Title: Worth Her Weight in ADAM
Author: KittenJedi
Status: Complete
I just finished BioShock and BioShock 2. (Yay black Friday Steam sales!) The splicers reminded me of my childhood. (Needless to say, childhood was not happy fun times with sunshine and rainbows for me.) Growing up with a mother addicted to methamphetamines, I felt so terrible for the little sisters... And wondered what it would take to get some parents to surrender their kids before Ryan started taking them forcibly? Would Fontaine pay for prime specimens in the right age range? How much is a little girl worth?
Forgive the simplistic style; it is mostly from the perspective of a Little Sister, both before she became one, and after.
Emmy lay curled in the bathtub of the small apartment she lived in with Mommy. Emmy had her pillow and blanket with her, as well as her teddy. She slept in the bathtub, Mommy got to sleep in the big bed, and so did all the friends that came to visit. Mommy had a lot of friends that came to visit, but none of them stayed very long. They were always noisy, and Mommy was noisy too, though Emmy wasn't supposed to make any noise. The one time Emmy had tried to make noises like she heard Mommy make through the walls, Mommy had slapped her so hard that one of her teeth fell out.
The friends who made noise never bothered Emmy. She stayed in the bathroom and never actually saw them. It was after they all left that Emmy didn't like.
That was when Mommy would splice.
She always told Emmy that a small bit of ADAM was okay. Just for Mommy. Not for Emmy. Not ever. ADAM was getting expensive and hard to find.
A friend was on the other side of the door, yelling now. Emmy pulled her blanket over her head, hunkering down in the bathtub. The man was shouting, he needed to use the john. Mommy was telling him that it was broken, he couldn't go in there. He told her he could go wherever he wanted and forced the door open. Emmy peeked out from under her blanket, worried, and saw the look of shock on the face of Mommy's friend.
"You have a kid in here? You keep your kid in here?" He turned to yell at Mommy.
"It ain't like I have somewhere else to put her." Mommy snapped in response. "Besides. She stays in there, sleeps in the tub. Don't make a peep or mind what Mommy does. Just means we can't use the john while I have company. Isn't that right, sweetheart?"
Emmy nodded her head, holding her teddy tightly. Mommy's friend was looking her over.
"Sell your kid to me." He said suddenly.
"What? You some kind of pervert or somethin'? You can leave right now, Reggie, I'll-"
"-I'll take her to the Little Sister's Orphanage. Better than sitting around in this hole listening to Ma sell herself all day and night. Real bed, education, decent food... Hell, you're her Ma. Ain't you supposed to want those things for her?"
"Don't see what's in it for you, buyin' a kid, then turnin' around and dumpin' her inna orphanage." Mommy countered, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Called doing the right thing. Besides. I can get you ten times the ADAM you buy off that punk Smitty."
Mommy paused. "Ten times the amount of ADAM? For my kid?" She verified slowly. Emmy frowned. She didn't like this. Mommy was supposed to tell him no, make him leave... But Mommy liked ADAM. Mommy like ADAM a lot. She even told Emmy so, that ADAM was the best thing in her life and Emmy should just shut up and go play.
Was ADAM really better than Emmy?
"Ten times." Mommy's friend Reggie verified. "But once she goes in that orphanage, you ain't getting her back. Also means what you were paying to feed her can go to more ADAM."
"You come back with the ADAM, you got yourself a deal."
Emmy sat on the floor, clutching her teddy bear to her chest tightly. Mommy was sitting behind her on the saggy and faded old sofa, brushing back Emmy's hair with hard strokes.
"Don't know how I got a kid as blonde as you. Tow headed." Mommy had dark hair and dark eyes. Not like Emmy. She had seen her reflection, studied it enough times in the bathroom. Gold hair that was lighter than the gold that decorated parts of Rapture. She was pale and scrawny, had lived in the workers quarters of Emerald Heights her entire life. Mommy had even named her Emerald, after home, telling Emmy she could never get lost since her name was home. She even had eyes like emeralds, or that was what Mommy said. Emmy had never seen a real emerald before. She wanted to, Mommy said they were pretty, the prettiest rocks she'd ever seen.
"I don't want to go away." Emmy whispered quietly as Mommy resumed brushing her damp hair, not caring if it hurt Emmy, pulling it into a ponytail. Mommy had just made Emmy take a bath, and had dressed her in her best dress. Her new dress. Mommy got it for her for Christmas. It was green with little white dots. Green like her eyes. Like emeralds.
"Aw, you'll like it. You'll get ta play with other kids. Get better food, soft bed with warm blankets, toys to play with, books ta read... Heck, wish I was goin'."
"Can't you come too?"
"Nah. Orphanage is for little kids. Don't worry. Reggie is on the up an up. He's one of the good ones. Works for Fontaine, Prob'ly why he wants ta get ya in that orphanage. Frank Fontaine opened the Little Sisters Orphanage. He's a good man, looks out for those who have trouble lookin' out for themselves." Mommy finished with Emmy's hair. "If I knew you'd be worth your weight in ADAM I'd have sold you long ago, ya know." She said casually, adjusting the bow she had put in Emmy's hair. "There. Like a little angel. Stand up, turn around and let me see." She ordered. Emmy quickly did as she was told, and Mommy nodded. "Now, you sit right here on this sofa and don't you move a muscle or make a peep, missy." Mommy said firmly, standing up. She started to walk towards the kitchen, but then someone knocked on the door.
"Ah. I said stay on the sofa." Mommy said firmly, pointing a finger warningly at Emmy as she changed course, going to open the door. "I ain't-Reggie! Been waitin' on ya. Got the kid spruced up an' ready to go."
"Good." Reggie stepped inside and set a suitcase down on the sofa beside Emmy. Mommy practically pounced on it, opening it up with hands that shook and letting out a cry of delight when she saw what was inside. Emmy counted. Ten. Ten glowing red bottles with needles. "I'll take the kid now."
"Take her." Mommy said dismissively. Emmy's lower lip quivvered, and she tried to hold back the tears. She knew ADAM was more important, but Mommy wasn't even looking at her. Wasn't saying good bye.
"Can I have a hug?" She asked, her voice a whisper.
"No! Now get out of here, ya little brat!" Mommy snapped out. Emmy started to cry, and Reggie scooped her up easily.
She didn't remember the trip to the Little Sister's Orphanage. She cried the entire time, Reggie occasionally patting her back awkwardly.
He dropped her off at the orphanage, and there were doctors there, looking her over as soon as she arrived. Another man was telling Reggie that Fontaine would be certain to pay him handsomely for a prime specimen.
Specimen?
They took her teddy away, strapped her to a table that had padding on it. She screamed at them to stop, that she would be good, she hadn't done anything for a punishment. They didn't listen to her, and soon there were needles in her arm, making her sleepy, making everything seem fuzzy and the world tilt to the side, coming in and out of focus. She tried so hard to stay awake, fought so hard...
She saw the slug they carried towards her. A scary thing, sickly gray and glowing red mixed together.
She didn't remember much after that.
Emmy lay curled up in her safe little niche, sleeping off a belly full of ADAM. She had taken her toy back to the scientists who praised her for being such a good girl, from getting so much ADAM from the angels. After that she had taken back her toy, empty now, ready for more ADAM.
She heard a heavy thud on the vent nearest to her. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. The noise snapped her awake and she grabbed her toy with a grin and a giggle, scurrying through the vent system on hands and knees before she reached the vent. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
"I'm here, Mr. B!" She declared happily, before sniffing the air. She could smell the heady scent that indicated an angel was nearby. "The air is full of ADAM." She assured him as she slithered out of the vent, Mr. B helping her down. As always, he wore a gleaming suit of armor. The gleaming marble floor felt cold against her bare feet when he set her down, and she could see a scatter of rose petals on the floor.
As soon as Mr. B had set her down, she skipped ahead, swinging her toy happily. "This way, Mr. B!" She called, hurrying down a marble hall that had low walls draped in white silk. She could see the angel now, an angel with dark hair and a peaceful face.
"Emmy! Emmy it's you, ya little brat! My girl is one 'a the brats!" A harsh, female voice crowed. Emmy whirled, facing a lady. The lady had dark hair and dark eyes, and was wearing a mask. "Come on, kiddo. Ya got ADAM. Give Mommy some ADAM. Just a taste now."
Emmy shrank away. "Mr. B!" She called, worried as the woman came closer. Emmy clutched her toy to her chest. It was still empty, she hadn't used it on the angel yet.
"I said give it to me!" The woman shrieked, lunging at Emmy. But then there was Mr. Bubbles, slamming into the woman from the side, using his drill on her. Emmy watched, glowing yellow eyes wide with fear.
There was something about the lady... For a moment she could see a flash; the hall wasn't marble, but cold metal, the rose petals were blood and the lady looked scary, half her face sagging like it was made from wax and starting to melt. Emmy let out a whimper. She recognized the lady, she was sure she did, but she couldn't remember from where.
Then the bad dream was gone, the marble hall, white silk and rose petals were back. Emmy looked around. There were no other lords and ladies, and the lady was an angel now, just like the angel she and Mr. Bubbles had found.
Emmy knelt by the first angel, and stuck her needle into the angel's chest, beginning to hum as she gathered precious ADAM from the body. She talked to Mr. B as she did so, nonsense talk to others, but perfect sense for a five year old girl who had been brainwashed to see only beauty instead of horror, who had been bonded to and came to love her hulking protector in his iron suit with the big helmet and the glowing eyes.
"Six times two is lemon." She assured Mr. B as she finished with the first angle, bringing the nipple on the end of her toy to her lips and greedily drinking some of the harvested ADAM, making room in her toy for more. "One too many!" She giggled as she headed to the new angel, the one who was sleeping after Mr. B had slammed into her. The angel who still seemed so familiar, but that was as it should be. She was an angel now, like all the others. Of course she would look familiar! "One too many."
She jabbed the needle of her toy into the new angel, humming a song while Mr. B kept watch against other lords and ladies who might come and try to hurt her while she gathered the ADAM. This angel was rip to bursting with Adam, and Emmy got to drink more of it, before her toy was full. Belly taught and thirst for ADAM sated for the time being, her toy full of ADAM rich blood, she turned to Mr. B, who looked down at her and let out a soft moan. It sounded like music.
"My tummy's full, Mr. B." She agreed reluctantly. "I'm ready for dream time."
The gargantuan protector made another nose that sounded like music, and Emmy scrambled onto his back while he made his slow, lumbering away to the nearest vent, the ground shaking with every step.