Hybrid Theory

Chapter 3: The Revolution Has Come

Tonks was dizzy.

Not the dizziness that came from riding a rollercoaster 28 times in a row per se, but more the 'Wow look at all the pretty colors!' dizzy that usually comes from being under the influence of drugs.

Considering her current situation Tonks would have preferred the rollercoaster.

Then again Tonks wasn't sure exactly what her current situation was, much less how she had come to deserve it. Maybe it was decades of bad karma catching up with her. God only knows how many mirrors she had managed to break in her life time.

Or maybe it was for the time she stole Moody's wooden leg. Or the time she tried to switch Moody's glass of water that he used to dip his eye into with vodka…

Nevertheless she wasn't sure why it had all caught up to her at once.

There had to be some rule about fate cashing in on all your bad luck at the same time.

But right now all Tonks knew was that her head hurt. A lot. A lot, a lot. It felt like the Knight Bus had run over her head a couple of times.

The dizziness was starting to subside and Tonks tried to stand but promptly fell over again. "Owie." She moaned as she rubbed her sore bum, the blasted dizziness was back again. It was then that Tonks heard the murmuring of several voices and the room began to spin again. The pretty colors were gone replaced by a blissful oblivion.

When Tonks woke up again she found that she couldn't move. Craning her head to the side she found the source of her restriction; chains.

"Shite."

"As eloquent as ever, Auror Tonks." A voice rasped from the darkness. Tonks whipped her head up searching for the source of the voice. A pair of blue, nearly white, eyes stood out from the darkness.

A figure lurched from out of the shadows his (Tonks could tell it was a man) movements jerky yet they held a grace of their own. Once in the dim light he lifted his head. His face was vaguely familiar as if Tonks had met him long ago in a dream.

"Who are you?" She rasped, the pain in her head beating hard against her skull once more. The figure chuckled darkly, a dangerous, hungry gleam forming in his eyes. He licked his lips as he moved towards her again. This time his movements were faster and more fluid, having gained a meaningful purpose of some sort. He was close now, the fringes of his hair brushed against her forehead lightly.

He placed his head so it nearly rested on her shoulder, something about him being so close made her shudder. His lips brushed her neck, "What are you—" Tonks started to ask before she felt was a piercing nothingness. There was pain, there was pleasure and then a merciful emptiness.

Oblivion shivered as he sank his teeth into her neck. There was no doubt that Tonks was a very powerful witch. Honestly his feeding off of her was nothing personal, he needed strength and after being deprived of blood for so long… it was a surprise that he hadn't attacked someone already. He really needed to remember to feed more often; his last hunt had been well over three weeks ago. It was only thanks to his hybrid abilities that he managed to have kept his sanity and thirst in check for so long.

Lion's time so far had been spent formulating an escape plan. If he managed to find a way to speak with all the others then perhaps they could escape sooner. Careful not to bleed her dry, Lion finally released his hold on her neck and backed away. Tonks seemed to have lost control of her metamorphmagus abilities, and she was rapidly changing skin, eye, and hair colors. In truth it was making Oblivion quite sick.

Clutching his stomach he tried to keep it from regurgitating its contents. Maybe he had drunk too fast, he probably had as he was feeling slightly giddy with her warm blood coursing throughout his veins.

Finally she seemed to have decided on a form that she liked, or perhaps she had reverted back to her true form. Tonks lifted her head weakly, her hair having grown longer and turned into silky ebony locks. As her eyes locked on to his, Lion was startled to find that her eyes had turned nearly blood-lust blue (though not exactly the right shade). In truth she looked so much like Amelia Lion took a nervous step back feeling supremely uncomfortable.

"Hey," She called out to him softly. "I remember you. But you used to have such pretty gold eyes" She said laughing quietly. Oblivion was numb with shock. 'I obliviated her, she shouldn't remember…' Oblivions eyes widen as he realized what had gone wrong. 'Bloody Aurors, how could I have been so stupid as to forget!' Needless to say this was pretty bad.

Oblivion walked towards the wall and steadily began to beat his head against if. Tonks laughed some more, the blood deprivation setting in. 'They wanted me to drain her, but why? Perhaps they wanted me to turn her…a metamorphmagus would be a very lethal hybrid.'

"X0-21242, your presence is no longer required, your restrictions have been lifted. You may proceed to the mess hall join the others." A mechanized voice spoke over the loud speaker. Lion forced himself to leave as ordered, upon seeing the footage and documents the memory and personality bonds that had made him such a willing soldier had all but disintegrated. Having found his free-will once more, he was not as keen to follow directions any longer. Lion continued to walk down the corridor, Tonks' thoughts and memories still swimming around in his head, but he had other things to worry about.

Lion was vaguely troubled by this new development. His escape plans had not counted on either an extra escapee or another hybrid to battle before he and the others could leave.

Then again he was lying to himself if he thought he had a definitive escape plan to begin with. He wasn't a strategist, plans weren't his strong suit, he preferred fighting and killing people. Taking particular enjoyment in the latter of the two.

Entering the mess hall Lion was stopped by a sweeper he recognized as Sam. Bracing himself internally he made sure his expression was neutral and waited for the man to come to him. He didn't like Sam and Sam didn't like him. Oblivion wasn't sure what had started it, but it could probably be attributed to the time Lion broke both of Sam's legs when he went on a minor rampage during a test to see how long he could go without blood, then again he really couldn't have been sure…anyways the young man knew this was going to be unpleasant.

"X0-21242, I heard you screwed the pooch on a simple mission earlier this week. What's the matter; can't perform well away from your Mama's skirts?" The man sneered.

Amelia was always a good way to rile Lion up but aside for a tightening of his jaw no one would be able to tell he was agitated. Still, he could not afford to be punished if he wanted to escape anytime soon so he said nothing.

"You can't hear me, boy? Something wrong with yer ears? Thought you goddamned hybrids were perfect. Why. Were. You. Compromised?"

Lion stood with his hands at his sides, ramrod straight, staring past the irritating man.

"Because I am dumb, sir!" He barked.

"Damn right you are. You're so dumb you got spotted by an Auror. A British Auror at that! Why can't you follow orders?"

"Because I am dumb, sir!" Oblivion repeated his first response.

"I know that and everybody else in this room knows that, but do you know exactly how dumb you are, freak?"

"I am so damn dumb that it would take nine acts of divine providence to raise me to thesublime height of 'Blissful Ignorance', sir!" Lion snarled through clenched teeth 'God I hate Americans'. Sam would be the first with his back to the wall when the revolution came.

When Sam finally let the other man pass Oblivion quickly made his way to the hybrids table.

X3-554494 shook his head when Lion sat down. "A British Auror, X0, really?" The younger boy, Malicious aka 'Mal', said in a mock disappointed tone.

His twin sister, X3-54452, launched into a mocking rendition of the scene that had just taken place with Sam. "Because I am dumb, sir…Laying it on a bit thick aren't you, Lion? What's so important that you're sucking up to Sam of all people?"

"Per'aps ol' Lion here, had a change of heart? What do you think my dear sister?" Joked Mal.

Lion growled lightly at the two but he wasn't really angry. Mal and Sin were the most amusing people in the Centre, the resident Arsonists as it were (the bigger the explosion and or fire the better). He glanced around taking stock of the other hybrids present. Annihilation, Massacre, Vexation, Venom, Carnage, and Necrosis were all present. The five hybrids were on the other side of the room quietly talking. They were all older then Oblivion and he had never been closely associated with them. Lion resigned himself to having approach the remaining five hybrids after he ate.

"Bloody Americans…" Lion muttered trying to gage the reactions of his six compatriots.

"Yeah but they fight a damn site better than the British." Sin stated in a sagely tone.

"Anyone can fight a damn site better than the British…" Mal said to his twin.

"Actually all of Europe just sucks; pansy's the lot of them." Venom, a vampire hybrid, said from down the table. All of the hybrids who had been listening laughed at that.

Lion took this time to briefly use an empathic variation of Legilimency and probed each hybrid individually. It seemed that among the hybrids, the only ones who had not been completely indoctrinated/ brainwashed were the ones his age or younger. Finding everything he had needed to know he carefully withdrew from the last mind and checked his own barriers. He was forever forgetting to check their strength periodically.

"So…do you plan on telling us what that whole scene was all about or what?" Asked Anni curiously. Lion considered her for a moment trying to find the right words. He breathed in deeply.

"Have any of you ever heard of an operation called Project Chimera?" Lion asked in a soft voice. Each shook their head no, realizing that Lion was trying to be as discreet as possible; they knew he had something important to say.

"Well the reason you haven't heard of it is because, well to put it lightly, we areProject Chimera." Everyone narrowed their eyes at this. "Earlier this week, a Centre regulated palm-pilot happened to come into my possession—" Oblivion stopped when he noticed their wide-eyed looks, "Yes, I know that we aren't supposed to use them unless given special authorization, but I did. In doing so I accidentally hacked into the high security mainframe. The file Project Chimera popped up, along with our codename's listed in the sub-folders. I found out some things, things they don't want anyone to know, least of all us."

"Why?" Queried Mal.

"Yeah, and what sort of things?" Asked the other twin.

"Some pretty messed up kind of things. This place has been experimenting on us like we're some kind of guinea pigs. Playing God and all sorts of other and screwed up crap."

"What do you mean by 'playing god'?" Vex (Vexation) asked, sounding very troubled.

"I would have to show you for you to even begin to understand…" Lion trailed off, leaving the unspoken choice hanging in the air.

"Show us." Whispered Sin and Mal in unison. One by one the others gave their consent.

"I'm telling you now it's not pretty. But I think that you deserve the chance to see it for yourself." Quickly and gently Lion pushed the images and information he had seen into their minds using a technique they were all familiar with from sharing Intel on missions. The hybrids kept their faces impassive, despite the gruesome images running throughout their heads. After viewing everything, each of the hybrids were breathing shakily, trembling slightly.

"I showed this to you all because I'm getting out." Lion forced each of them to meet his steely gaze. "And I plan on taking you with me, if that is what you wish." Immediately the others agreed.

For the next thirty minutes Oblivion filled them in on his plans, and their roles. During that time it had been decided that they would leave as soon as possible. They'd be leaving that night.

Three hours later

Oblivion paced his room, mentally going over everything once again. As usual Lion left his room around 1700 hours, heading for the training room. Lion entered the facility, suited up, and began to perform his normal stretches. The suits themselves were works of art, state of the art. It was composed of black combat boots outfitted with impervious/ durability charms, and a permanent silencing charm. Black pants that had the same charms as the boots as well as minor shielding and warding against elemental attacks. The material specially made to absorb the light and allow one to merge into the shadows seamlessly.

The suit also had a tight black shirt composed of a unique Kevlar-Graphorn hide fusion which was resistant to shrapnel damage or sharp object piercing in general. Operatives also wore a more light-weight magical version of a bullet-proof vest, which absorbed most stunners and minor hexes. The aforementioned shirt covered the entire neck and rested on the bridge of the nose. Effectively keeping the Operatives from breathing in anything poisonous, converting water into oxygen when submerged, and helped to filter out scents for Operatives with especially sensitive noses. There was also the additional optional cloth mask that covered the rest of the face and overlapped on the mouth area.

After warming up Lion prepped and loaded all of the weapons in the armory, they would be needed soon. Within seconds the others arrived, they suited up quickly and chose a handful of weapons. Spreading out, the hybrids left the room separating to complete their assigned objectives.

"Sectors 5 through 9 have been cleared." Mas said lowly, his voice crackling over the com.

"My area is covered." Venom added.

"The guards are dead. But the scientist and keepers were no where to be found, or at least not in my quadrant." This information made Lion even more uneasy, 'What could they be working on, that would take that many people to complete'. In the back of his mind he had a pretty good idea about what they were doing but Lion truly hoped he was wrong.

One by one each listed off their accomplishments. Once the weapons had been chosen Lion swiftly placed the extra's into one of the trunks, then in turn shrinking said trunk and putting it into his pocket. Having successfully frozen the security wards and cameras, the hybrids ran into no problems as they stalked down the corridors. In quick succession they raided the library, potions lab, and tech lab. Placing everything into trunks Lion met the others before entering the last sector that had not been cleared.

"Lion, we saved you something!" Sin said in a sing-song tone.

Oblivion turned to view the young girl and saw instead a familiar figure.

"Sam! How good of you to join us. I was looking for you in the sub-level you were supposed to be patrolling. Silly me. Sin, where did you find him?"

"Sam here was taking a little nap in the break room. Vexation is actually the one who found him but she left with Necrosis and Massacre to break out the full-blooded werewolves and vampires from their cells."

"Tsk-tsk Sam. I'll admit that I wanted you to be the first with your back to the wall when the revolution came, but still dead's dead right?"

Sam spat blood at Lion's feet in response.

Oblivion grinned at the American. Without warning he closed the distance between the two and sank his fangs into the other man's throat. Savoring the blood of his enemy Lion pulled back and slashed the man's jugular with his fangs.

Watching Sam bleed out on the floor the hybrids smirked, Lion licked his lips. "Tastes like…fried chicken."

"Well I'm pretty sure Sam was from some southern state across the pond." Sin offered.

Their musings was interrupted by the sound of the other hybrids approaching. Lion cursed silently. There were twelve hybrids that had been approached with the option of escape, all twelve had accepted the offer—this Lion had anticipated. What he had not anticipated was an additional eight vampires and werewolves to account for.

His Intel had stated there were only three vampires and three werewolves being held and thus Oblivion was not quite sure where they were all going to go.

"Oblivion." A slightly accented feminine voice greeted the man.

Lion grinned.

"Mother." He said evenly. "It's good to see you out of that cell."

"It's good to be out of that cell." Amelia said wryly. "How long are we going to wait before we leave?"

"There is another person I have to see before I can leave. But I need you to house the other vampires and werewolves—at least until they choose to leave. I will keep the hybrids with me until I can regroup with you at your manor."

The aristocratic woman narrowed her eyes and gave her childe a warning glare.

"If you do not contact me within 48 hours I will be forced to come after you."

Lion smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Mum." Amelia smiled and kissed her son on the cheek.

"You as well my son, may the shadows guide and guard you." Oblivion nodded and concentrated as he bent the wards to allow the others to leave.

"May you live to walk another night mother" Amelia had already started the chanting and was busy drawing the runic symbols in the air. Abruptly the darkness swallowed Amelia and her party up. No sign of their presence was left.

Satisfied that his sire would take care of the others Lion and his team progressed further into the unexplored sub-level.

Apparently they had been working on animal hybrids as well; roughly twenty depressed and strange looking animals watched them warily through the bars of their cages. The girls in the group looked hopefully at Lion, making puppy dog faces. Oblivion sighed 'Damn women and their feminine wiles' he thought to himself. Quickly they released all the animals from their cages. Venom and Sin snuck a kneazle and a hellhound in a chamber of the trunk while Lion was busy rooting through the files taking anything he though was of worth.

Finally they reached the main research labs. It had been decided they would make sure that the Centre wouldn't be able to use the facility for a long time before they went to rescue the other captives. The whirring of machines and sound of human voices could be heard from outside of the laboratory doors. Ven discreetly transported them inside, hoping that they wouldn't set off the wards, as well as the fact that anyone inside would hopefully be busy.

The occupants of the lab were indeed busy, but definitely not for any reason they wanted. There strapped to the table was a young woman. Runes utilized in blood rituals being cut into her flesh. Apparently they had put a silencing charm on her, since her mouth was opened wide in a soundless scream. The hybrids stood still, none knowing who the woman was, well except one.

"Tonks." Lion whispered in horror. He made a motion to move forward, to slay the bastards who were harming her. Ven quickly latched onto him.

"Lion, you can't!" She hissed into his ear, "If you stop them now she will die."

"I can't watch them do this again, not to someone else!" Lion snarled back.

"YOU HAVE NO CHOICE!" Ven shot back just as fiercely. Oblivion inhaled deeply, Ven was right, interfering now who only end badly for Tonks. The hybrids stood tense as they watched the torture, as they watched them slice into her again and again. As they forced more magic into her veins. They watched on helplessly as a new hybrid was being born. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, it seemed to have ended.

The entire time the process had been recorded, narrated, and documented by both the keepers and the scientists.

"Phase 1 seems to be a complete success. Put her into the suspension chamber, and begin to prepare for the mind whipping phase."

"Yes, sir, the Lethe sequence will begin in a half-hour. That should be enough time for the healing water to kick in." Oblivion looked over at Ven, who only nodded.

"Yes I do believe half-hour is more then enough time for us to carry out what is necessary." Oblivion drawled menacingly from the shadows. "By all means, let the blood bath begin."

Immediately Lion brought the wards up around the room, effectively keeping them from escaping. The hybrids did what they did best, what they had been created for; they killed without mercy and without pity.

Oblivion ripped into the nearest scientist with one of his blades, spilling out the man's entrails onto the floor. All around him shouts were fired, curses thrown. Swiftly Oblivion dropped down and wrenched his blade upwards, gutting another down the center. Oblivion burned another two to nothing more with cinders. As he looked around not many were left. He was just in time to see another three self implode, spraying bits of themselves everywhere.

The twins were having a grand old time, seeing who could kill the most. The others didn't seem to care really, as they left the other targets to be dealt with by him. They busied themselves with downloading as much information as possible before they beat the crap out of the equipment, making sure it could never be used again.

Out of the corner of his eye Oblivion caught a glimpse of red-blonde hair. He felt the fury swell inside of him again. Calmly he reached for one of his guns as he marched slowly and deliberately towards the sole survivor. She was splattered in the blood of her colleges. Sarah looked up, her eyes fully of fear.

"Oblivion, please." She cried tears running down her face. "Forgive me, please Lion. Forgive me. I don't want to die, please." Oblivions' eyes hardened and narrowed, meanwhile the others had stopped wondering what Lion would do. It was no secret that Lion had liked her a lot, possibly had even loved her. Oblivion stood silent as he chose his words carefully, he then raised his gun and looked her in the eye.

"You're forgiven." Lion murmured as he pulled the trigger, deliberately aiming to wound not kill, Sarah looked shocked as she looked down at herself, blood beginning to pour out of her mouth. Her eyes widened as she made spluttering sounds; she started to stumble backwards. Lion pulled the trigger again, and again. Sarah hit the floor with a thump, her eyes wide and glassy. Oblivion turned from her and headed towards the chamber they had placed Tonks in.

Apparently they had drugged her since she was a sleep. She looked exactly the same as the last time he had seen her. The scars from the surgery were nearly healed, though the marks would still be visible for quite some time. Lion sighed as he rubbed his head.

"Mal, Sin, Ven, and Anni, make sure you get all the information pertaining to what they've just done. We'll meet back at the front entrance." The addressed teens nodded and quickly left the room. Lion then punch in the override code for the stasis chamber. The chamber immediately drained of all liquids and opened up. Swiftly he detached Tonks from the machine and dragged her out. Pulling out his wand he conjured a plain dressing gown to wrap her in. Hauling her up bridal style, he motioned for the remaining hybrids to follow. By the time they made it to the front hall the others were already there.

Oblivion faced the others wearily. "Ready to go?" he asked. All nodded except for Ven.

"Listen I think it would be best if I went my own way…"Oblivion eyed her quizzically, Ven not responding.

"Alright then, if you're sure. Then the best of luck to you Ven." The others nodded in agreement. Quietly they opened the door and filed out. Ven immediately headed for the right. "Ven! Wait for us." Lion snapped his head to look at the speaker and found both Carnage and Nix following Venom and disappearing from sight.

Lion looked around at the remaining nine conscious hybrids. "Anyone else heading off on their own?" Getting no answer he began to scan the knowledge he had gained from Tonks' blood, searching her memories until he found one in particular.

"Listen, Tonks has a flat in London, we'll head there okay? Just stick together, and whatever happens don't look back just keep going." Oblivion told them solemnly putting the location in their heads. Oblivion clutched Tonks tightly and set off at a brisk trot, the others following behind him. Suddenly they saw a flash of light coming from the direction Ven and the others had gone in and they heard a pained cry.

"Shite!" Oblivion cursed. "Run!"

A/N:

Sorry for the cliffhanger and the delay, been pretty busy. Hopefully I'll be able to finish chapter four within the week. Right now its 11:44pm I'm tried and ready to go to bed So good night everyone and please review!

A very sleepy WickedMe763