Toad and Plasma made the final check of the pods with a dog as the specimen. It was the third trial run...and third time's a charm. The pods worked perfectly, but Erik had no doubts -- after all, it was his design.
It took about four days to grow the Labrador canines. For a human it should be about the same, if not a little more. Only problem now was they had four exact copies of the same dog, barking away and running all over the place. Erik was a dog-lover but even he could only take so much. He got fed up and demanded they be disposed. Sabretooth grew attached to the active puppies and kept one for himself as a pet but the rest Plasma removed. Sabretooth grew very fond of the black lab and it became his friend. They had many things in common.
Phase one was over with now that the pods were complete. He waited then to hear word from Vamp that the genetic tests were finished and successful. The report finally came late into the night.
Erik was about to head to bed but he was too anxious and impatient to go to sleep. This plan was critical. They had to succeed. He had other ideas and smaller initiatives to implement as well. He would continue to wage his own private war if this failed. Giving up would never be an option.
"Erik..." Vamp walked in. In the few months that he had been here, Erik noticed that Vamp had changed a great deal. The newly acquired knowledge matured his wilder side; it was still there but under control and restraint. On the other hand, Shadow was still a good asset but was too cocky, thinking he was invincible. One day he would get careless, it was only a matter of time before Xavier discovered him there. That is why Erik needed to move this project along as swiftly as possible.
"I've got it," Vamp stated. A smile crossed Erik's face as Vamp went back to the lab. Erik would join him soon but took a moment to bask in triumph. Test subject number one would be inserted and then they'd wait for the results. There was more to do but the complicated and time consuming parts were over. Erik got up from his metal chair and walked to the lab to join Vamp.
Erik left everyone else to sleep. There was nothing to really wake them up for. They couldn't appreciate the importance of such an event.
Vamp took the specimen and entered the mutated DNA cells into the first pod. They'd test this one first and if successful, the rest would be activated. Erik expected a week to ten days for full germination. The true growth results even surprised him.
The next day everyone was in the lab watching over the growing cells, maturing at a faster rate then normal. It wasn't that exciting and the group eventually dispersed to complete other tasks Erik assigned. They had to select their targets and figure out a plan to switch the clones with the originals. There was still much work to be done.
Perhaps it was due to the mutant genes inserted into the DNA, but after about five days the human specimen completed the growing cycle and awoke. He was youthful, muscular, and human. Was he a mutant? His eyes were neon green; that was a difference. They'd have to wait and see. As for now, a new Mr. Paul Karringer was born.
The man was like a child, new to the world. Not able to talk, walk, or control his powers if he had them...he needed programming. Magneto would provide it. Magneto would be the father, teaching him everything he needed to survive in the world. At least in the adult form his brain was at full capacity and teaching would be easy and fast.
Over time, with advanced lessons and constant training, he spoke quickly and understood English. Erik found his mutations to be telepathy and super strength. Controlling both were critical. Telepathy helped the clone to learn a lot about the world, history, and technology through the mind of Erik...his thoughts, dreams, memories, and ideas. Developing loyalty. Physically he turned out fine; he was a mutant, strong and powerful. So far this one was a success, and the plan was working perfectly.
There was no activity recently from the X-Men or a report back from his little spy. Xavier didn't know everything yet, which was good. They knew he was cloning but didn't know when or where he'd strike. When they got tired of waiting, he'd then unexpectedly strike, surprising them all.
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