Project: MI
Chapter 13

The door to Jamie’s room opened and Monique stepped inside. “All finished,” she reported to Beth as she swung her eye toward her. The girl glanced over at Jamie and she scrunched her mouth up in disappointment. “Still asleep?”

“I’m registering neural activity consistent with REM,” Beth replied, a touch of a sarcastic tone in her voice. “And there’s the fact that he’s still lying in bed, so yes. He’s still asleep.”

Monique chuckled and closed the door behind her. “I’ll pretend that you were being serious.” Pulling out her cell phone she flipped it open. “His parents are late,” she said, typing a quick message. Sitting in her charger on Jamie’s desk, Beth swiveled her electric eye around to face the pale-faced heroi and blinked twice.

“They often are. They are…quite busy with their work.”

“Is that a fact?” Leaning back against the window, Monique stretched and yawned before continuing over to Jamie’s desk and setting the Companion down in her battery charger. “Well, just so long as he wakes up before they get here. I’d like to have a little pow-wow with him again without having to sneak back out unnoticed.”

“I didn’t think that would be difficult for you,” Beth said.

“Only when no one notices any inconsistencies.”

“I see…” Beth blinked twice thoughtfully. “Shouldn’t you take a…more human-like form for when Jamie wakes up? So you don’t surprise him?”

Monique turned her gold-ringed gaze up at the Companion Device and smirked wickedly. “I suppose that I could take on a more pleasing shape. What kind of girls does he like?” She glowed and at once her body became taller, more feminine and shapely. Still grinning, she leaned forward and jutted her chest out, her neckline showing off the soft swell of a pair of breasts. “Or does he prefer boys?” she continued, hair spilling down her shoulders.

Beth’s electric eye winked on and off in rapid succession, as though in panic.

“Um…I…I think he’s a little too young for…for that sort of thing! Can’t…Can’t you…um…just…look like someone a little more…ah…normal?”

“What’s normal?” Monique asked, folding her arms over her chest and stretching a shapely leg out. Not wanting to be entirely insensitive to the Companion, she glowed again and her body collapsed a little, reducing her physique while retaining a semblance of her curves. “You’re making a lot of fuss about bodies.”

If Beth had eyebrows, she would have frowned at the metamorph. Instead she opted for a single, delayed blink. “Part of my job is to protect Jamie to the best of my abilities.”

“So what’s dangerous about a little skin?” Monique asked, still grinning. “Are you afraid I might mess him up?”

“Do you think you might not? How old are you anyway? I’ve run a scan on you several times and I can’t seem to determine your age.”

“Old enough for there to not be a problem. Don’t worry about your scanners. I blame my heroi genes and the fact that I can look however I want. I can be any age at any time as long as I have the energy for it.”

“Old enough to…” Beth blinked.

“Like I said, don’t worry about it,” Monique giggled. Her eyes glanced over at Jamie while he slept on his bed before looking back at Beth. A playful light danced within her amber irises. “Kind of cute isn’t he?”

Beth’s eye narrowed to a needle-fine point. Monique couldn’t help but laugh, holding her stomach and doubling over at the Companion.

“What’s so funny?” Beth asked in a low, dark tone.

“You,” Monique replied, pointing a finger in the AI’s direction. “You’re like a mother hen. You don’t have to worry about me, okay? Will that calm your circuits?”

“In what way don’t I have to worry about you? Your age or what your…your…amorous intentions are?”

“I actually meant that I don’t mean him any harm, but I suppose that will do also.” Monique flashed the AI another smirk, causing Beth’s electric eye to have another delayed blink.

A low moan interrupted whatever they might have said next. Turning toward the source of the sound, Monique saw Jamie shifting in his bed.

“Is he awake?” Beth asked this time, her eye swiveling toward him. Pushing away from the wall, Monique walked over to the boy’s bed, her expression serious, and gently brushed a finger across his forehead. Jamie reflexively stiffened from her touch and shivered. A slight glow manifested around his body before receding.

Jamie groaned once more and slowly cracked his eyes open. Smiling with relief, Monique turned her attention down to him. Still disoriented, the boy could only stare at her pale face before, finally, something clicked in his head. Giving a startled cry he tumbled off her lap and his bed, striking the floor with a heavy, bone jarring thud.

“Ah!” Beth began, shaking in her battery charger as he rolled over onto his back and scrambled to his feet, backing away from the albino-skinned girl. With a hurt look on her face, Monique stood up and cocked her hip to one side, placing one hand on it.

“Glad that you’re okay,” she said, tilting her head to one side, giving him a once-over with her amber-eyes. “Now, if you don’t mind…”

She took a step toward him, and in his disorientation, Jamie scrambled backward. Light flickered around his body once more and Monique grunted, blinking as she found herself bumping against an invisible wall.

“Un…?” She backed up uncertainly and reached out, splaying her fingers against the unseen, unmoving force. “I…see. Hey, I know that we got off to a rocky start, but…”

“Get out!” Jamie shouted, trying to get to his feet. Unfortunately, his movements were unsteady and, disoriented as he was, not fully aware of the edge of the desk that hung above him. His head banged into it with a sickening crunch and he collapsed back down, white stars exploding across his vision. Monique watched with a mixture of amusement and embarrassed disappointment as a pen rolled off the desk and clattered to the floor between Jamie’s legs.

“Ow…” the boy groaned, rubbing the top of his head.

Well… Monique pressed her hand against the invisible wall, finding that it remained intact. …at least he didn’t lose his concentration. I guess all would-be saviors have problems like this that the history books don’t say anything about.

“I come here to help and you want me gone,” she began, picking up the threads of conversation. Jamie looked up at her with a glare, his mind starting to stumble its way out of its fog.

“You were the one who attacked me in the bathroom, weren’t you? And you jumped me downstairs.”

“If I was really such a bad person, you wouldn’t be here right now,” Monique remarked. “Look, I’m here to help you! I know that’s hard to believe but…” She pressed her lips together into one thin line. “Look, what can I do to get you to believe me?”

A bead of sweat crawled down Jamie’s face. He could feel his arms and legs shaking. He placed his hands on the floor to steady himself. “By getting out of here! I don’t want to see you again!”

“I…can’t really do that. You’re in danger and…a lot depends on you staying alive.”

Jamie’s mouth dropped open, a combination of angry denial and frank curiosity. Special? Him? That sounded like the biggest lie imaginable, and yet…a part of him wanted to believe, or at least listen to what she meant by that.

Warmth suddenly began to flow from his nose and Jamie wiped at it, surprised to find blood on his hand. “Ah…?” he began, his voice little more than a whisper at the sight.

Blood.

It made him feel sick to see blood, ever since he was a child. Back when his brother died, he had a horrible nightmare about being surrounded by the thick, bubbly, hot substance; drowning in it…

The shaking of his hand went from bad to worse and he clutched his head in sudden pain, the light around him vanishing. Monique dropped down in front of him just then, a Kleenex in one hand from his nightstand. She closed it around his hand and quickly mopped it up before dabbing it at his face.

“You’re hemorrhaging a little,” she said. For an instant, her expression reminded him of his mother, the way she was before the accident with his brother. “You’re burning too much energy. You don’t know how to micromanage your resources yet.” She paused and withdrew her hand. “I…can teach you a little. So you can protect yourself. Have fewer accidents. Would that help you trust me a little?”

At once Jamie’s anger returned and he brushed her hand away from him. “Why does it matter to you?” he demanded hotly. “Why am I so freakin’ important?” His head snapped over to his Companion. “Beth! Call the cops!”

“She’s keeping me from doing so,” Beth replied regretfully. Jamie felt his heart plunge into his stomach, but no more so than what she said next. “Jamie… I…think you should listen to what she has to say.”

“No… No way. She got you?”

Stupid! I’ve been out for how long? This girl could’ve reprogrammed her! I… I can’t trust anyone anymore… He swallowed, reaching a decision. I’ve got to get out of here.

Savagely, Jamie surged upward and jumped, causing Monique to jerk backward in surprise, giving him a clear path past her. His mind sought out his powers, or rather the rough feeling of them that he found whenever they activated, but unfortunately he not only didn’t find them, but his shaky legs gave out on him almost immediately upon landing behind the girl. The world swam and distorted around him as waves of nausea overwhelmed him, and in the next moment he found himself barely holding himself up from the floor, gasping harshly.

“Jamie!” he heard Beth shout in exclamation. He felt Monique’s arms close around him and steady him.

“What are you doing?” she asked her voice full of worry. “I’m not going to…”

“Get…out!!!”

He didn’t know if it was the tone in his voice, or the light that flickered on and off around him as he struggled to figure out how to activate his powers—he couldn’t remember wanting them so badly than now—but he felt her hands pull back from him. Breathing heavily he turned his head to find her backing off, arms raised in a placating gesture. He tasted warm copper—more blood—as it dripped down around his mouth.

“All right,” Monique said, amber eyes wide and worried. “If…that’s how you want it. I’ll still be around though, in case you change your mind.” Turning, she made her way over to the boy’s window and pushed it open with a grunt. She paused and glanced over at Beth.

“The ball’s in your court for now,” she said to the Companion Device. With that, her Q-Field flashed around her body and she transformed into a small sparrow. Quickly flapping her wings she deftly exited the room and was gone.

Finally…

At that, Jamie felt the strength go out of his arms, and it took everything he had left to turn himself over onto his back. He sniffed. His mouth was smeared crimson, leaving him to wonder at what sort of nightmare he must look like right now.

“Jamie,” began Beth tentatively. “Are you all right?”

“Great,” Jamie muttered in response, though more out of habit than anything else, as concern about what Monique did to his Companion was now ever in the back of his mind. “Just…great.”

He half-imagined Beth’s eye winking in her usual manner whenever she was upset and stressed.

“I don’t know if we can trust her,” the AI began after allowing him to rest for a moment. “But there is definitely something going on that I believe she has brought to light. About the people who make your medicine, and…about you. Jamie, she said that you’re being watched. That any information I send out about you is being edited so that no one notices what’s happening. Your medicine… It’s like someone wants you to fully become a heroi and…she said something about you being an…M. I’m currently checking my data base for more information but…do you have any idea what she means by that?”

Jamie cracked open his eyes and stared exhaustedly at the ceiling. Right now he didn’t care about whatever that girl told Beth. With great effort he pushed himself up to a sitting position, took a careful breath and stood up. His head swam and his balance wavered, but once it became clear that he wasn’t going to fall over and die he staggered over to the window—clumsily tripping on his desk chair as he did so. Taking hold of the window it he slid it shut. He leaned on the windowsill, taking deep, careful breaths in an attempt to calm himself.

He looked over at Beth and flinched away from her electronic gaze.

“Jamie…” she began. “What can I do to help?”

Her pleading tone was heartbreaking. But he couldn’t be sure about what Monique did to her, even if he asked.

“She’s a computer. The thought hurt. In the year that he knew her, she was never just a computer to him. Now however…

Clenching his eyes shut, he said, “Justin. C-Call Justin. I need to talk to somebody!”

Maybe he can help…

Monique, in her sparrow body, lighted on a nearby tree branch and flittered around, adjusting herself so that she faced Jamie’s window. Watching as the boy closed the window and leaned against it, she tilted her head to one side.

I’m not sure why I thought this would be a good idea, she thought sadly. A moment later she took back to the air, losing herself to the blue sky above.

At first, Teruo thought going down to the junkyard was a great idea—brilliant even. He started having doubts when he saw the first military jeep labeled CHC roll by.

Something’s up, he thought, wondering if any of the solders within the vehicle noticed him. That they would recognize him he highly doubted, but all it would take was a reference or even a video recording for someone higher up the chain of command to figure out exactly what he didn’t want anyone to know.

Above him he heard the warbling sound of Guardian Spheres, all flying in the direction of the junkyard. Curious, he decided to follow their path, if only to figure out the mystery and determine if he could still gain access to the place. At the rate CHC forces were arriving, he doubted that he’d be able to.

Oh man, please tell me that this trip isn’t going to be a waste of time… he thought, biting on his lower lip. I’ve waited freakin’ forever for this!

As he drew nearer, his suspicions became increasingly more certain. More Guardian Spheres flew across the sky in a V-shaped pattern, and on one occasion he had to turn his back to the street as another CHC vehicle drove by in order to prevent himself from being recognized. Licking his lips, he thought back to John’s sudden recall back to work.

Was that related? He ran a tongue across his mouth, turning to stare at the back of the vehicle as it retreated down the street. This is bad… Very, very bad… Shouldering his pack, he pressed onward, holding onto the now increasingly obvious foolish hope that things were still going to go his way.

Pretty soon he was creeping from corner to corner, staying as low to the ground as possible—helped by the fact that not only was he very small, but also that the streets fast became vacant. His pace had come to a painstakingly slow crawl.

“This is nuts,” he whispered, ducking into an alleyway just in time to avoid being spotted by more agents driving by—this time in an armored vehicle carrying what appeared to be a light model rail gun. His eyes wide, he waited for the agents to pass before venturing back out. “Just what the heck happened?”

Intel. I need intel.

Creeping back into the alley, he dropped his bag and began digging through it, producing the spider-legged disk from earlier. Pressing on it, it sprouted legs and stood at attention.

“I need you to scout ahead,” he said. “Arial view of the junkyard. Can you do that?”

The device clicked and beeped in response. Its back unfolded and a pair of insect-like wings emerged. Buzzing rapidly, it gently took to the air and rose up. Pulling out a small data pad he turned it on and activated a link with his tiny robot.

“Okay,” he mused as the image came in quickly. “Let’s see…” He shook his head and coughed, feeling a little disoriented by the rapidly retreating ground. “Let’s do a sensor sweep, passive scan.” Pressing a button on the pad, there was a small ping noise. The screen shifted from a real-time video transmission to a base computer layout of the streets. Numbers and colored dots materialized and Teruo winced.

“Old Serpent…” he breathed, running a hand across his mouth. “They’ve got everything including armor support. They don’t want anyone getting in. Just who the heck are they expecting?”

Another ping and more information came in. His eyes rose up in shock.

Adamant-tipped munitions?! Shittin’ ass! Are they expecting to fight a Gamma?! There should be a news report out there if that’s the case! Why haven’t I…? Teruo’s train of thought came to a grinding halt as he slapped himself on the side of his head. Duh! he berated himself. I was watching cartoons all afternoon! I didn’t bother with the news or anything!

Bringing his hand around to his mouth again he tapped a finger on it contemplatively. I can’t let this opportunity go to waste. There has to be a way…but what?

Sighting power lines, it wasn’t long before he got an idea.

Power transformers… he thought, a small smile drawing across his face. Yeah… That should be the ticket… Getting up from the ground, he checked his data pad for the locations of the CHC vehicles and took off to the nearest one.

What should it be…? he wondered, coming to a stop in front of the power line. I could wedge a piece of metal between the transformers to overload them and create an EMP blast. That might do the job. He kicked at the post. Not exactly something I want to do. It’d be noticed, but…it should create a hole in their ranks long enough for me to get through. What other choice is there?

He sighed and took his bag off his shoulder. Unzipping it he began to pull out some tools. Nothing particularly fancy, at least from his perspective, but just something he needed to do the job. One was a simple Avalon Army Knife; foldable blade, pliers, a small screw driver…the basics. He also had duct tape, rubber gloves that he had bought with his allowance some months before following an ‘incident’ dealing with electricity, a hammer…light weight tools and not a single one of them belonging to the kind of high tech. Pulling on the gloves and putting the hammer in his belt loop he began to climb up the pole, placing his feet on its ladder rungs.

After what felt like an eternity, he reached the top. Wiping his brow, he withdrew his hammer and reached down, aiming its metal head between the transformers. It clanged against them, but not where he needed it to be. Biting his lip he clenched his eyes shut. I’m too short… I can’t reach. Maybe if I… Hiking himself up, he tried to angle the hammer’s head closer…

It slipped from his hand and fell between the two transformers. Its clawed end hooked on and wedged itself in as its handle swung down between them. Sparks flew and Teruo nearly fell off in surprise.

“Whoa!” he shouted, his legs swinging as he tried to grab onto the pole. “Got to go! Got to go…now!!!”

He started to descend rapidly down the pole, his feet skipping rungs as he went while above him the transformer sparked and raged.

Upon exploding, Teruo’s grip missed their mark and he plummeted the rest of the way down. He hit the asphalt hard and pain ripped its way through his right leg. He clutched at the limb, gritting his teeth so tightly he was afraid they would crack under the pressure.

“Got…to…go…” he grated, rolling over to his left knee. His right leg protested but he ignored it. He had to get going before CHC personal closed in to fill the gap that he hoped was there.

As if to confirm his hope, a number of Guardian Spheres suddenly crashed down to earth, rebounding off the streets and rolling under parked cars. That was all the motivation he needed. Forcing himself up to his feet, he took off at a half-limp, half-run, pushing himself as hard as he could. He resisted the urge to check his data pad for information. Although he had modified it, he had no idea if it had been enough to resist an EMP, let alone one that went off at point blank range. Never mind that digging it back out of his bag would waste time that he did not have.

Hobbling along at a ragged pace, it wasn’t long before he heard the sound of approaching vehicles. Straining his ears, he gauged their speed and distance and calculated it against the time it would take for him to get to the Junkyard gate.

Swearing under his breath, he threw himself into another side alley and dove beneath a trash dumpster. Grime from an uncounted number of garbage dumps soaked into the fabric of his clothes, but he ignored it. Instead he focused on pulling himself as far along the ground as possible so as to not be seen. As he heard the sound of vehicles screeching to a halt and agents shouting orders as they piled out, he could only wonder how he was going to get out of this one.

That did not go at all as I hoped it would, he thought, grimacing from the pain in his leg. Serpent! This is gonna suck!

Jamie sat at his desk, his head in his hands and still trying to calm down from his encounter with Monique. Try as he might, he found himself unable to do so. Beth sat on her battery charger, watching him.

“Jamie,” she began after several long minutes of watching the boy shudder and try to get a hold of himself. “We need to talk about what happened.”

“I don’t want to talk,” Jamie replied, his voice muffled by his hands. “Can’t you just call the CHC?”

“Jamie, I…” Beth’s eye blinked as she measured her words carefully. “…I don’t know if we can trust the CHC to help here. I… She says that my messages are being intercepted. Part of my update did include something involving communications and transmissions, but I don’t have the equipment to determine how much of what she said is true.”

Her eye glanced away. She was afraid to tell him the other problem—that if they went to the CHC there was a chance he would be executed now that his powers were awakening and growing in power. His display at school was problematic enough, and if her sensor readings of the household were correct he would be in serious trouble if they approached them now. All the worries and fears that the government held about heroi would all come crashing down on Jamie’s head. She feared that, in the worst case scenario, he would break under the pressure and allow his powers to run wild.

The CHC’s files were full of heroi who had this happen.

I have to protect him, Beth thought firmly. His mental health is now my top priority. Maybe… “Jamie, I think you should take your medicine. That girl has kept you from taking it at your scheduled time.”

Jamie’s head rose from his hands, a confused eyebrow raised. Beth’s eye shrank a little at the remaining dried crust of blood around his mouth.

“But…didn’t you say something about my medicine?”

“She said something was wrong with your medicine. That it was replaced with a placebo. It’s…um…how do I explain it? It’s supposed to make you think that you’re better. You’re tricking yourself. I am equipped to monitor your vitals. If what she said is true, I’ll be able to detect it.”

“I don’t get it. If it’s not real, then it wouldn’t be working at all.”

“Like I said, you’d be tricking yourself. That’s the whole point of it. I don’t know for certain how well it would work though on a heroi with developing powers. I’m looking through the medical literature now, but my access is limited as much of it is classified information.” Beth sighed. “Either way, it might be better than nothing right now until we know for sure.”

It was a desperate hope, but a hope that she clung too nonetheless. A placebo could do worlds of wonders in keeping Jamie’s powers under wraps as long as he believed that it still worked…

The boy’s head rose and he grimaced. He didn’t look particularly thrilled at the notion of taking his suppressant, but he got up all the same. Unplugging Beth from her charger, he clipped her to his waist and headed off in the direction of the bathroom. Doubts still plagued him about Beth but right now…right now he needed the familiarity of her presence. As he approached the room with the picture of the rabbit hung on it he paused and stared at it.

“What am I going to do?” he wondered aloud. He hung his head, allowing his hair to hide his eyes. “Jeez… He would know better how to handle this than me.”

And he was just a kid…

All at once Jamie hated himself for the fear, anger, and hesitation that roiled within him. “I told myself I wouldn’t be like this again,” he said, “but here I am, being a coward. Again.” Tears threatened to spill from his eyes. Clenching his teeth he rubbed an arm over his face.

“You shouldn’t tell yourself that,” Beth urged.

“But I am!” Jamie exclaimed, throwing his arm away from his face fiercely. “Justin’s right! A spade is a spade no matter what! Right now…” Bringing his hands back up to his face he took hold of his hair and tugged hard on them. “…I’m a spade. And I promised I wouldn’t be. What the Hel is wrong with me?”

“Jamie! Language!”

In spite of himself, Jamie found himself barking a harsh laugh. It helped to break some of his tension. Sniffing with as much dignity as he could muster he dropped his hands back to his sides and took a shaky breath. “I’ve got to get a hold of myself. I promised…”

The sound of his doorbell ringing broke his train of thought. Spinning around, eyebrow raised, he stood there wondering who could possibly be at the door now. Beth only got a hold of Justin’s voicemail. My folks wouldn’t be home until later. Much later. Could it be Aunt Ann? No, she’s not in town right now…

The ringing of the doorbell told him that the only way he would find out for sure was to actually go downstairs and find out. Rushing down the stairs—and nearly tripping as he did so—he went to the door and unbolted it. With a naivety that ignored the experiences from the past two days he opened the door…

…and found a familiar, purple-furred Cerberus jumping up into his arms, tongues out and already seeking skin to lick.

“Wha…?! Monster! Hey! You’re… Gah!” With a startled cry, the boy tumbled backward in a heap with his Cerberus on top of him, barking happily while it licked him furiously. From the corner of his eye, he saw a dark-haired girl and a woman standing in the doorway, both of whom looked oddly familiar.

“Looks like someone is happy to see you,” said Amanda Baker as she and Kira both observed the scene in front of them.

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