DisclaimerI still own nothing.

Authors NoteWe have Ken /!throws confetti!/ Yayyy! I'd like to thank RumorUnderOath and Fruitloop Trooper for their kind reviews. And to Fruitloop – Yes I did think of making Taichi the general but I like the TaixKou hints and it wouldn't have worked any other way. Thanks for your comment

The Fifth Element

Chapter Three

Not to far away, in the office of The President of the United Federation, a desperate silence reigned. Jou sat speechless in his chair. Only minuets before he had received the news that the Mondoshawan ship, entering the system at his invitation, had been shot down. Only seconds before he had summoned the priest and given him the bad news.

They say it is better to give than to receive, but the President had always found it better- or at least easier- to receive bad news than to give it. Koushirou had responded to the president's words by collapsing, luckily his apprentice Taichi had been there to catch him and settle the man into a near-by seat. The priest's apprentice watched his teacher closely. Eventually Koushirou found the power to look up to his novice and friend, their eyes met and Koushirou nodded softly, a pained look crossed Taichi's eyes before the brown-haired man looked away.

Finally, Koushirou broke the silence. "We are lost!" He said simply, knocking the reassuring hand of Taichi's from his shoulder which had found its way there as the red-haired man began to speak.

At that moment, the President's highest-ranking military commander, General Inoue Miyako, entered the room her purple locks swaying in a loose ponytail, in her hand was a still-warm fax. "Jou," She began, but in seeing the others in the room was fast to correct herself, "Mr. President." She corrected nodding towards the aqua-haired man, "The attack was launched by two unregistered warships."

"Close all borders," responded the President, smothering a smile. Miyako was one of his favourite Generals; she had a no-nonsense attitude but had a knack for out stepping her place, which was why he'd given her such a high ranking job, so she wouldn't have too. "And declare a state of general alert." He added his eyes flashing seriously.

"Yes, sir." Miyako saluted and gave a slight indication of her head towards the auburn-haired woman who was standing close to the Presidents desk. Sora, Jou's aide, smiled slightly in return.

President Jou turned to the third and final person in the room, another officer who stood near a console, "Try to contact these Mondoshawans," he said, "We owe them an explanation."

"Yes sir."

"Lost!" repeated Koushirou. "Five hundred years we have been waiting, and all for nothing!"

"Koushirou." Taichi began but paused as Jou approached and laid a gentle hand upon his shoulder.

"Father…Koushirou, you should go home. Get some rest." The young priest looked up, his shadowy eyes shimmering. "But the Mondoshawans…I am their contact on Earth! They will be in contact, who, what will they, do if…?"

"Koushirou." Taichi spoke again, "I'm sure the President will contact us if anything happens."

"This is government business now." Jou began but caught the dark look from the russet-haired boy, "I will keep you informed…well, I'll try my best."

Taichi gave the President a look that spoke volumes, before he helped his friend and mentor from his seat and led him toward the exit where two guards waited to escort them away. The door had barely slid shut behind them before it glided open again. A captain entered.

"Sir, the rescue team has reported from the Mondoshawan crash site."

Jou looked at the man carefully, "Any survivors?"

"Technically speaking," said the captain, "Yes."

"An arm?"

General Inoue Miyako followed the surgical cart down the hallways of the Neurological Center. She was struggling to keep up with Dr.Jenrya Lee, the white-coated scientist who was pushing the cart. On the surgical cart was an arm, still in its long metal glove. The hand was holding a broken handle.

"That's all that survived?" Miyako asked, a hint of sadness creeping into her voice.

"A few cells are still alive," Dr. Lee replied his grey eyes flashing. "It's more than I need."

Miyako studied the glove with its long tapering fingers. It looked almost human. It was certainly not as gross as she had expected it to be. "It doesn't exactly look Mondoshawan," she mused thoughtfully, "Do you know what it is?"

"We tried," said Lee, pushing the cart through one set of swinging doors, then another, then another. "But the computer went of the charts."

"Charts?" asked Miyako, struggling to keep up.

"You see-" explained Jenrya, lowering his voice but not slowing his pace, "-Normal human beings have forty DNA memo groups, which is more than enough for any species to perpetuate itself. But this..." He burst through yet another door, and Miyako scurried to keep up.

"…this has two hundred thousand DNA memo groups!"

"Sounds like- a freak – of nature – to me!" panted Miyako, out of breath.

"Yes," said Jenrya. He stopped in front of the last barrier; a frosted glass sliding door marked- 'Central Lab Neurological Center.' – and flashed the General a thin smile. "I can't wait to meet him."

"Or her!" Miyako added sharply,

"Or her." Jenrya replied quickly.

The Central Lab looked more like an engine room than a laboratory. It was a place for achievements, not experiments- a monument to practical rather than visionary science. In the center of the room, a huge glass turbine hummed softly. It was filled with clear liquid which boiled and bubbled. Floating in the liquid was the arm, still in its metallic glove.

The fingers were curved slightly. It looked like the last gesture of a drowning race- or the first hello of a race being born.

Jenrya was studying the read-out on a computer terminal. To Miyako, who stood at his side with two other soldiers behind her, it was just a list of numbers. To Jenrya it was a window into genetic code. A genetic code unlike any he had ever seen.

"The compositional elements of his," A sharp amber glare, "or hers, is the same as ours. There are simply more of them- tightly packed with infinite genetic knowledge. Almost as if this…being were- engineered."

Miyako eyed the soldiers behind her who shifted under her gaze, before she turned to the dark-haired man, "Is there any danger?"

Jenrya smiled his grey eyes flashing with excitement, "We put it through the cellular hygiene detector. The cell is, for lack of a better word, perfect."

"Okay," Miyako replied. She had been sent by the President to monitor this experiment, and she knew her duty. Using the key that had been provided to her by the Academy of Military and Cultural Sciences, she opened the self-destruct box.

"Go ahead," she said. She put her finger over the flashing red button, "But Miss…or Mr. Perfect had better be polite. Otherwise, I turn him into cat food."

Jenrya nodded and pulled the switch that began the DNA reconstruction.

As the group watched, the liquid in the circular center generator began to swirl. It began to boil and bubble feverishly.

The meter on the side of the turbine showed 7, then 8, as the turbine's hum built to a high whine, then passed out of the range of human hearing. But the steady vibration of the floor and the walls continued to increase.

"Look!" said Jenrya excitedly.

The meter was at 9.

Tiny specks were appearing in the swiftly moving fluid. They came seemingly out of nowhere, like snowflakes in headlights; they danced and spun like sparks from an unseen fire; they glittered and glowed like stars, forming a new universe and gathering into galaxies. The shower of sparks flowed downward in a spiral like a galaxy; then, as the group watched, amazed, the spiral began to form the outline of a human body.

The meter hit 10.

What had been all light and motion began to collect into form and substance. First the white of bone, and then the red of blood and flesh wrapping itself around the bone. Veins drew themselves in, and nerves snapped into place. Sinews criss-crossed the form, pulling and tugging it into a familiar shape of a human body.

It was like watching the opposite of decay- the composition of corporeal life.

"I had no idea the process was so- beautiful!" said Jenrya as he stood transfixed in front of the glass. Miyako held back, one hand hovering over the destruct button.

The meter was bouncing off the peg at 11.

"Three seconds to ultraviolet protection," said Jenrya's white-coated assistant from a control station across the lab. A semi-opaque shield dropped down inside the chamber, hiding the reconstructing body from view.

"What's happening?" asked Miyako.

"This is the crucial phase," said Jenrya. "The cells are bombarded with slightly greasy solar atoms, which force the body to react."

"React?"

"Protect itself," said Jenrya joyfully. "That means growing skin! Clever, huh?"

"Wonderful," Miyako replied. But kept her hand poised, just in case.

The meter began to drop.

10

9

The process was slowing.

Dr. Lee looked at his assistant across the lab and nodded. The young man in the white coat spoke softly into his voice-activated terminal. "Reconstruction complete. Engage reanimation."

There was a whoosh of air from the turbine chamber, Miyako's hand moved back into place above the flashing red self-destruct button. One push and the lab would no longer exist. A form was barely visible through the shield. The bubbling liquid was turning to smoke, as it sublimated from a liquid into a gas.

"Activate life-support system," said Jenrya breathlessly.

His assistant pushed a button.

Lightning strikes formed in and around the chamber, causing a few strands of hair on Jenrya's head to dance, like wallflowers hopping to be invited onto the floor. "Life-support system activated." said the assistant.

A sound like giant footsteps came over the loud speaker: 'lub-dub, lub-dub.'

"The heartbeat, amplified!" said Jenrya turning down the volume.

The form inside the chamber jerked.

Once, twice.

It could barely be seen through the semi-opaque shield, but it was moving as it emerged from the darkness of non-existence, into the light of creation. It was beginning to twist and writhe in a sinuous and graceful movement.

"He's alive!" Jenrya cried happily. "Remove the shield."

The aide pushed another button, and the shield slowly rose out of the way.

The chamber was empty both of liquid and gas. Only a few wisps of smoke remained. The laboratory was filled with a smell at once sweet and strange, like the soul-satisfying scent of a far field filled with flowers.

Jenrya, his assistant, Miyako, and the guards at the door all stood transfixed, watching in silent wonder.

A man; a boy, really. No more than seventeen or eighteen.

He had shiny raven black hair with a tinge of indigo and huge violet eyes. He was holding the same broken handle the arm had held. It appeared to be torn off a briefcase. His body was perfectly formed and perfectly beautiful…and he was nude except for a few strategically placed strips of surgical tape.

"I told you…perfect!" said Jenrya turning to General Inoue, "And a boy too."

Miyako scowled slightly at the last comment but still stood hypnotized.

Jenrya gently pushed Miyako's hand away from the flashing red self-destruct button. Miyako however, couldn't take her eyes off the almost nude vision inside the chamber, "I'd like to get a few pictures," she said. "For the, uh, archives."

Smiling Jenrya pressed a button and a camera swiveled toward the chamber. A flash went off and the boy jumped backward, startled.

His violet eyes edged in black darted around the lab. He looked at the broken handle clutched in his fingers and frowned slightly.

"Oucra cocha o dayodomo binay ouacra mo cocha ferji akba ligounai makta keratapla," He whispered quickly, violet eyes darting around as he shifted in the chamber, his voice grew louder, "Tokemata tokemata! Seno santonoi-aypa! Monoi ay Cheba! Givamana seno!"

"What's he saying?" asked Miyako, her hand once again hovering over the self-destruct button. Jenrya edged her hand away. "Activate the phonic detector," he said to his assistant.

The boy was kicking the glass side of the chamber.

Jenrya's assistant rolled out a speaker assembly festooned with more lights than a Russian had medals.

The boy, slightly panicked, was still kicking the glass.

"Give him a light sedative."

The assistant threw a switch. A hissing sound was heard, and a mist swirled through the chamber.

"Give him something to wear…"

Another switch- and a pile of bright clothing fell into the chamber from above. The boy snatched the clothes up and looked at them, frowning.

"Teno akta chtaman aasi n ometka!" he said as he began to put the clothes on, unhurriedly and without embarrassment.

Miyako jumped as one of the guards moved past her and edged closer to the chamber, she eyed him warily but was too stunned to do much else. The guard moved closer. Somehow the sight of the beautiful boy slipping into a knit-and-plastic jumpsuit was even more exciting than seeing him nude or almost nude.

"This thing solid?" The guard said gruffly, directing his question to Dr. Lee.

"Unbreakable," The scientist replied.

The guard smiled at the boy, who frowned back at him while he struggled with his clothes.

"If you wanna get out, you're gonna have to develop those communication skills, I can help ya if you want!" He sniggered.

He was answered by a fist- the boy's, rammed straight through the glass.

He leaned out of the chamber, his indigo hair flying about his pale face; still only half dressed, and grabbed the guard by the front of his military tunic, picking him up so that his medals rattled.

An alarm began to sound; Miyako took a step forward but stopped in her path to watch.

The boy banged the guard against the side of the chamber and dropped him to the floor. He then reached around the side of the chamber and unlocked it, then stepped out, still slightly wobbly on his long and shapely legs.

The other guard rushed forward. The boy sent him flying into an opposite wall.

Jenrya and his assistant backed into the corner. Jenrya's face showed terror mixed with admiration. His assistant's, terror only. Miyako ducked behind a consol, smiling slightly.

A phalanx of ten security guards with plastic shields and guns rushed into the lab. They surrounded the boy and he studied them for a moment, and then backed up.

One step, two.

The guards moved forward. The boy was trapped in the far corner of the lab. Then he turned and jumped through the wall, as if it were made of paper.

"Perfect!" Breathed Jenrya, undismayed by the near total destruction of his laboratory.

It was public money, after all

End of Chapter Three

Thanks for reading, how about dropping me a review to let me know what you think? xD