Chapter Text
Two friends out by the rocky shores on a moonlit night, away from the facility that held them captive. One with a life threatening request, and another who's commitment remained uncertain.
“I… I don't think this is a good idea, Etho.”
A knife was shakily held up to Etho’s left eye, yet his stance nor expression did not change. He stood steadily in place, sure as can be of his decision. Etho shook his head, “It's for the greater good.”
Etho’s reply was instant, like he made up his mind long ago, wanting to rid himself of his tainted blood. The life of a scientifically constructed human was nothing but a curse, a sin placed upon a them without a second thought. The people that caused this don't care though, not one bit. They simply wish to take control of the uncontrollable.
Still, to the other, it felt wrong. To take a piece of flesh from a living being felt like an even greater sin, but how could BigB refuse when it was his closest friend asking? His only friend? Someone that understood his feelings, shared his struggles, and was the only one who cared enough to do something about them. It felt wrong to deny Etho his only request after all the things he’s done to help BigB over the years.
It wasn't like this is the first time Etho had tried to gauge out his eye in the hopes of deactivating his power. It was futile, of course, the scar going over his left eye being enough proof. And yet here he was once again, so sure of his skeptical theory.
However, BigB had no right to question it. He was brought here with an asinine request and a believable promise, that was enough for him — as much as he wish he didn't have to go through with it.
Etho can only stare, can only watch as BigB’s grip on the knife tightened. He closed his eyes, all he can do was anticipate for the pain that was to come.
But it never came.
Instead, he opened his eyes to BigB being dragged away, and within a blink of an eye he vanished. Etho cursed himself for freezing, his fight or flight instincts working against him in his time of need.
A person in a white lab coat then approached him, two masked soldiers followed in suit behind her.
“Subject 3740, you have been ordered to return to the facility for questioning. Do not fight this, for the greater good of everyone here.”
Etho could only laugh in response, the bold choice of words catching him off guard, because he knew for a fact that ‘the greater good of everyone here’ did not include him. With his head hung low Etho slowly stood up, and with a less than sound mind he spoke.
“Absolutely not, not when you've taken BigB.” Etho snarled, “Let him go, and you can take me.”
Etho did his best to keep his voice calm, devoid of any malice — he didn’t want that being used against him. Though the two soldiers that accompanied the scientist said nothing, the guns they held told Etho more than enough. The scientist that was brought to retrieve Etho held a firm stance, her voice monotone and steady as she spoke. “I'm afraid that is not possible.”
“Then not a chance.”
Etho tried to move, tried to run, but the soldiers were quick to point their weapons. He had no other choice but to use his power, the very one he swore against.
“You leave me no choice, I'm sorry.”
The events that ensued felt like it was done in slow motion, even if it all took place within under a minute. Etho's left eye glowed a bright scarlet, and in an instant that same shade illuminated the surrounding area. Not even a second later, a mace — red and translucent — materialized out of thin air.
Etho quickly grabbed it, and with precise accuracy smashed it on the ground, careful not to hit anyone as to avoid causing any major injuries. The impact shot him high up into the air, giving him a route for an easy escape. With one final wind push from his mace he was able to easily disappear through the trees.
It was a given that the soldiers would try to shoot, and they did, however Etho's movements were just too quick and snappy for them to keep up. Bullets were fired haphazardly in hopes that at at least one would hit, but none did. The scientist tried to stop them — she needed Etho alive, after all — but it was to no avail.
Subject 3740, Etho, had escaped.
The scientist sighed, she moved closer to the impacted area to observe it, hoping to find clues on how to move forward. She observed the ground first, taking note just how much damage that mace caused. The scientist moved closer, and after a closer inspection at the crater she found a small, silver tracker buried beneath the dirt and gravel. It seemed to have been taken out quite proficiently, possibly beforehand, as there was little to no blood at the scene.
“Just as expected, he's smarter than I thought.” The scientist stood up and adjusted her coat, dusting off any dirt that may have gotten on it.
“Let's head back, we at least have one person to question. Oh! And contact my brother, let him know that I'll be moving close by — don't mention any details, or that this is for a mission.”
The two guards saluted as she moved past them, “on it, Captain.”
Etho made sure he was far enough from the facility before taking a break. He knew this wasn’t over just yet, he had to go back. He couldn't bare the thought of leaving BigB there, not when he made a promise in exchange of fulfilling his ridiculous request. Although the said request wasn’t completed, Etho still felt guilty that only he was able to escape.
The man collapsed onto the ground, fatigue finally catching up after pushing the limits of his power. It's ironic — the company created Etho with the sole purpose of conquering WWIV, but they did such a poor job at it that he can't even go five minutes of constant power usage. Etho may be stronger than the average human, but with that kind of limitation it felt like it made no difference at all.
Etho tried to roll over to his side but felt a sharp pain from the back of his ear.
The tracker, right.
Etho knew that this would eventually happen, so he had taken the tracker out beforehand, having found out about it with BigB when they were still kids. He fished out some small medical supplies from his pockets — stolen ones, of course, courtesy of the facility — and began the process of cleaning his wound. Once he was done he placed a small piece of cotton and some medical tape on top to let it heal.
Etho let out a heavy sigh, grabbing a silver pendant from another one of his pockets. It was rectangular in shape with rounded corners, a thin tree engraved in the middle.
He sat there for a moment, just watching the reflection of the moonlight dance around the metal. His pessimistic mind plagued him, all the different possibilities of failing consumed his thoughts. He wasn't sure how he would get BigB out of that heavily guarded facility a second time.
The people at the company thought highly of Etho, said that he was smarter than most of the test subjects there, but he thought otherwise. Etho simply believed it was because he was more human in comparison to those lifeless robots — he was capable of love and compassion just like everyone else.
It was all a joke to him, to think a company can just create super human weapons without any human qualities at all. At that point, just create more robots with a finicky AI, they're more likely to get the job done than a human with altered genes. It’s simply impossible to create the perfect weapon, one that’s human enough to blend in, but robotic enough that it follows commands without an afterthought.
And yet here Etho was, sitting on a patch of grass in the middle of nowhere. He was never meant to be spared and kept alive, he knew that all too well. He obeyed any and every order, fully aware of the consequences that would occur if he didn’t. He knew it was wrong — all of it — and yet he still complied with the immoral ways of the facility.
Etho’s hands will forever be stained with blood, not of his own, but of those he had aided in killing. The reminder of his past doing stayed with him until adulthood, never being able to fully wash it off.
A mutated human weapon, the worst fate anyone could or could not ask for. He never wanted this, he never wanted to be kept alive, but now he had no choice but to continue treading on.
Etho stood up and quickly observed the pendant once more before putting it back inside in his front pocket.
“I’ll get you out of there B, I promise.”
He stared up at the full moon, his only source of light and hope at this very moment. It was Etho’s reminder of a vow he had yet to enact.
“I would like to handle the matter with Subject 3163 privately, if possible.”
“You do know that is a dangerous individual, correct? Why would you possibly want to handle this without any security?”
The scientist could only sigh back in reply, her head hung low. She knew this would make her suspicious, but it was worth trying anyways. She hated her job, hated what the company has turned her into, but she was far too deep to turn back now. All she can do was exploit things in secrecy, but figuring out how was the hardest part.
Luckily for her, manipulation was a useful skill, and her greatest talent.
“Subject 3163 is a dangerous individual, yes, however he is also overtly cautious of everyone due to the incident that occurred recently. I simply want to gain his trust to acquire more accurate information.”
Based on the mans reaction that seemed to have done the trick. He took his glasses off and gently placed them on the table, he then grabbed a file and slid it on the desk. For such a dangerous individual, the scientist did find it odd that his dedicated file was rather thin.
“Alright, however a guard will be posted nearby for safety reasons, this decision is final. I trust your judgment, Gemini.” The man answered, his authoritative words laced with bitterness and distrust.
Safety reasons, huh? What a lame excuse to say he doesn't trust me. It can't necessarily be helped, I’m not worthy of being trusted in this very moment anyways.
Gem took the file and slightly bowed her head down as a sign of respect. She opened the file and quickly skimmed through it. The information in front of her hasn’t changed much over the years she’s spent working with this subject, which was a major relief.
“Thank you, Sir. I'll file in my report once I'm finished.” Gem started, “And I'd like the request for my relocation to be processed ASAP, it would greatly help in our current project.” Gem made sure to keep her words as innocuous as possible as to not arouse suspicion or come off as rude, lest her request be denied.
The man in front of her nodded. Aside from her way with words, Gem was quite lucky that she held a high position in the company, otherwise this kind of attitude and request would get her demoted faster than she could blink.
Just as Gem reached for the door handle the man cleared his throat, which immediately caught the scientist's attention.
“Just one last thing, Miss Gemini.” The man adjusted his glasses that was now sitting comfortably on the bridge of his nose. He placed his hands below his chin and propped up his elbows on top of the desk. “We've already contacted your brother about the matter, but what about your err… other friend? Partner? I’m not sure what to make of it.”
Gem tried her damn hardest not to show just how offended that comment made her feel. She forced herself to smile, to not let such an unprofessional and egregious remark get under her skin — she was unfortunately used to this sort of thing.
The scientist took a deep breath in order to calm herself down and get her thoughts in order. As much as she wanted to curse this man to the ninth ring of hell, she had to remain professional. She had to be the bigger person in this situation.
“She's my fiancé, and no. I'll tell her myself. She doesn't need to know about all this, I'm unsure how you even managed to get a hold of her contact. I will only ask you of one thing, and that is to leave her out of this mess.”
Using the word partner instead of fiancé after explicitly telling her coworkers that she’ll be married to a woman was one thing, but it was a whole other thing to insinuate that her personal relationship with said woman was abhorrent. It wasn't like it bothered anyone, it wasn't doing them any harm, so why the need to be so hostile towards her about it?
“Excuse me, if you don’t mind, I’ll get going now.”
Gem forced herself to push those thoughts to the back of her mind, she had much more important matters to attend to. The scientist was quick to exit the office after that interaction, the atmosphere immediately feeling a lot lighter when she finally reached her private lab.
She immediately went back to work on her computer, figuring out her next course of action with how to handle the recently captured subject. Gem had been eyeing those two for a while, and she felt empathetic in their plan to escape, however one wrong decision in this case could cost everything — for her, and the others.
Gem wanted them to escape, no human should be confined to the bleak and dreary walls of this military facility. It wasn't right for them to be subjected to hours upon hours of mental and physical torture, and for what? A chance of a better world?
Yeah, right. Because the suffering of hundreds, if not thousands, is totally worth the small chance of having a so called ‘better’ life.
Just then, Gem heard the back door to her lab open. Sounds of a bag being fumbled and carelessly tossed around could be heard from behind. To Gem, it meant a certain someone came to pay a visit.
“Hey Joe! What brings you into my lab?”
A man with an unusually neon green outfit under his lab coat turned around to face Gem, hands full with piles of papers and folders. Joe took the time to adjust everything first, before walking over to Gem's designated work area.
“I came to give you these!” Joe replied, his tone sounding a little too enthusiastic considering the situation they’re currently dealing with. “They're the transcripts of when the officers interrogated Subject 3163. I know you prefer your documentations in a physical copy, so I printed them out for you in advance.”
Gem frowned, not because of the transcripts, but because the officers went ahead and interrogated the subject without any prior notice. It was a golden rule amongst her coworkers that all interrogations must be accompanied by at least one scientist, this was to ensure that neither the subject or officers could inflict any potential harm.
It was also to make sure that any devices used, on the subject or otherwise, was operated properly and with care. One wrong push of a button and disaster can and will follow.
Based on the report Joe gave her, Gem assumed there was no scientist present. It wasn’t a cold, hard rule that needed to be followed, but it still irritated her — something could have gone terribly wrong, and the blame would be pinned on Gem. It would be her responsibility to fix it, which is something that nobody in the company wants to deal with.
“I assume there was no scientist present, correct? The transcript says there’s only two officers.” Joe nodded in response, Gem sighed in frustration. She had no other choice but to conduct another interview sooner rather than later. She had hoped to get some free time after being ordered to collect the two runaways, but those plans are now out the window.
The other scientist went ahead and made a beeline to the laboratory freezer, seemingly occupied with his own work. Joe Hills, a scientist in the facility that most considered to be an enigma. He's an eccentric guy, never being able to tell what he’s thinking nor what his next course of action would be. He is, however, an extremely valuable asset to the company — he does his job exceptionally well, and they couldn’t risk losing that.
Gem watched as Joe inspected the samples from the freezer, and before she could get back to her work the man spoke up.
“Have you heard the rumour of the scientist that went rogue? I’ve recently learned that he was kicked out of this company years ago, but nobody knows the hows or whys. This is all alleged, though, of course! But man, I sure would’ve loved to know all the details.”
Now that Joe mentioned it, Gem has heard of it before, but just like any other rumour it was immediately shut down by the company. “I’ve heard, but never bothered to look too deeply into it. If it’s true that he left this place then even more reason not to do so.”
A scientist who one day went mad, and later needed the higher ups to personally step in — not something you hear every day, and not one you want the public to know about. Gem did find it odd, however, that nobody seemed to know who this scientist was. People were either incredibly good liars, or genuinely knew nothing.
But Gem couldn’t be bothered to care about that right now, she had more important matters to attend to such as her paperwork and her interview. Joe finished up his routinely checks and quickly filled out a lab report, before heading to where he left his bag and stuffing even more folders inside. Gem swore she could see a blue puppet in his bag as well, but that was none of her concern.
Joe bid Gem farewell and headed off to the main lobby, probably to get more samples or conduct some tests as any other normal scientist would, although Joe wasn’t who you’d consider your ‘normal’ scientist.
With the lab now empty once more Gem could finally focus.
36 Hours Later
Gem arrived at the interrogation room, and to her surprise there truly was nobody else there other than her and a guard stationed outside by the door. Gem gave a curt nod to the guard, walked into the room, and closed the door shut.
She exhaled a sigh of relief and started preparing for the interview. The scientist scanned the room to make sure the cameras were fully turned off, covering both up with a piece of cloth as a precaution — after all, what she was about to do wasn’t legal.
When she was ready Gem hit record on her device and hid it inside her coat pocket. She pressed a button on the left of her table to rid the glass wall of its dark tint. The room in front of her was all white, with a clear bench off to the left side where the subject was sitting.
Okay, let’s do this
Gemini Taylor / 3163 / File 6.18.5.5
Gemini: So, Subject 3163. You are aware of why you are here, yes?
3163: Very much aware, why do I have to do this a second time, though?
Gemini: A few in-house rules have been violated, we simply wish to do this properly.
3163: Okay, sure. Fine.
Gemini: Now, I’m sure the other officers have already questioned you about the situation so I won’t be asking about that. What I’m most curious about is your motive, how were you able to escape such a secured facility under high surveillance? And why?
3163: [Laughs] You think I’ll tell you that easily? This is a joke!
Gemini: You can tell me, we're alone in this room, no officers or video cameras. I personally made sure that it’s just us, I don’t agree with the company either.
3163: And yet, you work for them? How can am I supposed to trust you?
Gemini: Because we’ve worked with each other for years. And, I have this.
Gemini: [Metal Clanking]
3163: [Inaudible]
3163: Etho’s pendant?! We lost that years ago when were kids, how do you have it?!
Gemini: I helped him, and he gave me this as a thank you. It was never lost in the first place.
3163: [Sighs] Okay fine, I’ll talk. As a scientist, you better have some good ideas.
Gemini: Thank you for your cooperation, BigB.
The interview continued on for a good hour or so, BigB explaining to Gem how Etho planned the escape with the help of BigB’s creaking tree powers. In turn, Gem described her plan on how to help BigB escape, and the possibility of finding Etho after the fact.
It was a productive talk, lots of things were discussed and lots of misunderstandings about Gem’s actions were cleared up. In truth, Gem never conducted any experiments she knew would hurt the subject. She had to do them either way, with so many eyes watching her, so might as well take advantage of tests that can greatly benefit her own personal research.
After the interview concluded Gem did some quick work on her recording device, splicing bits and pieces to make it seem like a completely different conversation. She reminded herself to thank Joe for creating it, otherwise this wouldn’t have been possible.
Once that was done, Gem grabbed all her things and bid farewell to BigB, before exiting the room — making sure to tell the guard that her work has concluded. She then headed straight to her lab, planning to pack up her personal tools and research, as well document the interview.
Gem was halfway to the science wing when she received a notification from her phone. It was an email from the Head of Science, the man she conversed with a while back. She quickly moved to the side of the hallway and opened up the email.
Turns out, Gem’s request for a relocation was accepted — under the condition of an in-person check up every two weeks.
The scientist mumbled curses under her breath, not caring if there was anyone around to hear them. However, Gem had no other choice, she had to accept and go through with it. All she had to do was figure out how to deal with those bi-weekly visits and it’ll be fine.
Gem sent a quick reply email back and stuffed her phone back into her coat pocket.
“This is gonna be a long week, huh?”
The hallway echoed Gem’s voice, the uncertainty in her voice coming back to haunt her. Yet, she stayed calm, and simply went back to her original task of walking back to her laboratory.