Chapter 5: Jojo

Geographical Location Classified. Organization HQ.

17 JUN 1988. 1418. (5 months ago)

The HQ laboratory was a scene of cacophonous pandemonium. Jojo, Head Researcher Utonium's uplifted Chimpanzee assistant, was running wild, and it was sending the Organization's brightest minds running for their lives, huddling in corners.

"What the hell is it doing!?" one of them shouted. "Call security!" another screamed. Yet another ordered. "Call anyone!" one amongst them panicked. In its frenzy, Jojo had already injured a scientist, scratching him up and slamming his head against the wall. The doctor in biochemistry was lying on the ground, near a computer, and no one was sure if he was going to be alright.

Professor Utonium was still at his post. He had been preparing some chemicals to stabilize Chemical X, and when he turned around to see what was happening, he could not bring himself into action. Jojo had never acted that way before. "Jojo! Cut it out!" He ordered, but the Chimpanzee would not listen. By that time, it was already close, and after sweeping a full set of lab glass onto the ground, it barreled into Professor Utonium, sending it flying to the ground, arms wide as he tried in vain to catch hold of something, or find his balance. Pipettes and centrifuges and beakers were sent toppling into the ground.

But the worst damage of it all was the vial of Chemical X, which had toppled over and emptied itself into a conical flask filled with a half-finished stabilizing agent meant to augment Chemical X. The conical flask was knocked over, but it was thankfully trapped in a diagonal position, in between a timer and beaker, and had only spilled a fraction of its contents. After getting up, Professor Utonium could only stare in horror as his work was ruined - work that took weeks to draft, prepare for and execute.

"Jojo!" he screamed in literal agony, and would be dishonest to say he didn't wish ill on the Chimpanzee - that was, until he saw what had happened to him. At some point, the uplifted Simian lab worker had bashed its head in, and now it was leaning against the counter where the Chemical X stood. Anger turned to horror when Professor Utonium saw the damage he had done to himself, and what was worse was that Jojo had contaminated himself with Chemical X after launching itself at it. "Jojo!"

Just then, the entrance into the lab opened, and eight security officers came charging in, wearing vests and pointing their pistols and shotguns at the Chimpanzee.

"Wait! Stop! He's injured! He's no threat!" The Professor ordered, shielding Jojo from the guns. The security guards stood down. Among them was the Chief of Security, who came forward while holstering his pistol.

"I told you about that monkey, didn't I?" he reminded the professor, his rage barely contained. The Chief of Security was quite old, past retirement age and hardly looking it and he was still bigger than anyone in the lab, or even his security teams. He wouldn't have looked much worse even without the Organization's health benefits. The man had simply won the genetic lottery. Professor Utonium had seen his medical report. He looked like he was going to commit a second Simian fit, but, thankfully, the Chief of Security was also a highly intelligent man. "The moment I looked at him, I knew that he would get out of control sooner or later. Monkeys don't just become men overnight."

"You're right of course," the professor replied, a little intimidated by the Chief of Security himself. The hulking man was doing his job all too well. "But there's got to be a reason why Jojo did these things. He's hurt. We should call medical."

"No one's calling medical this time, Utonium," The Chief of Security warned as he pressed himself up closer to the professor. Utonium himself was taller than average, but the Chief was even taller, by more than a head. "That monkey is done, sonny. I'm taking him to the Termination Chamber."

The moment the Chief of Security said those two dreaded words, the professor could see his life flashing by - not his entire life, but his time with Jojo. The Chimpanzee was never a threat, not until today. Jojo was an exemplary lab assistant, working tirelessly for no gain but his friendship. It was a friend, and he swore that it could understand what he said and feel sometimes - he had the scientific data to prove it. Jojo's Cerebrum had grown after its exposure to Chemical W, the direct predecessor of Chemical X, and it was far more active than in normal Chimpanzees, than his family in animal storage. Whenever the Professor had a rough day at work, Jojo was there, doing tricks to make him feel better, or just giving him a simple pat in the back or making microwave food for him. They were little things, but it gave him hope. It was clear that Jojo saw him as a surrogate father, and Professor Utonium had treated him as a son.

"He is a Chimpanzee, you ape," the Professor corrected the Chief, anger seething inside of him. The only thing keeping him from punching the lights out of the Chief was his inability to win in a physical altercation and his professionalism. "There's a big difference. And you're not taking him to Termination. He and his kind here has sacrificed everything for us! Involuntarily! It's only fair that we take good care of them, and give them what we rightfully owe them! Now Jojo needs medical attention, and I'm giving it to him. He and his family was taken from the wild, and I'm sending them back eventually, whether you like it or not."

"Jojo, maybe. But not the rest of his family," the Chief of Security said with a grin. Professor Utonium did not miss it, and the implications tore him apart.

"Blackwater… What did you do?" the Professor questioned the big, insurmountable man.

"There was a budget cut. We couldn't afford to take care of all the animals," the Chief of Security explained. At least his grin had disappeared.

"What did you do?" the Professor repeated, shaking not with anger, but now with shock.

"Shot them in their cages. Cyanide darts," the Chief of Security confessed. The look on Professor Utonium's face couldn't be described. "Jeez, Utonium, what's with the look? It was quick and painless, doc. And we only took out half the monkeys - you still have the other half to work with."

"Why wasn't I told?" Professor Utonium said, his voice almost a whisper. He had to lean against his Chemical X counter for support. "No one ran it by me? I could have - I could have set them free instead - or, or, balance the finances and find some way to accommodate them - why wasn't I told?"

"Org-Chief knew you'd say something like that. We can't afford to fly them back to Mozambique and certainly not with what we've exposed them to… and we sure as hell can't afford to 'balance the finances'. We've let too many subjects die or escape, and we've produced too little results. The Senate and President - Professor?" Blackwater was in the middle of his explanation when the Professor just up and left. Scooping up Jojo from the ground, he, with little energy, carried the Chimpanzee to the Medical Wing.

Professor Utonium didn't say it, but he knew exactly why Jojo had gone berserk. After all, it was helping to distribute documents on the way to the lab, and Animal Holding was on its path. He couldn't put such a thing in the reports though. Only he would know and believe in the Chimpanzee, no one else.

The professor could only feel all the worse, when he discovered that Jojo had unknowingly helped to create a stabilized version of Chemical X - thus saving the Organization and everyone in it from early retirement, and giving birth to B-47, B-48 and B-49, otherwise known as Blossom, Buttercup and Bubbles.

"I'm sorry, Jojo."