Chapter Forty-Three: Parasite Part One
Claire Selton, codename Volcana, slipped her way past the city limits into Smallville. Her palms sweated, her heart beat, and it was very difficult for Claire to hold her head up high, no matter how much she tried. She thought about heading to Smallville for quite some time to meet up with an old friend. Unfortunately for Claire, her trip to Smallville showed she was not alone.
Several agents from the group known as HIVE stalked her every move. Claire didn't dare use her powers, despite the fact it would be an easy way to give the slip. She quickened, following the pathway. She knew they would keep following her.
She managed to uncover one of their operations during a job she had. They were part of the same government organization which increased Claire's powers, and they didn't like when someone exposed their actions. Claire learned just as much when she spent the last couple of months in an endless and never ending game of ducking and dodging.
'These guys don't know the meaning of the word, no.'
The redhead tried not to lose her temper no matter how hard it was to stay a few inches away from her adversary. Claire's mind hammered even harder at the thought. She had to find him.
The problem was, he was not too easy to find. She didn't have any way to signal him, and especially not a wait which was discreet and would keep these HIVE assholes off of her back for a couple of minutes. Claire closed her eyes when running further away from them.
'Almost there….no, damn it!'
Claire was so close to slipping away from them, her heart sped up even more when running. The redhead woman turned around a corner and continued to run.
A truck skidded to a stop directly in front of her. Claire took half of a step back and dodged behind the sign.
'Maybe if I stay perfectly still, and don't say a word, they won't find me.'
The sound of a gun clicking put Claire on edge. She guessed it would not be as easy as keeping in the shadows and more importantly, staying out of trouble.
"Alright, we know you're there, Volcana. You just come quietly, and there's no need to hurt you."
"You should return to us. You were a valuable asset, and you could be a valuable asset again."
Claire shook her head. They really were good at the sweet talking. Okay, not really. She caught sight of one of the HIVE agents pointing a cannon at the edge of the sign she stood underneath.
'Yeah, I better move.'
The cannon bombarded the side of the sign and knocked it completely over. Claire managed to make her way all the way to a fence. They fired at the woman's back. Claire had been forced to duck and evade the attack. The gifted woman flipped over to the ground.
It took her a few seconds to take a deep breath and a few more seconds to properly assess the situation.
'Okay, I'm pinned down, and they know I'm here. Stealth really isn't my strong suit.'
"You want to see how dangerous I can be?"
Claire's dangerous words followed her eyes lighting to a glowing orange light. She lifted her hands in the air and shot balls of flames from the tips of her fingers. The flames flew across the field towards the AIM agents.
They dodged the balls of flames which came inches away from incinerating them. Claire controlled the fire and made another attempt to run down her adversaries. Said adversaries scrambled away from the flames which threatened to wipe them out.
The pyrokinetic woman dodged off into the other direction and scrambled as far as she could. She ducked into the woods, hoping to lose them under the cover of trees. It actually brought her further away from the destination. Sometimes it could not be helped though. Claire bolted further into the forest, heart racing even faster when she made her way to her particular destination.
The agents of HIVE moved in, with many of them none too happy about losing that particular asset. The leader of the group of drones bunched his fists up with a very obvious scowl, which grew in prominence. The lack of patience he exhibited made the other members of the team becaome uneasy just as much.
"What should we do?"
One of the drones spoke up. It was a very rare event when one of the drones asked questions. That drone had been lucky enough not to get burned to fire.
"Our leader said not to come back empty-handed," the leader of the drones responded. "We need to acquire her, for she's one of the most valuable assets we can have."
The woman would need some re-programming to fall back underneath the agenda of HIVE. They all conceded it was difficult but very doable to be perfectly honest. The leader of the drones took a deep breath and decided to go with Plan B. He wasn't particularly fond of Plan B all things considered. He whipped out a cell phone and dial the number.
"I'm calling it in," he said. "Yes, you heard me right, deploy the Parasite.
Clark Kent took a couple of deep breaths when he stepped in. He stopped by STAR Labs to see if he could test out a brand new suit. The suit favored the colors of the House of El, who preferred a more primary scene. It was a full body suit, a dark blue, along with a yellow shield and a red "S". Clark wore a flowing red cape and matching red boots. He noticed the original design made it look like he was wearing his underwear on the outside, but he would have to agree with Astra. That particular element was counter-productive to taking him seriously.
He stepped into the simulation chamber at STAR Labs. He saw Lara, Raya, Patricia Swann, and Eliza Danvers standing on the other end of the room. Patricia decided to be the one to address him.
"The modifications of the suit should work," Patricia commented. "The suit is going to allow you to absorb further amounts of yellow solar radiation at a more accelerated rate."
Clark smiled and took in a deeper breath. He could hardly wait for this to take place. Clark took his first steps into the solar chamber. He could see the equipment on the wall.
"Just fly as you normally would fly and we'll test the rate the suit absorbs the solar radiation," Eliza continued. "I wouldn't worry about trying to push yourself to your boundaries, we can do that on a different day."
Clark answered with a nod and stepped into the middle of the room.
Raya smiled. They put a lot of work into creating the suit for Clark, and she wanted to see how it would work out on the field. She had some pretty good hopes for it, but it would remain to see what would take place.
The young man's eyes closed for a few seconds and then he took flight, flying around the training room.
Lara watched the progress of her son. The more he grew comfortable with using his powers, the faster he become. It all came with practice.
"He's clocking in as….well he's faster than a speeding bullet," Patricia said.
Raya responded with a nod. They hoped, based on their studies, Clark could go faster. They all knew though it would not be a wise idea to push him to go faster. They just hoped to allow Clark to move at a steadier, fluid pace. They watched him blast around the corner very quickly.
The sound of Clark flying around the corner could be heard inside of the chamber. Lara put her hands together and leaned back. The smile barely left her face when watching Clark move about at the speed of light. She was very excited.
"A couple more laps so we can get a look at how the suit is performing."
Lara leaned back and watched her son's speeds and the suit's speed of absorbing the solar radiation being clocked on the screen. Was the suit performing up to expectations? Yes, Lara could say about as much. Could the suit be better? Well, Lara would be lying if she didn't say the suit had some room for improvement. She watched Clark circle around several times at the speed of light.
"One more time," Raya said.
Clark flew around the chamber one more time. The glow coming from the chamber caused the four women to step back and almost recoil.
The moment it ended, Clark stepped out of the chamber.
"The suit works good, great," Clark said.
"Yes," Lara said.
"But, it can always be better," Eliza said. "Thanks for helping us run the preliminary tests."
They had to make the suit a little more durable, without sacrificing any level of functionality. It always was a balancing act to be perfectly fair.
"No problem," Clark said. "I'm just doing anything I can to help."
Eliza nodded, she knew he did, and believe her, she appreciated all of the help they could get, especially in a situation such as this one. She watched Clark leave and go to change the suit.
The doors busted open and a very frantic redhead woman made her way through the door. Patricia raised her eyebrow. She recognized the woman instantly as a meteor mutant Clark encountered about a year back.
"Claire?" Clark asked when walking around the corner.
"Sorry to burst in like this," Claire said. "But, we have a serious problem."
Clark put his hands around the waist of the woman and caused her to calm down. Claire took a moment to adjust her stance in front of him.
"HIVE is after me."
The good news kept rolling, okay, not really. Clark stepped back from Claire who took a deep breath. The last thing any of them wanted was Claire to have a pyromaniac fit and start wrecking the very expensive and extremely dangerous equipment in this place.
"HIVE's after you," Clark responded.
"Yes, they're after me," Claire confirmed. "HIVE has been picking up meteor mutants. And they've never seen the light of day."
Claire decided it wasn't important to tell Clark they wanted her as one of their best agents. That particular point could wait until later. She hitched in her breath one more time and leaned closer towards him.
"There's a HIVE agent who is tracking down meteor mutants. And he's draining their powers, rendering helpless. That's how HIVE's getting them."
One guess on Clark's part, but he was pretty sure this individual was also a meteor mutant. He could be wrong, but he doubted it.
Rudy Jones at one time worked a job as a high school janitor. It was the type of nine to five job someone of his stature was qualified for. It was about the only job someone of his stature was qualified for. He cleaned up the messes, never once getting a pat on the back or any appreciation for the hard work. No one appreciated the lowly janitor, they were just there to clean up the mess other people made.
It all changed on the day meteors rained from the sky. Rudy had not been around for the first meteor shower, but the second meteor shower hit hard. Rudy had been in the high school science lab, cleaning up when the meteors rained down at the school. The chemicals in the lab resulted in him obtaining some new powers, combined to the meteors.
Everything he touched, everyone he touched, he could drain their essence. He got more than life energy from them. Memories, feelings, and if they had been gifted, he obtained their abilities. Rudy gained the ability to sniff out meteor mutants in the crowd.
He also had the misfortune of having small echoes of his victims in his head. Rudy had never been the sanest guy in the room, but now he had a bit of full-blown split personality disorder to go with his many other problems.
He looked up just in time to see two gentlemen, agents of HIVE walking down his padded cell. Most of the time, they ignored him. No one needed to come to feed him, Rudy didn't feed off of food anymore after all.
To be honest, Rudy kind of missed the experience and the taste of food.
HIVE did allow him certain favors, one of them was to suppress the voices inside of his head. Rudy knew it was a temporary measure at best, and those voices would be back and stronger together.
The only catch was Rudy would help them wrangle up other meteor mutants. He did, mostly because of the rush of using his powers to absorb the powers of others. The abilities the meteor shower gifted Rudy Jones on that day were like a drug. He couldn't explain the high, the rush, the absolute feeling of joy he got from unleashing his power on some poor unexpected person.
Every day he used it, a bit of the desire to become human left him. It shrank, with Rudy's subconscious growing weaker. He did cling onto the part of who he was.
Rudy Jones was no longer Rudy Jones. He had become the Parasite, with all of the drawbacks and benefits of that.
Regardless, his handler stood outside the door and looked at Rudy with a smile.
"So, what do you want now?"
Rudy sounded rather calm, businesslike, and extremely casual. He had to be extremely casual in a situation like this. His handler peered on the other side of the cell.
"Rudy, my friend, we have a deal for you."
The last time he made a deal with HIVE, it led him to become their personal attack dog. Granted, Rudy didn't mind the feeling of absorbing those powers. In fact, he quite enjoyed the feeling of absorbing those powers. It was just, each passing day, he thought more and more about the fact he was just another drone. A drone who had special abilities, but he was the drone nevertheless.
"Another meteor mutant for me to wrangle up?" Rudy asked. "You know, I could handle it."
The handler smiled and consulted his clipboard.
"Yes, but this one ran into Smallville."
Rudy shrugged his shoulders and leaned back a fraction of an inch back on the chair. The saying was true, you could go home again, he guessed.
"And there's more than a meteor mutant in Smallville," the HIVE leader said. "There's the biggest potential source of power in the entire world. He's been called many things, but he could be a power beyond anything you imagined."
'Don't do it,' the small voice who was one Rudy Jones said. 'Don't do it. When you go over to that ledge, there's going to be no one to pull you back.'
'I say do it!' a series of voices echoed. 'You want to go back to being a nobody? If his power is so strong, take it. TAKE IT!'
'Rudy, please,' the normal Rudy Jones voice said. 'Just….think of what happened…..you might not be back to the way things were.'
'The way things were weren't good!'
The internal conflict in the Parasite's head had been snuffed out. Pure biological need to feed overruled everything. He only had one thing to say.
"Hook me up, boss."
Clark hoped to lure out the Parasite. If what Claire said was true, and he had an insatiable need to feed, then Clark would be able to lure him out with a taste of power from him. It wouldn't be the easiest thing in the world, but Clark would be there, right in front of him.
Patricia, Eliza, Raya, and Lara were there, and Chloe popped over to join them as well to offer her input. Karen and Astra were off on a mission to track down Kandor. Given their bonding exercise last week, Clark was more confident they would not kill each other, and it put his mind at ease.
"So, the suit?"
"The suit should protect you from his powers," Patricia said. "Granted, it hasn't been fully tested yet but….."
Clark tried to block out her worry, along with his own worry. "There's no time like the present."
The man stepped to the end of the road. Claire stood by, good ways away. As much as Clark hated to admit it, they needed a proper amount of bait to spring a trap. And Claire was the target.
An unremarkable man stepped at the end of the road, dressed in rags. He looked like a high school janitor.
Chloe piped in when she got a visual reading through the "S" on Clark's costume, which served as relay camera back to STAR Labs. "He's Rudy Jones. He's a high school janitor who was cleaning up a chemistry lab
Clark appreciated Chloe's input in pretty much every situation, this one included. He turned his attention down the road to the unremarkable man.
"Rudy Jones?"
The mostly unremarkable man looked up the robe. Clark had been caught off guard by those glowing purple eyes, which locked onto him.
"I haven't been called that name in a very long time!" he yelled. "Most call me the Parasite."
The Parasite turned around and looked towards the young man up on the road. Now, he was face to face with him, the Parasite's enjoyment increased. He could have this young man, he could taste him from all the way up the road.
"I've never sensed such great power. I have to have it. It's greater than anything I've ever imagined."
The Parasite rushed up the road at a surprising speed. Clark had been a little bit faster and dodged out of the way. The suit should block a lot of his power drain, but Clark wasn't about to take any chances.
He noticed the Parasite's hand raised in the air and he shot a blast of lightning towards Clark from up the road. Clark just barely avoided the attack from burning into him.
"He has the powers of the other meteor mutants."
Chloe's groan over the system was very obvious.
"Great, we just went from bad to worse, didn't we?"
A blast of very sticky glue shot around Clark's wrists. Clark vibrated his wrists to get out of the modified handcuff restraints. He dodged the attempt of the Parasite to wipe him out in one fell swoop. The monster rushed towards Clark one more time.
"I have you now!"
Claws retracted from the Parasite's wrists when he rushed towards him. Clark looked up just in time to see the Parasite charging towards him, an attempt to take him down very obvious. Clark ducked the Parasite's attempts to impale him with the claws.
"Just a little taste, come on buddy! I want to taste you!"
Clark continued to utilize his super speed to keep an arm's width away from the Parasite. The Parasite's obvious groans continued when he tried to approach Clark from far away from him. The Parasite rushed towards Clark a half of a second later.
In a blink of an eye, Clark moved away from the Parasite. Clark ended a few inches from behind him and waited for the Parasite to come after him.
A blast of cold air shot through the air. Clark had been slowed down as if something froze him in time. The Parasite's purple eyes glowed in glee.
"YES!"
Parasite rushed towards Clark. Clark tried to break free from the attack. The Parasite smashed the front of Clark's suit and started to rip it.
"I WANT THIS!"
The Parasite's eyes glowed when he started to drain power. Memories, abilities, everything, they started to flow into the Parasite. He grew excited when forcing himself on this young man and taking his powers.
A blast of fire shot up the road and knocked the Parasite away from Clark. Clark took a half of a step back and fell down onto the ground. His breathing escalated.
"Stay away!"
Claire fired a blast of fire towards the Parasite. The Parasite blocked the fire with a shield and then shot heat vision through his eyes towards Volcana.
"Just come after me!" Volcana yelled.
"Yes, I want you, I want your power…."
Diana jumped into the air and put her herself between the Parasite and Volcana. She whipped out a sword and stabbed it through the Parasite's chest!
The Parasite screamed in agony. The sword, gifted to Diana by the Artemis, the goddess not the Amazon, proved to hurt the Parasite. He pulled away, screaming, howling in pure agony. Diana retracted the sword from the monster's chest.
The monster faded into a cloud of mist and disappeared.
Diana rushed over to check on Clark, who had been knocked out. She scooped Clark underneath one arm and Claire underneath the other arm before flying off to STAR Labs.
Chloe entered pure panic mode the moment they lost all power and all visual contact with Claire. She looked over to one side and noticed Patricia Swann's mouth becoming increasingly thin every second.
"It should have worked."
The suit should have worked, but it didn't. The doors burst open, and Diana stepped in to carry a drained looking Clark in her arms. Chloe caught one look at his face and realized Clark resembled someone who had a very bad case of the flu.
Raya stepped in and she looked concerned but brushed it to the side to perform her duties.
"Get him to the solar chamber, now."
Claire walked behind them. The Parasite struck and got some of Clark's powers, leaving him a very fatigued state. If she had never gotten involved with HIVE, none of this would have happened.
Chapter Forty-Four: Parasite Part Two
Fatigue hit Clark Kent at a rapid rate. He resembled someone who had gone through a bad case of the flu. His head throbbed and he tried to clutch his arms against himself. He rose up and fell down with a series of hard breaths. It was very hard for him to keep a consistent time.
Lara moved over towards him. She frowned, her son should not have been injured so much after a battle, especially against the likes of the Parasite. Yet he was, and Lara frowned in absolute worry. She leaned closer towards Clark and looked towards his flushed face.
"So cold."
Lara really wished she could help. Raya came in, along with Karen. The older version of Kara went around the corner, walked up to Clark. She could see something in his eyes which she didn't like.
"It's ready," Raya said.
Karen nodded. She didn't trust herself not to say anything without screaming. They hoped the energizing chamber would restore Clark's powers, along with a little better.
"I thought the new suit would hold," Patricia said.
All of the other girls turned towards the woman who looked like she was about ready to collapse in a fit of guilt. None of them really blamed the woman. Their lack of reassuring words made Patricia's frown deepen something fierce.
"It's not the suit," Lara commented. "It's the Parasite."
Diana assisted Karen in moving Clark to the chamber inside. Both of them tried to assure him it was going to be okay, without words. Neither of them accepted the fact everything was going to be okay. They pushed him into the chamber.
"We should have built the suit better," Patricia said.
Lara held her hand in the air and prevented Patricia from accepting any more guilt of the situation. "Like I said, it was a situation where we couldn't test the suit about. We couldn't predict what the Parasite could do to him, and most importantly what his powers were."
Patricia finally accepted Lara's words to be right. She turned around, the heiress of the Swann family looking deep in thought. She studied the last vitals coming off of the suit before Parasite's bio-energy shut it down. The redhead bit down on her lip and frowned when looking on at the images on the screen.
'He destroyed the suit and managed to find a weakness. I don't know how he did it, but he did. We're going to have to patch up that particular weakness when we modify the suit. Without opening up about three or four more….wish we had more time. But, time really isn't a luxury we have right now, isn't it?'
The scientist released her breath and then looked back towards the vital signs one more time.
"Some of Parasite's blood came off onto my sword," Diana said. "Would it help?"
"Yes, it will," Patricia said.
Karen moved over to assist Diana while also keeping one eye on the chamber which Clark sat. The small trace amounts of blood shined all over the sword. The moment Karen reached for the blood it tried to lock onto her from the sword. It looked inches away from absorbing her.
"Incredible," Karen said. "And not the good kind of incredible."
The blood held many secrets and Karen doubted very much they were the good kind of secrets. The meteors never really caused these kind of powers to anyone else they struck. Then again, as Karen figured, when Jones had gotten bombarded by the meteor, near the chemicals, everything changed. His biology changed to that of a leech which demanded power.
Karen looked towards the chamber and saw Clark looked a little bit better. The constant bombardment of simulated solar radiation into his person energized his levels. He wasn't completely out of the box, but all things considered, he came out a little bit better than he was before, and Karen couldn't have been more pleased because of that.
'Good, I'm glad.'
Karen stepped away from the tank and turned to Eliza who made her way back to the floor.
"Can we increase the shielding around his suit to protect him from the Parasite's powers?"
Eliza leaned in and looked very thoughtful. The woman's nose scrunched up when she frowned.
"It's always possible," Eliza answered. "It's going to take some time to do, but it's possible."
Karen didn't know if time was a luxury they had. It remained to be seen how long the Parasite retained the powers he stole, especially after HIVE had gotten ahold of him. A few modifications and he could be very dangerous indeed.
A few seconds passed and then Patricia piped up. "You know, I've been studying this situation, and I think Chloe might be the key to helping us take down the Parasite."
Chloe raised an eyebrow, looking honestly surprised. "Me, what can I do?"
Patricia answered with a half of a smile when leaning towards Chloe. "It has to do with your powers, and the fact they can shut down meteor mutants."
Those powers can in handy once before, Chloe would be lying to say if they didn't. Still, there was an obvious difference between powers coming in handy one time before, and them not. Chloe shook her head half of a second later.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Diana asked.
"Good idea, maybe not," Karen admitted. "However, given the circumstances, there isn't really that much we can do, is there?"
Diana answered with a shrug. She would be lying until she was blue in the face if she didn't say there were plenty of misgivings. Chloe's powers were still a very obvious wild card and Diana didn't pretend she knew the first thing about what Chloe was doing out there.
"Besides, she isn't going to be out there alone."
Clark stepped out of the chamber. He looked a little bit better, a lot better than he did before actually, but he still looked not as good as he could have been. Karen leaned over him with a frown.
She wasn't the only one who frowned. Eliza looked from Clark to the levels. "You're only at seventy-five percent of your full capacity."
"Seventy-five percent is going to have to do," Clark said. "Time is a luxury we don't have."
Several combinations of power gave the Parasite a tingling feeling inside of his very being. The power which had been brought from the Kryptonian on the other hand, it was a high which he saw better than sex. Not that he needed sex with the ability to draw powers. He doubted he would get most from most women unless of course, they were the super-powered lot.
Two of his handlers stepped out in front of the Parasite. The Parasite turned towards them. It was amazing how weak, how fragile, these little men were. The Parasite had them right where he wanted them.
'I could crush them like bugs,' Parasite thought. 'Just one little smash and they would bow down before my feet. I can have all. I can be all. I'm the strongest that there is.'
The small, and very diminished part of Rudy Jones, the part which still had a conscience, sighed in response. 'You know nothing is forever….the power is not forever…just back away from it…while you still can.'
Rudy's eyes flared in the back of his head. He could rip them apart with his newly acquired heat vision, or pound them with super strength, or blow them away with super breath. Or he could lift them into the sky so high they would pass out. There were any number of things.
One of the handlers responded with a half of a smile, unaware of how far the situation had slipped out of their control.
"So, you absorbed his power?"
The Parasite's voice grew deeper than it was earlier when he spoke. It always deepened when he had a taste of power, and he had quite the taste of power today.
"Did you doubt I would gain his power? But I have more than his power? I have his secrets, I know his life….and boy does he have a very interesting life! To think, he fought people like us for years!"
The Parasite laughed in response. Us, given the fact there were the echoes of other meteor mutants, some of them who had encountered the mysterious blur in the past in the back of his head.
"Yes, you know everything about him," The HIVE agent. "So, tell us everything."
'You don't owe them anything,' the newest voice in the back of his head. 'They wouldn't have gotten as far as they have without you. You can be on your own, they're just using you as a puppet.'
The Parasite's mouth opened up and the smile increased. He did have the ball in his court, and he could do pretty much anything he would like. Rudy's neck extended and he looked over the HIVE agents.
"Once you give me the means to fully stabilize my power, I will happily tell you everything I know. Until then, I'll give you nothing, because you deserve nothing."
The HIVE minions did not appreciate being talked like that in such a matter. Rudy honestly didn't care, he was free, independent to them.
"You owe us!" The HIVE drone yelled.
The Parasite grabbed him by the arm so hard some of the bones crushed. He lifted the drone off of the ground and he shook the drone. The drone's breathing worsened when the Parasite rag-dolled him high above the ground. The man slipped from the Parasite's grip and dropped down onto the ground.
"Let me make one thing plain!" The Parasite yelled. "I owe you nothing!"
The Parasite used his super breath to blow over a van which contained several more HIVE agents, no doubt ready to wrangle him in. He was smarter now, stronger, faster than a speeding bullet as well. Nothing could hurt him, he had everything he ever wanted.
"You thought you could get the better of me because I was an uneducated janitor!" But, make no mistake about it, my mental capacity has increased now when I absorbed his memories. I know things HIVE would kill for. And you can tell your HIVE Queen to give us everything we want, or we will be back to rip HIVE to pieces."
The meteor mutant discharged heat vision from his eyes and formed a circle around the HIVE goons. They looked up, not happy about the fact their pawn turned on them so readily.
The Parasite had other things on his mind.
'I need more power, his power…..I will have more!"
The plan sounded all kinds of absurd to Chloe. The moment she set out outside of Star Labs and went over the plan in her head, it didn't just sound absurd, it sounded all kinds of insane.
"So, wait? You mean to tell me when he gets weakened from his power, he'll come here?"
Clark jumped in through the communication link. "Yes, he'll come here. He has my memories in addition to his powers."
"Which means he poses a security risk to us all," Eliza said. "I hate to say it, but we're going to have to secure him when this is all over. Handling him over to Belle Reve will just bring us back to where we started."
Oh, Clark knew all right. He had to make a very tough decision about how to deal with the Parasite. Until they were sure Clark's memories had been purged from the Parasite's mind, they had to hold him and not hand him over to the proper authorities.
'And to think, this is the very thing you didn't really want to work with the DEO over. I guess you're learning all about how you're going to have to do some things.'
Claire stepped over next to Clark a few seconds later. She placed a hand on Clark's shoulder.
"Are you sure he'll come?"
"He's got a taste of power," he responded. "He's got the bug, he wants more, and he'll do anything he can to get more, for reasons both fair and foul."
The Pyrokinetic responded with a nod. Two meteor mutants and a Kryptonian were a very tantalizing treat, especially her, because she slipped away from the Parasite once before before he could have his feeding time. Clark stood, in a modified suit.
Once again, the suit did not get tested, but there was no time to really test it out before going out on the field. It was just the unfortunate necessity of the situation. They looked directly at Clark and then back away from him. Seconds ticked by on the clock.
The Parasite came at them at super speed and dropped down onto the ground. His hungry eyes locked on the prize which he made.
"I suppose the question is, do you prefer Clark or do you prefer Kal-El?" Parasite asked. "Actually, I know everything about you, because I've been in your mind….combing through your most intimate thoughts….some very intimate thoughts you had about certain women."
'Okay, that's creepy,' Rudy thought. 'I worked as a high school janitor….and we really shouldn't be thinking thoughts like that.'
'They're not your thoughts, Rudy, and don't tell me you haven't fantasized about those little cock-teases in their short skirts.'
The Parasite turned his attention towards Clark and also noticed Chloe and Claire.
"Two meteor mutants and a Kryptonian all in one space," The Parasite said, wickedly smiling. "Must be Thanksgiving with the feast out in front of me. And I'm going to feast on all of you!"
"Well, here's something you can taste!"
Claire, in her usual hot-headed manner, fired a blast of heat down across the ground and sent chunks of molten rock towards the Parasite. She wasn't sure she could do that, but it was just amazing what someone could do when they set their mind to it.
The monster of a creature back off, and bombarded Claire with heat vision which sent her flying about a half of a step back. She dropped down onto the ground with a huge thud.
Chloe came behind the Parasite, hoping this worked. The power never really worked consciously, it either did or it didn't. The energy came from her hand and she got close to the Parasite.
Parasite had his attention turned to Clark to sap him the rest of his power. Then he would have a piece of all of those other Kryptonians he hung around with as well.
A hand grabbed onto his. The Parasite responded with laughter when Chloe's hand grabbed onto his. The Parasite turned towards her.
"You really think you can…"
A discharge of energy shot into the air in a black ball and disappeared. Chloe's entire body shook and she flew back, landing in Karen's arms. Karen held Chloe up.
"Fine, Kara," Chloe murmured.
Granted her ears rang, all of her nerve endings felt like they were on fire, and she had a sudden urge to throw up her entire lunch, but things could have been worse. Things could have been much worse for Chloe. She just had to think positive.
The Parasite closed his eyes. Something was wrong. He tried to nail his adversary with an uppercut punch. Said adversary blocked the punch and hoisted him off of the ground. The Parasite flew back down to the ground.
A spark came through him and he tried once again to drain the power.
"Something's wrong, what did you do to me?"
Two fingers jabbed into the side of the Parasite's neck dropped him down.
"The containment tank is ready, bring him in!" Patricia yelled.
The limp body of Rudy Jones shook awake underneath the cell at STAR Labs. Tess stepped in, joined by Patricia and Eliza. They would have to run a lot of the tests to make sure the echoes of the powers were removed. HIVE didn't do anything to help him, if anything, they increased the ability for him to retain his powers.
"We still have several more days of study before we know whether or not he's safe to turn over to the police," Patricia concluded.
HIVE had a very dangerous weapon, and the fact it had been just taken out from underneath HIVE's control, it only caused them all relief. They didn't know what other dangerous meteor mutants HIVE had under control. The rules of the game most certainly changed, beyond anything they could ever imagine.
"We'll study him, and then when he's safe, he'll be turned over to the police," Tess responded. "It's really simple as that."
Tess had a few questions for Jones. What Chloe did to him left the Parasite in a catatonic state, unable to communicate to the outside of the world. They had to run a few brain scans on him, and Tess would have to bring a few people she knew could be trusted to get a second opinion on him.
A hard-working, blue-collar man, working the same job for thirty years, ends up having one bad day and becomes an insane monster. It really was a tragic event.
"Clark doesn't like the fact we have to hold him, does he?"
Tess's question had been blunt and to the point. It amused her, the reason not to trust the DEO for Clark was because they were holding prisoners without due process. Tess's reasons were because they had weapons to take down Kryptonians, and it was pretty hypocritical for them to try and hire one when they had the means to take him down.
She knew Clark could be trusted, beyond many of them. A great deal beyond her, if Tess could be perfectly honest.
Patricia moved in to study the information on the screen. There were a couple of spikes in his mental activity. The cell had been designed to contain some of the most powerful people in the world. Clark, Lara, and Raya designed it to help secure any rogue Kryptonians as well because there had been a few of those.
And yes, it could contain Clark, if needed, and Patricia prayed they would never see the day.
Chloe stepped down the steps into the holding area. She looked a bit pale.
"You're not used to using your powers yet, are you?" Tess asked.
"No, I'm not," Chloe responded. "I didn't intend to use them to drain the Parasite, or at least stop him cold."
After all, there wasn't much to drain from him.
"You don't have any thoughts, any echoes of him," Tess said.
Chloe shook her head. "No, I'm just a bit ill. I think he tried to drain a little bit from me, but my powers caused a feedback loop which shut him down."
The two STAR Labs employees looked at each other. Patricia put a hand on the shoulder of the younger girl and offered her a light smile.
"Do you think you can follow me? I believe you when you say you're fine, but still, a couple of tests never hurt anyone."
'No, they never hurt anyone. They're just boring, tedious, and make me fall asleep, but no, they never really hurt anyone.'
Chloe allowed Patricia and Eliza to lead the way down the hallway to get more tests. She felt like a lab rat, but with these new powers, Chloe would be lying if she wasn't curious.
Another test later, and Clark had been cleared to leave STAR Labs, providing he got a good night's sleep. He entered the room which Claire crashed. Claire stood in front of him, working out. She wore a red spandex top which matched her flaming hair nicely, and also a pair of very tight black shorts which gave Clark quite the view.
"Enjoying something you're seeing?"
Clark tried to give her a charming smile. Claire stepped closer towards him and looked him over, debating something in her mind.
"Just checking to see how you're doing."
"Well, fine," Claire said.
"Are you sticking around for a while?"
It was a pretty good question, to be honest. Claire stepped closer towards him.
"You see, I don't know. I figure I should. HIVE is going to come after me, whether I'm here, or elsewhere….and they're going to be after you as well."
Clark swallowed in response when looking to Claire. He only had two words to say to her in response.
"I know."
Claire smiled, she knew he knew. The two of them moved closer together. Claire rested her hands on Clark's side but didn't do anything, just not yet anyway.
"I've never had many people I could count on. I'm just glad I can count on someone."
The two of them met into the middle, and Claire gave Clark a literally fiery kiss. Her powers burned his shirt off, and she pulled back from him, a shifty little smirk on her face.
"I think I owe you a new shirt," Claire said. "Why don't you take the downpayment out on my ass?"
The shameless statement caused Clark to smile. Clark grabbed Claire's hair and shoved his tongue down her throat with another kiss. It was a good thing he was super powerful, even though his street clothes would have to be further modified if he was going to be around Claire.
Hormones increased, with Clark's roaming hands, and things were going to get hot in more ways than one. Claire could hardly wait. Thoughts of Clark got her through some pretty rough nights, she wouldn't lie.
The kiss deepened in fury and passion. Clark pushed his hands on the underside of Claire's shirt and pulled it off to reveal her perky breasts. He leaned down and kissed the side of her neck before he kept moving down towards her. His mouth buried on her right tit and kissed it, tasting the warm, delicious flesh in her mouth.
Claire closed her eyes, leaning back. Clark's mouth took control of her nice breasts, sucking on them. Her pants went down as well.
Her shaven pussy revealed to Clark. Clark started to rub his finger up and down her dripping slit. He pushed a finger slightly inside and looked up just in time to see the Pryokinetic's face look at him. Pleasure spread over the beautiful woman's face. Clark shifted his finger deep inside of the woman, almost sticking it inside of her, and then sliding it out of her.
"You better….get off those pants before I touch them as well."
Clark stepped back and pulled down his pants, followed by his boxer shorts. Claire locked eyes onto his cock and licked her lips.
"So, big."
"Why don't you get a closer look?"
Claire wasn't going to argue. She dropped onto the padded pants on the ground and took the tip of Clark's head into her mouth. She sucked it. It took some doing to wrap her mouth around the girth. Claire got there eventually, pushing the entire length into her mouth.
The back of Claire's head had been grabbed and now Clark entered the driver's seat. He pushed his rod deep inside of Claire's inviting throat. She opened her throat nice and wide to receive Clark inside of her mouth. Claire pushed back for Claire to come down onto the base of his rod.
"You feel so good."
The feeling of her hot warm mouth bottomed up around the base of Clark's cock. Her hand gripped Clark's balls and gave them a nice little squeeze. Her tongue swirled around Clark's cock and kissed all the way up to the base. Her tongue twisted around him.
The taste of Clark's cock brought more pleasure down on him. Claire released Clark's cock from around her lips and then sucked him deep inside of her.
She released Clark's cock. She looked down at him with a smile and climbed onto the couch. Claire perched down onto the couch and spread her legs, ready to receive Clark's large rod.
Clark walked over towards Claire and pinned her back onto the couch. He positioned his rod deep inside of Claire's dripping hot pussy and jammed his hard cock inside of her body. Claire's wet vice pushed around Clark's hard rod when he entered her.
"Damn, you're hot."
"Of course," Claire said. "Did you expect anything different?"
Clark smiled, he would have to say he didn't expect anything differently. He pushed inside of Claire. Their bodies molded together with each other. Clark shifted his rod deep inside of Claire and pushed deeper into her.
The first orgasm with a cock inside of her was about to hit Claire. She just hoped they didn't end up torching half of the room. Claire tried to hold herself back and her legs around Clark.
"Hopefully this couch won't be turned to ashes by the time you're finished."
Claire looked up towards Clark with bleary eyes and a very devious smile on her face. "I'll see what I can do, but there's….no real promises."
He shoved his hard cock inside of Claire's wet vice. She stretched out almost all the way. Clark bombarded her center with numerous pumps. Claire reached up and took Clark deeper inside of her. Her eyes glazed over with increasing pleasure dancing in her eyes.
"Harder, harder," Claire chanted.
Clark gave her his cock hard into her. The warmness sent feelings of desire down his engorged prick. He drove himself inside of Claire's body.
Claire put her nails into Clark's back and breathed heavily. His face dropped and kissed her body. The survivor of Krypton really knew how to make a girl feel really good. The pleasure exploding through her body made Claire's body work up.
The two of them rocked against each other. Clark rose almost all the way up out of Claire and pushed his hard cock inside of her body.
"Drain your balls inside me," Claire yelled. "Pump that fucking cum into me…..put so much into me, until my pussy is dripping. I want to feel your cum in me for the next week."
A squeeze of Claire's breast resulted in pleasure coming through her body. Their groins connected together with pleasure exploding through Claire's body.
"You're very impatient, aren't you? You just can't hold back. You just can't wait, can you?"
Claire shook her head. No, she couldn't wait, she wouldn't wait. Claire wanted pleasure from him, she wanted it down, she needed it now. Clark pushed into her.
"I think you need to cum."
The eruption of Claire's loins made her feel really good. He attacked her nipples. Claire shifted underneath Clark's body. He penetrated her body with a series of hard thrusts. Claire rose up off of the bed with him.
The dance continued until Clark shot his load inside of Claire's waiting body. Her pussy gripped him and drained Clark of every single last drop of cum stored inside those swollen balls.
The second passed, and Clark pulled himself from Claire. Claire grabbed Clark and flipped him over around onto the bed. She climbed on top of Clark with a smile crossing her face.
"I want more," Claire said. "And I know you have more."
She dragged her dripping cunt down across his rod and made it swell up. Claire pushed her breasts into Clark's chest. Clark grabbed the large, round wonders in hand and squeezed them. Claire's eyes shifted in pleasure the second she worked her dripping hot lips down around Clark's rod. It pushed inside of her body and filled her completely up to the brim with nothing but cock, more cock than Claire could handle.
"Yes!" Claire yelled.
Clark thought this vixen was almost too much. She worked down onto Clark's manhood and slid down onto the base. Her walls released and clenched him. Those balls underneath her were primed and ready to release. Claire brought herself down on him and took him inside of her.
"I'm going to milk those balls!"
The grip shifted onto Claire's bouncing breasts. Clark squeezed them. Claire returned fire, in more ways than one, by bringing her gripping pussy down onto Clark's engorged rod. She moved quicker, at a lightning fast ability. Her hips dropped down onto Clark, rising up and bringing herself down onto him.
"Yes, I'm going to milk them so fucking dry!" Claire cheered. "Would you like that, baby? Would you like your balls milked dry by me?"
Clark groaned the second Claire dropped down onto them. The vixen would get what she wanted. Clark lifted his hands up and squeezed her breasts when they dropped it.
She came extremely hard. The Pyrokinetic gripped Clark around the base of his cock and released him. Claire bombarded his cock with a few rises and follows.
"Damn, Claire."
Claire grinned when bouncing up and down on his cock. She pushed herself down around him.
"I'm a bad girl. Bad girls do it better, don't we?"
Clark looked up at the beautiful breasts bouncing up and down. He wasn't going to deny the woman her pleasure or the fact she was a good fuck. Claire knew how to work his cock and she worked it very well.
"Oh, I'll stick around for a bit longer for this!" Claire yelled. "How about it? How about you cum?"
Clark smiled at her.
"After you."
"Fuck your chi…."
Claire's eyes glazed over and flames shot from her hands. She managed to avoid setting anything on fire by drawing them back into her. The couch got singed a little bit, but it wasn't bad. She pumped herself down upon Clark's cock, sliding the aching rod inside of her body hard and deep. She bounced onto Clark and filled herself.
"Baby, you're so good," Claire murmured. "I can fuck you all day long."
"I know," Clark said. "One more time."
Those fingers danced across her body at super speed and condemned Claire to a death by a hundred orgasms. There were far worse ways to go. His hands gripped Claire's thick rear end and squeezed it which sent more tingles going down her body.
Everything had to come to an end, and it opened the door for the big ending. Claire's gushing juices coated Clark's cock and made him swell inside of her.
Clark buried himself balls deep into Claire and discharged. He sent a never ending amount of thick, endless cum inside of her body. Those balls released and discharged her, filling Claire completely up.
Claire bounced up and down, receiving his load. She had no fear of consequences, the experiences she underwent made her sterile. It was fun to fantasize him knocking her up though, even though it was pretty much impossible.
The two disconnected from each other, and Claire pulled over, getting on her hands and knees, to show Clark her ass and dripping pussy.
"How about it, stud? You have time for one more?"
Clark's cock restored itself fast and he moved over to stick himself into Claire for the third rod.
"You can't get enough?"
"No, I'm your little meteor slut! Anytime you want to drain your balls, don't be afraid to see me."
Clark prepared to drain said balls for a third time tonight and pounded himself into Claire. Things became extremely hot, they were both surrounded by fire.
'And there goes the couch.'
He continued to plow Claire into the ashes on the ground all of the same.
Chapter Forty-Five: The Wildcard.
Finding information meant overturning some of the slimiest and disgusting rocks in the entire world. It went with the job of being a hero. You needed to be able to wade through the muck to get those pieces of information to really tie a case together. It wasn't exactly the most glamorous thing in the world. Necessity rarely was something which was the most pleasant thing in the world.
Helena Wayne's investigative abilities ran deep in her blood. She investigated every day in her life, deep inside of the cesspool which was Gotham City. The Wayne family legacy ran through several generations, and they did all they could do to help the people in Gotham City. Despite the crime rate in the city being through the roof, some people still had hope for Gotham City, and hope it would work out well.
HIVE had been one of the more complex investigations Helena undertook. She got her hands on the information by shaking down some of the usual suspects. They were afraid of experiencing the wrath of one of Gotham's most dangerous threats.
The pieces managed to come into place. Helena dressed in her civilian attire, on the pretext of delivering information to Patricia. She wasn't the only one who was there. Tess stepped out of her limo and walked out from behind Helena. The two women walked side by side with each other, neither of them saying a word with each other. Both had business on their minds first and foremost.
Tess finally decided to break the ice. "I know the look on your face. You've uncovered something."
"Yes," Helena said. "It's about HIVE."
A sigh came over the body of the businesswoman. She saw the folder draped in Helena's arms, and already there were some alarm bells going through her mind.
'I wonder how much she's uncovered. You'd think she's uncovered something really bad. Helena might not look like she's agitated, but you can tell by the look on her face, there's something really bad.'
Helena raised her hand and prevented Tess from asking some of the most obvious questions out there.
"I'd like to talk to Clark Kent about this, he should know more than anyone else," Helena said.
Tess smiled. "That sounds fair. He's at STAR, going over some tests with Patricia and Karen, making sure he's completely one hundred percent after the entire Parasite fiasco."
The Parasite fiasco, Helena only heard some second-hand reports. She had her sources which got the information needed to her, even though she couldn't spend the time working with Clark as much as Tess, Patricia, or even Thea did. Helena helped out in other ways and the information she had with her would help even more.
Both Tess and Helena had been cleared to go inside of STAR Labs. Helena noticed the increased security around the lab and approved of it. The security could have been better if she could be perfectly honest.
The two stepped around the corner on the other side. They saw Clark in the midst of a simulation. Patricia and Karen observed what he was doing when he came around the corner. The numbers on the screen clocked, showing his progress.
"So, how am I doing?" Clark asked no sooner did he finish off the run in the flight simulator.
Patricia checked the numbers and compared them to the readings they had made during a previous run on the simulator, ones which had been taken before Clark had his unfortunate encounter with Doomsday. An encouraging smile spread over the face of the scientist.
"Pretty good actually, you're making astounding progress. I hope we'll keep making this progress though, the last thing we want you to do is backside."
Clark would have to agree, the last thing he wanted was to backslide from any progress he made. He could see Tess and Helena standing in the distance, and he could see Helena trying to catch his eye. The Detective had items in her hand, and Clark could already tell by both her facial expressions and body language what she dug up wasn't going to be anything which was to his liking.
He wasn't the only one who caught sight of this little piece of news. Karen noticed too straight away. The busty blonde responded with a smile and shook her head.
"Okay, why don't we take five?"
They did take five, making their way around the corner. Clark left the simulator, joining Patricia, Karen, Helena, and Tess. The five of them sat around the table.
"HIVE has held onto some of Doomsday's DNA and they're trying to replicate it," Helena said.
Clark's heart jumped to somewhere around the area of his throat when the folder had been placed down upon the table. Helena showed him the documentation, and Clark slid back on the chair. He would be lying if he said this was good, as a matter of fact, it was the furthest thing from good he could think of.
"They're trying to replicate Doomsday's DNA?" Clark asked.
"Surely even HIVE can't be that desperate?" Karen asked.
"Actually, they can be, they want to be ahead in various fields of science," Tess responded. "And they're going to do things which are considered unconventional. And yes, they're going to do some things which are considered to be pretty crazy as well."
There was no considering this to be crazy, this was pretty crazy as far as Clark was concerned. Helena placed the documents down on the table and then there were the pictures. The pictures of the experiments which HIVE done and those might have been people. Even if they were other meteor mutants like Claire was, they were still people of some sort.
"Just one second."
Tess received a call and she made it to the next room to take it.
"We're going to have to find these people, take them down," Karen said. "They just can't be allowed to be around any longer."
"Yes," Helena said. "I agree. But the problem with HIVE is they are a large organization with many resources. They are going to see them coming."
Patricia took a long drink of coffee, even though she could use something a little bit stronger to calm her nerves. The coffee came into her mouth a second later, and she put it down, looking Helena in the eye.
"If I know you, you have a plan which could help us."
"Maybe I do," Helena responded. "Maybe I do."
Tess made her way back into the room after taking the phone. None of them saw her look this anxious before, which immediately through up a red flag. She didn't even need to tell him she had bad news.
Clark already knew from her body language and expression the day, which was pretty bad already, had just gotten a tiny bit worse.
A large hole in the wall in the facility where Lex had been held in was not a good sign. And it was the first sign which Tess had been greeted with when she showed up. She made her way into the facility, arms swinging and a huge scowl etched across her face.
Tess looked down the hallway and could see Lionel Luthor as usual, just muttering nonsense. A second later, Clark appeared right behind Tess on one side.
"He's gone," Tess said.
Tess pointed towards Lex's cell. The glass had been cracked, and the bookshelf and desk which Lex had been allowed had been overturned. His bed was left unmade like he had been in it the time where the people arrived.
Most people would think Lex had been abducted. Tess put even odds on it, but she also knew he was crafty enough to stage an abduction to put himself in a very sympathetic light. Tess stepped closer into the room and frowned when she looked it over, trying to get a clue on anything.
"Whatever made this hole?" Clark asked. "It's not human."
"No, it might have been human to start with," Tess said. "But, it's pretty enhanced."
Tess had a bad feeling they were putting Doomsday's DNA to some kind of awful use. The feeling could not have been shaken no matter what she did. She looked around.
One Lionel Luthor still twitched and started to mutter more nonsense underneath his breath. Tess turned away from him and moved down the hallway to find a guard, one which had not been knocked out in the chaos. Finding a guard who had not been injured in HIVE's invasion, was going to be tough.
Tess happened upon one of the guards, who looked to have a swollen face. It looked like something, multiple somethings has stung him in the face. The other guard got off more lucky, due to the fact some kind of blunt force trauma caught him from behind.
The mutterings coming from Lionel Luthor's cell might have been not that much of interest to Tess, but Clark Kent found himself very intrigued by the words which were coming out of Lionel Luthor's mouth. Every fifth or so sentence, a phrase in Kryptonian was coming.
"They will unleash hell even though Doomsday has passed," Clark said.
"What?" Tess asked.
"That's the most…common translation to what he was saying," Clark said.
Tess really wished she could be more fascinated by what Lionel Luthor was saying. She didn't need the dodgy ramblings of an old man to tell her HIVE intended to release hell on Earth, and they would probably succeed. Tess pressed the earpiece in her ear.
"Indigo?"
"Yes, may I help you?"
"Could you please see for me whether or not the signal coming from Lex's tracking device is still valid or not?"
"Just one moment please."
The one minute seemed like an eternity because if Tess could be honest, they really didn't have one minute to spare. Everything just went in the wrong direction. She could still see Clark half-listening to Lionel and half scanning the cell. For her sake, for his, and partially, somehow, for Lex's, Tess hoped he found something.
The bee-stung guard made Tess realize the depths of HIVE's research. It confirmed the rumors of the weaponized bees they had, and who was working for them rather well.
"The tracker in Lex is still active," Indigo reported after a moment's pause. "Of course, we should consider the possibility that just because it's active within Lex, it's signal is one hundred percent accurate."
"Yes, I have considered that possibility," Tess responded. She tilted her head back a fraction of an inch and frowned. "Do you think they have just removed it?"
"My hypothesis is they cannot remove it without killing Lex, and it's a high probability they want him alive."
Tess figured about as much. HIVE would have found a way to either distort the signal or something else entirely. Or misdirection, a misdirection worked as well.
"Helena has sent a message she's following up on a lead," Indigo said.
That news wasn't really surprising to Tess either. She knew Helena, knew what the woman was capable of, and when she had a hunch, she would follow up on it. The apple didn't fall far from the tree.
Tess waited for Clark to come around the corner.
"So, there's nothing?" Tess asked.
"Sorry."
"No, don't be, HIVE is just unfortunately very good at covering their tracks," Tess said. "Although, there's something else you might find interesting."
Lex Luthor leaned back into the chair, curious about his new surroundings. At the very least, his new captors could have brought him a book to read. He grew very restless and extremely agitated when he moved to his location. He also had acquired the unfortunate problem of a stiff neck, but that could have been due to the hours in his previous cell.
"You know, grateful as I am to be broken out of one prison….if you were just going to lock me up again, I would have asked if you didn't bother."
"Alexander Luthor."
The crisp voice came from the shadows. Lex saw a creepy looking blonde woman with glowing eyes, dressed in a form-fitting body suit come out of the shadows.
"You know who we are."
"Yes, you're HIVE," Lex said. "I've heard of you, going through the books, my father had dealings with you, but pulled away when your work proved to be too unethical. Too unethical for Lionel Luthor, can't say I'm not impressed."
Lex flashed her a smile, but she just responded with those blinking eyes. The type of eyes which made Lex wonder if she was staring into his very soul, making trying to figure out how to best consume it. Lex didn't like being sized up like this, and he tried to push his head back an inch.
"We would like to talk to you about Doomsday."
Lex flashed her one of those charming smiles he was well known for. "Then, you came to the wrong Luthor. My father was the one who was talking about Doomsday. Although, the last couple of weeks, he's been screaming the world, apocalypse at the top of his lung."
"HIVE does not make mistakes, and the sooner a man of your brilliance finds that out, the more convenient your life will be."
Lex remained silent, not wanting to provoke these people. If they were going to be the new masters of the world, well Lex was very intrigued to see how they pulled that off. Groups with a little ambition always wanted to be the top of the world.
"We have spent some time researching you, and we managed to acquire some brain scans Hugo Strange performed."
"And they were done without my consent as well," Lex said. "I'm not surprised Hugo Strange did just as much….he's always been nothing but trouble. Do you have any idea where he ran off to?"
"Hugo Strange is irrelevant, even though his work is very relevant," the HIVE Queen responded. "You have locked in your mind valuable information how Doomsday was created, along with other valuable information. But, it's a part of your mind, left over."
Lex chuckled in response.
"So, are you telling me I have valuable information I don't even remember having? I'm flattered, believe me, I'm flattered you think so much of me. You think so much of me to think I have a lot of valuable information."
"You have had direct information with the creation known as Brainiac, have you not?" HIVE Queen asked. "Or Milton Fine, as you knew him at the time."
Lex smiled, there was no need to deny it.
"We've acquired a piece of one of his copies which have since been destroyed," HIVE Queen said. "And we matched it to pieces of your brain scan. We can only come to one logical conclusion, and that is, you have a sleeper copy of Brainiac buried deep within your subconscious. For whatever reason, it has not activated."
So, Fine had a backup, after his little body-jacking scheme with Zod failed. Lex found that very interested. He rubbed the side of his head. There were no side effects, although Lex's random bout of psychosis after Strange hypnotized him couldn't be chalked up to Brainiac being in his head.
Or could it?"
"Well, Strange never mentioned I had a high tech alien computer backup image in my head," Lex said. "I find it interesting, and I still wonder how you think you obtain the information from me. You think I'm going to stay here, you have another thing coming."
Lex moved to a standing position. The HIVE drones got to their feet, ready to protect their Queen under a potential act of aggression. She rose her hand and did one of the most suicidal things one could think of. She pressed a button and opened up the cell, which allowed Lex Luthor out and about into the wild.
"You must be arrogant to think you can keep me."
"Consider this an act of good faith," The HIVE Queen responded. "And I think you'll agree….to listen to me."
The drones backed off and a swarm of bees surrounded Lex. Lex saw them in action during the prison break and knew they meant business. He stared them down, those crisp stingers coming an inch away from my face.
"And it's not arrogance when you have facts to back it up. I know you're a man of reason, and a man of brilliance, Lex Luthor. You want to see why I've broken you out. It isn't just because of Doomsday. I want your reason on other things."
The HIVE Queen recalled her legions, with the unspoken agreement that the next time she set the bees on Lex, they would not be retracted. Lex sat down on a chair, hands folded in his lap and he looked towards the HIVE Queen.
"I want your insight on this."
A silver orb had been pushed out by the HIVE Queen. Lex looked towards the orb, with curiosity dancing in his eyes. A long pause followed with Lex taking a look at the orb and studying it from every single angle.
"Well?" The HIVE Queen asked.
Lex broke out into a wide smile and looked at the orb. "You see what you're holding? It's the future."
Helena walked down the underground tunnel from the HIVE facility. She didn't walk alone, with Clark following a half of a step behind her. She looked over her shoulder where Clark was walking.
"You know, this would be a lot easier if I could walk alone," Helena said. "I wouldn't have to worry about anyone else giving up my location."
Clark answered with a smile, a nod, and put his hand on Helena's shoulder.
"You're not going to be alone?"
"Neither of you are alone."
Diana stepped down the tunnel right behind them, dressed in all of her glory, ready for a fight. If they were fighting anything replicated from that monster, Helena would need a couple of heavy hitters to back her up, and Diana thought both she and Clark would have been perfect for the job.
"If Lex is here, you're going to need our help," Clark said.
One could almost see the annoyance brimming through Helena's eyes. She leaned in and started to grumble underneath her breath.
"I can handle Luthor."
Clark knew and understood how much she could handle Luthor. Still, it was everything else which was in this HIVE lab, which he worried about. He didn't know whether or not she could handle it. Hell, he wasn't sure if he could last another round with Doomsday.
"We're going to find Luthor, get Kandor, and shut down HIVE," Clark said.
"Yes, glad to see you know what the mission is," Helena said.
Helena didn't mean to sound so short, but she just wanted to get through with the mission. She latched onto the bottom grate which pulled herself up. Clark and Diana followed her, and they moved up into the middle of the lab.
There were gruesome experiments all around. There were heads, limbs in jars, and just all kinds of disgusting things which brought thoughts to their minds which Clark wanted to push out of his mind.
Clark came across a body which laid on the table. The face and torso had been wrapped in bandages. Clark moved closer, thinking at first he heard a heartbeat, despite the fact the body had entered a very advanced state of decomposition.
"There's something wrong here….do you hear a heart beat?"
He paused for a second, and the arm of the decomposed man twitched wildly, almost as if something was going to rip out of his body. Clark stepped closer toward him.
"It's not a heart beat, it's buzzing."
Helena instantly adopted a battle stance, and the decomposed body burst open. Diana, Clark, and Helena stepped back, as a swarm of weaponized bees appeared in front of them. The swarm circled around of them, started buzzing.
'Bees, my God,' Helena thought in disgust.
"I recognize them," Helena said. "They were created by Doctor Brie Larvin, a scientist who worked at STAR Labs, but she went rogue."
"Looks like she fell into HIVE," Diana said.
"Yes, I'm glad you know of my pets," The HIVE Queen cackled over the loud speaker. "And these aren't ordinary bees….they pack a pretty bad sting…"
Clark, Diana, and Helena prepared to defend themselves when the bees surrounded them.
"One little sting will make the most super-powered of people pretty sleepy, by two or three, you'll be so swollen your own mother won't recognize you."
The bees hovered, waiting for their marching overs. Clark looked at them, trying to figure out the best way to take them all out without aggravating the others. He did notice they were partially fueled by liquefied Kryptonite. While he had been shielded from exposure, it being injected into his blood stream would still cause problems.
"And after that, well HIVE will have access to three extremely interesting specimens to add to my collection. Now, my pets, show our friends what we do to people who crash our little home."
The bees above the heads of the Trinity started to angrily swarm at them.