~Mercy’s POV~
It took about a week for Kazuko to recover after that first night. All the while, she was unconscious, in a deep coma.
The doctors assured Lex (through me) that she was okay, and the coma she was in was the body’s way of healing and keeping itself safe.
I can say that I was a little unsteady after that night, having witnessed first hand how bad the trauma that the girl suffered at the hands of Brutus. I couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened, and my feelings grew for the girl, to the point that I wanted to know more about her.
I had already known her for awhile before this, but it never struck me to look into her files, and call her by her name. So after a few days of little to no sleep, I did, and I found more evidence to support what I already knew.
Subject K. A. 594301 was actually Lex’s biological daughter. And when I say that, I mean his real biological daughter. I knew that Lex always considered himself a ladies’ man, but I never expected him to hook up long enough with a woman to make something out of it.
Emiko Aramusha. That was her name. Apparently, Lex met Kazuko’s mother at a convention. She ended up running into him while she was trying to stop a rogue prototype tech bot from hurting other people, and his wine spilled all of the way down her front. She apologized to him, and then rushed off to help the others trying to corral the robot.
Fortunately, the bot was shut down, due to her quick thinking. From the notes, it seems that she was a capable leader, and ordered the other scientists so they could work together to shut the thing down.
My guess is that he was so impressed, he went out of his way to meet up with her again. From there, it seems that they spent more time together, and fell in love.
After a few months, Emiko discovered she was pregnant. She told Lex, who then wanted her to abort it, but she refused. In the end, she gave birth, but not without some complications that left her very weak.
She and Lex raised their child, whom Emiko named Kazuko Aramusha. Kazuko seemed to take after her mother in her looks and personality from a young age, but after a few years, Emiko fell sick and died…
I don’t know what happened after that, but somehow Kazuko got roped into being one of Lex’s test subjects… But I know Lex. Even though he’s done some pretty shady things, he wouldn’t be so cold as to make his own daughter into a test subject, I’m sure…
And then for this to happen, I’m sure he must be sick at heart, and very vulnerable…. Thus, I kept my tongue knowing that in his vulnerable state of mind, Lex might do something irrational to the person who brings it up to him, plus he really doesn’t appreciate it when one of his underlings takes an interest in one of the test subjects.
In fact, this sort of thing has happened before, with the Kryptonian project. One of the doctors must have been concerned the boy, and somehow leaked it so the Bat’s could get wind of it. After the resulting raid, Lex ended up tracking down all of the scientists and doctors there, and ‘questioned’ them.
He eventually found the man, and killed him in the most painful way possible. Though, now that I think about it, the man was probably just a scapegoat for the others who were being ‘questioned,’ just to make their pain end.
Anyway, long story short, I should keep my mouth shut about this unless I want something like that happening to me.
‘I can’t really do anything until I have sufficient evidence of Kazuko declining in Brutus’s care… All I can do is bide my time, and hope I’m not too late...’
Then, I’m jerked out of my thoughts when I hear someone yelling my name while running down the hall. I walk around the corner, and swiftly catch Marie, who nearly ran into me.
“Woah, easy there Marie. What’s the problem?” I ask her. You see, she and I got to know each other very well, since she was stuck doing the most shifts of supervising Kazuko.
‘Probably because those cowards don’t want to be killed by her...’ I mentally grumble to myself, feeling a twinge of disgust at their actions.
But back to the matter at hand. “You... go… Kazuko… spouting… crazy!” She wheezes, bending over, holding onto her knees.
“Calm down and catch your breath.” I tell her. “You’re making no sense at all.”
She nods at me, and works and calming down her breathing. When she’s able to breathe evenly, she gasps out, “Kazuko just woke up, and she’s saying stuff that’s completely unhinged! I think she’s finally lost it!”
My mouth tightens, and I grab her arm. “Show me.”
Marie nods, and takes off, with me right behind her. As we run, I ask her to try and tell me exactly what Kazuko said to her, and how she was acting.
“Well, she was lucid… But she was nattering on about seeds and karma or something…”
“I see.” I let out an even breath, and pick up the pace, passing Marie. “I’m going ahead. Catch up when you can!” I call after me.
I skid to a stop after a few more seconds of running around corners and down hallways, and burst into the room. I take in the scene, and find Kazuko laying in her cage, a small smile on her face as she sleeps.
A pair of footsteps patters to a stop behind me, and I ask Marie with my eyebrows raised, “Are you sure you sure she was awake and not sleep talking or something?”
“Yes!” She wheezes, clutching the door frame. She pants for a bit before managing to say, “She… looked right at me and… smiled before saying what I told you…”
“Hmm.” I peer at the girl, and carefully sneak around the random pieces of equipment strewn throughout the room. I grab a nearby wooden pole, and warily poke Kazuko with it, ready to leap away at the slightest sign of aggression.
But the only reaction I get is her stirring and turning over in her sleep, mumbling about something. I let out a relieved sigh, and withdraw the stick…
Only for the girl grab it, her eyes flashing open to stare straight at me.
She grins at me, and giggles before rasping, “In that kind of place, don’t bloom there… don’t let the ensnare you… flower of hell…”
She lets out another rasping laugh, before her eyes roll up into her head. Her head wobbles, and then falls back to meet the ground with a muted *Thunk!*
I stare at Kazuko, utterly shocked and a bit unnerved. I back away, and inwardly panic. ‘I can’t believe it! She’s gone completely nuts! What will Luthor say about this?!’
A small sound comes from behind me, and over my shoulder, I see Marie hiding behind the door frame and me.
“Please tell me that she just didn’t say that…” She whimpers.
I sigh, and pinch the bridge of my nose. “I’ afraid I can’t, because she just did.” I inform her.
Marie gulps, and then asks, “What are we gonna do?”
“The only thing we can do.” I grimly reply. “I’m calling Lex in on this. He needs to know.”
I fish out my phone from my pocket, and flip it open to press speed dial #1. It rings a few times, and then Lex picks up.
“Ah, Mercy. I was just about to call you. What’s the status of our Shadow?” He says.
“... I’m afraid something has come up sir. You’re going to want to see this…” I tell him. While I do, I motion for Marie to back up so I can close and lock the steel safe door leading to Kazuko’s cell. I slam the thing closed, and then quickly press a combination on the key panel on the wall to lock it.
All the while, I am describing the situation to Lex. The line is silent when I finish, and just as I’m about to check the connection, Lex speaks up.
“This isn’t good. I’ll be down there in a bit, Mercy. Prep the security tapes for me will you?”
“Already on it, sir.” I respond.
“Good. I’ll see you there then.” *Click*
I snap the phone shut, and look at a still shaken Marie. “I need to go. Are you okay staying here?” I ask her.
She nods. “Y-yeah, it’s not like that small girl can rip through this door… Right?”
I nod, refraining from telling her that before this all happened, Kazuko managed to rip through the door and kill most the guards stationed here in this underground lab.
I swiftly turn, and stride towards the security office. Once there, I shoo the guard on duty out and start backing through the footage of Kazuko’s room. While I look through the videos, I dwell on the apparent effects from her treatment that kazuko is now revealing.
~Later~
I had all of the necessary the footage marked and ready when Lex came in, flanked by two burly security guards. I nod at him, and turn to the screen, completely ignoring Luthor as he dismisses the guards.
Once the other men left, I immediately start into a summarized spiel on what happened in the tapes.
“This was recorded roughly a few hours ago in subject K.A. 59301’s cell, when she first starts moving, and goes until about thirty minutes ago.”
Lex nods at me, and I press play on the remote in my hand. We both silently watch as Kazuko twitches and tosses in her sleep, before smiling and murmuring something.
“Back it up and turn up the volume, Mercy. I want to hear what she’s saying.” Lex softly orders, staring up at the huge screen.
I do as he says, until we both can clearly hear what Kazuko’s saying.
“Fusenmei chi…” She mutters, her eyebrow twitching. “Futatabi... Kanban... Unmei kara nogareru…(Smeared blood... again... a sign... escape from fate…)”
She laughs softly, and clearly says, “Jigoku no hana…(Flower of hell)”
Then she falls silent and still before squirming, and uncomfortable look on her face.
“Saku nai…” She groans. “Te soko ni anata no hanabira o hirogete inai…(don't bloom... no don't spread your petals there…)”
Then her face slackens once more, and she smiles, murmuring, “Taimu furai no hahen...
(shards of time fly)”
Finally, she something that makes partial sense when Marie bustles in, to find Kazuko leaning up on her elbows, staring straight at her, judging by the tilt and angle of her head.
(A/N: the camera is facing Kazuko’s back right now)
We can see Marie’s frightened expression when Kazuko says, “Me wo daseba futatabi mawaru karuma…( everchanging karma sows its seeds once more)”
She sighs, and settles back down into sleep as Marie whirls around and sprints out of the room, calling my name over and over again.
“This is where she got you, correct?” Lex suddenly says.
I nod, and we both watch until Marie and I leave the room, disturbed.
“That’s the whole video, sir.” I say, pausing the video.
Luthor nods his head, his face troubled as he sinks deep into thought.
“Hmm… I see…” He murmurs to himself. He then falls silent before glancing up at me, his forehead creased.
“This is troubling indeed.” He sighs. “You were right to call me, Mercy. We have to address this issue right away, while she’s still weak.”
I nod back, staring at the ground, or anywhere else to avoid looking into Luthor’s eyes.
“Mercy, is there a problem?” He asks me, just noticing my odd behavior.
I take a deep breath, after swiftly deciding that I was already in the hot seat, which, mind you, is not a favorable position to be in when Lex is around and things are going badly.
“...Yes sir…” I mumble. I pause for a few moments to gather my thoughts, and Lex quietly waits while I do. “It’s just that… lately, I’ve been having this uneasy feeling around subject K.A. 54301... I guess I was afraid that this was going to happen... “
“Because…”
“Because this is a direct result of allowing Brutus jurisdiction over her, sir.”
I take a shaky breath, and plunge on. “He used the inhibitor collar too many times on her, and as you know, lightning strikes can damage the neural tissue in the brain. I believe what we’re seeing here is exactly like that.”
I run a hand through my hair, and finish, “I’ve had this feeling for awhile, but I couldn’t let you know until something came up. unfortunately, this video here proves me right.”
“All of this…” I gesture to the entire facility, “Is now a complete waste due to the actions of one stupid man who was supposed to guard her, not kill her.”
I stifle a shudder when Luthor levels his gaze at me, his face expressionless but his eyes lit by a strange light.
“...What do you think we should do Mercy?” He asks me in a neutral tone.
I freeze, knowing that I probably just walked right into a trap. “I-I’m y-your assistant, s-sir.” I stammer. “I-It wouldn’t be proper for m-me to say a-anything!”
“Nonsense!” Lex exclaims, waving his hand. he glances at me, and then sighs. “Relax, Mercy. I’m not going to do anything to you. After all, you’ve served me faithfully for several years. I think that alone give you the right to tell me what you think of all this. And I also want to know what you think of all this too.”
I relax slightly, and say, “Well, now that subject K.A. 95301 is acting unstable, we’re going to have to be a lot more careful about security around her. If we keep her alive, she’ll be like a ticking time bomb… Who knows when she’ll explode, or where…”
“I want to keep her alive, if at all possible.” Lex says.
I nod, considering his statement. “All right, fair enough.”
I start pacing, and voice my thoughts. “If we keep her alive, then we need some way to keep her manageable... “ A thought strikes, and I still my movements.
“What if we keep her focused on a particular thing? This way, we can control her outbursts more easily….”
“Mm, and what would we get her to focus on?” Lex prompts.
I frown. “Good question…” I tilt my head, and consider an idea. “She was meant to be a weapon, right?”
“Yes… What about it?” Lex answers.
I grin, “I’m betting that she hates Brutus for doing what he did to her, and that she would absolutely love it if she could rip him to shreds. If we give her that and reward her, perhaps we can awaken and cement the killing instinct in her. Then, she’ll be more inclined to be our puppet, as long as she has the chance to kill people… And as a bonus, we’ll establish our authority and prove how dangerous a weapon subject K.A. 95301 truly is. This way, no one will dare to make careless mistakes or try to cross us like Brutus did.”
I gasp, winded from my long explanation. I Lex apprehensively trying to gauge his reaction, but to no avail. He remains silent, and I begin to fidget, when he breaks out into a wide grin.
“By God Mercy, that was utterly brilliant!” He cries. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
“I-I’m sure you could have, sir.” I stammer, taken aback by his uncharacteristic behavior.
Lex grins at me, and shakes his head. “I should have asked your opinion on things a long time before this. Go ahead and take the rest of the day off, Mercy. I’ll have to think on how to put this plan of yours into action… But when it does happen, I’m sure we’ll be in for a nice show… Heh heh, I can’t wait to see Brutus’s reaction when he realizes he’s cornered by the one he tried to kill, and is about to die…”
He chuckles to himself as I make my way out of the room, apparently already planning how this is all going down.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~No One’s POV~
It takes awhile, but through a careful watch and persistent bedside care, Kazuko makes a full recovery. After Kazuko is able to move around on her own, Brutus is notified by a smug Mercy that he’s been demoted and doesn’t have access to be near Kazuko ever again.
Of course, Brutus gets angry when he hears this, and storms off, slamming through doors and people alike, more often than not bowling them over in the process.
Over time, Brutus becomes unhinged and slightly crazed. The others can see it, but it’s always brushed off when the people in the lab try to tell the higher ups.
Then one day, Brutus manages to get into Kazuko’s new room, for he either paid off the guards and or killed the rest that wouldn’t cooperate with him.
~~~~~~~~~~
~Kazuko’ POV~
I look up from my coloring when the door to my room crashes open, revealing a wide eyed and insane looking Brutus. I stand up, utterly unsurprised at this situation because of the tell tale gunshots erupting outside of my room earlier.
“What do you want, Brutus?” I tiredly ask him. “As you can see, I’m kinda in the middle of something…” I gesture at the coloring book I was happily scribbling all over that’s lying on the ground with some colored pencils scattered around it.
“You…” Brutus mutters. “You, you’re the one who did this! You made the boss demote me into a lowly thug! I won’t stand for that! It’s time for payback, girlie!’ He roars.
I let out a sigh, crossing my arms, utterly unimpressed with this thick headed man. “It didn’t work last time, you trying to kill me.” I inform him. “What makes you think it will work this time?”
He smirks at me, his teeth bared in a mockery of a smile. “Cause this time, pretty bird, I’ll be sure to leave you dead!” He roars, and draws something from the side of his waist.
I internally steel myself when I see the sleek body of a Glock clenched in his hands, the barrel pointing towards me.
“Brutus,” I sigh, looking at him with sad eyes, “Don’t do this. Don’t do something you’ll regret.”
“I’ll tell you one thing girlie, if I regret one thing, it won’t be regretting this!” He snarls. “Instead, I’ll regret not killing you sooner!”
With that he raises the gun, and fires at me through the glass. To my surprise, the glass breaks when the bullets make impact, but I swiftly dive to the side, narrowly avoiding the next round as they go whistling over my head.
I grit my teeth in concentration, focusing on avoiding the bullets as they pass by me, and wait to move until the clear window between me and Brutus is all but gone from the shots blasting it to pieces. I take the chance and make my move when Brutus backs up, attempting to stuff another magazine in his now empty gun, and leap through the glass, headed straight towards him.
I see him look, up and his face contorts into a grimace when he spots me looming above him. He drops the gun, and rolls to the side just before me knee slams into the concrete where he was standing a moment before. I turn, and recieve a hand punch to the cheek.
I slide backwards, and wipe the blood that dribbles from the corner of my mouth, growling.
“If that’s the way you want it, fine.” I snarl. My vision swirls, and I see a wraith like figure of him detach from his body and move towards me to try and swing a roundhouse kick at me. But the confusing part was one Brutus was moving towards me, the other was standing there staring straight at me.
I blink to rid myself of the image, and when I open my eyes, I only see one man, who is headed straight towards me. I instinctively duck, and catch his leg in my hands. I suddenly heave on his leg, and send him flying. He lands on a pile of equipment, and groans, before scrambling to his feet.
He wipes some blood from a scratch above his eye that was made when he fell among the instruments and crouches in a defensive position.
“Alright, that’s it!” He snarls. “I’m taking you down!”
I pause, wary as he reaches for his waist band. But this time, he rushes at me, keeping what’s at his side hidden for the time being. I lunge towards him, also determined to stop him. But when we get within a few feet of each other, his hand starts withdrawing from his side.
My eyes take in the slightly curved edge of glinting metal heading towards me, and act swiftly. I skip to the side, and take his outstretched arm with my own, and judo throw him onto the ground. He lands there, the knife skittering out of his hand, and across the floor.
I ignore the knife the moment it flies out of his hand, and tackle Brutus, who is trying to rise from the ground. I grab one of his arms, and restrain it behind his head in one of the most painful positions I know.
“Surrender.” I hiss. “If you do that, I’m sure you’ll be let off with a less harsh punishment.”
“Heh.” Comes the muffled reply.
I hear a strange sound, a whistling hum of sorts, before a blazing pain suddenly erupts on my side. I howl, and clutch at the wound, somehow staggering off of Brutus. He sits up, and I see a triumphant smirk on his face.
“You really think that I wouldn’t be better armed that last time?” He sneers, palming a strange curved gun.
I growl at him, showing him my sharpened teeth as I struggle to fight against the pain raging within me. I can only watch as he climbs to his feet, and smirks, saying, “Say hello to your mother for me brat. Tell her I sent you.”
There’s a flash of purplish red, and a blinding pain hits my head and my chest. I let out a shrieking cry, and fall backward.
(A/N: Well, I’m going to end it there. Sorry that I haven’t updated in a bit, school’s been making me run around constantly, leaving me little time for anything else. I also have to do a lot of reading, and when that’s done, I hardly feel like staring at a screen, let alone one that requires thinking and putting up lots of little words on it.
To the side is a picture of the gun that Brutus has (the second one, and in the next chapter, I’ll tell you what it is exactly if I haven’t here) and the sfx of it firing. Yes, it’s a bit of a wait, but you’ll understand. Plus I was watching Treasure Planet this weekend, and couldn’t help but include part of it in my story. :)
All in all, please tell me what you think. Please vote, comment, and fan! I can’t wait to hear from you!)