Obviously, chapter 4; I've been in the mood, and also I'm going away for a few days, so I figured I should get this chapter finished.
Thanks to all of you for your reviews; they've certainly been fuel for my mind, haha! I'm glad to hear that Helmeted have so far kept you entertained, and I've been having a blast writing it myself ^_^. I'll endeavour to keep it up!
******
Lee Green
A long corridor stretched out before the Bouncer; the glass windows to his left, reinforced to withstand the incredible pressure of the Atlantic sea bed, glowed a deceivingly peaceful blue. The shadowed visage of Rapture could be be clearly seen, its neon lights broken and displaced. The city that once promised greatness and freedom, is now drowning, barely clinging on the fringes of life.
Green took a moment to take in the view, before he took slow but firm steps onward. The hallway shook dangerously; more so than other parts of Rapture, and the Big Daddy instinctly knew that the foundations of this part of the city was failing. He should be outside, repairing the damages... but no one told him to do so, and thus, it was fine.
He felt drawn to the door at the end of the hallway. A line of security cameras also dotted the hallway, but the Bouncer felt unconcerned. Wallace stepped up to his side, and his hands began to streak with electricity.
"Ya wanna go there? 'kay, here's the plan, right, I shock 'em, and then-- HEY!"
Green had already moved on, as if completely ignoring Wallace. The splicer wasn't very impressed however, as he ran directly in front of Green, blocking his path.
"Don't ya go actin' stupid on me, big boy, 'cause I know there's somethin' going on in tha' noggin of yers. We don't know who's rigged them cameras, and it'll all go to shit if we don-- MRRPHHH!!"
Enough. There was nothing to worry about, Green felt... sure. The Bouncer had used his left hand (literally covering the whole of Wallace's head) to push him aside, albeit not-so-gently. He lumbered onwards, as one of the cameras began to sweep towards the Big Daddy. He did feel a twinge of happiness though, that the splicer was actually concerned for him.
"FINE. Ya own bloody funeral!" Wallace yelled as he closed his eyes, trying to avoid the inevitable. But instead, nothing came to pass; the camera continued to sweep across passively. Wallace crept out of his hiding place, and paced down cheerfully until he came under the scrutiny of one of the cameras. The camera fixated on Wallace, beeping and clicking alarmingly.
Instantly, Green turned around and let out of a loud, reverberating moan at Wallace. He swept his left arm out repeatedly, as if to say 'get back'. Wallace did not wait for Green's signal, immediately ducking out of sight, waiting for the beeps to subside. One click, two clicks, and the camera resumed its vigilant watch of the hallway. Green groaned loudly at Wallace; his deep voice vibrating the hull of Rapture.
"I dunno what the fuck ya sayin', o'right?! But tell ya what – ya go do yer lil thing, and I'll just stay RIGHT HERE. Go on then! GO-- hey wait, ya really goin'??"
Green was pleased that the splicer got his message, and had immediately turned around when Wallace announced that he wasn't going to follow. Good, very good. He will be safe.
A light flickered at the top of door, and it swung open as the Bouncer approached it. Everything about this unnerved him; it was unfamiliar, unknown, but still he felt drawn in. There wasn't enough... danger for him not to enter. He felt that he... needed to be here. There was something he needed to... do?
The office sprang into life; various lights began to flicker on, the sounds of clicks and whirring machinary could be heard, but not seen. Green moaned in alarm and all around him, he could hear camera shutters snapping. The lights intensified for a moment, before dimming down to more comfortable levels. The monitor in a corner turned itself on, with the classic 'Please Stand By' message that can be seen all over Rapture.
Green couldn't make out the face of the man in the monitor; the central glass had been too badly scratched. The audio, however, was perfectly fine, and Green realised, it was the same man in the audio diaries he had picked up along the way. The man had a slight, strange accent to it.
******
I'm glad you could make it in this far. My name is Lee. Lee... you know what, forget the surname. In a few days, Lee will cease to exist, and in his place, you, Protector Oh-A-Oh-Six (0A06). Yes, that is right. I were you. The DNA cameras in this office has confirmed it.
There was a pause, as the man leaned back in his chair; the same chair was present in the current office. The recording must have been taken here.
(sigh)
Lamb has deemed me a liability, and as 'punishment' she will have me transformed into a Protector. 'To remove the Self, and serve the greater good', she said. I suppose, after all these years of being part of the Protector team, this fate isn't the worst by far. And Sam (snort), good ol' Sam. He will be carrying out the 'sentence', like some kind of... executioner in medieval times. But if I know him well enough, he will be using my own Protector plasmid concoction, along with the suit I've been tinkering with. A fitting end, he will believe. But this is what I rely on.
(chuckle)
What Ryan and even Lamb sometimes forget, is that Rapture is the city of the gifted. All had hailed Suchong and Alexander on their work on the Protectors, but none has heard of us, the... 'little fellas'. I don't think that the memories of the Protectors are ever completely erased, as much of Suchong and Alexander believed, and I have a very strong... bond with my Sanctuary; where you are now. It is... more than home. I have many strong memories here, and I've been known to be a sentimental bastard, topside and otherwise. I gambled on this fact, that my... new mind... would subconciously seek out Sanctuary, and the fact that this recording is being played now, means that my gamble had succeeded.
(pause, and Lee's tone becomes more serious; his hands could be seen clasping on the desk)
Working on the Protector team has given me ample opportunities for my own experiments, and I shall take this so-called 'punishment' as my own final experiment; that on myself. Much like Alexander, whom I would personally hail as a hero. Realise that, you do not have a protection bond to the Gatherers only. No, my final plasmid concoction does not limit your bond to a single subgroup of people – no, your bond extends to the whole of Mankind. Where there is violence, you will be there to stop it. Where there is despair, you will be there to protect.
(sigh)
At least, I hope that will be the case. I do not think the bond to the Gatherers can be completely broken; Suchong and Alexander's work as been... thorough, but it is with hope that you can be more than what Suchong and Alexander dictated.
(pause)
Before I say goodbye, this is my final gift to you. Do not fear what is to come – it's to help you, I assure you.
The machines in the room began to intensity their activity; the clicking and whirring can be very easily heard and felt. Green glanced around and moaned in alarm, trying to seek out the offending mechnicals.
One last thing. Once you are exposed to the radiation, take the plasmid. It's one of my earlier works. It should work on you.
(pause)
Goodbye, and hello. It's our birthday.
And then the room became impossibly bright. Green could feel his blood and fluids boil, even as the world of darkness greeted him...
******
The torn rug beneath him slowly came into view, as the veil of darkness gradually faded away. Groaning to himself softly, he heaved himself up, the limbs feeling heavier and more cumbersome than before. He let out a short grunt, hopping to his feet; the tremours causing the pictures in the room of fall off their hooks. He recalled everything that had happened, and confusion still invaded his thoughts. Out of one of the corner portholes, he noticed something on the desk that wasn't there before; a little glass jar, containing red murky liquid. He knew what it was, and.. simply stared at it.
Then he realised, that he was at a loss of what to do. The haze that contantly permeated his thoughts wasn't as thick as before, though the haze was comforting. This... Lee, was of no authority he recognised, and thus, he should have simply ignored the jar; but that was before the bright lights, where if he heard an order from an authority he instinctly knew, he would happily obey. The ADAM jar glowed invitingly in the dark, and the Bouncer recalled Lee's message. Take the plasmid.
The Big Daddy stared at the eerily glowing jar for one long minute, before deciding to move forward and taking hold of it gently, careful not to break the jar. Using the supplied hypo with his left hand (very, very carefully), he jabbed his right arm, through one of the tiny holes in his suit, and released the contents into his system. He felt his blood was expanding, become almost air-light. It wasn't painful, but it was very uncomfortable, and the Bouncer thought his body would explode when it spontaneously subsided.
He checked himself; grunting happily that he was not damaged. This was pleasing, his duties would not be hindered, and this brought... comfort. Turning around, he headed out of the office, wondering if Wallace had stayed safe in his absence.
******
And there you have it! I thought it would be nice to 'widen' Green's mental capabilities, as it allows more flexibility in writing later on. Hopefully it doesn't detract Green's character himself.
Also, I figure that the Big Daddies took orders from somewhere, when it came to repairing stuff in Rapture. I figure that perhaps Ryan's voice (and maybe a few buddies) may have been 'encoded' into the Big Daddies' programming – so they would follow his command.
And like always, do review if you can!