Firefly
"A Little Adjustment"
Summary: After Miranda, the crew of Serenity faces a few "little" adjustments after another memorable visit to Persephone.
Author's Note: Post-Serenity, so both Wash and Shepard are dead.
Warning: Spanking in this story. If this bothers you, DO NOT READ THIS STORY OR REVIEW IT.
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters or this concept. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment purposes.
Chapter 3: Answers
"We ain't even sure where the hell they went," Jayne reminded Mal as they combed the streets for any signs of their missing shipmates.
Mal nodded. "I know," he said, grinning, "but knowin' our little albatross the way we do. I reckon she'll give us a sign before long." He finished loading his pistol and put it back in its hostler.
"Great," Jayne muttered, "the crazy girl's gonna give us a sign. What's it gonna be? Blood and bullets?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth, but the sound of gunfire was heard and the sounds of men screaming in agony.
Mal looked back at him, smirking. "See," he said, "told ya." He started running for the screaming. Glaring at his back, Jayne followed.
They arrived at what appeared to be a ship of some kind, with definite markings that hailed it as Alliance…though, it could have been stolen. Men were running from it, many of them bleeding.
"She's insane!" one of them cried out.
"She's untouchable!" another yelled.
"That's my girl," Mal said, smiling brightly. "C'mon, Jayne." He headed inside the ship.
It didn't take them long to find the source of all the screaming, but it wasn't exactly who they had expected.
A twelve year old girl with stringy brown hair, pale skin, and wearing a loose purple dress stood in the center of carnage. A gun in one hand and a knife in the other, she held herself with grace of a dancer but bore the resemblance of a striking wild cat. She looked very, very familiar to them.
"River?" Mal asked, staring at the girl in open astonishment.
The girl's posture didn't waver, the intense look never left her face, but recognition bloomed in her chocolate brown eyes. "I knew you'd come," she said, her voice soft and distant.
Mal nodded. "W-Where's Simon and Kaylee?" he asked her, concerned. Sometimes when River was in one of her "moods" she didn't realize who she was possibly hurting.
She nodded her head toward an open door. "There," she said, and then spun around to fire at a gunmen who had appeared at the top of the staircase leading where Mal probably thought the crew quarters were.
"Jayne," Mal said, and that was all that was needed. The mercenary ran into the room, and came back out a few minutes later with a boy and girl under each arm. The boy wore only a large blue silk shirt and underwear too big for him. The girl had on a boy's button down shirt and a pair of boy's slacks too big for her. They were also familiar looking.
"It can't be," Mal said, looking at River, "can it?"
"Anything is possible," the girl replied, "in the dark."
"What do we do?" Jayne asked, more than a little freaked by this situation.
"Take them back to the ship," Mal ordered him, pulling a second gun from behind his back and cocking it.
"What are you going to do?" the merc asked, a confused look on his face.
"River and I are going to get some answers," he said, nodding at the girl, "ain't that right, little albatross?"
River nodded. "Yes," she said, her eyes wide and distant, "answers would be nice." She began stepping gracefully over the fallen bodies of those she'd killed as if she was doing nothing more than taking a stroll through the park.
Mal shook his head. The girl is outta it something bad. I wish the doc was awake.
"Don't worry," River said, looking at him. "I'm fine." She smiled at him then, a genuine smile.
He returned the smile. "Good," he said, "now find me some answers." She nodded, and began to make her way up the stairs leading into the rest of the ship.
"Get'em back to the ship and tell Zoë to get 'er prepped," Mal ordered Jayne, before he started after the young "weapon".
Jayne nodded, and high-tailed it out of there. Mal followed River, and was amused as the men they encountered parted and cowered in her wake as if she were some terrifying creature about to devour them.
Suddenly, she stopped.
Mal stopped right behind her. "What is it?" he asked, confused.
She turned and pointed at the door in front of her. "In here," she said, calmly, "is where we'll find our answers."
Mal grinned. "Good," he said, "then I reckon the polite thing would be to knock."
"You're not polite," River reminded him, grinning.
Mal smirked. "You're right," he said, and then blew the lock off the doorway with his pistol. He motioned for River to enter first, knowing she'd anticipate trouble before it happened and be ready for it.
"Lady's first," he said, waving her in.
"Of course," she said, moving with the grace of a ballerina.
He followed her into the room. There he found a scientist looking feller cowering on the floor and at the sight of River trembled violently. "Please, please," he begged, weeping like a new born baby, "don't kill me! I swear, I was only following orders!"
"Orders?" Mal said, jerking him to his feet. "Whose orders?"
The man shook his head. "I do not know," he said, trembling even more.
Mal put his gun up to the man's head. "Wrong answer, pal," he said, cocking the pistol.
"All right," the man said, "I'll tell you what I know!"
"Good," Mal said, "then start talking or I'll let the girl there have you."
The man looked at River, who smiled sweetly at him. For some reason, he wet himself.
"Start with what the Gorramn hell did you do to my crew!?" Mal barked out, jerking him roughly by the collar.
"T-They were injected with age-regression serum," the man explained.
"Age regression?" Mal asked puzzled. "Why?"
"M-Money," the man stammered. "T-They were supposed to be returned to either infant state o-o-or early childhood—around three or five—so that they could be given to a wealthy couple or adoption."
"An adoption racket?" Mal asked, even more confused. "Why take adults and turn 'em into children?"
"B-Because," the man stammered, "e-e-even in the outer planets a baby or child disappearing would be noticed."
"But adults wouldn't be, is that it?" Mal asked, his eyes held an anger so great within them that they practically ignited with fire. "Is it?"
The man nodded. "Yes, yes," he said, "b-but I swear I was only following orders. We were to find a few young adults—healthy and whole—to try the formula out on. T-The three we took survived the procedure."
"Good," Mal growled, "because I'd have been very displeased if they hadn't. Now, is there a cure?"
The man shook his head. "No," he said, then started weeping again, "I'm sorry. I was only following orders."
"That's what they all say," Mal growled at him, and then punched him squarely in the jaw.
"He sleeps," River said, sighing, "but he doesn't dream."
Mal nodded. "Let's go, little'un," he said, reaching for her hand.
She took it. "What will we do now?" she asked him, curious. They made their way from the ship, without any interference amazingly, and headed for the Serenity.
"What we have to," Mal told her, seriously. "We'll adjust."
River nodded. "But will it be easy or hard to adjust?" she asked him.
He just looked down at her.
"I don't know, little albatross," he said, grinning, "you tell me?"
She merely looked at him, her eyes distant as if peering into the future.
Hell, for all I know she is.
Together, the two of them continued on towards home.
What they'd find when they got there, they just didn't know.
TBC…