Radioactive: Chapter Ten

Radioactive

Chapter Ten

~Jump~

“You sure this…doctor…can help me?” a woman asked as she leaned up against a wall. She had several tattoos and body piercings along with other strange bodily mutations.

“Yeah, I don’t see why not,” a man with blond hair and blue eyes smiled.

“I mean, like, I saw this guy a while ago, right, and I mean I saw him lift a vase with his mind! There were no strings attached or anything. He even told to throw things, anything, up in the air and he would float it. And he did! It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen!” she exclaimed. “I asked him if he could teach me and he said that he was just born with it. I’ve heard even other people say they died first before they could do anything cool like that.” She leaned in, “I won’t have to die will I?”

The man laughed, “No way! I mean I’ve seen the doc work, it’s now cake walk. There is pain but it shouldn’t be any worse they what you’ve already been through.”

“Really?” the girl chewed her gum.

“Really, really,” the man smiled.

“Like is the power you get random or could I, like, chose? I think it’d be a lot of fun to levitate things with my mind, know what I’m saying?” she asked.

The man nodded, “I’m sure he can do something like that.”

The woman crossed her arms, “You aren’t pulling my leg are you? I mean, you aren’t just saying this to get in to a creeper van with you, right?”

“No, we can walk there,” the man said, “It’s not that far but not that close either.”

“I rather we walk,” the girl said. “Just so you know, I’ve taken defense classes. I can throw you three feet if I have to!”

The man laughed, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

He started walking down an alleyway. The girl followed a reasonable distance behind. Old buildings with broken or boarded up windows stood all over the area. People tried to keep themselves safe in the gang ridden neighborhood where drug deals often went bad and some innocent got shot. Prostitutes stood on several corners often never heard of or seen ever again. Even as she followed the man she reasonably trusted she held up to her pepper spray and kept in mind the collapsible baton in her purse. She watched him carefully keeping a few feet of distance between her and him. He seemed like a nice man but nice men turned mean quick in this neck of the woods. She wasn’t about to risk anything.

The man walked up to an abandoned subway. He descended half way down the stairs and looked behind him. The girl stood at the top. She laughed uncomfortable in order to release the awkward moment. The man smiled at her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing, nothing,” she waved dismissively. “I just thought we would be above ground.”

“Oh, this is only the short cut. If you want, we could take the long way around,” the man offered.”

“No, that’s fine,” she smiled. She stooped a little and peered into the darkness. The girl was fairly sure that it was okay. She stepped down a few steps and walked just behind the man.

He tried to make light conversation with her as they walked on the tracks. The path ahead of them was illuminated by a flashlight that he carried. He made sure that he didn’t lose his guest by looking over his shoulder at her every so often. She smiled uneasily at him when he did and he tried to make her feel more comfortable.

After walking almost a mile, they came across a door.

“Here, can you hold this?” the man asked as he handed her the flash light.

The girl took the light and held it so it illuminated the door way, “Sure.”

“Thanks,” the man said.

He turned the wheel that unlocked the door. The old wheel creaked and squeaked loudly. The girl jumped a little at the sudden loud noise. The man pulled the door open and sighed.

“I keep telling them to fix that,” he said, “I guess I’ll have to do it myself later.”

“Yeah, I guess,” the girl muttered.

“That didn’t scare you too much, did it?” his brow furrowed with concern.

She shook her head, “No, no, I’m fine.”

“Well,” he bowed, “Ladies first!”

She walked through the door way and looked around. There were several lights on so there was no longer any need for the flashlight. She stepped into a well lite hallway with white walls. It was a stark difference from the subway tunnel. The man she was with closed the door and relocked it. He motioned her to follow him to follow him down the hallway.

As they walked, several people walked passed them. A few of them were wearing the paper medical gowns. The man explained that they were most likely on their way to their operation to turn them into mutants. Soon they came to an open room. The girl looked around with great interest, she had no idea that this place was here underneath the city’s feet.

“Oh, there he is! Doc!” the man called to a man on an elevated catwalk.

The doctor was bald and wore goggles over his eyes. He wore a lab coat and black gloves. When he heard he was being called he looked around until he saw the man. He took a quick look at his companion and smiled. He walked briskly over to the couple.

“Oh, Jumper! Is that you under there?” the doctor looked at the girl, “Who is your friend?”

“Yeah, it’s me,” the man smiled. He turned to introduce the girl with him, “This is Samantha. She was kinda hoping to go through the procedure.”

“Well, I—” she started.

“Yes, yes,” the doctor wrapped an arm around her and started leading her off, “Let me give you a little information before you make a decision. The process is sort of like this, you see, we start out…”

Jumper shook his head as the doctor explained the process. He turned and headed off to one of the hallways. He reached a room where the room’s lighting was blue. There were several capsules that lined both sides of the room. All of them were contained a body held in some kind of stasis. There was a capsule in the front of the room that looked like it was more important than the rest. It was hooked up to several medical life support machines. Inside the capsule was a body. Unlike any human body the skins pigment was a rich black. White swirls decorated the body. Strands of silver colored hair floated in the liquid inside the capsule. Its eyes were closed as if only in slumber and only the slightest noise would wake it up.

Jumper placed a hand on the glass and sighed. He closed his eyes and focused his thoughts. The blond haired man collapsed suddenly and lay lifeless on the floor. The liquid in the capsule started to drain and the previously lifeless machinery started showing signs of life. The previously lifeless body was walking up.

His eyes opened, one was black with a white pupil and the other was the opposite. The glass opened and he detached all of the equipment off of his body. He stepped off the low platform onto the floor. He walked to a side door and opened it. There was a small bedroom there and he clothed himself. When he reemerged into the lab, he looked down at the blond haired body he had previously possessed.

“I guess I’ll have to do something with you,” he said.

He looked around and spotted an empty capsule. He stooped down and dragged the body to the device and hooked up the necessary devices. As he walked away the glass closed and the capsule started to fill with water. He walked out and down the hallway, looking for the doctor. He found him walking to one of his assistance. The doctor looked up and saw the strange man and smiled.

“Ah, I see you have jumped bodies again jumper,” the doctor grinned.

Jumper smiled, “Of course. This is my natural body. There is no place like home, as they always say. How is Samantha?”

“Ah, yes,” the doctor nodded. He held up a red vial to the light, “I have her blood sample right here. I’m headed off to do the test just now. She’s going to go through with it. Those are the best kind you know, the ones who do it willingly. She’s going to be a good one, I can just sense it.”

“That’s nice,” Jumper didn’t seem at all interested about Samantha, “I brought you one, where is my pay?”

The doctor waved a dismissive hand, “Be patient! It’s coming. Don’t you worry about that! For now, look!”

Jumper sighed and looked up at the vial. He was mentally preparing himself for another lecture, “What? It’s just blood.”

“Just blood? No! It is our life force, our blue print! In it are the basic building blocks of life, the potential for change and evolution! Without it, we are nothing! With it, we can be, no, we are everything! Isn’t it beautiful?”

“Yes?” Jumper said, thinking that would be the quickest way to end the conversation.

“Of course it is!” the doctor exclaimed, “The only reason we are anything is because of this!”

Jumper nodded, “Wow, interesting, sounds great, hey, where’s my money?”

“Gah!” the doctor waved his hand in exasperation. He had yet to meet someone who shared his passion for the human body. “Here!” he reached into his coat and handed Jumper a paper bag.

“Thank you!” Jumper smiled.

“Now, Jumper, you have been bringing in less people in the past thirty days. Some of the others are starting to surpass your usefulness. Now I don’t want to have to dismiss you but I will if you don’t start bring in more subjects,” the doctor said.

Jumper took a few casual steps backwards, “As the doctor orders.”

He vanished suddenly leaving no trace of where he went. The doctor went back to what he was doing. He brought the vial of blood up and looked at it. The red seemed to glow against the light in the background.

Radioactive: Chapter Nine

Radioactive

Chapter Nine

~Glitch-Ing~

A black and white stripped beanie bounced up and down as it walked through the Tower. Its wearer wandered around aimlessly and stopped momentarily to look over the glass railing to the lobby far below. A child around fourteen years of age looked around. On the child’s left hand was a black glove the length of the forearm. On the other arm was a black fingerless glove that only covered the hand and the wrist. The discoloration on his arm was easily visible. His forearm was metallic grey in color unlike the rest of his normal skin color. The child smiled with a carefree look. His green eyes were wide with childish curiosity.

The child spun around and ran down the hall. His white polo shirt and an unbuttoned black vest stirred in the wind as he ran. He grabbed onto the rail and jumped over the edge. His forearm changed and as he fell his arm broke apart into segments. Between the segments was a faint string of light keeping the segments connected to each other. The boy fell several floors and stopped in midair a few floors down.

“Hey Kaiba!” the kid smiled.

Kaiba sighed, “Go away.”

“Hello, Ing,” Kiri nodded toward Ing.

Ing used his other hand to swing into the balcony. His arm assumed its normal form. He danced and skipped to catch up to Kaiba, “Hey! I hear that you have a big case! Can I help?”

“No,” Kaiba stated.

“Why?” Ing wined.

“Because,” Kaiba said, “Go away.”

“But I want to help! I never get to do anything!” Ing pouted.

Kaiba barely gave him notice, “Go annoy someone else.”

Ing stopped, “Fine!”

Kiri turned and mouthed the words “I’m sorry” as she followed Kaiba. Ing’s shoulders fell in disappointment. He walked slowly to the lower levels where his only friend resided. The room was dark and full of computer screens. Ing looked up and saw an android floating in the air.

His natural form was a glowing nebulous blue. Upon seeing that he had company he descended to the ground and assumed his human appearance. His blond hair was disorganized but somehow it seemed to fit his personality. He walked up to Ing and rubbed the younger boys head.

“Hey, there, squirt! What brings you to my neck of the woods?” the android smiled.

Ing sighed, his shoulders were slumped, “Miwa~~! I’m so bored! Why won’t they let me do anything?”

Miwa just looked at the disappointed little android, “I’m sure you’ll get your chance.”

Ing looked up and scowled, “Don’t lie. It’s because I’m a glitch, isn’t it.”

Miwa sighed. In all honestly it was partly true. The little android was full with little quirks and glitches. Even though one could be programed with the best programing, the hardiest hardware and the sturdiest frame but when it came to downloading it into an android there were bound to be a few glitches. An android’s own personality was a glitch. Their preferences and sometimes their abilities were glitches. In Ing’s case however, he was to childish than originally programed to be. His skin color varied on his arms, giving away that he wasn’t human, a big problem on missions. Also his green colored eyes gave him an almost sickly look against his light colored skin.

Personally, Miwa had a few glitches himself like his slight obsession of causing trouble. Look where he was now: world surveillance. It wasn’t a bad task but he would rather be out on missions of some kind.

Miwa patted Ing on the head, “Hey, Ing, you’ll have your chance. If I see anything on surveillance I’ll let you know. Who knows, maybe you and I could break a big case together or something?”

Ing smiled, “That sounds great!” Ing jumped up into the air before running toward the door. He stopped and ran back and hugged Miwa before running back out of the room, “Thank’s Miwa!”

“Yeah, just don’t go telling everyone about our plan, alright!” Miwa smiled and shook his head.

Ing walked around the Tower. An idea started to form in his head. A smile stretched across his and he ran to Kiri’s location. Androids could always track and contact each other and Ing used this method to locate where she was. They were in the basement labs possible even talking to Jekyll. Ing shivered. He didn’t very much like the doctor.

The elevator opened and Ing walked around with a carefree attitude. No one paid him much mind. They all seemed engrossed in their work. Kiri looked to be in one of the lab rooms. He found their room and he peered around the edge. The doctor sat at one of the tables while Kaiba and Kiri stood nearby.

“So are you sure about this location?” Kaiba asked.

Jekyll glared at Kaiba for several moments before continuing, “There are many ways to tell including bone structure, hair follicles, sometimes even stomach contents. All of that says that the lizard originally came from the States. Where exactly, is up to you to figure out.”

Ing zoomed in his vision and saw the possible locations on the computer screen.

“I think I already have an idea,” Kaiba said, “I searched through all of the reports of our oversee investigation Agents.”

“Basically volunteer Others who report any suspicious activity,” Jekyll nodded, “You read all those reports.”

Kaiba shrugged, “Just the ones originating from the states.”

“That’s about 700 reports if all of then submit one,” Jekyll stated.

“739 to be exact,” Kiri volunteered the actual number.

“I don’t remember asking,” Jekyll muttered to himself.

“I have a location that is on the top of my list. I have notified the agent that we well be on our way. We’ll be leaving in a few hours.”

“We?” Jekyll raised an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Kaiba stated, “You and a few others are joining me to look for this person that is turning relatively normal human beings into mutants.”

“What about the heart surgery on Tuesday?” Jekyll asked.

Kaiba shrugged, “Sorry, hate me if you want but I need you especially.”

Jekyll sighed, “You make me miss everything that makes the mundane life at the hospital remotely interesting.”

Kaiba turned to the door, “Make sure to get your things. We’re going to get to the bottom of this.”

Ing saw Kaiba and Kiri walking toward the door. He looked up for a way to avoid being seen. He raised his hands above his head. His arms extended and he gripped onto a small ledge. He then climbed up the wall so that he was above the doorway and out of sight.

Kaiba walked out of the room and headed down the hallway. Kiri followed after saying goodbye to Jekyll. She followed after him quickly, not wanting to be left behind by the elevator. Thinking it was safe; Ing dropped down and slapped his hands together with victory.

“Oh, hello there,” Jekyll said behind the little android.

Ing turned and smiled sheepishly, “Oh hello!”

“And what might you be doing here?” Jekyll asked.

“I was…I was…looking for…for…for ka-ron…Carroll! You know the engineer…in the labs…” Ing smiled.

“Mmhmm,” Jekyll was understandably unconvinced, “You know, you aren’t very good at lying. In some ways, that’s a good thing. In this occupation, it’s not. Eavesdropping is also more effective if you don’t get caught. But I’m going to walk away without any memory of this conversation therefore, forgetting to report your behavior to Kaiba.”

Ing sighed, “Thanks.”

“Thanks? For what?” Jekyll said with a straight face before walking away.

Exited and ecstatic, Ing ran to the elevator to tell Miwa the great news and his new super-duper plan. Thanks to Jekyll’s ‘forgetful’ memory the plan would work out swimmingly. Sure Jekyll was a bit scary but Ing ended up walking away from the encounter liking the man a lot more than before. This was going to be an exciting first mission!

Radioactive: Chapter Eight

Radioactive

Chapter Eight

~Welcome to the Circus~

A hush fell over the crowd as the spotlights fell on the center of the ring. A woman in scarlet red posed in the center, a red top hat covered her eyes just above a large red lipstick smile. She waited a beat before cracking her whip and whisking her hat off her head. Arms outstretched she welcomed the crowd. The scarlet ringmaster already captivated the crowd.

“Ladies and Gentlemen!” her voice carried without any need for a microphone, “Children of all ages! The circus is about to begin! Welcome,” she paused for effect, “to the Greatest Show on Earth!”

She cracked her whip and the music from the band picked up. Lights shown on the upper rafters reviling the three trapezing sisters stood and waved on one of the platforms. On the others platform was another group of tight walkers. The elephants entered from one side and walked across to the exit on the other side. A pair of clowns ran back and forth in an exaggerated game of tag. There even was a man in a motorized little train filled with trained dogs in the other train cars. The ringmaster stepped forward toward the crowd.

“We have just a fabulous show for you today! A show of wonder and amazement, of laughter and joy! I present to you…the Island Circus!”

With a crack of her whip she disappeared in a cloud of smoke. As the introduction continued, there could be singing heard. Behind the preforming stage, behind the curtains the ring master walked through the different nooks and crannies. Different performers looked up from their warm ups and got out of her way. She looked different off stage. Her smile gave way to a serious scowl. She grabbed someone’s wrist and looked at their watch. The introduction lasted about five minutes. She had that long before she needed to be back out on the ring.

The ringmaster walked out of the main tent and toward the animal cages. Usually the cages were open for viewing but there was now a sign that said that the cages were closed for cleaning. A big man stood guard and got out of her way. The lions and tigers all stood up and walked toward her as far as the bars would let them. with a crack of her whip they retreated sensing she had other business to deal with besides them.

Near the end of the row of cages, there was an empty one. A woman clad in blue with a blue top hat turned to see the ringmaster approaching. Several other performers who weren’t scheduled to perform that month were standing around as well. The scarlet ringmaster cracked her whip and the crowd of people slowly began to scatter. They stayed within eye sight as to see what was going to happen next.

The ringmaster looked into the cage and saw the two people tied up inside. “What the heck is going on here? We have an honest business to run and I don’t have time for this nonsense. Narumi!”

The girl in blue stood up straight, “Reba, they were found wondering around in our camp!”

“Walking around like they owned the place, they did,” her partner, a boy with shaggy red hair walked up and smiled, “Going around saying they just wanted to talk to the Master.”

The ringmaster placed her hands on her hips and looked at two tied up in the cage. They were blindfolded and gaged. She looked back at Narumi and her partner.

“Give it here, Kotei,” she said with her hand out.

Kotei looked shocked, “I haven’t a clue what you are talking about!”

The ringmaster sighed with annoyance, “Narumi! Fill in for me! The introduction should be finished any second now! And for Pete’s sake Kotei, give me her wallet!”

“Yes, Ringmaster!” Narumi saluted and ran off in the direction of the main tent.

Kotei sighed and rolled his eyes, “Fine.” He reached into his pocket and gave up the wallet, “Can I keep the cash?”

“Was there any?” the ringmaster asked him.

“Kotei smiled, “No.”

“Well, you can’t return something that wasn’t there,” she pointed to one side, “Fine then. Now open the cage!”

Kotei opened the gate. The ringmaster let herself in and looked down at the two tied up prisoners. She looked to Kotei.

“Take off their blindfolds and gags,” she instructed.

Kotei did as he was told. He took off Kiri’s blind fold first. She recognized him from when he had bumped into her. Her brow furrowed into a scowl in the face of his smiling. After that, Kotei took off Kaiba’s blindfold and gag.

“I told you to keep track of your wallet,” Kaiba muttered.

Kiri turned her head, “Can we not talk about it?”

The ringmaster cracked her whip, “I happen to agree. Let’s get down business shall we? What do you want with the Master?”

“I never said that we were looking for any ‘Master’,” Kaiba said, “But I did say we were looking for a black wagon. I can only assume that this ‘Master’ lives in the black wagon we were told about.”

“We just want to ask a few questions,” Kiri stated.

The ringmaster leaned forward, “Well, he’s a busy man. If you Tower idiots even thought to call first and make an appointment I’m sure we would be more accommodating. But instead you walk into our home violating our personal space. Even five-year-olds have more sense than you.”

“You hear that?” Kotei smiled, “Even the kids around here don’t go running off to the wagons.”

“Shut up, Kotei!” the ringmaster shouted.

She paused and looked up. A man stood at the entrance to the gate. He wore a grey coat over his black shirt. His white hair fell on his shoulders from under his grey hat. On a strand of braided hair was a purple sphere. In his arm was a doll crafted to his likeness. Though it had no eyes it had shallow indentations of where the eyes would be. Its head was larger than its body.

The man looked at the scene with his purple eyes. He smiled and looked at the ringmaster, “What is going on here, Reba? Everyone seemed very excited for some reason so I decided to check things out for myself. Why do we have these two people tied up in the tiger’s cage?”

“Puppetmaster!” Reba stood up straight, “I didn’t realize that you were standing there.”

Puppetmaster walked in, “It’s alright; I’ll just invite myself to this encounter.” He crouched in front of Kaiba, “Hello. You’re that Kaiba kid aren’t you? Sirius’s son, right?”

“I assume you’re the one who lives in the black wagon,” Kaiba said.

Puppetmaster nodded, “I am.”

“Do you know anything about mutants?” Kaiba asked.

Puppetmaster smiled, “I think about three-fourths of the Island are mutants, unless I’m mistaken.”

“No, I’m talking about mutated others,” Kaiba explained, “There’s a case where there are creatures that strongly resemble humans but are different on a cellular level. Their appearance is different and their behaviors. I was told by a mutual friend that you might be able to help.”

Puppetmaster placed a hand to his mouth with thought, “Hmm, interesting. Sounds like you have an interesting predicament. Quite honestly, I haven’t any information to give you. Have you tried tracking down where these people came from?”

“Is that all?” Kaiba said.

Puppetmaster looked down at the puppet in his arms, “What was that? Oh, yes! I almost forgot.” He looked up at Kaiba again, “If you’re seeing genetic changes, you might be dealing with an Other who is turning humans into Others because of something they went through.”

Kaiba nodded slowly. It was an interesting thought. Puppetmaster looked up at Kotei and motioned to the ties that bound Kaiba and Kiri. Kotei untied the two hostages and allowed them to get up to their feet. Kiri got to her feet herself, even as she was offered a hand by Kotei. She looked at Reba. Reba had her hands on her hips. Kaiba straightened out his shirt and coat. He looked at Puppetmaster.

“Thank you for meeting with us,” Kaiba said.

Puppetmaster smiled, “Be sure to stop by anytime.”

Kaiba turned to Kiri and motioned for her to follow him, “Come on. We’re leaving.”

Kiri turned and followed Kaiba out of the cage. She stopped a moment to say hello to Puppetmaster then ran after Kaiba. Puppetmaster looked after them and smiled. Reba walked up to him and narrowed her eyes.

“You’re just going to let them go?” Reba asked.

“Yep,” Puppetmaster nodded.

Reba shook her head, “You’re too much, you know.”

“Thank you,” Puppetmaster said, “Well; we should get back to running this circus, shouldn’t we?”

“I agree,” Reba walked out of the cage, “I hope you’ll actually do some work today.”

Puppetmaster shook his head, “Don’t I always?”