Sorry for the long wait. Things have been.... well, not quite moving with HIVE, as it were.
But a devoted fan has been pestering me to continue this, so.....
Cypher didn't believe he was much of an expert, but he had, as little as it was, more experience than any of the staff in the entire school. He didn't know whether to be shocked that no one in H.I.V.E. had nurturing skills or to have expected it.
Children, sure. Teenagers, well enough.
But babies?
It was an enigma.
"There you go, clean as a whistle." He said, uprighting the wiggling baby.
Said child began distracting himself with the colorful toys that had been lined up on the table, brought by each and every staff member, inclusive of endearing pats and inane baby talk. Cypher could have thrown up.
"Nero, you'd better not—"
A crash sounded as a particularly fluffy projectile made contact with an expensive-looking glass figurine on the shelf to Cypher's left.
The man sighed heavily, fighting against the powerful urge to strangle the child. Calm down, now... What do I remember about raising Wing? He usually wouldn't respond if we didn't call him by the name he was accustomed to...
"Max." Cypher intoned.
The baby stopped, one arm raised with another toy set to fly.
"No." The man said firmly, taking the toy from the babe's hand. Max whined, trying to reach for the pink pony Cypher now held out of reach.
Baby Max glared as any baby glared, and threatened the baby way. Cypher knew what was coming.
"WAAAAHHHHH!!!!"
The baby wailed. Cypher clicked his tongue and picked the child up, raising him high at first then bouncing lightly, at first making Max slightly curious, calming his cries a little. He tried to reach for the pony, but Cypher kept it out of reach. Looking ready to cry again, Max's attention was suddenly shifted when Cypher brought him to the other side of the room, to where the broken glass decorated the carpet.
"You see that, little man? That is bad." Cypher said, emphasizing the last word harshly. Max shrunk at the word, at Cypher's dark look. "Now you won't do that again." He said, this time more gently as he slowly placed the pony within reach of the baby.
The child seemed to have calmed down a notch, taking the pony in hand. Though by some small retribution, Max seemed almost smug as it was Cypher who had to clean up the carpet.
Pike entered the room to find Cypher bent over to collect the last shards stuck to the cloth.
"Are you sure he's entirely unaware of what he's doing? Because it seems like he finds joy in bringing me grief." Said the younger, picking himself up with some sense of dignity.
"His brain waves are the same as a child his age, or at least, the age he is temporarily. We can safely say that the headmaster is as aware of this predicament as any one-year old would be." Pike informed.
"Any evil temporarily age-reduced one-year old." Cypher muttered.
"I brought something that might help lighten your spirits." Pike said, presenting a chrome-lined black box. Cypher opened it and took out what looked like a glob of flesh something-or-other, the consistency closely resembling play-dough.
"Flatten it slightly then press your face against it." Pike said. Cypher did, kneading the strange substance onto his face. There was some odd warmth generated from it, and the substance began moving, smoothing over his skin and settling safely over his features.
Pike handed him a mirror, and he marveled at the sight. His face was entirely remodeled, from Asian features to Caucasian. Aside from his eyes, no one could ever tell it was him. Pike handed him another set, and they molded over his hands.
"We had that created for some undercover work about a year or two ago. We never got the actual thing back, but this is a close copy. Just tell me if you begin experiencing some minor swelling or itchiness."
Cypher frowned at Pike, his second skin showing the disdain easily. "I'm joking. Well, partially." Pike rummaged through the small bag he brought.
"Here. Contact lenses, and a wig. We couldn't synthesize something to fit those, and this is a simpler solution." The professor said.
"So I've got freedom to walk H.I.V.E." Cypher clarified. "Yes, under strict watch." Pike said. "As long as no one recognizes you, it should all be fine."
Cypher looked at the mirror once more, then at the baby sitting on the bed. The babe looked at him once, wide eyes looking thoughtful, before holding his arms out and gurgling.
The man picked the child up. "Too smart for your own good." He said affectionately.
"Let's just hope people don't find it as easy to pick up on." Pike said. "So what alias should you take? Something generic, something vague and easily forgettable by anyone excluding ourselves. How does Howard sound?"
"Howard Carter has a ring to it. It's definitely not me. Workable." Cypher agreed.
"All right then. Good luck, Howard."
Whoever reads "The Woman Thing" will make the connection ;)
And who else finds it ironic that Cypher's teaching baby Nero not to be bad?
R&R