Project: MI
Chapter 7

The elevator door dinged as it opened, and Richard Steiner stepped into the laboratory, finding Beck and Anderson together, going over information.

“Final count stands at 5 parts per million,” he overheard Anderson say. “I’d say that he’s done for the day.”

“How is the Grey?” Steiner asked, approaching them. Both men’s heads snapped up, seemingly startled. Beck chewed his lower lip for a second, scowling in Steiner’s direction before finally looking back down to the printouts in his hand.

“Responding remarkably to the assigned stimuli,” he replied, handing the printouts over to Steiner and stepping past him. “His readings were off the charts about an hour ago to the point where you’d think he’d be killing people by just being near them. I almost thought he was a Gamma class at first with how wildly his Q-Particle count was fluctuating.”

“Hmmm…” Steiner smiled as he flipped through the first few pages of the printouts. “Good… Very good. What’s your projection?”

“We only just started poking the monster with a stick and you’re already asking me for a projection?”

“I know you already have one,” Steiner chuckled.

“Fine…” he groaned. “Anderson?” He waved at the other man, who raised an eyebrow.

“He’s already discussed it with you?” asked Steiner.

“Uh…well, it’s all theory-crafting at the moment, sir. His powers will be developing over the course of the next few days. We expect a Q-Particle count on average of 50 to 60 parts per million once he settles down…”

“That’s the minimum estimate, by the way,” Beck pointed out.

“So you expect him to be more powerful, then,” Steiner said.

“He stood at 200 parts per million at maximum,” Anderson interjected. “That’s four times the maximum of some of the strongest recorded Alpha Emergent class. Er…at least when it comes to the average standard. That’s not counting immediate transitions to an unstable classification, such as Gamma or…”

“Yes, yes, we already know the math behind it,” interrupted Beck in annoyance, approaching a chair. Spinning it around, he sat down roughly in it, causing it to creek beneath his impact. “Anyway, he’s going to be strong. He’s going to be everything you’ll ever want from him.”

Steiner carefully eyed Beck’s posture. “But…?” he prompted, already sensing that the man had more to say on the matter. Beck shrugged nonchalantly.

“Worst case scenario, he burns out and dies.”

At this, Steiner jerked, taken aback. Beck noted this as he continued and filed it away for future reference.

“What did you expect?” he asked. “200 hundred parts per million. The kid was radiating like a nuclear reactor on meltdown! I’m surprised he didn’t break every electrical piece of equipment around him…”

“He was in the park when the level began to drop,” Anderson pointed out. “Particle dispersal would have been easily absorbed by the environment with little negative consequences to infrastructure.”

“What’s your point?” Beck shot at him in response. “He was so lit up that he could be detected from orbital satellites. There’s no way that it’s not going to show up in the news. Albion’s news hounds will be making a twitter storm about it, guaranteed.” He shifted in his seat. “They’ll want the kid. You know what’ll happen then, right?”

“Aren’t you being a little dramatic?” Steiner asked, composing himself.

“You didn’t get where you were by assuming the best case scenario, did you?”

“True,” Steiner admitted reluctantly. “How soon can we start the next stage?”

“Not today or tonight. The kid is exhausted by now. Green meat can’t maintain that level of Q-particle radiation and not feel it. He could be invulnerable, super strong, and have all the stamina in the world, but virgins like him collapse like a puddle during the first trimester.”

“Rather unusual and unrelated examples,” observed Steiner, passing the printouts to Anderson and looking past Beck. “Nonetheless, I think his progress should be accelerated.”

“Huh?” Beck sat up in his chair, flabbergasted as Steiner moved past him. Scrambling to his feet, he moved to block him. “Now hold on! This project can’t stand too many fast pushes here! If the kid gets caught or if our girl so much as slips…”

“Neither will,” Steiner replied calmly, easily sidestepping him and turning down the corner of the laboratory.

“Damn it, Steiner!” Beck exclaimed, storming after him. Anderson, quickly followed in pursuit, setting the printouts down on the lab table before doing so. “This isn’t what we talked about! Stop changing the goal posts on me! You know how fragile this project is!”

“More so now that we’re coming under oversight,” Steiner said, pulling out his ID card upon approaching the steel-plated door. He looked at Anderson over his shoulder. “How is she?”

“She…”

“…is not stable,” Beck interrupted. Steiner drew to a halt, his ID card hesitating over the recognition slot. He raised an eyebrow at Anderson.

“Is that true?”

“There was a minor spike in her brain patterns,” Anderson confirmed, giving Beck an odd look. “She performed well today, but I’m not certain that prolonged activity would be…good for her.”

Steiner withdrew his card and tapped it against his chin thoughtfully. After a moment he slid it through the slot, unlocking the door.

“Steiner…” Beck warned.

“I’ll make the final call,” he replied succinctly and pushed open the door.

“I swear to the gods, that man is going to make my hair fall out,” Beck growled under his breath.

“Is this karma?” Anderson asked with a note of humor in his voice.

“Your sarcasm needs work,” Beck returned with a dark glare. “Also, it’s not appreciated.”

With not a further word said between them, the two men joined their superior, taking care to not trip over the multitude of cables and wires that lay across the floor like a viper pit. Around her scurried technicians of both the technological and medical variety, making recordings and analyzing incoming data.

“Who’s there?” spoke a soft, feminine voice from the center of the room and Steiner frowned. Wires and cables shifted and he followed their course toward the seated figure they were connected to. She was tall, slender and thin, her face half-covered by a dome to which every wire and cable was plugged into. A small smile was on her pale face.

“She speaks?” Steiner asked, turning toward Beck and Anderson, looking somewhat disturbed.

“She’s a person,” Beck said sardonically. “I do recall that when she came here she had a full vocabulary and was fluent in at least one other language.”

“Don’t bite,” Steiner replied, returning his attention back to the girl. Her head was turned in their direction. “Anderson? I was under the impression that she…”

“I asked who is there?” the girl said again, her smile vanishing into a frown. The lights above her flickered ever so slightly before the sound of machinery thrumming to life materialized. Struggling in her restraints, the girl gasped before slumping in her chair, breathing heavily. Steiner narrowed his eyes as one of the technicians, a woman with cherry-blond hair approached, a data pad in her hand.

“So we’re back to this again,” Steiner observed quietly.

“Sirs,” the woman greeted. “I apologize for her outburst. She’s been very talkative since we let her outside.”

“It has been a while,” Beck pointed out in a bored tone. “She likes birds by the way.”

“Mister Beck, if I could ask you to please not joke about this…”

“You may,” Beck said before massaging the bridge of his nose.

“What’s going on…” asked Steiner, glancing at the woman’s name tag. “…Doctor Jones?

“As near as I can tell, it’s due to her exposure to the outside world. It has been almost a year since we brought her in. Even with all the reprogramming that’s been done to her we can’t completely repress who she is. I assume Mister Beck has informed you of his concerns regarding the patient?”

“In so many words, but he never mentioned her talking.” He gave the man a stern look, promising that a discussion would be had later. Beck, in return, looked nonchalant about the prospect. “How are the seals? Are they working properly?”

“They are. Her abilities are largely dependent on us now. She can’t do anything without our say-so.”

“I’ve heard that before,” Beck said, earning him another look from Steiner, but also from Jones as well.

“Can we use her right now?”

Jones looked down at her data pad.

“Her readings are well within acceptable levels, but due to the unexpected increase in her…animation…I would caution that any activity be kept brief to avoid any further stress.”

“I see.” Steiner turned to look at the seated girl carefully. “Fire her up. Beck, what is the location of the Grey?”

“Meandering in the business district of the city last I checked. He was on South State Street.” He went over to a monitor and keyed in some commands. “He’s still there. I’ll feed her the directions.”

“Good,” Steiner nodded. “Send her in.”

Free! Free again! She rejoiced to feel the cool breeze upon her face; the sun shining on her face. Oh, how she wished she could stay, but her handlers were…worried about her and wanted her back soon. She hated the idea of going back to that stale room of metal and wires, unable to see except whatever she was allowed to, but there was little choice in the matter. Not if she wanted to see the outside world again.

So she found her target, like it or not, and charged herself up to take care of it.

Jamie sat against a brick wall in an alleyway, breathing raggedly. Sweat poured down his face and his entire body shook. A dull pain throbbed behind his temple and at the back of his skull, a result from him banging it against the building behind him in sheer frustration. The bright sparks that had been in front of his vision ever since he finished up here were finally clearing, but it changed nothing about how he felt about himself right now.

“Jamie…” began Beth at his belt in a gentle tone. “I’m picking up Justin and Kyle’s cell phones on my GPS. They’ll be here shortly.”

The boy didn’t say anything, and instead leaned his head into his arms, his shoes scraping against the hard concrete ground as they shifted from the added weight. At his side, Beth’s eye winked worriedly, swiveling this way and that, wracking her circuits for something that could put him at ease.

I hate seeing him like this, she thought in her electronic mind. “Jamie, I’ve posted Monster’s picture and all information online. The local animal shelters will look into it. Until we hear something, there’s…nothing you can do about it for now.”

“There never is,” Jamie finally said, raising his head just enough to see the wall ahead of him. In his chest, he felt a heat growing within and at once the sparks returned to his vision in full force. He head swam and he shook it to clear it. It did little to help.

“You’ve got to calm down!” Beth said urgently. “Please! You’re only exhausting yourself and you still need to get home!” Her eye swung frantically. “Where… I don’t understand! Where are the authorities? I was sure I contacted them and gave them directions on where to find us…”

“Who cares?” Jamie asked, attempting to push himself to his feet. The world lurched around him and instead of finding himself standing he was on the ground, cold concrete pushing against his cheek and a sickening pain pounding its way across his skull.

Beth’s eye blinked twice.

“Your parents for starters,” she said in response to his question. “Your friends… Also…me. Jamie, I don’t know why your heroi powers are manifesting, but you need to stop pushing yourself. You’re exhausted. If you keep going you…you could die!”

Though Beth didn’t see it, Jamie’s expression sobered a little, and the sparks receded. Bringing his hands around, he eased them at his shoulders and pushed himself up.

“Just like my brother…” he muttered, getting himself back into a seated position.

“What was that?”

“Just…thinking about how useless having these powers were,” he replied instead. “Some random guy kidnaps Monster and I couldn’t do anything about it. What’s the point?”

“I hate to point this out, but…you’re not supposed to be a heroi. It’s for everyone’s safety.”

Jamie simply sat there for a moment, not saying a thing until a shadow fell over him. Looking up, he found Justin and Kyle at the entrance to the alley, the former with his hands on his hips and looking more than a bit miffed.

“What the heck are you doing sitting around like that?” he demanded.

“Feeling stupid,” Jamie replied sullenly.

“And sorry for yourself too,” the boy returned stepping over to him. “Kyle, he looks whipped. Help me get him up.”

“I’m fine…” grumbled Jamie. Justin looked at him in disbelief.

“Beth, is he fine?”

“He is quite exhausted, mentally and physically. He’s also being stubborn.”

“You heard her, my man. You’re not fine so you’re going home. Kyle? Are you going to lend a hand or what? You’re just standing there.”

“Is it…safe to?” Kyle asked worriedly, watching Justin get down next to their friend and sling his arm over one shoulder. “I mean, you saw what happened earlier…”

Justin gave him a sharp glare that caused Kyle to recoil. “I don’t care what he did earlier. Are you going to help or not?”

Kyle hesitated for a moment before coming forward and repeating Justin’s gesture, swinging Jamie’s other arm over his shoulder. Together, the pair lifted their friend back to his feet.

“You’re such a dork,” Justin said as the trio exited the alley together. “What did you think you were doing, jumping up a bajillion feet into the air for? Everyone could see it too. You’re probably already on MyTube with fifty-million views.”

When Jamie didn’t reply, Justin gave him a worried look before continuing.

“Sorry about Monster. We’ll help you find the jerk who stole him. You’ve got my promise on that.”

“Thanks…” Jamie whispered in a throaty voice.

“That was weird,” said Kyle. “What do you think that girl wanted with Monster? He’s just a Cerberus.”

Jamie looked at the boy with a venomous glare. “He’s not just a…”

“Easy,” Justin cut in before their friend could get too far into his rant. “He’s just thinking out loud.”

“Gee… Thanks,” Kyle said in a deadpan voice. “And…sorry.”

“No problem,” Justin said, speaking for Jamie and earning himself a glare from him as well. “Anyway, who knows what that creep wanted. I just hope somebody finds her real fast!” He grimaced. “Here’s hoping she didn’t get away…”

“She…she jumped away though!” Kyle said. “Like Jamie did! How can she get away after that?! It’s like you said about MyTube…”

“One thing at a time,” Justin said, shifting his grip on Jamie’s arm. “Beth, you got the word out, right?”

“Yes. The SPCA has received all relevant information and will investigate. Hopefully we’ll hear something soon.”

Justin smiled. “See? We’ll figure it out. Guess it isn’t so bad being a heroi when you can get an awesome Companion like Beth.”

Jamie didn’t reply. Couldn’t reply. The thought of Monster being hurt…or worse, and he could do nothing more than sit around and wait weighed too heavily on his mind for him to feel comforted by any silver linings in the sky.

“Something’s wrong,” Beck said, chewing on a nail as he watched the readouts. “Anderson? Tell me that there’s something wrong with the tracer on this one.”

Seated at the computer, Anderson typed in some commands and did a quick analysis. “No sir, the tracer is fine and the telemetry is accurate.” Turning, he looked at Steiner behind them. “She’s off course, and in a big way.”

Steiner’s expression transformed from one of quiet curiosity to one of dawning alarm. Slowly unfolding his arms, he looked back and forth between the two men. “Where is she going?”

“Our girl is along Pike Street and making a turn at…Farm Acre road. Civilian residence.” Anderson glanced at Beck. “That’s not where the target lives.”

Beck grabbed the phone from off the counter and quickly dialed the lab. “Shut her down,” he snapped quickly. “You heard me! Recall her!”

“I’m home,” Kira said, more to herself than anyone else as she closed the steel gate behind her. The Cerberus, Monster, pulled against the leash but her grip didn’t so much as budge in spite of the size difference between them. Sighing under her breath she started forth, tugging on Monster’s leash just enough to get him to fall in line beside her. As she neared her home, the door opened and she found her mother, Amanda Baker, standing in the doorway.

“Welcome back. How was…” She blinked, seeing the Cerberus by her daughter’s side. “Where did…?”

“I found him in the park,” Kira said simply. “He was lost and he looks like he was in an accident or something. He’s got a nasty burn on his side.” She pointed indicatively to the injury as she pulled the animal around so it could be more clearly seen.

Amanda grimaced at the sight of burnt flesh and nodded. “I’ll call the vet and have them pay a visit.” She frowned as she looked the Cerberus over. The purple fur tickled her memory. “Strange… I could have sworn that I saw it somewhere before. Where did…?” Her eyes widened in recognition. “Oh! That’s it! There was a boy in the park that I saw with him. He was being bullied by some older kids and the Cerberus attacked one of them.”

Approaching the animal, Amanda got down in front of it and held out a hand. Two pairs of noses sniffed cautiously before twin tongues reached out to lap at her skin. “Good boy,” Amanda cooed softly. “Yeah, you’re a good boy. What happened to your master?”

“Probably got jumped again,” Kira replied. “You said that this thing attacked one of that kid’s bullies?”

Amanda nodded. “I gave him my card in case his parents decided to pursue legal action against him. His arm looked pretty messed up. I’m starting to wish that I asked the owner what his name was. That would make returning him easier.” She looked over his collar and found the tags. “Well, I’m guessing that he lives in the city, so the vet should have some information. Guess I’d better get on calling them. Could you get…Monster…some water and make him feel at home?”

“Yeah… Sure.”

Leading the animal inside, Kira watched her mother disappear around a corner before heading into the kitchen.

Picking up the phone, Amanda began to flip through her list of contacts for the vet, all the while carefully listening to her daughter’s movements as she led the Cerberus through the home. There was a brief sound of cabinet doors being opened, the clatter of bowls, and then running water. Amanda frowned.

I’m not sensing anything from her, she thought, bringing the phone up to her ear and listening to the ringtone. Maybe Daria was being overly concerned after all…

There was a click on the other end and Amanda broke off from her train of thought as she was greeted by the veterinary receptionist.

“Hi,” she said into the phone. “My name is Amanda Baker, and I’d like to have a house call made for an animal my daughter brought home.”

For the next few minutes, she continued to speak to the receptionist, giving the details she knew and providing the name and ID number on the Cerberus’ tags. After being assured that someone would stop by, she thanked the receptionist and hung up.

One thing down, she thought, cradling the phone for a moment. Extending her senses, she found that her daughter had not moved from her spot in the kitchen.

She still feels as normal as ever. Maybe it’s my turn to be overly paranoid. Sighing, she closed her eyes and, after replacing the phone back onto its receiver, she headed out into the kitchen to find Kira kneeling next to Monster, scratching the back of his ears while his two heads drank sloppily from the bowl in front of it.

“How’s he doing?” she asked. Kira shrugged.

“About the same as when I first brought him in,” the girl replied nonchalantly. Amanda looked at her with mild annoyance.

“I hope you don’t get any ideas in your head about owning an animal of your own because of this,” Amanda resumed. “It’s very sweet of you, taking care of this one when he’s in trouble, but…they tend to make a bit of a mess.” She glanced at the floor as Monster looked up, licking his chops. Rivulets of water dribbled down to the floor with thick, heavy droplets.

Kira narrowed her eyes and curled her fingers into her palms. “Couldn’t be worse than some of the messes some people have already made,” she said under her breath.

Hearing this, Amanda’s head snapped up to her daughter, a hurt expression crossing her features. “Kira!”

The girl stood up and dusted her jeans off. “I’m going to use the bathroom,” she said, brushing by Monster who watched her go with one of his two heads. Amanda shook her head as she disappeared down the hall.

There’s just no reasoning with her, she mused before looking down at Monster, who was now looking up at her.

“I bet you don’t have to worry about this sort of thing,” she said to him. “Food… A bed… maybe someone to pet you… I bet that’s all you ever have to worry about.”

Monster tilted his heads to one side, panting heavily with his tongues hanging out of his mouths, heaving up and down like a pair of pink, overly-thick, bungee cords.

Never thought I’d be envious of a Cerberus…

Kira shut the bathroom door behind her with as much restraint as she could possibly muster. Not that she needed to try as hard as she normally would. Her control over her increased strength was always better at home than outside. All the same, her mother’s presence invoked deep anger in her, and as such she couldn’t afford to be in her presence for very long without risking losing control.

She avoided her mother as much as possible.

Flipping on the faucet, Kira splashed water over her face and swept her hands back over her dark hair, taking a deep, shaky breath.

“I just don’t get her,” she muttered quietly to herself, splashing more water onto her face. “I just don’t!” She stayed like that for a moment, her hands on her face while water dripped past her fingers. “How can she be so calm about it?”

It’s all because I “don’t understand”, she thought fiercely, remembering the last time she clashed with her mother. Her heart thumped angrily in her chest, joining her in her frustration. It was almost four months ago that they received Ran’s letter, begging for help and still nothing had been done by the woman who she called mother.

What was she doing? Thinking? Why wasn’t she doing anything?

The questions roiled around in Kira’s head, but they would not be answered. Things were well past the point where Kira would have her questions answered by the woman. She hated it. She hated her.

“Damn it,” she whispered, dropping her hands from her face and shaking them off. “Malcolm…” she continued, reaching for the towel. “You’d better come up with something soon! I’m sick of all this stupid…”

She broke off as the towel was abruptly handed to her. Taking a millisecond to remember if the door at all opened since she closed it, she craned her head to find a face eerily like hers, but more angular and appearing as a much older girl. Long dark hair with blond streaks fell past her shoulders, and Kira traced them back up to her face, finding dark blue eyes that were so very familiar.

“Ran?” she said in utter shock, her voice barely going above a harsh whisper. “Ran?!”

The girl smiled at her and simply nodded. Shakily, Kira reached out to touch her, scarcely able to believe that she was suddenly here. Her mind shouted that something was very, very wrong, but she could not deny the evidence that was in front of her. Her fingers placed themselves on smooth, ivory skin and traced along them.

It’s her! It’s her!!!

Tears began to swell in her eyes and she mouthed the girl’s name again.

Is this what they call miracles? she asked herself, bringing her other hand up and wrapping the older girl in a tight hug…only for Kira to fall through Ran a second later. Bewildered, Kira nearly struck her head on the doorknob, and only managed to catch herself at the last moment.

What just…? she began, steadying herself as she spun around. She blinked. Ran was gone. Where did she…? Kira swung her head around, trying to make sense of it all. She was here, but then she…wasn’t?

What the hell is going on?!

The tears of relief that had started to brim in her eyes quickly turned to ones of rage, and with a cry of unthinking rage she swung her fist into the bathroom mirror with ferocious force, smashing it and sending shards raining to the floor.

Kira stood like that for a few seconds, breathing heavily with her fist imbedded in the remains of the mirror. As the cloud of anger began to clear, she heard her mother’s approach, feet pounding down the hallway and shouting concern.

Now she shows concern, she thought hotly. Now she comes…

“I’m all right Mom,” she said in as controlled a voice as she could bring herself to have, retracting her fist. Mirror shards attempted to knick at her bare skin, but simply broke and fell. “I just had an accident.” She took a deep breath to steady herself again. “I’m…all right.”

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