Love Hina: The Iron Giant
Chapter IV: Big Daddy
Delta walked calmly over to the Hinata inn with Motoko in his arms. He had put his drill away to make it easier for him to carry her and show that he meant no harm to anyone. Delta noticed Keitaro watching him like a hawk, the young man obviously cared greatly for his friends and would probably go through a lot of pain to keep them safe… Delta smirked behind his helmet, he would have to keep an eye on this one before he made any snap decisions.
As Delta made his way onto the Hinata inn's back porch, he noticed the fearful looks that the residents were giving him. He sighed behind his helmet, he was going to have to redeem himself and earn their trust if he wanted any chance at staying here. Delta looked at the crumpled form of the one they called Motoko in his arms. Why had she attacked him like that? He was pretty sure that he had not done anything wrong so why did she attack him with such ferocity? As far as he was concerned he just acted out in self defense but he knew that people rarely see it that way.
Delta gently kneeled on one knee and brought up his right hand.
"W-what are you doing Delta-san?" The blue haired 'Little Sister' they called Shinobu asked. Delta, not being able to speak due to his voice modification surgery continued with his task. When Delta moved his gloved hand over to Motoko's forehead Keitaro made a move to stop him but it was to late. The veins in Motoko's body started to glow a slight red just visible enough for everyone to see. To the Hinata crew's amazement Motoko's wounds started to heal at an accelerated rate. Her burnt and torn skin mended and healed until it returned to it's original pale unblemished color. Delta kept his hand on Motoko's forehead through the entire process, transferring his First Aid Kits to the girl was a little tricky but he was managing well.
After about ten minutes, Motoko was completely healed and her breathing was healthy and steady. Delta gave a grunt of satisfaction and picked her up once more, planning to put her on the living room couch. Naru shook herself out of her shock and quickly called out Delta.
"Where do you think you are going with Motoko!" Naru yelled out. Delta turned towards the human female before him. Normally he would have turned his helmet visor a deep yellow color and revived his drill as a warning for her to back off but she was not a Splicer and this was not Rapture. Delta sighed, this was going to take some getting use to.
Since Delta could not respond to her question he simply ignored her and calmly made his way back into the inn. Naru seethed in fury, how could he simply brush her off like that. She was about to march in there and give him a piece of her mind but stopped when she felt a strong hand gripping her right shoulder. Naru turned and her eyes met with Haruka Urashima's cold gaze.
"Naru, get a hold of yourself. You might be able to get away with hitting some random guy on the street…and Keitaro." Haruka added much to her displeasure. "But not this guy. He doesn't care if you are a girl or a boy." Haruka turned to the rest of the gang as she continued her statement.
"He doesn't care what your occupation is, whether it be police officer or soldier of this country. He doesn't care if you are animate or inanimate. Make no mistake if you assault him physically he can and WILL kill you and it doesn't matter how fast or how far you run, he will chase you to the ends of the earth if he has to and make no mistake he WILL find you." Haruka scanned the gang's reactions, most of them now wore frightened faces. Haruka sighed and beckoned for them to come inside so that they could discuss the situation.
"Big…Daddy?" Kitsune repeated. Haruka nodded her head.
"Yup, I pretty sure that our friend 'Delta' is without a doubt a Big Daddy… Alpha Series if I'm not mistaken." Haruka said as she fished out another cigarette from her pocket. She had started smoking in college as a way to calm her nerves, ever since she has not been able to kick her bad habit. Kaolla Su was paying absolute attention. Out of all the inventions that she has created and researched she has never heard of a Big Daddy before. The man named Delta looked like a giant man in a diving suit…but man does not make such monstrous noises. Who invented these Big Daddies anyway? So many questions! Haruka caught Su's curious gaze and sighed.
"People, listen up." Haruka said in a tone that left no room for arguments. "What I am about to tell must NEVER leave this room, got it?" The group gulped and nodded their heads wildly, they all knew there would be hell to pay if they went against Haruka's wishes. Just as she was about to start, Motoko, Shinobu, Keitaro, and Delta walked into the room as well as Mutsumi. Haruka nodded.
"Good, now I won't have to explain this more than once." Haruka then proceeded to tell them about the underwater city known as Rapture. She told them how it was intended to be a paradise where the worlds greatest minds could dwell and work without the laws of government hindering them. She then told them how the whole city fell apart due to the discovery of a substance called ADAM.
"ADAM is a substance found only in a certain type of deep sea slug. ADAM is used to create gene altering substances known as Plasmids. Plasmids can be used to empower you with different abilities, the most popular being: Pyrokinesis, Cryokinesis, and Electrokinesis." Some of the residents looked at her in confusion, Haruka rolled her eyes.
"The power to control fire, ice, and lightning…to an extent. Delta's display of the plasmid called Electro Bolt was beyond that of a normal humans." Delta rubbed the back of his head sheepishly but his eyes narrowed at Haruka, how did she know so much about Rapture? This was something that he would have to look into.
"Anyway when injected into the human body the substance acts like benign form of cancer. It Replaces normal human cells with unstable stem cell versions. Of course its these stem cells that gives ADAM its amazing properties. Of course you have all probably figured out by now that this wonder drug had to have some minor…side effects." Delta scoffed, minor side effects his ass.
"Side effects?" Motoko asked. Haruka nodded.
"You know, Insanity, hallucinations, deformities, insomnia, schizophrenia, increase in aggression, ADHD… These people are called Splicers. They are homicidal maniacs that would gladly slit your throat to get a quick fix of ADAM."
"…You call that minor? They must be pretty fucked up." Kitsune commented. Delta made a grunt of agreement, I mean not only were the Splicers bat shit crazy they were stupid as hell. They couldn't even freaking see a trap right in front of their faces, they just walked right into them.
Dumb ass's.
"Ok, ok, but what about the Big Daddies?" Su asked impatiently. Delta looked towards Su and patted her on the head, how many Little Sisters did they have in this place? Haruka looked towards Delta, as if asking him permission to tell them of the ones called Protectors. Delta shrugged his shoulders and nodded, no use hiding it from them or crying about it. He was a Big Daddy, what's done is done. Haruka took her cigarette out of her mouth and expelled the smoke from her mouth.
"Well ok… But to understand how Big Daddies came to be you must first learn how Little Sisters came to be." Haruka said.
"A Little…Sister?" Asked Shinobu.
"What's with all the use of family titles?" Sarah spoke up, Haruka however ignored her.
"The slug that produced the substance known as ADAM excreted it in such small quantities that it was nearly unusable. To increase the amount of ADAM produced the slug needed a host. The scientists of Rapture discovered that if implanted in the stomach lining of a female child the amount of ADAM produced increases dramatically. Thus the Little Sisters were born, these girls were mentally conditioned to walk about the city armed with giant syringes that they would use to extract the blood of dead Splicers and drink it. They would then purposely induce regurgitation there by increasing the amount of ADAM produced tenfold."
Haruka stopped once again to look at the groups reactions. Motoko, Naru, and Keitaro were seething with fury, how could someone do such a thing? And to a child no less! Kitsune looked as if she was about to barf. Mutsumi looked as if she was about to faint. Shinobu already fainted. Sarah was trying to picture herself walking around an underwater city sticking needles into dead bodies and drinking it. Su was giving Haruka her undivided attention. And Delta was trying desperately to revive Shinobu. Haruka shook her head but continued.
"The ADAM slug that these girls are implanted with constantly produces the stem cell like substance. Because of this, any wounds that they incur whether it be a gunshot or stab wound instantly heals within seconds. They are pretty much immortal but they can still feel pain and they still have the strength and stature of normal little girls. The Splicers prowling the streets of Rapture have no mercy and wouldn't think twice about cutting the girl's stomach open and removing the slug…" The group's facial expressions turned to looks of horror and disgust.
"So, the scientists created protectors for the girls. They took regular humans, most likely prisoners, spliced them with plasmids that improved their physical strength, ripped out their vocal cords, brainwashed and sealed them into suits of giant metal armor. They are conditioned to follow the Little Sisters faithfully and fiercely fight off anyone that approaches her." Haruka then looked towards Delta.
"These…Iron Giants were nicknamed Big Daddies."
Sorry about the wait guys! This chapter is mainly to inform the residents of Hinata and those of you who might be new to the Bioshock series to just what exactly a Big Daddy, Little Sister, and Splicer is. Anyway, the next chapter will be much more exciting. I promise!