Chapter 6
By seven o'clock in the evening, Sara Drake had successfully created an odd assortment of chemicals and isolated them into a canister filled with soil, fertilizer, and water. She then released spores into the canister and let them settle in the dirt.
By seven thirty, her "wonder fertilizer" had accelerated the growth of the flower and was already a sprout. The fertilizer programmed a desire for more nutrition into the plant so that it would consume more much faster. The fertilizer supplied the extra nutrients that it desired – no – that it needed. Embedded in the code of life was a chemical residue that was responsible for the quick growth, which in turn cost more energy, which fueled the plant's need.
By seven forty-five, the flower bloomed for the first time. But cloning the flower had been the easy part. The hard part would be adapting the technology so it could be used ... on humans.
* * *
"Lana, I've been thinking..." Clark began as he reached the counter. He checked over his shoulder to make sure no one would overhear him. All of the rest were deep in conversation, though Pete occasionally shot looks of disgust at Lex.
Lana turned away from the coffee machine and faced Clark. "Yes?"
"I...I have to pay for a new tractor and...well, do you think you could use an extra waiter?" asked Clark shyly.
Disappointed, Lana responded, "Clark, you worked here last year – that didn't last a week. I'd like to believe you're responsible but you're always running off somewhere. Besides, it was kind of awkward being your employer."
"Yeah, maybe I should ask Hank over at the hardware store (AUTHOR'S NOTE: Give yourself a pat on the back if you correctly guess which episode this is a shout-out to without having to go and look it up.)," muttered Clark.
"What?"
"Nothing. I understand. So, what do you mean it was awkward? I mean, I felt cool with working for you."
Lana shifted uncomfortably. "Ah, well, you've saved my life so many times. I didn't realize how weird it would be until I started giving you orders. That was just... strange. But I would recommend you to anyone else, if that helps."
"Not really. No one's hiring anyone. Maybe I should go to work at the plant."
"Now that would be weird beyond belief. What would you do?"
Clark shrugged and accepted a cup of coffee from Lana. He sipped it and smiled. "Like the stuff gods drink."
From behind Clark, Edward leaped up from his couch in a fit of rage. He stormed past the tables and jogged up the stairs that led to the apartment above them. Lana exclaimed, "Hey! He can't go up there!"
Chloe buried her face in her hands. Lex began to sweat, overcome by his own discomfort. Pete just snickered.
Moments later, they hear a low growling that filled the entire building.
* * *
Lionel Luthor smiled as he walked into Sara's lab. The first thing he spotted was the cloned plant. "Ah, the experiment proved successful, I take it."
"Quite. The plant reached maturity in only forty-five minutes," reported Sara dutifully.
"And can we use a similar method to clone a Homo Sapien?"
"Well, I did find the formula for the fertilizer that was largely attributed to the plant's acceleration in growth, but... I don't know how we could make it appropriate for human consumption, or where the clone would develop..."
"I'm bringing in another expert to work on that. You're role in this project has ended, effective immediately."
Sara was bewildered. "What?"
"You heard me. As of now, there will be no record you ever worked for me. Keep your plant."
* * *
"Was that a growl?" asked Pete.
"Yeah, it was," answered Clark. He indicated for them to stay back and ran up the stairs. The door had been jammed shut, so Clark pretended to make an effort to break in.
Inside, there was nothing but dust, cobwebs, and some cardboard boxes. Hidden among the shadows was a cowering figure that shook violently. After a moment, the figure stopped shaking and stood up. It turned to face Clark.
"Edward," said Clark needlessly.
Edward had grown a couple of inches and a lot of fur. His nose had transformed into some sort of snout and his teeth into fangs. In a low voice, he uttered, "Now I remember."
Edward tackled Clark and bit into his shoulder. Clark couldn't help but let out a piercing scream.
Downstairs, everyone was alarmed by the scream. All of them except for Lex jumped to their feet and bolted for the stairs. Pete was the first to reach the stairs and urged them to stay back.
"Pete, what if you get hurt?" asked Lana.
"Better than you two getting hurt, so stay back!"
They nodded and hesitantly went down the stairs, never peeling their eyes away from Pete. Lana murmured, "Be careful, Pete."
Pete silently stepped into the apartment and watched the fight. Clark had thrown the wolf man off of him and clenched his shoulder, which bled freely. The only time Pete had ever seen Clark bleed was when he temporarily lost his powers, but it hadn't been nearly this bad – not even after being thrown into a car.
Clark noticed Pete and gave him a look that said, "Get out of here!" but didn't say a word in fear that Edward would see him. He paid for this momentary distraction by being tossed to the ground again.
I gotta' help him. How, though? wondered Pete. He looked around and spotted the fire extinguisher. He leapt for the wall and grabbed it, catching the attention of Edward. "Hey, ya' big wolf! Come get me, I dare you!"
The wolf didn't back down and leapt at Pete with his jaws wide open. Pete was prepared and squeezed the handle on the fire extinguisher. Foam sprayed directly into Edward's mouth and eyes, rendering him briefly paralyzed. Pete took the opportunity to smack the wolf on the head with the extinguisher. "That's for hurting my best friend!"
Pete dropped the fire extinguisher, pulled back his fist, and punched Edward enough force that it was answered with a sickening crunch. "That's for being a jerk!" Silently, he added, and for coming even close to Chloe!
Blind and harmless, Edward switched to "natural wolf mode" and lay down on the floor. Pete rushed over to Clark to attend to him. "Clark, man, are you okay?"
Clark groaned, "Yeah, the wound's sealing up. It's taking a while though."
"Maybe the sun heals you too. It should heal faster in the morning."
Clark nodded, and then heard a piercing scream from downstairs. "Lana! Chloe!"
As if on cue, the girls ran into the room, neither of them noticed the trembling body of Edward. Clark wrapped his arms protectively around Lana while Pete did the same for Chloe. He asked her, "Lex! Is he...?"
Lana looked exasperated. "Clark, Lex just grew a lot of hair."
"What?"
Downstairs, Lex ripped off his shirt in a blind rage, revealing that his whole body had been indeed covered in a jungle of red hair. He tossed over the tables and the chairs in search of food. He found the pastries behind the glass on the counter tasty, but not very satisfying. He needed flesh. Where were does skinny little girls he'd been with only a few minutes ago?
Oh yeah, they were upstairs; along with the much larger and more filling boys he'd also spotted.
Lex got up and made his way to the apartment.
By seven o'clock in the evening, Sara Drake had successfully created an odd assortment of chemicals and isolated them into a canister filled with soil, fertilizer, and water. She then released spores into the canister and let them settle in the dirt.
By seven thirty, her "wonder fertilizer" had accelerated the growth of the flower and was already a sprout. The fertilizer programmed a desire for more nutrition into the plant so that it would consume more much faster. The fertilizer supplied the extra nutrients that it desired – no – that it needed. Embedded in the code of life was a chemical residue that was responsible for the quick growth, which in turn cost more energy, which fueled the plant's need.
By seven forty-five, the flower bloomed for the first time. But cloning the flower had been the easy part. The hard part would be adapting the technology so it could be used ... on humans.
* * *
"Lana, I've been thinking..." Clark began as he reached the counter. He checked over his shoulder to make sure no one would overhear him. All of the rest were deep in conversation, though Pete occasionally shot looks of disgust at Lex.
Lana turned away from the coffee machine and faced Clark. "Yes?"
"I...I have to pay for a new tractor and...well, do you think you could use an extra waiter?" asked Clark shyly.
Disappointed, Lana responded, "Clark, you worked here last year – that didn't last a week. I'd like to believe you're responsible but you're always running off somewhere. Besides, it was kind of awkward being your employer."
"Yeah, maybe I should ask Hank over at the hardware store (AUTHOR'S NOTE: Give yourself a pat on the back if you correctly guess which episode this is a shout-out to without having to go and look it up.)," muttered Clark.
"What?"
"Nothing. I understand. So, what do you mean it was awkward? I mean, I felt cool with working for you."
Lana shifted uncomfortably. "Ah, well, you've saved my life so many times. I didn't realize how weird it would be until I started giving you orders. That was just... strange. But I would recommend you to anyone else, if that helps."
"Not really. No one's hiring anyone. Maybe I should go to work at the plant."
"Now that would be weird beyond belief. What would you do?"
Clark shrugged and accepted a cup of coffee from Lana. He sipped it and smiled. "Like the stuff gods drink."
From behind Clark, Edward leaped up from his couch in a fit of rage. He stormed past the tables and jogged up the stairs that led to the apartment above them. Lana exclaimed, "Hey! He can't go up there!"
Chloe buried her face in her hands. Lex began to sweat, overcome by his own discomfort. Pete just snickered.
Moments later, they hear a low growling that filled the entire building.
* * *
Lionel Luthor smiled as he walked into Sara's lab. The first thing he spotted was the cloned plant. "Ah, the experiment proved successful, I take it."
"Quite. The plant reached maturity in only forty-five minutes," reported Sara dutifully.
"And can we use a similar method to clone a Homo Sapien?"
"Well, I did find the formula for the fertilizer that was largely attributed to the plant's acceleration in growth, but... I don't know how we could make it appropriate for human consumption, or where the clone would develop..."
"I'm bringing in another expert to work on that. You're role in this project has ended, effective immediately."
Sara was bewildered. "What?"
"You heard me. As of now, there will be no record you ever worked for me. Keep your plant."
* * *
"Was that a growl?" asked Pete.
"Yeah, it was," answered Clark. He indicated for them to stay back and ran up the stairs. The door had been jammed shut, so Clark pretended to make an effort to break in.
Inside, there was nothing but dust, cobwebs, and some cardboard boxes. Hidden among the shadows was a cowering figure that shook violently. After a moment, the figure stopped shaking and stood up. It turned to face Clark.
"Edward," said Clark needlessly.
Edward had grown a couple of inches and a lot of fur. His nose had transformed into some sort of snout and his teeth into fangs. In a low voice, he uttered, "Now I remember."
Edward tackled Clark and bit into his shoulder. Clark couldn't help but let out a piercing scream.
Downstairs, everyone was alarmed by the scream. All of them except for Lex jumped to their feet and bolted for the stairs. Pete was the first to reach the stairs and urged them to stay back.
"Pete, what if you get hurt?" asked Lana.
"Better than you two getting hurt, so stay back!"
They nodded and hesitantly went down the stairs, never peeling their eyes away from Pete. Lana murmured, "Be careful, Pete."
Pete silently stepped into the apartment and watched the fight. Clark had thrown the wolf man off of him and clenched his shoulder, which bled freely. The only time Pete had ever seen Clark bleed was when he temporarily lost his powers, but it hadn't been nearly this bad – not even after being thrown into a car.
Clark noticed Pete and gave him a look that said, "Get out of here!" but didn't say a word in fear that Edward would see him. He paid for this momentary distraction by being tossed to the ground again.
I gotta' help him. How, though? wondered Pete. He looked around and spotted the fire extinguisher. He leapt for the wall and grabbed it, catching the attention of Edward. "Hey, ya' big wolf! Come get me, I dare you!"
The wolf didn't back down and leapt at Pete with his jaws wide open. Pete was prepared and squeezed the handle on the fire extinguisher. Foam sprayed directly into Edward's mouth and eyes, rendering him briefly paralyzed. Pete took the opportunity to smack the wolf on the head with the extinguisher. "That's for hurting my best friend!"
Pete dropped the fire extinguisher, pulled back his fist, and punched Edward enough force that it was answered with a sickening crunch. "That's for being a jerk!" Silently, he added, and for coming even close to Chloe!
Blind and harmless, Edward switched to "natural wolf mode" and lay down on the floor. Pete rushed over to Clark to attend to him. "Clark, man, are you okay?"
Clark groaned, "Yeah, the wound's sealing up. It's taking a while though."
"Maybe the sun heals you too. It should heal faster in the morning."
Clark nodded, and then heard a piercing scream from downstairs. "Lana! Chloe!"
As if on cue, the girls ran into the room, neither of them noticed the trembling body of Edward. Clark wrapped his arms protectively around Lana while Pete did the same for Chloe. He asked her, "Lex! Is he...?"
Lana looked exasperated. "Clark, Lex just grew a lot of hair."
"What?"
Downstairs, Lex ripped off his shirt in a blind rage, revealing that his whole body had been indeed covered in a jungle of red hair. He tossed over the tables and the chairs in search of food. He found the pastries behind the glass on the counter tasty, but not very satisfying. He needed flesh. Where were does skinny little girls he'd been with only a few minutes ago?
Oh yeah, they were upstairs; along with the much larger and more filling boys he'd also spotted.
Lex got up and made his way to the apartment.