POV 3rd Person (Dannie):
*Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep*
*BUZZZZZZ*
Bishop's office code was always the longest, no one knew the code, not even the other droids knew it. Bishop shoved open the door and walked to his desk, signaling Dannie to sit down at the chair in front of him. Dannie sat down, and began fidgeting with his hands, dragging his thumb along the line on his palm. "Project Transformation Cell is going nowhere. For the last month, there has been no progress, the mutants working on the crystal have been saying that the cell is finished, that instead, the issue is 013-202012, stating that the mutagen inside his blood is way too unstable, compared to most of the mutants inside the facility...So soon, whether that's within the next month or by the end of the year, 013-202012's blood will be stablized, do not bring this up to anyone, not 013-202012, not even 013-000001...", Dannie was confused, 'what were they going to do to Mikey'.
"Wait, sir if you don't mind me asking, how are you going to stabilize the mutagen in his blood?", Bishop just typed into his computer as he stayed silent. But Dannie waited, watching the droid type into the computer, and Dannie didn't speak, he couldn't even if he wanted to, he had to wait. Finally, Bishop turned the computer towards the mutant, showing him the screen with Mikey's body structure beside two DNA structures from two different creatures, Dannie was confused, "Once the time has come and the injections are ready, 013-202012 will be injected with Ten CCs of mutagen that was extracted from the body of our most stable mutant, as well as Ten CCs of the perfected mutagen-"
"You're going to do what?!- Sir, injecting Mik-", Dannie took a deep breath, trying the best of his ability to calm himself down, "Sir. 013-202012, as you have stated has severely unstable mutagen inside his blood. Adding-, injecting two different mutagens into his bloodstream could have an adverse reaction!!!", Dannie was no longer sitting comfortably inside his chair, now he was standing, staring at the droid that only held a blank expression, "Do you think I care?", Bishop curked his brow, staring at Dannie, "013-202012. That mutant has only two important roles, raise the specimens until they reach the age of maturity and be a test subject until the crystal is perfected. Once both tasks are completed, 013-202012 will be eliminated, and I will deal with the body post-euthanasia", Dannie was shocked, he hated this, all of this, Dannie fell into the chair as he placed his hand on his face, 'This can't be real, this can't'.
"You're going to kill-"
"Yes", Bishop just answered, staring down at the mutant in front of him as Bishop leaned against his desk, "And I advise you to quit this friendship or-", waving his hand into the air, "Whatever you called...that, anyways...", pushing himself up to his feet he walked around the desk, leaning against the surface, he turned back and moved the screen away, making sure all Dannie's focus was in that moment, but he wasn't. Dannie needed to persuade Bishop to keep Mikey alive, though he knew that would be difficult, "But Sir! Why can't we just send him away, not with his family, just-", Dannie tried to think of something, anything! Waving around his hands, trying to get the point across, "Just anywhere! But we need him alive! Even if the specimens reach maturity, the children still need him to depend on!". Dannie was desperate, begging the droid in any way possible, trying to keep the kid alive, 'He can't die! I need him!'.
"That's the point...", Bishop answered him just a short response, his expression the entire time was too calm. Dannie was confused, yet he felt terror, "What?"
"Killing 013-202012 would do great benefits with us...", waiting for the droid to explain, but Bishop just stared, scoffing moments later, "God, I thought you were one of the smart ones...", Bishop just sighed, rubbing the palm of his metallic hand over his face, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Ending his life would give us...better control over the specimens. Ridding the specimens of their father would eliminate their dependence-"
"But they would start depending on each other-"
"So be it. For the specimens to become strong soldiers, they need to trust each other, so separating them from their father will make them know how things work around here... Loyalty-", pushing himself off the desk, Bishop walked back and forth, passing around the room, "Two things are needed for mutants- anything actually to be loyal...affection...", Bishop stood in front of the bat as he faces contorted into something strange...something dangerous, a knot formed inside his stomach, Dannie no longer felt safe as the froid stood over her, smiling at him"And f̷̜̬͔̩̼͒́̌̌ĕ̷͔͔ȧ̷̪̩̞̣̬̈́ŗ̷̗̓̊̍̀͠...", Dannie pressed his back against the chair as Bishop showed a terrifyingly wide smile, "With those two attributes, mutants will stay loyal, the fear will keep them in their place, however, once in a while, you reward them, that is when you have them...hook line and sinker. Knowing that if they stay in line they'll be safe, they'll live", sitting back in his chair, Bishop laughed at Dannie, loving the absolute fear in the young one's eyes, feeding off the fear. "It's the same method Kraang-kind have been using for eons, so don't be so shocked by that fact, I have even been using it on the two of you since the beginning", he gave Dannie a smug look, twisting the pen that was placed on his fingers in between his fingers.
"Now let's move on to the topic at hand. How is 013-202012 doing with the specimens...", Dannie knew this was coming, turning his gaze away, he so wanted to tell him that nothing happened, to lie about the entire situation, but he couldn't Bishop knew and was testing him, making sure Dannie was hiding nothing, "Yesterday, I left an hour before my shift started, I decided to skip breakfast and when I got there, I noticed when I looked at the eggs-"
"Get to the point", Dannie froze and cleared his throat, fidgeting with his hands underneath his blanket poncho, messing with the loose strings, "Looking at the camera system, Mi-, 013-202012 was seen, bonding with the specimens, making turtle noise, watching them with such intent and fondness. He has been doing that for two weeks, however, yesterday was the first day he actually touched the eggs, nuzzling and cuddling with each one. So far I checked his charts, he hasn't grown enough of a bond to give each one a name-", Dannie's fidgety expression changed to one of curiosity, and interest, his voice more thrilled to talk about the situation, "However, yesterday, I discovered something extraordinary, the bond has grown so much that his body has identified the eggs as his own! Yesterday, I walked close to the egg to see if I would get the same reaction, Mikey got when he touched the egg, but when I tried to touch the eggs to get a reaction, he growled!"
"Growled?"
"Yes!", Dannie chuckled as he stood to his feet, pacing back and forth, "His mind's becoming protective and possessive over the eggs! This mind has gotten to the point where it's considered me a threat!"
"And that's good news?", Bishop leaned on his desk as he watched the bat walk around the room, "It is! What makes this whole situation even better, the eggs recognize Mikey as their parental figure, when he places his hand on the eggs, their hearts spike, and their brain activity showed signs of dopamine flowing inside their brains, it's amazing! Within just two months he's grown a motherly role!"
"Motherly? But the mutant is male, correct?", Dannie nodded his head, trying to find the right words to explain, "For some of the animal kingdom, the mothers are protective of their young, like bears, orangutans, a lot of animals, the fact that we're even getting this is astonishing. All species of turtles do the same thing the moment the turtles lay their eggs, they leave them to fend for themselves, so the fact that 013-202012 is acting protective is super lucky for us!". Bishop held no expression, staring at the mutant in front of him, Dannie didn't know how to react, he didn't look happy or mad he just looked calm. Bishop just crossed his arms, "Have you seen any of this behavior acted out in front of your eyes?"
"No sir-", shaking his head, Dannie couldn't sit in his chair, "Except for yesterday, 013-202012 has been hiding these acts away from anyone seeing him. When checking the cameras, I noticed that he came whenever I was not present, he greets them, gives them his farewell, everything, he treats them like they can respond", Bishop nodded his head and walked towards the door, "Well seems like everything is going perfectly with the plan, continue watching him, and taking care of the eggs, you are dismissed", Dannie stood to his feet and walked towards the door, ready to walk to the laboratory and check on Mikey, but Bishop never opened the door, looking up at Bishop, Dannie waited for him to open the door, only to be met with a face full of danger and authority, "And remember what I said to you early...", placing his hand on Dannie's shoulder, Bishop stared down at the mutant, "What's said in this room, stays in this room", nervously, Dannie nodded his head as Bishop opened the door, shoving Dannie out of the room, "Good, now hurry"
"Yes Sir..."
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Dannie sped down the hallway, walking as fast as he could without the droids ordering him to slow down to a controlled speed. Dannie turned each corner, going left, right, left, straight, turning whatever way he needed to get there quickly. 'God, please be okay Mikey', turning the last corner, he saw the door, and quicken his pace until he was considered sprinting, running down the hallway, Dannie slowed down when he reached the door, running into the door accidentally. Dannie felt slightly dizzy, shaking off the healing, Dannie entered the code, slamming the door open once he got the signal. Running up the stairs, mutants stared at the frantic bat, giving him strange expressions, but Dannie didn't care, he never really did, everyone always gaze from weird looks, but in this moment he didn't care. Reaching the top of the stairs, he entered the other code, but he never got to finish, Centi swung open the door, waving him to enter inside, 'Why do they look like that?! Is something wrong?!'
"How's Mikey doing?", Centi said nothing to him, leading him straight to the turtle, Dannie looked them over, the only positive sign was that their pace was slow, not in any hurry. Pushing open the door to the nursing room, Mikey laid there trembling against the cool surface, wrapped in the blanket he was in less than an hour ago. "How is he doing?", Dannie pressed the back of his hand against his forehead, cringing at the temperature, "He's cleaned up, thankfully none of the wounds were infected, and the blood that seeped into his eye will be there for a good two to three weeks, however, he is severely ill and I think I know why...", Centi said nothing all they did was turn towards the specimens, their expression looked so worried, "You think it...the eggs did this to him?"
"No. I know the eggs did this to him, not directly though...", Dannie just stared at them, "What do you mean?"
"Pequenito stressed himself out, because of the eggs. You should have seen it when I got here, the moment I got here, he wanted to be near those eggs, he did not once care about his health, he kept telling me that he was fine, but of course, I didn't believe him...", Centi placed a cool rag on the turtle's forehead. Centi washed down Mikey's body, cleaning away the fresh coat of sweat, cleaning away the turtle's scarred plastron and carapace, her back facing towards Dannie, "Do you have any plans on how you are going to build their nest once they hatch...", Dannie just froze, confused by Centi's words, he just stared at them, "Like...beds?", turning around the centipede stared at the bat, "You haven't...", Centi covered the turtle's body, reaching up towards the top shelf, grabbing two Benadryl, trying to wake Mikey up. Mikey woke up for a second, staring tiredly up towards the centipede, shifting his gaze towards the door reaching the door, "No Pequenito, you need to get better, once your better you can see them, now come on take this", leaning Mikey forward they gave the mutant some medication, and laid him back down, but he didn't fall back to sleep, he just stared at the door as pathetic clicks and chirps fell from his beak. Mikey pushed himself up, trying to get to the door, only for Centi to push him back down with ease, "Get better first, then you'll see them, okay?", Mikey never responded and just turned onto his side with his back facing the two, Centi sighed and signaled Dannie to followed them, turning off the light and closing the door as they left the room, leaving Mikey alone to get as much rest he could get.
Walking towards the eggs, standing just a few feet away, Centi turned towards Dannie as her face held a tired expression, "Bishop has talked to me about this project for decades, however when the idea was brought up it wasn't turtles. Turtle specimens weren't decided until three years ago, originally they were supposed to be faster, stronger animals. So...within the time frame, I've done some research, turtles need an area to bask, meaning once they hatch they need to be placed underneath a heat lamp-".
"So...should I just build a heat lamp?", Centi placed their hand on their chin, staring down at the eggs, thinking over what they should do, "What species are the specimens?", Centi looked at each egg, noticing that even though they should similar shapes, there were three different shapes between the five eggs, Dannie explained the five species, going into heavy detail as to why they were chosen, he waited for the centipede's idea, "That's three...", they sighed, trying their best to think of what to do, "Completely different species, one's aquatic, three are semi-aquatic, and one's a tortoise. For now, you should plan on making the nest. Pequenito is in charge of building said nest, if the nest is not up to the parent's standard then the whole process is useless, so your goal for this is to make them a lamp they can bask underneath, if you finish in time build a small tank half a foot deep, that will be designed mainly for the aquatic turtle, that species is known for racing towards the water the moment they hatch, so build a pool with a small ramp from the outside that goes inside the pool. That is going to be your goal. I'll try searching for good material, Pequenito can go through them and make it himself".
Centi crouched down and stared at the eggs, just staring..., "After I collect materials, I will research the children's diets, and prep them myself, alright I'll check on him later, for now...", they sighed deeply as they walked towards the door, "Make sure he stays asleep, he's been trying to get out of bed so many times", and with that, they left, leaving Dannie to his own leisure.
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Dannie did his research, yet it only confused him even more than before. From what he learned, Mikey...shouldn't be acting how he is, 'For all species of turtles, they lay their eggs, and leave them to fend for themselves, so why is Mikey acting like this? It would make sense if Mikey was a female mutant turtle, but he's not?! The behavior he acting out is similar to his human side, the protectiveness, possessiveness, all of it would make sense, but only for females! But he's not a girl, so why...", Dannie stared at the chart, switching his gaze between Mikey's and Dannie's online searches, trying to make sense of the entire situation but none of it made sense.
Turning around Dannie, noticed Mikey peeking through the jarred door, and all Dannie did was sigh. Walking towards the door, Mikey stared through the crack, his eyes trained on the mutant bat that walked closer toward him, opening the door, Mikey stepped away from the door, "Mikey come on...", grabbing Mikey by the hand, the turtle struggle for a moment, rapidly switching between Dannie and the eggs as sad chirps fell from his beak, reaching towards the eggs, "Look Mikey, I know you want to be near them, but for now please get some rest", Dannie lead the turtle to the table laying him down, covering him with the old torn blanket.
Placing his hand on the edge of the table, Dannie just stared down at the creature that laid there sickly, staring up at Dannie as his body shook, but all Dannie could do was stare at Mikey. He wanted to tell him, so badly he wanted to tell Mikey, but he couldn't, he would know, Dannie sighed tiredly as an uncomfortable knot formed in his chest, he couldn't tell him what would happen in the end, so Dannie decided to talk about something else. "Hey...Mikey?", Dannie pushed himself onto the table, looking at Mikey just to make sure he was listening, he was so Dannie turned towards the door, "Me and Centi talked about when the kids hatch...", I heard Mikey shift underneath the blankets, 'I must have his attention now', Dannie folded his hands, staring down at them trying to find the right words, "After you get better, you'll need to...make a...nest", this felt weird, but why though, Dannie needed to calm down, so took a deep breath, never meeting Mikey's gaze, "In the meantime, I'll build the heating lamp for you guys to bask under as well as a small pool for Specimen 001, his species instantly runs to the water, so the pool is built just in case". Dannie looked up at the clock, noticing that he should start doing his tasks, sighing tiredly, Dannie patted his shell, and pushed himself up to his feet, walking to the door, only to stop as he waited, for what he didn't know, "Centi's coming back later to check on you...please get better, Mikey", Dannie closed the door, leaving the turtle alone to rest.