So Called Human Evolution

"Siiigh…"

Sora huffed in exhaustion. Why couldn't these so-called geniuses ever be normal? The young man leaned against the wall. After pulling out his phone, he checked the time.

A few minutes passed as he caught up on some things. He could slightly hear Lex and Alice conversing through the door. It didn't take long for Sora to realize he wasn't alone.

The one and only assistant was also leaning against the wall, scrolling on her smartphone. Her high heels gently tapped on the marble floor due to boredom. She couldn't help but loiter around.

"...So you're just going to stand here the whole time?" He spoke in a playful manner.

Mercy looked up from her smartphone. An unimpressed expression could be seen on her face. She only glanced at him before focusing on her touchscreen.

'Cold.' He thought.

Oh well. It looks like this would be a long wait. Sora threw his arms up for a powerful stretch. There was nothing else to do but check his phone.

A yawn escaped his lips. Five more minutes passed before he looked out the window. The group of reporters were still there. How long did they plan on waiting? Geez, they need to get a life-

"It looks like you're doing the same thing. Standing around."

Sora's train of thought derailed. A smile tugged at his lips upon realizing what Mercy had just said. He casually walked over to an uncomfortable looking bench and sat right in front of her.

"I'm not standing around. I'm sitting. See?" He gestured as if she was dumb.

Mercy wasn't amused. She only rolled her eyes before returning to her phone. The conversation was over. Unfortunately, Sora didn't get the memo. Barely anything in this universe could intimidate him.

"You must be addicted to your phone." He spoke slowly.

"....................." She didn't respond.

"...Hello? Anybody in there?"

"....................."

"Soooo much work, right? Being a personal assistant must be soul crushing…It should be fine though. Lex loooves to give away gummy bears."

The lazy man did his best to annoy her. It was only a matter of time before she cracked. And he was right.

"Siiiiiiiigh. Sora Lockhart, is there something you need?" She finally asked.

"Me? What do you mean?"

"What do you want?"

"...Who?"

"You!"

"What about me?"

"Siiigh."

There was another moment of silence. Mercy had already started to regret saying anything. Sora's grin eventually fell. His gaze became serious. The annoyed woman immediately felt the shift.

"...I'd like a tour of the place."

"A tour? You don't seem like you would care about that."

"Well, you're right. I don't want a tour. I want a SECRET tour!" He exclaimed.

"What?"

"...I'm sure you've done your research on us already. Why don't you show me where all that money we send is going?"

Once his point got across, Mercy's eyes widened slightly. He wanted to see classified projects! It caught her off guard, and she didn't know what to decide.

"That's not authorized." She finally said.

"Think of it this way. I'm going to see it with you or without you. Which one is it?"

"You wouldn't even be able to do that."

"...Why don't you ask him?"

"Right now? You KNOW he's literally busy right now!"

"Scared? Text him."

Mercy did as she was told. Not even a minute later, she'd already gotten a response. Her expression became one of disbelief. It soon changed to wariness. The way she looked at Sora changed.

"Let's be quick about it. I don't want to take all day." The sleepy man couldn't help but yawn.

"Right."

Without wasting any more time, they headed toward the elevators. There were three to choose from. Mercy led him to the one on the far right. She then clicked a series of floors, which brought up another panel of buttons. They were all underground floors.

"Project Meta is on B6." Mercy explained.

She pressed the button. It didn't take long for them to reach the right floor. As soon as the doors slid open, Sora raised an eyebrow.

Scientists were moving back and forth, working with vigor. Some were writing things down and typing into computers. But that wasn't all. Multiple pods were stationed throughout the lab. Each one was filled with water and unidentifiable creatures.

The young man scanned everything as he walked in. Some of the scientists gave Sora a weird look, but upon seeing Mercy, they returned to their antics. The young Lockhart explored with the assistant on his heel.

"The majority of these experiments are failures and incomplete. We ARE on the cusp of completing it though." Mercy explained.

Each mutated creature grew more and more complete the further he went in. At the edge of the room, a single human was in the pod. He seemed to be a kid, with looks reminiscent of a certain hero. This youngling was pretty skinny though. It didn't seem to be finished growing.

"This is the closest we've gotten so far. We believe our hard work will finally bear fruit. Everything has been stable with this one."

"Oh? I see." Sora commented.

'Looks like Superman will have a new son in the future. It's still none of my concern, but I wonder if I should pull the plug.' He thought.

He honestly used this tour as a way to get his point across. Lex made the wrong decision by exposing his knowledge of Sora. The sleepy man wanted to teach him his place. It wasn't as if Lexcorp needed their money, but Sora could surely ruin an experiment that Lex truly cared about.

The Lockharts would stop funding their half, and pull the plug. Lex would obviously continue it with his own funds. Unfortunately, the whole lab would 'mysteriously' vanish. That's if Sora really felt like it though.

"Mnn…We'll see." He muttered.

It depended on how the situation played out. The young man knew he'd find out soon enough. There was no way Lex would cut all contact. Especially after what he said earlier.

"Pardon?" Mercy didn't hear his quiet mutter.

"...I said not bad. We can head back though. The meeting should be over by now."

"Alright."