[OLD] The Supers Experiment (#1)

Thirty-One

"I'll have the caesar salad, please."

Claudia scowled at John as he handed the menu to the waitress.

"And for you, ma'am?"

Claudia turned her gaze to the girl. She reminded Claudia of a younger version of herself. When she was eighteen, she'd worked at a local restaurant to get through college.

Of course, after she got the job, her sister decided to apply too.

And of course, everyone liked Ashley better than Claudia. They preferred her bright, bubbly sister. It didn't matter that Claudia was faster or more efficient. No matter how good she did, Ashley was better.

Then she had to go and marry that Savage boy.

"Ma'am?"

Claudia was drawn back to the present. "Just a water, please," she told the waitress. The girl nodded, her brown ponytail bobbing, and returned to the kitchen.

"Well?" Claudia asked. John was playing some game on his phone.

"What?" he looked up.

"How many soldiers did we lose?"

He sighed and placed his device on the table. "We put two hundred and fifty on the ground. One hundred and eighty-five were damaged. Ninety can be repaired, the rest cannot. I recommend we scrap them and use what parts we can salvage to build more."

Claudia dug her fingernails into the table. She had seriously underestimated Walter Newman and his army. "The soldiers have a weak spot," she said. "Their necks."

"So did the other ones, it just wasn't noticeable compared to all of their other weaknesses." John said. "If we fix that, we'll have to compromise elsewhere, or severely limit our production."

After a moment, he asked, "How's recruitment coming?"

"Awful. Our name got out. Scares away the kids we go after."

"Isn't the... treatment supposed to help with that?"

"Yes, but it's temporary. The more we treat them, the more often they need to be treated. Especially the strong-minded." Claudia narrowed her eyes. "Like my nephew. Honestly, it's a miracle Terrence lasted as long as he did."

"Ah, yes," John said. "Hestia's been getting a bit restless too, I've noticed."

Claudia nodded. "I know. Would you take care of that for me?"

"Of course," John said. He paused. "I noticed Wren's been doing well, lately."

"I know what you want, John. She's one of my best fighters. I need her for now."

John leaned in. "She could be the key to perfecting the Phoenix serum."

"Andrew doesn't care about Project Phoenix," Claudia said.

"But you do."

Claudia narrowed her eyes. "That doesn't matter. Speaking of Andrew, have you heard anything from him? Perhaps regarding Alterium? If we could find a way to synthesize it without it exploding..."

John sighed. "It doesn't 'explode,' it reacts violently with the earth's atmosphere."

"I know, John, I'm not an idiot. I just want to know if you've made any progress."

"No," John said. "Not yet. I think Andrew's stopped having his dreams." He rolled his eyes at the last word.

"Or," Claudia muttered. "He's about to have a big one."

The waitress returned with their order. Claudia watched in silence as John ate his salad. When they got up to leave, she tossed a twenty dollar bill on the table.