100 over 65," the first scientist noted while the second scribbled down the results on his notepad.

The second scientist replied, "Experiment #832 seems to be going successfully so far. As soon as we finish reading her overnight breath and heart rate and study her blood sample, we'll be finished with the initial readings."

Osborn nodded again and noted, "Perfect. Now bring out the samples."

The first researcher nodded, exiting the room quickly to meet Osborn's demands. Norman Osborn then loomed directly over the young girl, casting a shadow on her from the grow lights, and stared into her eyes. She was still rubbing her finger from the prick, but she knew better than to show any signs of distress. That would not have been convenient for Mr. Osborn.

The businessman explained carefully, "Now, listen very carefully. We're going to do something a little different today. No matter what happens, I want you to stay exactly where you are and not complain. Understand?"

832 nodded slowly, unsure as to ask him exactly what he had in plan. She shifted on her spot of the bed as the researcher returned with a metal cart with a collection of clear beakers filled with mysterious, bright-colored balls that she had never seen before. Each beaker was neatly labeled with a white piece of paper and black marker. 832 struggled to read the words. Osborn's team of researchers had provided her with a small myriad of colorful books that she had to memorize her alphabet and some simple reading strategies from, but she didn't recognize the words castor beans, rosary beads, and English yew.

"We're going to have you try some of these seeds," Osborn stated to 832. "If you feel any pain, feel free to let us know." To his employees, he ordered, "Do the castor beans first."

Nodding, the second researcher stuck his gloved hand into the first jar and pulled out a small, black-and-brown speckled object between his fingers. The first researcher approached 832 and held her hands down. Feeling very uneasy, 832 squirmed.

"What did I say?" Osborn asked her curtly.

"To stay still, Mr. Osborn."

"Good girl," he replied flatly, nodding to the researcher again. "Now, open your mouth."

832 stared at the tiny seed as it was brought closer and closer to her face. She opened her mouth and let the scientist place the little bean on her tongue. Moving the hard seed between her mouth with her tongue, Osborn ordered, "Now, swallow."

832 held her head back, and the second scientist handed her a glass of water to help her swallow it. Coughing, she heard Osborn speaking softly to the researcher, "What were the symptoms, again?"

The scientist answered, "Bloody vomiting, bloody urine, kidney failure, seizures. It's supposed to be quick, too; I've heard more than enough stories of grown adults dying within a few minutes of this."

Narrowing his eyes, Osborn told him, "You better be right about your bold hypothesis, then. If this fails, I would lose my greatest asset, and don't hesitate to believe there won't be any consequences for that."

832 shifted uneasily in her seat on the bed covers for an agonizing twenty minutes as all three of the people watched her. Osborn especially studied her, sitting on a small chair he brought in and resting his chin on his hands. Looking into their faces made her even more perturbed, so she just stared down at the tiles beneath her. Why did I have to eat that yucky thing? she thought. Why are they all looking at me like that?

A look of shock beamed from the second researcher's face when he looked at his watch. "Norman…it's been more than half an hour."

Osborn muttered to himself, "Amazing. Do you feel any pain?"

832 shook her head.

The first scientist smiled, jotting down notes furiously. "That's fantastic! Her vitals are completely normal! She's not hurt! She's still alive!"

The second added, "I was correct. The girl is immune to the ricin in the bean. Imagine what else she could be immune to! Quick, let's give her the rosemary bead!"

Osborn held up his hand just as his employee headed for the second beaker in the cart and said, "Let's wait for now. Our new head scientist is coming in this morning, and I need to meet him." Getting up from his chair and walking up to 832, he stated, "You did a good job, dear."

As the second researcher complied and wheeled the cart out of the room, the second researcher asked, "You mean the new guy? Octavius, or something?"

Perking up, Experiment #832 listened as Mr. Osborn turned around and answered, "Yes, he should be here by sometime this morning. The man looked pretty promising and reliable, especially from his reputation at TriCorp, so I trust he'll be here in time to meet us all."

The small girl couldn't contain her curiosity: "A new doctor? Who is he?"

Mr. Osborn looked down on her as if he had forgotten she was still there. "He's a new man coming in today. I trust you won't bother him too much. You're supposed to stay in your room, anyways," the tall man responded curtly. "I expect you to behave like the good little girl you are and leave the other scientists in the building to their work. After all, nobody here wants you to accidentally get hurt. Understood?"

Experiment 832 looked down, cheeks burning with shame. "Yes, Mr. Osborn."

"Good girl," smiled Mr. Osborn. "You know how much I urge you to not, under any circumstances, let anyone see your green skin besides me and my closest researchers. Stay in the room and don't bother anyone. If you need me or anyone else, just call." On the last subject, he pointed to a small, blue call button next to the door in case 832 needed any help.

"And don't forget to change into your new scrub," he directed, handing her a clean new set of plain, white scrubs to wear for that day. The smocks she wore each day were basically identical, bearing a logo on the right side that said "OsCorp."

"Yes, Mr. Osborn," the young girl obeyed meekly as he and his two scientists left her, locking the door behind them. As soon as they left, she headed to the small bathroom on the far right corner of her room to change herself, leaving her old scrub next to the door for pickup.

Once again on her one in the dreary, white-washed room all alone, 832 decided to entertain herself by counting the grow lights again.

She stole a look at her clock again.

8:00 a.m.

832 looked at her green skin and decided she wasn't hungry anymore. Willing the green to go away, her pigment disappeared, once again revealing her chalky-white skin.

She remembered the time when Mr. Osborn walked in eating a...well, he called it a "cheeseburger." That hamburger had been the most curious thing 832 had ever seen: it was warm with a greasy, brownish-gray thing and a slice of soft, yellow stuff between two squishy tan things with little seeds on top. Seeing that Mr. Osborn was chewing it in his mouth, 832 had asked him if she could try a bite, since she had never seen nor tasted one before.

"You don't need to eat normal food like other people do," Mr. Osborn had told her. "You're special. You can eat the same way a plant does: by photosynthesis. That green skin you have takes in light and turns it into energy, the same way other people eat food to turn it into energy."

Experiment #832 was satisfied with that answer at the time, but in hindsight, she still didn't see anything wrong with trying out that cheeseburger. Did the fact that she was "special" prevent her from being able to eat that cheeseburger?

Why am I special? she suddenly thought, thinking deeper into what Mr. Osborn had said.

Shortly after five minutes, the lights bored her. That was when the new doctor returned to her memory, and her curiosity followed suit. Who was the new scientist? What would he be like? Would she get to see him? If so, how?

An idea struck.

Dashing across the tile floor, she smacked her hand on the call button, making a small beeping sound. Shortly after, one of the scientists that came earlier greeted her.

"Can I have some water?" she asked innocently. The scientist shrugged and nodded.

As soon as he turned his back to head down the hallway, 832 crawled through the crack in the door and quickly scampered down the carpet before reaching the elevator, her heart beating madly in her chest. Barely reaching the buttons, the elevator bell quickly dinged, and the doors swung open. Sneaking in and waiting for the doors to close, she started to become giddy.

This was only the second time that 832 had been out of her room since Mr. Osborn had to take her out to replace one of the machines in her room. It was about three weeks ago, and it was when 832 discovered the hallway and the elevator and some of the labs―when she realized that there really was an entire world outside her room. So far, that world was composed of walls, carpeting, more lights on the ceiling like her grow lights. What had struck her odd the most at the time, though was a transparent wall at the end of the hall that gave way to a giant, blue wall that seemed further away from all the other walls. Since then, she had been slightly anxious to explore the rest of the building beyond the third floor where she resided.

As the elevator whirred slowly down the shaft, 832 quickly remembered what Mr. Osborn had warned her: I urge you that you should not, under any circumstances, let him see your green skin. When the elevator passed the second floor, she double-checked to ensure that her skin was in its normal, pale form, and the bell quickly dinged, welcoming her to the ground floor of OsCorp.

The ground floor completely amazed her. What caught her attention first was a group of more transparent walls that revealed a strange place on the other side: grey buildings, and bright signs, and colorful lights, and shiny things that zoomed by and made honking noises. 832 sped to them and gazed agape outside, taking note of every detail―the yellow shiny things that some people waved at to make them stop, the small shiny, pedal-y thing that somebody rode past on…

She stopped herself, quickly remembering the doctor. The clear walls were so tempting, but they had to wait.

Scurrying past the legs of some dumbfounded employees, she eagerly searched for Mr. Osborn, knowing that the new scientist would approach him first. Losing herself in a maze of carpeted hallways, she stopped at each door and peeked inside. Half of the rooms she found were filled with drab cubicles and people wearing ties like Mr. Osborn's. Others were tiled floors with rows of large cabinets with papers in them.

Panting and growing tired from all the running, 832 suddenly heard Mr. Osborn's voice to her left, and she spotted the heel of his shoe before it disappeared around another corner. Determined not to lose him now, she pushed aside the burning pain in her legs and ran to him. She wanted to call out to him, but she then thought about Mr. Osborn sending her up to her room again.

And that was when she crashed head-on into the legs of the new scientist.

Falling on her behind, she heard a new voice say, "Why, who is this?"

She looked up.

Gazing down on her through a thick set of glasses on his small nose was a short, portly man donning a plaid vest, a small bowtie, and a warm smile across his face, expressing how delightfully surprised he was. 832 gasped slightly at the sight of this stranger, and the stranger seemed to blush, as if somewhat ashamed for something, even though nothing wrong was done on his part.

He stooped down on one knee to 832's eye level. "Hello there, sweetheart. Are you lost?"

Suddenly frightened, 832 stammered, "Uh, yes. I mean, no! I mean, uh, I'm looking for…"

What's his name? she worried. Mr. Osborn said it! What is it?

"Someone named Mister…Ollie Octagon?"

The man stared at her for a second and chuckled warmly. "Do you mean Otto Octavius?"

"Yes! Are you Mr. Oct…tay-vee-us?" she asked, struggling to pronounce his name.

"Indeed," he chortled some more, "but you can call me Dr. Otto. And what's your name, sweetie?"

After hesitating, she eagerly replied, "Everybody here calls me Experiment #832!"

As soon as she said that, Dr. Octavius' face suddenly fell in confusion, making 832 wonder if she had said something wrong. After internalizing what she said, the doctor noted, perplexed, "I've never heard a child named that before. Who gave you that name?"

Shuffling awkwardly in her spot, she replied quietly, "Mr. Osborn did." Her cheeks burned. Noticing how Dr. Octavius wasn't smiling anymore, she became afraid that he wouldn't like her. His homely and caring demeanor had immediately imprinted on her, and the last thing she wanted was to lose it because of something she did. Improvising ways to make him happy again, she remembered what she could do with her skin. No! she rebuked herself. Mr. Osborn said no! He'll be mad if you do it! But when she cautiously looked up at Dr. Octavius' soft eyes again, she reasoned, Well, Dr. Otto wouldn't get mad. And Mr. Osborn likes him, so if Dr. Otto doesn't get mad, maybe Mr. Osborn won't.

"Dr. Otto? Do you want to see a trick I can do?" she asked bashfully.

The doctor, seeing that the toddler before him was concerned, answered with a new smile, "Um…go ahead! A doctor is always eager to see new tricks!"

Glad to see him happy again, 832 closed her eyes and willed herself to change color. Green, green, green… Upon opening her eyes, the green was showing itself again all over her body. Any speck of her normal skin had vanished. She grinned up at Dr. Octavius and squealed, "Did you see me? Did you see me? I did it! I did it! I did my trick! Do you like it, Dr. Otto?"

Now, Dr. Octavius' mouth had fallen wide open in pure astonishment. Right before his very eyes, a girl with green skin! Speechless, he simply kept gaping at 832 before he yanked his glasses off to clean them with the hem of his vest. Pushing them onto his face again, he shook his head in disbelief.

He couldn't stop gawking. "That's…that's impossible!" he cried. He reached out toward 832's arm and examined it. More to his shock, it was real skin―real flesh with hair and bones underneath, but it bore a light green pigment such as that of the leaves of a seedling. "How…how remarkable!"

Suddenly, they both heard Mr. Osborn's voice coming from the conference room next to them: "Otto, excuse me for the delay. My secretary had buried your application in the wrong drawer, and―"

Looking up from the stack of papers in his hands, Norman Osborn spotted the doctor, kneeling down before Experiment 832―green Experiment 832―and froze in his tracks.

832's heart stopped. Wanting a hole to appear and swallow her into the floor, she stared back at Mr. Osborn, paralyzed with terror. After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Dr. Octavius was the first to speak up:

"Norman, who is this girl?"

Struggling to contain his boiling anger, the tall CEO responded coldly, "That must be one of my employee's children. See, we have a small daycare in the building for our working parents―"

"She mentioned you," the doctor argued.

Mr. Osborn, after another excruciatingly long pause, explained, "Well, doctor, I think this might be a wonderful time to show you OsCorp's latest innovations in genetics and bioengineering. Standing before you, Dr. Octavius, is Experiment #832, the world's very first autotrophic human."

Digesting his words, Dr. Octavius responded, "Autotrophic human?...You mean to say that this girl can make her own energy without eating? Like…like a plant?"

Mr. Osborn smiled, glowing with pride. "Exactly. While she was just a fertilized egg on a petri dish, we altered her genetic structure so her skin cells had chloroplasts within them. At her will or whenever she needs to, she can create enough chlorophyll to keep her alive for months on end without eating. As long as she is well-hydrated and receives plenty of sunlight each day, this little girl needs only a very minimal amount of food for nutrients. Otherwise, you can put her on a deserted island, and she'd be just fine just basking out on the beach."

832 listened to Mr. Osborn, but plenty of the longer words like "autotroph" and "chlorophyll" flew straight over her head, but an epiphany came to her when she heard the word "plant."

"So I'm a flower girl!?" she blurted out.

Annoyed, Mr. Osborn sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yes, you are a flower girl."

832 beamed. Now she really knew why her skin turned green in the light or whenever she wanted. She was just like a plant!

"YAY!" she cheered loudly before singing to herself, "Flower girl, flower girl, flower girl! Flower girl, flower gi―"

Scowling, Mr. Osborn snapped at her, "You be quiet this instant!"

Still facing Mr. Osborn, Dr. Octavius scooped her up in his arms and interrupted, "But sir, if the experiment was so successful, why must we keep the child here?"

"Now, doctor," his superior replied, composing himself and smiling again, "surely you of all people know that experiments must be observed carefully even after the initial success. The girl's plant-like abilities might be successful now, but we must study how well she grows and develops over time to ensure success in the long run."

"Well…uh, as long as she's taken care of properly. And respectfully. But, Mr. Osborn, I must note, I don't believe 'Experiment #832' is such an…uh, uh, appropriate name for a sweet girl like her," he noted, smiling and tapping her nose playfully on his last point.

Experiment #832 giggled, feeling a giddy kind of warmth inside her that she had never experienced before. Suddenly, she felt something on the side of her head.

"Oh, goodness!" Dr. Octavius exclaimed, caught off guard. He gingerly pulling whatever appeared out of her hair, and she looked at what was in his hand: a small, white flower, consisting of several tiny, balled-up petals. "She can grow plants from her body, too?" he asked Mr. Osborn.

Eyes wide, Mr. Osborn was just as surprised. Studying her up and down with a spark of insatiability in his eyes, he beamed and replied, "No…she's never done that before…"

Dr. Octavius smiled once again at 832 and showed the flower to her. "See this, sweetie? You grew this out of your head! You're so talented!"

832 blushed. "Thank you, Dr. Otto."

"Do you know what flower this is?" he asked. "It's a clover flower. Clover grows in bunches in large, grassy areas, and their leaves come in groups of three―unless, of course, for the occasional four-leaf clover, in which case you're lucky!"

832 took the clover flower from Dr. Octavius' hand, studying its delicacy. "It's pretty," she noted.

"You know what, sweetie?" the doctor said. "I think that's a lovely name for you: Clover. Don't you agree, Norman?"

The tall man in the business suit gave his new employee an irritated glance and sighed impatiently, "I suppose so. I'll put it in the paperwork. Now, Clover, I think it's time to go back to your room."

The young girl repeated her new name in her head: Clover. It did not sound near as cold and clunky as "Experiment #832," and it rolled off her tongue so smoothly. It just sounded so…so…perfect.

When Mr. Osborn grabbed the girl from the doctor's arms, he told his new head scientist, "I'm very sorry for this interruption, doctor. While I send Clover back to her room, you can find the main lab on the fourth floor where you'll be working. I will meet you there momentarily."

"Oh, don't fret, sir!" Dr. Octavius assured as Clover was carried down the hallway, waving farewell. "It was wonderful meeting Clover! I look very forward to seeing her again!"

As Mr. Osborn carried her away, she peeked over his shoulder to the doctor and started waving madly, sporting a huge grin from ear to ear. "Bye, Dr. Otto!" When the elevator doors closed, the businessman set Clover on the floor, and a barrage of questions from her were suddenly shot at him: "Is Dr. Otto really staying here, Mr. Osborn? How long is he staying? Is he staying forever? Can I see him again? Can I show him my room? Can I―"

Suddenly, the girl felt the back of Mr. Osborn's hand loudly slap across her face.

The questioning ceased. Confused, Clover rubbed her cheek, beginning to feel the intense stinging spread throughout the right side of her face, and the pain made her eyes swell up. A small whimper was arisen from her throat, but she became no louder after Mr. Osborn seethed through his clenched teeth, "Do you realize what you've just done? Was I not clear enough for you, or do I have to speak in another language? Your little field trip around the building has nearly exposed you to people who don't know you're different from them, and that could've cost me. How selfish and stupid of you not to even think of that! Young lady, you're going to have more people watching you from now on, and I don't want to hear any whining from you."

Edging closer to her face, he finished, "Do I make myself clear?"

Tears crept out of Clover's eyes and dripped down her cheek. Knees shaking, she peered to the wood floor of the elevator and squeaked, "Yes, Mr. Osborn."

OoOoO

Hi there, everyone! I haven't written anything in the longest while, but I've been revisiting Spectacular recently and fell in love with the show all over again. I really hope you enjoy my fanfic and my OC, Clover. You'll get to watch her grow up as the story progresses, and you'll meet some of your favorite characters along the way. A huge thanks to my friend fore editing this for me (Am not sure what your username is, C.)!

THERE WILL BE UPDATES EVERY WEEK! I have already typed up several chapters with more along the way, so the next update should be on or before Friday, March 7, 2015. Thanks for reading!