Contributions to society

chapter 1: contributions to society (part 3 of 3)

Leading the charge was a relatively new company called Universe Foods. It was a fast-food chain, but it had since garnered massive respect from the public eye, firstly for being so charitable, secondly for being so supportive in the wake of Supergirl's disappearance, thirdly for being a "human-run enterprise with a strong belief that aliens CAN make great contributions to society" and fourthly for having really wonderful burgers. It would never quite gain the mainstream attention that McDonalds had as a cultural icon, but Universe Foods quickly dominated the country and every person who ate there was all in agreement that the burgers were sublime. Or, as the cheesy tagline of the restaurant said, they were "OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!"
"I can't believe you got us Universe Foods," Alex remarked one night as Winn stopped by with a bagful of burgers and meat pies. She was still grieving terribly over the loss of her little sister, but she was trying to put on a brave face for everyone else.
"What?! It's a new place and it's done so much in Supergirl's memory that I think it's only fair we give it a try," he replied with a sad smile.
"Big Belly Burger was better," James replied, but his voice was hollow, no humor at all in it.
"Just shut up and eat," Winn sighed as he tossed everyone their burger. J'onn, Eliza and Cat were also in attendance, though none of them were even speaking. As much as some of them hated to admit it, though, the burgers were pretty good.
"It is delicious," Alex admitted as she took another giant bite of her sandwich.
"Rip off McDonalds," Cat replied, but no one missed how hungrily she was devouring her own dish.
"Wonder what's in it?" Eliza mused sadly. She still sometimes felt too sick and sad to eat, but for the sake of her remaining daughter, she ate. If only Kara could've been here... She would've loved these burgers! In fact, she probably would've downed a dozen of them and still be hungry for more! A bittersweet tear rolled down Eliza's cheek as she thought about her younger daughter.
But while the rest of the world grieved, two men were more than happy with how things were going.
"How are productions looking today, Lenny?" Lex asked over a prison phone call.
"Excellent, sir!" Lenny replied. "Your cloning machine is working like a charm! I don't think supplies are going to go down any time soon."
"Excellent," Lex replied, then a sickening smile spread across his face, which he buried in his sleeve so that none of the watching guards could see.
"Let me hear it, will you?" he asked.
"Sir?" Lenny faltered.
"I want to hear how production is going," Lex replied.
"But sir, I don't think that's such a good idea," Lenny frowned a little. He knew that Lex was probably surrounded by at least 15 guards.
"Do it anyway!" Lex replied, a dangerous edge creeping into his voice.
"Yes sir!" immediately, Lenny's thoughts of defiance were wiped clean out of his mind. He had been standing outside when talking to Lex but, at Lex's behest, he entered back into the factory.
All at once, Lex was met with a heavenly symphony to rival even the likes of Beethoven and Mozart. He could hear whirring, grinding machines. Metal on metal. The hiss and growl of fire and heat. He could hear an oven creaking open and shut constantly. He could hear the sound of flesh being cut and burned into. He could hear sizzling. He could hear clattering, clanking, whirring and churring. He could hear roaring and moaning. But his favorite sound of all was of the raw and desperate screams and sobs that raised even over the machinery and heat. Thousands of high-pitched screams of pain and pleas for mercy permeated the air and every single voice sounded exactly the same. Every single voice sounded exactly like hers, like Kara Danver's.
Coming out of a small black box on one side of the factory was an endless stream of Kara clones, all naked and afraid, panicked as their first sight of this earth was nothing but death, despair, pain and mutilation. They were quickly held in place by claw arms as they were moved onto a conveyor belt made to burn them alive in the flames of an oven or chop them up into bloody pieces or string them up by their ankles or throats before shoving the charred and chopped up remains into packages sent to be shipped out across the world under the label of Universe Foods. The screaming and crying were so loud, but Lex reveled in it. He liked hearing the Kara clones squeal and cry out and weep. He liked their panic.
"Ahhhh!" Lex sighed in pleasure as Lenny continued to hold the phone towards the chaos. He could hear the Kara clones begging for help or mercy, begging for the pain to stop. He could hear them screaming and wailing in panic and confusion. They didn't understand what was going on. But how could they? They were only, at most, 10 minutes old. And that was about how long any of them ever lasted before the beautiful machinery in Lex's horrible scheme cut their lives and bodies short. Even after the phone had been yanked away from his ear, Lex continued to revel in the sound of his enemy's dying gasps and wails. In an endless round, Kara would die over and over again for all eternity, her body being used to strengthen and power humanity.
"Who said that aliens couldn't make a contribution to society?" Lex asked himself with a small, satisfied smile. Then he curled back up into his little bunk and fell asleep, dreaming of all the profit his new company would continue to turn for tens years and tens years to come.