Clay hardly had time to leave his lab as the month dragged on. Experiment A took up practically every second of his day, there was always something to be done. At the end of the first month he had completely grown in his teeth which was a living nightmare for Clay. The infant had cried night on end keeping him up as his teeth came in. Of course once they were in, he chewed on anything he could get his hands on, bottles, blankets, Clay's research papers and shoes, you name it.
Clay had somehow managed through the first month and thought he had fallen into a groove of sorts.
For the first time in days Clay had fallen asleep and slept through the whole night without Experiment A waking him up at 2 AM. However, it was too good to be true.
Clay rolled over in bed as he slowly began to wake up. For a second he imagined he heard someone running around his room, but he shrugged it off and pulled his sheets over his head. He felt a sudden tug on the end of the covers and a giggle echoed through the room. Immediately Clay shot up, his eyes widening as he spied emerald green eyes peeping at him from over the mattress.
“E-experiment A!?” Clay stammered, looking towards the empty crib across his bedroom. The child squealed excitedly and disappeared. Clay could hear the sound of his bare feet smacking the cold floor as he scurried off somewhere.
“H-how are you walking!?” Clay leapt out of bed just in time to see the tip of Experiment A's tail slip under his bed. Clay knew the development enhancer would speed up his growth process, but he hadn't at all expected the experiment to be walking at 2 months old.
Clay dropped to his knees and peered under the bed. Experiment A gurgled joyfully before crawling towards the scientist. Clay scooped the child up, surprised by how heavy he suddenly felt.
“How much did you grow last night?” Clay questioned aloud, it had been a week sense he last weighed him. 'A' beamed at the sound of Clay's voice and buried his face in the crook of Clay's neck bashfully.
“Let's go eat.” Clay yawned as his stomach rumbled loudly.
Experiment A had already moved on to solid foods like peas, mashed potatoes and other such things, his sharp stalker teeth made chewing food quite easy.
“What's on the menu?” Clay hummed to himself as he entered the lab, however he stopped short after entering the next room. Clap-Trap was spinning about the room frantically, completely covered in a white powder, if he hadn't been shrieking annoyingly, Clay would have mistook him for a different robot. Experiment A looked up after hearing the robot talk to himself in a panic.
“What is going on?” Clay didn't know if he wanted to scream or cry when he noticed the fridge completely overturned.
“AH! M-master Cla-ay.” The robot seemed to be on a fritz as he turned to face the scientist. “I was trying to-o ma-ake you br-break-break-breakfast.” little sparks of electricity sprang from the Clap-Trap as he attempted to explain himself. Clay pinched his brow, it would take too long to get the whole story from the malfunctioning robot. Judging from the smoking toaster, crushed carton of eggs, spilled milk, and flour covered robot, Clap-Trap had done what he was best at.
“Is there anything left in the fridge or did you somehow manage to completely destroy all the food?” Clay grumbled, he was running his fingers through A's coal black hair as a stress reliever. Clap-Trap didn't answer, just stared blankly at Clay while sparks shot out from him. The tired scientists stomach growled again and he knew he wouldn't be able to ignore it, plus, 'A' was already starting to chew on his coat collar.
“You're lucky I'm too hungry to deal with you right now. I'm going down to the cafeteria for breakfast, have this cleaned up when I get back and I'll take you to Tabitha, you've clearly fried...something.” Clay gestured towards him in a defeated manor. Clap-Trap gave a sorry excuse of a salute and turned to fetch a broom.
Clay slipped on his work boots and headed for the lab door, he swallowed a gulp. He knew that leaving the lab meant he would have to...see other people. He cringed at the thought. A's tail swished happily as he rested contently in Clay's arms, not a care in the world. However, Clay's mind was racing with countless absurd scenarios. He could see it now, he would get down to the cafeteria and there would be the board of directors, table and all, resting in the middle of the room enjoying breakfast. They would see him and immediately dub him a failure because Experiment A was just too darn cute to be an assassin, yes, something terrible like that was going to happen, he could feel it. Clay looked back at the messy lab, it was out of the question to leave 'A' behind, no, he would have to go with him. Clay quickly grabbed a Hyperion cap hanging idly near the door and plopped it on the child's head, maybe it would help him blend in.
'A' laughed under the brim of the hat, not bothering to move it out of his face. Clay took a deep breath and let the lab doors slide open,
“Here goes nothing.” He muttered and stepped into the hall. The air from the hall was cool and refreshing compared to the stuffy lab, but it did nothing to put the scientist at ease. He was constantly looking over his shoulder as he hurried down the halls and through corridors.
“No! This elevator is full!” Clay barked at a janitor as he tried to board the small room with Clay. The poor janitor watched Clay curiously as the doors slowly shut. Clay wasn't taking any chances, he felt like everyone was out to get 'A' and he had to protect him at all costs.
Clay's heart rate was through the roof as he neared the cafeteria. Already he could hear the loud clammer of voices echoing down the hall. Sure enough the room was jam packed with Hyperion workers, all bustling about with tray of food. A line for the buffet was wrapped around the room and Clay reluctantly slipped into the back.
It wasn't long before a few prying eyes fell on the squirming bundle in his arms. Clay took a quick glance down, horrified to see the hat was completely gone, 'A' must have thrown it down the hall somewhere. In an attempt to cover the experiment, Clay pulled the end of his lab coat up and tucked it around 'A'. The child cooed happily, snuggling into the soft white fabric.
“What is that thing?” He hard a person ahead of him in line mutter.
“I don't know, those scientists are always breeding some sort of abomination.” Another responded.
“Abomination!” Clay thought, shows what they knew, his experiment was perfect. Clay looked down at A's smiling face as if to remind himself of how adorable 'A' was. Clay hugged the child closer, wanting to shield him from the room, from everyone. As the line grew smaller and Clay neared the buffet, 'A' began to grow impatient. He wriggled and squirmed until his eyes fell on the food, and immediately he attempted to get down.
“S-stop.” Clay whispered as 'A' tried to lean out of his grasp, hands opening and closing in a grabbing manner towards the delicious smelling food. “Be patient, it's almost our turn.” Clay calmly stated, trying his best not to drop him. The other workers around them had backed up, giving them room. They didn't know what the child was capable of, he was clearly...different.
'A' whined in irritation, his tail flicked, he wanted down now. Frustrated he leaned back in to Clay, nuzzling his face in the crook of his neck. Clay was about to let out a sigh of relief when all of a sudden he was pained with a sharp sting in his neck. He let out a yelp of surprise and the people behind him gasped, taking another step back. Instinctively Clay reached his hand to his neck, trying to push A's head away. Finally 'A' let go, leaving small punctures in Clay's skin. Clay began to panic, why was 'A' biting him? Was the bite going to be infected? What would everyone else think? Clay was beyond embarrassed, he darted out of line and raced for the nearest restroom.
Clay quickly locked himself in the single stall bathroom, one hall over from the cafeteria. Once inside he immediately set 'A' on the floor and hurried to the mirror. There was a small bite mark on his neck which was dripping a faint amount of blood, 'A' had bit him, he could hardly believe it. Clay held a damp paper towel to his neck then turned bitterly towards the experiment who was now standing trying to reach for the door knob.
“A!” Clay barked loudly causing the experiment to flench as he slowly turned to face the scientist.
“You...you BIT ME!” Clay yelled, pointing towards the mark on his neck as he battled a mix of emotions swelling inside him. However, the sight of small tears brimming over A's eyes was enough to make his heart break. Clay sighed heavily, sinking to his knees, he let his head drop for a moment as he tried to wrap his mind around everything. 'A' wobbled over sniffling and crawled into Clay's lap, he stood on his knees and leaned up to plant a kiss on the bite mark. Clay flenched, pulling away and setting 'A' on the floor in front of him.
“A...look you can't...you can't bite me.” he wiped the tears from the child's face, pausing when he heard A's stomach growl.
“I know you're hungry but I can't let you just grab everything up there.” Clay knew Experiment A probably had no clue what he was saying, but he continued anyways, hearing his own reasoning was comforting in a way.
“I can't let you down in the cafeteria, you could get lost or hurt or picked up by another worker, anything could happen!!” Clay exclaimed, patting A's head. He didn't get a chance to finish when there was a sudden knock on the bathroom door.
“Occupied!” Clay shouted impatiently.
“Clay is that you?” He heard a somewhat familiar voice call from the other side. Clay stood and opened the door just a tad,
“Patterson?” He was a bit shocked to see one of his under-workers.
“Yeah, are you ok? I saw what happened in the cafeteria.” Patterson rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Clay sighed, Patterson was one of the few members of his team that didn't make him completely livid, but something about the mans personality reminded him of a Clap-Trap and that itself was just annoying.
“Yeah, I'm fine.” Clay moved the close the door back but Patterson quickly put his foot in the small crack.
“Wait, I went and got you a tray of food if you want to come back to the cafeteria and eat it.” Clay raised a brow at him, opening the door a bit more.
“There's no way i'm going back in there, everyone would be staring at me after what happened.” Clay held his hand back up to cover his neck.
“No no, everyone has practically forgotten. Almost right after you left a fight broke out over the last doughnut. Both workers were carried out on stretchers.” Patterson explained. Clay gave it a moments thought, he turned to glance at 'A' who was holding his stomach pitifully.
“Oh alright, but i'm not staying long.” Clay grumbled. He scooped 'A' back up and followed Patterson back to the cafeteria.
“Is that the experiment?” Patterson asked after they began down the hall. He leaned toward 'A' with a gleam in his eye.
“Yes.” Clay snapped, letting 'A' reach out and pat the other scientist on the face.
“Wow he's grown crazy fast. When do you think we'll start the project back up?” Patterson wasn't trying to be nosey, he just desperately wanted to know when he would be allowed to work again. So far he and part of the team had gone a whole month or so without any news or updates.
“I don't know.” Clay grumbled, he wasn't in the mood to discuss it. As they re-entered the cafeteria, Clay found that Patterson had been right, nobody seemed to notice him at all. He felt somewhat relieved until the other scientist lead him to a table where other members of his team were sitting, even the Director of Development. Clay paused, there was no way he was about to eat breakfast with these traitors. He was about to turn tail and run when 'A' practically leapt from his arms and climbed towards the tray of food left on the table.
“My word, the development enhancer has really done it's stuff!” The director exclaimed as Clay grabbed 'A' back up and sat reluctantly at the table. “I see his teeth have grown in now too.” The director cast a sly glance toward the bite mark on Clay's neck. Clay rolled his eyes and adjusted 'A' on his lap before he grabbed up the clean spoon. He was going to eat as quick as he could then get the heck out of there, but apparently 'A' had other plans. He slipped out of Clay's lap yet again and hoisted himself on top of the table where he could better reach the food.
“Already climbing and walking I see.” the director pulled out a journal and immediately started taking notes, Clay hated this. He gestured for 'A' to come back, but the experiment had already grabbed a handful of hash browns and was happily eating them from the middle of the table. Clay sighed, he gave up and opted for eating as well, the sooner they were done, the sooner they could go.
“You know I was really worried there. I thought you had abandoned the project because it was too much for you. I even had the lab on stand by to create another embryo just in case. But it seems I underestimated you Clay.” The director patted him on the back, it was all Clay could do not to scoot away.
“Does this mean the project is back on?” Another scientist asked. Clay was about to answer but the Development Director beat him to it.
“Of course!” He exclaimed, and all at once the scientists stood and leaned in closer to the table. They pulled note pads and rulers from their pockets, taking measurements and jotting them down. Experiment A laughed and giggled at they played with his arms legs and hair.
Clay tried to ignore them and eat his food, but when the director flipped 'A' over and attempted to unfold his wings, Clay decided he had had enough. He tried to grab 'A' away, but the huddle of scientists was too thick. Irritated, Clay grabbed a boiled egg from his tray of food,
“A! Want an egg?” He called loudly over the hullabaloo of the scientists. There was a squeal of delight and 'A' all at once burst from the huddle and Clay quickly scooped him up, handing him the egg. He grabbed a bagel from the tray and crammed it in his lab coat pocket, before turning to the disappointed group at the table.
“What about the project?” The director asked, his arms crossed bitterly.
“As much as I would love to get on with the project, A's just not ready yet. The project will resume again, but not until I say so.” Clay answered and turned from the table. He immediately felt a weight lift of his shoulders as he left the cafeteria behind, no longer having to deal with his ignorant team.
Clay wasted no time in returning back to his lab, however, even there he didn't find the solitude he was longing for. As he entered he let out a loud grown when he spied Mason on the far end of the room looking down at his passed out Clap-Trap. The room was still a complete mess and Clay could only guess the poor robot had more damage than he had assumed.
“Clay, what have you done to this poor robot?” he nudged it with his foot before turning to face the scientist. Clay didn't answer as he placed 'A' in a johnny jump up hanging from one of the door frames. Clay knew there wasn't any point in keeping the jumper now, but he just needed a place to keep 'A' while he cleaned up.
“To what do I owe this...visit?” Clay tried not to roll his eyes as he turned to face his boss. Mason helped himself to a seat, turning the stool in such a way that he could clearly see Clay and the experiment.
“What? I can't come visit my favorite scientist?” he chuckled. This time Clay did roll his eyes and took a seat across from his boss.
“Don't push it. Now what do you really want?” Clay grumbled. Mason sighed, Clay was in one of those moods again, and judging from the state of his lab, his life was a current mess.
“The board is...concerned.” Mason began. “And they have every right to be. You took the experiment and stopped the whole project for more than a month. They're starting to question your ability to lead this project.” Mason laid it all out. Clay was quiet, a feeling of panic rising inside him. Mason continued,
“They want to have a meeting with you in exactly two months.” Clay let his head fall into his hands, groaning with irritation.
“Aaaaand, you have to bring the experiment with you.” Mason added. Clay shot up, his skin paling.
“B-bring 'A' to the board! But...but we haven't started any of the actual process of honing his abilities to be that of an assassin.” Clay began to panic.
“I don't think you need to worry, kid seems assassin like to me.” He pointed behind Clay towards Experiment A who had climbed up the door frame and was now hanging by the claws on his feet as he pulled at the clamp holding up the Johnny Jumper.
“A!” Clay exclaimed, darting from his chair and holding his arms out to catch the child, however the only thing to fall was the clamp which clattered to the floor with a thud.
“G-get down!” Clay stomped his foot and pointed to the ground. 'A' giggled and let go of the frame. His wings unfolded acting like a parachute as he slowly drifted down into Clay's arms.
“See, you'll be just fine. I'm sure they'll be impressed with his progress.” Mason assured him. Clay turned but didn't get a chance to respond as both their attention turned toward the passed out Clap-Trap who suddenly shouted loudly,
“It's Partaaaaaay tiiiiime!” The robot hopped up, spinning around in a confused display of sparks and flour. Then, just as quickly as he had sat up, he smacked into one of the counters and fell right back over motionless yet again.
“I see you have quite a bit on your hands right now.” Mason stood, he knew he had over stayed his welcome. Not that he was welcome to begin with.
“Y-yeah.” Clay practically whispered, trying to fathom how in Hyperion he was going to clean up that mess.
“Bye...” Mason waved to little 'A', “say bye to uncle Mason!” He cooed in an affectionate manner, leaving as 'A' waved towards him. Clay let out another heavy sigh,
“Well A,” he held the child up in front of himself, “looks like we'll have to pay Tabitha another visit.”
Authors Note:
Is there no moment Clap-Trap can't ruin, no mess he can't make? I think not.
Let's hope poor Clay doesn't have an anxiety attack ;) ( I wouldn't, I swear).
ns 15.158.61.20da2
