Chapter 17

The battle… was very anticlimactic.

Honestly, I thought I would have had a fight like the original did with Saitama, however it would have been on a level playing field. Yet this clone… he knew he was one of Lord Boros, yet did nothing to improve himself. If anything, he depended on the notion that he was indeed a clone of a great warrior, but never went beyond his own expectations.

He learned the hard way what happens when one insults my mother!

As such, I defeated the last clone, Nova Purge was mine which meant, I can return to space. I didn't wish to leave, I wanted to stay with mother… and I wanted to stay with Luna.

But I knew if I didn't go, there could be trouble. As well, the old Lord Boros did so much damage to other planets, perhaps with the skills I have now, I could possibly restore them. In my haste though, I asked aloud if there was anyone who wished to join me. I even tried to convince Luna, but she had a look in her eyes. "You are going to see space, and perhaps you may find someone you like more than me out there… keep your options open, and if you don't find anyone… you know where I'll be" she said and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

Such warmth flooded my face as I felt her lips upon my flesh. I didn't wish to search for anyone else… I wanted her. But as Elder Garou said, when a woman declines, respect it. I wouldn't dare force her to come with me… I just really wished she would have.

I did get a new crewmate.

A human named Gene, who was a clone of Dr. Genus. He wanted to go out into space and explore its wonders as well. I permitted him to come, but insisted he keep close to me. "You are going to be targeted, is that okay?" I asked of him.

He merely smiled to me. "I am but a clone… I wasn't even supposed to exist. If I die, I'll be doing so by what I love."

I smirked to his bravery.

I gave one final goodbye to my mother and father before being beamed aboard the ship.

Nova Purge was a mess!

The crew kept the place in shambles, there was filth and even bodies that laid about and no one bothered to care! Gene was taken aback, yet jumped when one of the crew members tired to grab him. "Ooo a terrain, haven't have one before! Looks a little skinny"

As his arm reached for him, I grabbed hold of this crew hand. He trembled at the sight of me. "Oh… our new Lord… hail Boros!"

"Silence," I ordered. His head lowered to me. "I don't want anyone touching him, this is Gene, and he is my new right hand. Understood?"

The crew froze. "HIM!? He's weak and pathetic!"

"A HUMAN!" demanded the former generals.

Ah, I figured the others would have survived. It appears the last clone did something right in keeping the generals who were cloned, alive. However, they were not happy to hear the news about the new right hand man I wished to have.

Gene however kept a brave face. "I can become as strong as any one of you!" he shouted.

Suddenly, looks of greed came into the eyes of the crew. "Oh? Care to prove that in combat?"

Gene paused, however I decided to step in. "Of course. In sixty cycles." I announced.

They appeared interested, so for the moment, they backed down.

"Sixty cycles?" Gene asked of me.

"Sixty days." I explained. "Now, if you have the same intellect as your father, I suggest you put it to good use. You need to adapt and form. Space is unforgiving as you can see." I said and eyed the mess around us.

He nodded as well. "Do you know if this place has a lab?"

I nodded.

We went down to the lower decks and found the lab. This too was in shambles. Vials and chemicals were everywhere, apparently no one cares for the sciences. One crewmember happened to be walking about. "YOU," I shouted.

Instantly he froze. "Yes… lord Boros?" he asked in a sniveling tone.

"Does anyone claim the lab here?"

"No my lord, the previous Boros stated it wasn't needed. Many of the men would come down here to eat or drink in private…"

"The lab is hereby off limits to everyone but myself and Gene!" I stated. "Tell… everyone"

He nodded fearfully and rushed out. "I suggest we clean this up, then we will resupply and go from there. You will need a lab correct?"

Gene scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well, compared to my dad. I haven't done much when it comes to genetics…"

"I suggest you start learning. We need to toughen your body for space, in which I suggest a far faster approach to the matter. We use a genetic booster!"

Gene paused to the notion. "So… I am going to experiment on myself?"

"Not experiment, we only do this if we know for sure it will work. First, we clean."

It took hours to get the place worthy to be called a lab.

There were enough materials to start off with; Gene paused as he looked at everything oddly. "Strange, I have never touched genetic research before, and yet… it's suddenly flowing into me… in fact…" he began reaching for various vials and tools, he began to go to work and drew his first sample of blood from himself.

He fell into an odd trance as it were, testing various things on the blood, only to leave and quickly come back with small samples in syringes. "What are you doing?" I asked curiously.

"I took samples from the bodies outside of the dead crew. I am going over their genetics to see what I can perhaps harvest for myself… ah this one had immunity to pressure. So if I were to be sucked out into space, I wouldn't die from the pressure of it if I take this part of the DNA…"

I watched with amazement, as he was able to manipulate a genetic sample and taking only parts of it. He then would use those samples and test it on his own blood. He failed many times over until he appeared to have hit a breakthrough. "Stabilizing agent… father always spoke of that, and I do believe it is why 106 has been after Garou's family… Brawler Blood has a stabilizing agent…"

Brawler blood huh?

I reached to my side and took out a vial. "I was going to save this for study, but you need this more than I. I managed to get some blood from the Brawlers before their incident. Well, actually I sort of took it when I scanned them. It extracts DNA too."

Gene however was quick to put it to good use. He found the stabilizing agent he needed and used it in his first test. From there, he was able to replicate it and have a vast amount yet still saved me some Brawler blood. He also saved a pint of his own blood for safe keeping. "Okay, I think I got enough to test…" he said confidently.

I watched on as he used the first vial he made, he injected it into his arm and cringed.

Gene was in pain for a moment, his arm discolored before settling. The strange thing was an odd vein like pattern appeared on his limb, it spread through his whole body until he collapse!

"GENE!"

Yet as I went to his side, the veins vanished. He gasped for air but then smiled. "I… think it worked…"

"I am not throwing you in the vacuum of space"

He laughed it off as he eased himself upward again. "Thank God," he said. "Surviving the vacuum is one thing, another is the lack of air, not to mention the cold…" he muttered.

I then began to smile. "How about you come with me, let's tour this ship, get it into shape and see if perhaps there are abilities that you may wish to obtain for yourself…" I said offhandedly.

He smiled to the proposal. "Oh, I should get to know the crew better correct?" he asked in a teasing tone. He adjusted his eye wear oddly, but there was this glare that came off the glasses that gave him a rather… notorious look.