Chapter 14
… Making the Impossible Possible …
"Please," the clone said as he looked at the Asgard. "I'm dying, is there something you can do?"
"I cannot correct the problems with your DNA. And I am unable to explain why you did not age as you should have."
"That's bullshit," the clone said in frustration.
"Carter," O'Neill said impatiently. "Call Thor," he said as he picked up one of the jewels on the console and handed it to her.
"Please, do not," Loki protested.
"It's too late, buddy," Daniel said to the alien with a frown.
"You know," the clone said, "I bet Thor will be able to fix whatever's wrong with me." The clone doubled over as he finally felt the beginnings of pain, whereas up until now he had only felt weak.
"You alright?" Daniel asked as he placed a hand on the teen's shoulder.
Jack noticed the byplay between the two but remained silent and kept an eye on them.
"Honestly?" the cloned asked and noticed Daniel's nod. "No," he said as he shook his head.
Thor finally arrived with his apologies.
"Loki, what have you done?" Thor asked as he quickly assessed the situation.
"He's been playin' Initiative behind your back," the clone tattled.
"Initiative?" the original said as he looked over at his clone.
"Yes," the clone said with a frown. "The DRI: you know the government funded project that we're not supposed to know about?"
"You should have known O'Neill's genetic code has anomalies in it that protect him from this sort of thing," Thor scolded.
"Excuse me?" Jack and his clone said simultaneously.
"Somehow, a marker in your DNA prevents attempts at genetic manipulation," Thor explained as he blinked at them.
"The abnormality," Daniel said with a knowing smirk.
"That's why the clone didn't reach maturity," Carter said with realization.
"That is correct," Thor said. He then turned to the other alien, "You will be punished, Loki."
"I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused," Thor said with a frown then looked at the clone. Young Jack did not look well. "The eventual breakdown is the result of Loki's incompetent methods. This is unfortunate."
"There was no need for the clone to survive," Loki said with superiority.
"Thor, buddy," Jack said pleadingly, "is there anything you can do?"
"You wish your clone to live?" Thor asked him, surprised.
The clone looked at the original as the silence stretched.
"You can't just let me die," he protested.
"Come on, Thor," Jack said.
"Are you certain?" Thor still had a surprised look on his face.
"Yeah," Jack said with a nod.
"Very well," Thor said with a slight bow, "I will repair his DNA."
"Thanks," Jack and his clone said at the same time.
"Okay, that has to stop." The original snapped.
The clone looked over at Thor, "Thanks."