Parasite Eve: Nightmare High
Prologue
Location: MIST HQ in LA
Aya Brea watched as two scientists and her friend Pierce Carradine finished their final
examination of Eve. Even now, nearly two months since her rescue, Aya found it hard to watch.
She was afraid that someone would find something wrong with her. If even one medical readout
or chemical analysis seemed off, Eric "Hal" Baldwin would have Eve locked up in a cage and
turned into MIST's greatest science project. And becoming a lab rat would definitely kill Eve's
chances at living a semi-normal life as her adopted daughter and a highschool girl. Aya closed
her eyes and remembered just how hard it had been to convince "Hal" to let her adopt Eve and
place her in highschool. It had been a fight that rivaled any NMC hunt. In the end, he'd decided
that Aya's way was the best way. Still, she was having one hell of a hard time convincing him
that Eve wasn't going to transform into some super being or turn against MIST. Even now, after
two solid months of tests, he wasn't completely convinced. Aya sighed and walked over to a
marked board Pierce had set up a few days ago.
Several jagged lines made their way from one end to the other, each progressively
dropping towards the bottom of the board. The lines represented NMC sightings, body counts,
and their power levels. Something was happening to them. Aya wasn't sure yet, but she had a
strange feeling that the Neo-Mitochondria were planing something. Not that she'd had any first
hand experience with them lately. She'd been watching over Eve ever since the tests began.
She'd slept on the floor and eaten only what Rupert and Jodie brought her. Since Kyle was still
in Washington, trying to explain the events of the Dryfield incident, she'd been alone most of the
time. Two months of just waiting. It was driving her insane. Plus, her parasite powers seemed
to be weakening from lack of use.
Aya yawned, realizing with a smirk just how tired she was. She glanced in at Eve, who
favored her with a weak smile. Aya smiled back. She waved and Eve's grin grew just a little
bigger. Right now, she looked like an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl. Even though she was
wearing a drab grey sweater and simple jeans, she could have been a model of some kind. Her
eyes sparkled in the light with a beautiful, emerald green light. Her features were soft with the
special loveliness that was a result of Aya's Japanese heritage. Eve's body was in far better
shape that most teen girls though. Her muscles were strong without being too large. And she
was tough. All the scientist's examinations indicated that Eve's mitochondria were at least ten
times more powerful than Aya's. That was a sobering thought. Aya gave Eve a thumbs up and
relaxed a bit when she turned her attention back to Pierce, who was probably keeping her mind
of the tests with some story from his hacker days. Aya yawned again. This time, she almost felt
her eye lids falling. She was more tired than thought. With a groan, Aya sat down on the cold
metal floor outside the examination room and closed her eyes. After just a minute, she was
asleep.
*****
They moved quickly, swarming their prey with their superior numbers and incredible
power. Electricity coursed from each and every hair. The NMCs had once been simple mice but
one encounter with Neo-Mitochondria had left them monsters. Their eyes glowed with lethal
intent and their teeth dripped venom. Their tails could heave fire balls and their bodies were
surging with power. They were deadly creatures when encountered alone. In a large pack, they
were nearly unbeatable. Not that a MIST Hunter balked at battling the beasts. Compared to
some NMCs, the rats were insignificant weaklings. Yet, there was something strange about this
pack of super rodents. Not that Rupert Broderick noticed. He just kept blasting them to shreds
with his magnum revolver. He'd already killed two dozen of them. They just kept coming and
surrounding him. If he didn't have Alison Jennings, a recent MIST recruit, backing him up with
her PA3 shotgun, he'd have been dead already.
"Jesus Rupert, where are these things coming from?" Alison asked as she fired her last
shell into the pack, killed three of them with the single blast. Rupert started firing the moment
she began to reload, speaking as he popped fresh bullets into his magnum's cylinder. "Not a
clue. How's your ammo holding out?" He snapped the weapon closed and pointed it at another
rat that was racing towards them with four others right behind it. Alison pumped her shotgun
and took careful aim. "Not so great. You?" She blew the rats back to the hell they'd come
from. She chambered a fresh shell and watched for more targets. Rupert checked his armor's
pockets for rounds and came up with only three bullets. "I'm doing lousy. Only three left. Let's
get back to your car for a reload." Alison nodded quickly before suddenly turning around. She
scanned the darkness around her, a mildly confused look on her face. "Problem?" Rupert asked.
Alison shook her head. "Nah. Thought I heard something. Probably just more super mice. Let's
head out." She turned towards the exit and started out. Rupert followed a few steps behind, his
magnum perpetually at the ready. Something didn't feel right about this mission. The rats
weren't the only thing. Alison had brought in enough ammo to turn a car into Swiss cheese and
he'd been carrying so many bullets that he rattled. The BP readout on his contact lenses was sky
high. There were just too many NMCs in the building. And there were so many different types.
So far, they'd seen seven different breeds, rats included. Some of those breeds hadn't been seen
since the Manhattan Blockade Incident. Rupert felt a memory trying to rise. Then it hit him
hard, sending a wave of terror surging throughout his entire body.
Rupert stopped moving. "Alison freeze." He whispered quickly. Alison stopped dead,
not even glancing back at him. "Trouble?" She muttered. Rupert turned around and pressed his
back against her's. They'd need to move as one if what he had just thought was true. "We're in
it deep. I just remembered something about New York. Remember the briefing about the
different NMCs? Some of them weren't naturally occurring. Only a conscious mind could create
them." Rupert whispered quickly. He double checked his pockets for ammo as he spoke, still
just three rounds. Alison wasn't sufficiently well trained not to respond to Rupert's revelation.
She spun around, pressing herself against Rupert's chest, and stared into his eyes. "Are you
telling me that we're dealing with another Eve! We're screwed! Royally! Let's get out of her
before she or he or whatever the hell we're up against turns us into ashes!" Alison grabbed
Rupert's free hand and started running. Rupert almost fell but she kept moving, half leading and
half dragging him towards the exit. "Alison stop! We've got to be careful!" Rupert yelled as
they neared the doorway.
Without even the slightest warning, something huge dropped from the ceiling in front of
Alison and Rupert. Alison came to a halt so abruptly that her feet slipped out from under her.
From the floor, she raised her shotgun and prepared to deliver a load of buckshot into the thing.
Rupert barely kept his own footing when Alison fell. Though he stayed on his feet, he wasn't
sure he wanted to be standing. He made less of a target on the ground. Rupert raised his
magnum and aimed for the thing blocking the door. "Blow it to hell!" He roared. Before either
he or Alison could fire, some force froze them in place. Rupert could barely breath. It was as if
the air had become as thick as wet concrete.
"Well, well, well. MIST Hunters I believe. Interesting. I would have expected just a
pinch more fight." A voice spoke inside of Rupert's head. He heard Alison gasp, she'd heard it
too. The thing at the door seemed to have some kind of telepathic talent. "Who are you? What
are you?" Rupert asked through clenched teeth. He still couldn't pull the trigger of the
magnum. The thing moved forward on what looked like a snake's body. It was hideous even in
the weak light. Alison gagged at the sight of it and Rupert felt his own stomach getting nasty.
The best way to describe the thing was that it looked like a giant rotting bag of slime on top of a
snake's body. It had three limbs on its left side, none of which matched. There were only two
arms on its right side but they were a matching set of giant crab claws. The creature's head was
enormous and horribly misshapen. It had three eyes and a gapping mouth like a shark. Each eye
was a different color, each fang razor sharp and covered with venom. The thing moved closer
and examined Alison and then Rupert. "You'd be surprised by who and what I once was. All
you need to know for now is that you are the bait in a carefully laid out trap. The prize I seek
will come for you. When She does, I will take her and her power." The thing reached out with
its crab claws and tore Alison's shotgun from her hands. One of its eyes focused on the weapon
and began to glow. Suddenly the shotgun became soft and malleable, as if it were made of
tinfoil. The thing disarmed Rupert and simply wrapped the shotgun around his and Alison's
wrists, locking them together. The metal became strong and hard again the moment the eye
stopped glowing. Rupert and Alison tested their bonds. There was no easy escape. The thing
turned away from them. With a wave of one tentacle-like appendage, a host of NMCs appeared.
There were hundreds of creatures, all crying out for food. Rupert drew in a deep breath as the
creature's paralyzing attack ended. Behind him, Alison was whispering a prayer. A rat
screeched at them, its eyes gleaming with murderous intent. The thing called back to the
monsters around them. "Go forth and take your sustenance from the local food. Stay out of sight
though." It commanded and the NMCs obeyed. Although Rupert was glad that he wasn't dying
yet, he felt fear tickling his soul. If the thing holding Alison and himself hostage could control
the monsters, it had to be just as powerful as Eve. And that meant that the human race was in
serious danger. It could be extinction or forced evolution into nightmares. Rupert didn't like
either choice. "What do we do now?" Alison asked from behind him. After a few moments, he
answered. "We wait for Aya to save our butts again."
*****
"Yo Aya! Got the final test results!" Pierce called out over an intercom, breaking Aya
out of the nap she'd fallen into. She rubbed her tired eyes with her left hand as she pressed her
right against one of the new palm print identification scanners. The lab door whooshed open as
the airlock was bypassed. Aya was surprised by that. "Hal" wouldn't like hearing that Pierce let
her step in without using the airlock. Then again, Aya really didn't care what he thought as long
as the test results were all good. As she entered the lab, Pierce favored her with a warm smile.
"We're in the clear babe! Eve's systems are human and so's her brain. For what its worth, her
mitochondria seem to be just like yours. Only a hell of a lot feistier." Pierce said as he stepped
to the side, allowing Aya to give Eve a big hug. The two were the perfect image of a mother and
daughter. For a moment, it was easy for Pierce and the scientists to pretend that Eve was just a
girl and Aya just a mother receiving happy news. Eve was, of course, something far more
important than just a normal human. Her power to stun and incapacitate NMCs would change
MIST's hunting forever. Soon, with her help and Aya's, the threat of Neo-Mitochondria would
cease to exist. Humanity could look forward to becoming something better than it was. All of
humanity might one day be like Aya and Eve. Able to utilize the amazing powers of the
mitochondria within as part of a wondrous symbiosis. Pierce smiled at the thought. If
humanity's future was to become like Aya and Eve, he was ready to evolve.
Eve broke away from Aya slowly, as if she were afraid to leave her arms for even an
instant. Though the two months she'd spent outside of the Neo-Ark facility had allowed her to
discover feelings other than fear, anxiety was still her primary emotion. Away from Aya, Eve
felt that deep survival instinct kick in. Adrenaline coursed through her body, making her senses
keener and her muscles stronger. Her power wanted to manifest. Eve closed her eyes for a
second, slowed her breathing, and brought her pulse down. She could control the power only by
remaining perfectly calm. If she lost control just once, people would did. Eve had to hold it in.
Aya frowned at her. "Are you okay honey?" She asked, worry in her voice. After a moment,
Eve nodded. "I'm fine. Just need a little sleep." Her voice was almost identical to Aya's now.
That seemed to surprise Aya and Pierce but Eve wasn't surprised in the least. She understood
now exactly who and what she was. She was a genetically engineered clone with very few
changes to the original DNA. For the most part, Eve was Aya and Aya was Eve. Except Aya
was 28 and she was, in appearance, 16. Technically speaking, Pierce and the scientists thought
Eve was, at the most, three years old. That still struck her as remarkable, that she could be so
old and yet be so young. The people at the Neo-Ark tried to make a monster of her. Thought
they failed, they still took something precious from her. A childhood. Eve wanted to cry but she
knew that would upset Aya. So Eve just smiled and tried to forget all about the past. What little
past she had that could be forgotten. Aya reached out and put her hand on Eve's shoulder. The
contact comforted Eve. She hadn't been able to even speak directly to Aya for the last two
months. It was nice just to look into her lovely green eyes and feel the love their.
"Do you want to go home now, Eve Brea?" Aya asked with a warm smile. Although
"Hal" had already assigned Eve to her, Aya didn't want to treat her like some case or a partner or
even just a friend. She wanted to act as if Eve was her daughter. Friend, partner, and case she
might also be, but Eve had to be a daughter first. If she wasn't, then there was no point in
having saved her. If Aya couldn't treat her as a part of her own body, which she was, then she
wasn't a person anymore. She was one of them. Just another NMC running around. That was
Aya's worst nightmare. That her mitochondria would one day transform her into a monster.
When Eve smiled at Aya, it made her fears and dark thoughts vanish. "I'd love to go home with
you... Mom." She said with a big grin. Aya felt a tear run down her cheek as she gave her new
daughter a big hug. "Tonight you'll sleep in a warm bed. And tomorrow you'll go to orientation
at the highschool." Aya leaned back, one hand still on Eve's shoulder. "You're going to love
school. And if you don't, you can always torch the place." Aya laughed and Eve did too,
although her's was an artificial giggle. If anyone got her too angry or too frightened, her powers
would explode to life, flash frying everyone in a five hundred meter radius. Eve didn't want to
kill again. They'd made her kill at the Neo-Ark. They'd turned her into a murderer. Eve turned
away from Aya, weeping for the gift she'd been given. Her freedom and her life. Aya wrapped
her arms around Eve again. "Are you sure you're alright?" She asked. Eve nodded. "I'll be
okay. I just need some time. And maybe a movie or something." Eve said with a fragile smile.
She turned back to Aya. "Lets go home mom."
Outside the lab, Director Eric "Hal" Baldwin watched the emotional reunion of Aya and
Eve. He felt a vague stirring of emotion deep down but he also felt fear. Eve was the most
powerful being yet to be created by Aya's mitochondria. If she became uncontrollable again, or
was somehow turned against MIST by a third party, it would be the end. However, if Aya could
take care of her, keep her powers in check, MIST could benefit immensely. NMCs everywhere
could be stopped by Eve. Baldwin sighed softly and turned away from the glass. He had a
headache. All of the tests showed nothing inconsistent with expected results yet something still
seemed wrong to him. Eve still felt dangerous. Then again, he'd had the same feeling about
Aya before he'd been able to see the results of her investigations. Baldwin shook his head and
walked back to his office. He wished that he could talk to someone but he had no one that could
understand. No one could ever understand what it was like to know that the choices you make
could bring about the end of the human race. If one of the tests was wrong, if Baldwin had made
just one tiny mistake, that was the end. Baldwin hoped that he was right about letting Aya take
Eve home. He truly did hope that she just a normal girl with amazing power. The world just
wasn't ready for another NY Incident Eve. Another assault of that kind, another outbreak of
NMCs, it could destroy everyone and everything. Baldwin glanced up at a small picture on his
desk. It was of himself with MIST's best Hunters, Aya and Rupert. It had been taken just before
the Dryfield Incident. Baldwin met his own eyes and wondered if he'd made the right decision.
End Prologue
Next: Eve enrolls in highschool only to discover the worst Neo-Mitochondria infection of all
time there. Rupert and Alison try an escape. Aya is sent to Washington D.C. to met with Kyle.
Pierce goes out on a mission hunt down a Neo-Ark scientist. And the war for dominance
between the nucleus and Neo-Mitochondria rages on.
Prologue
Location: MIST HQ in LA
Aya Brea watched as two scientists and her friend Pierce Carradine finished their final
examination of Eve. Even now, nearly two months since her rescue, Aya found it hard to watch.
She was afraid that someone would find something wrong with her. If even one medical readout
or chemical analysis seemed off, Eric "Hal" Baldwin would have Eve locked up in a cage and
turned into MIST's greatest science project. And becoming a lab rat would definitely kill Eve's
chances at living a semi-normal life as her adopted daughter and a highschool girl. Aya closed
her eyes and remembered just how hard it had been to convince "Hal" to let her adopt Eve and
place her in highschool. It had been a fight that rivaled any NMC hunt. In the end, he'd decided
that Aya's way was the best way. Still, she was having one hell of a hard time convincing him
that Eve wasn't going to transform into some super being or turn against MIST. Even now, after
two solid months of tests, he wasn't completely convinced. Aya sighed and walked over to a
marked board Pierce had set up a few days ago.
Several jagged lines made their way from one end to the other, each progressively
dropping towards the bottom of the board. The lines represented NMC sightings, body counts,
and their power levels. Something was happening to them. Aya wasn't sure yet, but she had a
strange feeling that the Neo-Mitochondria were planing something. Not that she'd had any first
hand experience with them lately. She'd been watching over Eve ever since the tests began.
She'd slept on the floor and eaten only what Rupert and Jodie brought her. Since Kyle was still
in Washington, trying to explain the events of the Dryfield incident, she'd been alone most of the
time. Two months of just waiting. It was driving her insane. Plus, her parasite powers seemed
to be weakening from lack of use.
Aya yawned, realizing with a smirk just how tired she was. She glanced in at Eve, who
favored her with a weak smile. Aya smiled back. She waved and Eve's grin grew just a little
bigger. Right now, she looked like an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl. Even though she was
wearing a drab grey sweater and simple jeans, she could have been a model of some kind. Her
eyes sparkled in the light with a beautiful, emerald green light. Her features were soft with the
special loveliness that was a result of Aya's Japanese heritage. Eve's body was in far better
shape that most teen girls though. Her muscles were strong without being too large. And she
was tough. All the scientist's examinations indicated that Eve's mitochondria were at least ten
times more powerful than Aya's. That was a sobering thought. Aya gave Eve a thumbs up and
relaxed a bit when she turned her attention back to Pierce, who was probably keeping her mind
of the tests with some story from his hacker days. Aya yawned again. This time, she almost felt
her eye lids falling. She was more tired than thought. With a groan, Aya sat down on the cold
metal floor outside the examination room and closed her eyes. After just a minute, she was
asleep.
*****
They moved quickly, swarming their prey with their superior numbers and incredible
power. Electricity coursed from each and every hair. The NMCs had once been simple mice but
one encounter with Neo-Mitochondria had left them monsters. Their eyes glowed with lethal
intent and their teeth dripped venom. Their tails could heave fire balls and their bodies were
surging with power. They were deadly creatures when encountered alone. In a large pack, they
were nearly unbeatable. Not that a MIST Hunter balked at battling the beasts. Compared to
some NMCs, the rats were insignificant weaklings. Yet, there was something strange about this
pack of super rodents. Not that Rupert Broderick noticed. He just kept blasting them to shreds
with his magnum revolver. He'd already killed two dozen of them. They just kept coming and
surrounding him. If he didn't have Alison Jennings, a recent MIST recruit, backing him up with
her PA3 shotgun, he'd have been dead already.
"Jesus Rupert, where are these things coming from?" Alison asked as she fired her last
shell into the pack, killed three of them with the single blast. Rupert started firing the moment
she began to reload, speaking as he popped fresh bullets into his magnum's cylinder. "Not a
clue. How's your ammo holding out?" He snapped the weapon closed and pointed it at another
rat that was racing towards them with four others right behind it. Alison pumped her shotgun
and took careful aim. "Not so great. You?" She blew the rats back to the hell they'd come
from. She chambered a fresh shell and watched for more targets. Rupert checked his armor's
pockets for rounds and came up with only three bullets. "I'm doing lousy. Only three left. Let's
get back to your car for a reload." Alison nodded quickly before suddenly turning around. She
scanned the darkness around her, a mildly confused look on her face. "Problem?" Rupert asked.
Alison shook her head. "Nah. Thought I heard something. Probably just more super mice. Let's
head out." She turned towards the exit and started out. Rupert followed a few steps behind, his
magnum perpetually at the ready. Something didn't feel right about this mission. The rats
weren't the only thing. Alison had brought in enough ammo to turn a car into Swiss cheese and
he'd been carrying so many bullets that he rattled. The BP readout on his contact lenses was sky
high. There were just too many NMCs in the building. And there were so many different types.
So far, they'd seen seven different breeds, rats included. Some of those breeds hadn't been seen
since the Manhattan Blockade Incident. Rupert felt a memory trying to rise. Then it hit him
hard, sending a wave of terror surging throughout his entire body.
Rupert stopped moving. "Alison freeze." He whispered quickly. Alison stopped dead,
not even glancing back at him. "Trouble?" She muttered. Rupert turned around and pressed his
back against her's. They'd need to move as one if what he had just thought was true. "We're in
it deep. I just remembered something about New York. Remember the briefing about the
different NMCs? Some of them weren't naturally occurring. Only a conscious mind could create
them." Rupert whispered quickly. He double checked his pockets for ammo as he spoke, still
just three rounds. Alison wasn't sufficiently well trained not to respond to Rupert's revelation.
She spun around, pressing herself against Rupert's chest, and stared into his eyes. "Are you
telling me that we're dealing with another Eve! We're screwed! Royally! Let's get out of her
before she or he or whatever the hell we're up against turns us into ashes!" Alison grabbed
Rupert's free hand and started running. Rupert almost fell but she kept moving, half leading and
half dragging him towards the exit. "Alison stop! We've got to be careful!" Rupert yelled as
they neared the doorway.
Without even the slightest warning, something huge dropped from the ceiling in front of
Alison and Rupert. Alison came to a halt so abruptly that her feet slipped out from under her.
From the floor, she raised her shotgun and prepared to deliver a load of buckshot into the thing.
Rupert barely kept his own footing when Alison fell. Though he stayed on his feet, he wasn't
sure he wanted to be standing. He made less of a target on the ground. Rupert raised his
magnum and aimed for the thing blocking the door. "Blow it to hell!" He roared. Before either
he or Alison could fire, some force froze them in place. Rupert could barely breath. It was as if
the air had become as thick as wet concrete.
"Well, well, well. MIST Hunters I believe. Interesting. I would have expected just a
pinch more fight." A voice spoke inside of Rupert's head. He heard Alison gasp, she'd heard it
too. The thing at the door seemed to have some kind of telepathic talent. "Who are you? What
are you?" Rupert asked through clenched teeth. He still couldn't pull the trigger of the
magnum. The thing moved forward on what looked like a snake's body. It was hideous even in
the weak light. Alison gagged at the sight of it and Rupert felt his own stomach getting nasty.
The best way to describe the thing was that it looked like a giant rotting bag of slime on top of a
snake's body. It had three limbs on its left side, none of which matched. There were only two
arms on its right side but they were a matching set of giant crab claws. The creature's head was
enormous and horribly misshapen. It had three eyes and a gapping mouth like a shark. Each eye
was a different color, each fang razor sharp and covered with venom. The thing moved closer
and examined Alison and then Rupert. "You'd be surprised by who and what I once was. All
you need to know for now is that you are the bait in a carefully laid out trap. The prize I seek
will come for you. When She does, I will take her and her power." The thing reached out with
its crab claws and tore Alison's shotgun from her hands. One of its eyes focused on the weapon
and began to glow. Suddenly the shotgun became soft and malleable, as if it were made of
tinfoil. The thing disarmed Rupert and simply wrapped the shotgun around his and Alison's
wrists, locking them together. The metal became strong and hard again the moment the eye
stopped glowing. Rupert and Alison tested their bonds. There was no easy escape. The thing
turned away from them. With a wave of one tentacle-like appendage, a host of NMCs appeared.
There were hundreds of creatures, all crying out for food. Rupert drew in a deep breath as the
creature's paralyzing attack ended. Behind him, Alison was whispering a prayer. A rat
screeched at them, its eyes gleaming with murderous intent. The thing called back to the
monsters around them. "Go forth and take your sustenance from the local food. Stay out of sight
though." It commanded and the NMCs obeyed. Although Rupert was glad that he wasn't dying
yet, he felt fear tickling his soul. If the thing holding Alison and himself hostage could control
the monsters, it had to be just as powerful as Eve. And that meant that the human race was in
serious danger. It could be extinction or forced evolution into nightmares. Rupert didn't like
either choice. "What do we do now?" Alison asked from behind him. After a few moments, he
answered. "We wait for Aya to save our butts again."
*****
"Yo Aya! Got the final test results!" Pierce called out over an intercom, breaking Aya
out of the nap she'd fallen into. She rubbed her tired eyes with her left hand as she pressed her
right against one of the new palm print identification scanners. The lab door whooshed open as
the airlock was bypassed. Aya was surprised by that. "Hal" wouldn't like hearing that Pierce let
her step in without using the airlock. Then again, Aya really didn't care what he thought as long
as the test results were all good. As she entered the lab, Pierce favored her with a warm smile.
"We're in the clear babe! Eve's systems are human and so's her brain. For what its worth, her
mitochondria seem to be just like yours. Only a hell of a lot feistier." Pierce said as he stepped
to the side, allowing Aya to give Eve a big hug. The two were the perfect image of a mother and
daughter. For a moment, it was easy for Pierce and the scientists to pretend that Eve was just a
girl and Aya just a mother receiving happy news. Eve was, of course, something far more
important than just a normal human. Her power to stun and incapacitate NMCs would change
MIST's hunting forever. Soon, with her help and Aya's, the threat of Neo-Mitochondria would
cease to exist. Humanity could look forward to becoming something better than it was. All of
humanity might one day be like Aya and Eve. Able to utilize the amazing powers of the
mitochondria within as part of a wondrous symbiosis. Pierce smiled at the thought. If
humanity's future was to become like Aya and Eve, he was ready to evolve.
Eve broke away from Aya slowly, as if she were afraid to leave her arms for even an
instant. Though the two months she'd spent outside of the Neo-Ark facility had allowed her to
discover feelings other than fear, anxiety was still her primary emotion. Away from Aya, Eve
felt that deep survival instinct kick in. Adrenaline coursed through her body, making her senses
keener and her muscles stronger. Her power wanted to manifest. Eve closed her eyes for a
second, slowed her breathing, and brought her pulse down. She could control the power only by
remaining perfectly calm. If she lost control just once, people would did. Eve had to hold it in.
Aya frowned at her. "Are you okay honey?" She asked, worry in her voice. After a moment,
Eve nodded. "I'm fine. Just need a little sleep." Her voice was almost identical to Aya's now.
That seemed to surprise Aya and Pierce but Eve wasn't surprised in the least. She understood
now exactly who and what she was. She was a genetically engineered clone with very few
changes to the original DNA. For the most part, Eve was Aya and Aya was Eve. Except Aya
was 28 and she was, in appearance, 16. Technically speaking, Pierce and the scientists thought
Eve was, at the most, three years old. That still struck her as remarkable, that she could be so
old and yet be so young. The people at the Neo-Ark tried to make a monster of her. Thought
they failed, they still took something precious from her. A childhood. Eve wanted to cry but she
knew that would upset Aya. So Eve just smiled and tried to forget all about the past. What little
past she had that could be forgotten. Aya reached out and put her hand on Eve's shoulder. The
contact comforted Eve. She hadn't been able to even speak directly to Aya for the last two
months. It was nice just to look into her lovely green eyes and feel the love their.
"Do you want to go home now, Eve Brea?" Aya asked with a warm smile. Although
"Hal" had already assigned Eve to her, Aya didn't want to treat her like some case or a partner or
even just a friend. She wanted to act as if Eve was her daughter. Friend, partner, and case she
might also be, but Eve had to be a daughter first. If she wasn't, then there was no point in
having saved her. If Aya couldn't treat her as a part of her own body, which she was, then she
wasn't a person anymore. She was one of them. Just another NMC running around. That was
Aya's worst nightmare. That her mitochondria would one day transform her into a monster.
When Eve smiled at Aya, it made her fears and dark thoughts vanish. "I'd love to go home with
you... Mom." She said with a big grin. Aya felt a tear run down her cheek as she gave her new
daughter a big hug. "Tonight you'll sleep in a warm bed. And tomorrow you'll go to orientation
at the highschool." Aya leaned back, one hand still on Eve's shoulder. "You're going to love
school. And if you don't, you can always torch the place." Aya laughed and Eve did too,
although her's was an artificial giggle. If anyone got her too angry or too frightened, her powers
would explode to life, flash frying everyone in a five hundred meter radius. Eve didn't want to
kill again. They'd made her kill at the Neo-Ark. They'd turned her into a murderer. Eve turned
away from Aya, weeping for the gift she'd been given. Her freedom and her life. Aya wrapped
her arms around Eve again. "Are you sure you're alright?" She asked. Eve nodded. "I'll be
okay. I just need some time. And maybe a movie or something." Eve said with a fragile smile.
She turned back to Aya. "Lets go home mom."
Outside the lab, Director Eric "Hal" Baldwin watched the emotional reunion of Aya and
Eve. He felt a vague stirring of emotion deep down but he also felt fear. Eve was the most
powerful being yet to be created by Aya's mitochondria. If she became uncontrollable again, or
was somehow turned against MIST by a third party, it would be the end. However, if Aya could
take care of her, keep her powers in check, MIST could benefit immensely. NMCs everywhere
could be stopped by Eve. Baldwin sighed softly and turned away from the glass. He had a
headache. All of the tests showed nothing inconsistent with expected results yet something still
seemed wrong to him. Eve still felt dangerous. Then again, he'd had the same feeling about
Aya before he'd been able to see the results of her investigations. Baldwin shook his head and
walked back to his office. He wished that he could talk to someone but he had no one that could
understand. No one could ever understand what it was like to know that the choices you make
could bring about the end of the human race. If one of the tests was wrong, if Baldwin had made
just one tiny mistake, that was the end. Baldwin hoped that he was right about letting Aya take
Eve home. He truly did hope that she just a normal girl with amazing power. The world just
wasn't ready for another NY Incident Eve. Another assault of that kind, another outbreak of
NMCs, it could destroy everyone and everything. Baldwin glanced up at a small picture on his
desk. It was of himself with MIST's best Hunters, Aya and Rupert. It had been taken just before
the Dryfield Incident. Baldwin met his own eyes and wondered if he'd made the right decision.
End Prologue
Next: Eve enrolls in highschool only to discover the worst Neo-Mitochondria infection of all
time there. Rupert and Alison try an escape. Aya is sent to Washington D.C. to met with Kyle.
Pierce goes out on a mission hunt down a Neo-Ark scientist. And the war for dominance
between the nucleus and Neo-Mitochondria rages on.