Angel of Destruction cont'd
Laura had finally convinced the MHX children to stay with Kara, Clark, and Tim for a bit, vowing to return soon. Her excuse was that she needed to zip home and drink some fresh Loracite shakes. The yellowish mineral was plentiful in and around Falcon Claw, specifically Comet Lake.
Tim had been trying to regulate Laura's Loracite intake, but he was no medical doctor, let alone an expert on Meta Human physiology. His attempt to help her deal with her unique abilities was admirable, but Laura was stubborn.
If she didn't want to be helped, there was no one that could convince her otherwise. They'd narrowed down her requirements to possibly two or three Loracite shakes per day. Any less would slow her metabolism down, but what if they'd increased her dosage?
Until now, Laura had been afraid to experiment beyond that stage. Now nineteen years old, she assumed that she always knew best. Tim had warned her that an overdose of the Loracite could damage her. He guessed at the possibilities of a heart attack, a stroke, or brain damage.
Naturally, Laura didn't always listen. Today she downed three Loracite shakes. The effect was immediate. Her eyes dilated, turning a bright orange yellow, her heart rate doubled, as the Loracite coursed through her system. The power boost sent her mental processes reeling.
Still partially human, her hormones went into flux. Laura sped through a range of emotions, finally settling on anger and retribution. In the back of her hyperactive mind, she thought about her rocky, off again on again relationship with Clark, and her disgust at what Rowland Chemicals had done to the Meta Human Experiment project children.
Laura crushed the glass from the Loracite shake with one hand into dust, and zipped off at hyper speed. In seconds she'd arrived at a Rowland Chemical research lab in Lake City. She tore off a corner of the lab's roof and zipped through the building, destroying every inanimate object in sight. The handful of lab employees scurried away, sounding the general alarm.
Security guards with automatic weapons, hand pistols, and stun-grenades poured in from their posts. Some were escorting the technicians off property, while others were hunting for Laura. Pity the ones that would eventually find her. Laura circled around to confront two heavily armed guards, throwing them each through a different wall.
She made her way to the facility's mainframe computer system room and ripped every shred of wire from the walls, ending her tirade by smashing their main server into so much electronic dust. Another lone security guard had cornered her with a small handgun and a Taser.
Laura stood defiantly before him, placing her hands on her shapely hips and laughing maniacally. "Really?" She mocked him. "They don't pay you enough to risk your life here, do they?" The guard gulped, shaking his head, and backed away. "Get lost!" Laura snarled. The guard complied.
Laura adjusted her Gold Wing mask and happily ran along the corridors at a slower speed, randomly trashing security cameras, scaring the remaining fleeing employees, and occasionally ripping water fountains from the wall, and cracking pipes, flooding the area.
By now, Gold Wing could hear the approaching police, ambulance, and fire truck sirens. "Damn! I was just getting started." She complained loudly.
Back at Watchtower, Oliver's league meeting was just ending. Chloe had been monitoring the local Rowland Chemicals properties in hopes that she could verify any attacks that may come. Unfortunately, she was immediately rewarded. "Ollie, you'd better have a look at this."
Oliver glanced at the monitor over Chloe's slim shoulder. "We'd better call Clark, and let him handle it. If that's our Gold Wing gone wild, no one else may be able to stop her." He warned. Chloe gasped. "Ollie, I'm not convinced that Clark has the power or the will to stop her."
Oliver frowned. "I mean, how can we put her down?" Chloe's jaw dropped. "Put her down? Ollie, she's a human being, not a sick and elderly golden retriever." She countered. "I do get your point though. Gold Wing has most of Clark's powers, but none of his weaknesses."
"Then, our only hope is that Clark can talk some sense into her." Oliver pointed out. "How much damage are we talking, here, Chloe?" She shrugged. "Laura hasn't hurt anybody yet, as far as we know. I seem to recall a certain band of merry men trashing a number of LuthorCorp facilities."
"Still, we'd better call Tim Servo as well. Outside of Clark, he knows Laura best. I have his cell phone number." Chloe offered, as she tapped it into her console. "Tim? This is Chloe and Oliver." She began nervously as he answered. Chloe briefly explained the situation.
"This is bad, really bad!" Tim's complexion turned ashen white. "If Laura ingested too much Loracite, she could go off the deep end. I warned her time and time again about limiting her exposure." Oliver and Chloe didn't like where this was leading.
"Deep end?" Chloe echoed. "What exactly do you mean, Tim?" The teen genius swallowed hard. "Imagine your boy Clark hopped up on Red Kryptonite, and with a bad attitude. I have no idea how to bring her down. Laura would be like a rampaging elephant, tearing through the building. I'm not convinced that she can control her powers mentally or physically."
"Terrific." Oliver grimaced. "Can Clark stop her?" Tim sighed. "I don't know. Probably not without hurting her, and consider the collateral damage, if Clark and Laura threw down on some unsuspecting city or another." Oliver slammed his fist into his hand, startling Chloe.
"She's going to bring our whole operation down!" He yelled at the computer screen. "Tim, if we can get you close enough, can you talk her down?" Chloe suggested. "I can try, but if she decides to go off, I'm dead meat. She doesn't like me as much as she does Clark. He might have better luck. You all better hope that Clark can charm her back to normal, or she'll unleash hell."
"Oliver, we have to get to Clark. I can control him to some degree with green kryptonite, but Laura is another matter. We've never dealt with this powerful a Meta Human before." Chloe tried unsuccessfully to keep the panic from her voice. "Every meteor freak we've encountered had a weakness that either Clark or I could use against them. Gold Wing has none."
"The perfect killing machine." Oliver grumbled. "Ollie, let's not go there. We've survived worse, like the Kandorians, Doomsday, or even Lana, when she went rogue against us." Chloe reminded him. "We have to have faith." Oliver glanced down. "I have very little faith these days." He said.
Chloe held his hand. "We'll get through this, we will." She managed to crack a brief smile. Kara had been listening to the frantic conversation from just beyond the den at the Kent's farmhouse. She quickly approached Tim. "I'll handle this. Laura will listen to me." Kara offered, as Oliver and Chloe listened worriedly. "Are you sure?" Oliver asked. "She'll have to." Kara replied.
Clark was still listening to Lois's diatribe about being a responsible journalist back at the Daily Planet. He'd chosen to ignore Chloe and Oliver's call for the moment. Kara was forced to leave the MHX kids with Tim as she flew off in search of her troubled friend Gold Wing.
"Wow! She can fly, too?" Sparks admired as Kara headed up high into the sapphire blue Kansas sky. The other kids watched in amazement as well, but their interest would soon dwindle, and they'd once again be Tim Servo's problem.
Kara soared towards Lake City. Chloe had pinpointed the exact location of the Rowland Chemicals lab. Kara only hoped that it wasn't too late, and that she could calm Laura down. Kal was right, maybe humans weren't meant to possess such power, she considered.
By now, Laura's Loracite bump up was starting to wear down. She'd been using a lot of energy destroying the newly built building. The excess Loracite in her system was starting to deplete itself. She assumed that all of the employees were out of the building.
The fire department was just coming on scene. The police department had blocked off the streets surrounding the plant, and so far no one had been injured, other than the two guards that Laura had tossed through walls. It was now or never, Laura thought.
Gold Wing yanked a natural gas pipe from the basement wall, and snapped it over her knee. The odorous gas quickly enveloped the enclosed room, two or three stories below ground. Laura grinned evilly as she tossed the broken pipes off into a corner.
Gold Wing laughed as she grabbed a random piece of computer equipment. It was a server's circuit motherboard. Laura held it above her head and cracked it in half. All she needed was a small spark. She got it. "Boom!" Gold Wing said as she laughed maniacally, the whole room exploded into a ball of flame. Laura was blown through the upper two floors.
She landed outside the collapsing building, coming down in a flaming heap near the center of the blacktopped parking lot. The blast showered the rescuers and firefighters with smoldering debris. Kara had reached Laura too late. The disturbed teen lay motionless, her clothing still burned.
Kara bolted down from the sky, landing quickly beside her fallen friend. "Laura?" She asked tearfully, feeling an odd attachment to the Meta Human girl. Laura had been her first true friend, other than Kal's crew. Kara knelt down beside Laura, brushing the singed hair from her face.
She listened for Laura's heartbeat. Even with her super hearing, Kara could tell that Gold Wing's heart rate was slow, but still going. "Girl Scout to Watchtower!" Kara frantically pressed the Com link that Oliver had given her. "Gold Wing is down! Repeating…Gold Wing is down!"
Chloe's panicked voice crackled back to her. "Girl Scout…how badly is she injured?" Kara made a quick inspection of the motionless teen's body with her x-ray vision. "No broken bones…mostly superficial burns, and bruises…but she's not conscious." Kara informed her.
"Should I risk taking her to Metropolis General?" Super girl asked. "Negative! Take her back to the farm. We'll have Dr. Hamilton meet us there." Chloe directed. "Copy that, Watchtower." Kara concluded.
She glanced over Laura's prone form. Laura's Gold Wing outfit was partially shredded, revealing blistered and blackened skin, and her golden yellow mask had been cracked right down the middle of the nosepiece.
A small trickle of blood oozed from Laura's right ear and some more from her left nostril. Kara listened closely to Gold Wing's ragged breathing. "Laura! What did you do? And why?" She muttered, and scooped the troubled teen up into her arms and took flight.
In moments, Kara had brought Laura back to the Kent Farm and laid the girl out on Clark's bed. The MHX kids all hurried upstairs to see what had happened. Sedna was crying openly. "What did Laurie do?" She asked tearfully, as Tim knelt by his best friend's side.
"Laura made a mistake." Tim tried to explain to the young Meta human child. They all gathered around the bed and waited for Dr. Hamilton to show. Chloe had finally gotten hold of Clark at the Daily Planet. "Your girlfriend is in bad shape. Go to the farm." She text messaged him.
Clark had finally shaken himself free from Lois, and quickly zipped out the rooftop entrance to the Daily Planet. Lois had glanced down at her laptop, giving Clark the exit opportunity. She looked up and around the newsroom. "How does he do that?" She muttered angrily.
In seconds Clark was at the farm beside Laura. He frowned, grimacing at Gold Wing's shredded clothing and cosmetic injuries. "What happened?" He snapped at his cousin Kara. "I don't know, Kal. Tim seems to thing that Laura overdosed on her Loracite intake, and freaked out." She replied worriedly. "Maybe you were right, humans weren't equipped to handle that much power."
"Okay, everybody out!" Clark hissed. "You said that Dr. Hamilton was on his way?" Kara cast him a sharp glare. "Yes, Kal, we called Dr. Hamilton." Clark's eyes narrowed. "Go get him!" He ordered Kara angrily. She nodded, and zipped off. Clark carefully stripped off Laura's clothes, and covered her with a blanket. She did have extensive burns on her body.
Clark wasn't sure about Laura's healing power. The Gold Wing had never been seriously injured before. This was the first true test of her regenerative abilities. Clark examined one of the festering wounds closely, and it did appear to be lightening a bit, but what about her internal injuries? He wondered.
Kara flew back to the farm, with Dr. Hamilton in hand. She dropped him carefully in through the open window in Clark's bedroom, and circled back to enter it herself. Dr. Hamilton straightened out his medical clothes, but immediately excused himself, rushing to the nearest bathroom.
Kara stalked Clark. "Is she any better?" The blonde beauty inquired. "It's hard to tell." He replied warily. "What was going on with her?" He asked. Kara related the story about Laura being depressed, and angered by Rowland Chemical's actions with regard to the MHX kids.
"She knows better than to take the law into her own hands." Clark defended weakly. "Does she, Kal? Does she really? Don't forget that Laura is still only nineteen. She may still be acting irrationally." Kara argued. "I believe her powers are tied into her emotions."
Dr. Hamilton returned presently with a hastily thrown together medical kit in hand. "Are you okay?" Clark queried. "Yes, Clark. Just a little airsick, that's all. Now let's have a look at our patient." Hamilton said as he reached into the leather bag and pulled out a blood pressure monitor, and some other medical equipment.
"Pupils dilated." Hamilton said as he shone the light into Laura's still golden yellow eyes. "Discoloration." He murmured, examining Laura's skin wounds. "The burns are beginning to heal." He announced, as Clark and Kara relaxed. "You said that she was irrational?" he hinted.
"Even more so than a normal teen?" Hamilton joked as he glanced at Clark who was not amused. Kara quickly explained what she believed happened to her good friend. "I concur, Kara. Laura exhibits all the symptoms of a biological overdose, including a slight concussion." Hamilton pulled out a syringe to take a blood sample. "Clark, can you hold her down?" He asked worriedly.
"I'm not sure." He admitted. "Maybe if Kara and I both hold her down?" Hamilton fidgeted nervously. "Yes, that would be best." Clark and Kara each took an arm. Hamilton wasn't sure if the needle would penetrate Laura's Loracite enhanced skin, but luckily it did.
He drew a quick blood sample, which shocked everyone in the room. Laura's blood was a light orange hue, obviously discolored by her Loracite level. "Watch it! She's coming out of it!" Clark warned. He and Kara had both heard Laura's heart rate increase.
Dr. Hamilton held the blood sample up to the sunlight, and sure enough, he noticed a definite shift in the color shading. "Incredible!" He remarked. "Do you see where the blood is a much brighter orange yellow near the base of the syringe?" Clark and Kara nodded.
"What does that mean?" Clark asked. "Oh no!" Hamilton gulped. "It means that Laura's blood is regenerating itself." Kara shrugged. "But that's good, right?" She was puzzled. "Except that if she comes out of it too fast…. It will be like an adrenaline surge."
The words were barely out of Hamilton's mouth, when Laura's eyes suddenly snapped open, and she bolted upright. "What the hell is going on here?" She yelled as she shoved Kara through the wall outside into the yard, and Clark through the walls in the bedroom and across the hallway.
Dr. Hamilton had enough sense to back away near the window, but nevertheless he was alone in the bedroom with an amped up Gold Wing. Laura vaulted out of bed in the blink of an eye. She was wearing only her black lace panties and bra. The wounds on her body had already healed.
"Who's there? Who's here? Where am I?" She shouted. "I can't see!" Laura was blinded. "Laura. Relax. I'm Dr. Hamilton, your boyfriend's physician. You need to calm down." Hamilton courageously lowered his voice and spoke calmly and deliberately. "You've had an accident."
Laura pivoted towards his voice as she stood in the center of the bedroom, spinning slightly. "An accident?" She snarled. "Yes. We believe that you accidentally overdosed on your Loracite." Hamilton kept her talking as Kara and Clark finally made their way back to the bedroom.
He gestured for them to keep their distance from Laura. "I can't see." Laura said again, in a less frightening tone. "It may be just a temporary problem." Hamilton guessed. His goal was to keep Laura from getting too excited and doing more damage and possibly killing or injuring him.
"Laura." Clark's tone was stoic. "Clark?" She pivoted towards him. "You need to relax." Kara called from behind them. "K Girl?" Clark heard Laura's heart rate began to slow back down. They hoped that the worst was over. "Why am I so cold?" Laura wavered a bit.
"Uh…that's because you're wearing nothing but your underwear and a silly smile." Kara taunted, hoping to distract Laura and further calm her best friend down. Gold Wing actually did smile.
"Oh? Sorry. Did I go to an all night party and forget to come home?" Laura managed to joke. "No. But we'd appreciate it if you got right back into bed so I can examine you." Hamilton said. Laura reluctantly turned back the way she'd come. "Can't you see anything?" Kara asked.
"Mostly shadows and lights." Laura responded as Clark rushed to her side, and helped her into bed, covering her back up. Dr. Hamilton and Kara approached next. "You need to get some rest, because you're going to be helping me fix the walls you just threw Kara and I through." Clark said playfully, kissing her on the forehead. Dr. Hamilton reexamined Laura's eyes.
"I'm no Ophthalmologist, Laura, but I don't see any damage to the outside of your eyes. They're starting to pale in color, and head back to your usual sky blue hue." Clark stated. "Hopefully, you'll have no permanent damage." Laura waved her right arm around. "Ouch." She exclaimed.
"Ouch what?" Hamilton asked. "My arm hurts." Gold Wing shifted slightly. "My guess is that has something to do with flipping me through a wall." Kara teased. "It's just weird." Laura continued. "I haven't felt any pain since I was a little girl."
"The kids!" Laura yelped. "How are the kids?" Hamilton cast her a sidelong glance. "I assume that you mean the MHX kids." He quipped. "Don't worry about them." Kara consoled her. "I sent them back to Watchtower to harass Chloe and Oliver."
"I made a real ass of myself, didn't I?" Laura said sheepishly. "Don't worry about that right now." Clark rubbed her bruised ribcage. "Is your vision improving?" Dr. Hamilton continued to shine the light into her eyes. Laura began to blink repeatedly. "Yeah, I'm starting to see more detail." The injured superhero said as she turned to face Kara.
"Laura, I'm going to keep this blood sample for study." Hamilton explained, showing her the vial, which amazingly, was now completely yellow in color. "Okay." Laura agreed. "Emile, we can't let that blood sample get into anyone else's hands." Clark warned. "Can we study it in a more secure location?" Hamilton nodded. "Like where? I need supplies."
"You'll have them." Clark said with conviction. "Kara, you and I should give Emile blood samples as well. It's not as if we can just pop into Metropolis General for a check up." The alien beauty nodded. "Agreed. We can store spare samples at the ice fortress."
"It will take me a while to study Kryptonian physiology…perhaps a lifetime." Emile said in discouragement. "Oliver will take care of the financial end…but are you sure that you want to make that kind of a commitment?" Clark played devil's advocate with the young doctor.
"It would literally be my life's work." Emile said proudly. "Don't worry, we're not slave drivers. You can still have a more or less normal life." Kara commented. "Actually, the ice fortress hasn't been as safe as it should have been. I think that we should store the blood samples here in America. We'll mark them 'C' 'K' and 'L' and leave it at that." Clark offered.
"Agreed." Kara stated. "Now what do we do about Laura?" Dr. Hamilton examined Gold Wing's eyes again. "They seem to be clearing up. Laura do you agree?" Laura shuddered. "I think so. I can make out some detail in your faces." Dr. Hamilton smiled. "That's good. I think we ought to try an old fashioned, low tech treatment." Kara and Clark exchanged puzzled glances.
"Clark, boil some tea, and place the tea bags, one on each of Laura's eyes." Emile snickered. "That's my grandmother's suggestion by the way." Laura laughed. "Whatever works, Doc." She quipped, obviously in better spirits. Clark quickly complied. Naturally, he didn't bother waiting for the water to boil, simply heated it up with his vision.
"Thanks, Doc." Laura said as she placed the bags on her eyes. "Now, as for you two. Blood samples please." Emile ordered, handing two vials to Clark. "You'll have to poke each other with the needles." Kara and Clark followed suit, each uttering an "ouch" as the needle punctured them.
"You're lucky Dr. Hamilton didn't ask for any other types of samples." Laura joshed as Dr. Hamilton snickered. "Actually…" He grabbed two more small empty, glass jars. Gold Wing laughed hysterically.