34: Bon appetit

The sound of sizzling oil along with the aroma of spices and seasonings mixed together began to spread unnaturally, like a tide it invisibly extended through one of the main streets of San Francisco, causing all the pedestrians passing by to suddenly stop, their noses beginning to inhale while their mouths watered uncontrollably.

"That smell seems really good."

"Where is that aroma coming from?"

"I've never smelled anything like this before, should we try it?"

"My mouth is watering just from smelling it!"

Person after person began heading towards a modest restaurant on the corner of the street, a place that mostly went unnoticed on most days, but not today. Today, a wave of almost hypnotized people began walking towards its doors.

Inside the establishment, in a kitchen darkened by shadows, a thing—because it could not be described any other way—was stirring the broth of an enormous pot.

"Only the meat is missing," its whisper was low.

Olive-sized eyes as black as coal looked inside the pot. Its swollen face looked like a deformed mass full of lumps, its pale skin peeling off its body like layers of boiled onion while the boiling steam came out of every pore of its skin with each breath.

Only the torn and tattered suit it wore on its body, which seemed more like a bad parody of what was once the attire of a real cook, was the last remnant of a humanity already lost.

In its left hand was a long kitchen knife, its handle fused with the flesh of its hand in such a way that it seemed it could never let go.

"Hello!? Is anyone here?"

A man, the first to be drawn by the mysterious aroma, looked at the ajar door from which that fantastic smell was coming and couldn't help but swallow.

"Of course! We are open, come in, the food is almost ready..."

The voice was grotesque, a crude imitation of what a human voice would be. For a split second the man hesitated, then the smell returned and his eyes clouded. Slowly he entered, and soon after, more and more people began to follow him.

The man walked through the dark restaurant, looked at the disordered tables and scattered chairs, frowned, and his eyes began to clear. His survival instinct started to surface. Why had he entered?

His nose tingled, and he remembered that smell. Then he looked towards the kitchen and started moving in that direction despite something inside him telling him he shouldn't.

When he entered, a horrible scene greeted him.

The whole place was a mess, absolutely vomit-inducing, with animal remains, garbage, and rotten vegetables scattered everywhere, staining the floor, the walls, and even the ceiling.

And in the center of it all was what could only be called a monster. Its enormous figure, over two meters tall, slowly turned to look at him, its horrible appearance barely hidden by the steam coming from its obese body.

The man felt adrenaline fill his body, and a deep, primal fear quickly began to bloom inside him, making his teeth chatter uncontrollably.

"It's good that you arrived~, the broth is just right. Only the main ingredient is missing."

The man tried to run, but an enormous greasy hand, dripping with oil and steam, moved quickly and grabbed him by the waist.

"No! Help me!"

His screams woke the other people who had entered after him from their trance. Their eyes cleared, and with horror, they saw the man being thrown into the boiling pot, his screams dying along with him.

Then chaos erupted.

"Don't run!, it would be bad if you hurt your bodies~"

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Daniel flew through the air at great speed. According to the report Natasha had given him, Castro Street in San Francisco had descended into chaos when what could only be described as a monster began "capturing" pedestrians. The local police had tried to contain the situation but found it impossible. As promised, SHIELD had been on alert and, noticing the "unnatural" aspect of the incident, had contacted him immediately.

Daniel broke through a cloud causing it to "explode" his superior eyesight quickly focused on the city below him catching a cloud of black smoke billowing from a burning police car, heard gunfire and screams, and soon his eyes found his target. Without hesitation, he dove towards the ground.

Using his super speed, he intercepted the enormous greasy hand that had been about to grab the head of a child who seemed to have tripped while fleeing. His fist shot out without hesitation, striking the monster's ugly face and sending its obese body hurtling backwards, back to where it seemed to have emerged.

"It's Defiant! Defiant has arrived!" The child who had been screaming in terror now looked at him in awe, and Daniel almost thought he saw stars in the boy's eyes.

"Everything is okay now. Do you know where your parents are?" Daniel asked as he helped him up from the ground, never taking his eyes off the spot where he had sent the monster flying.

"Can I have your autograph?!" The boy seemed too excited to answer. Fortunately, a worried voice was heard not far away, and Daniel saw a woman with tears in her eyes running towards them. Without hesitation, he picked up the boy and carried him to her.

"Look, Mom, it's Defiant!" the boy said to his mother, who hugged him tightly. Then she looked at Daniel with gratitude and nodded at him with a smile.

"Yes, honey, it's Defiant."

"Come on, it's better if you move back," Daniel said, and the woman nodded, thanking him once more before running off with her son.

Daniel did a quick search to ensure no one else was nearby. The local police had already begun to surround the area, and he knew SHIELD would be close as well.

Once he was sure everything was clear, he looked towards where he had sent his enemy flying. He could hear it, still alive and undoubtedly angry.

And his thought was correct. Suddenly, an explosion shook the area, and a burst of boiling steam shot out in all directions at high speed.

Seeing this, Daniel didn't hesitate and blew a cold wind that clashed with the steam wave, preventing it from spreading beyond the police perimeter.

"YOU INTERRUPTED IN MY KITCHEN!"

The voice reverberated through the area, sounding strange, guttural, and impossibly deep.

There was an explosion in the air and a Big figure shot towards Daniel, who quickly dodged to the side and prepared his counterattack.

"People are not on the menu!" His fist struck the back of what could only be called a deformed parody of a chef, pressing it into the ground and creating a huge crater.

"Agh!?"

The monster spat out a mouthful of what seemed to be blood, though strangely there were boiled vegetables in it.

Daniel looked at it, then at his fist. Hitting it felt somewhat odd, but he still managed to do significant damage despite not attacking with all his strength. This told him that the monster wasn't too strong, so he should be able to kill it easily. But maybe he didn't need to kill it.

He considered another option. If this monster had the same origin as Greg, capturing it alive could help in his investigation of the M Gene. Of course, there was a possibility that this monster was created differently, but Daniel had a hunch that wasn't the case.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Alright, I've decided. You're coming back with me. I suggest you don't resist because this will hurt you more than it will hurt me if you do," Daniel began to think as he looked around, maybe he should have created that V-element string after all.

For now, some metal should help to wrap this guy up.

"H-how could I leave? My main dish isn't finished yet!" The ground suddenly shook as the monster struggled. Daniel placed a foot on it, making it sink deeper into the ground.

Daniel frowned, thinking about the monster's words. Main dish? What did that mean? Remembering SHIELD's reports and what he knew about how food was served in restaurants, Daniel couldn't help but have a bad feeling.

"You better not have done what I think you did, or my kindness will end," Daniel decided to drop the joviality. He would break the monster's arms and legs and take it like that; he'd find something to tie it up with later.

"APPETIZER!" the monster roared. Daniel felt his senses sharpen, his eyes slowly turning towards the restaurant as he heard something explode inside.

His pupils slightly contracted as he saw a blurry figure shooting towards him at high speed. It moved fast, so fast that Daniel barely managed to step back, dodging its attack.

Daniel frowned as he saw the thing that had tried to attack him. Describing it as merely horrible would be generous.

What had once been a human body now resembled a grotesque parody, more like a heap of flesh mixed with various kitchen ingredients, molded in a way that barely seemed humanoid.

"H-how is it?! My specially prepared Saltimbocca! Its meat is only 13 years old, soft, tender, and at its best point~" the monster stood up, praising its creation with excitement.

Thirteen years old? Daniel looked closer this time, noting the small stature of the thing, an understanding dawning on him immediately and darkening his expression.

His figure vanished, and before the monster could react, Daniel was in front of it, his fist breaking through the air and striking its chest with great force. The flesh exploded, and his arm pierced through the layers of meat, making the blood splatter like a burst water balloon.

"Buagh!?" The monster writhed and tried to move away, making Daniel frown. Why wasn't it dead? He pulled his arm out, covered in dark blood, and saw the hole he had created trying to close on its own, albeit slowly. Clearly, it had only a minor regenerative factor.

Well, this was fine. He had let his momentary anger take over and almost killed his test subject. That would have been a wasted opportunity.

While he was thinking this, his face suddenly received a powerful impact, causing his head to turn slightly to one side. His eyes followed the owner of the fist still on his cheek, noting that it was the so-called "appetizer" that had attacked him.

It was a strong punch, but nothing that could cause real harm. He reached out to grab the second monster's arm, but it disappeared in a blur the next instant.

"More speed than strength, huh?" Daniel followed with his eyes the figure moving around him in circles causing a gale of air to begin to form.

The "Appetizer" lunged at him again but this time Daniel easily stepped aside, his hand lunged like a knife slashing towards his neck, there was no resistance, it pierced his flesh cleanly and the deformed head with no facial features was sent flying through the air, the body like a puppet with the strings cut fell rolling on the ground uncontrollably.

"I-Impossible!" the "chef" screamed in horror, seeing his creation destroyed in an instant.

But his shock was extinguished the next instant as Daniel's fist appeared in front of him, striking with enough force to cave in his face and send his deformed teeth flying.

Seeing the enormous body fall backward, Daniel took a deep breath and blew, causing ice to form and encase nearly the entire monster in a block of ice, except for its head.

Then he took out his phone and made a call.

"What's up, D-boy?" Tony's tired voice came through.

Looking at the fallen monster, Daniel smiled before responding.

"Tell me, have you ever seen a monster?"

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Tony sipped his freshly brewed coffee. He had been happily resting, healing his wounds while watching the news when Daniel suddenly called him. Of course, he had also received an alert from SHIELD, not to mention he had known about the incident almost as soon as it began.

Hacking into the private servers of the international agency had been pretty easy for him, after all.

He had considered putting on his armor and heading there directly. After all, Malibu wasn't too far from San Francisco, but before he could do so, Pepper had stopped him. That woman had been watching over him like a hawk since he decided to leave the hospital.

"Defiant will be able to handle this alone," she had said, and Tony couldn't deny that. So he decided to watch what was happening through surveillance cameras and official reports, whether from the police or SHIELD.

Which turned out to be quite inefficient. High-quality security cameras weren't very abundant at the time, so he only received fairly mediocre images. Although the official reports had been more enlightening, they barely gave him an idea of what was happening.

Maybe he should upgrade the global surveillance systems?

His thoughts were interrupted by Jarvis's voice.

"Defiant is approaching, sir."

Tony decided to put such thoughts aside for later. He walked to his sea-view balcony to watch as Daniel arrived from the skies, carrying a massive block of ice in one of his hands.

No, it wasn’t just a block of ice.

Suddenly, the little appetite he had been feeling vanished upon seeing the horrible thing Daniel had brought with him.

“You just ruined my morning,” Tony said, setting his coffee aside.

“Join the club,” Daniel said, setting his prisoner down on Tony’s balcony.

Tony approached cautiously, looking at the monster with a mix of curiosity and disgust.

“So what am I looking at, D-boy?” Although he had heard reports about what was happening in San Francisco, seeing it in person was vastly different from just hearing a description that barely did justice to the thing before him.

“In simple terms? A monster. In more complicated terms? It’s better if you sit down since it’ll take me a while to explain,” Daniel said, entering and looking around. It was a pretty decent house.

"Jarvis?" he said into the air, and the voice of the A.I. responded.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Defiant."

"The pleasure is mine. Could you do me a favor? Can you project the data on this?" he said, pulling a USB drive from his belt, which he had taken before leaving Smallville.

"I have no problem doing that," the A.I. replied.

"Should I be worried? I need to remind you that Jarvis is not looking for a job," Tony said, watching Daniel give orders to Jarvis. Of course, this was possible because Jarvis knew Daniel was Tony's ally; otherwise, he wouldn't have obeyed.

"Actually, I think I might consider the option. After all, my current salary is not that good," Jarvis said.

That almost made Tony spit out his coffee; he didn't expect Jarvis to remember that.

"Well, I know a good lawyer. Maybe you'd like his number for a labor lawsuit," Daniel said, plugging the USB into a port Jarvis had unlocked in one of the walls. It seemed Tony had designed his house to be able to work anywhere in it.

"No, don't encourage him," Tony complained.

Their conversation was interrupted when Jarvis scanned the data on the USB and projected several screens with its content on them.

Tony looked at the data bewildered. Although biology was not his main field of study, that didn't mean he didn't have some knowledge in it. In fact, he had studied a bit about the human body when he was younger to impress some pretty doctors.

“Look, observe here, this is the normal DNA of a human being.”

Daniel began to explain all his research. He started to tell Tony about Greg, his mutations, and specifically focused on the M Gene. It was an extremely detailed genetics class that lasted for some time.

“With all that said, I think this guy will present the same genetic anomaly,” he concluded and looked at Tony, who seemed thoughtful while observing the data.

The man was truly a genius. He was able to keep up with everything and learn on the fly about the things he didn't know without forgetting anything. Daniel never had to explain something twice.

“This is like taking human DNA and simply tearing it apart until you get the most grotesque and nonsensical form possible and still keep it together. No, more than that, pushing it beyond the logical,” Tony was both interested and astonished while being horrified.

“Yes, and I think the cases of people turning into these things will continue to increase until I find a solution, until we find a solution.” Normally, Daniel wouldn't have involved Tony in this. After all, genetics was not the man's specialty.

But he had no other choice. He had already gone to Lara. That's right, Daniel had already presented the same data to Carol's mother, allowing her to use the much more advanced Kryptonian technology on Greg's remains in the hope of finding a quick solution to fix this problem before it became something bigger.

The woman had been as or more stunned than Tony. She had conducted multiple deep scans but achieved nothing significant. In her words, this was something illogical, something that even advanced Kryptonian science had no way to fix.

That, of course, deeply disappointed Daniel. Part of him thought that with the Fortress at his back, any scientific problem he encountered could be resolved immediately and easily. He was wrong.

This was something that needed something different, a distinct approach. No matter how intelligent and knowledgeable Lara was, she was still just an A.I. and had thus lost that spark, the spark that the real Lara surely had, an unpredictable ingenuity that only the insane or unparalleled geniuses possessed, something that Daniel himself did not have.

To solve an illogical problem, one needs to think beyond all logic. So Daniel had been thinking that to solve this, he needed to gather the most incredible minds this world had.

Starting, without a doubt, with Tony Stark.

“Looks like I'm going to have to study a lot. Well, getting another degree never hurts, right?” Tony said, trying to lighten the mood, though he didn't quite succeed.

After all, they didn't know how many people had this anomaly. Could it be a thousand? Ten thousand? A million? Maybe more? Just thinking about it sent chills down Tony's spine. What would happen if suddenly everyone changed at the same time? What would happen to the world?

Tony didn't expect that becoming a superhero would literally involve fighting monsters, although he supposed he should have expected it.

“How much intelligence do you think they retain? Do you think we can talk to them?” he asked, approaching the captured monster.

“You want to talk to them?” Daniel couldn't help but blink in surprise.

“They were once human, weren't they? We don't know how they changed, what triggered it. Maybe we can find out and start from there.”

Well, that was actually a good idea.

“Well, I don't think this guy is going anywhere.”

Suddenly, Jarol, who had been pretending to be unconscious, felt two fierce gazes upon him. His tiny eyes opened nervously and then with horror as he noticed both heroes looking at him.

Like a pair of wolves eyeing a defenseless lamb.

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Note:

Another chapter, some action to contrast with the more relaxed chapters. Daniel has started seeking help from the most incredible minds in the world. I wonder who he has on that list. I guess we'll find out in the next chapters.

Remember to comment, and if you notice any errors, don't hesitate to point them out. I'll fix them as quickly as I can. Thanks for all the support.

You can already find the next chapter (and several more chapters) of this story on P)atreon (p)atreon com/EmmaCruzader) All the support received is appreciated ;D