Chapter Seven: Genesis Protocol Part Three
Clark's eyes slowly opened up. His arm remained wrapped around Kara and one hand rested on the top of her breast. It took him a couple of moments to determine what just happened. His mouth turned around into a deep frown.
Everything which happened came back to him. The interesting thing was, he regretted pretty much nothing that happened. There was a huge part of him who felt like he should, but he wouldn't.
The Silver Kryptonite left his system. The Red Kryptonite which Kara infected him had been burned out of the system. He didn't really move from his position. Kara's cute ass brushed up against him when she rested her head lazily on his shoulder. She didn't move from her position at least not yet. Clark lifted his hand up from on top of her breast. A bit of shock spread through him, and yet, at the same time, there was a bit of relief.
Conflicting emotions presented themselves for one Clark Kent. He decided it would be best if he would state the absolutely obvious thing which happened.
"We had sex," Clark muttered underneath his breath. He drew in a deep breath and frowned. "We had sex."
Kara tried not to laugh at the absolutely blunt manner he said this. She hid her face underneath her hair as it swung loosely for several minutes.
"We had sex."
Kara smiled, her cousin was almost adorable at what he was talking about.
"Yes," Kara agreed. She finally turned around and made sure she faced Clark. Clark could see the results of what happened dripping from between her thighs. Kara rested a hand on Clark's chest and slowly began to trace patterns on it. "That's what happens when two consenting adults are in love with each other…and it was the only way I could have saved your life."
Clark once again drew in his deep breath. Seconds passed when he closed his eyes, unable to believe what exactly was happening. He could sit here all day, deep in thought, and still not believe he had just had sex with his hot cousin.
"I still can't….."
Kara's lips met Clark's to silence him. She placed her hands on the back of his head and guided him through a long kiss. He didn't waste any time returning the kiss. His strong hands maneuvered behind Kara, latching onto her ass when he pushed into her.
The two looked about ready to resume their activities. Clark pulled away from her in an instant and tried to get up. He realized his clothes had been torn off in the fevered actions that were the night before. One hand lingered on the side of his hip when he looked out into the distance. Mouth hanging open, Clark looked up into the sky. He didn't even want to begin how wrong this was.
Kara turned towards the side of the bed, legs dangling. She looked up towards Clark. His human values clashing with his Kryptonian instincts caused Kara some frustration.
'Time to nip this in the bud.'
"Look me in the eye, and tell me you regret this."
Kara rose to her feet and stood before Clark, and all of her naked glory. Clark's eyes raked over her beautiful, firm, body. He couldn't look her in the eye and tell her regretted this. Kara placed a hand on Clark's cheek and leaned closer towards him. Her dazzling smile looked him in the eye.
"Human say it's wrong," Kara said. "But, we're not like them, biologically, are we?"
Clark shook his head. She had a point, as much as he hated to admit it.
"It's not a knock on them, it does take them awhile to come around certain things," Kara said. "Some of them still have trouble having an enlightened attitude with people from a completely different skin color than them….and then there's…"
Clark reached over and this time, he gave Kara a kiss this time before she complicated things more than they already were. She had been surprised, although ultimately pleased that he took the chance to kiss her on the lips. Kara locked her hands on the back of Clark's head and lead him into deepening the kiss. Their tongues pushed further together.
The two broke apart from each other. Clark moved over towards the wardrobe where he was certain there would be more clothes left for him. A couple of seconds passed, and Clark had been proven to be correct. There were more clothes out in the wardrobe. He scooped them up in his arm and peered out into the Fortress.
He had entered a brave new world, full of many possibilities. Clark couldn't really understand half of them, all he knew was he was willing to explore them. And if he was going to be in a relationship with his cousin, and then maybe multiple women, maybe it was meant to be.
'There were far worse fates,' Clark thought to himself.
Kara looked over towards the scans which had come over Clark's body. Her lips fell into another smile, one which brightened with a bit more triumph. Overall, their little encounter had been a success. Excitement flashed through Kara's eyes.
"So, it turns out all of that mind-blowing sex wasn't for nothing," Kara said. She took a moment to snicker at the look which crossed over Clark's face before she slipped into a more stoic frame of mind. Her eyes locked onto him, looking him straight in the eye. "You've been…cleared of Silver Kryptonite, the Red Kryptonite is gone, and your power levels have been seriously amped up. If that isn't successful, I don't know what is."
Clark just allowed it all to sink in.
"How did my power levels amp up?" Clark asked.
"Shared energy can have that effect, given how my body absorbs yellow sunlight as well," Kara said with a smile. "Gives you further incentive to explore our relationship, other than personal pleasure, wouldn't you agree?"
Clark thought she might have had a point. He wanted to figure out where they would head from here. There were so many possibilities of what they can do. And Clark would be lying if he didn't want to test how far they could go.
A loud and shrill siren cut through the air. Clark staggered back and almost fell over because of the siren hitting his ears. Kara reached over and stopped Clark from falling over. She rushed over towards the Fortress computer. Her fingers started to whirl a million miles a minute in an attempt to get the information up.
"It's coming from an abandoned lab outside of Metropolis," Kara said. "The one which Chloe was researching, before we left."
"Of course it is."
Clark almost could have groaned. Chloe's curiosity had gotten the better of her before, and this time, he was almost certain his friend had stepped into something dangerous. Yet there was something else in his mind.
"Could this be a trap?" Clark asked. Kara raised an eyebrow. "Brainiac might want to finish the job he started and lure us somewhere…where we can't escape."
Kara thought her cousin had a good point. He was finally showing intelligence his mother would be proud of.
"I think we can turn the trap around on him," Kara responded. She looked towards Clark. "Trust me on this one."
"I do," Clark said.
The two dressed at the speed of light and flew off. Clark only barely had time to register how much faster he was going.
Chloe entered the most frustrating state of being she could have thought of. She had a few of the questions, and every single answer she had, just raised more questions. Nothing infuriated a reporter more than something like this.
'It's a lot to take in, I know,' Lara thought.
'So, your name is Lara, and you're Clark's biological mother,' Chloe said. 'I don't want you to take this the wrong way, and there's really no other way you can take this but…..exactly where have you been all of these years when your husband was running amuck? Couldn't you have exiled him to the Artificial Intelligence Couch or something?'
Lara tried to hold back her laughter. Out of all of Clark's friends, she liked Chloe the best. Granted, Lana and Lois weren't without their merits, but she liked Chloe the best. Then again, she only knew them from Chloe's memories and brief observation as a third-party.
'I'm afraid it's not that simple,' Lara said. 'And again, it's a long story.'
Chloe inhaled and exhaled.
'And again, I told you, I have plenty of time,' Chloe thought. She tried to pull herself free from, but the ropes snapped back a second later. 'I'm just going to be stuck here for the rest of the day while some mad scientist does a whole lot of whatever.'
'My AI laid dormant for several years, I have no idea why it did, it just never had gotten activated,' Lara said. 'It had been downloaded into both the ships and the caves much like my husband's had, but it never had a chance to rise to greater prominence.'
'Okay,' Chloe thought. 'But, what made you wake up? Especially after all of this time.'
Lara had plenty of time to think. Chloe tried one more time to break free and all this accomplished was an aching pain through her wrist.
'You handled the stone in the cave when they activated to create the Crystal of Knowledge, the element which empowers the Fortress of Solitude,' Lara explained. 'I had a couple of choices, a couple of directions where I could have gone. I could have downloaded my mind into a creepy young bald man, or I could have downloaded my mind into a perky blonde. I think I made the right choice, given your closeness to my son.'
Chloe thought the rope had been loosened. She pulled herself to a standing position and managed to use her free hand to untie herself. Finally, she made some progress.
'Who needs Clark Kent anyway?' Chloe asked. She looked a little bit smug and assured of herself. Scrambling over towards the door, Chloe tried to grab onto it to free herself. Only, the moment she reached the door it had been stuck. 'Actually, you do, right about now…damn, it…of all of the times for a door to jam.'
'Chloe, do you see the radio equipment on the desk?' Lara asked her.
Chloe turned her attention to the radio equipment. She saw it alright. It might, if she played her cards right, be her ticket out of here.
'Plug the red wire into the blue port,' Lara thought. 'And then when that's done, flip the third switch to the right.'
Chloe had just allowed all of this information to properly sink in. She did as Lara had requested. It seemed so absurd. She flipped the switch, and yet nothing happened.
'Okay, that was a bust,' Chloe thought. Suddenly, the radio lets out a shrill sound which caused her to stagger back. 'Okay, spoke too soon, it's causing my ears to bleed. What the hell did you just ask me to do?'
Chloe's ears stopped ringing. Now, all she heard was a dull hum coming through the air.
'I sent a signal to Kal-El and Kara,' Lara thought back to her. 'They should hopefully be arriving soon…and we can put a stop to this.'
The radio equipment ended up burning itself out. She figured as much. Cheap equipment found in an old office wasn't really made. Chloe noticed the door opening up and wondered if she could shove past whoever entered the room and make a clean break for it.
'Anything's worth a shot,' she thought to herself.
Chloe made her attempt to bolt from the office. She came head to head with Milton Fine. Fine grabbed her around the wrist and hoisted her off of the ground with a surprising amount of strength. Chloe's legs dangled from underneath her. She tried her best to kick out, but Fine was too strong.
Fine studied the woman like most would study a new breed of insects. Curious, yet the woman annoyed him.
"You think you're pretty clever, don't you?" Fine asked.
Chloe didn't think of a non-clever retort to fire. So she just decided to swing for the fences and go for broke, given how busted she would be anyway.
"I got free, didn't I?"
Fine continued his brisk stare of the woman. She would break free.
"Yes, and you summoned for help like I hoped you would," Fine said. "And I wasn't referring to you, human. I was referring to what resides in you…she thinks she's clever. But I am the most powerful mind in the universe. The Genesis Protocol will occur, and there will be nothing happening to stop it."
Chloe had been racked with confusion. She only had one recourse right now.
'Okay, I'll bite,' Chloe thought to Lara. 'What exactly is this Genesis Protocol?'
'It was used as a means by my friend Alura, Kara's mother, to save Krypton from its doom,' Lara said. 'The plan was to send all life on Krypton to the Phantom Zone while sending a select few to another planet where they would take it over.'
The implications they planned to take over another planet entirely had not been lost on Chloe.
'Yes, it's pretty extreme,' Lara confirmed.
Chloe found herself secured, this time with tighter ropes. Ropes which made it beyond impossible for her to breathe, because the more she struggled, the more those ropes strained against her. Fine wasn't wasting any time now.
'What is Fine?' Chloe asked. 'I think he used to be human, but he's not anymore…is he a meteor mutant or something?'
'No,' Lara said. 'He's something much worse than that. He's a computer known as Brainiac, and he's working to utilize the Genesis Protocol to clear Earth of all human life, so Zod and his followers inside the Phantom Zone can arrive on Earth.'
'Wait, that's…that's insane!' Chloe yelled. 'How does he hope to do that?'
The number of people who would perish made Chloe sick to the pit of her stomach. Fine being a machine explained a lot. No human, no person, they couldn't have such a disregard for the actual lives of people. He was only built for one purpose.
'There are ways,' Lara thought. 'There are ways to do this.'
Chloe had been so close to freedom. She needed to find a way out of here before Clark walked into a trap. And it wouldn't be the first time he had gotten into trouble on her account either.
'Okay, let's do this.'
Clark took the first step into the facility. He turned his head a couple of inches to the right and then turned his head a couple of inches to the left. When he made sure the coast was clear on both surprises. Kara took a couple of steps forward as well and she heard a light humming sound. Such a human normally had been the harbinger of something really bad.
"Kal," Kara said. "It's behind the door…he's behind the door."
Kara didn't need to say another word about exactly who was behind the door. Said door opened up and revealed the face of Milton Fine. He took a couple of steps before them and he walked out to meet both of them.
"The Son of Jor-El," Brainiac said. He rose up to his full height, his eyes locked onto him. "I expected you...I had hoped to run into you since the moment my period of dormancy concluded."
Kara's contempt could be barely held back when she stared at the soulless machine who was responsible for so much destruction.
"I wish you would have remained shut down," Kara said.
Brainiac's eyes turned towards her. Kara refused to waver from her stance. Their eyes met together when the two of them stood eye to eye. They didn't blink, she didn't blink.
"I didn't expect to see you out of your box this soon, although perhaps I should have," Brainiac said. He surveyed them with a harsh expression on her face. "Do you know where her loyalties lie, Kal-El? Do you even know who she is?"
Kara figured Brainiac was going to pull this game, but she wasn't going to let him.
"Don't listen to a word he says," Kara said. "He's a deceiver…..he deceived all of Krypton….and he's up to his old tricks on Earth."
Kara could tell Brainiac upgraded himself to be more durable than ever before. The form he preferred might have looked human on the surface, but it was anything other than human. They were in for a fight, one way or another.
Brainiac's powerful gaze locked onto Kara.
"You betrayed your own bloodline," Brainiac said. "And now you're going to pay for your sins, just like your mother….."
Kara jumped at Brainiac and knocked him into the wall with a super powerful punch The computer crashed into the wall with a sickening thud. He bounced back off and Kara swung her fist into his chest, knocking him down one more time.
"You have no right to talk about her….."
A beam of light shot out from the other side of Brainiac's hand. Kara dodged the beam of light and fired back with a beam of heat vision which sent Brainiac spiraling back a few inches.
Clark rushed towards Brainiac and clipped him on the side of the head with a huge swinging punch. The punch caught Brainiac on the side of the head. More punches followed with Clark chaining the attacks together.
Brainiac caught Clark's arm and knocked him back to the ground. He raised his hand which started to illuminate with red energy.
Kara drove her shoulder into Brainiac and caused him to slide back from the impact. Clark jumped over Brainiac, and the two of them punched at him from either side. Brainiac shimmered out of the darkness. He turned around and closed his hand.
A shrill signal resulted in Clark dropping down to his knees. The pure agony spread through his body. Kara tried to rush in to attack. Brainiac flipped her over and caused her to land onto the ground.
"You're on your knees, just like an inferior being like yourself should have been from the very beginning," Brainiac said. He raised his hand, continuing to force Clark down to his knees, further grinding them into the ground. "You're weak, pathetic, a waste of life. Look at you, struggling to breathe. If this is the savior Earth demands, then they aren't worth of salvation."
Clark once again struggled to get out of the position. He broke free and nailed Brainiac with a punch. The punch rocked him a few inches back. Clark summoned all of the power and channeled all of his frustration into one thunderous punch.
"I'm not weak!" Clark yelled.
"Your human upbringing makes you soft, and unable to comprehend the power I can use to bring you to your knees."
Kara jumped back into the attack. The distraction caused Clark to nail Brainiac in the side of his robotic neck. A loud crack followed when Clark started to string together multiple punches to stun his adversary and bring him down to his knees.
Clark continued to string together a multitude of punches. Each of them caught Brainiac off guard and forced him back a few more inches. He rushed forward and nailed him as hard as possible. The punch started to rip through his side. Brainiac struggled to avoid the punch before it dropped him to the ground.
He noticed the weak spot. Brainiac had taken extra care to guard it against Clark's attack. He locked eyes with Kara.
Kara swung her fists and caused a gust of wind to hit Brainiac in the chest. Brainiac blocked the gust of wind with a shield.
"Genesis will happen, like it or….."
Clark caught the spot in the side with one huge punch. Brainiac's eyes bulged out when Clark hit it.
"Much…start…repairs!" Brainiac managed.
Clark's fist pushed further into his side and he grabbed a black and orange box before ripping it out from him. Sparks flew when Clark removed the component core from him.
Brainiac's knees shook and the vibrations continued to ride through his body. He vibrated into a cloud of black dust.
Kara quickly gathered up the dust. She thought it was too easy, but more tests would prove whether she was right, or if she was just being paranoid.
"Hold onto that tightly," Kara told Clark.
Clark nodded, vowing to guard the black and orange box with his life.
Chloe looked up at the sound of footsteps. She really hoped it wasn't a creepy robot coming to have another little chat with her. She looked up and the doors opened. Clark entered, with a black and orange box in his hand.
"Thank Rao it's you," Chloe said.
"Thank Rao?" Kara asked, looking at Chloe in confusion.
Chloe blinked, wondering where that came from. Actually, she knew, and they would have to have a talk sooner or later.
"Um, yeah," Chloe said. She looked at Clark and Kara. "Do you think you could untie me? Those don't look very comfortable?"
"You're not the bondage type I take it," Clark said.
"Well, maybe, if you play your cards right," Chloe said. "But seriously, these ropes are making it very hard to breathe, so do you think you could….."
Clark undid the ropes. Relief hit Chloe's body, finally, she could breathe again. She had gotten up to her feet and Clark wrapped his arms around her to make sure she was stood.
"He didn't break anything," Clark said.
Chloe shifted towards Clark with a smile.
"Oh, are you a doctor now?" Chloe asked. "Maybe you should give me a full exam."
Kara cleared her throat a moment later. Chloe decided to take herself off of the high of being rescued to focus on the situation at hand. And also the fact she had something very important to tell Clark, and Kara as well.
"Clark, there's something I need to tell you," Chloe said.
'Took you long enough, 'Lara thought.
'Oh, I'm just telling him about the fact you're inside my head,' Chloe said.
'That's what I was talking about,' Lara said. 'What did you think I was talking about?'
Chloe flushed in embarrassment. Talk about sticking your own foot in your mouth.
'Never mind,' Chloe thought.
"There's…something really important I need to tell…." Chloe said. "Well, it's just…..I was hearing voices in my head ever since the cave…well not voices as in pure, but….just a voice."
Chloe's entire voice shook. Clark put an encouraging hand on her shoulder and convinced her to stand up. She took in a deep breath and tried again.
"I thought I was going insane, and can you really blame me," Chloe said. She decided to cut off Clark. "And I thank you for not making the obvious comment about me being halfway there."
Clark took a second to just let it all soak in with Chloe.
"Your mother, Lara, she's inside me," Chloe said.
'You make it sound so seedy,' Lara thought, with a smile.
"She is?" Kara asked. "Are you sure about that?"
Chloe realized something. Kara had brought up a pretty good point. No one could be sure Lara was really inside her head.
"Tell me something only Lara and I would know about."
Lara relayed something to Chloe which caused her face to go about ten shades of red. Chloe walked over and leaned towards Kara, whispering it in her ear. Kara's ears went a bit red at what she heard, she couldn't believe Lara used that as the thing, but to be fair, it was something they only would remember.
"That's her…that's her alright," Kara said, voice shaking. "Aunt Lara, it's good to see you again."
"She says it's good to see you again as well," Chloe said. "Um…maybe we should find her a body…or find a way to create one, I'm sure there's some Kryptonian thing we can use in the Fortress."
Chloe's eyes rested on the black and orange box.
"It was a trial run," Chloe said. "The real Brainiac is out there somewhere."
Clark and Kara both figured deep down as much. It looked like they had a lot of work to do.
"We better go back to the Fortress," Clark said.
"As long as I don't freeze half to death this time," Chloe said
"Don't worry, I can keep you nice and warm if you do."
"I sure hope so."
Clark smiled and scooped up Chloe in his arms before he darted off. Kara followed closely behind.
To Be Continued on September 25th, 2016.
