Chapter 1:
"Tenenbaum, tonic experiment 47" she spoke into her recorder "Given the current state of Rapture and Atlas' goons taking to robbing everyone and thing for ADAM, this tonic will hopefully restore the Little Sisters".
She paused a moment. Only a few years ago she had thought of them nothing as an experiment, a means to an end. How did this happen? She thought When did I start to have a heart?
"Bridgette?" a man called, his footsteps getting louder.
"One moment!" she shouted, pocketing the recorder and removing the tonic from the desk. A little girl on a small bed in the corner of the room stirred.
"Come one Bridgette" the man was knocking on the door very loudly.
"One moment damn it!" Tenenbaum slipped the tonic into her desk facing the bed, then locked the draw.
She quickly walked over to the door and unlocked it. A middle aged man wearing plain clothes strode in. He had an authoritive look and several scars down his face, despite this appearance he was actually a good friend. A former assistant in fact.
"Phillip" Tenenbaum sighed "I wish you would say it was you" she walked back over to the desk and removed the tonic.
"Figured you'd be able to tell from my voice by now" he grinned. He then looked over to the bed "Did it work?"
"How do I know? Haven't used it yet" Tenenbaum walked over to the girl and kneeled at her side.
Tenenbaum ran her hand through the girl's hair with a worried expression. She had already been troubled when the splicers attacked at New Year's, and when Ryan had started splicing his own people Tenenbaum's anxiety grew. Suchong didn't care about the girls' safety but he did care about the cost. The sea slugs were difficult to catch and a lot of effort went into conditioning the girls.
"Little one" she whispered softly "Wake up now". The girl groaned then sat up.
Her eyes still made Tenenbaum shiver, the dead glow making her seem like a monster rather than a girl.
"Is it time Mama Tenenbaum?" the girl suddenly brightened up "Can I go to Mr Bubbles?"
Her chest tightened "No Debbie, not just yet" she held up the tonic "I want you to try this".
Debbie's shoulders slumped "More medicine?"
"Yes dear" she pressed it to the girl's hand and removed the top "For me".
Debbie huffed but obliged, taking the tonic grudgingly. She took a sip then tried to put it back into Tenenbaum's hand.
"No" she said sternly pushing the hand back "Drink all of it".
With a defeated look Debbie tilted her head back and tipped the tonic to her lips, draining it.
Mein Gott, let this work Tenenbaum silently prayed. Another odd trait she had started. Phillip moved forward placing his hand on her shoulder, gripping it hard. Debbie sat there for a minute just staring back at them.
Suddenly her veins became more visible, the tonic cleary coursing through them. Debbie started groaning, looking about to faint. The veins across her body grew brighter and she fell forward.
Tenenbaum moved forward "Debbie!".
Debbie coughed violently. Tenenbaum shuffled back as the girl coughed up the remains of the sea slug. Phillip gasped quietly.
"It worked" he whispered.
"The ADAM has been completely purged from her system a long with the slug!" Tenenbaum cried triumphantly.
"Mama Tenenbaum?" Debbie looked back up. Her eyes were now a dark brown.
"Yes little one?"
"Can I see Mr Bubbles now? I drank the medicine" she said shyly.
Tenenbaum was about to say not yet when Phillip answered "In a few minutes. Will go find him".
Debbie cheered while Tenenbaum looked mortified. We can't let her go! I still have to remove the mental conditioning she pulled Phillip aside to say this.
He raised his hand "I know she's still thinking like a little sister but Suchong thinks we've just been trying to make her more durable. Besides the Big Daddy can lead us to other girls"
"I don't like the risk!" Tenenbaum hissed.
"Any better ideas then love? Coz frankly we are running out of options" he argued.
Tenenbaum moved to the doorway and looked at Debbie. The girl had picked up a teddy bear and was dangling her feet over the bed. She had probably done this with her family. Like the other girls Tenenbaum put out there.
"Very well."
Debbie was skipping happily infront of Tenenbaum and Phillip, humming softly to herself. Phillip was glancing around, listening for any sounds that could be a splicer or one of Ryan's over-zealous fanatics. Tenenbaum clicked her revolver and looked around the halls of Rapture.
They were in one of the apartment sections, Sapphire Sights. Tenenbaum had found Debbie near here crying at the side of a Big Daddy. From what she could tell the Big Daddy was dead and had taken the splicer with it. Debbie had been adamant that she was wrong, but Tenenbaum could be just as stubborn.
"Not far now!" she called out.
"Hush little one!" Tenenbaum rushed over "We must be quiet or the bad men who hurt Mr Bubbles will show up".
Debbie immediately looked tearful and scared, but nodded anyway. Tenenbaum smiled and kept her hand on her Debbie's shoulder. They continued through the disturbingly empty apartments for a while, everyone was gathering in different parts of Rapture. To get plasmids or to feel safe, sometimes it was same thing.
Why am I doing this? Tenenbaum thought to herself Some innate need to stab Fontaine in his dead back? To satisfy my concsience? Debbie looked back again and gave a big smile to show she was brave Or was Debbie just a moment of weakness? A freak occurence and nothing more?.
"Okie-dokie" Debbie whispered and pointed over to the axis of the apartments. Sure enough a Big Daddy was lumbering around making his soft moaning sounds. Debbie seemed estatic and ran over.
"Debbie no!" Phillip shouted out and ran after her, Tenenbaum at his heels.