A/N: Ba-boom! Chapter! So I'm sort of worrying about getting the cannon characters right, I can get my own OC's right. I made those so I know what they'd say and how they act, but the ME characters are something that has to be familiar to you guys. So if you'd let me know how I did that'd be great. Any feedback at all would be good. Also I feel I should let you guys know, ever since I started this story I have kept track of every single one of my reviews so I can put you in for a thank you at the end of this story because I can't help but smile every time I read one. I get that feeling of a job well done ya know? I also have something special planned for the regular reviewers, which knowing me, could literately be anything! Other than that I have nothing more to say, so enjoy this next chapter!
Chapter 10
-Are You Made Of Rubber?-
I look on in horror as Miranda walks up to me, valuing my worth. Her steel blue eyes eye me not as a human but as a specimen, something to experiment on and discarded. Her clicking heels stop and the soldiers heft me up to Miranda's eye level, she looks at my face for a moment before turning to the helmetless soldier.
"What did you do to him?" she asks accusingly before turning back to me. "He looks like he's seen a ghost."
"Something much worse." I mutter under my breath.
I need to leave, right now. What Cerberus did at Teltin was beyond unethical, I will not end up like Jack. No fucking way. I quickly build a warp in my hands and correct my footing.
Miranda narrows her eyes at my comment for a split second before walking away. "Bring him aboard, we will be taking him to one of our facility's." she orders over her shoulder.
I'm instantly dragged towards the ship, my cuffs feel slightly looser but nowhere near what they need to be to get out. They must be made of something tougher then steel, I have to stall. I quickly bring my feet in front of me and plant them firmly, stopping the soldiers in their tracks. I feel my body grow heavy and the soldiers lose their grip, causing me to fall to the floor. I lower my mass and start kicking my feet off the ground, sliding along the floor away from the Cerberus troops.
I roll over on the floor and try to get to my feet, the thunder of footsteps growing louder motivating me to move quicker. I manage to get on my feet just in time to sidestep a rifle butt flying at my face. I turn to run but a growing number of hands grab me and pull me back.
"No!" I yell, trying to kick off the ground to get away. More and more soldiers grab onto me, lifting me off my feet, carrying me closer to the ship and to Miranda. "Get the fuck off of me assholes!" I growl, but of course they don't stop.
I try to increase my mass but there are enough soldiers to carry me, no matter how heavy I am. I can feel the warp is still slowly eating through the metal as I flail around desperately. Through the panic, my eyes lock with Miranda as the soldiers carry me past her, her face showing no emotion as she watches me.
I have to get out, I can't get the soldiers to stop but I might get Miranda to stop them. I just need another minute to get out of these cuffs, I need to get her attention for a few moments.
"You can't do this!" I plead at Miranda. Her face remains blank, uncaring and unimpressed, as she starts to get further away. "Miranda!" I yell, clearly and quickly so she could hear her name. My heart sinks as her face remains the same, she doesn't care, I have to do more. "Don't do this, Miranda Lawson!" I say, stressing her name. I catch her eyes narrow, just as the docking cradle wraps around my vision. I yell as I flail harder, kicking at the soldiers frantically.
"Stop." Miranda orders. Everything stops before I'm being carried back to her, this is what I need. My hands are now able to shake around in the cuffs as I'm set on my feet in front of Miranda. "How do you know my name?" she asks as she crosses her arms suspiciously.
"I know more than just your name Miranda." I say, forcing a smirk onto my terrified face.
"Elaborate." She orders.
I start to think about what I should tell her, I know so much about her from the games but I don't want to mess with the timeline. Especially not Miranda's, if I somehow mess with her being on the Lazarus project Shepard won't be brought back.
"No." I snap. "Why should I? Shouldn't the mighty Cerberus know everything already?"
"You're stalling." She says, sending a nod to the soldiers who start to push me back to the ship.
"Shit!" I panic as I try to fight the soldiers off. "No I'll talk! I'll talk!" I shout. The soldiers immediately bring me back to Miranda.
"Then talk." She says.
"I know you name." I stutter, my hands flexing the warp deeper into the metal. "I also know you're second in command at Cerberus." I nod. "I know you joined them when you were fifteen, give or take a few years."
"I'm impressed." She says, surprising me that I could impress the perfect woman. "I look forward to learning more on the ship." She says as she turns and begins to walk to the ship.
I'm shoved along behind Miranda, my hands starting to hurt from keeping a constant warp in the cuffs. I still need more time, not much but at this rate I'll be in that ship before they're off. I have to keep stalling or my life as I know it is over and I become an experiment.
"I know about you sister!" I yell desperately. "Oriana!" I see her stride hesitate for a split second but she pushes through and keeps walking. This isn't working, I need to do more. "She's with Niket right?"
This gets her to stop, just outside the door frame of the ship. She swivels around on her heal and stares at me but I can't tell what she's thinking, her face is still an unreadable blank slate. I make a mental note not to play poker with Miranda as she slowly walks up to me, her eyes washing over my face trying to reappraise me.
Then I feel it, the cuffs start to slide from my hands. I stretch my fingers out, stopping the cuffs from falling to the ground.
"Well I hope she stays hidden and safe." I say as I push up to my feet. "I know I will."
In a flash my hands whip to my sides, tossing the two guards off to the side. I hear the handcuffs hit the ground as I stretch my arms back as I send the bottom of my foot towards Miranda's stomach. I curse as she swiftly catches my foot and pushes her hands into the air, sending me on my ass. I pull back on my foot, tugging Miranda closer to me and push off while tossing a throw into her chest. She barely stumbles back as her barriers flicker, absorbing most of the throw. She immediately moves to grab me again but I roll over on my stomach and lift myself up on my fingertips and toes.
I kick off the ground, leaving a biotic sonic boom in my place before colliding with a trooper still on the platform. I roll off of him, leaving him a vomiting mess as he clutches his stomach which still holds the shape of my shoulder. Once I'm on my feet I quickly assess the situation. There are roughly ten soldiers, all armed with assault rifles and the same armor as the commandos who brought me here. There is also Miranda who has already closed half the distance that was between us, I need to avoid her at all costs.
I start to jog to the side, my stride eventually reaching a sprint before I bioticly charge into the nearest trooper, sending him sprawling to the ground. I feel a hand grasp my shoulder but I ignore it as I touch my fist to the ground, sending the surrounding troops flying away from the nova's ground zero. I turn to see Miranda, in a full sprint, ten feet from me.
Shit.
I scramble to the left, luckily finding another soldier to target before charging at him. I drive my shoulder into his chest and I hear the plates protecting his chest crack as a choppy gasp comes out of his mask. I casually bat away a soldier on my left to the side as I continue to skirt around Miranda, who I have now decided is not allowed to shoot me or I would have been dead a while ago. They must need me alive, which is troubling when it's Cerberus.
I come to the last group of soldiers, one of them is the helmetless soldier so I smile as I run towards them. I toss a throw at a soldier, sending him crashing into a railing. I'm tackled to the ground by another helmeted soldier, I land on my back with him scrambling on top of me and pressing his forearm into my throat. My right hand starts to push the soldier's arm off my neck as my left is held down by the helmetless trooper.
I feel his arm slowly start to cut off my air flow and my focused aggression turns into a panicked frenzy of thrashing. I see Miranda walk up to me and watch as my eyes dart around desperately as I struggle. I let go of the soldiers forearm, letting his full weight onto my neck and reach up with a warp in my hand. I smear my hand over his helmet leaving the dark matter in its path, the purple biotics instantly eating away at the faceplate.
Within half a second he starts to breathe heavier as his respirator malfunctions and begins shaking his head violently, trying to get the dark matter off of him. In another second I can see his skin through the patches growing on his helmet and he starts screaming, his hand leaving my neck to claw at his face. I shove the other man away from me and plant my hands on the floor over my head, with a lowered mass I start to scoot away from Miranda.
I swing my body around and roll to my feet, my eyes are drawn to the man with the warp eating at his flesh. His bloodcurdling screams fill the air as he rips his dissolving helmet off of his head and tossing it to the side, with each bounce small speckles of blood pepper the floor. I look at the man's face, blood smearing from sores like running makeup. He frantically writhes on the floor clawing at his disintegrating flesh and quickly devolves to him smashing his own head of the ground, desperately trying to end his suffering.
I avert my eyes as my stomach churns and bile rises, my disgusted gaze falls on the first helmetless soldier. The look on his face tells me he knew the man, it's a look of shock and horror. Then anger.
He springs up and charges towards me, drawing his sidearm as he runs. Miranda calls out for him to stand down but he starts to squeeze the trigger and rounds fly towards me. Two round glance off my barriers as my body reacts.
Once again, I don't think, I just react.
My open palm shoots out sending a throw into the man's legs, kicking them out from underneath him. His body levels off but before he can start to fall I close my fist and a biotic aura surrounds the man's head. He screams in pain before I rip my fist downward, his head following and crunching into the ground with a spine chilling crack, silencing his screams. I see his face forced flat as blood spurts from underneath his head. His legs hit the ground shortly after his scream echoes away.
I can't hold it, my stomach tightens as I spew vomit on the floor. Over the retching I hear the quickening click of heels as I spit the last of the bile out of my mouth and look up to Miranda's elbow cracking into my forehead. I recoil as I feel Miranda's body twist around my own, her calf finally slides over the back of my head and hooks on my neck.
She shifts her weight and I feel myself tipping backwards, I try to plant my foot back to stop myself but I find its being held back by one of Miranda's limbs, I'm not sure which one. We both come crashing down to the ground, but before my back hits the floor Miranda wraps her calf back around my neck and her thigh forces my chin up.
"What the fu-guuack!" I squeak as her leg clamps around my entire neck, my eyes bulge to the right to see Miranda comfortably sitting on my shoulder, her free leg stretched across my chest and over my arm, pinning down my wrist. My other arm is twisted straight out, my elbow resting on her hip, only a few inches from hyperextension. I start to kick out with my legs but we just slide around like I'm a shitty carnival ride and Miranda's an unamused child.
I put every ounce of energy into twisting me twist arm back to normal. Before Miranda can correct this I reach behind her and grab her black leather belt, I clear my head as I try to lower her mass. I feel the weight on my shoulder lessen and I quickly sit up, leaving Miranda hanging sideways off my neck. I twist my legs underneath me and push off the ground, rising to my feet I give Miranda a smirk as I wave at her with my now free right hand.
I feel my head start to pulse as it strains to pump in blood, I have to get Miranda off of me but I can't hurt her. I honestly doubt I'd be able to, she's kicking my ass without using her biotics or her weapons but in the off chance I do, I might fuck up the Lazarus timeline. But I also don't want to be choked out and dragged off to a Cerberus lab.
So I quickly dart my hand over my chest, a throw building in my palm. Miranda takes advantage of her lowered mass to push off my chest letting me take in a huge desperate gasp of air. To my surprise she catches my hand and forces it under her leg and against my free throat, only to resume the vice-like clamp on my neck, using my own hand to choke me. I start to swing her around wildly, trying to smack her off a wall or railing but she uses her free leg as leverage to swing her torso either against my chest or almost completely around my back.
"Are you made of rubber?" I wheeze, continuing to swing her around like a ragdoll.
After another twenty seconds of running around, my vision starts to darken and my movement becomes sluggish. I give one last ditch effort to get the Cerberus officer off me by falling forward, twisting my body to slam her on the ground. She tries to twist behind my back but I just turn further, when we hit the ground I feel her leg rip from my neck as her back bends far enough to touch mine.
As I gasp for air, Miranda starts to push herself up of the ground but I have enough sense to plant my hand on her back, pushing her down to the ground with a heavy hand. She flips around quickly, grabbing my wrist as she does and pulls herself closer, slamming her fist into my face. The first blow dazes me, prepping me for the next several punches, the last few aided with biotics.
She lets me go and stands up as I stumble around the ground, I press my hand into my temple trying to quell my growing headache. I feel the sweat hanging off of my forehead, this is the most I have ever used my biotics and its starting to chip away at me. I somehow manage to get to my feet, my head throbbing and my vision doubled. I turn to Miranda just in time to see her press one of those goddamn batons against my throat.
"You bitch." I quip before being welcomed by the all too familiar embrace of electricity.
The fear finally sets in when the docking doors on the ship closed behind us. I've been handcuffed again, these ones are noticeably bigger so it might take a little longer for me to warp out. I'm dropped in the bridge of the ship, Miranda watching me like a hawk.
What could I do now? It's too late, I'm already in the ship. I can't trick Miranda into letting me go, no matter how much I knew about her. Hell, I could probably tell her her whole life story and she would still take me right to the Illusive Man…
The Illusive Man.
If I can convince him that I would be better off out in the universe instead of on a surgery table somewhere he might let me go, he might even be able to help me! I just have to get him to talk to me somehow, this is my last chance, I have to go big.
"Hey!" I yell, getting Miranda's attention. "I want to talk to him."
"Care to be more specific?" she asks.
"You know who." I jeer accusingly. "The Illusive Man."
Miranda stares at me for a moment before rising to her feet. "Very well." She says slyly.
That was easy, a little too easy. I don't like this at all and I don't trust Miranda at all. After a minute, a man wearing a white officers suit walks up. It reminds me Oleg Petrovsky's getup.
"You wanted to see me?" the man asks with a deep voice as he stands straight. I raise my brow at him and then flick a skeptical look at Miranda.
"Seriously?" I sigh. "This isn't him, I want to talk to the real Illusive Man." I tell her.
"Impossible." She says as she crosses her arms. "Do you have any more requests?"
I think of what I can say to get the Illusive Man to talk to me, it can't be about the future, he wouldn't believe that. I should save that for later. I smile as an idea forms in my head.
"Yeah, your second in command right?" I ask, already knowing the answer. "When you give him your report, which you will because you answer directly to him, I want you to tell him something."
"And what would that be?" she says, unamused at my tone.
"Jack Harper." I deadpan before leaning my head against the wall.
That should do it, I can only assume there are only a handful of people who know his real name, maybe less than ten people if I had to guess. If that doesn't get his attention then maybe I'm destined to be sliced to ribbons in the name of "humanity". Miranda raises a brow before walking off and I count her steps.
Three.
Three steps until I hear the sound of her Omni-tool ping. I should have known that micromanaging bastard would be listening in, what else does he have to do in that big empty room? Yeah the dying star is pretty and all and the sexy times with famous models is nice, but even I think that must get boring after a while.
Well, maybe not the sex.
Miranda walks back to me, looking slightly agitated. I think, it's hard to get a read on her, she might just have to sneeze. I glance up at her and I can't help but grinning ear to ear like a shithead.
"Ah Miranda." I smile. "What can I do for you today?"
"The Illusive Man wishes to speak with you." She recites, irked that I even get the opportunity. "Follow me."
I awkwardly roll around until I get to my feet and trot off behind Miranda. She leads me into a room that reminds me of the briefing room from the Normandy SR2 and leaves me alone in the room. The table in the center of the room sinks into the floor, prompting me to stand in it. I walk on the table turned floor and look around as an orange grid scans my body, digitizing the room around me.
The grid flickers out and is exchanged for the infamous empty room that the Illusive Man calls home. I don't spend long looking around, there isn't much to see. My eyes are drawn to the lone chair in the room, a single man sitting in it and a single trail of smoke tracing its way away from him. It's surreal.
"Mr. Matticks." Martin Sheen's voice seeps through the speakers causing goose bumps to erupt across my skin. Déjà vu wracks my brain and I shake it off before answering.
"Mr. Harper." I nod politely. "You asked for me?"
"I believe you asked for me." he counters as he snuffs out his cigarette and stands from his chair. "Let's cut to the chase, how you know mine and Miss Lawson's name is irrelevant. What's relevant is your sudden desire to see me, you carved a swath through my men to avoid capture, yet when you're aboard my ship you seem eager to talk. You want to make a deal, so let's not waste each other's time."
"You read me like a book Mr. Harper." I smile, trying not to be freaked out on how fast he figured me out. "You want to study me, probably to study the advancements in human biotics. I don't want to be studied though, I have things I need to do out here. Things that will affect every single person who lives in this galaxy, including humanity." I add.
The Illusive Man pauses, my last words hanging in the air. "These are serious claims Mr. Matticks, I assume you have something to back them up."
"No." I admit. "I would need to trust you and in order for that to happen, I need you to trust me."
"Continue." He motions with his hand as he lights another cigarette.
"What I want you to do is let me go, drop me back off at the Citadel." I tell him. "What do you want in return?"
He seems to ponder what I said before speaking again. "I would need to know what you know, if what you say is true then humanity is at risk. I would also like some tests run on you while you're on the ship, nothing invasive, just blood work."
"No blood work." I shake my head. "I know you too well to let that happen, especially this early in the game. I can give you a tip, something to let you know I'm not bullshiting you."
"Enlighten me Mr. Matticks." He says. "So far you have failed to supply me with any meaningful information."
"Within two months, a human colony will come under attack." I tell him. "It'll be the geth, led by the turian specter Saren. He's going to have a ship, something the galaxy has never seen before."
The Illusive Man narrows his eyes at me while taking a long drag from his cigarette. "Which colony?" he asks.
"Nope, can't tell you." I shake my head. "You have to understand, it's a very dangerous balancing act. You cannot interfere with the events or you risk messing up the next ones. You know, all that butterfly effect shit."
"Is there anything else?"
"Lots, things you couldn't imagine. Other things that you might be able to help me, stuff that... just came up." I say quietly. "And I'll tell you more eventually, when it becomes relevant. But for now no." I finish.
I was nervous about talking to The Illusive Man, now I'm turned around. If he wants to work with me then I could be happier, he can help me and I can help him, maybe I could even stop the Cerberus that comes in Mass Effect 3. The sheer amount of lives that would be saved if Cerberus wasn't evil, if the Illusive Man didn't mess with reaper tech. This is the one event that I can't see a downside to changing.
"Very well Mr. Matticks, I will place my faith in you." He states as he finishes his cigarette. "If what you say is true, if a colony is hit within two months, then you have my support." I smile at this, I could really make a difference if this works out. "But if it's not, and I find you've abused my generosity…"
"I know." I interrupt as I raise my hand at him. "I know what you'd do, trust me on that."
"Very well." He nods as he walks back to his chair and takes a seat, facing away from me at the dying star. "We'll be in touch."
The room fades away in a digital snowstorm of orange, leaving me alone in an empty room. I'm surprised he didn't ask me how I knew all of this, or how I can see into the future but I'm sure he will eventually. That man's like a cat, always getting into shit he shouldn't be.
I glance around the room, waiting for someone to come along and get me. After a while I start to get nervous, maybe he didn't believe me. I start to focus on my warp, just in case I have to fight my way out of here. I doubt I'd make it far, but I could do some damage before I get taken down. I feel the cuffs start to slide from my hands, the barely audible hiss of the warp echoing in the small room.
The door swings open and I turn to see Miranda walking in, her Omni-tool raised up. I look at her for a split second before the cuffs slip from my hands and clatter loudly off the floor, echoing in the room as Miranda and I stare at each other awkwardly. She raises her brow at me as her eyes flicker between the cuffs and me. She taps at her Omni-tool and I hear a mechanical click behind me, I look behind me and see the now open set of cuffs, the insides eaten out by the warp.
"Well this is awkward." I sigh.
The ship turns around and I'm eventually dropped off a block away from the jail I was being held in. The streets haven't been cleared out, despite the jail having a break out. So I head off through the crowd towards the jail, as far as their security cameras know I was kidnapped, coming back should keep my sentence short or if I'm lucky they might be so impressed with me coming back id be let free on the spot.
That'd be nice.
[They could always increase your time because you killed like four more people just now.]
Why do you insist on tearing my world down? You asshole.
{You will be ok, Cerberus is smart enough to make sure you wouldn't go away!}
[Yeah, trust the terrorists to watch your back.]
I'll be fine, so shut up. You asshole.
I walk into the jail and hear a familiar accented voice.
"I don't know, he said people were coming and started yelling at nothing." Lorin moans. "Then people popped out of nowhere and stole him, he tried to get away from them but they fried the crazy guy. If he's smart he would get away from them and get off this station."
He then turns to see me walking towards my cell and does a double take. "But he's not." He marveled at my decision as he points at me with his open palm. "He's here, because that makes perfect sense. You wouldn't want anyone stealing your spot would you?" he jeers, now ignoring the officer and talking directly to me.
"Thought you'd go crazy in here without me." I smirk as I stop and stare at him, my hands on my hips. Lorin stands up and walks over to me, blowing off the officer who was interviewing him.
"Keelah, what the fuck happened to you?" he questioned as he made a motion to my face.
I cock my head at him and then look around for a mirror but am not surprised I'm not finding one. I turn back to him and notice the slight reflection on his mask. I can't help but smirk as I walk up to him and take a two handed grip on the prongs next to the mouth piece on his mask. I steer his head to the side, searching for a glare to see my face. My smile grows as I see his glowing eyes narrow into two bright slits.
"Oh yeah, go ahead, I don't mind." He insisted in a sarcastic tone.
I finally catch the light just right and curse when I see my face. My left eye and temple is coated in bruises and blood is leaking from a cut on my eyebrow. My neck is red from the multiple instances of choking as well as a huge circular bruised burn from those fucking batons.
I hate those batons.
I also want one of those batons.
"Listen, as romantic as this is." Lorin mutters, the sarcasm pouring from his mouth. "I don't think your right for me."
I pat his mask as I wander back into my cell, taking a seat on my cot. I start to think about everything that's happened today. I was kidnapped, I managed to hold of Miranda, I made a deal with the Illusive Man, and I killed again.
I took more lives today and this time it was worse. The other times were quick or I didn't have to watch, this time though, I saw what I did first hand. I watched as a man's face was torn apart by my hand. That's something that's going to haunt my sleep, I really hope it does.
If it doesn't, then what does that say about me?
R/R
general-joseph-dickson: Yeah, pretty much. Though they are Cerberus commandos with probably years of training and Mav is just an average guy.
Linkforever1: Let's see if we can change that. I'm glad you're enjoying the story!
Wolfshark: Haha! You have great instincts my friend! Ditching isn't the only solution, besides Miranda is a tenacious bitch who would probably find him no matter what. Thank you, I will try!
OnkelJo: Not a chance, Cerberus has no morals. A very "ends justify the means" sorta group, which is why I think they might be fun to write about! Ah yes, such bravado from the young Maverick, but what would he be without it? That is defiantly Miranda's only weakness, other than her sister nothing fazes her. Thanks for the review, I'm glad you like it!
Spiritstrike: Haha! I love the twists, keeps everyone on their feet! I'd also like to state that this is probably one of our shorter review back-and-forths! Thanks for reading and reviewing, as always! I love hearing from the regulars!
tylerbamafan34: Yeah, a cold hearted bitch. Not to mention a talented combatant!
Michae1ange1o: Yes, the fine men in blue, our "protectors". And if Cerberus can reanimate the goddamn dead then the most certainly take a good swing at some cancer! Thanks, I actually finished the chapter with Mav being alone in the cell then went back and decided to add someone. At first I had a krogan in mind, at took me a surprising amount of character creations (which have been save for later, just in case) to get to Lorin. I'm glad you like him, you should be seeing more of him in the future!
CrimsonKnight117: That's the EXCACT goddamn reason I put that bit in there! The whole series is just turians who are pissed about the first contact war! Which they fucking started! No way, not Cerberus. Considering the vast range of their delusional experiments, from putting people and AI's together to attacks on the migrant fleet. There's no moral mountain too high for them, no no, they will get the job done! Once again, thank you for the review!
XRaiderV1: I toyed with the idea of Cerberus messing with him to the point of turning him into a male Jack, but not only do people like the character, I also couldn't put him through that much change so quickly. Besides, there's already a Jack, what the world needs is more Mav! Thank you sir, thank you for the support!